Great Ocean Road & Otways Wedding Photography
Surf coast on one side of the ridge, rainforest and fog on the other, ninety minutes from town
The Great Ocean Road runs 240 km from Torquay to Allansford, built by about 3,000 returned servicemen between 1919 and 1932 as a war memorial. Torquay is 97 km from Melbourne and Lorne 138 km. Behind the coast the Otway Ranges rise to 670 metres at Mount Cowley, with cool-temperate rainforest, glow-worm gullies and more rain days than anywhere on the mainland. Couples marry on the beaches at Anglesea and Lorne, in Apollo Bay, and inland around Deans Marsh, Pennyroyal and Forrest.
We photographed Taylah and Sinclair at Pennyroyal Otways Retreat, a bush property about ninety minutes from Melbourne and a quarter of an hour inland from Lorne, with two lakes, a barn and a rainforest clearing. The valley catches the late sun in one long golden stripe, so we walked them along the ridge for it, then let the fog roll in for the moodier frames on the way back. We photograph and film weddings the length of the road.
Photographing weddings on the Great Ocean Road and in the Otways
In the hinterland the microclimate is the story: fog, soft light and fifty shades of green even in summer, and the fern gullies stay even all day, which makes them the midday and wet-weather option. Weather moves fast up here and we treat every forecast as a suggestion. On the coast, wind is the thing to plan for, and a sheltered corner is worth finding beforehand. Summer traffic on the road is slow, so allow real travel time. Taylah and Sinclair’s day is in the gallery above.