▶Fig Tree Park Weddings · 58 Sherringham Lane, Central Tilba NSW 2546 · Sydney
▶An early summer country wedding at Fig Tree Park Weddings, a thirty three acre property above the ocean at Central Tilba on the NSW South Coast. The couple and their little boy stayed on the estate, with a lawn ceremony at half past three, family portraits in the paddocks, dinner for eighty five guests bussed in from Narooma, a bouquet toss from the balcony, sunset photographs and sparklers down the driveway.
Two households on the hill · A letter in the attic · Vows above the paddocks · The mountain behind · Dancing by the stables
The groom's morning ran in a farm cottage up the lane: a green suit on the rack, a letter read by the window, a whisky at the bench and his little boy in a tiny bow tie buttoned in by his dad. At the homestead the bride dressed in the attic room, her gown hanging in the dormer window, bridesmaids in pink robes outside, her mum settling the veil. Her parents came up for a first look with her dad in that white room, then her son climbed into her arms. Two buses brought guests up from Narooma for the half past three ceremony on the lawn.
The groom wiped his eyes as the bride came across the lawn on her dad's arm, and the celebrant in his black hat kept the vows light and quick. The sun broke through right as the couple walked back up the aisle through confetti. Family groups ran in front of the house, the whole crowd gathered under the fig, and the bridal party and the couple wandered the paddocks with the mountain behind. Dinner under the marquee by the old stables opened with the cake and the groom's speech, both fathers, the bridesmaids and the best man followed, the bouquet and garter flew, and the dances happened under the lights in the stable courtyard.
Ceremony spot · Moving between spaces · Light · How the day ran · Portrait spots · Our advice
The ceremony at Fig Tree Park Weddings was on the lawn terrace below the homestead, with cross back chairs in rows on the grass and two white plinths of flowers marking the front. Behind the couple the ground falls away to paddocks, gum trees and the hills, so every frame of the vows has the view in it, and from above you can see how neatly the terrace holds eighty five guests. The bride walked down from the house, which made the processional about thirty steps. Our tip: leave the arch out, as this couple did, because the mountain is the backdrop. Watch at 5:46 Watch at 5:54 Watch at 6:28
Everything was a short walk. The bride dressed upstairs in the homestead and came down to the lawn, family photos happened on the verandah steps, the big group stood under the fig a few metres on, and the paddocks for portraits start at the garden fence. The marquee and the old stables for dinner sit just beyond the fig, and the dance floor was the stable courtyard under festoon lights. Only the groom's side travelled, and that was a lane's length from the neighbouring farm. Guests arrived once, by bus, and did not move again. Watch at 5:46 Watch at 8:28 Watch at 15:06
Early summer on the South Coast gave a soft grey sky for most of the day, which suited the green hills and kept faces even on the lawn with no squinting, no hard shadows and no need to chase shade. The attic room in the homestead has a dormer window that lit the bride beautifully from one side. Then the cloud thinned for the recessional and a burst of warm sun hit the confetti, which is the kind of luck you cannot plan but can be ready for. After dark, the stables and the festoon lights carried the dance floor. Watch at 3:48 Watch at 7:52 Watch at 15:06
A half past three ceremony gave a long afternoon. Groups came first in front of the house, then the whole guest list under the fig, then the bridal party and couple in the paddocks while cocktail hour ran at the stables. The reception at Fig Tree Park Weddings opened with the cake and the speeches early, groom, fathers, bridesmaids and best man in one run, which cleared the formalities before the main course. The bouquet and garter toss and the dances came after dark in the stable courtyard. With everyone staying nearby, nobody was watching the clock. Watch at 8:28 Watch at 10:40 Watch at 15:00
The paddocks are the portrait spot. Within a few minutes' walk of the ceremony lawn we used the gravel path below the house, the long grass with the gum trees and the mountain behind, a fence line for the bridal party and the open hillside for the couple alone. It took about forty minutes in soft light. The couple asked for nothing posed with their son, so we followed him through the grass and let the three of them be under the veil. In early summer, keep an eye on the western hills for a late sun break and step out again if it comes. Watch at 7:32 Watch at 8:42 Watch at 9:24
What our team noticed was how much the two households shaped the morning: the groom's cottage up the lane had its own rhythm, with their little boy moving between the two for photographs, and that gave both sides a calm start. Letters read alone before dressing made the first looks richer. The grey day was a gift rather than a worry, and the couple never once looked at the sky. If you book Fig Tree Park Weddings, do what this couple did: stay the weekend, bus the guests, keep the ceremony on the lawn with the view, and let the kids run. Watch at 1:00 Watch at 4:36 Watch at 8:36
Fig Tree Park Weddings sits on thirty three acres at 58 Sherringham Lane, Central Tilba, in an elevated position with the ocean and Barunguba, Montague Island, in one direction and the mountains Gulaga and Najanuka in the other. The hosts moved to the South Coast a few years ago and turned the farm into an exclusive use venue and retreat, with rose gardens, vine covered arbours, established trees and the great fig that gives the place its name. Produce from the property feeds the farm to table menus. Only one wedding runs at a time, booked as a three day, two night stay.
Ceremonies take place on the lawn, in the rose garden or under the canopy of the fig tree, which is lit with fairy lights after dark and doubles as an outdoor reception space. Catering and the bar work from a pair of old stables beside it, and a pavilion looking over Gulaga and the ocean, with a marquee that fits over the stable courtyard, gives a wet weather plan without leaving the garden. The homestead has a bridal room upstairs with a balcony, which is where a bouquet toss or a first look on the stairs happens naturally. A garden wedding here can be seated or cocktail style for up to about a hundred guests.
The hill faces the sea, so the ceremony lawn and the terrace take the afternoon light while the fig tree holds deep shade for guests. For portraits, the long paddock with the mountains behind, the vine arbours and the driveway lined with trees all work in the hour after a mid afternoon ceremony, and the sunset over the hills behind the property is worth leaving the dinner table for. Early summer gives a late sunset, around half past seven to eight on the coast, so a half past three ceremony leaves time for cocktail hour, dinner and speeches before the light goes. Save the driveway for sparklers once it is fully dark.
Central Tilba is a long way from anywhere: about four and a half hours from Sydney, two and a half from Canberra and an hour from the Moruya and Merimbula airports, so most guests stay the weekend. Narooma, ten minutes away, has the most beds, with more in Tilba Tilba and Bermagui and on the surrounding farms, and the venue can arrange buses, which is the only sensible way to move eighty or more people up a country lane at night. Parking is at the bottom of the driveway rather than beside the house, so suppliers drop gear at the top and walk back down. A country wedding this far south rewards a relaxed, multi day plan.
Early summer on the South Coast is green, warm and long in the evenings, which suits a late afternoon ceremony and an outdoor reception under the tree. Coastal weather turns fast, though, so confirm the pavilion and marquee plan with the venue the week before and keep heaters, fire pits and umbrellas on the list for a cool change. Autumn brings calmer, clearer light and quieter roads; winter is mild by inland standards but means an early sunset and dinner indoors. Whatever the month, having the ceremony, reception and both sets of accommodation within a few hundred metres of each other saves the day's hours for the people you came with.