The church at the crossroads of Alphadale and Rous Road, known as the Church of St Peter and St Paul, was sold 2 years ago. Nothing has changed; however, the owners, Heidi and Kenny Smith haven’t been idle.

For the last 2 years, they have been talking to consultants and council about turning it into a business - as a destination wedding venue or celebration space.

The church itself is only being restored and will not be altered, except to bring it back to a strong period structure, and part of that has already been done. Touch-ups to details will be an ongoing process.

The church will be used for weddings and photos. The concept is that the congregation gather in the yard and take in the rural ambience while the wedding photos are being taken. A rustic shed is part of the plans incase of rain.

After having gone through red tape for so long, the journey has been difficult, but both are getting excited about being closer to their original plan.  

Kenny says, “Our goal was to make an amazing venue but with the authenticity of a real church. The church talks and says what it needs in a beautiful, humble, understated way. So people who want to have weddings or celebrations that way, I think it suits. 

“The people, like our goal, would be the thing that excites us. Neither of us comes from a background of weddings or events, but it's used for weddings only a couple of days a week. Then it gets to rest in between.

Kenny vocalises their passion, “It's the joys of bringing an 18th-century building into the 2025 space.”

(Heidi and Kenny arranged a smoking ceremony at the church after they bought it to cleanse the space. Image credit: Kenny Smith Photography)

Heidi speaks of the simplicity of their business plan, “Our clients will be wedding planners. We want to have very little to do with the actual logistics of planning a wedding. If clients are not near by, we might make some recommendations of who the local people in the area are to facilitate that sort of local business.

“For me, the most exciting thing is after seeing such extravagance and weddings and young people spending all this money. This will be a very affordable way for people to solidify their vows to each other, or their commitment or whatever. And it's not going to put them into debt.”

The church suits the trend of people looking for a more intimate ceremony. The Church will fit a congregation of 50, plus up to 10 people supporting the event - the wedding planner, celebrant, photographer, etc.

A coach will drop off and pick up guests, which solves the traffic issue on a busy rural corner. As the venue is not for the reception, it will not have a heavy footprint on timing and noise.

The name of the church looks like it will go back to its original name. 

Kenny says, “Going on the advice from the Heritage consultant was that, before it was the Church of St Peter and St Paul, it was called Cedar Grove Church. We're strongly considering going back to that.”

(Kenny and Heidi in front of one of the windows that was totally rebuilt. The entire church has also been restumped to provide longevity to the building)

Heidi adds, “I like Cedar Grove because it keeps it quite non-denominational. And that's essentially what we're hoping for is to welcome any type of celebration, or coming together in marriage. For me, Cedar Grove gives that feeling that it's a space for everyone, rather than a specific religious component.”

The road their path has travelled is not unlike most road conditions in the last few years. A little bumpy.  

“We bought it, knowing it wasn't heritage listed,” says Kenny, “We needed a longer settlement on it - two months. And basically, within days of it settling, a heritage listing was applied to the church.”

Heidi reflects, “We were concerned that it might extend all the timelines of what we were trying to do. We weren't looking to demolish it or change it from its original structure. So for me, the biggest concern was just the red tape and the processes of sort of just trying to get things moving. 

“It hasn't proven to be a barrier, and essentially, it's only shown that we're aligned in how we would like to preserve the building itself. We don't necessarily see it as a bad thing.”

“The extended timing has definitely been a frustrating process, but not necessarily because of the Heritage system. Council and approvals and different people that have to be involved blew out timing. 

(The plans for the church will not alter the church, only preserve it. A barn will be added to the grounds for wet weather situations. Image provided by Kenny Smith)

“I certainly didn't expect it to take two years to just get to this point, which is nothing.”

Paying a mortgage for a couple of years on a business without income was an undesired piece of the puzzle. The council application is still being processed, but they are hoping that it can’t be much longer.

Kenny is a photographer, and Heidi works in health. They are from Currumbin and have been enjoying getting to know this part of the world and its history a little more. Both Kenny and Heidi are keen to extend their knowledge.

Heidi would like to start hearing from wedding planners, to start discussing the finer points local businesses will expect. 

(Heidi and Mr Allen Davis, one of their neighbours. Mr Davis originally donated the land to the church when it was built - many members of the Davis family were married there. Allen has been very impressed with the efforts of Heidi and Kenny and their mission to preserve and promote its history. Image provided by Kenny Smith)

Kenny has thrown himself into the history of the church and the surrounding areas and would love to hear from anyone with a wedding story in particular, but who can tell Kenny more about the church's own story.

You can contact Heidi and Kenny via email: kenny@kennysmithphotography.com