YOUR COASTAL WEDDING DESTINATION MANSFIELD ESTATE

ith an impressive 600 acres, Mansfield Estate has endless options for perfect places to say ‘I do’. Offering a ceremony space for every theme including classic white wedding styles set amongst the fields, a fairytale wedding on the tranquil water's edge, or a rustic hillside ceremony for an earthy natural wedding vibe. Themed marquees can be specially set up at Mansfield Estate, or have a bohemian style wedding under the trees, salty air and sand between your toes at Grants Beach and an indoor botanical balcony overlooking forest views.

Do you want to get married with a small number of guests in a strikingly beautiful location, where the ceremony and celebration is all about the two of you? Mansfield Estate is a mesmerising destination and coastal getaway for micro weddings, elopements and intimate celebrations in New South Wales. You're welcome to choose your own celebrant, vendors, caterers, styling and props to make your day as unique as you are. Capture all the special moments with photos overlooking the gorgeous valley. At Mansfield Estate, you're spoilt for choice friends and relatives on-site at Mansfield Estate.

A luxury eco-wedding venue and accommodation located on the beautiful Mid North Coast, Mansfield Estate is a stunning blank canvas for you to create your dream wedding.

Wwith multiple function spaces and outdoor zones including seated dining for up to 95 guests in the main reception hall, stand up cocktail style wedding reception for up to 115 guests in the main reception hall or up to 150 guests in the Grand Hall, cocktail style or seated.

The gorgeous main reception space opens out to an alfresco area and outdoor bar overlooking the expansive vista and is perfect for small intimate secluded events, cocktail and canapes on the lawn, a casual outdoor bar or alfresco entertaining space for a poolside summer party.

Mansfield Estate is a mesmerising destination and coastal getaway for micro weddings, elopements and intimate celebrations in New South Wales.

The venue is the perfect holiday escape for you and your guests to enjoy the Mansfield Estate facilities, including a fully equipped commercial kitchen, alfresco dining area and fire pit area, an expansive lounge area with ocean views, swimming pool and recreation zone with half-court basketball, games room and audiovisual facilities. The 13 guest rooms capture ocean breezes with treescape views and the accommodation connects to the function venues with covered accessible pathways.

The reception spaces can easily seat an intimate or large gathering. There are two bars and relaxed areas which make the venue a unique space for you and your guests to celebrate. Food and beverage packages are available on request.

As well as the wedding venue available for your use, you can also include accommodation for up to 30 of your closest

Finally - our gift to you. We plant a tree for every couple who gets married at Mansfield Estate. The tree-planting ceremony honours the commitment you make to each other and supports our promise to protect the environment for future generations.

Contact our weddings and events team to discuss your needs today via reservations@mansfieldestate.com.au

Hi Bonnie. Thanks so much for speaking with Focus. You describe yourself as a photographer who captures love in all it’s glorious forms with a passion for weddings, lovers, elopements and families. Tell us a little about yourself and your work as a photographer?

Hey, thanks for the opportunity to chat with you and your readers. I grew up in the country, and I adored growing up on the farm, surrounded by nature and animals. This was also a time of extreme drought and hardship, and now living on the coast and enjoying a very coastal lifestyle. I love the contrast and beauty in both worlds and I find my work reflects this.

When I started my business I dabbled in everything. I soon found I preferred to work with only portraiture. At this stage most photographers tend to niche down into subcategories such as weddings, newborns etc but I just couldn’t. I found myself as a photographer making such strong connections with my clients and wanting to continue a journey with them to continue to tell their story. Instead of niching down, I chose to work within my style and approach and apply this across the board to all the genres I work in. It’s such a special thing that I am able to photograph a couple's journey from engagement to wedding, to maternity, newborn and numerous family shoots (or all the other non linear life events, no matter what order they happen in). It’s a beautiful thing and it’s never lost on me what a privilege it is to do what I do.

My work endeavors to not only capture connection, but to promote it. I think living a real authentic existence is sometimes hard to come by. A lot of the things we do are dictated by society, social media, our work and the fast pace of living in 2023.

My shoots, no matter what they are, wedding, family, couples etc. are always an invitation to slow down and focus on the gift we have in front of us, to connect with the ones we love.

My work tends to always be highly emotive, light hearted, down to earth and client centric. And in terms of style, it’s warm, a little moody, ethereal, cinematic and intimate. I work really closely with clients, to tell their story, rather than only ‘taking great photos’.

To be a great photographer these days I think you have to offer much more than just be able to take a photo. Photography is one of the most saturated markets at the moment due to its low entry level, and the fact that it’s unregulated. The thing is we all carry around a camera in our back pocket these days, so in some way we’re all photographers which is incredible. But in other ways, we all have a hammer in our garages but we don’t call ourselves builders. In this sense I feel the photography world can get a bad wrap as there’s a lot of inexperience out there and a lack of education.

When did you first develop a love of the art form that is photography and what is it you enjoy so much about the craft?

Photography was something that always came pretty naturally to me, I was always artistic and enjoyed all forms of art. It wasn’t until my later years of High School when I took on photography as a subject to support my dream of becoming a fashion designer, where I was introduced to the darkroom, alternate photographic techniques and styles and I was pretty darn hooked.

I went on to study Visual Arts and Education at Southern Cross University, Lismore, majoring in Printmaking and Photography. My work at this time explored conceptual themes and experimented with expired Polaroid films and alternate processes. It was really beautiful aesthetic work, lots of experimentation, engagement in the environment and water. I do miss this side of my work a lot and would love to get back into it. Personally, photography opens a lot of doors for me. I’m invited to witness and experience things I otherwise would never, I also get to hear people speak about their loved ones in a way sometimes they would never themselves. I really enjoy the emotive side of the work I do. But I also really love the challenges it brings, especially weddings. There’s a lot to capture, the weather is always going to do its thing and at the end of the day it’s all on you. You hold the power of how someone’s most special life altering moments will be preserved. It’s high pressure, high fun, incredible vibes and very rewarding. What type of equipment do you predominantly use?

Currently I’ve got a pretty simple system, I don’t get too bogged down in gear.

My one must is weather sealed because at shoots there’s always a 90% chance I’ll be getting wet, trekking through sand or enduring dust. And the second is dual shots, so I can shoot two cards at once, I never want to be in the position where someone's files get corrupted or go missing.

When I rock up to a shoot I’ll be wearing a holster so I’m always hands free (can help direct, style, tie bow ties on wedding days etc), strapped with 2 Canon cameras (5D MarkIV & R5), and I predominately shoot with a 35 and 50 all day long, with a few changes throughout the day. I like to keep things as light as possible, I’m on the move a lot and in all kinds of awkward positions.

Continued over...

You have already had an extremely busy 2022 capturing weddings throughout the Mid North Coast and beyond. Tell us a little about your unique approach in engaging with your subject matter?

I think it’s really important to remember that photography, especially portraiture, isn’t only about the final photo. The larger part of this equation is the experience. This starts way before the photoshoot, from the first contact your clients have with you from social media/ websites, communication, down to the shoot and the delivery of photos and/or prints, and well beyond.

I decided pretty early on that I wouldn’t be a “shoot and deliver” kind of photographer. Having an intimate connection with the people I work with is far more important to me and enriching for my life and I feel this is a pretty mutual feeling among my clients. Having this connection is how we create the art we do, it’s a total collaborative work, I couldn’t create work the way I do without the trust my clients have. I do just have the best clients!

I think you also have to have the ability to read a room. Not all shoots I do are the highly emotive kind, you have to really vibe the experience your clients want to have, and provide this for them. Family sessions are always just about the fun, kids just want to play, they don’t want to be photographed, so it’s easy, we literally just play games, laugh and hang out with mums and dads. Your style of photography seems effortless: natural, organic, warm, artistic and authentic, yet I know you are a perfectionist and your work certainly speaks for itself. You also love to tell people stories by spending time getting to know your clients. Why is this an important attribute for you before a shoot?

If I’m speaking honestly, I’m a total introvert. My camera has always been my connection to people and the wider world. It pushes my boundaries and has been my greatest teacher. I find it incredibly empowering to have the gift to capture people in a way they haven’t seen before. Being photographed puts you in such a vulnerable state, it’s up there with shark diving and public speaking. Therefore getting to know someone before being photographed is pretty vital. Any shoot I do, I will at least have a questionnaire and/or phone and we dive into some pretty deep topics. When someone already feels “seen”, there’s so much more possibility to capture them in a truer sense. Their guards have already been let down and they know you are going to hold them and take care of their memories.

How do you see your business developing and what is on the horizon for you for the new year ahead?

This year I’m hoping to get a little more balance in my life. As with many in the wedding industry, 2022 was an insane year with so many postponements from COVID still being squeezed in, it made life pretty insane.

I’m wanting to improve my client experience even more, revamp a few things, and take on a few more employees to create what I’m envisioning. What have been some of your highlights of your work looking back?

I think when I really hit my stride and found my people, there was a lot of snowball effect from there. I fell in love with the people I was working with, which brought more richness to my work, and allowed me to take bigger risks as they trusted me.

Also being a photographer who travels all over, it was unreal for me when clients started to hit the road just to be photographed by me in my hometown. That felt huge.

A highlight was definitely shooting a wedding in Uluru at the start of 2021, there was so much uncertainty with COVID still shutting borders etc. so it was just wild to have such a huge beautiful party in the middle of Australia.

Away from the camera where would we find you spending your own time?

Tending to my 100’s of house plants (I thought they were cool before the COVID popularity hit haha), or in my garden trying to rescue it from the last 18 months of neglect due to having severe morning sickness and the arrival of my daughter last year.

A lot of my time off is family time. After the arrival of my daughter last April, it’s been a whirlwind. It wasn’t a smooth birth and we spent the first few weeks in hospital with her. I took very little time off after her arrival and I hit the road working with her fairly early. So when I’m not working, it’s definitely a lot of quality family time, heading to our local river, beach or cafe. I know how fast this first year goes, so I’m just soaking all our firsts up. For people wanting to find out more about your work or engage your services, how can they best connect with you?

Instagram is always an easy connection, I’m there a lot @lillyatdawn or my website www.lillyatdawn.com.

Thanks Bonnie. Interview: Sarah Baker.