A PHOTOGRAPHER’S VENUE GUIDE
OAKHURST
FARM
Oakhurst Farm is a historic working farm between George and Wilderness, hosting weekend weddings around its early-1800s stone chapel and three open-air reception areas.
WEDDING VENUES • WILDERNESS • WEDDING VENUE • UPDATED 2026
01
WHY COUPLES CHOOSE IT
Why couples choose Oakhurst
Oakhurst is the weekend-wedding farm: you don’t hire a venue, you move in. The little stone chapel, nearly two centuries old, at the end of a tree avenue, is one of the most honest ceremony spaces on the Garden Route, and the farm rolls out behind it in Outeniqua-backed green. Brittany & Brandon’s wedding here felt like a family gathering that happened to be beautifully dressed.
Self-catering by design, it hands couples control: your caterers, your bar, your weekend.
01 / LOCATION
Wilderness/ George farmland
02 / BEST FOR
Chapel ±50
03 / CEREMONY
1800s stone chapel or open-air
04 / WET WEATHER
Stretch-tent receptions
05 / STAY
52 beds, cottages & farmhouses
06 / FOOD
Own caterers (full kitchen)
07 / FROM WILDERNESS
±20 minutes
08 / STYLE
Historic weekend farm
THROUGH SHARYN’S LENS
Photographing a wedding at Oakhurst
The chapel is the jewel, thick stone, soft window light, and that avenue of trees for the walk in. I shoot the interior honestly, no tricks, because two hundred years of texture needs none. Outside, the farm gives long green wides with the Outeniquas behind, and the Isis Dam pulls reflections into the evening set.
Weekend format means I can split coverage: the golden-hour session on the day, and a relaxed next-morning farm session that couples end up loving as much as the wedding frames.
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 Oakhurst. I build each timeline around the sunset time on your actual date, the ceremony space, the weather and the chapel’s window light and the open farm’s mountain backdrop.
MAR TO SEP
March – September
The sun sits lower and golden light arrives earlier in the afternoon. The chapel’s stone glows in low afternoon sun and the farm light softens early, earlier ceremonies keep the avenue walk and dam reflections in play.
OCT TO FEB
October – February
Days run long and the light stays strong late. Long farm evenings favour later chapel starts, with portraits across the fields as the Outeniquas go blue.
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 Oakhurst.
Photographed by me at Oakhurst, the full story below.
BRITTANY & BRANDON
“
The chapel is the jewel, thick stone, soft window light, and that avenue of trees for the walk in.
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
Chapel ±50
CEREMONY
1800s stone chapel or open-air
WET WEATHER
Stretch-tent receptions
FOOD
Own caterers (full kitchen)
NEED TO KNOW
Before you book.
A photographer’s answers to the questions couples ask most often about Oakhurst Farm. Venue details and packages can change, so confirm the final information directly.
The package is a two-night farm takeover, 52 beds across cottages and farmhouses, the chapel, and three open-air reception areas.
About 50 in the historic chapel, with receptions up to roughly 120 under stretch tents.
You do, Oakhurst is self-catering with a purpose-built caterers’ kitchen, which gives couples full control of food and budget.
Yes, the stone chapel dates to the early 1800s and remains the farm’s heart; it photographs like nowhere else in the region.
ALREADY IMAGINING IT?
Getting married at Oakhurst?
I’ve photographed Oakhurst’s chapel-and-farm weekend, if you’re taking over this farm with your favourite people, I’ll make the gallery feel like the weekend did.
