Airlie Beach does not do subtle. The day before, we stood on the hill above the marina and watched the light roll across a forest of masts, and by the wedding morning we were completely smitten with the place. Brendan got ready in a hillside house with timber decks and palms at every railing. The boys traipsed down the stairs in white shirts, his mum wrapped him in the biggest hug, and he leaned on the balcony rail in his tuxedo like he owned the view. The northern sun is bright and high even in early spring, so we kept him under the deck roof and let the bay do the backdrop.
Across town, Anna was already glowing. Her Prea James gown, all lace florals and sheer long sleeves, met a long beaded veil, and a loved one fussed over every metre of it. Out on the deck she stopped, took in the bay and the hills, and had a little moment we were lucky enough to catch. Then the sunglasses went on and she was ready to go. Our tip for a tropical getting-ready: choose a house with a covered deck. You get open shade, soft light, a breeze for the veil and a view that tells everyone exactly where you are.
The Upper Lawn at Coral Sea Resort sits just above the shoreline and takes up to 30 guests, which was exactly the number Anna and Brendan invited. Paper parasols, white chairs, a timber triangle arbour dressed in dried flowers, and the yachts and Whitsunday hills sitting right behind it all. Brendan could not stop grinning while he waited, and when Anna walked down the lawn on her dad’s arm there were happy tears under more than one parasol, Brendan’s mum’s hands clasped tight in the front row. With a small guest list everyone is in the front row, which makes our job a joy: we can step in close for the faces and still pull wide for the view.
The vows were warm and easy, the first kiss came with yachts bobbing behind them, and then Brendan threw in a full dip, bouquet flying. Just married, they grinned their way back up the lawn into a wall of hugs and champagne. Afternoon light in the tropics is hard and high, so we work with the sun behind or beside the couple. Eyes stay open, skin stays even and the sea stays a brilliant blue in the frame.
Portraits were a stroll around a resort that sits right on the water: under the pergola by the pool, past the palms, onto a rope swing by the shore and along the rock wall, where the breeze grabbed Anna’s veil and turned it into a sail. Brendan kissed her hand on the swing, stole another kiss behind the bouquet and laughed every time the veil had other ideas. That bouquet deserves its own credit: hot pink, coral and white, bright enough to hold its own against all that blue.
Dinner was on the jetty, under a white marquee that reaches out over the water, and around six the sun dropped behind the hills across the bay and turned everything gold. We pulled Anna and Brendan onto a jetty lounge for ten quiet minutes while the sky went pink. Back inside, speeches came with dessert, two of their nearest and dearest kept the night rolling as MCs, and instead of a first dance Anna and Brendan said their thank-yous and called everyone up to dance. Anna slipped into a short white second dress, the giant LOVE letters lit up and the dance floor stayed full right to the end.
We filmed the day too, so watch Anna and Brendan’s wedding film. These Airlie Beach wedding photos are why we love a destination wedding in Queensland: a small crowd, one beautiful resort and a sunset you cannot plan for but always hope for. See more of our destination wedding photography in Australia.
