Whitsundays Wedding Photography
Palms on the waterfront, yachts at anchor and island hills going gold at sunset
Airlie Beach is the mainland gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef, a palm-lined town on the Queensland coast with a walkable centre and marinas along the waterfront. Whitsunday Coast Airport at Proserpine is about 30 minutes’ drive away and Hamilton Island has its own airport, so couples and their guests fly in, stay a few nights and make the wedding the heart of a holiday. Island ferries and charters leave from Shute Harbour, about 15 minutes from town.
We photographed and filmed Anna and Brendan’s Whitsundays wedding at Coral Sea Resort in Airlie Beach: vows on the Upper Lawn in front of thirty guests, portraits on a rope swing by the water and a reception on the jetty as the sun dropped behind the hills across the bay.
Photographing weddings in the Whitsundays
August to October are the driest months, with only a few rain days each, and winter days sit around 22 to 23 degrees, so the dry season is the easy choice for an outdoor ceremony. Humpback whales are around from about May to September. From October to May the risk of marine stingers in the water is higher, so plan any swim or in-the-water shoot with that in mind. The tropical sun is high through the middle of the day: hold the ceremony in the mid to late afternoon and save the portraits for the last hour of light.