A New South Coast Wedding Venue – Greyleigh Kiama

A new wedding venue on the South Coast of NSW Australia, spilling with nostalgic romance and transportive event spaces engulfed by rolling hills and jewelled seas.

Sweet, slow mornings untangle urban hearts. Undulating hills roll into jewelled seas. Wildflower shadows dance against magenta facades. Last light brushes rustic surrounds in decadent gold. Fire cracks and dissolves into midnight skies. Lights trickle and illuminate ancient oaks. Winding pathways reveal nostalgic spaces for magical celebrations.

The ceremonies and celebrations that deeply imprint tell a story that is uniquely your own. They unfold in unpredictable spaces, extracting magic from honest and unplanned moments. They’re created in locations that offer infinite possibilities, with aesthetics that softly inform styling, but never hold on too tightly to rigidly defined layouts and flow of events.

Set across 200 acres on the dreamy NSW South Coast, a new hinterland venue has just opened its doors and invited The Lane to dream up a wedding celebration within its maze of transportive spaces. An hour and a half drive along the dreamy coastline south of Sydney, Greyleigh sits outside the quaint town of Kiama on rolling hills engulfed by the sea. A countryside venue rich with nostalgic romance but devoid of rustic cliches, this design-infused property steeped in history is the perfect blank canvas to paint as your own.

Each space is designed with magical vistas in mind – from intimate dinners amongst orchards strewn with lights, or a decadent marquee reception perched high above glittering coastlines. Hold a garden ceremony within an aisle enveloped by trees, followed by a magical reception inside The Gables – a rustic barn reimagined through an architectural lens with floor to ceiling glass windows dramatically framing an ancient Fig Tree tree, historic concrete silos transformed into modern fire places furnished with pieces by the likes of Sarah Ellison and finished with celestial details.

The Magic

Hinterland and Sea Views

A jewel that sits high within the Kiama hinterland, Greyleigh offers uninterrupted views of rolling hills engulfed by the sea. Each space is designed with vantage points in mind – from historic stone walls that frame panoramic backdrops in open-aired spaces, enchanted gardens that wrap around winding ceremonial paths in front of painterly landscapes, an architecturally designed barn with floor to ceiling windows that orchestrate views of an ancient Fig Tree.

The Dreamiest Plan B

All too often we see beautifully planned ceremonies and receptions in open-aired spaces quickly turn into poorly considered back up plans in ill-fitting spaces. Your wet weather Plan B should be just as dreamy as your first choice and Greyleigh’s purpose-built event space makes the most magical ceremony or reception location. Sheltered from wet weather, with dramatic windows that invite the exterior in, its a space that still captures the magic of the surrounds that romanced you in the first place.

Design-Infused Spaces

We love a country property, but there’s a fine line between an elegant hinterland space that spills with nostalgia and serenity, and one that all too literally says rustic farm. Greyleigh is a beautiful balance of contrast. Here, the nostalgic beauty of a rustic barn is transformed with modern architectural details. Historic concrete silos from the 1800’s (owned by the property’s original dairy farmer) are reimagined as modern cocktail lounges that wrap around modern fire places. Beautiful textural facades in tones of rust and concrete create idyllic backdrop for editorial-inspired wedding photographs, as do whimsical botanical gardens that frame pathways and lead out to blank canvas locations.

Infinite Possibilities

Greyleigh is the most beautiful blank canvas to paint as your own. As you move through the property, a plethora of hidden ceremonial and reception spaces are revealed, all diversely different to suit a range of aesthetics so no two weddings here feel the same. Enchanted garden ceremonial spaces or hillside locations feel completely secluded with the convenience of being all within a few seconds walk to the Homestead Accommodation and The Gables Reception. (And trust us, the logistical ease this makes for wedding plans and styling bump in/bump out is a dream!)

The Wedding

The Pre-Wedding Dinner

Style a dramatic dining table for pre-wedding festivities with family, stretched within Greyleigh’s orchard, lined with citrus trees. Drape ambient festoon lighting through the trees to create a ceiling of magical lights for a decadent evening under the stars.

The Morning Preparations

Spend a dreamy morning getting ready in Greyleigh’s Spa – a beautifully designed space in chalky-textural walls and elevated furnishing that makes for stunning wedding pictures. Start with an in-house massage before hair & makeup in this sweet space surrounded by lush hinterland.

The Ceremony

Hold your ceremony in Greyleigh’s Secret Garden – a naturally forming aisle formed by surrounding trees along an undulating path that dramatically winds around to an opening area surrounded by painterly countryside views of rolling hills. It’s a space that needs little to transform it – we used transparent Ghost Chairs to provide uninterrupted views and a floral installation of ethereal wildflowers.

The Aperitivo Hour

Serve post-ceremony cocktails outside the dusky-hued concrete woodfire pizza ovens, framed by historic stone walls and drink in sweeping hinterland views as dusk skies melt into the horizon. Or, set up a post-ceremony picnic on The Lawn under a 100+ year old Fig Tree with rustic picnic baskets filled with local artisanal cheeses and red wine.

“Greyleigh is the most beautiful blank canvas to paint as your own. As you move through the property, a plethora of hidden ceremonial and reception spaces are revealed.”

Greyleigh Kiama / Photo Jack Henry

Greyleigh Kiama / Photo Jack Henry

The Reception

Reimagining the concept of a rustic barn through an architectural lens, Greyleigh have created The Gables – a purpose-built, blank canvas event space for up to 200 guests that can be transformed into anything you can dream up. Inside, recycled timber lines the space, high ceilings create drama and floor to ceiling windows frame romantic country vistas of an ancient Fig Tree, while others that dot the walls give glimpses to the hinterland surrounds. Our favourite part… the two concrete silos dating back to the 1800’s that were part of the original dairy farm, which have been transformed into modern cocktail lounge areas that encircle fire pits. The fire pit spaces are beautifully designed with textural walls, undulating shapes, dramatically high ceilings accented with celestial sky lights and finished with chic furniture by the likes of Sarah Ellison.

The Gables lends to a myriad of table configuration possibilities. We love the idea of 3 dramatically long tablescapes stretched throughout the space in between dramatic wooden pillars (or forming a u-shape around the exterior with dance floor in the centre). Contrast the rustic surrounds with the romance and elegance of ambient lighting – line your tables with hundreds of individual candles, suspend sculptural blooms from the ceiling and swathe tables in textural linens that spill dramatically to the floor. We used transparent Ghost Chairs as a modern touch, but Greyleigh’s in-house bentwood chairs and beautiful linens perfectly accent the space.

The Recovery Brunch

Invite guest for poolside festivities at The Pool Cabana. Serve refreshments and woodfire pizza while taking in sweeping hinterland views on one side, views of The Gables on the other, and enveloped in whimsical wildflower gardens.

“Line your tables with hundreds of individual candles, suspend sculptural blooms from the ceiling and swathe tables in textural linens that spill dramatically to the floor.”

The Property & Accommodation

Stay onsite with your bridal party (or for an indulgent countryside vacation or honeymoon) in Greyleigh’s luxury homestead – a terracotta-hued farm house that sleeps 10 guests. The main bedroom (bridal suite) is a dreamy loft with a freestanding bath that opens out onto a sweet Juliette balcony overlooking dramatic hinterland views. The home is filled with eclectic decor – a bohemian enclave rich in decadent detailing, steeped in story and sentiment with a Private Library Room, an open fire place and a maze of little nooks and rooms that each feel private although under the same roof.

Next door, a guest house that sleeps 6 is continued in eclectic treasures, a private kitchen and lounge that opens up to an expansive lawn to take in languid country afternoons.