Avoca Beach wedding photographer: Surf, lagoon and cinema
Lumenry is an Avoca Beach wedding photographer working from Cooks Hill in Newcastle. Avoca is smaller and slower than Terrigal next door: one main street, a surf club at the southern end and a lagoon that splits the sand from North Avoca, which suits couples who want a relaxed beach wedding with their guests a short walk away.
Why an Avoca Beach wedding photographer keeps the day on foot
Avoca is a village you can cover on foot in an afternoon: ocean, lagoon and a 1950s cinema each a short stroll from the surf club.
The southern end is the heart of it, with the surf club, Hunter Park and a rock pool set into the rocks under the headland.
Avoca Drive comes down to the beach past the Avoca Beach Picture Theatre, which the Hunter family opened in 1951 and which still shows films.
North along the sand, Avoca Lake sits behind the beach; most of the time a bar of sand closes its mouth and you can walk straight on to North Avoca, which has its own surf club and far fewer people.
Every one of these is close enough that a couple can walk between them while the guests have a drink.
Avoca Beach, end to end
The rock pool and southern headland
The rock pool sits right in front of the surf club, with rock walls that run into the natural shelf and the headland rising behind.
Early or late in the day, when the swimmers have gone, the still water and the rock give a clean, simple frame.
Avoca Lake
The lagoon behind the beach is calm water edged with reeds and grassy banks, a world away from the surf a hundred metres off.
It's our fallback when a gusty day makes the beach hard work, and it reaches inland to the west, so it can hold the evening glow.
North Avoca
Past the lagoon the beach carries on as North Avoca, a long stretch of sand with dunes behind and the quieter surf club at its northern end.
Fewer towels, fewer umbrellas, and room to walk a long way down the beach without anyone in the background.
Avoca Beach Picture Theatre
The theatre on Avoca Drive has been showing films since 1951, and its front gives an old seaside look that no other street on the coast has.
We photograph from the footpath outside; anything inside the theatre is a question for the family who run it.
Avoca Beach faces the open ocean to the east, so in the evening the light comes over the hills and the houses behind you, and the southern end, under the headland, goes into shade first. North Avoca keeps its sun a little longer.
Cloud is not a problem here: an overcast sky turns the surf grey and silver and takes the squint out of everyone's eyes, which suits a beach this open.
The lagoon is the one spot in the village that faces back inland, towards the setting sun.
What couples ask us about Avoca Beach
What happens at Avoca when the lagoon is open to the sea?
Every so often Avoca Lake breaks through or is opened to the ocean, and then a channel of fast water cuts the beach in two. We don't wade it in wedding clothes. If it's open on your day, we photograph each side separately and drive round to North Avoca, which takes a few minutes.
Can we have photos outside the Avoca Beach Picture Theatre?
Yes, from the footpath on Avoca Drive, and the old front is worth a few frames. If you'd like to be photographed inside, that's up to the theatre, and they have films and sessions to run, so we ask well before your date and work around their timetable.
Is the Avoca rock pool good for wedding photos?
It can be, at the right hour. In summer it's full of families until late afternoon, so we either go early in the day or wait for the evening. On a calm, low tide the water in the pool goes flat and holds the sky, which makes a quiet, simple portrait.
Is a cloudy day bad for photos at Avoca Beach?
Not at all. A grey sky gives soft, even light on faces and turns the surf a deep silver behind you, and nobody squints. Some of our favourite beach frames are made on overcast days, and we'd rather have heavy cloud than a hard midday sun.
Which end of Avoca is quieter for portraits?
North Avoca, almost always. The southern end has the surf club, the cafes and the rock pool, so that's where the crowds gather. Over the lagoon the beach is longer and emptier, and on a warm weekend that's where we'd take the two of you.
Can we marry at Avoca and fit in Terrigal photos as well?
Yes, they're only a short drive apart. Plenty of couples marry by the beach at Avoca and want the pines or the boardwalk at Terrigal too. We'd set the order by the light, Avoca's sand in the late afternoon and Terrigal's village earlier, so the drive doesn't eat into the best part of the day.
Bring on the grey sky.
Send us your date and where the reception is, and we'll plan the sand, the lagoon and the street around the tide and the crowds.
Newcastle ▸ Hunter Valley ▸ Port Stephens ▸ Central Coast