Rocklea Farm sits on 80 acres at Stonehaven, a working farm since the 1850s, sheep still grazing the paddocks today. The old woolshed has been turned into the venue’s barn space, and there’s a Main Marquee alongside it for dancing, dining and lounging. It’s one of those venues with enough space that a couple can actually walk somewhere private for ten minutes without the whole reception watching.
Brydie and James got married here on a 4pm ceremony, 120 guests, natural light and open grass as far as the eye can see. No fixed theme, as Brydie put it herself, just a day built around their own people and their own pace.
What I love about shooting here
The paddocks give real room to breathe. A lot of venues are compact, which is great for atmosphere but tricky for portraits, everyone ends up in the same three spots. Rocklea has enough open land that couples can properly get away from the crowd, and that’s usually where the best, most relaxed photos happen.
The old woolshed, now the venue’s barn, has beautiful light in the late afternoon, timber and openness, and it photographs completely differently depending on the direction you’re shooting. There’s also a genuinely striking old river gum on the property, a popular ceremony backdrop in its own right. Dave, one of the owners, also mows paths into the long grass ahead of sunset, which makes a genuine difference for anyone wanting a proper golden hour stroll without wading through knee-high grass in a wedding dress.
Dave and Glenn, who own the farm, and the rest of the Rocklea team are genuinely lovely to work with on the day. A relaxed, well-run venue makes a real difference to how a wedding day photographs, less time spent managing logistics, more time actually shooting the couple.
Photo timeline tips for Rocklea Farm
ILeave a genuine gap in your timeline for a walk out into the paddocks, the way Brydie and James did between their 4pm ceremony and 6.30pm reception. That window is where the best, most relaxed photos of the whole day usually come from.
If you’re planning a first look, Rocklea’s open paddocks give you plenty of private space to do it properly, away from guests and without anyone needing to duck behind a building. Brydie did hers with her dad before the ceremony, and it’s a genuinely lovely use of the space here.
Dog Rocks is right across the road, so if you want a different backdrop for a handful of portraits without eating up much of your timeline, a quick 20 to 30 minute trip over there is easy to fit in without pulling you away from your guests for long. Having said that, I genuinely believe you do not need to leave Rocklea Farm for another photo location once you are there.
If there’s a personal or sentimental detail you want captured on the day, tell your photographer well in advance. Brydie and James had a couple of small, meaningful things they wanted photographed quietly, and having that heads up in the questionnaire made sure nothing got missed in the rush of a 120-guest day.
Brydie and James’s day
These two met through Brydie’s work, a grain sample delivery in the middle of harvest, a year apart, and a mutual friend’s 21st birthday party where half the room turned out to be quietly playing matchmaker without either of them realising. They got engaged on a beach in Merimbula, and from Brydie’s account of that first party, they’ve been inseparable since.
Their day at Rocklea had no fixed theme and didn’t need one, just their nearest and dearest, a first look with her dad beforehand, and a ceremony that ran a tight half hour before moving into an evening that carried through to 11pm. When I asked what they’d want to be looking back on in the album years from now, James said it straight away: their first kiss. Brydie’s answer was the flower girls, her daughter and niece, walking the aisle together.
Planning a Rocklea Farm wedding? Three packages, prices published, starting at $2,500. Your full gallery is delivered within 21 days, guaranteed. If it’s late, you get a $500 credit towards an album or wall art.
