Tanilba House Wedding

By Florent Vidal Photography

A Tanilba House Wedding is for you if you’re looking for a romantic wedding venue with an air of historical elegance. Let’s show you around Tanilba House and its surroundings, and meet our couples who celebrated their special day at this much-loved wedding venue in Port Stephens.

Roxy & Josh’s Tanilba House Wedding

Roxy and Josh both worked on a boutique luxury boat and spend their time sailing around the world. When it was time to get married, they chose the historic Tanilba House to celebrate their wedding day and what a party it was!

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Lorrae & Nick’s Tanilba House Wedding

When your couple is chilled and their wedding party is so hilarious your jaw hurts from laughing so much! We don't want it any other way! Lorrae and Nick chose Tanilba House for their wedding to reflect their personalities.

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Tanilba House - A little story

How Glenn and Dee have come to own the historic Tanilba House is a story of destiny. Glenn had grown up coming to Tanilba Bay for most of his life and his parents had retired to Tanilba Bay years before. He had fantasised about owning the beautiful old house on the hill but never thought it would happen. For years, it laid empty and was looking for someone to love it. In 2017, when Glenn’s parents were selling their home and he was checking the listing online something else caught his eye.

Dee remembers that day clearly. “He rang me hyperventilating. He said, "Tanilba House is for sale!". I said yeah I know your parents are selling. He said, no THE Tanilba House! I said OMG !!! We could barely contain our excitement and immediately booked a viewing. After a few dramas along the way, we managed to buy the house and we have been loving her to bits ever since.”

What do couples love about a Tanilba House wedding?

“The term unique gets used a lot for venues but Tanilba House is a truly unique, beautiful and romantic place. It appeals to couples who want an authentic, rustic and historic setting for their wedding that is out of the ordinary, soulful and exceptional and who enjoy a combination of internal and garden spaces for their special day. Tanilba House (1831) is the oldest residence in Port Stephens, built by convicts of locally quarried stone. It has three acres of whimsical gardens and also overlooks beautiful Port Stephens, so it has lots of different features. We also have the stone Temple of the Stork rotunda at the bottom of our field, waterfront beaches a stones throw away, and a Fig Tree Cathedral area which provides stunning photography backdrops. Couples and photographers often remark that the photography options are so plentiful here that it’s hard to get around to all the many different spaces during the photo sessions!”

Find your connection

Planning a wedding is exciting but can be overwhelming. Dee has these words of wisdom for couples who are currently looking for their wedding venue. “Your venue should be somewhere beautiful that feels happy and that you feel a connection to with hosts that you are comfortable dealing with. Don't stress too much about the details because that's really not important and few will remember or appreciate those minor things. Focus mainly on what makes you and your partner happy rather than worrying about what other people think. Look for somewhere that will give you a meaningful, loving and beautiful ceremony and a joyful reception - not a big room to put on a show for others.”

Unknown Paradise

For those who haven’t been to Tanilba Bay, Dee and Glenn tell us what they love about this beautiful area and why you will fall in love with it, too if you’re planning a wedding in Port Stephens.

“The surrounding natural landscape and wildlife in the whole Tillgerry area are truly incredible. This area is an unknown paradise it seems to us! Our house is on a peninsula literally surrounded by water, beaches and stunning waterside and bush walks and we regularly see dolphins, turtles, fish jumping etc. On land, we have an abundance of birdlife including lots of kookaburras, corellas, magpies, rosellas, lorikeets owls etc. They provide incredible natural music all day long. We also have a resident koala around our house and his grunting can be regularly heard. He even makes special guest appearances at weddings on occasion.

Our suburb is quite an unspoilt nirvana and we feel so grateful to live in this beautiful place

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