A PHOTOGRAPHER’S VENUE GUIDE
KURLAND
ESTATE
Kurland is a 700-hectare luxury polo estate in The Crags outside Plettenberg Bay, hosting weddings from intimate rose-garden ceremonies to polo-field marquees of around 200.
WEDDING VENUES • THE CRAGS • WEDDING VENUE • UPDATED 2026
01
WHY COUPLES CHOOSE IT
Why couples choose Kurland
Kurland is old-world glamour played on grass: five polo fields, thirty-six stables, rose gardens and a homestead that looks like it was always waiting for a wedding. Robyn & Grant’s day here ran from the roses to a marquee on the field, and the estate’s scale meant every scene had room to breathe.
Multi-day exclusive use is the way to do it, no clock, no strangers, the whole 700 hectares holding just your people.
01 / LOCATION
The Crags, Plettenberg Bay
02 / BEST FOR
30-300 (venue dependant)
03 / CEREMONY
Homestead gardens or villa front lawn
04 / WET WEATHER
Pavilion & homestead interiors
05 / STAY
Homestead sleeps up to 44 | Villa sleeps up to 16
06 / FOOD
Estate's preferred chefs & planners
07 / FROM PLETT
±20 minutes
08 / STYLE
English-countryside polo glamour
THROUGH SHARYN’S LENS
Photographing a wedding at Kurland
Polo fields are a photographer’s stage, flat, vast, mountain-rimmed, and Kurland’s give couple portraits a sense of scale few venues can. I work the roses and courtyard for the intimate frames, the stables for texture (and the occasional pony cameo), and the field at golden hour for the wides that make albums.
With multi-day bookings, I always propose a second short session, different outfit, different corner of the estate, because 700 hectares is too much story for one afternoon.
PLANNING AROUND THE LIGHT
A timeline shaped around your date.
Sunrise and sunset shift throughout the year, so there is no single perfect ceremony time at Kurland. I build each timeline around the sunset time on your actual date, the ceremony space, the weather and the open polo fields and the rose gardens’ softer corners.
MAR TO SEP
March – September
The sun sits lower and golden light arrives earlier in the afternoon. The fields catch long raking light from mid-afternoon, earlier ceremonies leave a generous marquee-to-sunset window.
OCT TO FEB
October – February
Days run long and the light stays strong late. Summer light holds late over the grass, later garden ceremonies still make the golden field session comfortably.
YOUR DATE
Your personal timeline
Once your date is confirmed, I work backwards from sunset and create a photography timeline around your ceremony, portraits and reception, with enough flexibility for weather and the unplanned moments that make the day yours.
THE RHYTHM
The shape of the day
Getting ready → Ceremony → Family photographs → Golden-hour portraits → Dinner & dancing
FLEXIBILITY
Exact times stay personal
Exact times are created for your date, never copied from a generic schedule.
ONE VENUE, MANY STORIES
Real weddings at Kurland.
Photographed by me at Kurland, the full story below.
ROBYN & GRANT
“
Polo fields are a photographer’s stage, flat, vast, mountain-rimmed, and Kurland’s give couple portraits a sense of scale few venues can.
SHARYN HODGES / PHOTOGRAPHER’S VENUE NOTES
THE PRACTICAL BITS
Plan the day, keep the feeling.
Facts to reconfirm with the venue before you book, capacities and packages change.
BEST FOR
30-300 venue dependant
CEREMONY
Homestead gardens or Villa front lawn
WET WEATHER
Pavilion & homestead interiors
FOOD
Estate's preferred chefs & planners
NEED TO KNOW
Before you book.
A photographer’s answers to the questions couples ask most often about Kurland Estate. Venue details and packages can change, so confirm the final information directly.
From intimate homestead weddings to polo-field marquees of around 30-300 guests, venue dependant.
Yes, full exclusive-use buyouts are Kurland’s signature, often across multiple days with no time constraints on the celebration.
The homestead’s suites and loft rooms plus a five-bedroom villa hold the wedding party; the spa handles the morning-of.
Thirty-six stables and five fields, polo ponies are part of the scenery, and yes, they photograph beautifully.
ALREADY IMAGINING IT?
Getting married at Kurland?
I’ve photographed Kurland’s roses-to-marquee day, if your wedding needs room to breathe and a field to dance on, this estate and I both know how.
