Wallingford Homestead Photoshoot

Wallingford Homestead is purported to be the largest single story dwelling in the southern hemisphere. Whether or not it remains to be, Wallingford is definitely big on romance and delivers a sense of solitude you can only appreciate while walking the meticulous manicured gardens or rambling corridors. I was lucky enough to call this house home for several months while transitioning from life in Canada to life in New Zealand and not a day went by without finding this place awe-inspiring.

Surrounded by rolling hills, hundred year old oaks and native forests, Wallingford offers a sense of peace and solitude you can only attain deep in the wilderness. But the moment you fill the house with people the mood changes and the walls begin the radiate the electric vibe of the people that fill it. When the crowd becomes too much, there are always little nooks of solitude to recharge. These nooks are what makes Wallingford so special to me.

The House itself is terribly hard to photograph due to it’s size and shape, but this give the house an incredibly unique atmosphere that goes on seemingly forever. My partner grew up in this house, and I could only imagine that sensation of forever accentuated by the imagination. There’s always a spot to seek solitude and you can expect to spend hours wandering aimlessly amongst the gardens.

I can understand why the Homestead has become a popular wedding venue. The love and care put into maintaining the house and garden is prevalent at first glance. Jenny Ormond, the lady of the house, is meticulous with crafting that romantic atmosphere, the scents the sounds the colours are all accounted for and pieced together magically.