Hollydene Estate, located between Jerrys Plains and Denman in the Upper Hunter of NSW, is a fantastic wedding reception venue for a Hunter Valley wedding. Hollydene Estate is a family-owned and operated vineyard, and I was lucky enough to photograph the wedding of some of the estate’s key operators; Stephanie and Kurt. This blog post is about Steph and Kurt’s Hollydene Estate wedding.
Usually, if I’m photographing a wedding at a new venue for the first time, I like to arrive early to scope out the location and identify some nearby wedding photography locations. I feel that this is important because I like to have a few ideas in mind for wedding portraits. This was no different for this wedding; I arrived at Hollydene Estate at about 9 am to meet Kurt (the groom). Kurt was kind enough to give me a personal tour of the estate – what a nice guy! We took a drive in his ute around the vineyard, checking our some sheds and plant storage facilities along the way. Kurt and I drove up to the northern end of the estate, through several gates to a paddock on a northern escarpment. The plateau at the top was amazing! The field at the northern end of the estate had a lovely western aspect that I knew would be perfect for a sunset shoot during their wedding photographs at Hollydene Estate.
I left Hollydene at around 11 am, to go photograph Steph’s bride preparation. I drove over to Steph and Kurt’s property, around 15 minutes down the road in Jerrys Plains. Steph was getting ready in their lovely weatherboard cottage with their daughters and bridesmaids. We captured a few portraits with the girls before heading back for their wedding ceremony at Hollydene Estate.
After the ceremony, Steph, Kurt and I jumped back in Kurt’s ute and once again ventured through the vineyard and equipment storage sheds, up to the northern end of the estate. We captured some awesome orange sunset wedding photos whilst enjoying a beer. The session was super enjoyable because Steph and Kurt were so easy going. We told some jokes and took in the view. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy a wedding photography session.
After sunset, we returned to the main estate building for Steph and Kurt’s Hollydene Estate wedding reception. I had an unreal day. If you are looking for a lovely venue to host your Hunter Valley wedding, I’d suggest you reach out to these guys. You’ll have a great day. If you’d like further information please contact me via this page.
Share this story
