Bannisters Port Stephens wedding photographer: Paperbarks above the bay

A Bannisters Port Stephens wedding happens at a restored former motel on Soldiers Point Road, with treetop and water views over Port Stephens and koala habitat around it. From the studio in Cooks Hill it's about an hour's drive, and it stays on our favourites list for its mix of retro hotel lines, paperbark trees and calm bay.

Check your date at Bannisters Port Stephens (02) 5550 7136

A groom lifts the bride on the sand as she throws one arm up, the sea pale behind them — From the studio
37 km north-east
Sunset, January
8:03pm
Sunset, June
4:52pm

Why a Bannisters Port Stephens wedding is a favourite of ours

Bannisters sits on the eastern shore of Soldiers Point, so it looks out across the bay rather than along a beach, and its rooms face the water through a screen of trees.

That layering is what we like: pale paperbark trunks and landscaped gardens in the foreground, calm water in the middle, the far shore at the back.

The renovation took its cues from the luxury hotels of the 1960s and 70s, which gives clean lines and strong shapes to frame a portrait against, and the infinity pool looks out over the treetops to the water, so even the pool deck has the bay in it.

Getting there

Bannisters is at 147 Soldiers Point Road, about 57 km from Newcastle by Nelson Bay Road, Port Stephens Drive and the last stretch of Soldiers Point Road, so allow about an hour.

Rooms range from studio suites to a Penthouse with its own adjoining Deck, and if you stay on site a room facing the water makes a bright place to get ready.

The venue doesn't publish where ceremonies are held on the grounds, so we'd confirm the spot with its events team and walk the distance from there to your reception before the day.

How the day runs

The water at Bannisters lies to the north and east, and that shapes the timeline. Mornings bring the sun up over the bay, so getting-ready rooms on the water side fill with light early.

In the afternoon the sun drops behind the hotel and the ridge, so the gardens fall into soft shade while the bay and the far shore stay lit, which gives portraits a bright backdrop with nobody squinting.

The sunset itself happens behind you; what we'd watch for is the colour on the water and in the eastern sky afterwards.

The hotel lists no rules about ceremony times or cameras, so those questions, and the rain plan, go to its events team well ahead.

Before your day

A few weeks out we'd walk the grounds with the Bannisters events team at the hour your vows are planned, check where the shade line falls and plan the walk down to the boardwalk.

Gardens, boardwalk and beach at Bannisters

The paperbarks and gardens
Stately paperbark trees and landscaped gardens surround the hotel. Pale, peeling trunks make a soft, textured backdrop that works in almost any light, and the canopy gives the bridal party shade on a hot afternoon.
The bayside boardwalk
A boardwalk follows the bay beside the hotel.
It keeps you right at the water on a firm surface, with the bay and the far shore behind, and it suits a slow walking portrait far better than a stiff, posed one.
The beaches beside the hotel
Two small beaches sit next to the hotel along the bay.
Calm water rather than surf means you can stand at the edge in a dress, and they give a sandy change of scene a few minutes on foot from the gardens.
The Penthouse Deck
If you've booked the Penthouse, its adjoining Deck gives a high outlook over the bay for a few frames before the ceremony, or at dusk with your closest people. We'd only use it with the booking in your name.

Bannisters Port Stephens wedding questions, answered

Will we see the sunset from Bannisters?

The hotel faces east over the bay, so the sun sets over the land at your back rather than into the water. What you get instead is the afterglow: pink and orange on the bay and the far shore, with the gardens in soft shade. We'd time the portraits around the half hour before sunset to catch it.

Where are wedding ceremonies held at Bannisters?

The venue doesn't list its ceremony spaces publicly; they're arranged through its events team. Once you know your spot, we'd stand there at your ceremony time before the day to see where the light comes from and which way your guests should face.

Can we get ready at Bannisters?

If you're staying at the hotel, yes. Rooms look out over treetops or the water, and a water-facing room catches the morning sun off the bay, which makes for bright, clean photos. The Penthouse and its Deck give more room for a bigger bridal party.

What happens if it rains on our Bannisters wedding day?

Bannisters doesn't put a rain plan on its website, so ask the events team what happens and get the answer in writing. For photos, rain turns the bay grey and silver and darkens the paperbark trunks to a rich brown, and we'd step out under clear umbrellas for a few frames whenever it eases.

Do you photograph receptions at Rick Stein at Port Stephens?

If your reception is in the hotel's restaurant, yes. We'd photograph the room set and empty before guests come in, then cover the speeches and the first dance from the edges so the night runs without interruption.

What's the drive from Newcastle to Bannisters like?

Roughly sixty minutes, most of it on Nelson Bay Road, then across through Salamander Bay to Soldiers Point Road. We aim to arrive early enough to see where the shade falls in the gardens before the ceremony starts.

Close together above the bay.

Send us your date and where you're staying at Bannisters, and we'll map the shade, the gardens and the walk down to the water.

Check your date (02) 5550 7136

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