By Florent Vidal Photography

Perched on the hill overlooking the waters of what the locals call ‘The Bay’, with views of Yacaabaa and Tomaree mountains on one side and bush outlooks on the other, Bannisters Port Stephens continues to create a buzz in this northern part of New South Wales especially for couples who want a barefoot luxury wedding.

Often confused with another and a much bigger town with also a ‘Port’ in its name, Port Stephens will no longer be mistaken for any other. Already a much-loved destination for family holidays and couple getaways, Bannisters Port Stephens is set to further secure Port Stephens’ position on the wedding map.

With its natural beauty and abundance of fresh local seafood, Port Stephens is an obvious continuation of the Bannisters’ story that began in Mollymook. As much as Bannisters is known for luxury accommodation and celebrated for its signature restaurant by the British celebrity chef, Rick Stein, Bannisters have also created memorable wedding experiences for countless couples.

Barefoot Luxury

Gemma Turton, events manager and wedding coordinator at Bannisters Port Stephens, welcomed us and gave us a tour of the hotel. Describing itself as ‘Barefoot Luxury’ – a quick Google search explains exactly what this term means. It’s a destination where you come to “unplug, chill out and remember what it’s all about.”

Walking into the hotel’s lobby, your eyes are immediately drawn to the effortless transition of indoor/outdoor settings with its glass floor to ceiling windows and open spaces, a Terrace Bar with an infinity pool and the calming water views beyond.

It feels luxurious without being intimidating. Gemma’s personality fits perfectly well with this setting. She’s professional yet open and warm, and with infectious enthusiasm about the hotel’s future in the wedding arena. Gemma tells us what she loves about Port Stephens.

“I love the fact that Port Stephens has beaches and seaside towns, but there’s a bit more going on with places like Newcastle and the Hunter Valley just on the doorstep, although dangerous having so many great wineries so close!”

Close to Sydney and Newcastle

The biggest advantage that Bannisters Port Stephens has is its proximity to Sydney and Newcastle airport. This advantage may just be the extra drawing card for couples when choosing a wedding destination. Not only couples and their guests can easily get to Port Stephens wherever they may be in Australia or the world, but it also means that they can also stay and explore this beautiful part of New South Wales a bit more.

Relaxed with touches of elegance

The couples that have been most interested are those who are looking for something a little more relaxed with touches of elegance. With the water being so close it means that all of our restaurants and most of our rooms within the hotel have great water views, which is a real wow factor. When you take guests up to The Deck, which has almost 360 degrees uninterrupted views, is what really sells it!

Glorious Food!

Add to this the amazing food that Bannisters have become synonymous with, couples can expect a full wedding sensory experience.

“We have two food outlets; Ricks Stein at Bannisters which is our more formal seafood restaurant and the more relaxed Terrace bar, serving modern-Australian dishes from a share-style menu. In both restaurants we can cater for sit down meals or there is the option of a Terrace BBQ, for those who want to keep things a little more casual.

Photo Locations for Bannisters Port Stephens Wedding

Bannisters Port Stephens is situated so close to many of Port Stephens picturesque locations for wedding photographs. Here we list some of our best wedding locations where we take our couples who got married at Bannisters Port Stephens.