Wonderful Wollongong Weddings

We had fun planning the wedding, and we're very grateful to all the people whose services ensured we were able to get hitched without a hitch. If you are thinking of your own wedding in the Wollongong area, you might like to investigate some of these.

Venue & Planner: Ravensthorpe House

This beautiful venue is run by Jim and Deborah McCallum. They helped us to plan the entire day: where to stand during the ceremony, when to schedule the photographs and afternoon tea, the menu, the table decorations, and a lot more besides. On the day, they prepared lunch while we all got ready, and then worked tirelessly to keep the guests and us happy. Jim even took time out from his Maitre d' duties for a bit of crooning with the band!

Ravensthorpe House itself was the perfect venue for us. The gazebo made a picturesque setting for our outdoor wedding ceremony. The house and courtyard were ideal for wandering around, nibbling afternoon tea and mingling, and the marquee was a comfortable size without feeling like a big hall. The food was fabulous. Another bonus is that the happy couple and their parents and wedding party also have the option of staying on the wedding night. There is a lovely separate bridal cottage and 4 guest rooms in the main house. It was so relaxing to wave goodbye to all our guests, have a nightcap and then wander to bed.

Ravensthorpe House does not yet have a website, but Jim and Deborah can be contacted through their restaurant, Ruby's Country Style Cuisine.

Photographer: Charles McCameron Photography

Charles was a fantastic photographer. You can see his handiwork from our wedding on our photo page - most of the photos there were taken by him. Charles's relaxed and friendly style made him a pleasure to work with and he also had some great ideas for different locations for photos. The formal photo session was very casual and surprisingly easy (especially for Joanne who is a natural poser). Charles's wedding package was also very good value compared to the other Wollongong photographers we looked at - check it out yourself at his Website.

Celebrant: Cheryl Thomson O'Grady

Cheryl helped us to organise and design our wedding ceremony. She had a lot of suggestions for readings and vows, enabling us to have just the ceremony we wanted. And she was always helpful, and brought her enthusiasm and enjoyment to the ceremony itself! She now has a website.

Band: The Southside Jazz Quartet

The Southside Jazz Quartet play a mix of music including various jazz styles and popular music. They pride themselves on their flexibility and are able to cover a number of genres. We simply discussed with them what sort of music we wanted, and they did the rest - we didn't need to set a playlist or anything. We loved the relaxed jazzy feel to their music, and so did our guests if the dancefloor was any indication! Contact Gordon Holmes on (02) 4232 3452 for more details.

Singer: Serafina Minns

Serafina played music and sang during our ceremony. She sang angelically, and accompanied herself on keyboard.

Flowers: The Flower Bud

This Wollongong florist provided the bouquets, buttonholes and corsages for the wedding party, as well as the flowers in Joanne and Cathy's hair. They were very helpful during the many consultations we had with them about the colour, style and composition of the arrangements.

Balloons: Balloons 'N Everything

The balloons were provided by Balloons 'N Everything of Wollongong. Balloons were a fantastic way of adding lots of colour to the marquee for a fraction of the price of flowers, and were a great match for our spotty theme. Balloons 'N Everything came and set it all up on the day; they had an amazing range of balloons in all shapes and sizes.