Aug 27, 2024
Bonnie and George preceeded their Cutler and Co wedding with a Burnley Gardens wedding ceremony, hidden in the heart of Melbourne along the banks of the Yarra River.
Dress Designer: Caroline Castigliano via BlueBell Bridal
Suit: P Johnson Tailors
Planning & Styling: The Farmers Daughter and The Small Things Co
Florist: Blonde Florals
Venue: Cutler & Co
Music: Hey Jack
Celebrant: Georgia Mills
Bride Jewellery: Olivia Bond Diamonds
Groom Ring: Sarah & Sebastian
Make Up for Bridal Party: DMV Makeup Artistry
Hair: Liberty & Frank
Wedding Cake: Miss Trixie Drinks Tea
Stationery: Ardently Yours
If you’re after a wedding venue that feels like a secret garden tucked away in the middle of Melbourne, Burnley Gardens might just be the spot for you. Situated along the banks of the Yarra, this beautiful and historic garden space is perfect for couples looking to tie the knot amidst nature without having to leave the city. Whether you’re envisioning an intimate ceremony or a larger celebration, Burnley Gardens offers an incredible backdrop that Melbourne couples will love.
Burnley Gardens isn’t your standard, manicured park. It’s a lush, thriving garden filled with all sorts of native and exotic plants, making it an ideal location for couples who want their wedding to have a more organic, natural feel. With over 150 years of history, it’s a place that holds a bit of magic, offering peace and tranquillity while still being only a stone’s throw from the bustling inner suburbs.
Unlike more commercial wedding venues, Burnley Gardens feels like you’ve stumbled upon a hidden gem. The gardens are part of the University of Melbourne’s Burnley Campus, meaning they’re maintained by some of the country’s best horticulturists. This level of care shows in the greenery that surrounds you – there’s always something in bloom, and the layout offers plenty of secluded spots perfect for romantic moments or quiet reflection.
For couples considering Burnley Gardens, one of the highlights is the variety of ceremony spaces available. Whether you want to say your vows beneath towering trees, near picturesque water features, or in a more open grassy area, there’s something for every style. The garden’s different nooks allow you to create an atmosphere that feels entirely your own. You can choose a spot that suits your guest size, from intimate gatherings to larger parties of around 120 people.
Burnley Gardens offers a solid mix of both charm and practicality. There’s ample parking on site, and it’s easily accessible for guests coming from all corners of Melbourne. The gardens also provide plenty of options for photo opportunities without having to relocate – meaning more time spent celebrating and less time traveling between spots.
One important thing to note is that Burnley Gardens is an outdoor venue. While Melbourne’s weather is famous for being unpredictable, there are plenty of sheltered areas to keep in mind in case the skies decide to turn. But if you’re a Melbourne local, you already know that a little rain never stops a good time.
One of the best things about choosing Burnley Gardens for your wedding is the flexibility it offers in styling. Whether you want to bring in a marquee, set up an outdoor lounge area, or simply let the natural beauty of the space shine, there’s plenty of room to make the venue your own. The gardens also give you a blank canvas for your photography – from dramatic shots amongst the trees to softer moments in the flowerbeds. The key is working with the landscape, allowing it to complement your wedding style.
If you’re dreaming of an outdoor ceremony but want to move indoors for the reception, Burnley Gardens is conveniently located near several reception venues that will make the transition seamless. Options range from stylish, urban venues to more casual pub-style spots, offering something for every vibe. Richmond, Hawthorn, and South Yarra are just around the corner, so you’re never far from a fantastic spot to kick on and keep the celebrations going.
Before diving headfirst into planning, there are a few key details to consider. Being a public garden, Burnley Gardens operates with specific booking policies and restrictions, particularly around alcohol and noise levels. It’s worth having a chat with the University of Melbourne’s events team early in the process to make sure all your bases are covered. That said, the team is incredibly helpful and will guide you through any restrictions to ensure your day runs smoothly.
Your photographer is going to love Burnley Gardens. The mix of formal and informal garden areas, coupled with the varied topography, means there’s no shortage of great locations for wedding shots. Whether you’re looking for candid moments or more dramatic poses, Burnley Gardens delivers on both fronts. The natural light filtering through the trees creates a soft, romantic glow, making those golden hour shots something truly special.
If you’re thinking about booking Burnley Gardens for your wedding, your best bet is to contact the University of Melbourne’s events team. They manage all venue hire requests and can provide all the necessary details about pricing, availability, and any other specifics you might need to know. They’re also great at answering any logistical questions you might have, ensuring your day at Burnley Gardens is nothing short of perfect.
Choosing Burnley Gardens for your wedding means embracing the beauty of nature right in the heart of Melbourne. It’s a space that offers both serenity and a touch of whimsy – perfect for couples looking to create something special on their wedding day.
Aug 6, 2024
Maybe the hottest intimate venue in Collingwood at the moment, from the folks that brought us Rice Paper Scissors comes Aunty Kim. We photographed their launch campaign, creating a suite of images that showcased their multitudes across all things decadent, intimate, and anarchic. Scroll on to see what an Aunty Kims wedding could look like, whether your pals are one tenth this majestic or not.
Ah, weddings. The ultimate celebration of love, commitment, and passive-aggressive seating arrangements. If you’re planning to plunge into the joyous abyss of matrimony, Aunty Kims has you sussed. Nestled in the heart of this hipster haven, Aunty Kim’s offers a unique blend of charm, whimsy, and just a hint of productive existential dread.
Imagine a place where romance meets the macabre, where love isn’t sugar-coated but rather dipped in the rich, dark chocolate of reality. Aunty Kim’s isn’t your typical wedding venue; it’s a gothic dreamscape where “till death do us part” feels less like a promise and more like a forecast.
The Aunty Kims venue itself is a testament to neo-gothic splendor (see also this Cutler and Co wedding), reminiscent of an era when petticoats were in vogue and tuberculosis was a romantic plot twist. High, vaulted ceilings loom like the shadow of an impending in-law visit, casting playful yet haunting shadows that flicker with the light of a thousand candles. The walls are adorned with Victorian-era portraits whose eyes follow you like judgmental aunts at a family reunion, reminding you that every choice you make is being scrutinized by the ghost of Christmas past.
But let’s not forget the food, a symphony of flavors conducted by a culinary maestro who has a penchant for the poetic. The menu at Aunty Kim’s is a veritable feast for both the palate and the soul, and each dish is paired with wines so introspective, they could double as your therapist, and so divine it could make a nihilist believe in love
The staff at Aunty Kim’s are not just employees; they are performers in this grand yet intimate opera. They glide through the venue like specters, attending to every detail with the precision of a Poe protagonist. Need a candle lit? Consider it done with a flourish. Want the organist to play “The Funeral March” as you walk down the aisle? They’re already tuning up.
What truly sets Aunty Kim’s apart is its dedication to crafting an unforgettable experience, tailor-made for those who see the beauty in the shadows. The venue offers customizable packages, allowing you to infuse your special day with personal touches. Fancy releasing a murder of crows instead of doves? They’ve got you covered. How about a photo booth that doubles as a Victorian mourning parlor? Your wish is their command.
A wedding at Aunty Kim’s is not just an event; it’s a declaration, a sonnet to the duality of love and life. If you’re ready to embrace the beautifully macabre and step into the darkly delightful, Aunty Kim’s Wedding Venue in Collingwood is the perfect place to say, “I do… until death do us part.”
Make a photography enquiry for your Aunty Kims wedding: https://briarsatlas.com/info-couples or if you love all things Kodak and questionable object engineering, book us as your film wedding photographer.
Aunty Kims wedding website: https://auntykims.com/
See this Cumulus Up wedding of Sharni and Michael, photographed entirely on Kodak film in Melbourne, this Rupert on Rupert wedding of Liv and Dave, and the Higher Ground wedding of Samantha and Michael. For another venue similar in scale but with a slightly brighter twist, Spring St Events have you sorted, so check this Recoleta wedding in Melbourne from them. Or give a good old scan to this list of Unique Wedding Venues in Melbourne.
Aug 6, 2024
Melbourne is full to the brim with interesting, quirky, and Unique Wedding Venues to appeal to every design sensibility under the sun. Our city is kinda like an egg – ask 5 people for their favourite way to consume it, and you’ll get 4 different answers (and one, probably the 35mm film wedding photographer, who’d prefer a nut-based alternative). So if anywhere is gonna be able to cater to a wild range of vibes within a small radius, it’s Melbourne.
This is a list for folks with alternative and unique, fashion forward sensibilities (head this way if you’re specifically looking for small wedding venues in Melbourne, also included are some more brilliant art deco reception venues).
When we made this list, we essentially made it for ourselves: there’s plenty of lists on regular wedding venues out there, but these are the best wedding venues in Melbourne that have a little bit of sass and quirk to them, and cover a range of wedding venue styles, from industrial warehouse, to art deco: these are wedding venues for large weddings, small weddings, and everything in between.
What do an obscure German electronic artist, experiential-theatre zombie-apocalypse, and majestic high-end wedding all have in common? They all found a home at the unique, towering Substation in Newport – in no small way thanks to a philanthropic strategy of intertwinement with the local & international arts community.
The Substation has this classic “we’ve just casually repurposed an industrial Brooklyn warehouse” vibe written all over it, with staggering floor-to-ceiling windows (this criteria would be less staggering if, for example, the windows were in a hobbit-sized home but we’re talking a less vertically-challenged structure here), red statement curtains, and one end lined with more secret little rooms than you can poke a stick at.
Reminds us a little of this Jam Handy wedding in Detroit, Michigan.
With plenty of space to spare both in the main atrium and the rooms below, Melbournes unique wedding venue queen Newport Substation can be mapped to nearly any configuration, including any furniture layout you can imagine, and an on-site burrito stand for guests to tuck into (or the most epic grazing table you can imagine).
Set up a band in one corner, quirky photobooth in the other, hire a leading progressive Melbourne wedding florist like Good Grace & Humour or Georgie Boy to dress up another end with an impossibly wild installation (or leave it in all it’s all bare glory), and you’ve got a space that’ll be on the tips of the guests tongues for weeks. After they recover from their hangovers.
Check out Nicole and Dan’s incredible unique wedding at Newport Substation. One of my favourite things about Newport Substation, not to take away anything from it as a brilliant Melbourne venue, is that it takes us back to any number of the incredible and enormous New York Warehouse venues i’ve had the good fortune of being in.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Newport Substation website: www.thesubstation.org.au
Newport Substation wedding gallery: Nicole & Dan
Venue size: Enormous. 250 seated, 300 cocktail
In a short amount of time, Rupert has become one of the most popular wedding venues Melbourne has on offer.
Rupert is kinda like the Tesla flying in outer space with an astronaut next to it and David Bowie blaring from the stereo as it flies towards Jupiter: it probably shouldn’t exist at all, much less where it does, but – it does.
And thankful for it existing, we are. Separated into a Main Dining Hall, Conservatory, and Cocktail Lounge, alternative wedding venue in Melbourne king Rupert on Rupert takes the crown for classic modern New York bar vibes in Melbourne, and wouldn’t be out of place in any of the more recently gentrified areas of inner-Brooklyn: which is also code-word for gorgeously designed, thoughtfully laid out, with a level of subtle considered genius by a design team that makes the space grow on you like the third album from that previously favourite artist of yours.
Geographically tucked neatly away into the “local knowledge” category, pop into the unique Rupert on Rupert on a weekend, and it’s jam-packed with folks who know it’s one of the most unique venues Melbourne has to offer with it’s incredible food and quirky interiors in a classy casual setting.
Rupert on Rupert has three thoughtfully designed areas, each of which can be repurposed as you need, and the menu is produced by a crack-team of friendly maestros who can cater incredibly for vegetarians and vegans alike (I know, because I was guest at an incredible vegan wedding there of a dear mate).
I’m not saying to just get Aunt Jenny on her iPad taking the photos for the day, but I will say that with every inch of the interior so thoughtfully considered at Rupert on Rupert, you could probably point your 2002 Nokia at the urinal and still get an incredible image.
But don’t do that, because it’s extraordinarily weird that you’re still using that phone.
For more inspiration check out Liv and Dave’s Rupert on Rupert Wedding. If you’re going to hire out such an iconic space, also be sure to bring a Melbourne wedding videographer along for the ride.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Rupert on Rupert website: www.rupertonrupert.com.au
Rupert on Rupert wedding gallery: Liv and Daves Rupert on Rupert wedding
Venue size: Cosy & compartmentalised. (85 seated, 220 cocktail)
South Melbourne’s Half Acre, helmed by the catering mad-hatters at Food and Desire, is a giant secret dropped right in the middle of the wide streets of South Melbourne. Occupying a corner of the suburb that mostly is home to industry, it is – apart from the majestic cacophany of matrimony on a weekend – a gloriously quiet dead-zone of a weekend.
In line with this play on contrasts, it’s actually pretty near impossible to tell what the hell the place even is, unless you’re in the know, or a loaded up wedding guest finds themselves playing horizontal on the nature strip outside.
With all the new wedding venues Melbourne has on offer, Half Acre are a giant, well-oiled diamond (if that’s a thing). Half Acre itself was previously an industrial complex, and retains a lot of that gritty charm in it’s warehouse interior. Half Acre is split into several different areas, giving an enormous range of opportunity for a smaller ceremony indoors, over to their large, high-roofed reception hall.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Half Acre website: https://www.halfacre.com.au/
Half Acre Wedding gallery: Food and Desire
Venue size: Seated: 264, Cocktail: 400
The grand-master of unique, alternative wedding venues in Melbourne. Beer-soaked carpets, wistful homages to Dave the hot bassist etched into the bathroom walls, and the shady corner where your insouciant friend got lucky.
These are a few things that you definitely won’t find at Panama Dining room anymore.
When stepping into this cavernous room filled with giant arch windows you might be forgiven that in it’s past-life as a music venue (Melbourne music photographer, for said sonic wall-painters) in the heartland of the pub-scene, the majestic gateways of Panama Dining Room looking into and around the city were completely covered up.
Since being exposed in all their glory, Panama Dining Room has staked its claim as one of Melbournes best open-bar, dining-hybrid venues, and if you gently squint, it’s easy to imagine yourself in the warehouse-loft of a pre-crash Wall St tycoon in the 80s.
So squint, dear friend, bring that cigar to the lips, and inhale that sweet, sweet smell of pre-2007 venue tobacco laws, while you imagine yourself in that steamy machine of systemic exploitation known as wall st.
Fortunately for those of the stamina variety, Panama did carry one little thing over from it’s days as a live music venue: a 1am liquor license.
So party on, dear aspirational Gordon Gecko.
The Panama Dining Room is located in the heart of Smith St, which places it in beautiful proximity to some of the most iconic and historical parts of Melbournes oldest suburb, Fitzroy. That puts it at arms length away from an incredible lot of great portrait opportunities that can be had even with just a quick little sprint away from the Panama.
See the Panama Dining Room wedding of Amanda and James.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Panama Dining Room website: www.thepanama.com.au
Venue size: 160 guests seated, 220 standing
Wedding Venue Location: Melbourne CBD
Bookworms by day, dancefloor worms by night: State Library Victoria is the poster-child for a venues ability to play Jekyll, Hyde, and all their far-removed cousins, and might just be our cities most slumbering giant gem.
There’s much to be said for nostalgia. It is after all, the reason why we fought tooth and nail for an (ill-fated, but I digress) Hey Hey it’s Saturday revival wayback when, and why the the whiff of a can of Lynx can suddenly remove two decades of time and space for those in the mid-30’s bracket.
The savvy folk at Showtime events and caretakers of State Library Victoria know the value of nostalgia, and so they know that once the lukewarm memories of higher education and it’s study pressures have faded into memory, there’s nothing more appealing than inhaling an Espresso Martini and double-stack of canapes in one of the worlds most extravagantly beautiful study halls.
Enter the unusual wedding venue, State Library Victoria.
Thankfully to the mad hatters at SLV, there are a total of five separate, incredibly distinct spaces in which to host your wedding, that can cater from the intimate to over 500 guests. So whether you’ve spent your days as a cave dwelling misanthrope or have as many friends as Tom from Myspace, you’re probably covered.
The lay of the land at State Library Victoria starts at the obviously decadent La Trobe Reading Room, throws a curveball of art via the Cowen Gallery, and ends at the recently revitalised Ian Potter Queens Hall, with the glorious North Rotunda and Isabelle Fraser room in between, taking the crown as one of the more unusual wedding venues we have going.
The State Library of Victoria, as well as having a variety of rooms that would be the envy of a Labrynth-trotting Bowie, is smack in the heart of the CBD – lending itself to plenty of beautiful portrait opportunities, classic Melbourne laneways and beyond, and is one of the more left of centre alternative wedding venues in Melbourne.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
State Library of Victoria website: https://venues.slv.vic.gov.au/wedding/
Venue size:
Isabelle Fraser Room: 156 Banquet 220 Cocktail
Ian Potter Queens Hall: 290 Banquet 500 Cocktail
La Trobe Reading Room: 520 Cocktail
North Rotunda: 60 Banquet 90 Cocktail
Cowen Gallery: 220 Banquet 350 Cocktail
Wedding Venue Location: Melbourne CBD
Longsong is what happens when a collective of design-centred mavens pair with culinary master David Moyle, and point their magic towards an historic old Melbourne horse stable in the middle of chinatown.
Majestic tall ceilings, a wave of paper lanterns above and original brick floors from this converted 1900s space, JCB Architects added another space to a growing list of venues in Melbourne keeping as many sympathetic roots to the original uses of the structure as possible, while allowing it to stand alone as progressive and stylish. Add a dash of quirky photographic genius on entry and you have yourselves one serve of Longsong.
Longsong is the benchmark in subtle, sprawling classy alternative vibes in Melbourne, with a 2-tier open space that lets you know exactly what it’s all about as soon as you walk in.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Longsong website: https://longrainmelbourne.com/
Longsong Wedding Gallery: Together Journal
Venue size: Up to 200 people
Wedding Venue Location: West Melbourne
Gather and Tailor takes an old inner-city warehouse, and puts it in the hands of the genius, quirky captains of wedding hospitality, Nudo.
5km out of the CBD, smack-against a bunch of shipping containers and an old-school automotive garage, it initially feels like you aren’t quite allowed to have all that room and calm all to yourself – but then you lean into it, and in return are gifted with one of the most unassumingly mighty warehouse experiences in Melbourne, and a small nod to a classic New York warehouse.
With the seasoned hands of the Nudo team and their hospitality empire at your fingertips, Gather and Tailor is a modular set of spaces, and the perfect blank canvas where you can call in as much or as little of the in-house styling as you need.
Check out Ash and Karan’s glorious Gather and Tailor wedding, at one of my favourite wedding venues near me.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Gather & Tailor website: www.gatherandtailor.com.au
Gather & Tailor wedding gallery: Gather and Tailor wedding
Venue size: Pretty damn big, mate. 300 seated, 450 standing (Across two physical spaces).
The Deck at Circa is nested on the rooftop of the Prince Hotel, in sun-drenched St Kilda. The Deck itself is an expansive, as you’d imagine, deck, with a large covered interior space, and access to some of the other incredible events and wedding spaces inside the Prince Hotel.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
The Deck website: https://theprince.com.au/
The Deck wedding gallery: The Deck Circa Wedding
Venue size: Sit down – 120 guests. Cocktail – 500 guests
Quat Quatta contains some of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful interiors and exteriors around (check out Burnham Beeches for another), and the breadth of portrait opportunities on-site both inside and outside are unbeatable. A festooned outdoor area makes for a glorious intimate ceremony space, before the party is carried inside, making the combination of these things raise Quat Quatta as one of the most incredibly unique art deco wedding venues Melbourne has going.
But, let’s just hold off on all the adjectives and hyperbole for a hot damn minute, though: because something about this venue in particular isn’t talked about nearly enough: the bridal suites.
These old heritage rooms at the wings of Quat Quatta, apart from being a pretty splendid place to get all that bridal-suite stuff done (application of bandaids, eating of cupcakes, necking of champagne, and whatever else goes on in there), are totally gorgeous and a way under-appreciated part of the venues makeup, and one of my favourite areas of the building to take portraits on the day.
If art deco is your vibe, Quat Quatta is a place of wild charm and a more traditional-looking outpost that holds more than it’s own with plenty of variety. Check out this Quat Quatta wedding for a lay of the land. One of the most majestic art deco reception venues Melbourne has on offer.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Quat Quatta website: www.quatquatta.com.au
Quat Quatta wedding gallery: Quat Quatta wedding
Venue size: Pretty big, mate. 300 seated, 450 standing (Across two physical spaces)
One of the most popular wedding venues Melbourne has going, Luminare is a wedding venue in Victoria that has become something of a go-to for all things lush and grand, and I find that folks who are drawn to Luminare are also drawn to The Deck (up above) and The George Ballroom (further down this page).
Luminare is a giant, high-roofed events and wedding space, with an enormous deck that runs the full length of the floor, set against their iconic view of the city. This boutique wedding venue is located just a stones throw from the Melbourne CBD, and for folks considering Metropolis Events, this is a brilliant alternative with a similar feel, and including unmatched views of Melbourne via it’s rooftop.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Luminare website: https://luminare.net.au/
Luminare Wedding gallery: Luminare Wedding
Venue size: 250 guests seated, 500 guests cocktail
Brunswick mess hall is one of the more unique, casual wedding venues Melbourne has to offer, with a warehouse vibe set in the heart of Brunswick. Somewhat akin in functionality to it’s spiritual cousin Revolver in Prahran, the Brunswick Mess Hall is a restaurant by day, and party-space by night when a wedding is on. Minus the next new thing in electro-dubstep resetting everyones resting heart-rate, or coke-buzzed charlitans in the urinal offering you the key to manifesting abundance.
Brunswick Mess Hall has some of the most gorgeous natural light coming through later in the day, and some brilliant portrait locations in the surrounding streets that make a quick quest out into this quirky neighbourhood at sunset deliver an abundance of opportunities without dragging you away from the party for too long.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Brunswick Mess Hall website: https://thebrunswickmesshall.com.au/
Brunswick Mess Hall Wedding Gallery: On Polka Dot Bride
Venue size: 130 guests seated, 200 guests cocktail
Fortyfive Downstairs is Melbournes best Art Gallery Wedding Venue, and one of the most unique venues Melbourne has on offer. At first glance, for the parents out there, it might bring up the hairs on the back of the neck in the same way that letting toddlers loose around fine china does, but the reality of the space is quite the opposite.
Fortyfive Downstairs is a warming, welcoming space with unique beautiful rotating art on it’s walls, sat a few floors up from it’s incredible, cavernous warehouse space in the basement. See more of this event space at Callum and Jarrods wedding planned by Tori Allen Events, as well as the Cumulus Inc wedding of Sharni and Michael.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Fortyfive Downstairs website: https://www.fortyfivedownstairs.com/
Fortyfive Downstairs Wedding Gallery: Fortyfive Downstairs wedding
Venue size: 160 guests seated, 300 guests cocktail
Glasshaus has two distinct wedding event spaces: Glasshaus Inside, and Glasshaus Outside.
Fun fact: Glasshaus inside has an outside outside of Inside’s inside, and inside Glasshaus Outside Glasshaus Inside could probably fit.
Etc.
Glasshaus is something of a beautiful aviary in a jungle, and nearly tucked inside a front that doesn’t lend you any idea of it being there. A brilliantly unique wedding venue just a stones throw from the city.
Glasshaus Inside is a warehouse jungle, and no other descriptors will do any justice to the space. If you’re looking for venues similar to Rupert on Rupert, this is the answer south of the river.
See more at this Glasshaus Wedding, and the Walsh St House wedding of Cassie and Sam.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Glasshaus website: https://www.fortyfivedownstairs.com/
Venue size: 88 guests seated, 125 guests cocktail
The George Ballroom is one of the most decadent wedding venues going, and a brilliant example of just how incredible and modular a single room can be. Iconic textured, distressed walls and fixtures, and much like Rupert, the kind of place you can just point a phone camera at in any direction and come out with art. This unique wedding venue is in St Kilda, just a short jaunt from the Melbourne CBD.
See the George Ballroom Wedding photos of Patti and Chris.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
The George Ballroom website: https://www.thegeorgeballroom.com.au/
Venue size: 150 guests seated, 200 guests cocktail
Before pandemics and global disarray, The Altar Electric were ahead of the curve before flattening it was a thing, serving up small (see here for why small wedding venues are the best), funky, intimate weddings in their brilliant chapel in Collingwood, designed by the genius event and wedding stylists over at Good Day Club. There are always new wedding venues Melbourne has popping up, but these folk stand out from the rest, and Altar Electric takes the crown as one of the more unusual, alternative wedding venues in town.
The Altar Electric is a wedding chapel for three kinds of folks:
1 – Couples who were probably going to book a registry wedding, but wanted a little bit more sass to the occasion (and still prefer to find more reasonably priced wedding venues)
2 – Couples who want Australias answer to the Vegas Chapel wedding
3 – Couples who want to get in, get it done in an incredible and colourful way, and get out into enjoying their day together around Fitzroy and Collingwood
The Altar Electric is one of the most unique venues Melbourne has going and one of the most amazing places to get married in Melbourne, providing everything from intimate shotgun weddings, all the way up to options for a larger number of guests inside the peach-toned walls of their tiny chapel.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
The Altar Electric website: https://www.thealtarelectric.com.au/
The Altar Electric Wedding Gallery: The Altar Electric Wedding
Venue size: 30, to up to 70 if the outside area is used
I had to include this one for all the Lord of the Rings fans out there. This doesn’t quite fit the bill for Melbourne, as it’s just outside of it, but is something of a secret wedding venue worth checking out, and one of the best places to get married in Victoria.
Before I give the exact location as a potential turn-off, it’s worth saying that if you can stomach sitting in traffic on Punt Rd for an hour to move just 150 metres, then you can also put up with making your way over to Geelong to this beauty, and there’s no trip more worthy than to see this incredibly unique wedding venue just a short haul from Melbourne.
I still believe Fyansford Paper Mill is one of our real undiscovered gems that should be right at the top of any wedding venue consideration inside Victoria, and unfortunately it’s even tough to get a sense of how brilliant this place is from a proper google search, you almost have to just roll up and see it for yourself.
Cavernous interior, split into two distinct spaces joined by what is an iconic archway in between them, it’s impossible to think this place exists just a short roadie out of the city.
Fyansford Paper Mill – otherwise known ever so romantically as Site 3A – is run by prolific caterers and party-starters Truffleduck.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
Fyansford Paper Mill Website: Truffleduck
Fyansford Paper Mill Wedding Gallery: Fyansford Paper Mill Wedding
Provenance Wines wedding gallery: Provenance Wines wedding
Venue size: 30, to up to 70 if the outside area is used
The Line in Footscray takes all the grit, texture, and industrial charm of recently gentrifying Footscray and… leaves all it the hell alone.
Perfect.
Just as every developer with a string of graduate architects are discovering Fisher and Paykel My First Geometry lessons on exterior cladding in the suburb, the folks at The Line have kept the original spirit of the area alive in this rough around the edges gem of a space, and it’s one of the most moody wedding venues near us as westsiders.
The Line is a blank-canvas wedding venue, and you know you’re in good hands when the venue is run by a team that also see their space used regularly for community, arts, and market events, which is something of a rarity.
To see The Line in action, pick yourself up a copy of the September 2020 edition of Hello May, where you can see the gorgeous and colourful celebration of Pepe and Sam gracing it’s pages with this unique wedding venue set as their brilliant canvas.
Enquire about their Melbourne Wedding Packages
The Line Website: https://www.theline.melbourne/
The Line Wedding Gallery: Hello May Wedding Photographer
Venue size: Up to 200 people
An ambitious undertaking from the Nomad group, Reine and La Rue lives inside an iconic neo-gothic structure on Collins St, and you can expect to walk in to the cavernous cathedral room of Reine, and inside that find La Rue, an 8-seater speakesy nested inside.
Enquire about Reine and La Rue Melbourne Wedding Packages
Reine and La Rue Website: https://reineandlarue.melbourne/
Reine and La Rue Wedding Gallery: Reine and La Rue Wedding
Venue size: Up to 300 people
Overseen by the Spring St events group, Recolata is one of Melbournes more iconic venue spaces that straddles the line between luxurious and rustic with a delightful sense of flair. You’d be rude not to bring along the ethereal sounds of the worlds best wedding music duo, Tobi Tobi music, along for the ride. Don’t be rude, now.
Enquire about Recoleta Melbourne Wedding Packages
RecoletaWebsite: https://springstreetevents.com.au/recoleta/
Recoleta Wedding Gallery: Recoleta Wedding
Venue size: Up to 100 people
A mainstay of Melbournes cafe and venue scene now for some time, Higher Ground is a simply majestic heritage venue, not unlike the giant warehouse venues of New York. Also, it would be rude not to begin a Higher ground wedding at the Hotel Windsor.
Enquire about Higher Ground Wedding Packages
Higher Ground Website: https://highergroundmelbourne.com.au/
Higher Ground Wedding Gallery: Higher Ground wedding
Venue size: Up to 300 people
Art lovers or not, the Great Hall at the National Gallery of Victoria is pretty out of this world. Can you tell we’ve run out of oratory genuflections by now? It’s really great, you should hire it.
Enquire about NGV Wedding Packages
National Gallery of Victoria Website: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/functions/weddings/
National Gallery of Victoria Wedding Gallery: National Gallery of Victoria wedding
Venue size: Up to 400 people
Robin Boyds Walsh St House is Melbourne’s own mid century wedding venue. If you know Boyd, then you know all there is to know, and this might take the crown as being one of the most unique wedding venues in Melbourne. Scroll down for a full wedding we photographed here.
Enquire about Walsh St House Wedding Packages
Walsh St House Website: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/functions/weddings/
Walsh St House Wedding Gallery: Walsh St House wedding
Venue size: Up to 100 people
Fresh from the hands of the eminent culinary crew that brought everyone Rice Paper Scissors, comes this decadent, moody venue in the heart of Collingwood. We photographed their campaign imagery, so scroll down to see all the goodness inside one of the most unique wedding venues in Melbourne.
Enquire about Aunty Kims Wedding Packages
Aunty Kims Website: https://auntykims.com/
Aunty Kims Wedding Gallery: Aunty Kims wedding
Venue size: Up to 120 people
More Collingwood than a murder of Magpies, Cutler and Co has been a part of the local wallpaper long enough to be an institution, and one of the most unique wedding venues in Melbourne.
Enquire about Cutler & Co Wedding Packages
Cutler & Co Website: https://www.cutlerandco.com.au/
Cutler & Co Wedding Gallery: Cutler and Co Wedding
Venue size: Up to 120 people
File this one under “pure Australiana”, and kick it off at a local pub while you’re at it.
Enquire about House of Plants Wedding Packages
House of Plants Website: https://www.houseofplants.co/
House of Plants Wedding Gallery: House of Plants Wedding
Venue size: Up to 120 people
Our personal favourites from the venues listed on this page are Rupert on Rupert, Quat Quatta and Newport Substation.
Most of the wedding venues on this page are indoor, so if you’re looking for the best outdoor wedding venue, we recommend checking out this list of the best parks for weddings.
Our vote goes to Stones of the Yarra Valley. While you’re here, check out this planning guide for Yarra Valley Weddings.
For inexpensive weddings, it’s hard to go past the all-inclusive planning team at I Do Drive Thru who can host your intimate wedding in a park, venue, or anywhere you can think of.
The best accommodation for the night of your Melbourne wedding is something close by. Try Air BnB, or QT hotel on Russel St for a modern hotel experience.
We sure can, and have even taken out an award as the best analog film wedding photographer in the world (#blush). You can find out more about why we shoot film here and why you should book film wedding photos: film wedding photographer
We’re biased since we’re part owners, but we think you should check out this incredible new Vanity Fair photo booth – it’s the first of it’s kind in this industry.
Spring Street Events oversee a beautiful cache of iconic heritage wedding venues in Melbourne.
Weddings of Desire and White Top Venues have access to some of Victorias best private properties available for wedding hire. For more info head over to these private property wedding venues.
There. 18 (eighteen) of the best unique wedding venues in Melbourne, for lovers and anarchists.
Author and all photos by: Briars Atlas. Photos may be only used with a link back to this page.
This made the list a little late, but be sure to also check out this Two Ton Max wedding. For unique wedding venues in new South Wales, check out this beautiful Sydney Theatre Company wedding or a roundup of the best luxury wedding venues Sydney has going. For a unique Mornington Peninsula wedding venue (head here for Mornington Peninsula wedding photographer), you need to check out Tanglewood Estate or head here for some more great wedding venues on mornington peninsula. Make sure you also load up your day with an incredible Melbourne Wedding Videographer.
Just whack this link – Melbourne wedding photographer
Check out the best 17 Small Wedding Venues in Melbourne, and a preview of ten of them below.
Jul 31, 2024
Parisian styled ateliers and the best of Melbournes intersection between culinary mainstays and understated artistic event spaces. That was the flavour of Sharni and Michaels carefully crafted wedding. With a shared love of the arts and heirloom photography, they requested their Cumulus Up (otherwise known as being a part of the wider Cumulus Inc) wedding was photographed entirely on Kodak film.
Enjoy.
Venue: Cumulus
Video: Hend Creative
Audio: Ezekiel Fenn
Dress: Donatelle Godart Paris via Carte Blanche Bride
Shoes: Amina Mauaddi
Cake: Zephyr & Bloom
Headed by acclaimed chef Andrew Mcconnel (also: Gimlet), Cumulus Inc has a range of spaces for different size events, and a mighty marvellous design sensibility. Goes without saying, the grub might be quite a little bit good.
Cumulus Inc website: https://www.cumulusinc.com.au/
Cumulus Inc phone number: (03) 9650 1445
See more at this Fortyfive Downstairs wedding, and for something vaguely similar in flavour in the heart of Melbourne, you must check out this Cutler and Co wedding.
Jul 30, 2024
Hayley and Christian chose Recoleta (See also for a little lash of similarly considered soiree: this Cutler and Co wedding) in Melbourne to host the intimate Melbourne leg of their wedding with a small group of their closest. All photos at this iconic little slice of Melbourne made entirely on Kodak film (hire us as your film wedding photographer, if you want, it’s your life).
For couples who want their wedding venue to be stylish without shouting about it, Recoleta by Spring St Events is a solid choice. Tucked into the city, it offers a kind of specialist nonchalance—where the decor flirts with vintage flair rather than falling into antique store overload (but also a fan of this flavour of unhinged maximalism, TBH).
As a property of Spring St Events, Recoleta doesn’t try too hard to impress, and that’s its charm. The views? They’re city views. Urban, gritty, and just right for those who appreciate a little edge with their elegance. No need for pastoral fantasies here – Recoleta knows what it is and owns it.
The menu is classic Spring St Events – good enough to keep everyone satisfied, that tickles entirely stealing the spotlight but is past the tongue just before it gets the chance to. The service? Efficient, without being overly attentive—just the way you want it when you’re aiming for understated cool.
In short, if you’re looking for a venue that says “we’re here to celebrate, not overcompensate,” Recoleta’s your place. It’s the perfect spot for those who prefer their weddings with a side of realism rather than over-the-top flair.
Recoleta weddings are managed by Spring St Events: https://springstreetevents.com.au/recoleta/
See this Higher Ground wedding of Samantha and Michael, and this Cumulus Up wedding of Sharni and Michael, also photographed entirely on Kodak film in Melbourne. Recently launched in Collingwood is the moody, fabulous successor to Rice Paper Scissors, which you can check out at this Aunty Kims wedding. See more intimate wedding venues in this area at this post about small wedding venues in Melbourne.
Make an enquiry to Spring St Events: https://springstreetevents.com.au/enquire/
Jul 30, 2024
Samantha, principal dancer of the Norwegian Ballet, and Michael, finance extraordinaire, held their wedding across two of Melbournes most iconic venues: Higher Ground, and Glasshaus Inside. With a combined family gathering from both Norway and Australia, their wedding inevitably fused a universe anchored in dance and community. And you know it’s family love, when the family home has a giant, two storey painting of their Samantha.
Enjoy these images of their wedding at this marvellously unique slice of Melbourne.
For high-ceiling warehouse decadence in the northern hemisphere, take a look at the Jam Handy wedding we photographed, right in the the heart of Detroit, Michigan.
Photographed on a mixture of digital and 35mm film – hire us as your film wedding photographer.
Wedding celebrant: Charis White
Wedding videographer: Axel Tuohy
Wedding DJ: Onemoresong
Wedding dress: Grace Loves Lace
Higher Ground is uniquely in a league of it’s own, but the incredible Great Hall at this Provenance Wines wedding has an aesthetic that is not dissimilar, out in the heart of Geelong.
Higher Ground website: https://highergroundmelbourne.com.au/
Higher Ground phone number: (03) 9088 0723
Higher ground is located at 650 Little Bourke St, Melbourne
Higher ground finds it’s home in a heritage listed power station from the 1890’s.
Higher Ground can accommodate weddings and groups ranging from intimate gatherings to decadent soirees that take over the entire venue.
Recoleta is an intimate wedding venue run by Spring St Events. See an example of a Recoleta Wedding. For something similarly small, see this Aunty Kims wedding.
May 8, 2024
Have you gotten engaged recently? While lost of couples can wait 12-18 months or more from the point of getting engaged, you’re here because you want to know how to get married quickly in Australia: you can’t bear the bollocks, you just want to get it didded’ and get it done. Sometimes, it’s even related to health, travel, or work.
Or maybe it’s for a VISA situation. We’re not here to judge. We’ll walk you through the quickest way to get married in Australia, with references to celebrants, add-ons and more.
30 days is normally the quickest turnaround time to get married in Australia, because you need to submit a NOIM (notice of intent to marry) form to your local government, and the laws require that this is done one month before your planned wedding date.T
There are some tricks to make things happen quicker (see further below), but here is the quickest way to get married in Australia normally:
This is number one, because a minimum of one month before you intend to marry, you need to lodge your NOIM (Notice of Intent to Marry) to your celebrant. They then use this notice to interface with the government.
You can download your Notice of Intent to Marry here.
If you’re planning on getting married in Melbourne for example, this would mean you would either select a Wedding Celebrant if you want a specific character to your ceremony. Your other option, is to instead register it at the Victorian Marriage Registry, or with a small alternative venue such as The Altar Electric or I Do Drive Thru (see here for more amazing small wedding venues): each of these can provide you with a marriage celebrant and assist in getting you married quickly.
If you are unable to be mobile for your ceremony, ensure you query your potential celebrant on the options available for where you can get married – which include your home.
Knowing that you need a minimum of one months notice, after you have worked out where you are getting married in Australia and by what celebrant, you will then ask them what their availability is like, and how soon they can marry you.
How quickly you can get married in Australia is limited by your celebrants availability. Then you book your date with them.
Your Authorised Wedding Celebrant will run you through all of the paperwork needs, as well as other requirements that you need to meet before marrying quickly (such as, you know, not being already married, and not attempting to marry your sibling).
You must also have two witnesses present, each over the age of 18: your Wedding Celebrant can be one, and your photographer can be the other.
In Australia, the quickest that you can get married through the standard process is one month from the moment that you decide you want to wear the eternal shackles of undying love to your future betrothed.
This can also be done quicker – read on.
To get married, apart from ideally needing to be in a relationship that’s withstood some of the sands of time with someone you (ideally) like, there’s really only a few moving parts that are actually happening: having a short ceremony witnessed, and signing some papers.
The rest of what we associate with “getting married” are really just shiny things that we throw on top: that to be fair, are fun and awesome, and you can also sprinkle a bit of radness on top in various ways.
You can get married quickly in Australia in less than one month, by filling out a special form to expedite the process, which has specific requirements you must meet. Go here for the form.
You will still need to find an authorised marriage celebrant that is available to marry you when you wish to get married, so you should make a shortlist of celebrants to cross check availability with as soon as you can.
Oh, and pick up something radical from a wedding florist in Melbourne.
You’re here because you want to get married quickly, but that’s no reason to not splash a bit of the good stuff on top of it. You can still have a short, sweet and quick ceremony, while also enjoying it.
Find a local wedding photographer to hang out with you, even if just for an hour. We regularly photograph small weddings and elopements all over Australia and it can be a beautiful opportunity to get some beautiful images of you hitting the city or whatever environment you got married in, including your home or a local park.
If the papers are worth signing, that’s worth celebrating over a wine/ginger-beer/milkshake/insert preferred beverage here. Refer back to point #1 – this can be a beautiful moment to capture you two just hanging out. Pick a restaurant, cafe, or activity to enjoy afterwards. It doesn’t have to be big and bombastic either, it can be slow, calm and simple.
If you’re in Melbourne, you might be signing the papers at the Treasury building on Spring St, and there are plenty of options nearby:
Celebrate with your community via a facetime hookup, or reach out to Bottlebrush Films, who can arrange your elopement ceremony to be live-streamed.
And off you go.
Getting married quickly is easier done, than… said.
Apr 18, 2024
Set amongst a secluded stretch of the Bruny Island coastline, lays Cloudy Bay Villa. Matt and Connor had their Bruny Island wedding at this captivating expanse of Tasmania (for another recent Tasmanian exploit, see this Cradle Mountain elopement photographed entirely on Kodak film), and invited us to travel from Melbourne to document the day for them.
Photographed on a mixture of digital and analogue film.
Make an enquiry to have us photograph your Bruny Island wedding.
Cloudy Bay Villa website: https://brunyisland.com.au/cloudy-bay-villa
Cloudy Bay Villa on Bruny Island is a top-notch spot for couples looking to tie the knot somewhere a little off the beaten path. Nestled on the coastline, this villa offers a quiet, laid-back vibe with a touch of luxury—perfect for an intimate wedding without all the fanfare. Picture this: you’re standing on the deck, exchanging vows as the ocean laps against the shore, surrounded by nothing but nature and a few of your closest mates.
The villa itself is modern and cozy, and the surrounding bushland and beaches make it easy to score some epic wedding photos. Plus, with the space all to yourselves, you can really settle in and enjoy the tranquility—no randoms to worry about.
Cloudy Bay Villa isn’t about flashy receptions and massive guest lists—it’s about kicking back in a stunning location and celebrating with the people who matter most. It’s all the beauty of Bruny Island, wrapped up in one cracking wedding venue.
It’s a little bit of a jaunt/paddle/aircraft across oceans to the USA, but this White Raven Venue & Retreat wedding in Missoula, Montana, captures expansive slices of incredible nature in their own way to this Bruny Island wedding.
Apr 17, 2024
Gen and Jordan jaunted from their home in the south of France, bring their families together in Sydney for their Kittyhawk wedding. Enjoy this preview that they received the very next day, featuring a cameo from resident Ominous Ibis.
Address: 16 Phillip Ln, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 7228 0540
Email: info@thekittyhawk.com.au
Make an enquiry to Spring St Events: https://www.thekittyhawk.com.au/
Luxury Sydney wedding venues
For more venues like Kittyhawk, see this list of Luxury Wedding Venues Sydney.
Mar 25, 2024
White Top Venues are the industries premium event professionals, taking care of catering, styling and event production at the most sought after wedding venues in Victoria and the most decadent luxury events.
White Top Venues have exclusive access to a stable of in demand venues in the most scenic locations, as well as a wealth of experience planning high-end events and celebrations on private property (see more private property wedding venues in Victoria).
White Top Venues are host high-end luxury weddings, for couples who want the industries best involved in every are from planning, to styling, florals, catering and more. They specialise in everything from intimate soirees to decadent affairs with several hundred guests, with a cache of private wedding venues under their custodianship.
Guest photos taken at White Top Venues Barragunda Estate, at our live portrait Vanity Fair Photobooth, Blanc.
Main website: https://www.whitetop.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitetopvenues/
Make an enquiry here
Related luxury wedding venues: see the Melbourne Higher Ground wedding of Samantha and Michael.
Mar 25, 2024
With deep roots in regenerative agriculture and farming, you can also book a Barragunda Estate wedding. Partnering with White Top Venues (enquire with them to see some of their private property wedding venues), Barragunda Estate is a gem of the Mornington Peninsula and a favourite venue of choice for couples seeking the very best in luxury, decadence and, privacy.
The wedding of Ella Walters and Mack Horton, planned by Weddings of Desire, and featured on Vogue Australia.
Barragunda Estate is most known for hosting high-end weddings with a large volume of guests, and the most high level of planning detail involved.
Recently we brought our live portrait experience, also known as the Vanity Fair Photo Booth, Blanc, to Barragundana Estate See some of our photobooth images below.
Main website: https://www.barragunda.com.au/barragunda-estate/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barragunda/
Make an enquiry here
Planning a soiree further up north? Book us as your Macedon Ranges wedding photographer.
Mar 9, 2024
We have just opened the doors to BLANC: the worlds first live wedding portrait experience, for weddings and events. You can book this with any Briars Atlas wedding photography coverage (or even if you have booked someone else for the main event or wedding photography but obviously… we’re biased). This is an incredible alternative to the traditional photobooth, and we have a hunch that you’ve never seen anything quite like it.
No shade on the fancy shades, but we don’t bring props, and we don’t use a cold machine with a countdown timer. This is a live portrait experience by internationally award winning portrait photographers, bookable by the hour.
Suited to the canapes hour or a couple of hours of your reception (for a good time reception venue see this Cutler and Co wedding, if you want), you can book BLANC to be installed anywhere inside or out. We’ll bring out the best of your guests, and deliver professional, studio quality images the same night of your wedding.
That’s right… we think waiting a week for your photobooth photos is a bit naff.
This is not a photo booth, this is a wedding portrait booth. You’ll get to enjoy a live wedding portrait experience, guided gently by a real (human) portrait photographer, and this is how you get yourselves some real VIP portraits.
Website: www.blanc.photo
There are two of us operating the live studio experience (we prefer to call it that, as it’s anything *but* a photobooth), and one of us is editing and printing the images while the other is photographing your guests. After we clock off, we ensure that your gallery is processed and uploaded in time for your guests to enjoy them right as they’re doom scrolling their phones as their heads have hit the pillow after your fabulous event at 2am.
All BLANC bookings include as many 4×6″ professional prints, hand delivered to your guests, as we can pump out on the fly. We aim to at least create one print of every setup. Last time, we did a little over 150 prints while we were there.
Every single photograph we take will be uploaded into your very own portal, where you and your guests can order incredible prints from the best fine-art lab in Australia.
A photo booth is something you go into and bring a cheesy grin while waiting for a timer to count down. They’re fun, but this is entirely different: this is a world-class studio portrait shoot, on-site at your event by a portrait photographer. The difference? Instead of your guests relying on props to bring out their personalities, a skilled photographer will interact with them, making a wide range of incredible portraits that show them at their best. You just have to see it to believe it – so, scroll back up.
When most people look at our live studio shoot images, they’re reminded of the Oscars entrance portraits, or a setup from Vanity Fair. We’re quite alright with that comparison, and it’s probably the best way of communicating what you receive.
Check out the best Melbourne Wedding celebrants going, and also these gorgeous unique wedding venues (we think we’d look pretty fancy at all of them, particularly at a Reine and La Rue wedding).
BLANC is available in every state in Australia (check out this Beta Bar wedding in Sydney), and you can even book us for your destination wedding. Travel fees apply.
BLANC portraits are all taken on digital, so that we can turn them around for you on the very night of your wedding. If you are looking for 35mm film photos of your wedding or elopement, head over here where we have more information on being a film wedding photographer.
There are many brilliant wedding planners in Melbourne, Geelong and beyond, and one great one that comes to mind now is Weddings of Desire.
Mar 6, 2024
Reine & La Rue is an incredible new French styled wedding venue in the heart of Melbourne.
Reine and La Rue is a majestic new undertaking by the Nomad group, fusing French infused culinary genius with the most captivating, cathedral-vault interior you’ve ever seen in the heart of Melbourne. This incredible space helmed by an award winning hospitality team is sure to become an iconic new wedding venue in Melbourne.
Enquire about Reine & La Rue Wedding Packages with their wedding and event planner
Reine & La Rue website: https://reineandlarue.melbourne/
Reine & La Rue wedding gallery: Check back soon
Reine & La Rue wedding capacity: 40 – 200 guests
Reine & La Rue venue address: Briscoe Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Reine and La Rue is a class of it’s own, but for more intimate, scaled down weddings, see this Recoleta wedding, and this Higher Ground Wedding we photographed (featuring the principal dancer of the Norwegian Ballet), each in the heart of Melbourne.
Reine and La Rue wedding photos (coming soon – maybe yours? for now, enjoy a little slice of what we do below). Use the menu up above to make an enquiry, or view this amazing Paris elopement of Stephanie and Tim for all of your favourite French stylings, photographed entirely on 35mm and medium-format Kodak film.
Reine and La Rue are now taking wedding bookings, and can host up to 110 guests seated, and 150 guests standing.
Not quite, but we think you’ll love this Beta Bar Sydney Wedding.
We recommend getting in touch with a wedding planner specialising in fashion-forward and luxury weddings, such as Weddings of Desire.
Reine La Rue is owned and managed by the NOMAD group, who in 2023 expanded to include it after acquiring Beau in Surrey Hills.
Nothing comes close at this scale, but you might like this Aunty Kims wedding.
For a popular pre-wedding location, see this Hotel Windsor wedding.
Feb 19, 2024
Going private property means going with a venue that will be an undeniably new experience to you and your guests. Typically, most private property wedding venues have a much lower number of available bookings per year too, which means more attention from them, and more attention from your events and planning team.
The Style Co: the Style Co are host to the most fabulous and decadent private property weddings and events found anywhere in Melbourne or greater Victoria.
Weddings of Desire: Helmed by planner Laura Harvey, Weddings of Desire are the custodians of some of the most incredible private property wedding and event spaces available (See: Barragunda Estate, where we were hired for our Vanity Fair photo booth, Blanc). See the wedding we photographed with Weddings of Desire – Nurse Ella Walters to Olympic gold medal winning swimmer Mack Horton at the wedding of Ella and Mack.
Covering weddings, events, brand activations and more, White Top Venues make planning a private property wedding easier, with a stable of private venues and a breadth of experience in connecting to new and unseen places in greater Victoria.
Weddings of Desire have an expansive portfolio of private wedding venues that otherwise serve as peoples homes, open in small doses each year for an event.
From our campaign photographed for Aunty Kims weddings
Finding the perfect wedding venue can be a bit like finding the right coffee spot in Melbourne – personal, nuanced, and totally worth it when you land on the right one. If you’re after something with a bit more charm and character than the usual venues, hiring a private property in Victoria might be just your lane. Think sprawling countryside estates or chic inner-city homes, where the venue feels like an extension of your own personal style.
A few vendors to make the whole affair feel seamless:
Mornington Peninsula is practically begging for a wedding – it’s got that laid-back, seaside-meets-vineyard vibe that (gently) screams intimate yet effortlessly cool. Private property hire here is all about taking full advantage of the stunning natural backdrops, from coastal cliffs to tucked-away vineyards.
Some vendors worth having on speed dial:
Both regions offer the ultimate canvas to bring your dream day to life, without the confines of traditional venues.
Top ten houses for rent for weddings.
Step Into the Past (With Wi-Fi)
Mewburn Park is like a time machine, transporting you to a bygone era—minus the corsets. With stunning gardens perfect for a love declaration, it feels like something out of Pride and Prejudice. Just imagine your friends trying to reenact that iconic dance scene—extra points for the right tunes.
Where Farm Fresh Meets Fabulous
Tambo Farm is like a scene from The Office—if Michael Scott threw a wedding. It’s a place where rustic charm meets modern flair, allowing you to celebrate in style while nibbling on snacks that are fresher than your ex’s excuses. Get ready for farm-to-table goodness that will have your guests raving long after the cake is gone.
S’mores and More
Welcome to Bonfire Station, where you can have a wedding and a campfire night rolled into one. Think late-night stories, laughter, and plenty of marshmallows. It’s the cozy, heartwarming scene you’d find in a rom-com—minus the dramatic misunderstandings.
Elegant, But Not Stuffy
Barunah Plains is your chance to feel like royalty without needing a crown. With expansive lawns and stylish interiors, it’s the perfect setting for a classy yet laid-back bash. Picture your friends donning their best attire and posing for photos like they’re in a fashion magazine.
Raise a Glass, Literally
At Lauriston Hills, the wine flows as freely as the laughter. This vineyard setting is perfect for toasting to love with friends while enjoying views that could make a postcard jealous. Think of it as your own episode of The Bachelor, minus the roses and drama.
Nature Calls (And It’s Not Your Ex)
Eight Acres is where the great outdoors meets your wedding day dreams. With gorgeous nature surrounding you, it’s like celebrating in your own secret hideaway. Plus, you can soak in the tranquility while your guests kick back and enjoy the vibe.
Home Sweet Venue
Willow & Stone feels like a warm hug from your favorite sitcom—intimate and full of character. It’s a cozy spot where you can celebrate without the pretentiousness. Picture a gathering where everyone feels at ease, and the laughs come easily.
Crafting Your Perfect Day
Chapter Barn & Studio is a canvas for your creativity, where every detail can reflect your personality. It’s like a DIY project, but without the Pinterest fails. With spaces designed to inspire, it’s the perfect spot for those who want to break away from the traditional mold.
Toast to Love (And Wine)
Mimosa Wines is your vineyard dream come true, where you can sip and celebrate in style. Picture toasting with friends in a setting that makes you feel like you’re living in a romantic comedy—complete with a soundtrack of laughter and clinking glasses.
Your Private Getaway
Coombs Hill Homestead is like finding a hidden gem that you can’t wait to show off. With its charming vibe and beautiful scenery, it’s the ideal spot for those wanting a more intimate celebration. This venue is all about good times with friends, minus the drama.
On-site accommodations so the festivities can continue into the night.
Secluded grounds for a truly private event.
Adaptable spaces that fit whatever theme you have in mind.
Beautiful gardens that are calling for a group photo.
We are chosen to photograph the most luxurious and style-forward weddings, events and more, from backyards to… Bruce Springsteen fronting the show at a backyard wedding – make an enquiry: https://briarsatlas.com/info-couples
The best things in life aren’t always tucked away out of sight. See this Cumulus Up wedding photographed entirely on 35mm kodak film, the George Ballroom wedding of Patti and Chris, the Higher Ground wedding of Norwegian Ballet principal dancer Samantha, and for something that feels impossibly private regardless, this Recoleta wedding by Spring St events.
Feb 11, 2024
Tiani and Mason held their wedding soiree, laced with the inimitable Australiana flavoured styling of House of Plants bar in Abbottsford. Photographed on Kodak film, with love, for these maestros who were fortuitously looking for a film wedding photographer.
This venue reminds us of…
This Rupert on Rupert wedding, and this Cutler and Co wedding.
Feb 2, 2024
When Jordan and Tim reached out after they saw us speak at a photography conference in Los Angeles years earlier, we nearly fell over asking if we’d photograph their Jam Handy wedding. Planning a Neon Pizza Apocalypse Warehouse Wedding (TM), they enlisted the talents of the most incredibly talented florists, caterers and experiential lighting designers to carve one of the most unique wedding experiences we’ve ever witnessed, right in the heart of the city of Detroit.
Jordan and Tims wedding at the Jam Handy in Detroit, Michigan was photographed entirely on Kodak film (hire us as your film wedding photographer, m8), and is featured on Junebug Weddings.
Bridal Outfit: Karen Willis Holmes, Kyha Studios
Groom Outfit: Ted Baker
Florist: Detroit Design Co.
Lighting: Patrick Ethen
DJ: Alex Pierson
Desserts: Petite Sweets Detroit
Catering: Great Greek Grill
Bar: Miss Mixology
Month-of Planner: Spoke Events
Jam Handy venue website: https://thejamhandy.com/
Not our first rodeo gallivanting in the northern hemisphere, with this White Raven Venue & Retreat wedding in Missoula, Montana, being most recent. Out in Australia, check out this list of Unique Wedding Venues. We don’t have venues as large as an entire state like the Jam Handy, but this Higher Ground wedding comes close.
Jan 18, 2024
Patti and Chris held their iconic George Ballroom Wedding in the heart of St Kilda, and we encouraged them the enlisting of Luke from The Beginning Studio to copilot with us on video, who flew in from Sydney to document this incredible occasion with us. How do a one-time cagefighter and a mens stylist choose to create their wedding (and how many times do anecdotes about their combined sense of style and athletic prowess emerge in the speeches?).
Scroll down to find out the answers to things (other than that, probably).
Patti and Chris’s George Ballroom wedding is also featured on Together Journal.
Patti and Chris’s wedding was photographed on a mixture of digital and 35mm film – book us as your film wedding photographer.
Wedding Ceremony & reception: The George Ballroom, St Kilda
Wedding Photography: Briars Atlas, @briarsatlas
Videographer Luke Gemmill: The Beginning Studio, @thebeginningstudio
Stylist & planner: Patti Axiotis, @pattiwhackk
Florist: Pomp and Splendour, @pompandsplendour
Celebrant: Heidi Rayment, @hitchedbyheidi
Entertainment: Shelley Amar – Top Dog Entertainment, @topdogent;
Violinist: – Imelda Baligod, @melli_y
Hire: Patti Axiotis, @pattiwhackk; The George Ballroom
Cake: Miss Ladybird Cakes, @missladybirdcakes
Stationary: Dot & Grain, @dotandgrain
Jewellry: Janai Jewellery, @janaijewellery
Bridal dress: Brides of Armadale, @bridesofarmadale
Hair and makeup: Carla Dyson, @carladysonmakeup
Brides fragrance: Chanel – Mademoiselle
Tuxedo: Bespoke Tuxedo Made by Patti Axiotis: – Tom James Clothing, @pinstripe_patti, @tomjamesclothing
Grooms shoes: Paco Milan Patent 1935
Grooms fragrance: Givenchy – Gentlemen Only
See this Recoleta Wedding (by Spring St Events) for more intimate weddings, the Cutler and Co wedding of Bonnie and George, Liv and Daves sublimely styled Rupert on Rupert wedding, and the Higher Ground wedding of Samantha and Michael.
The George Ballroom wedding venue in St Kilda offers a unique blend of vintage charm and modern flair. If you’re looking for a space that exudes historical elegance with a touch of decayed grandeur, this heritage-listed venue is your go-to. The walls, rich with stories of past revelries, set the perfect backdrop for a wedding that’s effortlessly stylish yet deeply memorable.
With capacity for up to 150 seated guests or 200 for a cocktail reception, the George Ballroom provides an intimate yet grand setting. The venue itself is an indoor-only space, perfect for those who appreciate the beauty of a meticulously restored heritage building.
Ideal for couples seeking a wedding venue that’s as captivating as it is character-filled, the George Ballroom offers a setting that feels straight out of a cinematic masterpiece—minus the pretension, plus a bit of old-world charm.
George Ballroom website: https://www.thegeorgeballroom.com.au/
Jan 10, 2024
Weddings of Desire, led by renowned stylist and planner Laura, craft the most fashion-forward, design minded weddings and events in and beyond greater Melbourne, Victoria. Ella and Mack chose Laura and the Weddings of Desire team to style and plan their Stones of the Yarra valley wedding, which was later featured on Vogue Australia.
All floral styling by Flowers St Germain.
Macks suit by Christian Kimber wedding suits.
Weddings of desire specialise in ultra luxury weddings where no corners are cut. Initially beginning as an area of passion (like all great success stories) as a blog, Laura’s style and taste soon caught so much attention that the next logical step was offering a full bespoke planning experience, rather than featuring the work of others.
This detail driven approach to planning covers all the areas you might expect – such as venue styling, colour palettes and more – over to ones you might not: such as typography on collateral, and the feel of materials.
Weddings of Desire are Victorias leading architects of private property wedding venues, with a broad library of exclusive access private properties in Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong and more. Laura has worked extensively to generate exclusive relationships with the owners some of the most spectacular properties, where they can host your wedding over a limited number of dates each year.
To enquire about private property wedding venues in and outside of Melbourne make an enquiry here.
Main website: https://weddingsofdesire.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weddingsofdesire/
Make an enquiry here
Dec 23, 2023
Liv and Dave chose everyones favourite Collingwood wedding venue Rupert to host their soiree with a majestic crew of their favourites. With local hero atelier Luci Di Bella lending her carefully crafted gown and sonic masterminds Horns of Leroy filling everyones ears with their genius, this is what it looks like when you shake up several rounds of wedding reschedules and let joy loose into the air. What a treat.
We brought a blend of digital and analogue film cameras (bring us along as your film wedding photographer), a keen pair of eyeballs and leant into the anarchy with them.
Rupert on Rupert was also featured in our post about qlternative wedding venues in Melbourne – see the post to find more unique wedding venues. If you’re considering having your wedding at Rupert, we’re happy to share a bunch of information on all the hidden gold around the area, as well as tips on making the most of a wedding at the venue.
We work with the best of the best… Liv and Dave just happened to assemble a few of them all in one place that fateful day out in Collingwood. Hearts open, curiosity unhinged, here goes…
Wedding photographer: Briars Atlas
Florist: North St
Dress: Luci Di Bella
Cake: Sonia Fitzpatrick
Band: Horns of Leroy
Photographed on a mixture of digital and kodak film. See more weddings photographed on film.
Rupert on Rupert website: www.rupertonrupert.com.au
Venue size: Warehouse cosy, with room to rave. 85 seated, 220 cocktail.
Briars Atlas Wedding Photography – https://briarsatlas.com/info
Geez we do stuff well in this city. Check out this video of some of the best small wedding venues in Melbourne, as well as this Higher Ground wedding, George Ballroom wedding, and for an ultra rustic spin, Sumeyra and Daniels Provenance Wines wedding.
Nov 2, 2023
Mack Horton enlisted the skills of Australian designer Christian Kimber for his wedding to Ella. See the full Ella and Mack wedding photographed by us at Stones of the Yarra Valley, and a selection of images of Christian Kimber wedding suits below. Floral styling at their wedding by Flowers St Germain.
Christian Kimber website: https://christiankimber.com/
Head here to see more weddings photographed on film.
Oct 16, 2023
Ella and Mack chose Flowers St Germain to take care of the florals for their Stones of the Yarra Valley wedding.
Macks suit by Christian Kimber wedding suits.
Flowers St Germain website: https://www.flowersstgermain.com/
Sep 30, 2023
A selection of our favourite Hotel Windsor wedding photos, at this iconic heritage space in Melbourne.
As for a great pairing venue, it would be rude not to share this Cumulus Up wedding.
Planning your wedding and searching for the perfect venue? Look no further than Hotel Windsor in Melbourne, where timeless elegance meets a dash of excitement. This iconic venue isn’t just a pretty face—it’s got everything you need to turn your special day into a memorable celebration that even your most discerning Aunt Margaret will rave about.
Hotel Windsor has been dazzling guests since 1883. That’s right, it’s older than your grandparents’ favorite vintage wine. Stepping into this grand hotel feels like walking into a fairy tale, complete with marble floors that are so shiny, you might just see your reflection (and your nervous excitement). The Victorian charm is paired with modern amenities, so you get the best of both worlds: historical grandeur with Wi-Fi that won’t let you down.
No matter if you’re dreaming of a grand, Gatsby-esque affair or a more intimate soirée, Hotel Windsor has a room for you. The Grand Ballroom is so majestic you’ll half-expect Cinderella to show up. With high ceilings and stunning decor, it’s perfect for those “I want to feel like royalty” moments. For a cozier vibe, the Churchill Room is like the plush, elegant den of your dreams—ideal for smaller gatherings where everyone can feel like part of a VIP club.
Let’s get to the good stuff: the food. Hotel Windsor’s chefs are culinary wizards who’ll craft a menu that makes your taste buds do a happy dance. Whether you’re into elaborate canapés, mouth-watering mains, or desserts that make you consider a second helping, they’ve got you covered. And don’t even get me started on the beverage package—fine wines and cocktails that will have everyone toasting to your love story.
When it comes to service, Hotel Windsor has got it nailed. The event planners are like wedding superheroes, swooping in to manage all the details so you don’t have to lift a finger (except maybe to hold your champagne). They’ll handle everything from coordinating with vendors to keeping the timeline running smoothly. You’ll feel like a star on your big day, minus the paparazzi.
After the big day, your guests can crash in style. Hotel Windsor’s rooms are so luxurious, your friends and family might try to extend their stay (who can blame them with that level of comfort?). The elegant decor ensures everyone gets a taste of the high life—making them all the more grateful for your choice of venue.
The hotel’s central location is like a cherry on top. It’s super convenient for exploring Melbourne’s hotspots, and it’s also a fantastic backdrop for wedding photos. Imagine your wedding snaps with Melbourne’s vibrant cityscape, blending perfectly with the hotel’s classic elegance.
Choosing a Hotel Windsor wedding means you’re not just picking a venue; you’re choosing a place where historical charm meets modern fun. Whether you’re planning a grand bash or an intimate affair, this Melbourne gem provides everything you need to make your wedding day fabulous.
So, if you want your wedding to be the talk of the town (and not just because of your questionable dance moves), Hotel Windsor is the place to be. It’s where elegance and excitement meet, creating a day that you and your guests will remember—and laugh about—for years to come.
Hotel Windsor website: https://www.thehotelwindsor.com.au/
Sep 22, 2023
If you’re looking for a Mallorca film wedding photographer with a luxury twist, you already know that there’s something special about capturing your big day on film. The island’s warm light and scenic views shine in a way modern digital photography just can’t quite… match. Film photography brings out the hoest beauty of Mallorca’s beaches, hills, and historic spots, giving your wedding photos a more organic, and at the rick of sounding saccharine, timeless quality.
See this wedding off a beautiful Spanish island coast, beautifully planned and architected by Bliss Ibiza weddings, and photographed by Briars Atlas on film.
Real Kodak film brings a natural softness and character that complements Mallorca’s relaxed disposition. From golden sunsets to intimate villa settings, the way film handles light and texture creates wedding images that feel cinematic without being overly polished. It’s the perfect match for couples who want their day documented with a bit of nostalgia, but without the heavy-handedness. The Bliss Ibiza wedding planner engaged us to photograph Yana and Dany’s Cala Bonita wedding, and with the couple bringing their families and friends from China and working in cinema and theatre themselves, had a specific interest in finding a film wedding photographer for their day.
If you’re considering a film photographer for your Mallorca wedding, working with Bliss Ibiza Weddings is the move to make. They have a deep understanding of the island, its venues, and top-tier vendors, and we feel lucky to have been considered one of them. Their team will ensure everything from your planner to your photographer aligns with the relaxed, elegant feel of your event.
Bliss Ibiza Weddings
Website: Bliss Ibiza Weddings
Email: info@blissibiza.com
Phone: +34 123 456 789
Specializing in bespoke Mallorca and Ibiza weddings, they’re the perfect team to help organize your dream day.
Film photography lets your Mallorca wedding be captured in all its unfiltered beauty. With the right planner and photographer, you can ensure your day reflects the island’s relaxed, natural charm, with memories that look as good as they felt.
Sep 1, 2023
With backgrounds in fashion design and photography respectively, Sumeyra and Daniels Provenance Wines Wedding in Geelong was only ever going to be a sublime and impossible mix of the macabre, and high-fashion. These artists gave us express agency to lean into what got our wheels turning in the first place in this craft – all things moody.
Photographed on a mix of digital and analogue film.
Enjoy.
Provenance Wines website: https://provenancewines.com.au/
Also known as Site 3a (See: Fyansford Paper Mill Wedding)
Address: 100 Lower Paper Mills Rd, Fyansford, VIC 3218, Australia
Phone: +61 3 5200 9400
Email: info@provenancewines.com.au
Website: www.provenancewines.com.au
See also: this Mitchelton Winery wedding.
Aug 27, 2023
Finding the right wedding dress can be overwhelming, but Carte Blanche Bride offers a refreshing alternative to the typical bridal experience. Based in Melbourne, this boutique is all about personal attention, with a commitment to helping you discover a gown that reflects your style and personality—without the stress. Here’s what makes Carte Blanche Bridal stand out in Melbourne’s wedding scene.
Sharni, in her Carte Blanche bride wedding gown, at her Cumulus wedding, also one of the more unique wedding venues Melbourne has going.
Located in Melbourne, Carte Blanche Bridal focuses on delivering a boutique bridal experience that prioritizes you, the bride. The owner, Anastasia, brings her 15 years of fashion industry expertise to each appointment, ensuring the journey is tailored to your vision and needs. Whether you’re after a couture European design (destination wedding couples, see info here on us as your Mallorca film wedding photographer) or a minimalist, timeless look, Carte Blanche has something to offer for everyone.
Unlike the typical bridal shopping process, Carte Blanche Bridal strives to make every visit personal and memorable. From initial consultations to the final fitting, Anastasia works closely with each bride to ensure every detail aligns with their vision. No rushed decisions, no pushy sales tactics—just genuine care and a deep commitment to making sure you feel confident and beautiful on your wedding day.
At Carte Blanche Bridal, the collection is intentionally curated to reflect a refined European aesthetic. The boutique offers a range of gowns from designers like Laure de Sagazan, Atelier Blanche, and Caroline Takvorian—names synonymous with sophisticated elegance and subtle detail. Whether you’re searching for a bohemian lace gown or a sleek, modern silhouette, Carte Blanche has a gown to match your vibe.
What sets Carte Blanche Bridal apart is its exclusive partnerships with top European bridal designers. From the intricate designs of Cortana Bride to the delicate and romantic creations of Donatelle Godart, these designers are renowned for their craftsmanship and use of luxurious materials. Carte Blanche is the perfect destination for brides seeking something unique and artfully designed.
One of the boutique’s most celebrated features is its location in Melbourne, offering local brides access to exclusive European styles without needing to travel abroad. Whether you’re a city bride planning a sleek, urban celebration or a romantic at heart dreaming of a countryside wedding, Carte Blanche Bridal caters to every Melbourne bride’s unique taste and style.
Brides across Melbourne rave about their experience at Carte Blanche Bridal. From personalized service to exquisite gowns, the boutique delivers on its promise to make every bride feel at ease. Reviews highlight the calm and supportive approach Anastasia takes throughout the process. Whether it’s sourcing a sold-out headpiece from France or ensuring a dress is ready well before the big day, her attention to detail makes all the difference.
The boutique offers an intimate showroom experience that allows you to try on dresses in a private (on that note, take a look at these private property wedding venues in Victoria) and comfortable setting. If you’re not based in Melbourne, virtual appointments are also available, so brides from across Australia can still experience the boutique’s exceptional service. Every step is designed to ensure the process is as stress-free and enjoyable as possible.
In addition to the curated collections, Carte Blanche Bridal also offers bespoke options for brides who want something entirely unique. Whether it’s customizing an existing design or creating something entirely new, Anastasia and her team can work with you to bring your dream dress to life. This bespoke service ensures your gown is as one-of-a-kind as your wedding day.
The perfect wedding day look is all about the details, and Carte Blanche Bridal has a stunning collection of accessories to complement your gown. From handcrafted veils to delicate jewelry, you can find the finishing touches that will make your ensemble truly complete. Brands like Maison Sabben and Lizeron Paris offer beautiful, understated pieces that add the right amount of elegance without overpowering your look.
To experience Carte Blanche Bridal’s personalized service and stunning collection of European wedding gowns, book an appointment today. Whether you’re after bespoke bridal wear or an exclusive designer gown, Anastasia and her team are ready to assist you in creating your dream bridal look.
Reach out to start your bridal journey with Carte Blanche Bridal. For more stylish inspiration in Melbourne, see the Cutler and Co wedding of Bonnie and George, in Melbourne’s inner north.
Aug 26, 2023
Spring Street Events host a beautiful cache of unique wedding venues in Melbourne, with an emphasis on historic charm and bespoke, intimate hosting. The below images are featured from the Recoleta wedding of Hayley and Christian, overseen by the Spring St team.
Spring St Events, with its stunning wedding venues nestled right in the heart of Melbourne, offers an exceptional choice for couples seeking a wedding that’s sophisticated without overdoing it. For those who appreciate elegance with a touch of the city’s history, these venues provide a perfect backdrop—think intimate settings paired with views of the iconic Treasury Gardens and Parliament House. You won’t need to stress about packing your wedding into a tiny space or sprawling too far; the venues here strike a comfortable balance between opulence and comfort.
The rooms themselves are beautifully maintained, offering a modern touch while still preserving their historic charm. Whether you’re after a grand affair or something more low-key, these venues cater to different styles without pigeonholing you into a rigid template. The flexibility on offer is a real bonus—you can tailor your day to fit your personality without sacrificing that polished finish that Spring St is known for.
And it’s not just the aesthetics that make Spring St Events stand out. Their in-house catering team delivers some of Melbourne’s finest wedding menus. You’re not getting run-of-the-mill wedding food here. Instead, expect thoughtful dishes crafted from locally sourced ingredients, with a focus on seasonal produce. It’s the kind of food that your guests will actually remember and talk about long after the big day.
All of this comes together in a location that’s right in the thick of Melbourne’s city centre. Easy for guests to access and perfectly placed for those timeless wedding shots around the city. At Spring St Events, your wedding is more than just a day—it’s a seamless blend of history, style, and impeccable service.
Spring St Events website: https://springstreetevents.com.au/
For wedding planners in Melbourne and greater Victoria, check out Weddings of Desire and these private property wedding venues.
Make an enquiry to Spring St Events: https://springstreetevents.com.au/enquire/
Aug 9, 2023
So, you’re getting married in Byron Bay – jolly good, congratulations on choosing a backdrop that practically does half the work for you – and leave the other half to us, your Byron Bay wedding photographer.
A good Byron Bay wedding photographer isn’t just someone who shows up with a fancy lens and a “say cheese (/choice of lactose)” attitude. They’re the ones who’ll translate the region’s relaxed charm into images that won’t make you cringe when you look back on them. Think of it as hiring someone to do for your wedding what Byron Bay does effortlessly: make everything look naturally fabulous.
We travel here there and everywhere, and no travel fees are applicable if you book us as your Byron Bay wedding photographer.
From Bonnie and Georges’ Cutler and Co wedding (not Byron Bay, how sneaky).
Top 10 Byron Bay Wedding Vendors
So, you’re tying the knot in Byron Bay—a place where the sand is whiter, the greenery greener, and the vendors hipper than a vintage record store. Here’s the inside scoop on the top ten wedding vendors that’ll make your Byron Bay wedding the stuff of legend.
There you have it—the crème de la crème of Byron Bay wedding vendors. With this crew on your side, your wedding is guaranteed to be less “been there, done that” and more “where’d you find these intergalactic craftwazards?”
A short hour towards Nagambie, see this Mitchelton Winery wedding. In the Yarra Valley, see the wedding of nurse and Olympic swimmer, Ella Walters and Mack Horton at the wedding of Ella and Mack. Further back into Melbourne, see this Cumulus wedding, Recoleta wedding by Spring St Events, and way out west near the heart of Geelong, the Provenance Wines wedding of Sumeyra and Daniel.
Jun 15, 2023
For over a decade we’ve been a film wedding photographer, and loved exploring the delicious variety of formats that over a century of this craft has afforded us. Usually we throw in a sprinkle of Kodak film, but more and more we’re being asked to photograph weddings entirely on film.
In a world where digital dominates, there’s a growing band of couples opting to embrace the tangible, the textured, and the timeless. Film wedding photography isn’t just a retro nod; it carries the weight of history in every frame, capturing moments not in pixels but in grains, each telling a story that transcends the click of a shutter. The resurgence of film isn’t mere nostalgia for the good ol’ days; it’s a reclamation of artistry, a return to the roots of photography where every shot was deliberate, considered, and infused with a little bit of magic.
For those in Melbourne—and let’s face it, everywhere else who are in the know—film photography offers a richness that digital can never quite replicate. There’s a certain romance in the imperfection of a 35mm shot, the unpredictability of how light will dance across a scene. The allure of film lies not only in its aesthetic, but in the very process, in the anticipation of the developed roll, where each image is a surprise, a relic of a moment that can never be exactly reproduced.
In an age where perfection is expected and everything is filtered within an inch of its life, film wedding photography stands as a micro act of rebellion. The grainy texture of 35mm film, the slight unpredictability of exposure, and the rich, organic colors are traditionally held up as the main virtues of shooting film, but the main benefits are the wonderful diversity of formats, and the ways that they change what the photographer chooses to photograph and how (when each press of the button can costs between $2-$4, you tend to… be calculated).
It wasn’t too long ago that being a film wedding photographer would place you squarely in the bucket of neo-Amish, via something that belonged in your parents’ attic alongside vinyl records and bell-bottom jeans. But just like those vinyls, film photography has made a resounding comeback—and for good reason. The resurgence of 35mm film in wedding photography isn’t about nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. It’s about a return to craftsmanship, to a time when every shot counted and each frame was precious. For modern couples, opting for film is a way of saying that your wedding isn’t just another event—it’s an occasion that deserves to be captured with intention and artistry.
Melbourne is a city that knows how to do things a little differently, and when it comes to wedding photography, that’s no exception. The city’s top film wedding photographers aren’t just snapping photos; they’re creating works of art, one frame at a time. Whether you’re getting married in a chic inner-city venue or surrounded by the natural beauty of the Yarra Valley, a film photographer will bring a unique perspective to your day. By choosing us, you’re ensuring that your wedding photos will be as distinctive and unforgettable as the day itself, captured in the beautiful, unpredictable glory of 35mm film. As for film labs, we prefer Hillvale photo lab here in Melbourne.
Filming weddings and elopements on gorgeous Super-8 film is something we’ve lent our hand to for years, and originally opened up the first Super-8 only wedding videography outfit in the world, Supergreat films. Since then we’ve just rolled it into an offer you can add-on to your photography coverage.
All of our packages include some film. To enquire about the cost of having your wedding photographed on 100% analog film, make an enquiry on the contact page.
We use a mix of old cameras, as well as the very latest analogue film cameras that were ever made. All of them are regularly serviced by the leading analogue film camera technicians. And we carry backsups on backups, so there is never any risk of anything going wrong. In fact, since we’re not simply shooting everything on one digital SD card, you could even argue that having your wedding photos taken on analog film is even safer than digital.
Shooting your wedding on film means being even more careful when capturing moments. This means that we’ll typically come back with a fraction of the photos that we would for a wedding photographed on digital. With that said, you’ll still come away with a minimum of 300-400 finished film photos of your wedding, sometimes even more.
We use only the best stocks from Kodak and Cinestill. Typically, we can be seen waving our very favourites around: Cinestill 800, Ektar, Portra variants, and TMAX or Tri-X. Occasionally, we’ll even bring some special sauce that has become a unique part of my look and made us one of the most sought after film wedding photographers on the planet.
We’ve been planning one for years, and will be releasing a short course on how to be a film wedding photographer soon. Check back on our education here for photographers.
Aug 30, 2022
Pauline and Charlies majestic soiree at the Great Hall, for their National Gallery of Victoria wedding.
Also featured on Polka Dot.
Head here to see more unique wedding venues in Melbourne, and for a great pre-wedding location suitable for the NGV, see this Hotel Windsor wedding. For more Melbourne inspiration within a similar scope of style but scaled back in size, view this Cutler and Co wedding in Melbourne’s inner north.
National Gallery of Victoria wedding venue website: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/functions/weddings/
Aug 28, 2022
Planning a wedding is a bit like trying to find parking in Melbourne’s CBD – overwhelming, confusing, and, at times, downright exhausting. But what if you had a guide through this maze who not only knew all the shortcuts but could throw in some charm and style along the way? Enter Tori Allen Events – Melbourne’s wedding planning mavens who are more about making your wedding uniquely yours than serving up cookie-cutter ceremonies.
If you’re looking for a team that listens to your wildest ideas (yes, even that one about the alpaca ring bearer) and turns them into something genuinely memorable, Tori Allen Events is the go-to. Unlike those who throw around “dream wedding” like it’s on special at Bunnings, Tori Allen Events is all about nailing the details that make the day distinctly yours.
Think of Tori Allen Events as the cool, creative friend who just so happens to be an absolute pro at pulling off remarkable weddings. Tori and her team have an eye for detail and a flair for making even the most outlandish ideas work. Whether you fancy a Cutler and Co wedding with all the modern foodie trimmings, or something at Higher Ground that oozes urban sophistication, they’ve got you covered. And let’s not forget a Rupert on Rupert wedding for that chic, industrial vibe that screams Melbourne.
While Ever After Magazine might sing their praises, Tori Allen Events isn’t about to hand you the same old template. They’re more into listening to your particular quirks and finessing them into something you’ll be raving about for years.
Tori Allen Events isn’t the type to roll out some stock-standard approach. Picture this: instead of talking at you about seating charts and napkin colours, they’re pouring you a coffee (or something stronger) and chatting about what makes you tick. Whether you’re drawn to minimalist vibes or want something that borders on extravagant (but not, you know, too much), they’ll listen and then spin their magic from there.
Their approach is refreshingly collaborative, making sure you’re involved in the process without having to stress over the gritty logistics. You’ve got opinions, they’ve got the know-how – together, you’ll create something genuinely “you.”
Long before they were event masterminds, Tori Allen Events made their name in floral design, and they haven’t forgotten their roots. Their floral arrangements are the stuff of Instagram dreams – but not in a too-perfect-to-touch kind of way. We’re talking blooms that actually feel organic to the day, whether it’s a Higher Ground wedding that needs a bit of urban greenery or something a bit more free-spirited in an outdoor setting.
Their floral designs can elevate any venue, whether it’s the raw edges of Cutler and Co or something more relaxed yet chic. Forget the idea of stock-standard centrepieces – this is floral artistry that makes even your most discerning guests do a double-take.
Tori Allen Events has one serious ace up their sleeve – they know the best of the best when it comes to Melbourne’s wedding vendors. Need to lock in a Melbourne wedding celebrant who isn’t going to put your guests to sleep? They’ve got a recommendation. Hunting for a bridal boutique like Carte Blanche Bride that delivers style without the taffeta overdose? They’ll point you in the right direction.
When it comes to photographers, caterers, and all the other bits and pieces that make up your wedding day, Tori Allen Events works with some of the best in the biz. You can count on them to connect you with vendors who match your style, ensuring your wedding has a professional yet personal touch.
Tori Allen Events is one of the few wedding planners in Melbourne taking sustainability seriously. Their eco-conscious initiatives aren’t just about ticking boxes – they’re woven into everything they do. From sourcing local blooms to reducing waste, they’ll help guide you towards decisions that feel good for both you and the planet. If you’re the kind of person who wants to keep the footprint small (without giving up those lush flowers and excellent food), they’ll help you navigate it all without a hitch.
Whether you need someone to take the reins from the get-go or just want help pulling things together at the last minute, Tori Allen Events can handle it. Their flexibility means they can dive in wherever you need them – whether that’s full-service management or simply on-the-day coordination to make sure Uncle Bob doesn’t go rogue with the speeches.
On-the-day coordination is particularly handy if you’ve spent months planning and just need someone to make sure it all goes to plan. With Tori Allen Events in charge, you’ll be sipping champagne and enjoying your wedding while they handle all the logistics.
Let’s be honest – wedding planning isn’t exactly an art everyone can master. But Tori Allen Events makes it look like a breeze. Their ability to balance style with substance, all while keeping things personal, sets them apart from the pack. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach here – everything is tailored to reflect your unique story.
And unlike others who might get bogged down in the minutiae, Tori Allen Events has a knack for keeping the bigger picture in mind. They balance the logistics with creativity, ensuring your wedding isn’t just another cookie-cutter day but a celebration that feels like an extension of who you are. It’s about as close to effortless as wedding planning gets.
If you’re ready to explore the creative and bespoke wedding planning services Tori Allen Events offers, you can reach out to their team directly through multiple channels:
Tori Allen Events is ready to help craft a wedding that’s creative, personal, and full of Melbourne charm – minus the clichés, and yes, probably with the alpacas, if you really want them.
Aug 19, 2022
Not even an hour north of Melbourne is one of Victorias most marvellous regions for wedddings and events. Book Briars Atlas as as your Macedon Ranges wedding photographer.
Nestled in Victoria’s heart, the Macedon Ranges offers scenery that could make a poet weep—or at least reach for a thesaurus. Picture this: rolling hills, lush gardens, and enough historic charm to keep even the most skeptical in-laws impressed. It’s the perfect blend of nature and sophistication, like pairing a tuxedo with hiking boots.
Whether you want a venue that screams “rustic chic” or whispers “elegant sophistication,” the Macedon Ranges has you covered. Here are a few spots that might tickle your fancy:
The Macedon Ranges offers endless photo opportunities that will make your Instagram followers green with envy. Whether it’s the iconic Hanging Rock or the vibrant Tieve Tara gardens, your wedding album will look like a spread in a lifestyle magazine. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to inspire a little social media jealousy?
Just an hour’s drive from Melbourne, the Macedon Ranges is conveniently located for you and your entourage. The area offers a variety of accommodation options, from luxury hotels to cozy bed and breakfasts, ensuring everyone can find a place to crash after the celebrations.
Choosing the Macedon Ranges means you get to mix natural beauty, historic charm, and modern amenities without any of the typical wedding clichés. It’s a place where you can make memories that will last a lifetime—or at least until the next big life event.
So, ditch the usual wedding shtick and go for something that will truly stand out. The Macedon Ranges is waiting to turn your wedding into an event that’s as unique as your love story, with a touch of humor and a whole lot of style. Start planning today and create a wedding that’s as memorable as it is Instagrammable.
Macedon ranges wedding videography: The Merri Studio
Macedon ranges Wedding venues: Lancemore Estate
Macedon ranges Wedding florists: Raven and the Rose (See also this Montsalvat wedding of Kate and matt)
Something different: It’s no Macedon Ranges, but this Eilean Shona wedding photographed entirely on Kodak film deep in the Scottish Highlands might tickle a bit of the inspiration muscle.
A short hour towards Nagambie, see this Mitchelton Winery wedding. In the Yarra Valley, see the wedding of nurse and Olympic swimmer, Ella Walters and Mack Horton at the wedding of Ella and Mack. Further back into Melbourne, see this Cumulus wedding, Recoleta wedding by Spring St Events, and way out west near the heart of Geelong, the Provenance Wines wedding of Sumeyra and Daniel.
May 28, 2022
Held on their private family farm and supported by a who’s who list of eminent suppliers (including Adelaides own local hero Paolo Sebastian), the Hindmarsh Island wedding of Emily and Jordan was a majestic display of style, rustic charm and anarchy.
Wedding Venue: private (See similar private property wedding venues out in Victoria)
Wedding dress: Paolo Sebastian
Wedding Video: Humdrum films
Florist: Twig Design
Band: Little Ditty entertainment
Celebrant: Samuel James
Catering: Taylor & Holmes
Stationery: Sam Pauletto
Linens: Honoured Hire
Marquee: White Marquee
Head here for some more paolo sebastian wedding dresses.
May 17, 2022
Damian and John chose a Grounds of Alexandria (check out more venues on this writeup of luxury wedding venues sydney) wedding, and brought a gloriously raucous crew of loved ones from far and wide to celebrate (and us, coming up from Melbourne). Enjoy this gorgeous colourful soiree.
Wedding florals: The Grounds Florals
Dance troupe: Sirens Dance Company
Dessert: The Grounds Patisserie
Wedding DJ: We Play Records
Wedding celebrant: Jann Symes
Wedding venue: The Grounds of Alexandria
Planning a wedding at The Grounds of Alexandria? You’re likely eyeing this spot for its unique charm, and it’s not hard to see why. Whether you’re after a rustic vibe or a more modern setting, this venue does both—and quite well, might I add.
📍 Address
7a/2 Huntley Street, Alexandria NSW 2015, Australia
📞 Phone
(02) 9699 2225
📧 Email
events@thegrounds.com.au
🌐 Website
thegrounds.com.au/weddings
🕒 Hours of Operation
Monday to Friday: 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Saturday to Sunday: 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM
May 12, 2022
Amanda and James Panama Dining Room wedding – beginning at Hotel Windsor, and ending with the most fabulous aerial dancefloor efforts you ever saw. Amanda and James traipsed across a carefully planned group of the quaintest little slices of Collingwood and Melbourne for their portraits and intermission drinks, and gloriously shook off the… other aerial dance, of having to reschedule their wedding multiple times due to C… you know what.
Marvellous.
Amanda and James wedding at the Panama Dining Room is also featured on Together Journal. Head to the bottom of the post for a full rundown of their wedding team, some of Melbournes very best, who joined us on the day to throw their celebration together, overseen by wedding planner Events by Emma Currie.
Ceremony Location + Catering: The Panama, @thepanamadiningroom
Photographer: Briars Atlas, @briarsatlas
Celebrant: Ceremonies by Ally, @ceremoniesbyally
Styling + Hire: The Small Things Co, @thesmallthingsco
Planner: Events by Emma Currie, @eventsbyemmacurrie
Flora: North St Botanical, @northst
Cake: Katielou’s Cakes, @katielous_cakes
Stationery: Villa Studio, @villastudioweddings; State of Reverie, @stateofreveriestudio
Car: d’Luxe Classic Car Tours, @dluxeclassiccartours
Audio Guestbook: At The Beep, @atthebeep.co
Amanda’s Ceremony Dress: Linda Jane Doble, @lindajanedoble
Amanda’s Reception Jumpsuit: Julie Goodwin Couture, @juliegoodwincouture
James’ Custom made 3 piece suit: Angela Nicolades (6-8 Bonham Place, Richmond)
Ring/s + Amanda’s Earrings: Chloe McColl, @chloemccolljewellery
Shoes: (Her) Loeffler Randall, @loefflerrandall; (His) McCloud, @mccloudshoes
Tie: Gucci, @gucci
Makeup: Killer Queen Creative, @killerqueencreative
Hair: The Distinctive Dame, @thedistinctivedame
Panama Dining Room website: https://thepanama.com.au/
Panama Dining Room phone number: (03) 9650 1445
Apr 11, 2022
The sublime sounds of Renee and Jamie, otherwise known as Tobi Tobi music aren’t ones that anyone forgets terribly quickly. Flying their “covers for lovers” flag, they share their music at weddings and elopements from their base hometown of Melbourne, Australia, to destination weddings all over the world.
With a skillset covering double bass, vocials and guitar, Tobi specialise in all things serene and delicate, while doing incredible justice to the most diverse set of songs you can imagine. They can interpret everything from Beyonce to Ben Harper, fusing genres old and new, and making the music you love them most, inexplicably their own (and yours).
The understated grounding of Jamie fuses wonderfully with the ethereal, jazz-coloured vocals of Renee, in a way that has seen them quickly become adored internationally as possibly the best wedding duo going.
For a sample song list, head here to see a brief smattering of what they’ve been known to do.
Tobi Tobi music website: https://www.tobitobi.co/
Tobi Tobi music on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobitobi.co
Make an email enquiry to Tobi Tobi: hi@tobitobi.co
DJ’s, duo’s, big bands and more – see this article for the best Melbourne wedding bands, and for more musician photography cast your eyeballs over to the Melbourne music photographer portfolio.
Mar 16, 2022
Those in the culinary know are aware of the famously understated and widely acclaimed restaurant and accommodation on the Mornington Peninsula, Graceburn & Tedesca Osteria. Ruth and Jack held their intimate wedding on it’s grounds under the careful hands of Bridgette and her marvellous team.
Ruth and Jack are featured on Together Journal, and photographed on a mixture of digital and analogue Kodak film.
Tedesca Osteria website: https://www.tedesca.com.au/
Head here for more Mornington Peninsula Wedding Venues
Nov 16, 2021
Bonnie and George preceeded their Cutler and Co wedding with a Burnley Gardens wedding ceremony, hidden in the heart of Melbourne along the banks of the Yarra River.
Wedding venue: Greenfields Albert Park
Wedding Celebrant: Veenstra
Wedding suit: YSG Tailors
Wedding florist: Little Stag
Wedding DJ: The Knave
Sep 24, 2021
Our Super 8 wedding films are gorgeous, nostalgic wedding videos for folks looking for something more gritty and natural. Grain, sprocket holes from the film, washes of light and the most spectacular rendering of colour imaginable. It’s kinda wild that for a generation, this was the normal way to create a record of our families and moments. So, this is exactly what we’d book for ourselves, and the look that this incredible 1970’s format gives, is like nothing else on the planet.
No sound, no drawn-out storytelling or Hollywood edits: just the best bits, the weird and the wacky, stored perfectly on real celluloid in the only way that the super-8 wedding film format can, and the result looks like a nostalgic dream that’s hard to believe you’re in.
Super 8 is a classic film format more widely known for capturing much of the home-videos that we might have seen out of the 1970’s.
In 2018 a special, strange looking thing landed in our lap: a super-8 camera. You can find them everywhere, and they look wonderful. Once we got the first tape back, we were hooked, and immediately began offering it for wedding couples: in the process, creating the first super-8 only video offering in the world, Supergreat Films. Now, we simply offer them here with our stills photography coverage.
As well as over a decade of stoking the fire of film wedding photography, we have a previous life directing and producing music videos for all kinds of celebrated artists, and often on a shoestring budget. Along with that comes a unique sensitivity to slicing things together in a way that makes you feel something.
Check out our music videos for The Paper Kites, Briggs, Briggs, The Twoks, and Grammy winner Mike Waters.
If you’ve booked us as your melbourne wedding photographer, then adding a super 8 film to your wedding coverage is easy.
If you’ve not booked us for your wedding photography, you can still enquire for a standalone wedding film using our contact form at the top. If you’d like to connect with our Super-8 wedding film account, head over to Supergreat films.
We shoot Kodak film too: find out about having your entire wedding photographed on analog Kodak film by heading here: 35mm film wedding photographer.
A super 8 film is a 3-5 minute highlight of your wedding, captured on the Super 8 cameras and Super 8 Kodak film, which is still being produced. You might know the look without realising it: it was the format used to document much of the worlds family history throughout the 60’s and 70’s.
Super 8 film does not record sound. In the past it did, but that format has since been phased out. If you would like sound recorded, check out these wedding videographer Melbourne folks who create the full experience, sound included.
We craft these in a unique way, and shoot enough tapes to have plenty to work with. To cover processing and material fees, our super 8 wedding videos start at $3.5k.
After we film your wedding or session, the tapes are sent deep into northern Victoria, where our lab-wizard processes them chemically, before sending us the files. This part alone can take up to 3 weeks. From there, we do our edit. You should expect to receive your finished super 8 wedding film inside 6 weeks.
Aug 25, 2021
On the hunt for the best small wedding venues in Melbourne? Here we have created a list of the most stylish, intimate and well-managed wedding and event spaces in the heart of this great city of Melbourne.
For various reasons, we’ve enjoyed seeing an explosion in beautiful intimate small weddings (or, micro wedding packages Victoria and beyond, or, straight up elopements), which means you’re probably looking for small wedding venues in Melbourne: and if we do small venues as well as we do croissants or… anything, really, that means that this won’t be a compromise, but instead, something awesome.
If there’s one thing we’ve noticed in photographing celebrations of all shapes and sizes, there’s always a certain brilliance in intimate gatherings that just doesn’t exist in larger ones, and having a small wedding in the short term still means you can have a larger celebration down the line, with less planning infrastructure.
Pair that with the classic Melbourne tendency to get creative with things, and it makes for a brilliant range of Small wedding venue options. If you’re looking for a cheap wedding venue Melbourne or beyond, dialling things down and hosting a smaller wedding with a more intimate guest list can be one way of doing that. (See also: small Yarra Valley Wedding venues).
Ahead of the curve in the small-wedding game, The Altar Electric has been championing the power of intimate weddings for years, and is the brainchild of The Wedding Anarchist, Sarah Dobson, and Anthony Cribbes.
One of the more characterful small wedding venues in Melbourne and nestled in the industrial back streets of Collingwood, The Altar Electric warehouse wedding venue can cater for weddings up to about 30 people, and right down to a cracking shotgun-wedding with just the two of you and your witnesses: either way, it’s one of the few elopement or wedding venues under $100 per person out there.
To top it all off, they just upgraded their space, thanks to the incredible styling handiwork of local design and party heroes, Good Day Club.
So whether you’ve got a small elopement, 5 guests, 10 guests, 20 guests, 30 guests, 40 guests, 50 guests, 60 guests, or 70 guests (I think that’s where they cap out) this brilliant peach palace is a great place to have a small wedding, and doubles as one of the more affordable wedding venues melbourne has to offer.
Enquire about their Collingwood Small Wedding Packages
The Altar Electric website: www.thealtarelectric.com.au
The Altar Electric wedding gallery: Altar Electric showcase
Venue size: Intimate, from 2, up to around 50 guests
Small Wedding Venue Address: 81 Rupert St, Collingwood VIC 3066
When Covid19 hit full-steam and we were locked down to having weddings and elopements with a maximum of 5 people in total, local genius Mel of The Ceremony Store came up with a hit elopement concept that quickly spread throughout Australia, and right over into the USA: I Do Drive Thru.
I Do Drive Thru gets you married in a whirlwind elopement ceremony from the safe confines of your car, or anywhere in a public space: just you two, and the very closest of your crew. Get it said, get it done, and get away to celebrate what matters: just the two of you. Given that, this also technically makes them the most affordable wedding venue melbourne has available.
Don’t be mistaken by the name: while I Do Drive Thru might sound like, it’s a drive-thru thing, that’s only one side of what it can be. I Do Drive Thru is a small wedding ceremony and elopement planner, done anywhere you like, in exactly any style of intimate celebration that you can imagine. From loud, to quiet, to classy to crazy, and everything in between. If you’re looking to elope Melbourne or beyond, be sure to check these legendary lunatics out.
Read more about I Do Drive Thru here, each out to them to see if they’re the right fit, and ask about their small wedding packages Melbourne and beyond (they are now based in a tonne of cities). And if you loved this incredible dress, check out this lis of the best unique wedding dresses in Melbourne.
Enquire about their Drive Through Wedding Packages
I Do Drive Thru website: www.idodrivethru.com.au
I Do Drive Thru wedding gallery: Drive Through Weddings
Venue size: Scaleable, from 2, up to as many guests as you like
One of the best small wedding venues in Melbourne or places to elope in industrial surrounds, Rupert is the hidden gem of Collingwood, supporting both large wedding celebrations (80 guests, 90 guests, 100 guests and beyond) and smaller intimate ones (10 guests, small wedding venues for 20 guests, 30 guests etc) via clever use of one or more of it’s three areas. Rupert isn’t necessarily known as a Small Wedding Venue in Melbourne but is super unique in how it can be scaled to suit any size celebration, and might be one of the better elopement venues Melbourne has on offer.
To see a larger wedding in full with more examples of this incredibly stylish small wedding venue, check out this Rupert on Rupert wedding, and you’ll see why it’s one of the best intimate wedding venues Melbourne has on offer.
Enquire about Rupert on Rupert Wedding Packages with their wedding and event planner
Rupert on Rupert website: www.rupertonrupert.com.au
Rupert on Rupert wedding gallery: Rupert on Rupert Wedding
Rupert on Rupert wedding capacity: 40 – 200 guests
Small Wedding Venue Address: 73 Rupert St, Collingwood VIC 3066
Two Ton Max is a repurposed, blank-canvas warehouse wedding venue in the heart of North Melbourne. One of the most simple wedding venues melbourne has on offer. Two Ton Max can support elopements and small weddings of all sizes, but with the way it’s space can be compartmentalised, it is ideal for small Melbourne weddings of 20 people, up to 50 people and beyond.
Enquire about Two Ton Max Wedding Packages
Two Ton Max website: www.twotonmax.com.au
Two Ton Max wedding gallery: Two Ton Max wedding
Two Ton Max wedding capacity: 40 – 300 guests
Small Wedding Venue Address: 124 Langford St, North Melbourne VIC 3051
The Deck in St Kilda might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about a small wedding venue, but the unique, angular layout of the internal space, as well as the L-shaped external deck, make it ideal for creatively arranging it for a small wedding. With so much natural venue detail both inside and out, there’s plenty to keep the senses entertained without having to fill the space with 150 people.
Not only that, but The Deck has several other little spaces that can be used. Just ask.
Want to see The Deck in action at a wedding? Then check out the deck wedding of Emily and Tony.
Enquire about Prince The Deck Small Wedding Packages with their event planner
The Prince Deck website: www.theprince.com.au
The Prince Deck wedding gallery: The Deck Wedding
The Prince Deck wedding capacity: 20 – 450 guests
Small Wedding Venue Address: 2 Acland St, St Kilda VIC 3182
Tess and Sam, married on their family property in Australia’s Kangaroo Valley.
If larger wedding venues aren’t a part of the plan and you’re looking towards an elopement or intimate small wedding, sometimes it’s best to look inwards to what’s closest: our own family property. With some thoughtful catering and preparation, having a wedding at your home makes for an intimate experience, and something potentially more meaningful when you look back at your photos.
The only concern usually had around having a wedding on family property, is that of cleanup. But keep your crew small, keep the food simple, and it’s a great way to have a meaningful celebration where the only timeline you’re working to is your own, and one of the best elopement venues Melbourne has on offer right in yours (or your mates) backyard.
An Air-Bnb has all the intimacy and timeline benefits of hosting your elopement or small wedding on your own family property, with the added bonus of being able to get married at any spectacular geographic location of your own choosing. Select a location with adventure nearby and a good kitchen within.
Here, Sarah and Simon had a beautiful small elopement ceremony at an Air-Bnb in a spectacular piece of nature, before enjoying a beautiful afternoon with 4 of their closest friends, and an evening of home cooked meals and games. If you’re looking to elope Melbourne or beyond, be sure to check out some of the beautiful nearby Air BnB’s for your small wedding.
Sarah and Simons Australian wedding was featured on the wedding blog Rock n Roll Bride, so head over there for more of their story.
One of the more colourful elopement venues Melbourne has going, we left this one last, because it leads into some thoughts written under it, so read on. Kenny Lover is a brilliant little Thornbury shop, offering chips and ice-cream.
Together at last.
Not only that, but they have the most jaw-droppingly beautiful interior. If you don’t believe me, head over and check out this Kenny Lover wedding, where Paul and Sam, Thornbury locals, headed there after having an intimate small wedding ceremony at their home. Fabulous, colourful elopement venue in Melbournes inner north. An elopement or small wedding that has Kenny Lover involved somehow will make for an incredibly unique wedding experience in Melbourne.
Glasshaus Inside and Glasshaus Outside are two brilliant small wedding venues in Melbourne, sitting just outside of the Melbourne CBD, tucked in Richmond. Glasshaus Inside doubles as a warehouse jungle, and Glasshaus Outside swaps the warehouse vibe for an aviary. A small wedding venue in melbourne for folks seeking a grittier feel where nature is a part of the celebration. Imagine a grand ballroom, with the roof ripped out, and a glorious jungle spread around it’s interior.
That’s about right.
Enquire about Glasshaus Small Wedding Packages
Glasshaus Richmond website: Glasshaus Website
Glasshaus Richmond wedding gallery: Glasshaus Wedding
Glasshaus Richmond wedding capacity: 20 – 140 guests
Small Wedding Venue Address: 44 Cremorne St, Cremorne, VIC, 3121
Gather and Tailor aren’t the smallest wedding venue in Melbourne (that crown probably goes to the Altar Electric), but their dual warehouse spaces, particular warehouse one, are blank-canvasses that can be arranged any way you like. The incredible, forward thinking folks at Nudo run Gather and Tailor, and their expert planning team can host you a unique small wedding at their venue.
Gather and Tailor have both Warehouse One and Warehouse Two – beautifully distinct urban spaces that can host weddings large and small.
Enquire about Gather and Tailor Wedding Packages with their event planner
Gather and Tailor website: www.gatherandtailor.com.au
Gather and Tailor wedding gallery: Gather and Tailor wedding
Gather and Tailor wedding capacity: 40 – 200 guests
Small Wedding Venue Address: Unit 11/41-59 Sims St, West Melbourne VIC 3003
I feel this is generally overlooked when folks are looking at the small wedding venues Melbourne has to offer, but if you know what’s what, you know that a classic heritage environment is a beautiful surrounds to have a celebration in, and just as good to dress up in your own way or with the hand of a great florists (check out the best wedding florists in Melbourne). The Melbourne Town Hall is a beautiful, ambient space, protected from the weather, and perfectly sized for a small wedding.
Enquire about Melbourne Town Hall Small Wedding Packages with their event planner
Melbourne Town Hall website: Wedding information
Melbourne Town Hall wedding gallery: Coming shortly, check back soon
Melbourne Town Hall wedding capacity: 20 – 400 guests
Small Wedding Venue Address: Small Wedding Venue Address: Unit 11/41-59 Sims St, West Melbourne VIC 3003
One of the great joys of this Covid business wrapping up will be seeing the best small wedding venue in Brunswick, the Brunswick Mess Hall, back in action. An incredible mixed-bag of design sensibilities that works a treat, and every time we’ve been there photographing a wedding, the space has been taken over in a unique and different way.
Enquire about Brunswick Mess Hall Small Wedding Packages
Brunswick Mess Hall website: www.thebrunswickmesshall.com.au
Brunswick Mess Hall wedding gallery: Kirstyn and Nicholas
Brunswick Mess Hall wedding capacity: 20 – 400 guests
Small Wedding Venue Address: Small Wedding Venue Address: 400 Sydney Rd, Brunswick VIC 3056
Nudo, owners of The Wool Mill (a grand ballroom – but industrial style), say they run the best wedding planning service in the world, and given how well oiled their machine is, that statement is about on-point. Nudo look after all the moving parts of your wedding, and as well as Gather and Tailor (see point #9), they also have Brunswicks The Wool Mill in their venue stable. A wonderful blank canvas, modern small wedding warehouse venue.
Enquire about The Wool Mill Small Wedding Packages
The Wool Mill website: www.thewoolmill.com.au
The Wool Mill wedding capacity: 20 – 200 guests
Small Wedding Venue Address: 161 Donald St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Not a venue as such, but Picnic Styling Co must be included here. If you’re looking for a brilliant small wedding experience that you can enjoy anywhere out in public or indoors, you must check out the popup Picnic Styling Co. Picnic Styling Co create bespoke picnic experiences for any number of guests, brilliantly styled with no work to do by you. Turn up, have fun, walk away, and Picnic Styling Co take care of the rest.
Enquire about Picnic Styling Co Small Wedding Packages
Picnic Styling Co website: Picnic Styling Co Website
Picnic Styling Co wedding gallery: Picnic Styling Co Wedding
Picnic Styling Co wedding capacity: 2 – 40 guests
Sometimes the goodness is right in front of you: get some food-trucks or a Paella station, and host the party right at home. Check out this Porch article on Backyard Weddings.
Micro weddings—where you get to dodge the small talk with distant relatives you barely remember. Melbourne’s on board with this trend, and for good reason. A smaller guest list allows you to actually enjoy your day, minus the need for crowd control. And when it comes to venues, Melbourne’s got more to offer than just oversized ballrooms and function spaces that double as conference rooms.
So, how do you actually go about planning a micro wedding in Melbourne without getting sucked into the vortex of ‘wedding package’ spreadsheets? The key is curating an experience that’s intimate yet refined, with the right pieces in place to make it uniquely yours—while avoiding the pitfall of wedding bloat.
In Melbourne, crafting a micro wedding package is less about following the typical wedding formula and more about curating an experience that reflects who you are as a couple. You don’t need an extravagant guest list or an endless series of add-ons to make your day memorable. You need the right space, the right people, and a focus on the things that actually matter.
Melbourne gives you plenty of options to work with, so embrace the small and make it a day that sticks with you for all the right reasons.
We recomment this Recoleta wedding, this Cutler and Co wedding, and of course, The Altar Electric.
When we think about it, there aren’t that many mandatory moving parts to a wedding: you need a Melbourne Wedding Celebrant to take care of the papers and the ceremony, but really, the rest is up for grabs. One thing thats come out of the Covid pandamic, is a general willingness to be fluid and break new ground from both wedding vendors and small business in general.
Why do I say this? Because if you’re looking for a small wedding venue, consider what it would look like, to simply plan to have it in your favourite cafe, restaurant, take-away place, or any other business. Literally.
So with all that in mind, let us present this little idea: make a list of places that are meaningful to you: cafes, take-out shops, or even shops that sell knick-knacks, books, or anything else under the sun. A wedding ceremony doesn’t need to be an hour, and you don’t need to have your wedding ceremony in a place that can also feed any guests you have present.
Spend every Saturday morning in that quiet, beat-up cafe around the corner that no-one knows about? Ask them if you can sign the papers and say some words in there, and ask them what they’ll charge for the honour (they’ve probably never been asked).
The idea of “what is a wedding venue” is going to change pretty dramatically, as we change our idea of what a wedding is.
So make a list of bucket-list places that are either meaningful to you or quirky in their own right, and just give them a call! You might find that they are actually incredibly receptive to the idea of having a ten minute ceremony in their space where they get some cracking photographs of it for themselves afterwards too, and there’s something extra special about making that commitment in a meaningful space.
We see it all the time with the portrait part of the day, with brilliant wedding portraits captured in cafes and thrift shops, so why not the ceremony itself?
Everything can be a small wedding venue, if you’re creative enough.
All you can do is ask.
While we’re dealing with only having small gatherings, many of Melbournes most incredible venues are able to scale themselves down to accommodate a more intimate wedding.
To discover a whole lot of other options, including some larger ones to keep in mind for when your community can all celebrate together again, here’s a list of incredible Unique Melbourne Wedding Venues, or further out on the coast, check out these Mornington Peninsula wedding venues.
Looking for a large venue? Check out their Indian wedding reception.
If you’re hosting an elopement rather than a small wedding, you’re probably the type of person that’s less about the full theatrics about a wedding, and more about enjoying an intimate space with just your partner and maybe a friend or family member or two. Many of the venues on this page are suited to small weddings, but also consider that if you’re planning an elopement, you can really twist it however you want.
For example: while Rupert on Rupert is more suited to medium and small weddings, it doesn’t mean you can’t sign your papers nearby in a small elopement ceremony, and then head to Rupert to enjoy some drinks and a meal together. To craft a bespoke elopement experience in Melbourne, also be sure to hit up I Do Drive Thru (who plan intimate elopement ceremonies anywhere you can imagine, not just from the car as their name might imply), or even reach out to a Melbourne wedding celebrant as they are always more than happy to take more of a hand in crafting you a brilliant Melbourne elopement experience.
Our personal vote goest to Rupert on Rupert, but here you can also find 20 of the best Small Wedding Venues in Melbourne.
A Small Wedding can have 5 guests, 10 guests, 20 guests, or 30 guests, but any more and it can become something larger and less intimate.
It’s hard to go past the brilliant Picnic Styling Co, who will setup your Small Wedding anywhere in Melbourne, leave you to celebrate, and then come and pack it all up for you.
If you carefully consider the style, wedding catering, and length of your small wedding, you can easily host your wedding for under $100 per person. Reach out to an incredible Small Wedding Planner such as Will and Jac or Popup With Style for assistance on planning your wedding budget.
To find Small Wedding Packages in Victoria, you should make an enquiry with the best small wedding planners and venues: The Altar Electric, I Do Drive Thru, and Picnic Styling Co. Each of these services can help you plan your small wedding in Melbourne, with all-inclusive wedding packages.
Enquire with a small wedding venue on this list, or reach out to a small wedding planner such as Popup with Style.
A small wedding is considered anything from 2 guests (anything less is really an elopement), up to around 50 guests.
Check out all of the micro wedding venues on this post. My own favourite might just be Rupert on Rupert.
The best micro wedding packages Victoria and beyond can be found with I Do Drive Thru, as well as The Altar Electric.
For more information on weddings or elopements at short notice, head over to our post on how to get married quickly in Australia.
Briars Atlas- Small Melbourne Wedding Photographer – https://briarsatlas.com
Aug 19, 2021
Bianca and Harrison fused their worlds at South Melbourne for their Half Acre wedding, with an incredibly colourful, dynamic soiree at this wonderful warehouse venue tucked neatly away from the riff raff of the city.
Stylist: Sophie Panton
Venue: Half Acre: https://www.instagram.com/halfacre_melbourne/
Florist: Studio Hollingsworth: https://hollingsworth.studio/
Half Acre Website: https://www.halfacre.com.au/
Half Acre Phone: (03) 9999 1191
Make a photography enquiry here.
Aug 19, 2021
Melbourne wedding celebrants: finding a great one is challenging, and it’s hard to get an idea of whether their vibe is gonna fit your proverbial tribe ahead of time. The Celebrant A List is an initiative put together to help solve that, and here you can see a whole host of the very best wedding celebrants Melbourne has to offer.
I’ve been super lucky to work with these wedding celebrants, so read on and enjoy these community marvels and a little insight into the Celebrant A List, and then hire one for your elopement or wedding (check out these awesome small wedding venues too, or these amazing unique wedding dresses).
From quiet and stylish, to outlandish rockstars and everything in between, this unique list of the top wedding celebrants in Melbourne also has photos of every one of these legends taken at the Celebrant A List Baller, so you can get a great idea of how their vibe might align with your own day.
If you want to skip the gab and get to the point, here’s a run-sheet of some of the best Melbourne wedding celebrants that are featured here (in no order):
Lord of the dark-funk, Jac the Hitcher, has retired.
Grandmaster suave, Matt Finch lives here and also at this beautiful Melbourne gay wedding of Sam and Paul.
Lord of all things neon and dark in the wedding celebrant world, find Annie here.
As well as being found under an excellent hat, known as one of the Best Marriage Celebrants Melbourne has on offer, you can find Sean here.
As well as being found wrapped in curtains, Megan can be found here.
Megan is pointing over there, and to find her we’re pointing here.
This legendary Tasmanian wedding celebrant can be found here, and while there check out this Bruny Island wedding and this Cradle Mountain elopement.
This totally debonair devil can be found here.
Formerly known as Marry Me Dee, and if you want colour and jazz, maybe the best marriage celebrant Melbourne has going. Find her here and here.
Not just a good looking rack for short-shorts, also maybe the best marriage celebrant Melbourne has on offer, find him here. If you’re looking to also pop a bloom in ya’ gob, head here to find an awesome Melbourne wedding florist.
With her name an homage to Fleetwood Mac, find the brilliant, empathetic and effervescent Erin here.
You’ve seen young ‘Tony a lot around these parts, and if a modern James Bond is your vibe, maybe the best marriage celebrant in Melbourne. Find him here and here.
This rainbow pocket rocket can be found here. Also see her in action at this Two Ton Max wedding we both worked on.
Lord mistress of all things hilarious, Nat lives here and here. I also worked with this brilliant mofo at this Fortyfive Downstairs wedding.
I’ve worked with this gem many a time, possibly the best marriage celebrant Melbourne has around, you can find Charis here, and we’re featured together on Suzanne Harward. Head here to find out her opinion on how to write a wedding ceremony.
This cartwheeling legend can be found here
On paper it’s a directory with some hand picked celebrants. Maybe it’s also an antidote to the ‘come one come all’ sites that I find just end up causing us much confusion and anxiety for couples who are by and large going through this process for the first time.
BUT what it actually is a chance to be a little different in the market. All of the directory members are people from my own and some other close confidant’s personal networks.
These were people we already were swapping leads with. So whilst it’s not the definitive and finite list of who’s a quality melbourne wedding celebrant, I can definitely say that all members are quality people and celebrants.
So the Celebrant A List is also a little community group. We all know which other members are better suited for which kind of couple just based on the initial enquiry.
So my advice would be to get on the directory, to find the kind of wedding celebrant you think fits the bill and send them an enquiry.
If they’re not available, we work as a group to find you someone that is not only free but will also fit what you are looking for.
Is Brian Jones or David Koresh a funny or poor tasting joke?! Nah but in all honesty, the crew on the Wedding Celebrant A List is from the network of wedding celebrants who were already naturally jelling together.
Everyone on the list is vouched for – we avoid cult like activities, thinking and environments, we feel the market for that is already catered for!
Haha, what a question! If I was to say what was the mission of the Wedding Celebrant A List, it would be to address exactly this challenge.
We have moved from a world where once upon a time we had to wait until every Thursday night at 7:30PM before our favourite show would be on…now I can binge watch whatever I want, whenever I want.
This is how society works now, so the Wedding Celebrant A List is the kind of place where people can come and not only can we help them feel less overwhelmed we also support each other’s businesses.
It’s for this reason alone why we don’t have hundreds and hundreds of members as we genuinely feel like in the end that helps no one – the couples or the celebrants.
As I already mentioned, just by enquiring with one us, we’re kind of all there to help you find not only the right celebrant but also many other vendors.
We all buy based on people giving us recommendations, it’s kind of the same approach over at the Wedding Celebrant A List.
Well before good ol’ Rona hit the plan was to try and host an event in each major city where we have representation. But now we’re focussed on our big event next year, Hitchmas.
We plan on making this the best business workshop/networking/party kind of event ever hosted in the wedding world.
Head back up through this post and click through to any of the brilliant Melbourne wedding celebrants websites.
A Melbourne wedding celebrant costs anywhere from $600 to $2000, to deliver a customised wedding ceremony. You should expect a good wedding celebrant to cost around $1500, as there is so much more work involved by the wedding celebrant than just taking care of the wedding ceremony itself.
A wedding celebrant in Australia will cost you from $600 up to $2000, and there is a lot of work involved in creating an incredible custom wedding ceremony for you. You can expect a good wedding celebrant to cost around $1500, and it is one of the better places to spend money on the day, as a good wedding celebrant puts in the time and love to honour you both and your community.
A wedding celebrant is a person who performs and officiates your wedding, funeral, or other similar ceremonies.
If you love people, and love running a show, you can be a wedding celebrant. Reach out to Annie, on this page, who runs a celebrant training school.
You should ask your wedding celebrant the following questions:
1: What is your style?
2: What is your level of experience?
3: What happens if things go wrong?
4: How will you tell our story?
5: Do you share audio with the videographers?
Find a celebrant on this page, and then head over to our post on how to get married quickly in Australia.
Finding a Melbourne wedding celebrant can be a bit of a massive task – fortunately, the Wedding Celebrant A List has been assembled to take some of the legwork out of it. Verified legends, take a look and find your Melbourne wedding celebrant below, and then get them down for your Melbourne city elopement.
The Celebrant A List website
The Celebrant A List Instagram
Link one of these legends up with a brilliant Melbourne wedding planner, and with the brilliant minds of Firecracker Event an incredible grazing table.
All photographs on this page are by Briars Atlas, and any usage must first gain permission.
Want to get photos like these? Then you should check out our new little collaborative side business, BLANC, that channels the spirit of a Vanity Fair photo booth… we think there’s nothing like it out there.
Briars Atlas Wedding Photography Melbourne – Make an Enquiry
May 22, 2021
Enter the Coombe wedding of Madi and Pete in the Yarra Valley. A classic story of a day with the unique spanner in the works that coloured much of the wedding planning of folks planning their days across 2020-2022, finally held without a hiccup, and with an agile team coming together to make it all happen at one of the Yarra Valleys most spectacular venues.
Along for the ride was their golden retriever, adorned with the incredible floral handiwork of Honesty Flora.
Videographer – Humdrum films
Florist – Honesty Flora Website
Venue – Coombe Website
Celebrant – Connie Cohen
Music – Lark Music Website
For more venues like Coombe that are a bit off the radar, see this article about private property wedding venues in Victoria.
May 12, 2021
Make it move, with style: these are the best wedding videographers in Melbourne. The days of cringe-inducing, cheesy wedding videos (where everyone in the lounge room looks like they would rather go and do their tax return than sit through another cliched waltz through a field set to a millennial whoop) are well and truly over: these Melbourne wedding videographers bring style, sass, a sensitivity to you as a couple, and often, industry-awarded backgrounds in other creative pursuits that have led them to be some of the most unique and sought after wedding videographers on the planet, let alone Melbourne.
To see their work scroll down, and also be sure to check out the cheat sheet. Feature film below by Humdrum Films.
Wedding Videography can be a last-minute inclusion, but when you see the work these maestros produce you’ll agree that it’s something to prioritise a little higher, as these incredible artists balance journalism with an artistic, creative twist on your wedding day. These 5 motion marvels are the most sought after wedding videographers in Melbourne.
Say no to cheese, no to cringe, and yes to bringing someone along for the ride who will be incredible fun on the day, and make you something that you’ll love for years to come.
And I mean “proper” love, not “your mates telling you they love it but really they want to run away and watch paint dry” love.
Anyway – here is a handful of the best: creative, beautiful humans, and a thoughtful, relaxed inclusion to your day that will create you something you’ll want to look at and not stuff under the bed gathering dust.
Needless to say – picking your Melbourne wedding videographer carefully and thoughtfully will be one of the best decisions you make for your day.
If you don’t believe me – just check out every “I wish I…” post where folks look back at their wedding day. In #1 spot each and every time – is those that didn’t hire a great videographer, wishing they had.
Photographs are all well and good, but when push comes to shove, there’s nothing like having your loved ones preserved in movement and sound by the absolute genius artisans on this page.
You’re going to be spending an entire day together, so at a minimum, you want to like each other. There’s a fine line between affable, and downright intrusive, and as through all of life, you never really know what someone is like until you’ve had to either spend a morning at the supermarket together, or spend the day in front of their lens. So as a public service gesture, all of the videographers on this page are so perfectly tuned in, aware, and certified as utterly brilliant company.
Secondly, and this goes without saying, they have to be a master of their craft. Anyone can wave a camcorder around, and just as your uncle Bobs footage will be so marvellously perfect in it’s own right, over the fence is what these maestros create: art.
So, here we go – what I believe to be Melbournes most unique and creative wedding videographers and cinematographers.
Some of the more unique wedding videography Melbourne has on offer, these two characters wouldn’t look out of place on the character-rack of Tarantinos writing-room. But luckily for us (you), we instead get them all to ourselves. Master crafts-folk and hilarious to boot, Bottlebrush Films are the power couple to end all power couples. Or if not end them – ride with them on a unicorn into an alternate galaxy. Etc. Whatever. Just go follow these two on Tik Tok. Now.
Bottlebrush Films Website – https://bottlebrushfilms.com.au/
Bottlebrush Films Feature – https://briarsatlas.com/bottlebrush-films/
Instagram: @bottlebrushfilms
Address: Greater Melbourne
Phone: 0439 495 004
The most debonair, dashing craftsmen in the game. Jared, Jacob, and their impossibly perfect haircuts swoon around weddings carefully out of the way, with a look of curiosity on their face that you later realise has translated into the most impossibly unique way of seeing what’s in front of them. Small wonder they are quite literally flown around the entire planet filming love across all cultures, because no-one else beats to their drum.
Humdrum Films feature
Hudrum Films Website – https://humdrumfilms.com.au/
Instagram: @humdrumfilms
Address: 23 Balmain St, Cremorne
Helmed by the Luke, The Beginning studio are producing some of the most progressive work out there, effortlessly fusing the most cutting edge in tasteful editing styles, with slick editorial glamour. The Beginning work all over Australia and beyond, and are frequently available to service Melbourne.
The Beginning website
https://thebeginning.com.au/
Instagram: @thebeginningstudio
Maybe the grittiest, quirky wedding videography Melbourne has going. I’m slightly biased here – as Supergreat Films is the cinematography arm of Briars Atlas. Supergreat Films shoot wedding videos just like the old days: on beautiful Super-8 film straight out of the 1970’s, with some classic 90’s VHS to boot.
As far as wedding videography, a super 8 wedding film is about capturing the feel, not the story: no sound is recorded, no speeches, and the guarantee isn’t a chronological order of what went down, but a wild, anarchic representation of what went down using some of the most beautiful ways of recording moving image that us clever little humans ever developed. With all that said, it’s recommended to hire a proper end-to-end videographer that also records sound and speeches, and hire SuperGreat as a unique addition.
Supergreat films website:
https://www.instagram.com/supergreatfilms/
Armed with an infectious smile, wardrobe full of amazing shirts and some of the best videography skills in Melbourne, Tearlach (Tea, for short) will have you covered with some of the most brilliantly uplifting and colourful coverage imaginable.
Supergreat films website:
https://www.truestoryweddings.com/
I’ve been super fortunate to work with all of the highly sought after and creative Melbourne wedding videographers on this page, and if you’re after something out of the ordinary, you can’t go past any of these, and they come at my highest recommendation.
Melbourne wedding videographer | Servicing | Style | See their feature | Contact | Website |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bottlebrush Films | Melbourne and greater Victoria | Quirky, rock n’roll | Bottlebrush Films | Contact form | Website |
Humdrum Films | Melbourne and greater Victoria | Luxury, artistic | Humdrum Films | Contact form | Website |
The Beginning | Melbourne and greater Victoria | Down to earth, creative | Together Journal | Contact form | Website |
Supergreat Films | Melbourne and greater Victoria | Gritty, analogue | Super-8 wedding films | Website | |
Truestory Wedding | Melbourne and greater Victoria | Fun, classy | Coming Soon | Contact form | Website |
You’ve probably never hired a videographer or your own cinematography team before (not altogether unusual), so it’s natural to have a whole lot of questions. Here’s a handful of the most common ones.
Yes. A wedding videographer who is great at their job seamlessly blends with your community, and creates a brilliant record of the day, with no boring bits. If you don’t believe me, you MUST check out what Humdrum Films do – pure magic.
The average cost of a good wedding videographer is $4000 to $8000. You have to remember that you’re not just hiring them for the day – you’re hiring them as a professional service including about a week of editing in post production. Imagine the costs associated with, for example, hiring a senior tradesperson for 6 full days, and that’s around what your wedding videographer will cost. If you want to know whether it’s worth it, then you just have to look to the work of someone like Bottlebrush Films to see how brilliant and creative you wedding video can be.
You only need one, maybe two wedding videographers. Any more and your wedding day starts to resemble a bad Hollywood set, and your guests are there to see you, not see you covered by a swat team holding cameras. A good wedding videographer needs no more than two people in their team.
You hire a good wedding videographer (5 of them listed on this page – just for you).
Your wedding videographer will usually have a lapel mic to mic you up for speeches and your vows. Be sure to ask them in advance how they work. You must take a look at the incredibly creative ways that Bottlebrush Films and Humdrum Films use audio in their wedding films for you.
Yes. By not hiring a wedding videographer, you’re missing out on creating a record of the sound and movement of your loved ones. Wedding photography is great, but there’s nothing quite like seeing your loved ones in motion. Just see what it looks like when you have the genius of someone like Bottlebrush Films on your team.
The average wedding video is around 4-8 minutes long. In the old days, we were forced to sit through hours of unedited footage (which is great to have anyway). Now, your wedding video that you’ll share with your family and friends, is edited with “Watchability” in mind: short, punchy, containing all the good bits. Don’t believe me? Have a look at the incredible catalogue of films by Humdrum Films.
If you’re looking for analogue wedding videos, check out this super 8 wedding film.
If you’ve already booked one of these legendary Melbourne wedding videographers and want me to come along for the ride on stills, you can make an enquiry here.
Apr 6, 2021
Local happiness heroes & serotonin merchants Crystal and Luca brought a voluminous swag of their dearest to deep in Nagambie, for their Mitchelton Winery wedding. Barely a dry eye or southward bent smile in sight from top to tail, these two leant into joy following a string of postponements, and carefully overseen by the incredible culinary and venue management of Mitchelton Winery.
Enjoy.
Mitchelton Winery website: https://mitchelton.com.au/
Lower down in Victoria, see this Stones of the Yarra Valley wedding of Ella and Mack, and for something in the same category of classy as Mitchelton, see this Cutler and Co wedding of Bonnie and George.
Jan 20, 2021
Spectacular wineries (further out in Nagambie, check out this Mitchelton Winery wedding), incredible coastline and an abundance of rural Victorian beauty are just a few of the reasons so many folks choose a Mornington Peninsula wedding. I’m a Mornington Peninsula wedding photographer, and wanted to share some of my favourite little slices of the region at the weddings of brilliant humans out there.
Wedding venues such as Tanglewood Estate and Crittenden Estate on dromana are standounds, as are the art-deco Lindenderry, and out to the Shearing Shed, at the slightly further out Phillip Island.
Sunset scenes with Sarah at her wedding to Kurt at Lindenderry in Red Hill.
Since you’re here, maybe you’d like to check out this list i’ve made of the Best Melbourne wedding celebrants (all of them are more than happy to make a trip down to the Mornington Peninsula and some are based there), and for something more industrial in vibe, you might like to check out this Rupert on Rupert wedding, or this roundup of the most unique wedding venues in Melbourne.
Planning a wedding on the Mornington Peninsula? It’s hard to go past the brilliant Popup with Style, if you’re looking for assistance in your planning. Popup with Style are based in the region, and familiar with planning weddings large and small. And for the ride, bring along the worlds first live portrait experience, VIP portraits.
Out on the Mornington Peninsula you’ll find some of the most incredible wedding venues available anywhere in Victoria. Between the bay, ocean coast, expansive wineries and a gateway to a sublime slice of regional Victoria, the Mornington Peninsula has the most amount of venue variety you’ll find in VIC.
Want to see all of these Mornington Peninsula wedding venues in detail? Head over to this post on Mornington Peninsula wedding venues and see if you can find a venue that fits your vibe.
On the other side of the Peninsula: Yarra Valley wedding venues
For wedding venue ideas on the other side of Victoria, here’s a list of 5 incredible Yarra Valley wedding venues for you to cast your glorious eyes across.
Anywhere in and around Mornington Peninsula, Gippsland, and greater Victoria. There are no travel charges are payable within Victoria, and I regularly photograph weddings everywhere on the Mornington Peninsula.
These are the best Mornington Peninsula wedding venues.
A favourite is this Graceburn Tedesca Osteria wedding and this Barragunda Estate wedding.
Wedding photography Mornington Peninsula – enquire at briarsatlas.com
Dec 29, 2020
Looking for the most unique wedding dress Melbourne has on offer? Whether you’re looking for unique wedding dresses boho, long sleeve, white or colourful (check out this incredible Suzanne Harward songbird gown), on this page you’ll find some of the most brilliant modern wedding dress designers.
I’ve been lucky to photograph love and ceremony on all continents, which means seeing so much of the worlds most unique wedding dresses and bridal designers on brilliant lovers in all kids of places: these are 7 of the best unique wedding dresses and wedding dress shops in Melbourne that i’ve had the pleasure of working with.
Be sure to read to the bottom to discover the final 5.
Wedding dress designer | Wedding Dress Style | Wedding Venue location | You might also like |
---|---|---|---|
Brooke Tyson Ritual | Ethereal | New Zealand | About Phaedra |
Suzanne Harward | Cutting edge classy | Collingwood | Paolo Sebastian |
Alex Perry | Unique brutalist | Collingwood | Le Louvre Bridal |
KYHA Studios | Sequinned glory | South Melbourne | Mariana Hardwick |
Paolo Sebastian | Fairytale | Adelaide | Suzanne Harward |
Jaime Lee Major | Detailed majestic | Melbourne | About Phaedra |
Mariana Hardwick | Wispy classic | Thornbury | Suzanne Harward |
Le Louvre Bridal | Classic Melbourne | Richmond | Alex Perry |
About Phaedra | Inimitably natural | Footscray | Brooke Tyson Ritual |
Bluebell Bridal | Classical | Melbourne CBD | Le Louvre Bridal |
Raffael Ciuca | Melbourne classic | Brunswick | Mariana Hardwick |
Anna Campbell | Romantic classy | Armadale | Suzanne Harward |
Gwendolynne | Vintage inspired | Fitzroy | About Phaedra |
Cathleen Jia | Romantically creative | Moorabbin | Le Louvre Bridal |
When you look at how Australian and New Zealand designers have to fight for a place at the table with smaller markets and at a geographical disadvantage to the rest of the world, it’s no surprise then that some of the most brilliant and forward-thinking designs have actually come from this corner of the globe as they place tradition a gentle second, and innovation first, pushing the craft of design past the edges.
And so, incidentally, these designers are all from Australia and New Zealand!
As an art-lover, a beautiful and thoughtfully designed gown is captivating to look at and brilliant to photograph.
This is a run-down of 5 of the most beautiful gowns i’ve had the pleasure of photographing: from the wedding dresses long sleeve genius Alex Perry has designed, through to wedding dresses boho designers like Paolo Sebastian have created.
Looking for wedding dresses boho and beyond? Check out Brooke Tyson. Brooke Tyson Ritual is what happens when you have a curious kiwi, captivated by the world of cinema and nostalgia and with a childhood spent playing dress-ups, cast her hand to the fine art of bridal couture.
Brooke Tyson’s Ritual gowns shown here are the Flora gown, and the Luna gown, photographed on Franc on film (find a film wedding photographer here), on a volcano in New Zealand. You can also view a full feature on Brooke Tyson Ritual here. If you’re looking for wedding dresses long sleeve or medium sleeve, the Flora gown below might be just what you’re after. It’s flowy long sleeves create brilliant shape and coverage, while still being light enough to move comfortably in.
These unique wedding dresses styles might be unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.
Suzanne Harward is a designer i’ve had the good fortune of working with several times, and you can see a feature on 3 of the best Suzanne Harward wedding dresses here too.
Suzanne Harward is an icon of the Australian bridal design scene, with a rich long history while always staying two steps ahead of the trends. Check out the impossibly brilliant songbird gown.
If you’re looking for unique wedding dresses australia and beyond, it’s hard to go past Suzanne Harward.
Incredible unique wedding dresses: Suzanne Harward songbird gown.
Looking for a long sleeve wedding dress or a unique wedding dress with sleeves? Alex Perry isn’t necessarily a name synonymous with bridal design – and this isn’t even a piece from his bridal collection – but that didn’t stop the forward-thinking Liv from adapting one of his other pieces for her wedding to Adam. Wedding dresses designer Alex Perry has brought something unique and modern to the table (whether he intended to or not).
These two marvels are featured on Together Journal, where you can see even more glorious images of their day, her incredible sense of style, and that inimitable long sleeve wedding dress by Alex Perry.
Looking for wedding dresses boho in style? KYHA studios is right at the front of incredible, innovative boho wedding dresses. Founded by Kyha Simpson after tying the knot and wanting to bring something new to the industry, KYHA Studios.
Designed and handmade in Melbourne, KYHA Studios are one of the early frontrunners of doing things differently, and as a result have inspired an industry-wide shift in risk-taking designs. See more of this Kyha Studios wedding dress.
I hope i’m not the only one who, based on the brand name, initially thought Paolo Sebastian was some kind of lavish octogenarian European designer with over half a century of brilliant work under their belt.
Nope – it’s the work from the genius mind of an impossibly young designer, Paul Vasileff, straight out of Adelaide, Australia. Designers like Paolo Sebastian push the edges of classy couture that leans in to the future of the genre.
Paolo Sebastian gowns blend a nod to tradition offset (speaking of offset… take a peep at the new wave of Offset portraits) with something resembling the top end of the Disney playground of fantasy designs.
Hannah wears Paolo Sebastian. The Royal Mail Hotel wedding of Hannah and Ben, alongside the inimitable Humdrum Films, is featured on Farewell Fiance. See more of this over on Paolo Sebastian Wedding Dress, and at this Hindmarsh Island wedding.
Check out these unique wedding dresses Perth has available. Jaime Lee Majors designs are from another planet. The Fremantle / Perth designer made a name for herself cutting cloth for every celebrity under the sun, beginning initially with an epic gown for Kimbra right around the time of her career take-off.
Since then, Jaime Lee Major has used her progressive, artistic inspired approach to design gowns that push bridal to the very edge. Check out this incredible piece from the Fremantle wedding of Sarah and Dave. See more over on the feature on Jaime Lee Major.
If you’re looking for wedding dresses Perth or nearby, Jaime Lee Major is your designer.
Jaime Lee Major on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaimeleemajor
While you’re here, take a peep at these incredible modern wedding jumpsuits.
Looking for unique wedding dresses lace and elegant? Mariana Hardwick is an iconic Melbourne wedding dress designer. Check out this incredible gown on Elisha at Zonzo Estate. This lace wedding dress is light, flowy, and elegant.
If you’re after wedding dresses vintage in vibe but with an elegant modern twist, Mariana Hardwick is hard to go past.
Mariana Hardwick website: https://marianahardwick.com.au/
While you’re here, take a peep at this Mariana Hardwick wedding dress on Elisha at this Zonzo Wedding showcase.
Looking for wedding dresses vintage in style? You must check out this Le Louvre classic, unchanged for nearly a century. Melbourne bridal designers Le Louvre have been around for 95 years, but that doesn’t mean that this classic Le Louvre Wedding Dress, worn here by Bianca, looks like anything other than one of the most incredible designs on the planet.
If you’re looking for wedding dresses vintage in style, this sleeved gown is one of the most unique designs you’ve ever seen and hard to go past. Maybe you’ve seen these two in Together Journal? If not, pick up a copy of issue #19 to see more of this incredible unique wedding dress on Bianca.
Le Louvre Bridal website: https://www.lelouvre.com.au/
You can buy a wedding dress from any of the 7 incredible wedding dress designers on this post.
A good wedding dress might cost anywhere from $2000 to $20000. There can be hundreds and hundreds of hours involved in creating a wedding dress, so we recommend making an enquiry with all of the incredible Melbourne wedding dress designers on this page to find out yourself.
The best wedding dress Melbourne has on offer might be anything by Suzanne Harward, KYHA studios or Le Louvre. Incredible designers right on our doorstep.
In my opinion, the best new wedding dress is About Phaedra. You can go to their website here: https://www.aboutphaedra.com.au/
Head up and to see incredible wedding dresses with sleeves by Le Louvre, Alex Perry, and Brooke Tyson.
If you’re looking for a unique wedding dress in Melbourne, check out Suzanne Harward, KYHA studios or Le Louvre. Unique designs available right in Melbourne.
9. About Phaedra – https://www.aboutphaedra.com.au/
10. Bluebell Bridal – https://www.bluebellbridal.com/
11. Raffael Ciuca – https://www.raffaeleciuca.com.au/
12. Anna Campbell – https://www.annacampbell.com.au/
13. Gwendolynne – https://www.gwendolynne.com.au/
14. Cathleen Jia – https://www.cathleenjia.com.au/
Wedding photographer Melbourne – Briars Atlas: Enquire
Dec 21, 2020
From small, intimate duos, to full, scaleable big-bands. Here is a roundup of the best wedding music in Melbourne, including DJ’s, wedding singers, bands and musician duos. I’ve seen each of these wedding bands perform at weddings all over Melbourne and Victoria, and they’re magic, and tick every box you didn’t imagine needed ticking with this sort of thing.
Booking a wedding band or musician has a little more gravitas on it than you might imagine. Far more than being just background music – it’s the difference between your guests having a ripping time at your wedding or not, and in no small way, they are often the glue between all of the other elements you’ve booked.
If you’re going to book wedding music, they might as well be top of the tree and genuine lovers of what they do: music!
No-one wants to sift through an enormous confusing list, so here’s 5 Melbourne wedding bands that make incredible wedding music – read on for a little more detail:
Like This entertainment leverage something entirely unique that can’t be bought or imitated: they’re all real-life friends, and have played together as a unit since forever. Don’t take too much from the word “corporate” in “Like This Corporate” – they’re anything but a bunch of stiffs.
What this means for you, is this: no awkward referring to sheet-music or scenarios with band members not being in sync with each other, which is far more common than you might imagine, and affects how authentic and on-point the music comes across to your guests. And this translates to them partying hard.
Like This Entertainment are a well-oiled machine, and having seen them perform at several weddings, it’s something special to see.
Expect an immersive experience, where the members are joining guests in the middle of the dance-floor for sax-solos, sing-alongs, and the most incredible musicianship available in Melbourne. Scaleable from large to small, they can take a post at any point of your wedding.
Their lead vocalist and pillar of charisma, Cadeyrn, can literally morph his vocals to sing, anything. From Sinatra, to Nick Cave, to John Mayer, over to every classic imaginable, you will absolutely be doing a double-take and wondering if the real deal is in the room. If you haven’t yet heard Like This, this can’t be overstated enough: Like This don’t cover other artists, they BECOME them.
https://www.likethisentertainment.com.au/
Renee and Jamie, also known formally as Tobi Tobi Music, with have you swooning over their ethereal soundscapes, filling the air with what should be impossible with just two people. Because of this, these two are commissioned all over the world to cast their craft as the backdrop to wedding ceremonies and canapés.
Expect an experience where your guests are doing double takes at how Renee and Jamie are interpreting every type of song under the sun, and making it their (and your) own at your wedding.
Renee has a voice that softly cuts through a gathering and just has to be heard to be believed, and the way Jamie and herself weave songs into something far beyond what you know them as, is just out of this world.
Apart from that, if the Tobi Tobi Music instagram is anything to go by they’re well documented as going to extra lengths to make sure their wizardry waved over your day is not only music but a fully personalised experience that will leave a memorable mark on you and your guests.
I first came across Tobi Tobi Music while working with the inimitable Nathan Kaso at Amy and Bronson’s wedding, and their tunes have stuck with me since.
Led by Luke O’Connor, Lark Music are at the pinnacle of the modular band experience at a wedding. Within Lark Music, you can pick your flavour: from DJ, to duo, to ten-part band and beyond. As a Melbourne wedding band Lark offer a fully customised experience entertaining small intimate weddings, to large wedding armageddons.
Expect a slick and professional experience that can only come from a seasoned machine that has absolutely seen it all.
With their incredible extended network of musician friends and enormous tight core, if you can forgive me sounding like i’m marketing an I.T firm for a hot minute, they are the epitome of a “scaleable soultion”. Soulution was a typo but i’m damn well leaving it there because it fits.
The head-honcho of Just Me Plus One, Vanessa, is a seasoned songstress with over 1000 (!) gigs under her belt. An incredible body of work like that translates to a wild level of experience and empathy that has her locking in with crowds like, I guess, some kind of well-churned item of dairy produce onto lightly caramelised bread.
When you book Just Me Plus One, you get a seasoned performer who will not only cast a cracking spell on your guests on the day, but before all that, walk you through the process of either creating a bespoke package for you, or work together with your own recommendations.
Expect the warm, room-controlling presence of someone who can simultaneously walk the professional tightrope of having an impossible number of wildly varied gigs under her belt, while at the same time being a calm, friend next door presence to all in the room.
https://www.instagram.com/justme_plusone
When “No More Nutbush” are the first words that hit you on their website, you get a small taste of what you’re in for with this brilliant wedding DJ. Aleks and Eddy are a wedding music partner-duo (in case you haven’t picked up the theme of this post – all of the artists here are either friends or partners!), and i’ve had the wild pleasure of watching Aleks keep a room of the most discerning partyers going late into the evening at a wedding.
Expect the best DJ’s in town turning up to turn up. If you want to get a good feel for how their sets weave, they’ve brilliantly included a variety of mixes over on their website linked below.
Expert crowd-readers, One More Song somehow split their attention between manning the decks and empathetically reading the crowd from top to tail. See their post here on how to plan your wedding music.
I can vouch for the “we make memories” mantra on the Melbourne Entertainment Company homepage, as that’s exactly what happened when i saw them dominate a room of party-pants at Melbourne wedding venue favourite, Rupert on Rupert. Not only a brilliant wedding entertainment collective, they’re also trusted as resident DJ’s at Nova. Boom.
Expect full service, no holds barred dancefloor anarchy, and musical surprises at any turn. Most importantly, the care and attention of a mob that have a genuine investment in the experience of your guests.
The whole package. Melbourne Entertainment Co are, literally, the whole package.
Melbourne Entertainment Company
And there we go. Hopefully this post was a delightfully useful little morsel of an insight into the wedding band options available in Melbourne.
1. Each write a list of your top 10 songs
2. See what the crossover is like, and debate any differences (with a wine in hand)
3. Consult your hardest partying mate (everyone has one) for a second opinion
4. Check out this post on how to plan your wedding music
The top 10 wedding songs are different and unique to each couple. If you’re having trouble working out what yours are, here’s a great post on how to plan your wedding music
A better question to ask is “what songs would I throw on the record player at 10pm with a glass of wine in hand”. Make your wedding song yours, and not picked from someone elses list.
A wedding DJ knows how to read a room, pace your evening, and will stop any fights over the iPod. Book a DJ.
Like This Corporate is the best wedding band in Melbourne. Scroll up to the top of this post to see their incredible Frank Sinatra interpretation, and head over to their website for more examples.
Briars Atlas – melbourne wedding photography
Dec 19, 2020
Since Covid has put a stop to conferences and wedding photography workshops, I wanted to give a little back, and so have created a free wedding photography workshop in an online course format. This contains around 7 years of my workshop content (head over here for wedding photography podcasts), drawn from an award-winning background in design and photography, and I have separated the best bits into easy to consume, bite-sized chunks, and released them on Instagram as a 100 frame wedding photography workshop.
To see these for free, scroll further down.
STRANGE ATLAS – anti-hustle wedding photography workshop: delivered to your inbox, every Monday morning. Sign up for free
Each of the 100 frames speaks to one of those. The current climate of workshops I found doesn’t appeal to my style of learning personally, and it made me wonder if other folks out there were the same, so I tried to create something to fill that gap!
I remember thumbing through MAD magazine, comics, and encyclopaedias, and found that a curiosity-driven approach to learning, where you can open a book up at any page and take something away without feeling like we have to complete a full course: the best way to learn for me, personally.
So that’s how i’ve crafted this.
I want this to be useful no matter what page it’s opened up at: rather than me dictating the learning from front to back (there’s plenty of brilliant other options for that out there), so this is something where I hope there’s a nifty surprise useful to wedding photography, and photography in general wherever it’s opened.
The workshop is available from frame 35 onwards on my instagram, and as new ones are uploaded, old ones will be removed, so follow along and catch them (save, screen grab) them while they’re available.
At the end, i’ll be releasing them all, along with a set of bonus annotations totalling 400+ pages. It’s the exact wedding photography workshop resource I would have liked starting out, and has been tailored for both new photographers and working professionals 5+ years in the game.
Follow it on Instagram while it’s there.
Sign up for the School of Strange, 52 weeks of free wedding photography mentoring, for access to the full 400+ pages.
Some conferences i’ve had the brilliant honour of sharing this at:
It was such a treat sharing with photographers such as Briggsy, Ashleigh Haase Photography, Sarah Tee, and even inter-staters like Cassie Sullivan at the most beautiful wedding venue in Victoria. Here’s a mugshot of the last ones left standing after it was all done. Tanglewood Estate hosted “Transplant”, my one-day workshop on alternative-thinking strategies for wedding photographers, with a day full of hands-on techniques and follow-up mentoring for wedding photographers. This format is one I have delivered over a period of 5 years all over the world.
The day began with roundtables, building community through sharing everyones own current journeys, pain-points and joy-sparkers from the job. Many of the points were known ahead of time as the onboarding process ensured everyone felt heard as an individual and was able to share these things before the day. We then moved into a day of interactive content and thinking strategies and follow up strategies to action the content.
I’ve always had a “eyes at the back of the classroom” approach. I know what it’s like to be sitting at the edges, a little intimidated by the scale of a room and structured offering, and ending up feeling like you weren’t seen. For this reason these workshops have been anti-clique, and pro embracing new faces. So it’s been such a treat to advocate this way in my own courses, and then see students such as Ashleigh Haase (also an attendee of Story and Light in NZ, co-facilitated with Bayly & Moore – it’s incredibly flattering to see folks come along for the ride to more than one workshop) move on to take their learnings from Transplant into their own education offerings, sharing adaptations of Transplant into their own education community.
I don’t look at others work anymore, I’m finding inspiration from lots of things I learnt whilst at the workshop.
Ashleigh Haase Photography, who since Transplant has launched Ashleigh Haase Education!
1 – Participant introduction and journey sharing
2 – Context-setting: creative thinking holistically rather than wedding industry specific
3 – Don’t do what you love: servitude and people mindset
4 – Challenging biases: fundamental mindset strategies 101
5 – Bias challenging: 3 specific techniques, and applying them to a small business
6 – Storytelling is dead (also the title of my Los Angeles Field Trip talk)
7 – Anti-storytelling techniques
8 – Separating yourself through community and branding
9 – Practical magic: separating yourself through the art of image-making
10 – An analogue primer: introduction to the world of analogue
11 – From the ad-agency, with love: simplified business and marketing techniques
12 – Actionable follow up strategies
Dec 17, 2020
These are four of my favourite Castlemaine Wedding Venues, including photos taken at each of brilliant couples choosing to have their wedding in this rustic region.
It’s really late at night, and i’m writing this article for you, dear human-person, on the other end, and i’m supposed to use all this coercive langue that apparently makes internet websites more engaging and all that (“you’ll never BELIEVE how rusticly-rustic to the power of rustic these are”), but, let’s skip all that cheap shit and get to the point, because you’re better than that (it’s a Castlemaine thing).
Castlemaine is incredibly rad, otherwise you wouldn’t be on this post or considering a wedding in the area, and I want to share some great spaces from this totally marvellous region.
I’ve spent a tonne of time out there, and as a general thing within the universe, a visit to it is generally recognised as being far more desirable than a slap over the noggin with a wet fish, so have a look at these scallywags that thought the same, and hire us to shoot your wedding.
Providence gully is a gem of the area, an incredible oasis established in 1858. With a rustic barn, olive grovee, pomegranite orchards and an endless variety of native greenery, this understated marvel is a must see.
I photographed the wedding of Amy and Bronson, held in this precious place, and featured in all it’s glory on Hello May.
Providence Gully website: http://providencegully.com.au/
Katie (othewise known at the inimitable Katie Marx flowers – see her here on Melbournes best wedding florists) and Greg run the Butterland Newstead wedding venue, and took it from an historic factory needing a little DIY love, into and incredibly versatile venue just one good road trip out of Melbourne
Iro and Alex got married at this spectacular property, and you can see more of these hilarious, stylish marvels featured here on Together Journal.
Butterland Newstead website: https://www.butterland.com.au/
The Diggers Store is something of an understated gem of the area, and resembles something of an impossible mix of tiny italian clifftop homestead, mixed with rustic outback, and just a couple of hours north of Melbourne.
After their Queenstown Elopement (also featured here on Hello May), Lilli and Jake brought the party, and their beautiful community, to the intimate grounds of the Diggers Store in Castlemaine, and loaded up with a bunch of strange old film cameras (see here why I shoot film at weddings) I came along for the ride to document it.
The Diggers Store website: http://www.thediggersstore.com.au/
This one slipped into this post, just. Even though it’s about 40 minutes outside of Castlemaine, it still qualifies and is well worth adding to the Castlemaine venue consideration pile. Home of beautiful hospitality, wood-fired pizzas, and plenty of beautiful portrait locations in the surrounding regions to run around in. Go for the woodfired pizzas, and get married on the side.
Kara and Marty had their Castlemaine wedding at the Cosmopolitan hotel in Trentham, and we whipped out for a beautiful portrait session in some unique spots nearby. Head here to see more of their Cosmopolitan Hotel wedding.
The Cosmopolitan Hotel Trentham website: https://www.thecosmopolitanhotel.com.au/
Check out this post for rustic wedding venues in Melbourne, or on the other side of Victoria, have a look at these Mornington Peninsula wedding venues. For something on the complete other end of the dial, check out this Melbourne city Luminare wedding. Featured Melbourne weddings: Higher ground and Rupert on Rupert.
Briars Atlas Wedding Photography – enquire at Melbourne Wedding Photography
Further south? Hire us as your Macedon Ranges wedding photographer.
Dec 16, 2020
The Blue Mountains are one of the most stunning places to get married in the world. I’m a Blue Mountains wedding and elopement photographer, regularly photographing weddings and elopements (see this article on how to get married quickly in Australia) in this beautiful region! My Blue Mountains wedding photography has been featured on Vogue, Rock n Roll bride and more.
The Blue mountains is one of the most magic areas of New South Wales, and it’s always such a treat to photograph there. I wanted to share a few of my favourite shoots, so if you’re looking for a wedding photographer then take a peek and reach out to me at the bottom of this post.
Zoe and Adam got married at the incredible Hydro Majestic hotel. We kicked things off with a wild pre-day shoot in the Blue Mountains, before spending the full day together on their wedding. Zoe is a brilliant photographer and has a particular affinity for old cameras, so I took some clunky gear from the 1960’s along for the ride. Find out why I love film wedding photography.
Hydro Majestic website: https://www.hydromajestic.com.au/
Based out of Berlin, Sarah and Simon are two incredible artists, who eloped to the other side of the world, to the Blue Mountains. They hired an incredible Air Bnb, and spent the day together with just themselves, and 4 of their closest friends.
Hire us for your wedding or elopement – www.briarsatlas.com/enquire
How we approach the day: we believe you maestros should be focusing on enjoying the shit out of each other, and not having us wave our arms around telling you what to do. Particularly in the Blue Mountains, that means spending time enjoying the region and letting the surrounds and your natural vibe do the heavy lifting.
The Blue Mountains has a wild range of incredible sheer cliffs, rugged bush and impossible escarpments, and it’s a bit of a dream location to photograph in. I’ve shot weddings deep into it, as well as all around the South Coast, Katoomba and Kangaroo Valley.
If you’re looking at a Blue mountains wedding or Blue Mountains elopement it would be a thrill to come along for the ride, and no other fees are payable for that little corner of New South Wales.
For weddings closer towards the city, check out this gorgeous Sydney Theatre Company wedding and this Kittyhawk wedding, as well as this Centennial Park Sydney Superintendent’s Residence wedding, or for a little outside of Byron Bay (hire us as your Byron Bay wedding photographer m8, we travel), Deux Belettes is a must see.
See Zoe and Adams Blue Mountains Wedding Photos on Vogue
See Sarah and Simons Blue Mountains Wedding photos on RnR Bride
I have photographed all over New South Wales, including the Blue Mountains. You can hire me for your wedding, and there are no extra travel costs involved.
No. You get a single-fee that covers you for everything.
Our internationally sought-after wedding photography begins at $5k AUD.
Leura and the Hydro Majestic have a special place in my heart.
Tasmanias wilderness is iconically similar to the Blue Mountains, so check out this Cradle Mountain elopement in Tasmania.
Dec 5, 2020
Popup With Style are the Mornington Peninsulas best wedding planners and stylists, and they style and plan all types of wedding celebrations from the large (see also White Top Venues), to the smaller and intimate.
Popup with style don’t just share their creative genius with you, they take over many of the pain points associated with planning your Melbourne or Mornington Peninsula wedding: venue sourcing, liaison with various suppliers, and above all – ensuring that all your suppliers are not only top-notch at their craft, but pleasant and reliable (if this is your first time planning a Melbourne or Mornington Peninsula wedding, you’ll find out pretty quick this is the most important thing.
Popup With Style say it all on their homepage: you only do it once! They are the most knowledgable and creative wedding planners on the Mornington Peninsula, and experienced not only in all of the brilliant venues out that way (including one of my favourites, Tanglewood Estate), but in a broad range of design styles.
Popup With Style have a wonderful range of bright and punchy themes on their website, but here, they came along to the Celebrant A-List Baller – a gathering of the Best Wedding Celebrants in Melbourne, and applied their incredible sense of style to a more moody and subdued palette.
Popup With Style created a table setting, Vogue-esque photobooth, and creative direction for florals that was then crafted by The Flower District, along with cake wizardry by Melbournes brilliant Torte by Mirjana.
If you’re looking for a Mornington Peninsula wedding planner or stylist, check out what a small intimate event designed by Popup With Style looks like (and also be sure to check out these small wedding venues and more wedding venues on the Mornington Peninsula).
Popup With Style website: https://www.popupwithstyle.com/
Popup With Style Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popupwithstyle/
Popup with Style are based in the Mornington Peninsula, but service all of Melbourne and indeed wider Victoria.
Nov 15, 2020
Picnic Styling Co in Melbourne create popup picnic experiences for small weddings, events, brand activations, gatherings and more. The brainchild of Havana (also behind Saint Germain and partner to Gene, founder of my local caffiene dispensry Advieh), Picnic Styling Co hit the ground with their incredible innovative packages well before Covid forced everyone’s hand and could no longer book a wedding venue, and for the last year they’ve been Melbournes leading popup picnic creators. This is a great option if you’re looking for advice on how to get married quickly in Australia.
Marlena and Warwick had a small wedding created by I Do Drive Thru, after which Warwick took Marlena to a surprise picnic in Footscray styled and setup with love by Picnic Styling Co.
Picnic Styling Co have several offings, from group picnics, to couples picnics, outdoor movie night picnics, garden parties and more. You can choose from 6 styles and colour schemes, once you’ve selected the type of popup picnic hire that you’re after.
Picnic Styling Co offer a Marrakech collection and Luxe collection, which broadly cover more middle-eastern styling sensibilities as well as more streamlined, monochrome and boho picnic styling. You can customise any of the packages with a range of seating, cutlery, drink tray, cane-table options and much more.
Picnic Styling Co Website http://www.picnicstylingco.com/
Picnic Styling Co Instagram https://www.instagram.com/picnicstylingco/
Picnic Styling Co Facebook https://www.facebook.com/picnicstylingco/
Based in Melbourne, I photograph small weddings and elopements here there and everywhere for brilliant couples (just like you). Also head here to check out some of the best small wedding venues Melbourne has going.
Wedding Photography Melbourne: Briars Atlas – Enquire
Nov 12, 2020
Starting a wedding photography business involves long hours, and a dash (or twenty) of grit. It’s easy for folks to see the highlight reels on instagram, without considering the enormous work that goes on around it that’s never seen. Pinterest strategies, SEO, editing, outsourcing, upskilling, community building, software and harware testing, accounting, systems… all of the things inherent with running a small business. For us, just a few takeaways from some brilliant wedding photography podcasts have made such a difference in easing the load in any given area of our business.
We’ve been fortunate to be a guest on a bunch of brilliant Wedding Photography Podcasts, which has let us share knowledge back to the community after 8 years of photographing ceremony all around the world, and here’s a selection of them. Thanks to these incredible podcast hosts for supporting both the photography and the wedding photography industry with these diverse and open Wedding Photography Podcasts. More to be added here soon. Or not?
Number | Podcast title | Podcast style | Where to listen |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Make your Break podcast | Creative Business | Listen to podcast |
2 | Getting Candid podcast | Creative | Listen to podcast |
3 | Celebranting podcast | Wedding industry | Listen to podcast |
4 | TPJ Wedding photography podcast | Photography | Listen to podcast |
5 | Up and Becoming podcast | Photography | Listen to podcast |
6 | LXS Wedding photography podcast | Creative | Listen to podcast |
7 | Baby Got Backend podcast | Small Business | Listen to podcast |
8 | What do you Make podcast | Creative | Listen to podcast |
9 | Way up North podcast | Wedding Photography | Listen to podcast |
10 | Six Figure Photography podcast | Wedding Photography | Listen to podcast |
11 | Anchored Business Podcast podcast | Business | Listen to podcast |
12 | SEO for Photographers podcast | Wedding Photographer SEO | Listen to podcast |
13 | Bokeh podcast | Photography | Listen to podcast |
14 | Flo Insider Wedding podcast | Wedding Industry | Listen to podcast |
15 | The Epic Wedding Podcast | Wedding Photography | Listen to podcast |
16 | The Bearded Tog podcast | Creative | Listen to podcast |
17 | Wedding Photo Unite podcast | Wedding Photography | Listen to podcast |
18 | Building a Storybrand podcast | Creative Branding | Listen to podcast |
19 | Business Bites podcast | Business | Listen to podcast |
20 | Perpetual Traffic podcast | SEO | Listen to podcast |
Make Your Break is the brilliant wedding photography podcast from local scallywag Jai Long. We focus on not paying lip service to turning negatives into positives, but actual ways we can do it in our creative business.
Mason runs Getting Candid, and brings his hilarious and engaging natural game to his own wedding photography podcast. In and around heavy metal and all manner of ridiculous things, we had a beautifully deep chat about all things photography.
Anthony Cribbes, Melbourne Wedding Celebrant, founder of Celebrant Easy and The Celebrant A-List, and co-founder of Melbourne wedding venue The Altar Electric, somehow found time around these things to have me on his Wedding Photography Podcast, chatting all things wedding industry.
A chat with Agustin Sanchez of The Photographic Journal. The Photographic Journal is one of the most brilliant showcases of emerging photographers and bodies of work, so it was an extra thrill to have a chat with eminent curator and founder Agustin. On his Photography Podcast we chat a little about weddings, but more about general approach, personal work, and my trip to Antarctica with Homeward Bound Projects.
Kurt and I linked up for his Wedding Photography Podcast Up and Becoming. Kurt is a brilliant photographer in New South Wales, and his podcast focuses on Wedding Photographers journeys, challenges, wins, fails, and everything in between. We talk about sharing your work authentically in an ever more saturated industry, and how lifting others up is always the key. Thanks Kurt for having me!
What do you say about Bjorn Lexius? He’s an award-winning photographer out of Hamburg, and we first met at Way Up North years ago, where he somehow was able to pull some meaning from my talk on a stage in Rome after several sleepless timezone crossings. In his Wedding Photography Podcast, we chat about disconnecting ourselves from our brands in an industry where there’s a temptation to “be” our brand.
Morgan Roberts. Dark lord, raconteur, and Wedding Photographer. Where there are lots of Wedding Photography Podcasts out there chatting all things creativity, Morgan, in his usual way, bucks the trend and tackles all things dry and challenging: in this case, the backend of business. We discuss the merits of divisive, polarising branding, industry homogeny and more. Morgan also joined me for my Brisbane workshop – see a little preview of what my workshops are like:
Another one with old mate Morgan, except this time from a few years ago. In this one, we scratch that esoteric itch, and manage to almost entirely avoid talking about photography.
One from way back, I caught up with the crew at Way Up North on their Wedding Photography Podcast, ahead of my appearance at the Rome edition of their conference series. What a treat. These marvels are doing great stuff for our space – that is, the nostalgia space. Thanks Cole and Jakob for having me.
Film wedding photographer insights here.
The best wedding photography podcast is Baby Got Backend and Make Your Break, which each focus on a cross section of business and creativity
Head over here for a free wedding photography workshop.
Nov 12, 2020
KYHA Studios is the Melbourne bridal design outfit of Kyha Simpson, formerly operating as One Day Bridal. KYHA Studios are some of the most forward thinking designs, meshing together all sorts of unique wedding dress design sensibilities with a modern edge.
Check out this brilliant KYHA studios dress worn by Matylda at her wedding to Shane, and featured on NOUBA.
While you’re here check out some of the best Modern Wedding Dresses.
KYHA Studios on Instagram
KYHA Studios website: https://onedaybridal.com.au/
Australian Wedding photographer – Briars Atlas: Enquire
Nov 11, 2020
Le Louvre Melbourne Bridal have an incredible history in Melbourne, with their timeless designs serving folks in our city for over 95 years. Le Louvre Bridal fuse art, design and history together in all of their work, and this approach is what led Bianca to wearing Le Louvre at her wedding to Harry, (see more of their brilliant wedding at Half Acre by Food and Desire).
2 Daly St, South Yarra VIC 3141
Le Louvre Melbourne website: https://www.lelouvre.com.au/
Check out this incredible KYHA Studios wedding dress, and head here for the most unique wedding dresses.
Wedding Photography Melbourne – Briars Atlas: Enquire
Nov 9, 2020
Alex Perry Wedding Dresses challenge any ideas of convention around bridal couture. So much so that this one wasn’t even in their wedding category! This incredible Alex Perry Dress was seen in another part of the Alex Perry catalogue, and Liv immediately knew it would be the perfect wedding dress.
Liv and Adams beautiful Melbourne wedding was photographed by Briars Atlas and featured inside the pages of Together Journal and you can purchase it here in issue #19, and their incredible sense of style has also been picked up worldwide and seen on Yahoo and Popsugar.
Thanks to Liv and Adam for having us down for your brilliant day in the beautiful gritty centre of Melbourne, at Longsong.
Liv’s Wedding Dress is also featured in our post on the 5 best modern wedding dresses.
Alex Perry wedding dresses offer a refreshing take on bridal fashion, steering away from the overly traditional and into something more refined and modern. His designs are sleek, with a focus on sharp tailoring and clean lines, appealing to brides who want a polished look without all the frills.
These elements come together in a way that feels contemporary yet timeless, perfect for the bride who wants her wedding look to feel effortless and chic, but still a bit unexpected.
Alex Perry Wedding Dresses online: https://www.alexperry.com.au/
Check out Ella and Macks wedding as featured on Vogue Australia, and also Elishas gown in this beautiful Zonzo Estate wedding. Also see what Kyha Studios, formerly One Day Bridal, are up to. For elegant wedding venues in Melbourne, check out the deck circa.
Briars Atlas Wedding Photography: Enquire
Nov 3, 2020
Lauren and Cam invited me along as their Geelong wedding photographer, out near the Bellarine Peninsula, for a day of sunshine and glory. No stranger to the Geelong food and wine scene (they run Centra restaurant together), it’d be easy to imagine they’d rave well into the evening, but they instead had an early day, with an early finish: their wedding wrapped late afternoon, their guests went one way, and then we went the other into the sunset for some final portraits, before they went to enjoy the rest of their evening together.
Lauren herself is a wedding planner, so it was an extra honour being involved knowing she knows of pretty much every photographer in Victoria! It certainly upped the stakes and it was a real treat to bring along some wacky old analogue gear for the ride too.
Miracle musician Abe Anderson came along for the music, and my side-hustle, The Arbourists made an appearance as their ceremony backdrop.
All hands on deck for a beautiful intimate wedding in Geelong.
This beautiful private wedding (head here for more private property wedding venues in Victoria) in Geelong was featured both on the Geelong wedding planning site GT Bride, as well as Polka Dot Bride.
While you’re here, check out a list i’ve made of the Best Melbourne wedding celebrants, and for something more industrial you might like this Rupert on Rupert wedding, or a list of the most unique wedding venues in Melbourne.
Laurens Dress – Made With Love
Bridal Salon – Bluebell Bridal
Bride’s Shoes – Christian Louboutin
Groom’s Attire – Hugo Boss
Groom’s Tie & Bowties – Declic
Invitations & Stationery – Rebel Reflect
Flowers – JCRC Events + Styling
Ceremony Officiant – Mike Larkan
Ceremony Arbour – The Arbourists
Geelong Draping – Active Draping
Geelong Marquee – Tent Luxury Hire
Geelong Wedding Catering – Centra Hotel
Rental Furniture – Dann Event Hire
Band – Abe Anderson
Wedding Ring – Rod Elmer
Geelong has some incredible wedding venues both in and around the city, and the region itself is a bit of an unsung gem. Here are some of the best wedding venues in Geelong.
Anywhere in and around Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, and greater Victoria. No travel charges are payable within VIC.
Read just above in this post for ten of the very best.
Way up north in Nagambie, see this Mitchelton Winery wedding.
Wedding photography Geelong – enquire at briarsatlas.com
Oct 16, 2020
I am thrilled to share the Hello May wedding of Pepe and Sam as their photographer, featured in the September issue of HELLO MAY MAGAZINE on news-stands now! Is this the most colourful wedding ever? Grab yourself a copy of Hello May to find out. Hello May Wedding photographers / Briars Atlas
I was thrilled to be the Hello May wedding photographer for these two marvels, and their wedding was put on at the gritty Melbourne warehouse venue, The Line, with an all-star cast of the most incredibly talented vendors which doubled as their cheer-squad.
Let’s just say, this was a wedding of firsts.
The first wedding where nearly all the vendors got actual tattoos at the reception.
The first wedding where the caterer and the bride ended up in (in) the freezer. It was a hot day.
The first wedding with an inverse neon-crucifix gracing the centre of the reception, and the first wedding where the dance-floor was opened up by the screeching of Slayer, and half the bridal party ended up on a bed in the middle of the reception in a pasta-fight.
It, was, and had, everything, all for this beautiful couple and their intimate community (right before Covid made it cool).
I won’t show the whole shebang just yet, you’ll have to pick up a copy of Hello May on newsstands now.
Wedding Celebrant and Concept creator: Nat Sproal Celebrant
Wedding Photographer: Briars Atlas
Wedding Venue: @the_line_melbourne
Wedding Creative direction + Styling: Good Day Club
Wedding Florals: Babiana Botanic
Wedding Video: Lunar Red Films
Wedding Hair and Makeup: Killer Queen Creative
Wedding Catering: @fatandskinnycatering
Wedding Cake: Torte By Mirjana
Wedding Rings: @midnightkissjewellery
Wedding Ceiling Installs: Bangin Hangins
Wedding Tableware/ table styling: @bettymayvintagehire
Wedding LED crosses and bad jokes: The Arbourists
Wedding DJ: @dj_hot_wheels
Wedding Music: @justme_plusone
Wedding Wine: @minimwine
Wedding Beer: @moondogbrewing
I’m a Melbourne wedding photographer, and I photograph weddings all over Australia, New Zealand, Europe and beyond. Check out this wedding I photographed featured on Hello May – Amy and Bronson. On the hunt for a small wedding venue in Melbourne? See this post on small wedding venues.
Oct 8, 2020
Here’s a preview of the gorgeous Vogue Wedding of Zoe and Adam married at the incredible Leura Amphitheatre in the Blue Mountains, before heading over to their wedding reception at the Hydro Majestic Hotel. These two adventurers and sweethearts wear everything on their sleeves, maybe best shown when Adam took a detour with Zoe and their crew into a private room before their reception at the Hydro Majestic, where the Blue Mountains String Quartet played a piece that Adam had written with them in secret ahead of time. Magic stuff.
Thanks Vogue Australia for sharing these two marvels. See their full Vogue wedding feature here.
See more information on Blue Mountains Wedding Photography, or for a different flavour of wedding venue in Sydney, check out this Beta Bar Wedding and this unique Kittyhawk wedding also in the heart of Sydney.
Oct 5, 2020
I’m available to meet over Zoom, or at Luxsmith Wine bar in Seddon. I photograph couples from all over Victoria, so whether you’re coming from the north towards Daylesford and Kyneton, Geelong, The Yarra Valley or the Mornington Peninsula, here’s a map i’ve made with directions.
Sep 27, 2020
Putting “Covid wedding Melbourne” at the front of Adriana and Calebs wedding title seems to relegate the marriage part (the bit we’re actually all here for) to the back seat. Sooooo, let’s reword that: Adriana and Calebs awesome little elopement (which happened to occur in the middle of the Covid pandemic that they thumbed their noses at and got it done beautifully anyway while staying well within all of the rules and regulations currently in place including the wearing of masks, social distancing, and limitations on who can be present).
Better.
Adriana and Caleb had their first date at this park in Coburg, in Melbournes northern suburbs. So that was where they decided to say their vows, and lock it down, with the inimitable Melbourne wedding celebrant Zena Lythgo doing the honours via I Do Drive Thru. I joined up to photograph it and play one of the witnesses.
Since their dogs can’t hold a pen.
I Do Drive Thru is a brilliant, agile initiative out of Melbourne that has enabled couples wanting to get married to get it done in the middle of this coronavirus pandemic, while playing to all the necessary current restrictions around social distancing and the wearing of a mask.
These two marvels got the important bit done – the marriage thing – with themselves and Adrianas mother, and then enjoyed the rest of the day together. Beautiful.
It’s been especially interesting in Melbourne, as our state has been… not playing ball with the restrictions, which has meant the pandemic has had several new clusters of outbreaks, further locking things down.
So the fact that initiatives like I Do Drive Thru and other small wedding venues such as The Altar Electric exist, has been such a brilliant thing for couples putting love and marriage first, and opting to save the party for later.
If you’re looking at getting it done in the middle of the Covid pandemic in Melbourne, head over here for more information on Melbourne City Elopements, and read this article on how to get married quickly in Australia.
The Altar Electric have been the other frontrunners in this Covid pandemic craziness, and their brilliantly unique wedding venue warehouse space in Collingwood has seen all sorts of celebration playing exactly to all of the rules and requirements in place in the middle of this pandemic.
Head over and read more here: Melbourne city elopements.
Sep 22, 2020
Last year I worked with Cassie and the team at Firecracker event (also here on my list of incredible Melbourne caterers), who had created the most majestic grazing table i’ve seen anywhere, let alone in Melbourne, for Liv and Dave’s engagement party in an iconic Melbourne art gallery. The result looked like something of a collaboration between the lush perfection of Annie Leibovitz and impossible symmetry and theatre of Wes Anderson, so I had to ask her how her brain works, what are some of her best grazing table ideas in 2021, and what genius ideas she has for creating your own grazing table or spread, especially as Covid-19 has cast some uncertainty over what they will even look like in the short to mid-term: how do we create a Covid Friendly Grazing Table?
To that end, Cassie has been generous in sharing some of her own feelings about what solutions there might be and what questions to ask when navigating the scenario of sharing food communally.
Firecracker event’s slogan is “to nourish, connect, and create” and it’s such a treat to have a chat with someone that has their hands plenty full servicing all three of those across a catering business and a venue, both of which have had to be elastic and forward-thinking during covid19 (when for a little while, maybe the only thing on the table is an elopement).
My name is Cassie Lucas and I am the owner and creative director of Firecracker Event. The journey to get where I am today is a long story with a meandering path but in a nutshell it goes like this; born into a loving and affectionate social-foodie family with roots in hospitality, a childhood of caring and nurturing (both receiving and giving) followed by a degree and career in landscape architecture with time spent here and abroad all culminated in me starting Firecracker Event in 2012 and officially launching it as my full-time gig in September 2013.
Our big studio, that we call HQ (stands for heart-quarters as much as head-quarters) is used for all of our event preparation and photoshoots.
During covid HQ has been home to Pick Me Up, our take home meal service and has also become a temporary home for an ice cream van which is fun!
That’s easy. Seeing people experience and be nourished by the food and atmosphere we create.
This interior reminds us of that at this Rupert on Rupert wedding.
Our motivation has always been to make people feel loved and seen. That hasn’t changed during this time, in fact it’s been more important than ever. Many people feel isolated and unsettled by uncertainty and rapid change.
We do too!
When the pandemic hit my first instinct was ok, how can we pivot and continue to nourish our community while we can’t be together physically? From that place we launched PICK ME UP, which is a take-home meals collaboration with seven other local, small businesses who we love.
It started out as a gift we could give to our community and quickly became a gift we received as so many people showed up to support us and allowed us to safely stay connected and nourished by one another.
This helped keep our business going and has given us all a sense of purpose which has been invaluable for our mental wellbeing. It’s been a beautiful and reciprocal exchange.
You’re so right! It was such a beautiful intersection. This will be a forever favourite for sure. Liv and Dave know the owner of the antique gallery and when we went for a site inspection, I was blown away by the visual feast around each corner of the gallery.
This grazing table would look excellent at a Higher Ground wedding.
One of the many things I’ve carried with me from Landscape Architecture is allowing the site to speak and designing with site specificity. This keeps every day really exciting for us because it means that every grazing table is unique. It also means that when we are in a space like Graeme Geddes Gallery – it’s about sourcing props and produce that will work with the space. Not take away or dominate it.
This grazing table had some gorgeous smaller moments you experience when you’re up close (like cutting a piece of cheese) but then also for the overall wow- expansive view. You managed to capture that so beautifully.
Haha! Love this. Really made me think though!
Not Michael Bolton, I think it needs more drama/ energy than that!
I have transported myself to the nights at Cherry Bar in ACDC lane in Melbourne circa 2003 to answer this question. I think it’s more 80’s glam metal, OTT outfits, hair, sets, personalities and expressions!!
Perhaps Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard or Panama (cheeky – look at us sneaking in some disgracefully gratuitous SEO juice via this Panama Dining Room Wedding) by Van Halen.
I like to talk to our clients about what they love to eat, how they dine at home and what family rituals they have. We always do our best to make it feel like it’s their table.
Our use of certain props, like acrylic blocks for height, has really become a signature of Firecracker so there’s always signs of us in our work, that’s what people hire us for!
We had a client that wanted us to make grazing tables for 3000 people in a car park. I was so pumped about the potential but it didn’t go ahead in the end.
Filling the entire table, edge to edge doesn’t allow the produce to shine. It’s like everything is competing for attention and if there’s one thing I know about Delice, it does not need to compete on a table.
This can also be confronting and confusing for guests as they don’t know what to pick and feel intimidated to touch anything in feat of ‘ruining’ the table. What I would say is, do not be afraid of space. If you have some ‘air’ or ‘zones’ for the hero products it becomes more accessible for guests.
The most underrated inclusion is grapes. The way they fall does so much for how your eye moves across a table. We get a bit sad when they are out of season!
I would love to create a grazing table on the highline in New York. It’s a public garden that’s been built on an old lightrail train line. I can imagine where parts of the table are wildflowers and then produce so when you look at it, it forms a part of the landscape.
I would also love to make a gallery sized exhibition of grazing. On plinths, with color, lots of height changes. Dramatic lighting. Lots of smaller moments or rooms of grazing. And Lazy Susans. And I’ve been getting into monochrome grazing tables over the last 12 months.
Can someone help make this happen?!
As with all foods, buy the best that you can.
A small piece of something outrageous is better than a slab of an unripe brie.
The same principles work for a grazing table for 100 as they do for 2 people.
This is the landscape architecture practice of scale.
Buy odd numbers of cheese: ie three, five, or just one delicious morsel.
Build the board – and use a hierarchy – (start with what’s most important or what you want to have more air time. Cheese, obvs). Arrange items in a zigzag on the board – start with cheese, then fruit, then meat/and antipasto, dried fruit, nuts then biscuits last.
Create sweet and savory sections. ie blue and soft cheese with grapes, nuts and fruit, and antipasto/charcuterie with harder cheeses.
This isn’t a question but I think it’s worth acknowledging the death of grazing tables.
How will people experience grazing tables in the new COVID normal?
Are guests going to want to share food?
To cut cheese with the same knife as another person?
To be in close proximity to another person discussing what looks good on the table?
Will tables just be for looking but not for touching?
We’ve been thinking a lot about what this looks like and how will we facilitate that same 1980’s WOW expression?
We are thinking that it will be more individual serves. But you know, maybe it’s bigger/longer tables with social distancing and that could be really interesting for how we arrange and curate the produce.
We are workshopping some samples. Stay tuned!
But I think that this makes this particular grazing table even more special because who knows if we will be able to create something like this (to be enjoyed and eaten) again.
https://www.firecrackerevent.com/
https://www.instagram.com/firecrackerevent
87-88 South Cres, Northcote VIC 3070
If you like this glorious space, you might also like Quat Quatta – and if you’re here on the search for the best grazing table ideas, also think about having it set up at one of these incredible small wedding venues.
Sep 10, 2020
Glasshaus Outside and Glasshaus Inside are two brilliant sister wedding venues in Richmond (the latter in Cremorne, depending on how you look at it). A Glasshaus Wedding is like nothing else, in this unique jungle setting that can only come from a wedding venue that also operates as a nursery during the day (side-note: be sure to check out these other small wedding venues while you’re here).
The team at Glasshaus are master party-starters as much as they are master green-thumbs. So you can pick up your carbon-offset during the day, and then knock down drinks in this incredible sleepy jungle of an evening.
A Glasshaus Inside wedding leaves guests wondering what scene from a Tim Burton film they’ve walked into, as the place is something of a unique fantasy land. Or maybe that was my 5th Negroni speaking. Either way the walls are lined with beautiful greenery, and it’s the best realisation of an urban jungle that you’re likely to walk into.
Over the road a short jaunt away, a Glasshaus Outside Wedding happens under a transparent nursery roof, in a jungle that in many ways is similar to Glasshaus Inside, except with the industrial warehouse feel replaced by open air as you walk though gentle canopies of greenery in the more exposed setting.
Plenty of beautiful gritty Richmond streets surrounding the area make it the ideal loop for wedding portraits, and so it’s a no-brainer that for couples having their wedding ceremony at Glasshaus Outside and then moving the party to Glasshaus Inside, the portraits can be done during that walk between venues.
Glasshaus Florist website: https://glasshausfloristonline.com/
If you’re looking for a wedding venue similar to Glasshaus, it’s hard to go past Collingwoods Rupert on Rupert. Not a nursery by day, the space operates instead as an iconic casual restaurant that can transorm into any number of arrangements for events and weddings.
To see more images of Rupert on Rupert, head here to see Tim and Alix’s Rupert on Rupert Wedding, and for more venues like this, check out some of the best small wedding venues Melbourne has on offer.
Briars Atlas Wedding Photography – Enquire
Sep 3, 2020
Babiana Botanic makes incredible, unique floral designs, thanks to the fine-art background of it’s founder, Anna. We worked together on the wedding of Pepe and Sam at The Line (officiated by Nat Sproal), and we chat a little about her incredibly unique approach to Melbourne florals.
To see more of her impossibly innovative work, check out the wedding of Pepe and Sam featured here (Hello May Wedding Photographer), available on news stands today.
I’m Anna of Babiana Botanic. Most people think working with flowers “must be so lovely and relaxing!”
And yeah, sure – I love what I do and it is at times, lovely and relaxing – but its also 3am wake-ups to get the best flowers at market, long days creating arrangements, carrying buckets up and down stairs of beautiful old venues that don’t have lift access, hands covered in cuts, 1am pack-downs – it can be a brutal job – which just shows you’ve got to really love it – and I do!
I have a Bachelor of Fine Art and have always loved flowers and nature.
My love of Art Nouveau inspired me into the floristry industry where I can create works of art with nature, for people on their wedding days or for other amazing events.
I love doing weddings in Melbourne because it is such a melting pot of people. It means you get such a wide range of clients with a diverse set of needs. There are also so many creative people in Melbourne who want a wedding that stands out and is unique to them.
It means that I get to create amazing colourful weddings, weddings with nods to the couples cultures (Indian, Macedonian, etc), and contemporary weddings that are a little different.
What makes Babiana Botanic special is that we are not afraid to use colour and create something unique. We like to think about flowers as an art form and creating works of art specific to each couple.
We’ve been offering flower delivery to people’s homes during this time off so that we are still working with flowers and offering something to brighten people’s days. We’ve also been in contact and working with all of our couples who have had to postpone their weddings and events to ensure we can go ahead when all these restrictions ease.
I think post-covid, there will be a move towards more intimate weddings with just your closest family and friends, and a move away from feeling the need for a big wedding where you have to invite your third-cousin-twice-removed and that friend you haven’t seen since high-school.
I love colour and doing things differently – and that’s the mark I would like to leave. I want couples to come to me wanting beautiful, quirky, colourful and different designs.
Babiana Botanic website: https://www.babianabotanic.com/
Head to this post for more incredible unique florists in Melbourne.
Aug 28, 2020
Sydney is a city that knows how to flex its luxury muscles/slightly pointed architecture, and nowhere is that more evident than in its wedding venues. If you’re not into the “dream wedding” clichés and are more into statement settings where style and sophistication reign supreme, then welcome. Here’s a roundup of the top 16 luxury wedding venues in Sydney, where modern opulence meets timeless charm.
When it comes to luxury wedding venues, Dunbar House serves as a timeless favourite for those who appreciate a slice of history served with a side of impeccable modern hospitality. Nestled right on the shores of Sydney Harbour, this Georgian manor delivers on all fronts: views, charm, and a seamless blend of old-world elegance with contemporary luxury. For couples looking to host a stylish yet relaxed wedding, Dunbar House offers a picturesque setting where you can walk straight from your vows to the beach.
Couples who lean towards elegance and historic charm but without sacrificing modern convenience. They’re probably the kind who are over Pinterest and just want something timeless with a hint of Sydney’s harborside charm.
Dunbar House excels at sophisticated waterside views paired with exceptional service. It’s for those who appreciate the details – like custom menu tastings and polished, yet relaxed vibes.
The Georgian architecture is a treat for lovers of historic aesthetics, but inside it’s all about modern luxury. Think crisp interiors that set the stage for photos where both the venue and the couple stand out equally.
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If you’re after a venue that’s less ballroom and more urban oasis, The Grounds of Alexandria ticks every box. Located in the heart of one of Sydney’s trendiest suburbs, The Grounds is a lush, rustic haven that offers a completely immersive experience. You’re not just hosting a wedding here – you’re creating an event that feels like something straight out of an indie film. Expect industrial vibes, quirky decor, and gardens that are begging to be Instagrammed.
Urbanites who crave a wedding dripping in Instagrammable corners. You know the type: they’ve got their aesthetic down to an art form and want a wedding venue that can do the same.
The Grounds is an event unto itself. Here, you’re surrounded by flourishing gardens, rustic charm, and a sense of whimsy. Couples don’t just host weddings here, they create a fully immersive experience.
Everywhere you look, The Grounds offers a carefully curated moment – from the cascading florals to the distressed brick walls that add a vintage yet industrial vibe. Perfect for those who want their wedding to look as if it was featured in a glossy mag.
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When fine dining is a non-negotiable for your wedding day, Quay Restaurant stands as Sydney’s go-to venue. Renowned for its culinary prowess and panoramic views of the harbour, Quay is perfect for couples who want their big day to centre around exceptional food and unbeatable scenery. This iconic restaurant sits right on the edge of Circular Quay, offering an unparalleled vantage point of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Foodie couples who want more than just fancy centerpieces – they want gourmet food that their guests will talk about for years.
The food. Quay doesn’t just serve food, it serves an experience. It’s fine dining at its absolute best, with panoramic views of Sydney Harbour as a tasty little bonus.
Minimalism meets luxury with an interior design that lets the view and food take center stage. The modern, open-plan setting makes the venue feel more like a sophisticated dinner party than a traditional wedding reception.
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Set against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour, Gunners Barracks is one of those luxury wedding venues in Sydney that feels like a secret hideaway with a touch of old-world charm. This venue offers a historic yet elegant setting for couples who want something intimate but impressive. From the sandstone exterior to the sweeping views, Gunners Barracks combines history with modern luxury, providing the perfect escape for couples seeking a venue that feels both exclusive and timeless.
This venue is for couples who appreciate historic charm paired with stunning harbour views. Picture couples who value tradition but aren’t afraid to mix it up with a splash of modernity.
Gunners Barracks combines history with luxury in a way that makes you forget you’re just minutes from the bustling city. It’s intimate without being cramped, perfect for smaller weddings that still want to feel grand.
Gunners Barracks exudes old-world sophistication with sandstone walls, grand chandeliers, and lush gardens that are perfect for ceremonies. The real star, though, is the terrace – offering sweeping views of Sydney Harbour that are impossible to beat.
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Nestled beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Pier One Sydney Harbour is one of the top luxury wedding venues in Sydney for couples seeking a contemporary setting with breathtaking waterfront views. This venue offers a unique combination of modern design and iconic scenery, making it a standout choice for urban couples who want their wedding to feel chic, sleek, and unmistakably Sydney.
Couples looking for a cool, contemporary venue with uninterrupted waterfront views. They’re the type who value sleek, urban settings with a dash of sophistication and love that this place offers a different angle of Sydney’s iconic skyline.
This venue takes advantage of its spot perched on the water, offering flexible indoor-outdoor spaces that can host anything from intimate ceremonies to grand banquets. It’s where modern elegance meets waterfront views.
Industrial chic meets luxury here, with exposed beams, glass walls, and incredible views of the Harbour Bridge. It’s perfect for couples who want their wedding to be a sleek affair without the frills.
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For couples seeking a more cosmopolitan vibe, Establishment Hotel stands out as one of the most fashionable luxury wedding venues in Sydney. Housed in a heritage building, this boutique hotel offers an intimate, stylish setting for weddings that are more about cool cocktails and minimalist elegance than grand ballrooms. It’s a city wedding with an edge – where sleek design meets impeccable service.
Stylish city dwellers who want their wedding to feel more like an ultra-chic cocktail party. This venue is for those who love modern design, incredible food, and, of course, all the luxuries of a boutique hotel.
Establishment Hotel is a blend of old and new, located in a heritage building with contemporary interiors. It’s ideal for intimate weddings where everything from the food to the decor is cutting edge.
Expect high ceilings, marble floors, and a sleek bar that feels more New York than Sydney. It’s not your traditional wedding venue, but for those who want to go off-script, it’s perfect.
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For couples who want to celebrate their love surrounded by nature but with a contemporary twist, The Calyx is one of the most unique luxury wedding venues in Sydney. Situated within the Royal Botanic Garden, this venue offers a stunning fusion of nature and modern architecture. The Calyx is a statement venue, perfect for couples looking to add an innovative, stylish touch to their wedding while remaining rooted in the natural beauty of Sydney’s iconic garden.
Nature lovers with a taste for the avant-garde. The Calyx draws couples who want a striking backdrop but without the clichés of a typical garden wedding.
Located in the heart of the Royal Botanic Gardens, The Calyx is a botanical haven with a modern twist. It’s one of those venues that makes you feel a million miles from the city while being just moments away.
The venue combines large, open spaces with curated floral installations that set a lush and contemporary scene. The architecture is sleek, modern, and minimalist, allowing nature to shine as the star of the show.
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If you’re after a venue that blends historic charm with modern sophistication, The Mint is one of the standout luxury wedding venues in Sydney. Nestled within the heart of Sydney’s city centre, The Mint combines 19th-century architecture with stylish, contemporary event spaces, offering a venue that’s both classic and current. It’s perfect for couples who appreciate history but want a wedding that’s modern, elegant, and anything but dated.
History buffs who appreciate heritage spaces but want them with a clean, contemporary twist. It’s for couples who like a dash of history but aren’t ready to commit to a stuffy, old-school venue.
This venue blends old and new effortlessly. It offers historic charm without feeling outdated, making it perfect for couples who appreciate classic architecture but prefer modern amenities.
Think sandstone walls, modern floor-to-ceiling glass, and an outdoor courtyard that feels intimate yet grand. The Mint is perfect for sophisticated weddings where the venue speaks for itself.
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For couples who dream of a grand, castle-like setting for their big day, Curzon Hall is one of the most opulent luxury wedding venues in Sydney. This stunning heritage-listed mansion offers an elegant, old-world atmosphere with modern amenities to ensure that your wedding is as comfortable as it is awe-inspiring. It’s a venue for couples who want their wedding to feel regal and romantic, but with a sense of grandeur that’s uniquely Sydney.
Curzon Hall attracts couples who aren’t afraid of a bit of grandeur. It’s perfect for those who want a venue that feels like a fairytale but without the tacky vibes.
This sandstone castle-esque venue brings a sense of regal elegance to any wedding. It’s perfect for larger weddings where you need the space but don’t want to compromise on atmosphere.
Grand ballrooms, expansive gardens, and architecture that feels plucked straight from a period drama. Curzon Hall is all about drama and elegance, but in the best possible way.
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Perched above Chowder Bay, Sergeants’ Mess offers couples a luxury wedding venue in Sydney that’s as elegant as it is secluded. With sweeping views of Sydney Harbour, this venue provides a refined, private setting that feels worlds away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Sergeants’ Mess is perfect for couples who want a wedding that feels intimate but with an air of understated sophistication, all set against one of the best backdrops Sydney has to offer.
Couples looking for sweeping views of Sydney Harbour with a luxurious, private setting (further down south across the way, check out these private property wedding venues in Victoria). This is for those who want their guests to be wowed from the moment they step inside.
The panoramic views are front and center here. The venue offers both indoor and outdoor spaces, making it flexible for any weather, and delivers top-tier service to match the incredible views.
With floor-to-ceiling windows that open out onto a grand deck overlooking the water, Sergeants’ Mess is all about sleek luxury. The design is classic, letting the views do the talking.
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For those seeking the pinnacle of luxury wedding venues in Sydney, Park Hyatt Sydney offers an unrivaled experience. Located on the waterfront with panoramic views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, this five-star venue delivers on every front – from flawless service to world-class cuisine. The Park Hyatt is ideal for couples who want their wedding day to be a lavish affair in one of the most iconic and prestigious venues in the city.
Couples who want the absolute best of the best, with no compromises. This is for those who appreciate luxury in every detail, from the food to the views, and want to host a wedding where everything is nothing short of exceptional.
Located right on the harbour’s edge, Park Hyatt Sydney offers jaw-dropping views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, with service that matches the stunning location. This is the ultimate five-star venue for those who want to blend a contemporary aesthetic with high-end sophistication.
Modern luxury is the name of the game here, with sleek interiors, expansive windows, and terraces that make the most of the city’s iconic skyline. The hotel’s intimate event spaces cater to both small, exclusive gatherings and more elaborate affairs, with a strong focus on privacy and personalized service.
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For couples with a taste for modern art and contemporary design, the Museum of Contemporary Art is a standout luxury wedding venue in Sydney. Located in the heart of The Rocks, this venue boasts sleek interiors and one of the most coveted rooftop event spaces in the city, complete with breathtaking views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. It’s the perfect choice for those who want their wedding to feel chic, cultured, and undeniably stylish.
Art enthusiasts and couples who want a venue that feels more like a modern gallery than a traditional wedding venue. The Museum of Contemporary Art is for those who crave a unique and cultured backdrop for their day – think white walls, cutting-edge design, and a view that leaves guests in awe.
Located right in The Rocks district, this venue serves up contemporary style with an iconic Sydney backdrop. The rooftop terrace, which overlooks Sydney Harbour, is the perfect spot for couples who want their wedding to feel artistic and cosmopolitan, with the added bonus of impressive architecture and world-class exhibitions just steps away.
It’s all about modern minimalism here, with clean lines and expansive spaces that let you add your personal touch. The rooftop has arguably one of the best views in Sydney, giving couples the perfect combination of chic interiors and outdoor splendor.
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Set above the world-famous Taronga Zoo, Taronga Centre is for couples who want more than just your typical venue – they want a wedding with a view and a unique experience to match. Overlooking Sydney Harbour and surrounded by natural bushland, Taronga Centre feels like a slice of wild luxury, offering up one of the best vantage points in the city. This venue is ideal for those who love the idea of combining the iconic Sydney skyline with an unparalleled, nature-inspired setting. It’s not every day you can get married with a zoo in the background, after all.
Animal lovers and nature enthusiasts who want a wedding with a view and a unique twist. Couples who choose Taronga Centre aren’t just about the zoo – they’re about making a statement with their surroundings and embracing the extraordinary.
Perched on the hillside with uninterrupted views of Sydney Harbour, Taronga Centre gives you the best of both worlds: stunning scenery and a memorable experience. It’s an ideal venue for those who want their guests to mingle with native wildlife, albeit from a safe distance, while enjoying panoramic vistas of the city.
The spaces are sleek and modern, allowing the natural beauty of the surroundings to be the focal point. The rooftop venue is particularly impressive for sunset ceremonies or evening receptions, with the sparkling lights of Sydney in the background.
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For couples who want a wedding steeped in history yet bursting with contemporary luxury, Intercontinental Sydney provides the perfect blend of old-world grandeur and sleek modernity. Housed within a 19th-century Treasury building in the heart of the city, this hotel is all about timeless sophistication and exceptional service. It’s the venue for couples who want to impress their guests with a venue that feels iconic yet accessible, steeped in tradition but boasting all the comforts of a luxury hotel.
Couples who appreciate history and elegance but still want that luxury hotel experience. This venue is for those who love a touch of old-world charm without sacrificing modern-day comforts.
Housed in a restored 19th-century Treasury building, the Intercontinental Sydney offers a mix of historical grandeur and contemporary opulence. Its unique combination of heritage-listed architecture and stylish event spaces makes it a top choice for couples wanting an elegant yet sophisticated affair.
With grand ballrooms and sweeping city views from the rooftop, the Intercontinental Sydney provides a seamless blend of classic architecture with sleek, modern touches. It’s a versatile venue that caters to both intimate gatherings and larger celebrations, all within a setting that screams old-world luxury.
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For couples who dream of tying the knot with the sea as their backdrop, Zest Waterfront Venues offers the perfect combination of relaxed coastal charm and polished luxury. With two stunning waterfront locations in Point Piper and Mosman, Zest provides a serene, sophisticated setting for weddings that embrace Sydney’s coastal lifestyle without skimping on style. This is the venue for those who want their wedding to feel laid-back yet luxurious, capturing the essence of Sydney’s beautiful harbourside culture.
Zest attracts couples who are all about a laid-back, waterfront vibe without skimping on luxury. They’re the ones who love the idea of a waterside celebration that’s refined, relaxed, and infused with a sense of easy elegance.
Zest’s two locations in Point Piper and Mosman offer stunning views and sleek interiors perfect for coastal celebrations. It’s all about sophistication by the sea, offering versatile spaces that cater to everything from intimate dinners to grand receptions.
Both locations feature contemporary designs with a nod to the coastal surroundings, making for a relaxed yet luxurious atmosphere. Think soft, neutral tones, natural materials, and floor-to-ceiling windows that let the outside in. It’s ideal for couples who want to celebrate with the water as their backdrop.
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Contact Details
Address: 16 Phillip Ln, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 7228 0540
Kittyhawk wedding gallery: Kittyhawk Wedding
Email: info@thekittyhawk.com.au
If your wedding plans include something beyond the standard garden party fare, then you’re in good company. From waterside escapes to hidden gems in the heart of the city, Sydney’s luxury wedding venues offer more than just a pretty backdrop – they’re your chance to create an experience that guests won’t stop talking about. And while finding the venue is important, don’t underestimate the value of having a top-tier wedding planner in your corner to bring it all together seamlessly.
Sydney is a city full of wedding planners who specialize in turning the luxury factor up to 11. If you’re planning to make a statement, consider partnering with planners like After the Rock, Couture Wedding Planning, or Anna Wang, who have experience working at some of Sydney’s most opulent venues. These planners can help you navigate everything from floral arrangements that aren’t plucked straight from Pinterest, to sourcing decor that’ll give your wedding an effortless elegance. For those who want something even more bespoke, check out Samantha Burke Events and Honey Lane for personalized touches that reflect your style.
This luxury wedding venue list should give you a solid foundation as you embark on planning your Sydney wedding. With a focus on personalized elegance and an avoidance of tired wedding tropes, it’s all about finding a venue that mirrors your style without overdoing it. Luxury is, after all, about a curated experience – and these venues deliver just that, without the overly pompous fanfare.
See this article on Unique Wedding Venues in Melbourne.
Aug 21, 2020
Hunting for a wedding florist Melbourne or beyond? There are so many incredible florists in our home state, but these maestros really stand out from the crowd and produce some of the best wedding flowers Melbourne has on offer.
It can be a challenge finding a florist to collaborate on your vision (or share their own), and there are so many moving parts, such as logistics, seasonality, and more.
So I thought I’d compile a list of 10 of the most unique florists in Melbourne: scientists, wizards, aliens of the floral game, making things you’d never expect to see at weddings. But this is what we’ve come to expect from Melbourne – innovation, and wedding floristry was never going to be exempt!
Get around these floral masterminds, whether you’re planning a Melbourne City Elopement during Covid 19, a wedding at one of these brilliant small wedding venues or something bigger down the line, these florists Melbourne and beyond have done it all.
Flowers are a significant part of the style and feel of a wedding and in how they shape a space. The bouquets, table settings and accents to the decor all set the tone of a space and have more of an impact on the day than you might imagine.
The incredible photo and ceremony backdrops (especially this slice of genius by Hollingsworth Studio) will be the talk of the town (or at least your mob of mates) for years to come. If you’re going to spend cash you need to spend it with the right people, which means a small crew who are personally invested and creative masterminds in their own right.
The wedding florist you want on your team isn’t just one who can take and enhance your ideas, but throw their own in the ring. With a wealth of experience under their belt, they’ve seen everything under the sun, and if you can lean into fully trusting the wedding florist you hire, you’ll be left with the brilliance that can only come from a professional taking a little insight into your venue and who you are as a couple, and then running with it.
Wedding Florist name | Florist style | Florist location | You may also like | Florist gallery |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hollingsworth Studio | Delicate genius | Garfield, VIC | Babiana Botanic | Coming soon |
Babiana Botanic | Colour fireworks | Melbourne | Hollingsworth Studio | Half Acre wedding |
Raven and the Rose | Seasonal art | Macedon Ranges | Katie Marx Flowers | Coming soon |
Good Grace and Humour | Interstellar | Melbourne | Georgie Boy | Coming soon |
Katie Marx Flowers | Majestic natural | Castlemaine | Raven and the Rose | Coming soon |
The Flower District | Gloriously sleek | Berwick | Bloom Boy | Coming soon |
Bloom Boy | Tarantino | Seddon | Good Grace and Humour | Coming soon |
Sassafras Flower design | Abundant | Yarra Valley | North St Botanical | Coming soon |
Georgie Boy | Designed | Northcote | Good Grace and Humour | Coming soon |
North St Botanical | Natural magic | Northcote | Sassafras Flower design | Coming soon |
Flowers St Germain | Class | Melbourne | North St Botanical | Flowers St Germain |
For me as a photographer, it’s bloody great when you get a top-notch wedding florist. It can make the photos really come alive and gives me something to play around with. A stunning venue all dressed up with flowers creates such a vibe. The bridal party’s pinholes and the bride’s bouquet transform photos. Adding that floral dash of coordinating colour helps tie it all together, creating that one shot that you can’t stop looking at after the big day.
I want to let you in to Victoria’s exceptionally exciting floristry scene. We have some of the world’s best wedding floral designers right on our doorstep. These scallywags are the most forward-thinking and talented group of wedding florists I’ve found, and push the boundaries of what’s possible with wedding flowers, mostly using locally sourced and native species, and operating on the edge of the movement towards maximum sustainability.
Vivien and her team, formerly Flos Botanical, are just the most amazing, colourful, bombastic geniuses around. They are always looking for ways to be more eco-friendly and work sustainably – which is no longer an option, but a responsibility (and as a wedding couple, something you should consider using in your vetting process). Their relationship with their flowers is built on fun and creativity, and forward-thinking synergy with the venues they work in.
I’ve always been really inspired by them. Her gallery is full of life and colour. I can just see the smiles they bring to people from the pictures. If you are dreaming of fun, stylish and vibrant creations give Vivien a call.
Working out of their studio in Melbourne with her husband running around doing deliveries, Vivien runs a truly personal experience.
I haven’t included this just because the name is fun to say: Anna is a fantastic new kid on the block and one of the most incredibly innovative florists Melbourne has on offer.
You can tell from her incredible pieces that she has a fine art background. Each meticulously designed arrangement is its own piece of art. You and your guests are going to be ogling at them and talking about them way after the party is over, and you can check out her incredible work for Pepe and Sam in the pages of Hello May.
See also: my interview with Babiana Botanic.
Known as a more bombastic Melbourne wedding florist, Anna likes working with colour and really pushing the boundaries of what the flowers can actually do. She has purple palm fans, yellow flower garlands and lush green ferns in her armoury ready to wow anyone that lays eyes on them. If you want a double serve of magic, pair this brilliant wedding florist in Melbourne with these amazing wedding arbours.
https://www.babianabotanic.com/
I first worked with Amy and her Raven and the Rose team at Castle Montsalvat, and she blew me away (or at least into the next stone-walled room). See the Montsalvat Wedding of Kate and Matt.
Amy creates these beautiful, majestic dark moody pieces of art that are on trend, on season and eco friendly. If dark and moody isn’t your thing, she will create your perfect scene out of seasonal flowers whatever the colour scheme.
Amy loves catching up with her clients over a cuppa to get a feel for the day and the person, rather than just giving a generic quote, and the Macedon Ranges is lucky to have her. Call up and then drop in to her shop directly.
https://www.ravenandtherose.com.au/
Meg and her team are pushing the boundaries of floral artistry. There’s no ‘floral fluff’ to be seen here, just free flowing, seemingly impossible, pure natural yet futuristic creations. And every single petal is sourced locally from Melbourne flower market.
I personally think she is the Elon Musk of floristry (minus offering flamethrowers for sale on the side… yet). She gets to know you, your themes and colour ideas and she’s curious about every detail, and how that might then fit into some impossibly devised creation.
Good Grace and Humour are located in a warehouse in the inner west of the city (sharing space with the inimitable Good Day Club) but they go out foraging for their special twists on the genre all the time. There’s always a little accent you wouldn’t have thought of that just lifts the whole visual dynamic and transcends everything you thought you knew about floral design.
https://www.goodgraceandhumour.com/
Based well north of Melbourne in Newstead, Katie Marx has her floristry studio and runs ‘Butterland’ venue with her husband Greg. Previously a candle factory, Butterand is also ground zero for this brilliant Castlemaine florists artistry.
The venue runs floristry workshops and hosts gorgeous events year round. Katie is the queen of foraging, and keen to teach you all her tricks. She has an enormously earthy and natural feel to her displays and focuses on native species using interesting pieces her friends at the flower market secretly save for her. Katie also works as a Melbourne wedding florist, sprinkling her genius all over Victoria.
Check out the incredible work of Katie Marx florist below at the wedding of Iro and Alex, held at Butterland.
Katie’s passion for au naturale drives her unique designs. If you’re after a homegrown Australian dream wedding, then take a look at Katie Marx’s work, and check out this Butterland wedding in Newstead.
https://www.instagram.com/katiemarxflowers
A mother and daughter team working hard to stay sustainable and have minimal waste. They love beautiful things and “extra AF” parties! They are incomprehensibly talented, whilst remaining flexible, and create some of the most unique wedding flowers Melbourne has on offer.
They use flowers to set the mood. If you want romance, you can have the whole room oozing with love. If you want colour, Caroline will make the room explode with excitement. Taking her creative flare from her mother, the two make the perfect team. She has been known to slip a tiny pineapple or disco ball into a bouquet, so watch out!
https://www.theflowerdistrict.com.au/contact
Previously working in fashion in London, Ross is now a Melbourne-based flower lord: he creates flower arrangements that don’t even look like floristry as you know it, and is a front-runner on wedding floristry innovation.
Bloom Boy has chains, ribbons, spray paint, disco balls and naked men covered in flowers all over the shop: all the things you think of when you think of wedding floristry (naturally – or was that, au naturale).
Check out some of his brilliant work below that was set up at iconic small wedding venue in Melbourne, the Altar Electric.
If you want something with a bit of spice and flare he’s your man. If you had a ‘silly’ idea of hanging flowers across the ceiling, Ross will create the craziest, lushest, most fashion conscious installation you could have dreamed of and that ‘silly’ idea might just be the best one you had.
All photos above taken at Altar Electric – check them out along with some of the other incredible small wedding venues Melbourne has to offer.
Sassafras flower design merges a delicate, sensitive flair for design, with considered selection of florals. Check out these incredible arrangements for the Burnham Beeches wedding of Kate and Alex.
https://www.sassafraswedding.com.au/
Georgie Boy is Gina Lasker. You know you’re dealing with one of the most unique wedding florists in town when they have their own feature on Melbourne’s leading design blog, The Design Files.
Check out Ginas spectacular work below, creating a jaw dropping installation at Geelong wedding venue, the Fyansford Paper Mill, the patina of which bears a little resemblance to this Higher Ground wedding: https://briarsatlas.com/higher-ground-wedding/
North St Botanical have been around a while, and it’s no surprise: they stay at the edge of beautiful design, seasonality, and most importantly, making couples over the moon with their brilliant creations. North St can frequently be found at Rupert (see Liv and Dave’s Rupert on Rupert wedding).
Flowers St Germain are serial dressers of Stones of the Yarra Valley, and we worked for them on the meticulously crafted wedding (care of wedding planners Weddings of Desire) of Ella and Mack.
Wedding flowers by a professional florist can be anywhere from $500 to $50000 depending on how many pieces and installations you’re having.
The best wedding flower is the one that makes you go “holy batman”. Consider things that are off-trend, and also know that seasonal is always a great way to go to avoid transport miles.
You should consider booking your florist at least one month in advance. This will enable them to plan your pieces properly, as well as make the market trips in advance to do all the materials purchasing.
Wedding flowers can occasionally seem like a bit of a whack to the pocket, but not when you realise the amount of time and effort that goes into creating them. Your wedding florist will spend weeks planning the arrangements, liaising with you about your day, not to mention 3am rises to hit the flower markets. There is so much more work involved than just slapping a few bouquets together.
Like all the pieces of the wedding and events puzzle, it’s a dance between executing your vision, and letting experienced professionals do their thing. Reach out to the florists up there with your ideas, and be sure to take a look at these brilliant alternative Melbourne wedding celebrants, as well as the most unique wedding venues in Melbourne.
Aug 13, 2020
Here’s a rundown of some of our favourite Melbourne wedding photo locations, organised by the mood they give, to show you what brilliant variety we have in our own inner city for weddings: from gritty industrial, all the way over to the most incredible nature within a stones throw of the Melbourne CBD. Included in all locations are Google Maps pins.
These are our top 15 Melbourne wedding photo locations (I have plenty more hidden gems, but you’ll just have to head out on foot and go exploring yourself to find them, or book us as your Melbourne wedding photographer).
Be sure to tune in for the very last one – some of our favourite little slices of Melbourne alleys. If you’re getting hitched in the city or inner city or eloping in Melbourne, I know these like the back of our hand as well as a whole bunch of wonderful other little known spots.
These are somewhat more popular locations, but when looking at where to take photos in Melbourne i’ve found they’re ripe for putting a unique spin on each and every time, especially if you’re planning a Melbourne elopement.
The Melbourne Treasury building is the go-to photo location for registry weddings in Melbourne, and one of the most iconic spots for Melbourne wedding photos. With its incredible historic design and layout, it’s one of the best places to take photos in Melbourne. What people often miss though, is that the immediate surrounds of the building have the most brilliant wedding photo locations, perfect for rain-shielded photo sessions, sunset sessions, all of it. If you look closely, you can see some of these at this Fortyfive Downstairs wedding.
I take so many couples around here, and it can’t be overstated how beautifully soft and moody the light is around the structures themselves. Head down Treasury place and explore, it’s all an easy and quick whip around, especially if you’re then heading south to somewhere like The Deck at Circa.
Melbourne Treasury Building photo location on Google Maps.
Just west of the Melbourne Treasury building, is the Treasury gardens. While the gardens themselves are beautiful and lush, what I personally prefer from this photo location is to use them as context against the treasury buildings behind it.
Walk about halfway up Treasury Place, head down the paths inserting themselves into the gardens, turn around, and you’ve got beautiful lush greenery depending on the time of year, with the incredible heritage buildings right behind you as the backdrop.
Treasury Gardens Photo Location Google Maps pin.
The Collingwood and Fitzroy back streets contain some of our earliest historic houses, since they were the first suburbs inhabited when Melbourne did, well, what we did back then, clear everything and everyone in sight and build lots of stuff.
As a result some of the architecture in the surrounding streets is particularly cute and interesting in equal measure, and make for some of the best Melbourne wedding photo locations.
As a general area, this is a personal favourite and one of the best places to take photos in Melbourne and a go-to for all the best wedding photographers doing their thing.
Something more of a sleeper wedding photo location (ie: more classic, and not immediately striking), Carlton has some understated alleys that are beautiful soft backdrops without fighting the rest of the frame, and an ideal subtle place for Melbourne wedding photos.
Enormous stonework, subtle signage and fittings, the laneways here are worth exploring and just a small dash out of the Melbourne CBD.
One of the best lanes. Find this photo location on Google Maps here.
One of our favourite general areas in Melbourne, and a brilliant wedding photo location to explore. Further north we hit Thornbury, which has an endless amount of textures, historic structures, and all sorts of weird and wonderful signage and exteriors – oh, and Kenny Lover.
30 minutes here will be spent pretty quickly heading up, down and around High St, with art-deco design left right and centre.
See more of Sam and Pauls wedding on Instagram.
Find Northcote Town Hall wedding photo location here on Google Maps.
Northcote Town Hall is a must visit for simple Melbourne heritage vibes, beautiful columns and light. If Fitzroy Town Hall isn’t accessible, then this isn’t a compromise as a wedding photo location, and it provides the same kind of feel, shelter from rain, and beautiful soft light, with no chance of being disturbed, and super close proximity to bars, cafes, and all of the standard Northcote glory.
There’s also plenty of beautiful textures and walls to find on Eastment st and Westbourne Grove, down the side of the town hall.
This one gets a header all of it’s own. The incredible artwork on the side of the Fonda building is a joy to walk past and pop off some frames in front of, and one of the most distinct wedding photo locations around. Punchy, colourful, geometrically satisfying, this is located just off Smith st, with spades of bars and other historic streets right near it.
A great little stopover if you’re getting hitched at Panama Dining Room wedding a Rupert on Rupert wedding.
Find this Collingwood photo location here on google maps.
I’ve had so many couples stay at the QT Hotel on Russel St, and turning just around to the right of it’s entrance, down Portland Lane, is a no-brainer for some quick portraits when exiting the building to head to the ceremony.
The wall of the Portland Hotel is painted a rich black, and feeds down into deep bluestones below, creating something of an impossible infinity-wall, where it feels like the bluestone is a shelf at the edge of the universe. One of the more unique wedding photo locations in Melbourne.
As if we’re about to lean into the ether, or into Gandalf’s embrace, etc.
Until fairly recently, sweeping sections of South Melbourne have somehow managed to mostly avoid being exploited by our general lack of regulation around architectural design for a suburb so close to the city, and so unlike other heritage suburbs, still has plenty of great things to explore without yet looking like a second-year students first foray into geometric design elements.
As a result, as well as easily feeling like it’s a jaunt into the old world, the entire area around the Town Hall, Clarendon St, and industrial back areas have plenty of textures to explore, and is an ideal wedding photo location just 5 minutes out of the Melbourne CBD.
Abbotsford may just be our closest answer to anything resembling the back streets of New York or Brooklyn (see these Melbourne wedding venues). Abbotsford has it all: incredibly close proximity to Yarra Bend Park (which doesn’t seem like it should or could sit so close to the city), old heritage streets, imposing industrial buildings, and everything in between. Abbotsford is a brilliantly diverse wedding photo location.
A 30 minute session in Abbotsford can get chewed up very quickly, and that’s without stopping off at any of the beautiful little cafes littered around the place. One of the best photo locations in Melbourne, at just a short jump outside of the Melbourne CBD itself.
Looking at the map, Fitzroy Gardens almost sounds ripped out of a Tolkien book. The Faeries tree, Tudor Village, Temple of the Winds. These are all great, but the best parts of these gardens aren’t etched on the map.
Enter from the midwestern paths along Lansdowne St, and some of the more incredible tree-tunnels are visible, then head further in to a couple of “secret” little jungle areas with tight greenery, stone stairs and more. Gorgeous wedding photo location resembling a jungle.
One of our favourite places for Melbourne wedding photos.
Carlton Gardens join the Royal Exhibition building. Carlton Gardens are more known for the aisle of trees leading up to said building (and a water foutain) but the best parts of these gardens are actually around the northwestern edge of the exhibition building.
Architecturally there’s a bunch of textural options around there, but what I like most is the setting sun against some of the smaller characterful pieces of garden around there.
Find this Carlton photo location on Google Maps here.
Prahran isn’t necessarily the first place you’d think of when looking for the best Melbourne wedding photo locations, but when I lived there, I made a point of taking any couples eloping here from overseas there, for two reasons.
Firstly there’s more than it’s fair share of architecturally stunning historical charm, and secondly, while there’s the allure of taking portraits in the CBD, in our opinion Prahran punches above it’s weight, and saves all of the regular hassles associated with parking in the city itself, while allowing folks spending a little bit of time here to explore a neighbourhood they might have otherwise missed.
Also, don’t miss this moody art-deco gem. Add Prahran to the list if you’re planning a Melbourne City elopement.
First stop from the Melbourne CBD as we head west, Footscray is a gritty gem, and enormously misunderstood suburb (especially from our dear friends of the east). All the right ingredients for a subversive photo location.
Footscray has buckets of charm in it’s back streets, and as you head over to Seddon (i’d never heard of it either until I moved there), you’re hit with some of the most incredible cottage-style residences you’ll see in Melbourne.
The pièce de résistance. Melbourne has bucketloads of beautiful alleys, and the main choices become things like how much heritage do you want, vs graffiti, vs tourists, vs calm.
All of the major alleys have their own character as a wedding photo location, and at any quarter of the CBD there’s a good handful within walking distance, and are usually crowned as the best Melbourne wedding photo locations.
These aren’t necessarily the “main events” here (sorry), i’m instead sharing some of our favourite Melbourne wedding photo locations containing simple light, and simple texture.
For more of our secret ones, keep an eye on our melbourne wedding photography workshops.
Briars Atlas – Wedding Photographer Melbourne – enquire
Aug 10, 2020
Briars Atlas – Melbourne Wedding photography documenting the calm and anarchy of beautiful couples all over Melbourne and Victoria. I’ve been fortunate to be noted as one of Melbourne’s top wedding photographers both locally in Australia’s Capture Magazine, and abroad in New Yorks Rangefinder Magazine, as part of their Top 30 worldwide.
But none of this stuff matters – what matters is that i’m lucky to have one of the best jobs in the world: chasing party-starters and anarchist lovers all over the planet to make something that matters for and with them.
I work with you to make your wedding photography absolutely bangin’, and not something that makes you want to chew a cyanide pill. Read on to see some of the wedding photography i’ve been commissioned on all over Melbourne and beyond.
Vogue Wedding – Zoe and Adam
Hello May Wedding Photographer – Pepe and Sam
Looking for an elegant wedding venue? Check out the deck circa.
Aug 8, 2020
How to take dark and moody wedding photos: a complete guide (apparently this is what i’m supposed to write, but more like my high-school exam output, it’s probably more the “enough to get by, hopefully” guide).
Something i’ve always loved to do is find ways of photographing things in a “moody” way no matter what the scenario. Usually though at a wedding, these sort of images end up representing about 10-15% of what the couple receives, because the “dark and moody” stuff in reality only ever represents a small percentage of a wedding day.
Typically it’s areas like moody preparation rooms, or sometimes indoor receptions with natural light, that sort of thing. Regardless, they’re super fun to make, and nice to celebrate.
Weddings are joyous! Full of fun and confetti! Why would we try and imprint some Tarantino, Wes-Anderson-esque painterly vibes into something supposed to be uplifting? WELL.
What qualifies as a moody feel can be just as uplifting as the bright stuff in it’s own way, and it can channel a whole lot of other ways of connecting to the set of images that we deliver. My job is to generate the widest amount of emotional connection with the images as I can. That means tapping not just into the bright stuff, but also providing some images that nudge our brain into another direction, because all of those moments and moods are present somewhere on a wedding day – and we might as well show them for what they are.
If something feels dark and moody, I want to photograph it that way, and edit it in such a way that the qualities of that feeling are brought out in the best way. If someone tosses charcoal-coloured petals in Gollums cave lit by a line of candles, then it’ll be moody. But if theres a bright petal-toss with colours and glory, that should also end up looking as it felt.
In this shot above, two single points of natural light in a bathroom made for a beautiful soft vibe, and the real thrill is making that come alive in the image.
I wanted to use a photo shoot with Dan and Dre as a main example, who flew down from their hometown of Canberra to have a play over a couple of days for their couples shoot, in some of my favourite locations in Victoria (see these other favourite Melbourne wedding photo locations) as an example.
Before we crack on, this thread on Reddit is worth a look, as it highlights a common misunderstanding of what dark and moody is, and how it can be interpreted as a trend, which is a bit of a misnomer that we can say about anything, and kinda implies there’s a “right” or authentic way of making an image. If we go deep into the real esoterics of photography, pretty quickly we discover there is no such thing as authentic capture: not only that, but the rich, hazy, beautiful colours of overexposed Fuji film for example, look nothing like reality: just a (really pleasant) interpretation of it.
So everything is a trend, and everything isn’t: the key is to nail the vibe in a really careful way, sympathetic to point #2 below: we want our folks in the image to love themselves in it.
How our eyes interpret light, differs from the person next to us. How theirs interpret light and mood, differs wildly from insects and other animals. photography is an act of interpretation, not a way of “taking something as it is”.
The images in here mostly use chiaroscuro, and open-shade.
This is the MVP (most valuable player) of the dark and moody vibe. Chiaroscuro is, to put it simply, highly contrasted light and shade. This can be found in the most unlikely of situations. Hot tip – anywhere that you have a room with a small window – the smaller the better – you’ve got yourself an instant kit for Chiaroscuro light.
Expose for the highlights, and you’re good to go. See also – this Provenance Wines wedding.
Keep orange out, and flattering tones in. Per the Reddit thread up above, we should probably be more worried about making our couples look like they’ve swallowed a stick of uranium or a bag of carrots than them being too moody necessarily: this means that flattering tones and flattering light are a higher priority than whether the image is too light or dark per-se.
A great way to stay on top of this is to constantly reference where we got colour tones “right”. And for me, that’s any of either cinema, or great classic photo books with anyone shooting on film.
Calibrating our eyes to the skin tones of what we see on Instagram is a bad, bad idea.
Slim Aarons on the other hand? Holy basted badger-balls.
We want to have full, or nearly-full, black and white point in your image to give us the most room to play with in nailing a moody vibe in post-production.
This means that our image has a full range of information in it (as much detail in the darks and lights as possible), that translates to a detailed print. Any adjustments we make to the RGB “S” curve in Photoshop or Lightroom, immediately throws away information in the image: so tampering with it has to be a delicate exercise.
There was a bit of a movement towards really flat shadows some years ago, but my experience with Lightroom these days is that it turns an image to mud, really quick. If the aim is to get dusty shadows or muted highlights, generally that’s better achieved by instead selectively dodging and burning: this way you can raise or lower their brightness, while still keeping as much pure shadow and pure highlight in the image where it makes sense for them to be.
So using the RGB curve graph is not the best way to raise shadows or mute highlights, as it’s not a well developed tool inside Lightroom at all (maybe it will be better in later years to come – Capture One’s version works much better). A good way to think about why we don’t use RGB curves to mute our lights or darks is to imagine trying to cook a souffle in a crematorium.
By keeping the shadows rich, we can selectively dodge them out later while maintaining a solid black-point that will print out beautifully.
Dark and moody wedding images, if they’re shot in lower-light situations, inherently have a lot less highlights in them. That means the highlights that are there, stick out a little louder than they would otherwise, and can quickly dilute the power of an image.
This means that in order to have a beautifully powerful dark and moody image, we need to exercise a high level of care in spotting our image, and dodging and burning it: you can read about both of those in this post about photo editing.
Spotting is the gentle art of removing unnecessary bits of information in the image – this could be a rogue hi-light or a rogue fly sat perfectly in the middle of someones forehead.
The aim is to clear out unnecessary hi-lights. “If it isn’t lifting it up, it’s bringing it down”.
Here’s why this is also important:
Photography isn’t the art of freezing reality, it’s the art of telling a story through exclusion. Editing an image in photoshop (delicately) is no different than selectively framing things out in the moment. The unique thing about photography is that it “bakes in” things in the frame that our eyes wouldn’t process if it were, say, video. This means that in order to be MORE #authentic, we actually need to remove these things, as they’re causing an unnatural distraction to us and hold our attention more than they did in reality once they’ve been freezed into an image.
I know this sounds incredibly wanky, but spotting is the gentle art of bringing back the purity of how a moment actually felt, by fixing the things our cameras unnecessarily froze into the frame.
Here’s an extreme example first, and a not-so-extreme example second.
Gain a wide vocabulary in painterly tones, from the source. My two favourite painters are Jeffrey Smart and Zdiszlaw Beksinski – and in a roundabout way they inform my love of moody tones. Dig into some books and find some painters you align with.
Follow my free wedding photography workshop series, or make an enquiry about joining my mentor program.
Aug 8, 2020
I Do Drive Thru is a worldwide wedding startup, helping couples get hitched in the middle of Covid19 while adhering to the restrictions and saving the partying for later. Since launching in Melbourne as a drive through wedding service, it’s spread nationally, and has since popped up all over the USA. Melbourne wedding celebrant Mel (who also moonlights as The Ceremony Store) runs us through why it started and how it’s helped couples all over the world.
Related article: read here to find out how to get married quickly in Australia (and book I Do Drive Thru).
I’ve been a Marriage and Funeral Celebrant for 15 years and own the companies, The Ceremony Store, The I Do Drive Thru and The Last Time. I am also a Celebrant Trainer with Australian Celebrations Training, Furniture Maker, Writer, Mother and Wife but I have always wanted to be an Electrician.
I am obsessed with learning as much as I can in this lifetime, I am perpetually curious. I try one new task every year until I get good at it, then I move on: I have learnt lock-picking, languages, carpentry, metal-detecting, and written a book.
When COVID 19 became a part of our world I was given medical advice to isolate which meant I could no longer do weddings. The next day I gave away/rescheduled 17 weddings and it was, to say the least; devastating, not just for me, but for my couples. Not only that, I felt horribly guilty giving my weddings to other Celebrants who could possibly get COVID.
That night I lay awake thinking about how I could keep those Celebrants safe and keep working from home during COVID.
To digress, I have always been a bit obsessed with Vegas style weddings and in my early Celebrancy career, I used to ride my red postie motorbike to weddings dressed as Elvis. It just seemed pretty natural that Vegas-vibed drive thru weddings and getting couples to stay in their cars while getting married and keeping the Celebrant distanced was the answer to all of my problems.
The next morning I texted 3 of the most awesome Celes I know, said let’s start this business, and all of them said yes without hesitation and 8 days later, we had a business name, logo, website and a press release. On our launch day we had over 32 calls from the press, 10 enquiries and booked our very first wedding.
Just by chance, my co-founders Kate, Zena and Klara were the perfect combo to get everything going, and the main driver between all of us was the passion to continue working while this crisis was going on around us.
We all love what we do and while we all kind of felt like sitting around grieving for what we had lost, we forced ourselves to build something new to fit with the changed times. Our catch cry became ‘we will work that out later’ as the business moved so incredibly quickly.
I honestly believe that anyone can do anything they set their mind to, impossible isn’t in my vocabulary. Any skill can be learned, any work can be completed no matter what limits there are, so we worked 19-20 hours days for that first week and we pulled it off.
The most rewarding thing about starting the business was the instant gratification we got with the media interest, we knew that our idea was good and the public interest confirmed that.
My gorgeous co-founders put so much trust in me right from the get go. We organised everything via phone, zoom and email, we have only sat in the same space once since we started the business, which is pretty incredible.
On launch day, seeing Klara on the 6pm news launching our business was such an achievement and then to replicate that model in each state over and over and then in the US has been amazing!
We now have 21 Celebrants working Aus wide with us and 2 in the US.
Celebrants weren’t the only people affected by COVID, it’s also the photographers, venue owners, car hire companies, florists, everyone has been affected in our industry. We worked hard to create a model that could encompass as many of these suppliers in local communities as possible, so they could be involved too.
A huge benefit to our business has been that we managed to snag some of the best photographers in Australia to work with us and these artists have provided some of the most epic photos of ceremonies.
Having these professional images to share with potential couples so they can see that tiny weddings can be so intimate and beautiful and moving has been incredible, a professional picture really is worth a thousand words.
Bringing work to all types of wedding industry professionals, while they were feeling pretty down about losing their own work, has given us all the warm fuzzies.
Our couples really range in age, we have had couple in their 20’s to couple’s in their 80’s. The similarity between them is that they really want to get married, but feel like they don’t fit into the white wedding dress/getting given away by Dad/first dance scenario. We have had couples that have stayed in their car for the ceremony, gotten out and married under trees, created convoys so family and friends can come and watch and couples have arrived via cars, helicopters, motorbikes and bicycles.
My fave couple so far is a couple where the Bride recently became paraplegic and she is still getting used to navigating new places and feels a little self-conscious.
Her Fiancé just wanted to marry her, because in his words, ‘she is the most amazing woman in the world’. When they heard about the Drive Thru and she saw that she didn’t have to get out of the car and worry about wheelchair logistics, she cried, because this was the only way she felt comfortable getting married.
COVID is going to be here for a while. It’s not going to magically disappear, and I honestly think this will impact the wedding industry for years.
In the short term we have the uncertainty of not knowing when we can go back to booking big celebrations and it makes planning pretty impossible.
Then when restrictions are lifted then yes, technically, we can go back to bigger celebrations, but is it a celebration if you can’t hug your Nan when you walk back down the aisle? Is it a celebration if you can’t share a shot glass or eat bread out of the same breadbasket?
The effects of social distancing will continue to live on, especially when it comes to celebrating that way that we are used to.
A surprising side-effect to this whole COVID scenario, is that suddenly eloping isn’t taboo, eloping makes you responsible, kinda like a hero, you are protecting your community by having a small wedding and that shift in thinking has been kinda rad.
People have been eloping because there isn’t the stigma attached to it anymore, heck the government practically endorsed eloping when you were only allowed to have the marrying couple and two witnesses present.
My advice to couples during COVID has been to follow your heart and remember that there is a huge difference between a marriage and a wedding. (Check out Will and Jac for Melbourne wedding planning).
If you wanna get married, get married, do it, commit to your lover, that’s so important, don’t let COVID stop you. There is literally no better time to love and be loved than right now, having companionship during a crisis is what will get you through it.
When people ask what you did during COVID how totally romantic is it to say that you married your honey and then shacked up in iso together? (Side note – like this Blue Mountains Elopement).
If your heart is set on a wedding that encompasses family and friends, then wait, but wait until COVID is dead and gone and we can hug again. Have a huge wedding down the track, when you can handshake and dance, but you will have to be patient.
And for those that want both, do it! Have the most romantic, sweet tiny ceremony now and make it all about each other, then have a huge wedding party later on-best of both worlds.
Running a business during a pandemic is tough. Terms and conditions/your contract/Statement of Fees documents are everything. Mine was pretty broad but certainly never covered a killer virus!
I always say to other Celebrants be tough on paper, but soft in reality. You have to have your rules in place, but be flexible, don’t forget everyone is going through something and creating relationships, and word of mouth recommendations in this business is what it is all about.
I always rule with my heart and not my head, so I certainly don’t set the best example for other business owners, but I find if you treat people with kindness then that’s what you will get back.
I have always gotten more out of what I do for others, than what I do for myself, so to create a business that has helped so people feel good and have a bit of purpose during COVID has probably been one of the most rewarding things I have done for a long time.
I Do Drive Thru website
I Do Drive Thru instagram
All photos on this page are from I Do Drive Thru weddings by Briars Atlas. Images may be re-posted with credit and a link to this site.
For more info on how to get married during Covid 19 away from a drive thru wedding, check out these small wedding venues in Melbourne, and this information piece on having a Melbourne City elopement during Covid 19. For Australias best wilderness elopements, you can’t go past Tasmania’s iconic west coast – so check out this Cradle Mountain elopement in Tasmania.
To have your small Melbourne City elopement filmed by the best wedding videographers in town, check out Bottlebrush Films as they’re doing filming for overseas guests and relatives who can’t make it.
Jul 29, 2020
Tess and Sam had their Kangaroo Valley wedding in the beautiful rolling hills of the Southern Highlands, New South Wales. While the wedding venues Kangaroo Valley holds are plentiful, that this was held on Tess’s parents homestead made for a private setting (further south, see these private property wedding venues in Victoria) and beautifully intimate and personal backdrop, with all hands on deck from their community putting their day together.
The most special moments in this gig are often less about the kiss/dance/standard stuff, and more about doing justice to the little bits of quirk on the day… family quirk, friend quirk, subtle things that mean a lot.
We bought along a 1980s 3d camera for the ride. See why we continue to use Kodak as a film wedding photographer.
Tess’s close friend was assumed as not being able to make it to their wedding from overseas, so naturally, given that he was in fact making it there, he hid himself in a tractor trailer underneath a tarp, and then sprung out in front of Tess in a gloriously divine moment of reveal.
Beautiful!
Enjoy their little story below.
Enquire: https://briarsatlas.com/enquire
Visit New South Wales: https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/jervis-bay-and-shoalhaven/kangaroo-valley
In Sydney? Check out this Beta Bar Wedding, and this Kittyhawk wedding. In Victoria? Find a radical wedding venue here.
Jul 22, 2020
Will and Jac are the agile Melbourne wedding planner duo made up of Catherine and Clare, who as well as being event planners of all sizes and styles, are portable transportation units for infectious smiles. We’ve worked together with brilliant couples in venues from historic Melbourne stables over to bluestone homesteads in northern Victoria.
As two of the best wedding planners in Melbourne, they have a wealth of knowledge to share on how to plan your Melbourne wedding, as well as sharing some reasons on why you might want to hire a wedding planner.
Clients approach us at all stages of their planning journey – some 2 years out, others with only a month or weeks to go (when things might have turned a little more ‘tense’ – we are counselors too!).
Typically with private property Weddings, couples and their families realise from the outset that it’s a bigger ball game and that professionals are needed to ensure the process is well executed – not only on the day, but in the days leading up when suppliers commencing setting up, as well as when the celebrations are over and you need to return the space as it was originally.
With venues it can be early or late in the piece, with some locations offering more hands-on planning via their onsite coordinators, while others leave it completely to the client to make the space and Day exactly as they wish.
Life has curveballs and with this, there are numerous scenarios when people realise they need help – perhaps work hours have increased, the couple don’t know where to start (this is absolutely normal), the client want to start enjoying the days prior to the Wedding and move from “planner” to “getting married” and like all of us, sometimes there’s just not enough hours in the day!
Absolutely! And we prefer to approach the planning with our couples by having them make and decide who they wish to engage – we do all the leg work to provide them with options and our industry experience, but at the end of the day it’s their celebration, we just make it all reality.
We believe that generally people still foresee Wedding Planners as those referenced in movies like The Wedding Planner and Father of the Bride – but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
We get our hands dirty and have completed all manner of duties to get our Weddings in tip-top condition – our role includes horticulturist duties (repotting plants for styling), seamstresses (being underneath a Brides dress and re-hemming gowns on the day), Sous Chefs (plating up in the kitchen when extra hands are needed), Accountants (budget management) and everything in-between.
We are also both meticulously painful in terms of attention to detail, and will create multiple scenarios for our Weddings so that no stone is left unturned that we can’t then manage on the day.
We are Chief Fire Fighters too and on the day we effectively ensure we have a calm and positive disposition and manage numerous underlying curveballs that pop up – such is life! – while ensuring no-one (except us) are any the wiser.
We can’t go past Private Property wedding venues – they are all unique and we love the experience of a blank space going from ‘nothing’ to ‘something’.
These occasions are a logistical beast, the time that we spend curating a working event order and communicating between all parties can’t be imagined, but at the end of the day when we see magic form in-front of our eyes, it’s worth every minute.
Venue wise yes, Melbourne has unlimited options for every celebration, but a few we love are Polperro Estate in Red Hill, The Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld, Tanglewood Estate and Alfred Place by Rockpool Events.
We’ve received many a phone call from concerned parents who have noticed that the somewhat ‘simple Wedding’ picture that their child had wished for has been hijacked by concerns, so they call us to find out how we could elevate these doubts, and then we meet directly with the couple to showcase our services and story.
We generally then join their planning and they are able to start re-enjoying their engagement journey. We’ve been brought on-board to manage family dynamics and play the role of mediator. It’s one scenario where we are “good cop” and “bad cop” (guess who is who?!) and take any unwanted strain off the couple.
But mostly couples realise after the fact what our services are worth.
It’s the ‘big picture’ stuff that we specialise in – we are all about making the day not only seamless for the couple and their guests, but also for their contracted suppliers, as together, the day is all the more memorable!
We can do as little or as much to assist with a Wedding Day. But to be honest we’re both control freaks, so Full Planning is our preferred option.
Personalised service is paramount. We are all about ensuring their peace of mind, bringing their story to the Day, and exceeding expectations at every turn.
These were also concepts that we had as individual planners therefore when brought together as Will&Jac, this has doubled and is exactly why we do what we do!
1. Ensure your Melbourne Wedding Planner quotes are reflective of your needs. White Top Venues are known as one of the most premium planners in town and can take care of everything
2. Utilise what’s at your location as much as possible – repurpose furniture, ensure event conclusion times/noise limits are in line with your wishes
3. Planning a Wedding is a full time job, so allow a professional to manage your process and keep your ticking towards your date in the right manner. A ‘relaxed’ Wedding Day comes from months and months of planning, it doesn’t just happen!
1. Consider public holidays/special events (surcharges etc)
2. Always have a Plan B for your Ceremony and Reception – you just never know!
3. Ensure you ‘click’ with your supplier tribe. You need lots of positivity and stressless spirits with you towards and
1. Work out what your ideal wedding day looks like. Have you considered an elopement?
2. Work out how much you’re prepared to spend – using a best case and worst case scenario
3. Find your ideal vendors. See the best wedding venues, wedding celebrants, wedding bands, and videographers for some ideas.
4. Hire a planner! They will save you time, money, and stress. I recommend Will and Jac (featured on this page)
If you read a shady bridal magazine, the average cost of a wedding is around $65k. Fortunately, you can host an incredible wedding in Melbourne from as little as $1k if you use I do Drive Thru or The Altar Electric, up to whatever you are comfortable spending.
Will and Jac / Melbourne Wedding Planner website: http://willandjac.com/
Melbourne wedding photographer – Briars Atlas: Enquire
While you’re on the planning train, check this post out for how to plan your wedding music, and this piece on the best Melbourne wedding photo locations.
Jul 20, 2020
At Sam and Pauls Thornbury wedding (featuring the iconic Melbourne wedding venue, Kenny Lover), I linked up with their DJ’s One More Song Entertainment, who carried a ripping vibe across the day and into the evening. You know you’re on a good thing when the crew carrying your tunes are having the time of their life themselves. The duo are Eddy and Aleks, and they filled me in on what makes for cracking music at your wedding and how to plan your wedding music.
These legends are also featured on my list of the 5 best wedding bands in Melbourne.
65 floors! I feel sorry for them. I could talk about what I do all day. In a nutshell though (and as this is a blog!), I’m a business co-owner (with my partner DJ Eddy Mac) and wedding DJ. Eddy and I run One More Song. We’re not a “booking agency” – we’re a wedding DJ business. Weddings are front and centre for us. We just love them!
As well as DJs, we have awesome musicians like saxophonists who play with us. Both Eddy and I run all aspects of the business and work with clients in the lead up to their big day. If one of us isn’t personally DJing at your wedding, we’ll pick one of our rockstar DJs.
I say we’re not an agency because we only work with a small – but AWESOME – group of entertainers (all experienced in playing at weddings) and we’re both so hands-on with the business. There are no desk-based entertainment managers at One More Song – you’re always dealing with someone who lives and breathes weddings!
Is there a better party than a wedding? You have an excuse to get super dressed up, you get fed, watered and spend all night dancing with your favourite people. There is a special energy at weddings that you just don’t get anywhere else. And you definitely feel that behind the decks!
I love DJing at weddings because you get to play epic tunes from all eras and genres. I love so many different types of music – disco, funk, old school RnB, classic house, 90s dance, Motown, 80s synth, hip hop – the list goes on! Getting a pumping dance floor at a wedding involves really mixing it up to get old and young dancing. I truly love seeing people from all walks of life coming together to dance and for those few hours, forget about the mundanities of everyday life.
The one thing that constantly surprises me (but probably shouldn’t) is how much people of all ages love older music. There are just so many artists that have truly stood the test of time (think Queen, Prince, Bee Gees, Marvin Gaye) and always get the party going.
We’re always super upfront with our clients about the process so we can set their expectations. We always tell them that there’s only so much we can prepare – 80 per cent of the work is done on the night. Apart from the key moment songs (first dance, etc) and some “must-play” song requests from the couple, we just need an idea of what our clients DON’T want to hear and some genres/artists they love. Also importantly, we ask them what their friends and family will be into as well.
Then it’s up to us on the night! We use our experience to read the room and build the energy at the right level. You can’t go hard with bangers at dinner and then play ambient jazz during the dance floor. You also can’t play one genre all night or guests will fatigue. It’s a fine balancing act!
We’re blessed as our vibe attracts clients who get all of this and are more than happy to leave most of the work to us. Building that trust with them is essential to us doing the best job possible on the day. We have heard of DJs who are provided with a list of 300 songs to play. That just doesn’t get the best results, so we let our brides and grooms know how we operate nice and early!
Our gigs are not fixed at all! All of our DJs live mix. Yes, we’re organised – we have thousands of tunes catalogued in every which way (folders for different parts of the evening, different decades, genres, sub-genres, etc), but we’re totally flexible and play to the crowd. Sometimes I’ll cue up a song to play and then 20 seconds before I’m about to mix out, I’ll change my mind – it definitely keeps it interesting!
I’m happy to take requests and happy to play Horses (no Nutbush, Macarena or Chicken Dance though… the line has to be drawn somewhere). BUT the caveat is that the request needs to be a song that the newly married couple will be happy with, and it needs to be played at the right time. If someone drunkenly requests Horses and guests are just finishing their mains, well, it ain’t happening!
The flashing knobs and buttons are designed to make us look very skilled, important and intimidate all who try to talk to us. 🙂 No, but really, technology has come such a long way and really helps when it comes to DJing at weddings. For example, we can cue up tracks at different points for key moments like wedding party entrances and use different effects and functions to help smoothly transition between genres – a very important part of being a wedding DJ.
As for the robot with good taste in music, its name is Spotify. The clients I’ve spoken to who had a Spotify play list for their engagement parties have always regretted it. I’ll only be threatened if the robot develops so much that it can read the tiny flicker of excitement in a guest’s eyes when you play a tune they love while they’re still having their entree, or be able to deal with an inebriated uncle who wants you to play The Angels all night. Then MAYBE I’ll be out of a job.
When a couple enquires with us, they receive our shiny “party pack” – an easy-to-digest information pack that has more about how we work, our sample mixes, videos, etc. Then, some couples will either lock us in or book in a phone or video call (or in-person meeting, depending on what lockdown stage we’re in). During this chat, we talk about everything wedding-related and ask the couple about their wedding timeline, music likes/dislikes, their guest demographic, the vibe they’re after, etc! And of course, we go into more detail about how we work and offer some suggestions. After that, it’s a 50 per cent part payment to lock us in!
A packed dance floor is obviously the ultimate goal, but people do need breaks – they might grab a drink, powder their nose, chat to a friend they haven’t seen in a while – it’s all part of it. And you need to provide something for everyone. Generally we’ll make sure the oldies can enjoy the dance floor earlier on in the night and leave the late night sing-alongs for those who are really letting their hair down. As a wedding DJ, you need to respond to what’s happening in front of you. If you’re about to play the bride’s all-time fave song but see she’s heading off to the bathroom, you better find a different track pronto!
This does happen quite a bit (which is why we came up with the name!). It’s hard to pick one track as it really depends on the couple and the vibe, but normally it’s got to be something that has broad appeal, known and loved by both the couple and guests. An upbeat remix of a classic seems to work well – maybe an edit of a disco track. At one wedding last year I played Don’t Leave Me This Way by The Communards and it went off!
One More Song Entertainment website: https://onemoresong.com.au/
Bigger picture stuff? Check out these Melbourne wedding planners, and be sure to check out the best wedding duo on the planet, Tobi Tobi music.
Jul 18, 2020
Jaime Lee Major is one of Australia’s brightest design stars. Her bridal collection has grown over the last 10 years making her one of the most sought after dressmakers to come out of Australia. Jaime Lee Major wedding gowns are meticulously crafted pieces of art.
A while back I photographed the Perth wedding of Sarah and Dave, which started in a majestic ceremony and ended in a (actual) rave. Throughout all that, this incredible Jaime Lee Major creation weathered all the wild glory.
We wanted to do a piece on her because we are inspired by her wild design talent and outer-space way of approaching bridal gowns for folks wanting something a little more on the edge (see also, Kyha Studios). Her designs are for the fashion-forward bride (the exact words that came out of David’s lips all day at their wedding).
Born and raised in Fremantle (Perth), Jamie Lee Major rose to fame after she designed a gown for Kimbra at the Grammys in 2013. Her blue tulle and Swarovski encrusted dress was seen by 40 million people and she gained quite a mighty whack of international fame, and said in an interview for VOGUE that she hadn’t really thought about bridal couture but had so many enquiries that it ‘just sort of happened’.
Jaime Lee Major won WA Designer of the year, has been featured in VOGUE, dressed Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Rita Ora (to name a few). Major has since left the red carpet behind her now to focus her creative genius on wedding dress designs.
Jaime Lee Major wedding gowns are priced from $5000 to $24,000, and like all things thoughtfully crafted, worth every cent. They are pieces of art that she carefully wraps around a human body, and have endless hours of labour put into every last little detail. There are hundreds of thousands of beads, crystals, pearls and stitches in her creations.
The bridal collection features a lot of tulle and exposed flesh, lavishly covered with luxurious embellishments. They’re a Pinterest board dream. You can forget the classic silhouette or cathedral length train.
Jaime Lee is talking frills, cuffs, ruffles, sparkles and bespoke demi-couture tailoring. The materials tend to stray away from classic whites and ivories and delve into lux golds and silvers. Something I’m excited to see more of in contemporary weddings.
If you’re a bride who wants to do things differently then Jaime Lee Major’s collection is awe-inspiring. See-through trouser suits and everything covered in Swarovski will certainly turn some heads and take your Grandmothers idea of the traditional wedding dress for a glorious golden ride. The way the light catches the sparkles and the overstated glamour is perfect for any bridal shoot.
There is no end to this gifted woman’s creativity. She is such an exciting element in Australian wedding scene. One of her recent catwalk gowns used the most insane floristry to bring her ideas to life.
I love capturing everything that makes the day special, the bride’s dress is at the top of my list. Be over indulgent, be bountiful, be sumptuous. It’s a wedding, nothing can be too amplified! Your dress should make you feel like you’ve never felt before and there is no way in hell you can’t feel $1million dollars in a Jaime Lee Major wedding gown.
Jaime Lee Major on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaimeleemajor
Steph and Zacs Quarry Farm Wedding, and Fremantle wedding photo locations.
Briars Atlas wedding photography – make an enquiry
Jul 15, 2020
Bangin Hangins are a category unto themselves – who knew that somewhere between “wedding photographer” and “wedding stylist” there was a standalone category entitled “awesome majestic aerial shit from another dimension that hangs from the ceiling before eventually being whisked away and leaving you wondering how you’ll ever deal with the room being it’s regular dull self”. Etc.
Bangin Hangins make installations that are installed in (/on, with, either-or-and-the-other) the ceiling. Installed TO the ceiling. Take your pick. Whatever the correct terminology is, it results into your ceiling being morphed into some impossible colourful, textural playground.
I’ve been fortunate to see the handiwork of this maestro at three weddings now: an incredible at-home wedding with Sam and Paul (ft. One More Song Entertainment – see their piece here on how to plan your wedding music), Pepe and Sam at Melbourne wedding venue The Line in Footscray, and at a Tanglewood Estate elopement were we installed our futuristic neon arbours.
Enjoy this brief little peer into their founder Sarahs fireworks brain.
With Covid forcing us all indoors and all manner of brilliant doorstep portrait projects happening, I wanted to kickstart some convos with my local community and find out how the time and strange space is being used, as it’s never been more important to stay connected and sharing.
I am Sarah. AKA Queen of the Bangers. I’m an events based installation artist. My mates generally get the concept, although a few call it Hangin Bangin instead of Bangin Hangins. Which has the potential to be completely misinterpreted.
I like to think the kind of couple we attract are our kind of people. Its nice to work with like minded people who like something a bit left of centre.
My take on colour / form / placement and proportion. All important when putting together a Bangin aerial installation.
We’ve been working on shoots and ideas for future pop ups once its safe. Once these shoots are released, couples might draw some inspo from these.
For the very near future, boutique. So forget inviting that second cousin and cling (at distance) to your favs and let loose. This is my kind of party covid or no covid. Much more fun. I hope we can help make it a Bangin memorable party.
Bangin Hangins website: https://www.banginhangins.com.au/
Bangin Hangins instagram: https://www.instagram.com/banginhangins
Pepe and Sams wedding featured here: Hello May Wedding Photographer
Bangin Hangins frequently seen at Rupert on Rupert: https://briarsatlas.com/rupert-on-rupert-wedding/ and Higher Ground: https://briarsatlas.com/higher-ground-wedding/
We reckon Bangin Hangins would look bloody ripper draped all around The Deck at Circa.
Want photos as edgy as these installations? Check out what you can get on Kodak by heading here: film wedding photographer.
Jul 14, 2020
I spent 5 minutes with the brainchild behind Australia’s most awarded and highly reviewed Melbourne wedding videographers – C2 Films – who also doubles as the facial recipient of the best moustache in the southern hemisphere – Marcus Theodor.
By “spend 5 minutes with”, I mean I sent him an email saying “Mate – fill these questions out (if you can see past the ‘stache down to your keyboard)”, but, same-same.
C2 Films have been around a long time. If C2 were not a group of videographers but instead a human at conception, they’d now be a rowdy teenager telling you why your taste in music sucks.
In videography-terms, that’s about three triple-sentences worth (it’s a challenging, high-turnover field). Somehow Marcus hasn’t aged, I suspect it has something to do with being a backyard Wim Hof practitioner.
So it’s safe to say they know their stuff, instead of telling you your music sucks they put it with love into your video, and because of all this are some of the busiest videographers going with a wild diversity of styles they execute on. For proof, see this Provenance Wines wedding that they joined us on, in Geelong.
Couples love my dedication, they love that I’m all in, all the time. Approachable and make them feel at ease almost immediately.
I live by the motto that the ‘sun rises and sets with the couple’ and if anyone tries to fuck with that, I’ll burn them.
That I was handsome, strong, dark and moody… creative genius battling inner demons.
That I can’t sit still, that I cannot change or affect my world from my keyboard at home.
I need to move, thus taking up a tradie job (renovation) to throw shit around… and discovering that the boys onsite do it hard for very little, and that I’m fucking blessed to get paid for what I do in the wedding game.
Samsara (daughter) would be my go-to movie, for I’m not at the beginning or and the end, I’m just here…
https://www.c2films.com.au/
C2 films on Instagram
Jul 11, 2020
The Fyansford Paper Mill (otherwise known as the Old Paper Mills or Site 3a by Truffleduck) hosts weddings and events just outside of Geelong in the historic corner of Fyansford at Provenance Wines (take a peep at this Mitchelton Winery wedding), in what is an absolute little treasure of the area, just minutes from the Geelong city centre. Take a look at this Fyansford Paper Mill Wedding Pre-enactment with the inimitable Georgie Boy.
I spent half a day in it’s incredible stone walls with Melbourne florist Gina (Georgie Boy), making use of the space and each of us following our noses in our respective crafts, with no end-goal in mind but to make something together in the 3 hours spent there. More from this shoot and a little short-film we created at the papermill to be released soon.
Scroll to the bottom for information on hiring for a Fyansford Paper Mill Wedding (or epic battle, midnight ritual, the world’s your oyster).
Fyansford Paper Mill is something of an internet enigma, and has less of a presence than you might expect for a venue that resembles an impossibly beautiful run-down italian castle, just sitting at the edge of Geelong.
Dating back to the precincts industrial era, the Fyansford Paper Mills look like something more likely to have been plucked from the minds of Peter Jacksons set-design team than a venue just outside of Melbourne that you can actually hire for your wedding: enormous wooden beams, an impossibly high entrance divider between the two main stone rooms and a unique blank canvas unlike anywhere else.
Anyhow, you don’t need me frothing over it’s incredible blue-stone walls and regurgitating information you can find readily available on the Truffleduck website, but I will say that outside of an old palace on the side of an Italian cliff, there aren’t any venues i’ve been to that feel anything quite like this.
Lower Section – 200 guests
Upper Section – 160 guests
Cocktail Style – 380 guests
For venues like the Paper Mill outside of Geelong, see Alternative Wedding Venues in Melbourne.
Jul 10, 2020
A set of black and white favourites over the years from here, there everywhere.
Shot on Kodak Tri-X (more over at film wedding photographer)
To see how I edit black and white images, head over to Melbourne wedding photography workshop.
Jul 9, 2020
How to write a wedding ceremony: Charis White is a Melbourne wedding celebrant with an enormous amount of experience in weddings large and small all over greater Melbourne and Victoria, for every type of couple you can imagine. With all her experience in running brilliant ceremonies, Charis shares her thoughts on how to write a wedding ceremony, how to write your vows, and how to ensure that it’s a smooth experience – especially for the shy and introverted.
Getting to know the couple well means they will have a great ceremony. At a wedding I did recently, a guest asked if I was a friend of the couples. This is the best compliment ever as it shows I really know them and reflected their story in an awesome way.
I ask them if they have an idea about what they want to talk about. If not, then I give them some vow inspiration to look over and guide them along. I also read over the vows and offer advice and guidance.
I tell them to face each other, that way they are only seeing the face of their bestie. If you are nervous, a reassured look can calm you down. I am also up there with them to reassure them and guide them through the process.
Laura in the incredible Suzanne Harward songbird gown also featured here.
When I meet my couples, we have a chat about their day, their expectations and the overall vibe they want their ceremony to take. Once we have chatted through their story, I send them a questionnaire with more comprehensive questions. I also give my clients the draft to look over, it reassures them.
In terms of their vows (see Jake writing his wedding vows), I cast my eyes over them to make sure they are both semi aligned. EG, if one vow is very funny, then I will go to the other person and tell them to weave in a little humour.
That way they are both balanced.
I talk about family and friends in the ceremony. I also love engaging with people prior to the ceremony, especially the oldies and kids.
If there is a way to weave a few friends into the ceremony story, I love to do this and love the relatability of it.
Laura and Walker looking super cinematic. See why we still use Kodak as a film wedding photographer.
My advice is totally against this. Actually, I bully them into giving them to me prior. JK. If the couple wants me to have their vows, so they do not need to carry anything on the day of their wedding. I ask for the vows prior to the ceremony. I then populate them into the final draft.
My timeline on this is at least two weeks prior to the ceremony. Sometimes I get them the morning of.
However, most couples are pretty good with getting them to me on time. I also look over their vows prior to the ceremony.
Long story short – don’t leave your vows until the last minute!
Follow your gut, trust the process and believe in your team.
Charis White Celebrant Website
Charis White Celebrant Instagram
See here for how to plan wedding music.
Jul 7, 2020
I had a chat with alleged government agent/assassin Carlo, otherwise known as the the genius artistic brain behind Lunar Red Films. We’ve been lucky to work together on the wedding of Pepe and Sam, featured on Hello May, with none less than Nat Sproal, Torte by Mirjana, Killer Queen Creative, and Good Day Club.
With Covid forcing us all indoors and all manner of brilliant doorstep portrait projects happening, I wanted to kickstart some convos with my local community and find out how the time and strange space is being used, as it’s never been more important to stay connected and sharing. First up we have this wicked Melbourne wedding videographer, Carlo, of Lunar Red.
My name is Carlo. My friends think I’m a government assassin (can confirm this is a generally held opinion – BA). Me mum thinks I’m handsome, but really I’m just your friendly, neighbourhood wedding cinematographer.
Melbourne is just chock a block full of wonderful, loved up weirdos, who are willing to break convention and tradition and just do their own thing. It means that each couple has brought a sense of heart and soul into their weddings, and have given it a stamp that is all on their own. I don’t know any other city where that happens.
Some people use the term “minimalism” (cue the air wank motion) – I prefer to say “steak and veg”. That’s how I like to shoot – as simple and as free of gimmicks and other fanciful shit as humanly possible. What that leaves me with is me, the camera, and the moment happening directly in front of me. I’m not here trying to manufacture someone else’s feelings, I’m not attempting to set up a moment that isn’t real. Everything I point my camera at is genuine and, hopefully, the couple remembers the feelings they have for each other in the moment as opposed to me yelling at them to behave a certain way.
I like to cap my weddings per season at a certain number. It means that I’m able to give each wedding my creative focus without being snowed under by work and burn out. When covid hit, I only had a handful of weddings left to shoot down the line, so it gave me a little extra time to edit the weddings I had already shot to perfection.
I feel like weddings and celebrations will continue to get more and more. unconventional the more couples and future clients realise that they don’t have to do what’s come before to have a good time or to profess their love out to the world. More colour, more rule breaking, more heart. Basically just more of the good stuff.
Jul 6, 2020
Brooke Tyson Ritual – some of the most incredible bridal designs on the planet, with delicate contours and flowing textures, and what a treat it was to photograph them in a (real) blizzard, atop a volcano in New Zealand, draped over our incredible model, Fran, for the Story and Light photography workshop hosted by the genius wizardchildren over at Bayly and Moore.
Featured here is the Brooke Tyson Ritual Luna gown, as well as their Flora gown.
Story and Light was sponsored by the brilliant Australian film-lab Atkins, who kindly developed and scanned all of these images, shot entirely on Kodak Film. More on film wedding photographer.
Removing herself from the perilously wild volcanic blizzard (despite the hardy protection of the Luna gown), here, we see Fran emerging from a more friendly forest, in the Brooke Tyson Flora gown.
Above and below is the Flora gown. Anyone that has ever met a New Zealander knows that the Ritual collection benefits from the classic kiwi ingenuity, developed in and around curious brain-zaps that test the edges of what bridal gowns should look like.
Celebrating free-spirits and with inspiration taken from cinema and folklore, the Brooke Tyson Luna gown was pretty much made to be draped across Franc and then whisked by a blizzard in on top of a volcano.
Brooke Tyson are also featured here on my top 5 best modern wedding dresses.
Website: https://brooketysonritual.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooketysonritual
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrookeTysonRitual/
For more wedding dress designs from another planet, check out Jaime Lee Major.
If you like Brooke Tyson, you might also like these incredible wedding jumpsuits.
Jul 5, 2020
The Yarra Valley is one of the most totally majestic regions in Victoria, which you already know if you’re planning a wedding out that way. Yarra Valley Wedding venues are places that celebrate the natural beauty of the area, as well as the unique food, wine, and accommodation.
Read on to find out exactly why these 5 have made it to my list. Each one offers something quite different. I obviously love wedding venues that have unique photo opportunities and sublime backdrops, and we are not short of them here. I also love it when venues have really thought about the couple and their guests’ whole experience, which given that the Yarra Valley is a little out of the city, is an important planning considerations. Whether that’s offering a bridal day room, onsite ceremony and accommodation, or an award winning dining experience, it’s those little extras that make your wedding in the Yarra Valley a brilliant experience for you and your guests.
As someone who grew up in the Yarra Valley, i’ve got a special passion for the are and it’s a treat to lay out some of my favourite spots in the region. These days I photograph weddings in the Yarra Valley year in and year out, (but a couple of decades ago it was tearing around the streets on a BMX instead).
To either of those, it’s got a special place in my heart and if it doesn’t yet have one in yours, it soon will.
These Yarra Valley wedding venues are some of the best wedding locations Australia has to offer, let alone in Victoria. I’ve photographed a fair few Yarra Valley winery weddings in my time. They’re stunning. The evening sun pirouettes through the vines, and if you’re lucky, drops an incredible rainbow your way (looking at you, hills of Zonzo Estate).
There are an innumerable amount of Yarra Valley wedding venues to choose from, so I’ve compiled a short and sharp list from first hand experience for you to peruse and explore, sink your teeth into whilst navigating a latte like-say, etc.
Because this area of the world is so spectacular, i’ve also included some useful local insights to occupy yourselves with either side of your wedding day itself. It’s all well and good picking a ceremony and reception venue but that’s only half of the fun. Where will you get ready? Where will you sleep?
And.
Where will you cure the hangover?
I’ve looked into some dazzling accomodation for you and your guests to lay your heads. Being secluded and private (see these private property wedding venues) on a vineyard is one thing, but people not being able to find the place or their way back to bed is another!
The accommodation I’ve picked is local to your potential venues so people aren’t spending too long travelling before or after. I’ve looked at a range of affordability too so everyone can enjoy this wonderland. It’s little things like this I find help the day run smoothly and keep spirits high.
Remember, there is going to be a lot of sore heads the next day so I‘ve snuck in a few great places to catch your first married bite the morning after too.
All of these venues are pretty marvellous in their own way, so these are listed in no particular order. When you go and visit them you’ll know which one is the one, and I recommend booking a meeting with their events coordinator to show you around. The awesome crew that run them, the wild scenery, the charming ceremony spaces and the versatile reception areas will all ring true with you in one way or another.
I’m kicking off my list with these maestros because this is a venue for the photos and the food! My two pleasures in life. I remember turning up at the Zonzo Estate in the Yarra Valley for the first time and being pretty knocked out by it’s rolling hills. Set in an old milking barn the emphatic main building with sloped roof, huge glass panelling and sleek interior design makes for an idyllic modern yet traditional setting. They have a particularly cute outdoor area under festoon lights where newlyweds do the ‘zonzo twirl’ contrasted by the evening’s sweeping landscape.
A bonus of this estate is that you can opt to have your actual ceremony on site with a choice of three glorious spaces overlooking the rolling hills. No chance of anyone getting lost en-route to this reception. The three options give you the chance to express yourself that little bit more, and make for a venue that you can make your own.
The real dark-horse of this place though, the gem of Zonzo Estate, is their Italian dining experience. Let’s face it, no one wants shit food at a wedding (this can’t be drilled home hard enough ahead of time). If guests taste buds are being tantalised, then the vibe is too (if you’re looking at a venue that doesn’t have onsite catering, make sure you check out this post about the best wedding caterers in Melbourne). People need fuel for the dance floor! Zonzo Estate have won several awards for their wedding restaurant reception so it’s official that their food is to die for. They’ve been in the business over a decade and know what they’re doing. Zonzo have their own wedding coordinators on site to help you make your Yarra Valley winery wedding dreams come to life in the most seamless and stress-free way, and they run like clockwork.
Intermission: be sure to check out my larger post on Zonzo Estate.
I love the shit out of being a part of couples wedding here – beautiful industrial structures juxtaposed with all things rustic, and a moving platter of beautiful vibes all on the one property. While you’re on the Zonzo train, you might also like these beautiful rustic wedding venues in Victoria.
Zonzo Estate wedding venue capacity: 140 guests seated
Zonzo Estate Website: zonzo.com.au/weddings
Beforehand: be sure to check out my post on Stones of the Yarra Valley.
Stones of the Yarra Valley had cemented itself as a bit of an icon of the region, and is one of the busiest venues going. What this means for you, is that their wealth of experience in running lush, tightly run events, means that everything goes to plan. Their owner and sometimes coordinator, Vonnie, is just as much an icon of the industry as her venue.
It’s enormous grounds offer a variety of spaces to accommodate the day to your needs. There are several 19th century restored buildings with pristine gardens and vines, it really feels like being in Tuscany. These guys can host your whole day here or they even have sister smaller venues to host smaller reception only gigs. Whatever you want, the Stones of the Yarra Valley can deliver.
Let’s start with the stunning on site ‘Chapel’. It’s simple and elegant, the high ceilings and handcrafted woodwork make an alluring place to tie the knot in front of your nearest and dearest. After you’ve become newlyweds you can join your guests for drinks and little bites in the ‘Dairy’. I love this part of the day, there’s so much excitement and a proper buzz in the air. Go and give your guests a twirl in all your magnificence and lap up the love. The Stones of the Yarra Valley have absolutely smashed it when it comes to Yarra Valley wedding reception settings. Every seat in the house has a spectacular view of the scenery, all hosted from the sensational ‘Barn’. They’ve elevated the ceiling so it’s bright and airy in the daytime. They’ve got exposed wooden beams nestled against panoramic windows and impressive foliage externally. At night they have festoons and soft lighting for you and your guests to jive under, and for me to take some fantastically lit photos!
After all the fun is over, you can stagger down the road to the boutique ‘Farmhouse’ accommodation. I love onsite accommodation, it just takes one less logistical step out of the equation! Easy! Another logistical added extra these guys have is a bridal preparation room. Filled with mirrors and natural light, you and your party can be on site and get some extraordinary pre-wedding shots! Winner! Read below for more on their sister venues.
Stones of the Yarra Valley wedding venue capacity: 180 guests seated
Stones of the Yarra Valley Website: stonesoftheyarravalley.com
Yering Station is one of the oldest wineries in the Yarra Valley. This wedding venue is truely and naturally ceremonial. This quintessential ceremony under the trees could be in Italy or France. The orchard trees are ordered yet natural and needs minimal decoration (and the coverage stops everyone from squinting).
Walk yourselves across the grounds toward the impressive main building. The incredibly serene reception room and scape are the epitome of elegance. The architecture oozes class and the grounds are ornate and mature. Everywhere you turn there is a photo opportunity. I love taking the couple away for their personal shots around the grounds, there are some really delicately lit hidden spots for those golden hour frames that are just priceless. This place really is a jewel.
Lavished in history and grandiose views you just have to be there to soak it all up. The huge panoramic windows of the reception room mean you can be protected from the elements but cannot get away from the endless views. Every person in the room will be able to see them from any seat in the room. The exposed stone accents and overhead wooden beams look gorgeous in photos. They’ve got so much space for you and your guests to prance around in, it’s ace!
The little wins here include a bridal room which is light and airy, a wedding coordinator to help you from start to finish and get your guests in the right place at the right time and an unexpected quirk of a personal sommelier to match your menu to the gorgeous wines they have there! It’s not only the manicured grounds that are totally phenomenal, even the food looks incredible and sits perfectly on the long white tables. Have a look at their wedding packages here.
Also: check out my lengthy post on this Yering Station wedding.
Yering Station wedding venue capacity: 150 guests
Yering Station Website: yering.com
Before you dive in: check out this Immerse Yarra Valley wedding.
As soon as you arrive at this cataclysmic location you are wowed by one of the chapels (yes there are three options!). The ‘Vineyard Chapel’ has floor to ceiling striking windows looking out into the Sauvignon Blanc vines that draw you in. Then once you’re inside they frame the landscape astonishingly. This chapel keeps the elements out whilst still letting maximum nature in.
Their next option is the covered outdoor ‘Garden Chapel’. This is the perfect balance between inside and outside ceremonies. You’ll be wed in front of the most pristine ornamental lake and gardens. The photo opportunities are exquisite, believe me! However, if you want to go fully al fresco then their final ceremony option is ‘The Paddock’. You and your guests and nature, nothing else. I think it’s great when a venue has options, it really gives you a chance to customise your day to how YOU want it. It means that even if you’ve been to a wedding there before you can make yours different.
As I mentioned before, being in one place for the full day is a big bonus. This divine location offers 20 on site rooms and a stella restaurant alongside their multiple ceremony options. Their elegant and spacious bridal suite can be hired for you and your squad to get ready in before and you and your new husband to retire to after. No need to spend on transport, more time for epic dance moves! Winner! The 20 rooms also get complimentary breakfast in the morning which is pretty peachy too!
Finally, and probably most importantly, the main reason I love Immerse Yarra Valley wedding venue is because the family that owns it are stupendous. They are warm, welcoming and wonderful from start to finish. Making sure you, me and your guests have everything we need and more. You can’t buy that. There’s nothing worse than feeling stressed and disorganised with a wedding. Whether you’re having 20 or 220 guests, there is absolutely no chance of stress when they are involved. This is probably why they are so popular and highly rated all the time.
Immerse Yarra Valley wedding venue capacity: 220 guests
Immerse Yarra Valley Website: immerse.com.au
Rounding up this list is the incredible Vines of the Yarra Valley!
Vines of the Yarra Valley venue capacity: 150 guests
Vines of the Yarra Valley website: vinesoftheyarravalley.com.au
All of the wonderful venues listed on this page can cater to large and small weddings, whether it’s 20 guests, 30 guests, 40 guests, 50 guests, 60 guests, 70 guests, all the way up to 100 guests or 150 guests.
So you’ve chosen your beautiful Yarra Valley winery wedding venue and now you need somewhere for you and your lovely guests to sleep. I’ve had a little think for you, from personal experience and from extensive industry research I’ve compiled a few ideas.
When choosing where to stay you probably should think about being well rested and within a decent distance from the Yarra Valley wedding venue you’ve chosen so that…
a) you’re not late
b) you can get to bed easily after the most magically mental day of your life!
You also need somewhere that has enough room for you to get ready comfortably and that will make you feel special and relaxed on your first night as a married couple! Whoop! (The room needs to be bigger than the bed is what I’m saying). This is surprisingly hard to find sometimes. If you can get on-site accommodation then this takes out a lot of logistical planning and time from the day but not all winerys offer this. It’s more important to be in love with your venue than go for something less to your taste just because they have accommodation.
A great and often overlooked option is to get an AirBnB. There are some pretty jazzy options in this area. You can hire a huge one between you and your closest friends and family or even just a secluded private one for your first few nights as a Mr and Mrs! Make sure there is enough room to get ready in with lots of natural light and mirrors if you’re hiring it for the night before.
This ‘Rustic Luxury’ 6 person house is in the vines and is only a 10 minute drive from Stones of the Yarra Valley Winery. Or why not get yourself a secluded villa with a pool for you and the girls to enjoy before the big day? If you really want to be in nature and away from it all then Olinda Yarra Cottage offers a cute farm stay option for up to 6 people and has beautiful farm views for the pre-wedding photos and for soothing weary heads.
It’s your big day, spoil yourself! The Kangaroo Manor is a spacious, modern, wooden, secluded, sophisticated, mega-mansion with a pool in the hills. It sleeps 7 people and it’s about 35 minutes from the wineries I’ve listed hidden down a farm track. It is honestly breathtaking! You get so much more space for your money in these kinds of places rather than in hotels.
If you’d rather have most people in the same place then there are a plethora of really bloody nice hotels in the area too. The Chateau Yering Hotel is a slice of renaissance style luxury if that’s your thing. This is only a short walk away from the Yering Station Estate and is commonly used as their accommodation option. Their good relationship with the winery can really help with organising things too. Check your dates for this one though as it can also be used as a wedding venue because it’s so suave!
Healesville Garden Accommodation Houses have a fully functional ten bedroom house that can sleep up to 22 people. It’s only 15 minutes to the wineries and is ideal for keeping the family all in one place. Renting somewhere like this can be a very cost effective accommodation option and be a nice way to spend a bit of quality time with people around all the commotion of the day.
So you’ve picked your glamorous winery, you’ve sampled your delicious menu, you’ve booked your mother in law into a delectable hotel room. Now those hangovers need a good feed! Post wedding day breakfast spots can be fancy or laid back depending on your style. It’s a great time to have a giggle and swoon over the previous day’s happenings. How did Uncle Steve end up sleeping under the stars? How did your dress get so muddy? How fucking colossal was the entire day!? I live for this time. The pre-wedding stress is over, the months of anticipation have climaxed and you can now sit back and bathe in your honeymoon period. You might want to have a little family group get together or meet up with your old pals from school you haven’t seen for years. Whatever or whoever you’re eating with, you want it to be tasty and there to be (lots of) amazing coffee!
I’ve picked out 3 of my favourite brunch spots in the area where you can debrief with your nearest and dearest.
I know we’ve spoken about these guys already but they offer the full package and they have 5 insane venues to host your brunch the next day! And if they’ve already looked after your actual day then the coordination for the next day will be seamless. Talk about tasty convenience!
‘The Barn’ can seat 200 people so you can really continue the wedding properly the next day! It’s where you’d usually have your reception so guests will be familiar with where to go and you can all sit in the same place to avoid confusion.
‘The Stables at Stones’ can seat 63 people which is perfect for those more intimate weddings. It’s 19th century chic at its finest. Exposed brick walls, huge wooden stable doors and manicured hedges are just perfect for an elegant and relaxed meal with friends.
‘No.7 Healesville’ has epically high ceilings, sliding barn doors and walls of wine barrels which look really fucking cool! This is a spacious and airy location for 53 guests. Why not have next day tapas?!
If you’re staying at the Stones of the Yarra Valley accommodation you’ll find the Meletos locations very convenient.
‘The Warehouse at Meletos’ also seats 63 people and is a more modern option. Huge glass windows in a renovated building with chandeliers and a bar. This is a more relaxed vibe and can even be set up as a standing cocktail/mingling style if you want.
‘Meletos Cafe’ is its own entity. Very popular cafe priding itself on using local produce to create very tasty food. They are very accommodating vegan, vegetarian and gluten free without compromising quality. You can choose a more formal sit down or a sharing option.
Modern and mental food and design. Their eggs are fluffy and their sauces are swirly. They’ve got fruit bowls, avo smash and creamy dreamy coffee. If you want brunch done well these are your guys. They’ve got all the eggs and avo you can shake a stick at. They’ve got big breakfasts, little breakfasts and even a glass of bubbly if you’re not quite finished celebrating yet! Vegan and gluten free friendly options all over the place. Something delicious for everyone here. Their freshly made juices and milkshakes could just be the antidote you’re seeking. Yum! Take a look at their menu here.
An Alice in Wonderland inspired high tea experience! This isn’t your usually prissy cucumber sandwiches, these guys have taken afternoon tea to the next level. Get ready to go down the rabbit hole to find extraordinary cakes and bites swimming in smoke and mirrors. I’m talking about ‘Korean Fried Chicken’, waffles, and ‘Mad Hatters breakfast’ platters followed by ‘tweedle wheels’, ‘queen’ of hearts strawberry mousse and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ lemon and pineapple desserts. Accompanied by hypnotic ‘chess board coffee’ boards, ‘love potions’ and ‘white tea and butterfly pea’ lattes! They have some ace vegan and veggie options too which is often hard to properly accommodate. Have a look here to be sure to keep the giggles going into the next day!
Planning a wedding is a time to let your fantasies take control. Yarra Valley is an ideal location that can help your dreams for the day come true. The best weddings combine the couples personality to make it feel like it’s their own. Keep searching and don’t settle for something until it feels right.
What I love about our industry is the amount of raw inspiring creativity people bring to what they do. I have worked with some phenomenal wedding super stars in my time and I’m lucky enough to stay in touch with all of them. Looking for something in particular?
Drop me a message and we can send you some suggestions. You could also check out our other blog articles for more wedding inspo. We’ve recently released articles on unique florists in Victoria and music ideas for small weddings.
Briars Atlas – Yarra Valley wedding photographer – make an enquiry, and check out this Coombe wedding.
For more inspiration in Victoria outside of the Yarra Valley, be sure to check out this Sault Daylesford wedding, Tanglewood Estate on the Mornington Peninsula (head here for a roundup of even more Mornington Peninsula wedding venues), and this incredible rustic Castlemaine wedding venues.
Jul 4, 2020
Planning a Beta Bar Sydney Wedding? Beta Bar is one of the most incredible, earthy event and wedding spaces in Sydney, and picked for couples wanting a spectacular modern venue that gives a nod to crumbling castles and mills found in Europe (looking for something more further south? Check out these small wedding venues). Beta Bar is a French warehouse styled wedding venue that oozes rustic charm.
A Beta Bar Sydney Wedding can host up to 200 guests cocktail style, or 160 people seated, and if a dance-floor is part of the layout, 120 seated. Different configurations of the space can be hired, depending on whether you’re hosting an intimate or small wedding here, or the second coming of the party-apocalypse (i’m sure the first was hosted by Prince somewhere).
There’s only one answer to the question of what similar wedding venues are to Beta Bar out there, and that answer is (for better or worse), located in Victoria. The historic Fyansford Paper Mills are as good as it gets in a venue that appears to be a second cousin of Beta Bar, with it’s stunning exposed brick, these nearly untouched Old Paper Mills are the ideal wedding venue just a short road trip out of Melbourne City.
For more information on Fyansford Paper Mill, check out this Fyansford Paper Mill Wedding by Truffleduck Events.
*Facts may or may not be fun
Beta Events is located at Level 1/238 Castlereagh St, Sydney
Beta Events website: https://238castlereagh.com.au/beta-events/
Briars Atlas Wedding Photography – enquire
Also check out this beautiful Sydney wedding at the Theatre Bar at the End of the Wharf or this Kittyhawk wedding, and in Melbourne, this Panama Dining Room wedding.
Looking for venues like this in Melbourne? Check out the deck circa.
Jul 3, 2020
After a chat with IWPOTY on a livestream yesterday, I wanted to write up a post on the topic of editing, how I edit, and as a judge of the International wedding photographer of the year 2020, what little bits of TLC our judging panel will be looking at as we go over your submissions.
As our beautiful craft has become democratised and we can all be photographers, the by-product of that is a temptation to lean away from the craft-centered approach that held up all the photography that defined how the 20th century was recorded: one of careful capture, and attention to detail and the creation of the finished image, and that’s the reason those images stand the test of time.
This isn’t just a post about editing, as much as it is about the idea of “truth” in an image, because the whole industry seems to be in a little state of confusion at the moment, and left right and centre we’re hearing “authenticity” and “truth” screamed from the mountain as objective poles at the top of a single summit.
Actually, it’s been in this state of confusion for the better part of 5 years to my eyes, or as long as I’ve been invited to talk about the identity crisis of the whole “authenticity” thing with my big fat mouth.
We’re not in the business of “truth” or “authenticity”, we’re in the business of nostalgia: whatever truth we think is in an image is going to be interpreted differently by the person looking at the image, or the person that’s in the image, and that itself is going to change in 5, 10, 20 years as details get forgotten or change shape.
So our job is to be there and give to what’s in front of us, and give ourselves the best chance to make the most amount of future nostalgia for the couples.
Just look at any Magnum gallery, which is (rightly) considered the yardstick of photojournalism, or for a more prescriptive example, the Steven McCurry photoshop scandal, which gave a bad name to editing, while then distracting from the fact that it’s a very necessary part of what we do and what he does, and that the slamming was mostly unwarranted.
(But… maybe he could’ve just cleaned it up a little more).
So from an editing point of view, the things I’m looking for as a judge are the level of care made in bringing that nostalgia to the highest standard it can be on a case-by-case basis, and how that level of care is restrained enough so that it still stands out as a photograph, and not a piece of computer art.
What it comes down to is this: Are we gonna let a hunk of pixel-making plastic do the seeing, or our eyes and intuition?
Everyones got a DSLR, everyone can be a photographer. Nearly every photographer I meet is friendly, is invested in a great client experiences and uses down-to-earth in their marketing as a point of difference. So if everyone is creating good work and is equally good company, where does that leave us as more folks jump into the trade, and what are the parallels to making work that will stand apart in a competition?
There’s a whole bunch of answers that I’ll look into over time, but one thing that can’t be faked, is investing love and care into the craft of the finished images, and looking back to what it means to take a craft-based approach to the creation of the work itself.
First up, let’s delve a little more into why I’m interested in this, and why this is important as craft-centred photographers: this classic James Dean image.
Taken shortly before his iconic star blew up, some of the words that come to mind mind from this Dennis Stock photograph are “simple”, “romantic”, and that feeling, on the tip of our tongue, that there was a little bit extra fantasy back in the day.
All of this rings true, but it does so because of how simple and digestible the image is – in it’s purest, most concentrated self – thanks to an experienced darkroom operator, Pablo Inirio, knowing where to take it.
Specifically – removing the deep-shadows from everywhere in the image except for James and the leading-lines of the curved fence.
How a camera views a scene, is one thing. How we feel a scene, is another. And thanks to camera manufacturers (understandably) indulging in a race to the top for perfection, we’ve given away a few traits that we now associate with analogue photography: ambiguity, imperfection, and anything just a little bit “off”, that we can’t put a finger on.
And the goal with any great image, should be to bridge the gap, between how a scene feels, and how the final image looks. It’s not popular to talk about this gritty technical stuff. It’s especially unpopular amongst professional storytellers, who might have us believe that gear and editing don’t matter, but they do, and have an enormous partnering impact on our voice and point of difference as photographers.
That big header image draped across your website. Spotted it? If not, it might not be as strong as it could be, because while the person looking at it is trying to inhale the story and vibe you’ve created, their subconscious is distracted by all those little specks. I see it all the time, even on successful photographers portfolios, and it’s so quick to correct.
Not spotting our images is like being an opera singer and cramming sand in the audiences ears. Clean that stuff out: not only is that a very strange thing to do, but now no-one can hear what you’re saying.
And I don’t mean skin blemishes, or stars: spotting means removing spots of (usually) hard-light that show up in an image caused by random sun reflections, or micro-textures that can subconsciously dominate a frame.
Spotting isn’t about distorting reality or removing things that should be part of the image: it’s about making an image easier for the viewer to consume, and easier to understand the heart of the image (we’ll deconstruct that esoteric clap-trap in just a minute).
It’s hard to understand the benefits of spotting, until we see an image that has had a simple 10-15 seconds of spotting work, against one that hasn’t. And this is the part where we get to decide whether this even matters. One can argue it doesn’t – this is for folks who like myself can justify going the extra mile.
We feel the extra simplicity and strength of a correctly spotted image, because there are less small little pieces of distraction that dilute the main message of the image. Spotting needs to be done because when we’re looking at a real-life scene through our eyeballs, our brain is able to filter out the little hard spots of light, as the scene moves naturally in front of us: but when we take an photo, those little imperfections are frozen, burned into the sensor, and take the centre stage in the final image, which to me is less real than proactively spotting them out, and having the purest version of the image.
Spotting your images is the quickest way to tidy things up and have a great, print-ready image.
A correctly spotted image of a Newport Substation Wedding – all of those hi lights aren’t adding to the story of the image, aren’t clear what they’re attached to, and are taking away from the power of the image as representing a gathering in a majestic room. So, off with their heads.
Lean back from the image, let your eyes haze, and let your hand wander with the stamp-tool – it’s remarkable how quick you’ll autonomously clear little specks from one corner of the image to the other.
There are many reasons to dodge and burn an image, but start with the following as a foundation, and it’ll pretty much inform how and when you use this technique:
I used “a truth” rather than “the truth”, as there’s no such thing as objective truth in an image: every image we make is influenced by our vision, what we include, and what we leave out, but we rabbited on about that already.
By having conviction in our own vision, we can make each image align with our own version of the truth in that image – this is something I also wrote about last year.
Whatever that truth turns into once we’ve given it over is then out of our hands.
Back to our dear friend, James Dean: the reward for investing a little elbow grease, is the reward of a classic image. How a negative and a camera-sensor interprets both light and the key elements of an image is nearly always at odds with how we interpret it as a human: the goal of thoughtful dodging and burning is to bridge this gap.
Bring up skin that needs to sing, burn out hi lights that are taking over the airwaves, and gently make it so that the most intense points of contrast are happening at the main “story” areas of the image.
And more importantly, ensure this is just augmenting and reducing the natural light play that is already happening within the image.
This isn’t about creating unreality, or an unreasonable expectation of beauty: this is about showing up for our couples and putting in that little bit of extra elbow grease, knowing they’ll appreciate that little bit of extra work.
Here’s the other reason we clear blemishes and other kinks (within reason): the only reason we can see them, is because light is creating the shadow on them. And the biggest reason that’s happening, is because the light we’re placing someone in for a portrait usually favours the part of the portrait we connect with most (the eyes for example), and so everything else takes second place.
If you don’t believe me, put a beauty-dish, soft-box or some other highly diffused light directly in front of someone, and watch most of them disappear, as no shadows are created. Further, if someone is in the middle of an action that causes veins or other things to be augmented beyond how they regularly would, there’s no real reason for those to be taking centre-stage, so we should be happy to reduce them to simplify the image to the things that we want to be connecting with.
This can be done at the same time as the regular spotting pass.
For spotting and blemish removal, I find the Lightroom healing tool too slow and clunky. So what I do is, after I have my final exports out of Lightroom, I open up the library of finished JPG’s in Photomechanic. From there, it’s a pretty quick exercise of tapping through the collection, and hitting “CMD+E”, which immediately opens the image in photoshop. Tap the “J” key for the spot healing tool, hit “CMD+S” to save, then “CMD-Q” to close the image, then “Alt+Tab” to go back to Photomechanic. Practice the routine, and you’ll have the most efficient way to go over that final pass at your fingertips.
If composing in the moment to make the most of the situation wasn’t possible, then correcting course in the edit is nothing to be ashamed of.
This is just a general note to keep in mind whenever looking at an image, and in most cases by just asking the question of “how did this feel when I was there”, the small, gentle tweaks required to tell the best possible story of that image become self evident pretty quickly.
Now, if we’re delivering 1000 images for a wedding, it’s an insane proposition to spend 10 minutes on every single image, and not viable, unless we like the idea of not paying our rent and delivering our images to our clients 3 years after their day.
Some of these principles (spotting, etc) can be applied to nearly all the coverage. But these are mostly for the images where there’s a little something else in them that begs to be brought out. You always know it when there is, and it’s always worth spending that little bit of extra time: for you and for your couple.
We get to decide whether we’re going to be hands-off in our editing process, let the camera do the seeing, and let some arbitrary idea of “truth” be the driver. And maybe that’s ok.
Or, we get to impart a little bit of the original magic of photography, recognise the value of truth-bending and white-lies as a way to creating something that ironically creates a better and more relevant truth, and how through that, we give the people receiving our images a little bit of magic that comes closer to how it felt.
To see occasional image-edit time lapses, follow my instagram.
Jul 1, 2020
Occasionally the wedding industry has someone move in from another branch of the broader arts and design sphere, and the spin they have on things is always a little different to what else is currently around. Enter Nathan Kaso weddings, mastercraftsman of moving image, sometime viral-video maker, and now your friendly local wedding videographer.
Nathan was also featured wayback here, and I was lucky to join forces for the wedding of Amy and Bronson, which you can see here on Hello May, and here on this post about Castlemaine wedding venues.
With Covid forcing us all indoors and all manner of brilliant doorstep portrait projects happening, I wanted to kickstart some convos with my local community and find out how the time and strange space is being used, as it’s never been more important to stay connected and sharing. Up today we have the inimitable creative Melbourne Wedding videographer, Nathan Kaso.
Generally my couple’s say they forgot that I was even around, which I take as the ultimate compliment. A very wise man (a certain Oli S, no wait that’s too obvious, O. San) once taught me that when shooting weddings, having a small-footprint is the way to go. So I’ve stuck with that and do my best to stay out of the way and capture all the natural feels. It must be working because most couples aren’t sure if I’ve even turned up.
I put a fair amount of effort into my hair (head and facial)*, not going to lie. By the midway point of the ceremony it’s generally turned into a sweaty mess, but I’m hoping people take note at the start of the day and tell their friends
It takes a lot of effort to look like you’ve made no effort.
I actually quite enjoyed ISO. Once I got past my business crumbling to pieces, I really enjoyed spending time with my kids. But it wasn’t just the usual routine, we got right back to basics (as it seems a lot of folks did) and went bike riding, kite flying, walked along the river, simple things that we normally don’t seem to find the time for. Honestly it was bliss, and the break that I didn’t know I needed.
When the apocalypse hits, I’ll go Superman style with a fortress of solitude in the snow.
Provided my kids are old enough for M15+, I’ll be bringing with me the 1996 classic Fargo, because the Cohen Brothers and Roger Deakins and Steve Buscemi in a woodchipper will never get old.
* Can confirm that along with an offensive array of talents, Mr Kaso sports the best hair in the game
https://www.nathankasoweddings.com/
Nathan Kaso Weddings Instagram
Nathan Kaso on Hello May
Jun 30, 2020
In the middle of classic Australian expanse, about 2 hours west of Brisbane as the crow flies, sits Australia’s second largest inland city, and recipient of “most vowels in a city name” award. Welcome, to the gloriously rural region of Toowoomba, Queensland. Known for it’s Carnival of Flowers held annually in September, and having recently installed it’s own airport more and more people are getting to know this hidden gem of a town. Today though, we’re here to focus specifically on the BEST Toowoomba wedding venue, Gabbinbar Homestead.
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The majestic diversity speaks for itself. It’s the perfect middle ground between country wedding and city wedding. While Toowoomba isn’t a bustling hub of activity like Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne, it has the most endearing rustic charm that you can’t quite find in those larger cities. This rustic charm honestly makes for the most heartwarming, down-to-Earth wedding ceremonies.
Shooting at rural wedding venues like this just make you feel like you’re part of something special: and part of that here owes to the almost total seclusion from the outside world of it’s private garden edges.
I’ve shot at countless wedding venues and no place quite makes you feel at home like the gorgeous Gabbinbar Homestead. There are so many hidden gems scattered throughout the venue, and the mystique of it all is something you have to feel to believe. You find yourself weaving in and out of the trees, snapping pictures of family and friends of the bride and groom in such a relaxed, magical atmosphere. Rural wedding venues just seem to bring out the best in people.
Gabbinbar’s all-inclusive wedding package, aptly titled ‘The Gabbinbar Experience’ is just that. It’s basically everything you need to experience the exact wedding day you want to bring to life. Specifically:
Plus all of those often overlooked, finer details that go into executing a flawless wedding that come with the territory of having everything in the one place.
Outside of this theres 3000+ rooms a stone’s throw away for guests and family.
So, if you’re thinking of escaping to the country for your wedding, short of the rural expanses of the moon there’s no better place than Gabbinbar Homestead.
Check out their wedding pricing and packages for yourself.
From a Toowoomba wedding venue abundant in charm and heart to a completely unique shotgun-style Melbourne wedding venue, visit this post featuring The Alter Electric.
Jun 29, 2020
I don’t know much about cakes, but I do know that beyond being face-plantingly delicious, there’s a bunch of love that has to be artfully weaved into the process, lest it ends up just resembling an attractive piece of cardboard, and Torte by Mirjana is the local bees-knees of the taste game.
Apart from Mirjana being an absolute magnet personality and culinary wizard, the thing that stood out to me most is that everyone who talks about her work, talks about the taste. That might seem like the most ludicrously obvious talking point when the conversation is about wedding cakes, but it never occurred to me that in a space where so much of the work looks good, what really matters it the drooling gob that it’s ending up in, and what that gob then says about the experience #goblife.
We had a little mid-iso chat, so if you haven’t been introduced to her work stick around and hit up her links at the bottom to check out her majestic work online.
With Covid forcing us all indoors and all manner of brilliant doorstep portrait projects happening, I wanted to kickstart some convos with my local community and find out how the time and strange space is being used, as it’s never been more important to stay connected and sharing.
I’m Melbourne’s Punky Brewster version of a cake lady
I get to make a whole bunch of mess in the kitchen, and then somehow miraculously end up bringing an edible art piece into existence.
I think my ability to make a personal connection with my clients and establish a relationship during the cake designing process its that or the msg version of sweet sugary love I put into each cake.
Torte took a little break during covid and I grew a new title which was homeschool teacher… didn’t really like that, so I started making mini heart cakes that were inspired by my love of Wes Anderson and all things vintage, and they were a real hit with lovers who were in lockdown – so I’m hoping to see some baby shower cake orders soon!
Nostalgia you can taste!
Jun 27, 2020
How to spray a champagne bottle at your wedding: everyone’s seen it, everyone’s had a crack at it, and everyones experience ends with one of “nailed it”, “nearly took my head off”, or “fizzled out to a flaccid wisp like Creeds record contract” (we bought a few of their albums back in the day so this is all fair game, and I guess that makes us fair game).
Also file this under – things you can practice at home in a pandemic. Great for your serotonin levels, not so great for your lounge room walls, so maybe one to take to the streets.
There’s a gentle art to the champagne spray, and it’s both easier than you might think in the moment, while at the same time requiring of a bit of careful strategy and forward-thinking so that the proceeds don’t resemble the unfortunate scene of a garden hose with no pressure at a kids water-fight birthday-party in the middle of summer.
Because if we’re gonna have a day of beautiful debauchery and anarchy, contributing to the carbon(ated beverage) atmospheric trust-fund – and surrounding garments – is one of the cheaper thrills we can have on the day, with a mighty power-to-weight ratio as far as thrills gained, and dollars spent on cheap wine.
Fun for everyone – even me as my camera-gear gets gloriously soaked in the stuff (tips for photographers: if you want to get the best champagne shots, sorry – but you need to be right in front of it – and if you don’t come out needing a dry-clean, you haven’t shot it right).
In order to get a wild spray going that lasts as long as the winners ones do on an F1 podium, we need to consult our dusty “armchair teenage physicist” manual, and brush up on the “why” before we get to the “how”.
This means we need to press our thumb against the hole, as soon as the cork is removed. This in turn keeps extra pressure inside the bottle, which means it’s going to try and force it’s way through the available gap. If the champagne has pressure that is mostly kept in by your thumb, that means that in order to release that pressure, it’s going to have to push it’s way through that gap – and fast.
And when you maintain that while continuing to shake it – that’s where it all starts going beautifully bananas. If I had a dollar for the amount of times i’ve seen folks not immediately apply pressure and then watch the contents dribble out like Sam Newmans Twitter musings, i’d have enough clams to lift his face even higher.
Luckily for us, we have everyones favourite rainbow anarchist (well, the other favourite to this wonderful mob) Dee Brinsmead, wedding celebrant and co-owner of The Altar Electric, to help run us through how it’s done.
Bring yourself into a state of maniacal glee. This should be fun, you should have your crew around you (if they’re part of it), and you should be prepared to make a mess, take an eye out, blow a hole in the photographers expensive lens, all the good stuff.
Here, a friendly neighbourhood cat takes part.
Acquire champagne, twist and remove the wire cap, so just the cork remains.
With your thumb over the cork, pre-shake it enthusiastically.
Begin to undo the cork until it’s nearly off. Brace your thumb against the base of the cork, and flick it into the heavens above, or at your photographers head.
Tip: if the cork is tough to remove, grip it with #intention very tightly, and carefully rotate it and “unscrew it” out with your hand.
At this point, you should immediately cover the hole with your thumb: in fact, trying to completely block it – and shake the bottle like a maniac. I promise you the champagne will begin to escape, no matter how robust you think your thumb-bottle sealant game is. This is where a champagne-spray often fails, and this is the step to nail correctly.
Every second of champagne-exit where the hole isn’t blocked, is precious pressure lost.
From here, just gently remove pressure very slightly, in the direction you want to spray, being conscious of where it’s coming out as you pivot your thumb. Continue to shake with maniacal glee.
Tip: As the contents and pressure in the bottle deplete, you can squeeze as much out if it as possible by increasing the pressure you’re creating, and pressing your thumb against it more firmly and closing the gap. The little pressure that’s left in the bottle will be amplified by having the gap made even tighter.
Voila! You’ve successfully emptied the contents of a bottle in the manner in
which was truly intended by the manufacturer, but can’t be claimed as such on fancy champagne labels.
Just know that you’re doing your winemaker countrymen proud.
Special thanks to Dee Brinsmead, one third of Collingwood wedding venue The Altar Electric, for being a most excellent Champagne Spray Scientist today. Hire this legend for your Melbourne elopement, and be sure to check out these unique small wedding venues, or out in ye olde non wedding world head here for a Melbourne music photographer.
Jun 26, 2020
Good Day Club are your friendly neighbourhood Rainbow Anarchists. Good Day design the most wild, colourful, bombastic, insert-synonym-here wedding celebrations in all the lands of/including/but not limited to, Melbourne and it’s surrounds.
Since one hand is loaded up with shiraz these days, we figured we’d load up the other with a keyboard and have a bit of a chinwag about all things celebration.
I’ve been lucky to share a couple of shoots with these maestros, from Tanglewood Estate all the way over to The Altar Electric where their stylish hands mark is laid permanently, onto it’s peach-pastel walls of eternity. Etc.
Read this post if:
With Covid forcing us all indoors and all manner of brilliant doorstep portrait projects happening, I wanted to kickstart some convos with my local community and find out how the time and strange space is being used, as it’s never been more important to stay connected and sharing.
I’m Kate Forsyth, creative director and co-founder of Good Day Club. I steer the ship and set it’s creative direction, but I also do pretty much any and all things from changing lightbulbs and fixing broken chairs to buying milk and cleaning the toilet.
I’d say my friends think I am constantly doing lots of glamorous and creative stuff and swanning around at parties and weddings, whereas the majority of the time, ship steering is where it’s at. If I do get to attend a party or wedding, I guarantee you if I do get to go to a party or wedding, I shall end up crawling on the floor sorting out bung neon sign plug or rectifying one thing or another.
The creative part of my job is pretty ace though – from working with ace clients to create their dream event, to making + building, meeting fellow vintage lovers and passionate people and collaborating in heaps of way.
They’re unique and people feel empowered to do whatever the heck has meaning for them. Melbourne weddings are less about what’s trending and more about what floats the boat of the couple.
Personalisation, colour, fun, personality, boldness and the unexpected.
My high levels of weirdness. The fact that I have like 30 tonnes of furniture and props at my fingertips. The number of Potato Gems I consume.
For want of a better term, we’re a one-stop shop because we can design your wedding, furnish and light it, create your graphic design, set it up, style it and take it all away.
And we’ve leaned very hard into our niche of a wild mix of old and new. People tell us our work is immediately recognisable and that makes me feel so happy, that I eat some more Potato Gems.
We were already looking at efficiency this year, so it’s been a supercharged version of that. Efficiency with our costs but also with our processes – making everything work better and easier for our customers (and staff). We’ve also looked at doing less things better, cutting out a few services and we’ve added our first digital product (video call backgrounds).
We’ve always prided ourselves on our rad designs but what we talk about less is that we are a smooth AF operation as well.
And we just got smoother.
Our clients are always telling us that they loved how easy we make things and that is our mission!
Look, who bloody knows. Honestly, while we’ve been busy improving our offering and efficiency, I’ve been interspersing that with having semi-regular existential crises/breakdowns about what is going to happen to celebrations.
If I leave the ‘why are we here’s?’ and ‘what is the purpose of all this?’ at the door, I’d say that celebrations will continue to be more and more unique and personalised, and a reflection of the couple and what’s important to them.
Couples have had a LOT of time to think about what’s important and so while wedding size is currently mandated by the government (srsly, how weird is that sentence?!?) I think smaller celebrations with more of what the couple want will continue to be all the rage, even once bigger weddings are allowed again.
I mean, do you really want to spend $150 to feed and water your cousin’s boyfriend or your work friend’s partner you’ve never met?
NOPE.
Cutting that guest list gives you heaps more freedom to go all out on the things you love.
The mark I want to leave is a big, bold and cray colourful one where I’ve contributed to a movement of couple’s feeling super empowered to do whatever the fuck they want for their wedding, dumping traditions that mean nothing and other people’s expectations.
Good Day Club Website
Good Day Club Instagram
Jun 24, 2020
Anthony Cribbes – recipient of the most debonair hair-sweep, occasional farmer (only, or mostly during pandemics), wedding celebrant, founder of The Celebrant A List, and one part of the trio behind the iconic Collingwood Wedding chapel The Altar Electric.
Read on for all this and all the other things he does that didn’t fit in this sentence.
With Covid forcing us all indoors and all manner of brilliant doorstep portrait projects happening, I wanted to kickstart some convos with my local community and find out how the time and strange space is being used, as it’s never been more important to stay connected and sharing.
Man what a time ISO LYF has been! I live in the country but for the last 5 years it feels like the road is more my home. Being able to stay closer to home has made me realised that I will be putting a priority on focussing my business in a more local sense.
It’s almost like I guess you could say that I am becoming a business cliched bourgeoisie and opting for a ’tree-change’ or ‘downsizing’… only I promise I am doing it in a non-pretentious way, not so I can start a new Insta account of: ‘My journey from big city life to self discovery’ kind of crap.
Before ISO I was passionate about community and quality over quantity. I see weddings now moving from a ‘bigger and better’ world to one where people are placing a premium on the connection.
This means I can see a lot more smaller weddings happening. We actually made a change to the Altar Electric around 6 months ago for this very reason, we didn’t just want to be offering registry style weddings, we wanted people to be able to have a small wedding celebration.
One that was about creating great moments but didn’t bring with it the anxiety inducing costs.
Haha…I’ll leave the Wizardry stuff to my mates out at Hogwarts. Altar Electric is actually Dee and Sarah’s (my amazing business partners) original concept, I just helped give it the nudge.
Initially we were thinking it would be about Registry Weddings…but in the end we realised what we were actually tapping into was a whole new vein of thinking from pockets in the community. We didn’t realise just how under served the small wedding market was.
From our understanding that wasn’t due to a lack of desire but more a lack of supply from an industry that was focussed on large groups only essentially.-
Oh so many! I think the biggest thing anything Celebrant can do is to not get carried away with their own ego, I see it all over the place and could also be accused of being guilty of it myself.
I think once you start telling yourself you’ve made ‘it’, things will turn, because it’s at this stage when people stop evolving, adapting, learning and improving.
I am definitely a way different Celebrant in terms of my style now then I was 5 years ago when I first started. How I win my work is also drastically different.
We can always learn from anyone… right now the people I am learning the most from are the Celebrants who are only 1-2 years into the business but are completely slaying it…also avoid having a gimmick, it will run dry very quickly, just be genuine.
There’s 9,500 of us in Australia, so just know that there’s the right kind of Celebrant out there for you.
I always think it works best as a Celebrant when I work with couples who I can genuinely go and have a beer with down at the pub and talk about other things than weddings.
That’s the kind of fit you are hoping for, so make sure you try and find that kind of person for you.
Anthony Cribbes Celebrant website
Anthony Cribbes Celebrant Instagram
The Altar Electric website
The Altar Electric instagram
The Celebrant A list website
The Celebrant A list instagram
A feature on Melbourne wedding celebrants is also here.
Jun 22, 2020
Danee of Killer Queen Creative is a feel-good merchant, personal branding genius, and resident rockstar of the Melbourne hair and makeup scene. We took over The Line for the wedding of Pepi and Sam, Featured in the pages of Hello May (Hello May Wedding Photographer), and now she’s taking over my internet space (and so too should she take over your makeup and hair for your Melbourne elopement).
With Covid forcing us all indoors and all manner of brilliant doorstep portrait projects happening, I wanted to kickstart some convos with my local community and find out how the time and strange space is being used, as it’s never been more important to stay connected and sharing.
I’m Danee, founder of Killer Queen Beauty. My friends think I play with pretty things and put on eyeliner all day and swan around at weddings.
In reality, like all small biz owners, my craft is only a very small part of what I do- the rest is all about running the show and keeping the wheels turning.
I’m a one woman creative show, offering makeup, hair, and education. I help rad rebel brides to have the non-traditional day of their dreams by giving them advice, support and expertise for wedding day beauty that is non-boring, non-conventional and as unique as they are.
I like to think of my brand as the punk maverick of the beauty world. I do things differently, I love to smash beauty stereotypes, and I despise conformity!
I LOVE being part of the wedding industry in Melbourne and feel like I’ve really met my people- weddings in Melbourne have such much scope for creativity and there are so many amazing venues that are all about being flexible to couples’ wildest desires. And there is so much ridiculous talent in this city.
I’m stoked to be part of the more alternative side of weddings because that’s where I feel all the creativity and the envelope pushing happens.
To me, a wedding is a really big opportunity to express who you are and create some amazing art, experiences and memories.
I think it’s heart and magic. I put everything into my weddings- they’re not just jobs for me but magical celebrations and connections.
I like to bring a creative approach and lots of feelgood vibes to someone’s special day; being part of the planning process and connecting with the bride on the morning before all the mayhem starts is petty spesh. Weddings are a bloody big deal and your wedding day is one of the best days of your life- why not spend it with rad people who get a buzz off creating the best day possible for you?
I spent the time in lockdown helping couples reschedule their weddings and navigate a nutso time!
I also opened up a lot of digital offerings, and took the opportunity to have a good shake up of all my systems and processes; as a result of that I ended up overhauling a lot of my systems including my website, so it’s all much more kickass and easy to find what you want.
Through the whole time, I’ve learned that I’m heaps more resilient that I thought- and I also learned to surrender control over things that were bigger than me, to ride the wave a bit better. As a result I think I became more adaptable and more chilled about chaos.
I think those qualities make me pretty well placed to deal with any wedding fiascos, and help you through any hiccups.
I might drink all the wine but I’m a good companion to have if the seas get rough.
People want to create celebrations that are unique as they are. It’s not about cookie cutter anymore; people are really putting their stamp on their big day and making it all about an expression of them and their love story. I love that couples aren’t as concerned about tradition, but more about celebrating their love.
I want to be part of as many out-there and wild weddings and make people feel larger than life on their day. I’m all for encouraging radical self expression and defying convention so I’m more than happy to be an enabler of that.
I want couples to look back on their day and ecstatically and fondly remember everyone that was part of it and how magic it all was. Like, when they’re in their 80s they can look back at their wedding photos and say they threw one hell of a memorable party.
Also! I want Melbourne to be a standout destination for out of this world nuptials!
I want to be part of a wedding revolution going forward, pushing for diversity and change in the industry. Helping and mentoring younger vendors in the industry to develop their brand to find their niche and their people. Being part of a wider network of mavericks turning tradition on its head, and bringing innovation into the wedding space.
Killer Queen Creative on Instagram
If you’re having a Melbourne city elopement, get this legend on your team.
Jun 19, 2020
The perfect wedding setting for thoughtful, contemporary couples who know how to appreciate a great piece of art, Heide Museum of Modern Art allows for both a stunning ceremony and an inspiring reception. The Museum boasts spectacular photography opportunities throughout the grounds and the Gallery. Let’s take a sneak peek at this amazing, artistic space and check out some photos from a recent Heide Museum of Modern Art wedding I was fortunate enough to capture.
Heide Museum of Modern Art brings an air of sophisticated creativity to Banksia Park in Bulleen, a north-eastern suburb of Melbourne. It’s not too far at all from the CBD – only around a 20-minute drive. It practically oozes convenience.
The Yarra River flows, snake-like, through Banksia Park, just a short walk from Heide Gallery. Bulleen Art Gallery and Garden is also within the vicinty. Another interesting point, Bulleen Hungry Jacks is only a short way down the road. Post-wedding burgs? Count me the hell in.
You’ve got a golf club nearby if there’s time to fit in a quick game with the lads (or ladies) the day before the wedding. And, as mentioned, Melbourne CBD is a short Uber ride away. You can get up to all kinds of mischief, eat some amazing pre-wedding noms and pick up any last minute bits and pieces for the wedding that may have slipped your mind.
As a wedding venue, Heide Gallery is the gift that keeps on giving. From the picturesque, natural grounds to the vibing Gallery and sculptures, this place is a photographers dream. Seriously. There are almost too many spots that are perfectly suited to capturing stunning images.
The Heide grounds and gardens span majestically across the 15 acres this Gallery calls home. The heritage gardens contain sprawling lawns, gorgeous flower beds and huge trees with trailing limbs that form cosy hidey-holes.
A river glade with towering trees and shrubs provides a shady spot for an intimate ceremony, or a wonderful photography or videography location.
The views from various sites throughout the grounds sweep across the surrounding park and provide a truly awe-inspiring atmosphere.
Upon gazing around the venue, your view will be obstructed slightly – for good reason – by contemporary sculptures and architectural wonders that are dotted throughout the grounds.
All your wedding catering needs will be taken care of by the Heide Cafe, the exclusive catering service for Heide Gallery weddings. Both the wedding ceremony and the reception are able to be covered. The cafe has an amazing range of seasonal produce with a huge variety of menu options to choose from.
The Cafe is also a great place to swing by for a pre-wedding brunch with the bridal party or a post-wedding coffee if you’re feeling a little worse for wear (horrifically hungover) after the previous night’s celebrations.
The Museum itself is an awesome place to spend any spare time and fight off any pre-wedding jitters. A range of indoor exhibitions including the Main Gallery and the Modernist House are home to some amazing collections of contemporary art. Wander the grounds to experience Rick Amor’s Running Man, Neil Taylor’s Theoretical Matter, and the rest of the outdoor exhibitions and sculptures that add an artistic, modern flair to the sweeping, naturalistic elements of the grounds.
It’s safe to say that this Melbourne wedding venue is the perfect place to celebrate love, serenity and an appreciation for delightful modern art.
Have you visited to the Heide Museum of Modern Art? What was your favourite installation? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
For more images of a decadent art space, check out this piece by Firecraker Event on grazing tables.
Jun 19, 2020
Not just a recent TIkTok phenomenon, Bottlebrush Films are what happens when Marty McFly and Quentin Tarantino are placed in a sandwich press and then thrown into the Matrix (and then gloriously re-assembled and tasked with creating a wedding film, etc).
I’ve mostly swooned at their incredible dance moves and work from afar, but we recently got to join forces at The Altar Electric and at a ball we co-hosted for a group of Melbournes best celebrants.
With Covid forcing us all indoors and all manner of brilliant doorstep portrait projects happening, I wanted to kickstart some convos with my local community and find out how the time and strange space is being used, as it’s never been more important to stay connected and sharing. Up today we have lunatic wizard Melbourne wedding videographers, Bottlebrush Films.
Bottlebrush Films are Grace and Andrew, maniac creatives, internationally award-winning wedding videographers, and founders of the Lonely Hearts Film Camp – An “American summer camp… but in Australia”.
Here’s a few snippets from a socially-distanced chinwag we shared (with our keyboard fingers, and socially distanced by about 27 kilometres).
That we’re incredibly good looking and humble. No but really, we’re lucky to get lots of love from our couples, the mains ones being ‘holy shitballs how do you create such unique films?’, ‘you guys are hilarious we can’t wait to party with you at our wedding’, ‘fuck, film our day already’.
Nothing but good vibes from everyone we work with so we certainly don’t take all the kind words for granted.
‘They look like the kind of people who’d do a perfect straight arm-y and not spill a drop’.
And that we’re incredibly good looking and humble.
We’re very chill in a crisis, we’re great at being hermits & even better at making noooice pizza dough. (Can confirm this is true – in fact you can usually watch it on their insta-stories).
My favourite discovery though – we don’t need much to be happy (…just toilet paper apparently)
Casablanca, it’s timeless & has it all – love, war, friendship, betrayal, a witty script & a bangin’ cast. Most importantly it doesn’t show any lushy food – I can not be stuck in a bunker watching someone stuff their face with aioli & chippies if I haven’t got access to any.
Thanks Grandew. It’s been real.
https://bottlebrushfilms.com.au
Bottlebrush Films on Instagram
Lonely Hearts Film Camp
https://www.lonelyheartsfilmcamp.co/
Jun 16, 2020
No-one runs a wedding ceremony quite like Nat Sproal Celebrant, and you kinda get a taste of what you’re in for with her catch-cry, “non-crap weddings for legends”.
With Covid forcing us all indoors and all manner of brilliant doorstep portrait projects happening, I wanted to kickstart some convos with my local community and find out how the time and strange space is being used, as it’s never been more important to stay connected and sharing.
Nat is on a fast moving carriage headed into “do it your way”s-ville, and that’s Nat’s wheelhouse. Nat controls a room, sometimes controlling said room into uncontrollable fits of laughter, and generally is a master at breaking the ice, and stopping her couples from breaking a sweat with hear down to earth way of running a ceremony.
Here’s some outtakes with 5 minutes spent with her.
Just a mad dog who marries peeps for a living and surfs the adrenaline wave.
My friends think I run the big show and then swan around drinking champagne – which is pretty spot on.
But there’s also some planning and writing in there too.
The fact that there is a culture.
A culture of doing things a little differently.
Well, particularly north of the river anyway.
A great Melbourne wedding celebrant is a great people person, a talented writer and a charismatic presenter. If you have all three things locked (rare in this gig, despite it being saturated with purveyors), you’re dangerous.
I’m working my way to being a total weapon.
But mainly I think I just keep it real. You won’t find fluffy text, a watercolour logo or a proclamation that I love love in my bio. Ever.
I’ve communicated with my clients from the start. I was in touch with all couples with weddings until the end of 2020 before the lockdown even started- and I kept talking to them.
My priorities were supporting them to have a ripping wedding at a later date- but also protecting my business. I’ve updated my site, resources, set up a CRM and written ceremonies up till the end of Nov. I’m ready to roll baby.
I reckon we’ll see further steps away from original plans and more diversity. Lots of downsizing, weekday weddings and fresh ideas. Lots of people’s priorities and financial capacities have changed.
I’ve got a couple who were having a massive wedding at a big venue who have quartered their guest list and changed to beer and pizza at a local craft beer house with live tunes. They’re so much happier and it suits them to a tee. There’s a lot of this going on which has me pumped.
I have a sick project in the works which will cater to these types of couples who are switching things up- and new couples wanting to leave the bullshit behind and focus on what counts.
Watch this space!
www.natsproalcelebrant.com
Pepe and Sam featured on Hello May Wedding Photographer
https://www.instagram.com/natsproal.melbournecelebrant
See Nat and other Melbourne wedding celebrants from the A-List Ball, and hire this absolute legend for your Melbourne elopement or wedding at one of these incredible small wedding venues.
Jun 13, 2020
Looking for an alternative to the traditional registry wedding? Unfurrow your brow and cast your eyes over to Melbourne’s answer to the Vegas wedding chapel – The Altar Electric.
The gloves are off, and The Altar Electric, has overhauled their entire space in Collingwood.
Previously a rich blue and in a slightly smaller room, The Altar Electric has a new lease of life in incredible pastel peach colours, with explosions of floral colour courtesy of the inimitable Melbourne florist Bloom Boy, styling features from The Arbourists, and an entire vision executed by the wizard-folk at Good Day Club.
The Altar Electric have been leaders in getting couples hitched while we’ve all been sailing the perilous waters of Covid-19, providing shotgun-style weddings and a colourful alternative to traditional registry weddings.
Now, as isolation restrictions lift, the venue is opening up and moving towards it’s full capacity of 40.
The venue has the most incredible light draping through its industrial style windows at any hour of day.
BYO cardboard Elvis – but you can order the real deal via their in-house Elvis impressionist.
The space is littered with the hallmarks of Good Day Clubs’ intricate styling – a roof filled with disco balls and chains, and decadent knick-knacks from wall to wall.
No bridal snog is complete without the floral explosions of Bloom Boy behind it.
Schoolhouse Studios, 81 Rupert St, Collingwood VIC
www.thealtarelectric.com.au
While you’re here, check out these other unique Melbourne wedding venues, and this Two Ton Max wedding. Stateside, wrap your seeing eyeball devices around this Jam Handy wedding in Detroit, featuring a Neon Pizza Apocalypse (naturally).
Jun 11, 2020
One of the constant themes in my enquiry inbox is a reference to Wes Anderson styled wedding photography.
Ok. So. There’s something a little (wildly) gratuitous about drawing any connection between a prolific director (for the kids playing at home, that’s Wes Anderson) and the owner of a humble wedding photography business in suburban Melbourne (that’s me).
Wildly, of the level of wildness entertained by 18 year olds who put racing stripes on their Toyota Corollas back in the 90’s thinking it boosted their engines horsepower (I wasn’t one of those, but I *might* have lowered and tinted a 20 year old family sedan). But since I’ve started photographing humans around the world at their weddings, folks keep drawing a connection between the two, without my prompting.
Which is really humbling, as he has a massive body of work, and excellent hair.
So because of that bring raised, I wanted to open up a post about cinematic shooting, symmetry, and how I “find the feel” in seemingly simple situations, show a few images, and cut through to breaking that down: what DO people mean when they say “yeah, that’s got a real Wes Anderson vibe to it”?
In a nutshell, it’s overwhelmingly about, simply, symmetry.
What Sony’s Walkman did to the CD-player back in the 90’s and what Apple’s iPod did to the “portable music player”, Wes Anderson has done with this one enormously broad, fundamental design element.
Symmetry.
It’s usually, (nearly) as simple as that, and it’s what I look for at every wedding. In fact it exists, whether we like it or not – we might just have to crank our neck a little.
If we extend it all a little further though, for me, the elements that give something a “Wes Anderson Vibe” in a broader sense, are:
And that’s without even touching on the intricate ways he weaves a story or creates a particular sense of theatre out of the characters. We could talk all day about the level of formula that his imagination uses, but we’ll just stay in the symmetry & composition saddle for the moment.
For me, I want to bring in a little bit of unique cinema into my Briars Atlas images, without getting too complex. Just a dash of… “I can’t put a finger on it, but when I look at this image, I feel like i’m peering inside a movie”/.
That means having an eye towards what it means to photograph with symmetry and finding calm in the chaos, so that within the set of images I deliver, there can me moments of calm and beauty in seemingly mundane situations.
Here’s a small selections, of my favourite “Wes Anderson” style wedding photos.
Jun 10, 2020
Melbourne is known for its eccentric and eclectic foodie scene. Of all the Aussie states, its probably the most innovative and experimental when it comes to its hospitality industry. Bacon gelato? Yup. Lamington Jafles. Um, hells yeah. You name it, Melbourne is comfortable going gourmet, or going gonzo. In the spirit of amazing, innovative wedding catering, I’ve created a rundown of the best wedding catering Melbourne has to offer. Grab a knife and fork and settle in. Let’s do this.
Much like an actual firecracker, the spreads created by this awesome team absolutely GO OFF! Firecracker Event are pretty much a turnkey operator for all your event needs. They combine styling, service and, of course, food to turn your event into a guaranteed winner. Be sure to check out this feature on Firecracker Event where they chat all things grazing tables)
“Firecracker is built on the concept of Enlightened Hospitality—a term coined by New York restaurateur Danny Meyer. It means that every person you engage feels safe, welcome and at home with you. It’s about going the extra mile and prioritizing relationships over transactions.“
– Firecracker Event
Firecracker Event can cover everything from platters to full service dining. Some of the glorious foods included in their packages are:
Does that not sound entirely, mouthwateringly delicious to you? It’s a big fat ooft here from me.
Firecracker Event website: https://www.firecrackerevent.com/
The bloody wonderful ladies at Fat and Skinny catering are a team of hardworking, hospitality driven human beings who love a good laugh. They’re all for a song and a dance and they can always be counted on to match (if not exceed) the excitement you have about your event, and are some of the best caterers Melbourne has at hand.
They’re fun, they’re friendly and they’re focused on giving you the best food they can possibly muster. I’ve personally seen their head honcho, Naomi, go to excruciatingly loving means to make a surprise dish for a bride that used a unique ingredient that her late father used to produce. Absolutely magic stuff to see.
“Come for the love. Stay for the party.”
– Fat and Skinny Catering
The sheer range of foods available at Fat and Skinny Catering make them one of the best wedding caterers Melbourne has to offer. It’s just a bonus that every single dish they serve up is *chef’s kiss* noice.
Their wedding catering range includes, but is certainly not limited to:
Lordy! I simply cannot.
Fat and Skinny Catering website: https://www.fatandskinny.com.au/
If you want the best wedding cake Melbourne has to offer, this taste-queen is coming at you with some of the best wedding cakes this side of the northernmost tip of the north pole. The finesse and artistry that goes into each and every cake Mirjana creates is out of this world. It seems obvious that wedding cakes should taste great, but Mirjana is time and again the benchmark for giving the same amount of love to their interior as their exterior.
With a Croatian and Serbian heritage, she grew up watching her Baka (grandmother) work as cake decorator and the apple does not fall far from the generational tree.
She’s also a designer by trade which really shows in her delectable dessert creations.
Check out the cake design gallery on her website and you’ll see why she has sealed her place as one of Melbourne’s best wedding cake makers.
To find out a little more about the maestro herself, check out the feature on Torte by Mirjana.
Torte by Mirjana website: https://www.tortebymirjana.com/
Another crafty wedding cake maker, Miss Ladybird Cakes is here to kick ass and bake cakes, and she’s all out of asses to kick. Gina makes the best wedding cakes in Melbourne.
Having been in the business for 12+ years Gina, Miss Ladybird herself, is the creative mind behind this amazing cake baking venture, and it’s no small feat being around for that amount of time – which translates to a hell of a lot of happy faces catered for at weddings. She’s always been super creative and is actually a qualified chef.
Miss Ladybird has brought two of her greatest passions together, food and design, to build a beaut business and we get to reap the benefits.
“Our main aim is not to be the best, but to make a product we are proud of, and one which interprets the love we have for an industry we have spent our lives immersed in.”
– Miss Ladybird Cakes
Check out her online gallery here.
Miss Ladybird Cakes website: http://www.missladybirdcakes.com/
Now, last but 1000% not least, we’ve got Food And Desire who fully customise the menus for every single event they cater. Like, who has the time or the energy to do that? These maestros are insane.
Their food is sourced from local suppliers and they incorporate only the best seasonal produce into their bespoke menus.“Collaborating with some of Melbourne’s most influential event experts, producers and suppliers, we cater different. We do it awesome, and we love it.”
You can see the kind of menus they’ve created for wedding parties up in lights on their website. Food and desire also helm the inimitable Melbourne Warehouse Wedding venue Half Acre, featured in image below.
Food and Desire website: http://www.foodanddesire.com.au/
Check out my top 15 Melbourne wedding photo locations for some nuptialistic (is that a word?) inspo, or head to this post for some great ideas on the best small wedding venues Melbourne has going.
Nab one of the incredible caterers up above (unless you’re at Zonzo Estate and enjoying their wizard pizza makers onsite), and link them up with this incredible Melbourne wedding planner.
Also for some incredible catering outside of Melbourne, check out the wood fired wedding pizzas at the Cosmo Hotel near Castlemaine.
Jun 9, 2020
Suzanne Harward is one of Australia’s brightest design minds. Her wedding dress designs have been at the leading edge for nearly 30 years. If you’re getting married in Melbourne (or anywhere for that matter), it’s hard to go past our own hometown maestros, Suzanne Harward wedding dresses, for world-leading bridal design. In this post, we’ll look at a few of the best Suzanne Harward bridal gowns i’ve seen.
Based in Collingwood, the Suzanne Harward team are responsible for some of the most forward-thinking, design-minded pieces that are not only a joy to photograph (I might have a personal bias), but incredibly decadent pieces for brides.
Most importantly, each and every time I chat with a bride about their choice of gown, they end up falling over backwards in adoration for the team, and it’s pretty easy to see why.
While you’re here, be sure to also check out these other incredible unique wedding dresses.
I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph several fashion-forward brides over the years and got to photograph the best modern wedding dresses around – which much of the time happens to be a Suzanne Harward.
Here, i’ve picked three of them, that offer a quick look at what the Suzanne Harward team can do a across the whole spectrum: from elegantly classic, to something from another planet.
All photographs below captured by and remain copyright of Briars Atlas.
Laura’s Suzanne Harward gown knocked my socks off as soon as I walked into their Daylesford bridal prep house. Hanging from a rustic door, it was adorned with the most incredibly bright florals etched into it, with gorgeous soft peach/pink tulle layers.
Laura and Walker were married at the Daylesford convent, a beautiful historic location that made for a perfect contrast to Lauras gown.
I’ve just gotta step in here: how incredible is that speckled light above? You can find that yourself by heading to the Daylesford Convent Gallery.
Treats. Always. Win. Laura and Walker invited their beautiful little scallywag Bonnie along, and she stayed for the entire day and partied well into the evening at the Daylesford Convent.
Want to see more of Laura and Walker? They are featured in print, having been published inside issue #19 of Together Journal. Already got your Suzanne Harward gown and want me to photograph it? You can enquire to hire me here.
Iro’s stunningly detailed dress is a masterclass in modern classic design. I like to think that I have this gown to thank for this image landing me as a category finalist for International Wedding Photographer of the Year 2018 – a beautiful moment in bridal prep accomodation in rural Victoria, before her wedding to Alex at their Butterland wedding in Newstead (also featured here on this post about Castlemaine wedding venues).
What they won’t necessarily tell you on the Suzanne Harward website, is that no matter how gloriously decadent their gowns are, they are able to withstand a champagne spray from even the most enthusiastic friend.
Want to see more of Iro and Alex? They are featured here in Together Journal. Already got your Suzanne Harward gown and want me to photograph it? You can enquire to hire me here.
Just when you think that you can’t be beautifully surprised by a new take on subtle classicism, Suzanne Harward come out with this sleek, elegant gem. Natasha and Jacob were married at the Melbourne registry office, and we spent a little time traipsing around some of my most favourite, secret spots in the city, with gorgeous soft light that played off against the simple shapes of the gown.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this roundup of the best Suzanne Harward wedding dresses (in my humble opinion – don’t let that stop you poring over their incredible range on their website below).
www.suzanneharward.com
73 Johnston St, Collingwood VIC 3066
All images taken by Briars Atlas.
If you’d like to make an enquiry for me to be your wedding photographer, head here.
Jun 8, 2020
Tanya and Ryan are Jiu-Jitsu diehards, who train together, and Mario-Kart together. These legends had their Two Ton Max wedding in Melbourne right at the 11th hour before Melbourne’s first Covid lockdown. In one of Melbournes most brilliant warehouse wedding venues, these two got it done in style with a crew of the best. I was lucky to be along for the ride with my dear old mate Michelle Grace Hunder, photographing this together for the first time in years (we started out as a wedding duo before going solo).
Enjoy this little peek into Tanya and Ryans Two Ton Max wedding, featuring Melbourne wedding celebrant Shannon Jeans running the show. For more beautiful warehouse, rustic, or alternative wedding venues in Melbourne, check out this post on unique Melbourne wedding venues, featuring a Rupert on Rupert wedding and Gather and Tailor.
Two Ton Max are also featured in this post on small wedding venues.
Two Ton Max website: http://twotonmax.com.au/
Jun 7, 2020
Every now and again in this job you come across art thats just as magic as the humans wearing it. Bridal dress designer Paolo Sebastian takes his cues from a Disney-like fantasy land, and creates some of the most incredible modern bridal couture.
Straight outta Adelaide, Australia.
I photographed Hannah and Ben at their gorgeous Royal Mail Hotel Wedding in the Grampians, and Hannah wore this incredible Paolo Sebastian Wedding Dress.
Hannah and Ben’s wedding was put together by the best Melbourne Wedding Planner, Will and Jac. Head over to their feature to see some of the most forward thinking couples around.
Paolo Sebastian website: https://paolosebastian.com/
More Paolo Sebastian at this Hindmarsh Island wedding
Best Modern Wedding Dresses – and for more dress designs like Paolo Sebastian you need to see this piece by KYHA Studios.
Briars Atlas wedding photography: Enquire
Mar 27, 2020
So, we’re in a pandemic. Apart from this bizarre scenario gifting us a new vocabulary including such terms as “social distancing”, it’s turned what should be a beautiful process full of joy (and at most, disagreements around what type of paper the invitations will be printed on) into a right old… let’s call it what it is – shitstorm. The beautiful upside is – and stay with me here – it’s opened the doors to many couples enjoying a beautiful Melbourne City elopement – while saving the party with their communities for later.
I’ve been fortunate to photograph a whole lot of weddings during Covid19 (nothing was ever gonna stop the love-train), and the general vibe has been one of optimism, and putting love first.
Forward thinking crews such as I Do Drive Thru and The Altar Electric have made a great space for making the celebration happen, which i’ll go into a little further below.
It’s difficult to say with conviction “currently, we can do…” as the information available and lockdown situation is changing very quickly (speaking of quick, see this post on how to get married quickly in Australia), with huge implications on the scale of wedding celebration that can be had.
Presently, though – at this very moment in time – Stage 4 lockdowns have put a temporary hold on things, but beyond that, Stage 3 lockdowns mean a smaller wedding – in effect, an elopement! And that’s good news, for a slew of reasons.
From my personal experience, while this might sound like a compromise, it’s one of the most beautiful ways to celebrate your marriage in an intimate way, have a bunch of fun with it, while rescheduling the big community side of it to a later date.
Consider getting the legals down, teaming up with one of our brilliant Melbourne wedding celebrants (who in the case of I Do Drive Thru, can live-stream your little moment of glory to family and friends far and wide), exploring some of my favourite Melbourne Wedding photo locations together, and then… updating that Facebook status.
This is about you two! What a beautiful time to look inward to that, and outward later on at whatever shape the party takes with your community. On that note, getting a head-start on your planning to that end, is time well spent. Do it for your own peace of mind, and don’t listen to anyone telling you to rush (there’s plenty of vendors for everyone).
If you need any assistance planning your Melbourne elopement or small wedding, pop me an email.
I’m a destination wedding photographer, based in Melbourne, and originally from the Yarra Valley. I’m lucky to have the best job in the world: photographing love and community, all over the planet. If you’re having a Melbourne City elopement, i’d love to have the honour of photographing it for you.
Make an enquiry about hiring us as your Melbourne wedding photographer
Mar 26, 2020
The Small Things Co are a bespoke Melbourne wedding planning, and Melbourne Wedding styling and hire service, located just outside Melbourne city. Using progressive design sensibilities and a bespoke approach to planning, they give you a range of wedding styling options with as little or as much input as you’d like.
After hanging out at a gathering of Melbourne celebrants last month, here’s a little insight into what they do, if you’re on the hunt for a wedding stylist in Melbourne.
The Small Things Co plan and style some of the most incredible, innovative, and forward-thinking weddings in Melbourne and beyond. They have an extensive group of look-books they’ve curated and photographed that employ their enormous collection of wedding styling items available in-house.
Wedding coordination, ceremony styling, end-to-end wedding styling for weddings both large and small are just the start.
Depending on the level of bespoke involvement you want them to have, there are also options for pre-existing curated styling and hire packages.
They also have a wild array of styling options to suit a range of budgets and preferred design aesthetics, and many of the look-books on their website already have collections and styled-shoots arranged by either wedding styling genre, or by colour theme.
The Small Things Co team lending a hand at this Cutler and Co wedding and this Burnley Gardens wedding.
Speaking of Small things, check out this list of the best Small Wedding Venues in Melbourne.
Mar 25, 2020
When Sam and Paul got married at their house in Thornbury, right up there as far as “level of importance” to the getting married bit, was a quest to local iconic culinary heroes, Kenny Lover Ice Cream. Just a few frames from a little stopover break between their ceremony and their reception at their Thornbury home. With some of the most incredible colour and light anywhere in Thornbury, take a look at their sort-of-nearly-but-mostly Kenny Lover Wedding (and while you’re here, see some of my nearby other favourite wedding photo locations in Melbourne, as well as these unique small wedding venues).
Kenny Lover Ice Cream website: https://www.kennylover.com.au/
796 High St, Thornbury VIC 3071
Mar 16, 2020
They’re just three of the (many) glorious benefits to either having an elopement or small wedding. At Briars Atlas Elopement Photography Melbourne Services Pty Ltd (let’s run with that name for now) i’ve photographed so many beautiful small weddings and elopements in Melbourne and in greater Victoria including the Mornington Peninsula (check out these wedding venues on the Mornington Peninsula) and Yarra Valley.
I’m a Melbourne elopement and small weddings photographer, and one of the great joys of this job is working with smaller intimate weddings, with just you two, and maybe a tiny crew. It’s a chance to enjoy the meaningful part of the whole wedding thing (the marriage bit) with so much more calm and clarity.
The other great thing about a small wedding or elopement in Melbourne or greater Victoria is that there is usually more flexibility to have it all happen any day of the week. Generally though, they happen on a Wednesday through Saturday, but it can of course be any day you like.
If you’re considering a small wedding or eloping in Melbourne or you’re looking for how to get married quicky in Australia, you can see a list of our favourite wedding photo locations in Melbourne that we’ve put together, all with examples of couples we’ve worked with at each of them.
Pair one of our brilliant locations with one of Melbournes best wedding celebrants, and you’re off to a flying start. In my experience, elopements can be anywhere between 1 and 10 hours long, however the average length of elopement photography is probably somewhere around the 2-4 hour mark: enough to capture your beautiful ceremony, and then some portraits and gentle anarchy afterwards.
Take a look at the beautiful couples below, and if you feel like the way I see things could be the right fit for your small wedding or elopement, i’d love to have a chinwag (/shiraz, etc).
We’ve photographed nearly 200 beautiful weddings of all sizes across Melbourne, the Yarra Valley, Geelong, greater country Victoria, and beyond. I’ve got plenty of advice we’re happy to share.
If you’d like to make an enquiry to us, you can reach us here:
Feb 1, 2020
I’m honestly at a loss for words trying to introduce this Blue Mountains wedding venue. The Hydro Majestic Hotel lives up to it’s name and is a turn-key wedding venue that really does offer everything you need to pull off the most extraordinary wedding. The hotel itself presents some phenomenal photo opportunities, with a refined art-deco style. The real magic though is in the view. It really does have to be seen to be believed. Luckily for you, I managed to snap a few wedding shots at this larger-than-life Blue Mountains wedding venue a little while ago and I’m more than happy to share. Enjoy!
Ok, this is the part where I blab on and on about how incredible this venue is. It is definitely for good reason though, there really isn’t a single downside. So, if you’re not thinking of booking The Hydro for your upcoming nuptials, maybe turn away if you don’t want to know what you’re missing out on.
This wedding venue is an absolute BEAST. It is a towering ode to the dreams of businessman Mark Foy and his drive to install Australia’s very first Health Retreat. That’s what The Hydro is, first and foremost – a retreat. And a mighty enormous one at that.
In 1903, Mark oversaw the construction of the Hydro, pulling out all the stops. A generator imported from Germany, artworks from all across the globe, a dome shaped roof that was built in Chicago and shipped all the way to Australia, and a Swiss health professional to run the joint. He even renamed the township The Hydro was situated in to “Medlow Bath” to make it suit the overall vibe of the hotel. If that isn’t a baller move, I don’t know what is.
The venue has hosted a plethora of famous guests over the years including: Dame Nellie Melba the magnificent Aussie Opera singer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Australia’s first Prime Minister Sir Edmund Barton who actually died in the hotel in 1920. Sure, it’s a morbid claim to fame, but it’s a claim to fame nonetheless.
If the grandiose of this venue isn’t apparent in its history, then allow the photos below to show you just how remarkable this place truly is.
If you’ve been pining after a wedding ceremony with a view, there’s no better way to do it than right here in the Blue Mountains. The Hydro Majestic boasts a breathtaking lookout with a viewing platform that’s perfectly suited to hosting a wedding ceremony in the natural surrounds of the serene Australian bush.
Honestly, whilst capturing photos for this wedding I was constantly picking my jaw up off the floor. I couldn’t believe just how ridiculously gorgeous the entire place was.
The ceremony was backed by a tremendous valley that held an expanse of native bush lands. The Blue Mountains really is one of the most naturally beautiful places in Australia – it’s no wonder this spot was selected to host the grandeur of The Hydro Hotel.
When you book your wedding venue through The Hydro Majestic, you’re basically covered for everything. And I mean, everything.
The list goes on, my friends. I truly cannot recommend this venue enough, not only for weddings but for other events, photography shoots, high teas – anything that requires a spacious site that oozes class and style.
I’m going to leave you with a few more photos from this gorgeous Blue Mountains wedding venue. Once you’re done browsing through them why not check out this post on the awesome I Do Drive Through?
For more beautiful rural New South Wales weddings, check out this Kangaroo Valley wedding,
Jan 20, 2020
If you’re wondering why small wedding venues are the best, all you have to do is check out this list of incredible small wedding venues.
Small is beautiful (also the name of a film my friend made).
And that about covers it. Putting on a small wedding? Make an enquiry with me to photograph it.
Hunting for a brilliant wedding venue in Melbourne? Make sure you check out these incredible small wedding venues, or for something more unique, this list of the best unique wedding venues.
Jan 11, 2020
The Mornington Peninsula isn’t just famous as an escape for no-ones favourite redneck, nor is it just a place to quest a short distance from the CBD to scratch that covid iso-itch at a local winery: Mornington Peninsula wedding venues are some of Victorias most incredible landscapes filled with culinary brilliance (on that note, check out this regenerative farming Barragunda Estate Wedding) and unique wedding accommodation right at your fingertips.
Having photographed so many incredible celebrations at beautiful Mornington Peninsula wedding venues, I wanted to share with you 7 of my favourite places to get married on the Mornington Peninsula (if you are looking for something a little closer to the city, check out these unique Melbourne wedding venues).
Tanglewood Estate is exactly as it says on the box. You get your wood, that’s tangled, in, an estate. Almost something more out of the brain of Tim Burton than a wedding venue on the Mornington Peninsula that you can actually visit and see with your own eyes, this impossibly gorgeous estate is where i’ve even chosen to host my own wedding photography workshops.
A family owned and operated venue, the McEvoys will look after you and put on the most brilliant celebration imaginable (read on down to #5 for another incredible family owned wedding venue).
Tanglewood Estate on the Mornington Peninsula has more space than you can poke a stick at, and an incredibly broad configuration of their space is possible: from the wild grounds themselves, to the incredible heritage chapel they lovingly transported and placed onsite, over the enormous barn (where your epic grazing table can live).
Load up the space with one of Melbournes best wedding bands (you MUST check out Like This Entertainment and Tobi Tobi Music if your ear canals enjoy Good Things), grace the interior with some of the best wedding flowers on the planet, and you have yourself and incredible wedding on the Mornington Peninsula.
If you want to dive a little deeper into this incredible wedding venue on the Mornington Peninsula, scroll down to get in touch with them, or check out some images from my workshop I hosted for some brilliant photographers right here.
Enquire about their Mornington Peninsula Wedding Packages
Tanglewood Estate website: https://tanglewoodestate.com.au/
Tanglewood Estate gallery: https://briarsatlas.com/tanglewood-estate-wedding/
Venue size: Able to cater to both small and large weddings
Here’s a question that might not be at the top of your mind when you’re considering your wedding venue: “how will the wedding venue deal with an apocalypse?”.
Let’s answer that here with Crittenden Estate. These two lovers, Jess and Kevin, had a wild day at one of the Mornington Peninsulas best wedding venues, as clouds took over, a hectic storm, and a regional power outage. In case the sublime smiles and joy don’t give you your answer, it’s worth knowing that the Crittenden Estate staff are joy-merchants, slick professionals, and masters of dealing with curve balls.
All of that stuff aside, Crittenden Estate is set on beautiful grounds in one of the most beautiful regions in Victoria. Read on below to connect with them.
Enquire about Crittenden Estate Wedding Packages
Crittenden Estate website: www.stillwateratcrittenden.com.au/weddings
Crittenden Estate capacity: 130 seated, 150 cocktail
I keep going to write “Lindenberry” then realise i’ve misplaced a d with a b. An easily made mistake. Anyway, whatever consonant you choose, Red Hill’s Lancemore Lindenderry Estate Mergest wild, mountainous vineyard terrain, with subtle art-deco brilliance all wrapped up on the Mornington Peninsula, just an hour from Melbourne.
And after a beautiful day there spent necking wines on their gorgeous grounds, I bet you’ll also forget which way is up, which way is down, which b should be a d, etc.
Enquire about their Lindenderry Estate Wedding Packages
Lancemore Lindenderry Red Hill website: https://www.lancemore.com.au/lindenderry-red-hill
Venue size: Capable and scaleable: 180 seated, 280 standing
Right at the tail end of the Mornington Peninsula, we have this incredible clifftop Sorrento wedding venue, All Smiles Sorrento. One of the best wedding venues on the Mornington Peninsula, All Smiles merges a brilliant restaurant, with breezy clifftop views, and plenty of space around the venue to escape for a bit of quiet. If you’re looking for Sorrento wedding venues, this is the standard.
Enquire about All Smiles Sorrento Wedding Packages
All Smiles Sorrento website: https://allsmiles.com.au/
All Smiles Sorrento Wedding Gallery: All Smiles Sorrento Wedding
Venue size: All Smiles Sorrento seats up to 120 guests
These scallywags sneak in, though right at the top of the Mornington Peninsula, they’re a little further away from what most regard as “peak peninsula”. Regardless, I photographed a beautiful intimate wedding there recently, and was pleasantly surprised by how scaleable the venue was, how beautiful the outdoor ceremony area was, and the hospitality game of all their staff.
Brighton Savoy is where you get looked after, where you can head over the road to a beautiful stretch of the bay, and where you can rest your head after a few too many wines, all on the same site with their own accommodation.
Enquire about Brighton Savoy Wedding Packages
Brighton Savoy website: https://www.brightonsavoy.com.au/
Brighton Savoy capacity: 30 – 220 guests
Wedding Venue Location: Cowes, Phillip Island
Phillip Island isn’t really all that well known as a destination wedding region, and I don’t know if that’s a shame, or whether the area is best left as a well kept secret for all the locals of the surrounding region in the know. In any case, you must check out the best Phillip Island wedding venue – the Shearing Shed.
A long family-run venue, the Shearing Shed is situated at the top end of one of the most beautiful regions of natural wildlife and escapism, just a short hour and a half (or so) out of the city.
While it’s a little bit further away from the other Mornington Peninsula wedding venues, this spectacular little part of the world is full of hidden gems that the crew at The Shearing Shed will be more than happy to divulge to give you and your guests ideas for an incredible week away from the big smoke.
The Shearing Shed on Phillip Island has an incredibly adaptable suite of spaces for all sorts of weddings large and small.
Enquire about the Shearing Shed Wedding Packages
The Shearing Shed website: https://www.theshearingshed.com.au/
The Shearing Shed Venue capacity: 150 guests seated
Wedding Venue Location: Anywhere on the Mornington Peninsula
Ever considered having your wedding in yours (or an accommodating mates) backyard? Jaira and Paul did, for their surprise backyard wedding on the Mornington Peninsula (see more of their Mornington Peninsula wedding featured here on Hello May).
Family and friends turned up for a going away party, only to be surprised by an imminent wedding (in about 5 minutes).
Featuring a Paella chef, backyard antics, and a jaunt around the area for some portraits, it was a brilliant, intimate day with their family and friends.
Beautiful.
Wedding venue | Venue Style | Venue Location | Venue Capacity | You might also like | Sample gallery |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tanglewood Estate | Rustic Barn | Dromana | 150+ | The Shearing Shed | Tanglewood Estate Wedding |
Crittenden Estate | Elegant outdoors | Dromana | 150 | All Smiles Sorrento | Coming Soon |
Lindenderry Red Hill | Art Deco | Red Hill | 280 | Brighton Savoy | Coming Soon |
All Smiles Sorrento | Coastal clifftop | Sorrento | 120 | Cala Bonita wedding | All Smiles Sorrento Wedding |
Brighton Savoy | Elegant | Brighton | 220 | Lindenderry Red Hill | Coming Soon |
The Shearing Shed | Rustic | Phillip Island | 150 | Tanglewood Estate | Coming Soon |
Private property | All | Mornington Peninsula | Varied | Tanglewood Estate | Private property wedding venues |
My favourite indoor wedding venue on the Mornington Peninsula region is the Phillip Islands The Shearing Shed and Tanglewood Estate
Most of these Mornington Peninsula Wedding venues have spectacular outdoor areas, so be sure to read about each one on this page.
You just can’t go past Lindenderry Red Hill.
For cheap wedding venues Mornington Peninsula, you just cant go past having it in your own backyard. Scroll up to check out Jaira and Pauls incredible Mornington Peninsula backyard wedding
Luckily for you, the incredible wedding planners Popup with Style are located on the Mornington Peninsula.
No. Being a local, there are no fees to photograph your wedding on the Mornington Peninsula or surrounds.
There. 6 of the most incredible Mornington Peninsula wedding venues.
Author and all photos by: Briars Atlas. Photos may be only used with a link back to this website.
Wedding photographer Mornington Peninsula: Briars Atlas – Enquire
Be sure to check out my list of the best 17 Small Wedding Venues in Melbourne, and check the video below for a quick preview of them.
Jan 8, 2020
Zoe and Adam married at the incredible Hydro Majestic hotel, in New South Wales. Zoe’s bridesmaids wore stunning Elle Zeitoune Emerald Bridesmaid Dresses, in emerald green.
You can see Zoe and Adams full day on Vogue, and here we just wanted to share these incredible, shimmering emerald green bridesmaid dresses.
To hire me to photograph your wedding, enquire at Briarsatlas.com
Elle Zeitoune Website: https://www.ellezeitoune.com.au/shop/section/55/Bridesmaids
Head here for more modern wedding dresses and be sure to check out this incredible wedding dress by KYHA Studios.
Wedding photography Melbourne – Briars Atlas: Enquire
Dec 5, 2019
Modern bridal jumpsuits have made their presence felt at some incredible weddings over the last few years, so I picked out some favourites. If you’re considering a wedding jumpsuit, check out these stylish scallywags, and examples of the white wedding jumpsuit making a statement.
Being a little island far away from everything else, we tend to end up doing things out way, and wedding fashion and styling is no different. The wedding jumpsuit can be easier to move around in, less finnicky, and as a result, one often overlooked ingredient in keeping your wedding day fun, simple, and hassle free.
Which isn’t to say there’s any compromise in style when going the route of a wedding jumpsuit – check out these maestros to see just why – featuring bridal jumpsuit designers from Australia, all the way over to the UK’s Emilia Wickstead.
While you’re here, check out what are some of the best modern wedding dresses i’ve seen, as well as this beautiful Byron Bay wedding venue.
Nov 1, 2019
Planning a wedding at Metropolis Events? Metropolis Events is one of the most prestige venues in Melbourne to host weddings, dinners, galas, conferences and more. Fortunately though, we also have plenty of other venues that have all of the character of Metropolis and more. Have you considered our other options both in and around the city?
Check out these incredible images from nearby Melbourne rooftop wedding venue, Luminare, The Prince Deck and a few secret ones that may not have draped themselves across your radar yet.
If you’re considering a wedding at Metropolis Events, these alternative wedding venues also have incredible views and a similar design sensibilty, and most importantly – all of these wedding venues have brilliant planning teams that care about you, care about and your team of vendors, and are known for creating the most brilliant wedding experience for you and your guests in Melbourne.
I photograph a small number of weddings each year, capping out at around 20 so that each couple receives an extraordinary level of care and attention.
Your friendly neighbourhood wedding photographer, Briars Atlas
Below is a selection of weddings in some of the most stunning locations in Melbourne. If you’re looking for a Melbourne wedding photographer for your Metropolis Events wedding or want more advice on alternative wedding venues that have the same type of feel and are supported by a professional team, drop me a line at the bottom.
Metropolis events wedding venue (see their website) has a cavernous, New-York warehouse style feel to it. Luckily for us, there are plenty of other incredible wedding venues in Melbourne that also have a similar feel, that are helmed by a crew of legends that will make sure your wedding runs incredibly smoothly, with buckets of care put into your day being trouble free.
Here are a list of my favourite wedding venues in Melbourne that you will also love, if you are considering Metropolis Events.
Here’s a comparison chart of venues similar to Metropolis Events, so you can compare some key features of the venues.
Venue Name | Venue Style | Freedom of vendor choice | Venue Capacity | Example gallery |
---|---|---|---|---|
Metropolis Events | Modern | No | N/A | |
The Deck | Classy modern | Yes | 300 | The Deck at Circa |
Luminare | Rooftop | Yes | 400 | Luminare |
Rupert on Rupert | Stylish warehouse | Yes | 200 | Rupert on Rupert |
Vogue Ballroom | Stylish | Yes | 370 | Vogue Ballroom |
State Library | Heritage Stylish | Yes | 500 | Wedding venues |
Half Acre | Modern Warehouse | Yes | 400 | Half Acre |
Looking for even more brilliant modern wedding venues in Melbourne just like Metropolis? Check out this incredible list of the most unique wedding venues in Melbourne.
See also: in the heart of Melbourne, this Higher Ground wedding.
Make an enquiry: https://briarsatlas.com/enquire
Check out these beautiful Melbourne wedding venues that if you like Metropolis Melbourne, you might also like: Luminare, and The Deck at Circa.
Sep 1, 2019
如果你从新加坡和其他地方筹办拍摄婚礼或私密结婚照, 并需要在墨尔本的最佳婚前摄影地建议,恭喜你做出了正确的选择。我是一个墨尔本当地的婚前摄影及私密结婚摄影师,我在墨尔本为来自世界各地的新婚夫妇摄影超过10个年头,其中包括许多来自新加坡和东南亚的夫妻。这是一个关于墨尔本当地的婚前摄影最佳选址的简短指南,及其他一些关于诸如大尺寸婚纱、婚礼司仪和您在墨尔本婚礼所需的其他内容。
这里是关于我认为的墨尔本婚纱照最佳拍摄地点,根据它们所赋予的情绪,向你展现丰富多彩的墨尔本内城婚礼:从狂野的工业风,到城市CBD中的 stones throw咖啡馆别样感觉。
所有地点均在谷歌地图上标示,您可以轻松查看。
这是我认为的15个最佳墨尔本结婚照地点(我还有更多隐藏宝藏,你可以自己前往探索,或预约我作为你的婚礼或私密结婚摄影师吧)。
建议你一直看到本文的最后,这里面有我最喜欢的墨尔本标志性小巷。如果你来墨尔本或澳洲拍结婚照,你一定想在我们城市中这些最独特神奇的地方留影吧。我对这些我熟悉而不为人知的精彩小景了如指掌。
我时常以目的地婚礼摄影师的身份为来自全澳各地的新人拍摄照片,因此您可以考虑咨询在弗里曼特尔、蓝山、悉尼、塔斯马尼亚等地(包括皇后镇的直升机项目)拍摄婚礼或私密结婚照。
这些都是比较有人气的地点,但当具体谈到要在哪里拍摄的时候,如果你真的打算来一组私密的墨尔本结婚照,我每次都能发现许多神奇、独特的地点。
筹划您的墨尔本婚礼或私密结婚仪式
首先,您需要考虑的是一场完整的婚礼或者私密结婚仪式,抑或仅仅是拍照,这意味着不同的需求。我很乐意帮助你来完成你的选择。在这个页面上列举了为您推荐的主要取景地,如果你计划在这里签字结婚或者举行仪式,我还是会推荐这些独特的墨尔本结婚处所来筹划一场完整的婚礼,包括墨尔本最佳婚礼司仪。
继续看看,这些是墨尔本最好的婚礼乐队,最佳婚礼承办餐厅,以及最佳婚礼鲜花提供商,别忘了手捧鲜花美美地拍照。
财政部大楼是在墨尔本注册婚礼的场所。它拥有令人难以置信的历史设计和布局,是在墨尔本拍照的最佳场所之一。然而人们经常错过的是,建筑周围最棒的人像取景位置,避雨的场景、日落场景等等。如果你仔细看,你可以在这组45阶梯台阶婚礼中一探究竟。我带领过许多新人在这附近进行婚礼前摄影,这里美丽柔和、富有情调的光线真的非常美妙。
沿着财政部往下走并继续轻松地探索吧,特别是你往南前往诸如The Deck at Circa之类的地方。
财政部花园在墨尔本财政部大楼西侧。花园本身固然很美,郁郁葱葱,但我个人更喜欢把它作为背景,与后面的财政部大楼相映成趣。
走向财政部大楼的路程一半左右,沿着花园的小路往前走,转过身来,忽而就能看到生机盎然的绿植,而美轮美奂的文物建筑就在你身后作为完美背景。
科林伍德和菲茨罗伊后街拥有一些澳洲最早的历史性房屋,它们是墨尔本最早的定居区之一。您可以了解到当时的澳洲人做了什么,建造了什么。附近环绕着一些同样非常可爱和有趣的建筑,使该地成为了墨尔本最好的几个婚纱照片取景圣地之一。大体来说,这是我个人最爱,并且是墨尔本最好的取景地之一,是婚礼婚纱摄影师必去之地。
此处非常传统古典,并且不会咄咄逼人。卡尔顿有很多低调的小巷,它们是美丽的软性背景,不会与画面中的其它部分相冲突。巨大的石雕、精巧的招牌和装饰,这里的小巷值得探索,只需在墨尔本CBD走出一小段路即可抵达。这是我最爱的小巷之一。 点击查看地图。.
这是我在墨尔本最喜欢的一个区域之一。再往北我们就到了索恩伯里,这里有无穷无尽的美妙神韵,丰富的历史建筑,还有各种奇妙的招牌和外墙——哦,还有Kenny Lover。在这里度过美妙的半小时时间,到High St走走,尽情欣赏艺术装饰吧。
诺斯科特市政厅是一个必去的地方,因为它的历史氛围,美丽的石柱以及灯光。如果菲茨罗伊市政厅无法进入,那么这里也不失为一个折中的选择,它也提供了同样的意境,避雨的地方、美丽柔和的光线,不被打扰的时光,而且它距离酒吧、咖啡馆和其他去处都非常近。
在Eastment st和Westbourne Grove上也有很多美丽的纹理、线条和墙壁,位于市政厅的一侧。
这也是一个独特的地方。方达大厦侧面的艺术作品令人难以置信,走过并在注视这些艺术亦是一种乐趣。它位于史密斯街(Smith st)旁,靠近酒吧和其他历史街区,有让人眼花缭乱的几何形状。是去往巴拿马餐厅和Rupert on Rupert途中的绝佳短暂停留之地。
很多的情侣会下榻于罗素街(Russel St)的QT酒店,从它的入口处右转,沿着波特兰巷,在离开大楼前往婚礼现场的时候,有不费吹灰之力就能抓拍的人物像。波特兰酒店的墙面被漆成了浓郁的黑色,与下面深邃的蓝石相映成趣,形成了一种超出想象的无边墙,感觉蓝石就像是宇宙边缘的暗礁。而我们即将跨入苍穹,进入甘道夫的怀抱,嗯。
直到最近,南墨尔本的一些广袤地区才在规范和建筑设计的情况下被利用起来。对于一个如此靠近城市的郊区来说,与其他遗产郊区不同,仍然有很多值得探索的好东西。因此,除了很容易让人感觉到这是一次旧世界的郊游,整个市政厅、Clarendon St和工业后区周围都有很多内容可以探索。
阿博斯福德和纽约或者布鲁克林的后街很像(查看这些墨尔本的婚礼地点)。阿博斯福拥有以下这一切:与Yarra Benk公园极为接近(似乎不应该或可以这么靠近城市),历史悠久的街道,气势磅礴的工业建筑,以及坐落在其中的一切。在阿博斯福进行摄影30分钟,你会感到转瞬即逝,这还不包括在任何一家美丽小咖啡馆停留的时间。这是在墨尔本最好的拍摄点之一,距墨尔本CBD仅一步之遥.
从地图上看,菲茨罗伊花园几乎是从托尔金的书中跳出来的,精灵树、都铎村、风之寺。这些都很棒,但这些花园精华的部分并没有刻在地图上。从沿着Lansdowne St的中西小路进入,可以看到一些比较不可思议的树洞,然后再往里走,就可以看到几个 “秘密 “的小丛林区,里面有紧密的绿植与石阶之类的.
卡尔顿花园连接皇家展览大楼。卡尔顿花园更出名的是植物长廊,它通往上述的建筑和喷泉。但这些花园最好的部分实际上是围绕展览大楼的西北边缘。从建筑学看,周围很有质感,但我最喜欢的,是夕阳朝向的,周围的一些小而有特色的花园.
当寻找最好的墨尔本婚纱照地点时,普拉汉未必是你首先想到的。但我曾经住在那儿,我的观点是,每对来自海外的情侣应该在这里拍私密的结婚照,原因有二:第一,那里有惊人的历史建筑;第二,虽然在CBD拍摄肖像很具吸引力。但是我认为普拉汉足够好,并且可以省去在城市里停车的烦扰,你还可以花一点时间来探索这个非常棒的地区,否则你会后悔的
另外,不要错过这个有意思的装饰艺术瑰宝. 如果你想进行墨尔本私密结婚摄影,请把这里加入到你的列表中
从墨尔本CBD向西的第一站就是富士贵。富士贵是一个坚忍不拔的宝石,同时是一个被误解的郊区(特别是来自亲爱的东部朋友)。富士贵的背巷非常吸引人,当你前往谢顿(Seddon)(我搬去之前也未曾听说),你将会发现一些最令人难以置信的村舍别墅风格的住宅。
墨尔本有很多美丽的小巷。摄影取决于你想要多少的历史遗址文物、涂鸦、观光客抑或是谧静。在CBD的任何一个时令,步行范围内都有不少小巷,通常被冠以墨尔本最佳婚纱照拍摄地的称号.
想看更多秘密的地点,请关注我的墨尔本婚礼摄影工作室.
我希望你能够喜欢在我们美丽的城市-墨尔本的这些婚礼摄影的场所.
请通过Email联系我 – enquire@briarsatlas.com
Aug 10, 2019
Back in 2016, Steph, a brilliant photographer in her own right, reached out to see if I’d head over to Fremantle to photograph her Quarry Farm wedding to the debonair Zac (who has an uncanny resemblance to old mate Westley from my all-time favourite film, Princess Bride).
After musing on it for all of 0.0413 seconds I said yes, and one of the joys, apart from the general brilliance of spending a day with these to maestros, was discovering a gem of Fremantle – Quarry Farm.
Enjoy the images from their day – and what was the first ever wedding hosted at this glorious venue outside of Perth. It’s always a wild honour photographing an artists wedding, and it’s crazy to me that over half of my bookings these days are from fellow wedding photographers! It raises the stakes a little bit, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Steph and Zacs Quarry Farm Perth wedding was featured on Polka Dot Bride. Head over there to see their full day and beautiful story.
Steph and Zac didn’t see each other beforehand, but shared a prayer together with a dash of touch on the morning.
I imagine that when the bridal designers were creating this gown, the exact thing they had in mind was “bridal peace ninja”.
See more kids at weddings here.
The classic Fremantle walk – one of my favourite areas to shoot Fremantle wedding portraits in. The historic Fremantle back streets make for a marvellous backdrop to have a stroll through.
Steph and Zacs reception dance floor began with a dance-off between herself, her dad and brother.
Quarry Farm has a little lake at the base of the reception room, brilliant for a secluded little spot to escape to for some evening portraits.
Quarry Farm call themselves the best rustic wedding venue in Perth and it’s pretty easy to see this holds up, with a huge diversity of usable areas and natural surrounds on over 200 acres.
Quarry Farm website: https://www.quarryfarm.com.au/
1475 South Western Hwy, Whitby WA 6123
I regularly photograph weddings in Perth and Fremantle, and there are no additional costs or complexities involved. Reach out to me via my enquiry form over here.
Looking for an incredible Perth wedding gown designer? Check out Jaime Lee Major.
Jul 17, 2019
Emily and Tony had a beautiful, stylish wedding at St Kilda’s iconic wedding venue, the Prince Hotel – the Deck at Circa. With a room full of their loved ones, floral styling by the mastermind Katie Marx florals and a ceremony run by the inimitable Gina Liano celebrant, this was an evening of colour and brilliant love.
Photographing a wedding at The Deck at Circa always means a wedding where no-one misses a beat: there’s a beautiful seamless transition from the ceremony (held either indoors our outdoors) into the reception, with the space morphing perfectly as you please between the two.
Emily had an iconic walk down a gauntlet of their family and friends, before respect was paid to loved ones passed, and a gently boisterous ceremony (in a way only Gina Liano can do) weaved their story through the room before they carried on the party into the evening.
The Deck at Circa is a brilliant blank canvas, and a light filled space with an enormous deck area (as the name lets on) to host Melbourne wedding ceremonies indoors or out.
The area of St Kilda offers a tonne of beautiful wedding photo locations, from the foreshore nearby, all the way over to the beautiful heritage art-deco architecture of the area. Usually i’ll take couples out for a 15-20 minute loop, and in that time you can cover all the art-deco hotspots, spend some time on the foreshore, and also enjoy some of the gardens around where those two worlds meet.
The Prince Hotel is one of our more known rooftop wedding venues, and has seen every type of celebration under the sun. The expansive deck overlooks Fitzroy Street, and enjoys brilliant sunsets bursting through the steel cladding around the windows.
A 300 space carpark takes care of all the guests, the venue has plenty of accommodation, and the rest of the St Kilda surrounds take care of everyone for the next day.
Get yourself a Melbourne wedding celebrant, Katie Marx (see her handiwork at the venue just up above), C2 films (Melbourne wedding videographers super experienced with The Deck at Circa), a Melbourne wedding band AND a Melbourne wedding planner and off we go.
For another beautiful Melbourne rooftop wedding venue, check out South Melbournes Luminare.
Looking abroad? Check out this Queenstown Helicopter Elopement, and otherwise check out this post for more unique Melbourne wedding venues.
Briars Atlas Wedding Photography: Enquire
Jul 10, 2019
Wedding portaits: you’re getting married, you’re organising your vendors, and you’re at the point where you’re facing the classic conundrum that is working out whether you do or don’t want your day turned into a Hollywood film-set, and whether you are or aren’t going to be dragged away from your guests for 3 hours for a portrait session.
Originally published on Polka Dot Bride
There’s no right or wrong way of going about your wedding portraits: the main thing is to look at a lot of images from a variety of photographers, and build up a vocabulary of photos that you connect with (Pinterest being one of the great ways of storing that vocabulary), and understand how and when the portrait session (or sessions) fit into your wedding day.
Here’s a few helpful little home truths and things to keep in mind about your wedding portraits that I’ve found useful in navigating all this:
First up, someones gotta say it: while being totally necessary, your wedding portraits are still, simply not the most important part of your day. Not by a long, long stretch! I say this as a photographer who adores that part of the day and invests a hell of a lot of personal energy into them, both on the day and at 1am in my editing cave in the weeks after. Your photographer should be able to advise on the ideal amount of time for them to get images up to the standard that you’ve fallen in love with on their website.
At the same time, they should be able to confidently make you great images, in a small window of available time. I’ve been in situations where 45 minutes have been allocated, and then rain has erupted, and that reduced to just 5 minutes because they wanted to get into the warmth of their packed barn and on to the beers.
I think that’s fair enough.
And a photographer should be able to confidently deliver you some glorious wondrous images, in that 5 minutes. While I personally recommend 30-50 minutes total to my couples, split across two parts of the day, I was able to work out what was important to do in that 5 minutes, work like a crazy-person and get them a beautiful set in just 5 minutes.
So, step back and ask your wedding photographer how long they recommend for the wedding portraits. Work out how long you’re prepared to spend and have a mutual understanding that on one hand its a beautiful window of calm where you get to be with just each other and on the other hand, it’s also precious time away from your guests.
The first-look is still a little bit of an unknown out here in Australia. It doesn’t help that it’s name has this kind of scary grandeur attached to it. Let’s dispel a few myths, and look at a few of the positives.
The first look is, simply, a moment where you get to meet each other before the ceremony, and inhale a little bit of calm together. It doesn’t take off the magic of seeing each other in the aisle (if anything, it amplifies it).
It does give you the chance to make some portraits immediately after and reduce how much time is spent away from guests later on. Most folks often miss out on the canapés hour, of course there’s no right or wrong approach here, but personally, I’d want to be hanging around my crew for canapés! Remember you can still head out at sunset together, and get the best of all worlds.
This is about having an all-in attitude. This is the test. How far are you willing to go for your portraits, in the moment? This is worth thinking about briefly ahead of time, as it can help you slip into the right state of mind on the day if the weather goes south.
There’s no right or wrong answer: but from a photographic point of view, the more risks you’re prepared to take (within reason), the more wild the photographs you’ll receive will be, and fitting to that particular moment.
Maria and Ingo leapt out into rain and rainbows for their wedding in Tuscany, and I think it was worth every second of that 1-2 minute sprint. Us photographers are a weird bunch, and you can probably always consider us up for running out in a hail storm to get the best shot, so this is really just for yourselves to consider.
The worst thing that can often happen is a bit of dirt on your dress and water in your hair. So get out into the rain, make some wild photos, then load up on some whiskey. That’ll get you warm again.
It’s taking every ounce of strength for me to say this, but, when it comes down to it, there’s no such thing as bad light, only bad photography. Us photographers – we might moan and groan about overhead sunlight (I certainly do!), or about harsh green fluorescent light, and there’s some truth in there being something extra special about sunset, twilight, and all that jazz.
But, this is really important: your photographer should be, first and foremost, a problem solver.
There’s no such thing as bad light – only light that might make them uncomfortable. And if they’re good at their job, they’ll be able to work through that discomfort, solve the challenge of whatever the lighting situation is, and still be able to deliver you magnificent images, and be comfortable in solving problems caused by un-ideal lighting.
A lot of what makes this image work was about carefully bringing it to life in post-production, but a photographer should be able to see great opportunity and know what to do with it. Mix up the indoors, with the outdoors.
With all of that said, I’m still a big believer in crafting the optimum scenario where possible: your photographer will be able to work with you on your timeline and styling to offer any advice to make things that little bit more magic for both your guests and your images.
I’m no stranger to being asked about festoon arrangements, or timings for portraits. Put your faith in your photographer and ask if they have any suggestions. Chances are, we’ve got a brain full of ideas that we’re willing to share, all in the name of getting you the best wedding photography.
Try and prioritise at least some of your portrait shoot later in the day, around sunset and into twilight. This is when the dance of light does some especially magic things.
Like every area of your wedding, you want to do the hard work on the back end, not the front end. What this means is connecting with caterers, stylists, and photographers you feel you can trust, so that on the day you’re not having to intervene. This is especially important with photography and specifically, wedding portraits. A shot list can hinder your photographer, and take them away from doing what we do best: which is being responsive to unfolding moments.
Don’t meet a million vendors for each category, meet a few and spend time with them. Make sure you get those little bells of trust ringing that tell you they’re the one. And then let them do what they do.
Because the best wedding portraits – the ones you’ll print and find yourself sending to everyone – fundamentally come out of ignoring nearly everything I’ve written above, and enjoying a couple of carefree windows with a photographer you feel entirely comfortable with, wherever they end up being taken.
These are a fun couple of portraits to close this article up – because this should all be, well, fun!
Jul 2, 2019
We get a lot of the most beautiful enquiries for weddings, from all sorts of humans and all types of celebrations. But every now and then one stands out as something of a… unique first. An enquiry asking if we’d shoot their Albanian Rock n Roll Warehouse Rave Wedding stands out as one such enquiry. We teamed up with the brilliant Nat Sproal (also headlining my piece on the best Melbourne wedding celebrants here), for this incredible Fortyfive Downstairs wedding in Melbourne, which began with gentle calm and after the rave stuff, ended with Saranda putting a fire-hose on Brendan enthusiastically trying to corral some last portraits at the local Maccas.
Legends.
For more at this mighty little venue, see Sharni and Michaels Cumulus Up wedding.
Fortyfive Downstairs website: https://www.fortyfivedownstairs.com/wp2016/private-events/
May 5, 2019
In 2018, I teamed up with one of the grooms I’d photographed (who is extraordinarily handy at building things without getting himself electrocuted – you can see his wedding to Kate at their Montsalvat Wedding), and together we came up with a proposition: “so, how about we make wedding arbours, that light-up” – and so came our spin on modern wedding arbours for wedding ceremonies.
Since then we’ve shipped our creations all over Australia in both a retail and a hire capacity, and enjoyed some incredible international press along the way.
We sensed the whole neon arbour trend beginning to reach peak, and yet there was nothing really in the way of neon wedding arbors available that were progressive and modern.
A wedding arbour is simply a ceremonial statement piece that stands either behind you, above you, or around you at your wedding. A wedding arbour is simply a centrepiece that makes a statement.
Since beginning The Arbourists, not only have we been fortunate to be the backdrop behind so many couples beautiful wedding days and crazy parties, but we’ve been featured in New York Times award winning author Chris Guillebeau’s podcast, Side Hustle School, we were featured as part of a Xero PR campaign, and we somehow found our silly heads on the very front of the careers section of Australia’s largest newspaper.
But this is all fluff, as the most important thing is that some of the most forward-thinking couples have entrusted us to be involved in their big day, and our Arbours have inspired a shift in design thinking that we’ve seen across the entire wedding styling industry.
See our neon arbours in the hard sun of day at this beautiful Geelong wedding.
Over the years we’ve seen the most incredibly beautiful arbour installations, painstakingly setup and adorned with florals, only to be taken down not an hour later.
We figured: why aren’t the being used at the reception afterwards? While this is less about materials waste (although the beautiful florals themselves often get discarded immediately), this was more about the labour around it only serving the setup for such a short period of time.
Further, we realised there just weren’t any options out there available for evening ceremonies, as far as an arbour or centrepiece to the ceremony.
We created geometric modern wedding arbours and chuppahs (and more), that are extraordinarily strong to withstand being fitted with florals, and are able to be portably powered.
Because of this, for any small weddings or elopements, our arbours are able to be set-up, installed, and used absolutely anywhere.
These are the worlds first portable-powered, neon, modern wedding arbours, and we’re super proud to have brought something just a little different to an industry with strong roots in tradition.
We also have our reversible neon crucifixes permanently installed at the incredible Altar Electric in Collingwood, and couples all over Victoria have LOVED using them for their wedding portraits both during the day, and into the evening when the smoke machines and neon is turned on.
Our modern geometric neon wedding arbours are available as a set of triangles, and come in matte-black, gold, or white. Our neon chuppah is available in gold, and crosses in multiple colours.
All neon wedding arbors are able to support dense floral installations, and we’ve been thrilled to have some of our favourite florists, such as Flos Botanical and Babiana Botanic, load them up with their incredible work.
Hire The Arbourists modern wedding arbour for your wedding or elopement by making an enquiry here, and if you want someone to photograph you in front of them we might know a Melbourne wedding photographer who’s done a little bit of that.
See the wedding we worked on of Pepe and Sam featured here: Hello May Wedding Photographer
Apr 10, 2019
Depending on who you ask and what their personal experience has been, raising the question of kids at weddings might be akin to asking “should we invite the early-onset of armageddon or the vertically-challenged apocalypse to our wedding with open arms?”.
It’s a bit of a contentious and polarising one, and a conversation that’s well-documented already out there in internet-land as far as the pros, cons, and how to manage the decision either way: everyone’s had their own experiences, and everyones personal situation is wildly different.
With all that said, having seen my fair share of weddings with the glorious little scallywags where nobody ended up dying, i’m just going to step into the ring as a raving advocate of our dear little humans being present at your wedding, from a different point of view.
Let me explain my heavy bias, over a few key points.
Straight up – in front of a capable photographer, the magical theatre of vertically challenged humans is a sight to behold, and one of the greatest gifts you can get back in image-form when all is said and done.
Excuse my French, but kids, again, bless them – just don’t give a fuck (or they did, but then came across a certain bright book at the airport bestseller stand when their parents weren’t looking).
This wonderful quality that we systematically try to rid ourselves of as we enter adulthood is responsible for them colluding, doing their thing, and in turn, giving you the photographic gift of this wonderful little human theatre that you were too busy to notice happening.
That’s worth celebrating, and the irony here is that due to the Theory of Small-Human Close-Proximity Exponential-Collusion Effect (sorry, I made this up – if you google it you’ll find nothing – yet), the more kids there are present, the more they’ll be too busy being wrapped up in their own awesome world to cause any trouble.
Stake your otherwise rapidly-diminishing claim as household power-holder before your spawn exercise their terrifying muscle of independant-thought by making sure that any moments of cacophony are properly captured and stored.
In this way, if there’s any delusions of grandeur in those teenage years, you’ve always got record of some of some of their not-so-fine moments, should those be displayed at your wedding, or in front of their friends at their 13th birthday party.
This is also a tool you can really apply to any areas of your wedding.
Worried about getting drenched in the rain? Flip it. Celebrate it. Make sure you have a spare outfit, head out with your photographer, get drenched, and enjoy the awesome images that come from it.
Worried about kids being underfoot? Celebrate it (and keep sharp objects away from the edges of tables).
Worried about them bellowing over the vows? Celebrate the quirk and discord that brings, and know that the little scallywag can almost always be gently taken away and cared for out of earshot.
And before that happens, you’ll have some wonderful images of the glorious little deathspawn in full-flight.
Ultimately, it’s your day: whether kids have a place or not is entirely your decision, and if you do invite them, simply go all the way and make sure there’s enough logistical things that let them fall into their own world. But consider this: where there’s a positive for every negative, there’s also another perspective: looking at that negative, and instead asking – is the day about being perfect, or being memorable in it’s imperfect glory?
For a peek into the level of “baller” that can only come from a 5 year old while delivering the rings, check out this Fortyfive Downstairs wedding.
Apr 9, 2019
Considering a Deux Belettes Wedding, in the gorgeous Byron Bay hinterland in New South Wales?
On this page you’ll find some of my favourite photographs i’ve captured at weddings all over the world, including NSW and the Blue Mountains, and as far as the majestic Ravello castle, overlooking the Amalfi coast in Italy (which, if you have been to both those regions, you’ll find a little bit of a spiritual homage between them).
If you’re looking for a wedding photographer for your Deux Belettes wedding, I regularly travel to NSW, an can run you through how I work to make the process exactly as it should be: seamless, fun, with beautiful images at the end of it all, tailored to every type of couple under the sun.
My style is candid with a documentary approach, and every image you see on this page came from creating a space in the way that I know makes for images you’ll connect with: a space where you can be present with each other.
Deux Belettes is the place where all majestic, French inspired boho-wedding dreams come true. A frontrunner of the slow-building movement that began in the region in the 1980’s, all of the structures have been beautifully built over time using reclaimed materials as they become available, along with the iconic tunnel of plane trees that now give it an unmistakeable European feel.
Deux Belettes can hold up to 100 guests in a marquee, with on-site accommodation available as well.
Deux Belettes does not offer wedding packages, so they require that all vendors are booked separately. If you’re looking for a wedding planner or wedding celebrant, I can connect you to some brilliant options locally. But while we’re here, for Byron Bay wedding planning, I cannot recommend White Rabbit Projects highly enough – Bree and her squad are absolutely incredible and you *need* their experienced hands on your team.
Make an enquiry: https://briarsatlas.com/enquire
The majestic Deux Belettes is located at 2477/104 Victoria Park Rd, Dalwood NSW 2477.
Find them online at https://www.deuxbelettes.com/
Apr 8, 2019
The Suzanne Harward Songbird gown is an impossibly brilliant piece of design by the crew at Suzanne Harward. Featuring embroidered tulle, a circular skirt, and incredible floral and bluebird details from top to bottom.
I photographed the wedding of Laura and Walker held at Daylesford Convent, and this post will feature just images of Laura in her incredible gown. Their dog Bonnie came along for the ride (as in, the entire ride, start to finish, including dance-floor raving at the incredible Daylesford Convent) and what followed was a wild day of rain-dodging and glorious times with their community at one of the gems of regional Victoria.
To see their full wedding in detail, keep your eyes on Together Journal, where it will be featured.
See the Songbird gown also featured here in unique Wedding Dresses.
Suzanne Harward website: https://www.suzanneharward.com/
Looking for another incredible wedding gown? Check out this modern wedding dress by Jaime Lee Major.
Apr 7, 2019
Two artists and art-lovers brought their community together for their glorious Quat Quatta Wedding in Ripponlea, Melbourne. Nadisha and Tendai brought on the skills of the inimitable Yo Mafia, who came to tear up their reception dance-floor (in between doing RNB gigs in literal stadiums around the world).
A Mariachi band set the tone as guests walked into the beautiful Quat Quatta grounds, leading into their soft and brilliant ceremony.
Quat Quatta have also been featured on a list of the most unique venues in Melbourne, and is one of my most favourite venues in Melbourne to photograph a wedding at. Incredible heritage surrounds, lush greenery, and an interior and exterior that can be transformed into any direction you can imagine. Check out the incredible Quat Quatta wedding of Nadisha and Tendai to see how they celebrated there.
Quat Quatta website: https://www.quatquatta.com.au/
Quat Quatta has an enormous spread of spaces ranging from a festooned outdoor area for ceremonies, incredible heritage rooms, and every sort of texture imaginable in and around those. I usually avoid taking couples away from the grounds for their portraits – just because there are so many brilliant options on-site, which means no battling inner-city traffic, as well as getting back to your crew to knock down wines and continue the celebrations sooner rather than later. Looking for something smaller? Check out these incredible Small Wedding Venues Melbourne has to offer.
Apr 6, 2019
Kate and Alex married at the impossibly majestic Art-Deco Burnham Beeches. Though the old hotel itself was closed (as the iconic Rone exhibition was just being finished), we got to enjoy the surrounding grounds and the amazing Piggery Cafe. I also had the absolute pleasure of teaming up with the brilliant video genius Nathan Kaso, and floral mastermind Sassafras Wedding Design. As you scroll down and check out some pictures from Kate and Alex’s fun-filled wedding day, I’ll pop in a little info about the Burnham Beeches wedding experience to share some Melbourne wedding inspo with you all!
The Sherbrooke location of this super versatile venue is perfect for Melbourne locals, elopements, interstate weddings and even international destination weddings. Just 45 minutes outside of Melbourne CBD, you get the convenience of an easy trip from the city, combined with the unique charm of an Aussie country-style wedding on a gorgeous estate in the illustrious Dandenong region.
The Burnham Beeches estate with its Art Moderne mansion and sprawling grounds is all-encompassing when it comes to wedding venue perfection.
You’ll find the following features tucked away in their own little piece of heaven within the grounds of this beautiful estate. Each of these points provide a little bit of “wow” in order to come together and create the perfect rural wedding experience…
Sure, hosting a wedding at a former piggery probably doesn’t sound like a go-er, but hear me out. This old piggery has been entirely transformed into a bloody brilliant venue with delicious food and a truly charming atmosphere.
Capable of seating 30-150 people, The Piggery Cafe is a super versatile wedding location.
The highly regarded menu is all locally sourced, with most of it being produced within the bounds of the estate itself. From fresh fruits and vegetables to locally sourced meats and even emu eggs from the emu pen on-site, you’ve got all the range in the world.
A Piggery Cafe wedding is 100% a worthwhile investment if you’re after delicious food, rural charm and enough room to seat a large amount of guests.
If Yarra Valley wedding venues are your jam, be sure to check out Immerse Yarra Valley, Stones of the Yarra Valley, Yering Station, or a little closer in towards the city in Ripponlea, this Quat Quatta wedding. For something more on the industrial end of the dial, check out this list of unique Melbourne wedding venues.
Burnham Beeches website: http://www.burnhambeeches.com.au/
The Piggery Cafe website: https://www.instagram.com/piggerycafeburnhambeeches/
For more Yarra Valley wedding venue love, check out Zonzo Estate.
Apr 5, 2019
More than just the recipients of gold medals in general charm and debonair, Jared and Jacob are Humdrum Films, Melbourne filmmakers with an incomprehensibly detailed eye and progressive style that’s hunted down by the most discerning couples worldwide.
Humdrum Films don’t make wedding films that just show you the play-by-play – their films make you feel, and their films cast an artistic eye over your day that you won’t find anywhere else – one of the perks of them having long-established careers in other arms of arts filmmaking.
Humdrum let their curiosity wander, and turn your already beautiful setting and story into something you probably didn’t quite imagine it could be, in the best possible way.
There’s a good reason that Humdrum Films are in my Melbourne wedding planning guide, as well as nestled atop this list of the best Melbourne wedding videographers, so take a gander at a wedding we worked on together: the wedding of Hannah and Ben, held at the Royal Mail Hotel Dunkeld, in the Grampians.
I picked their brain on how they’re doing during Covid, what they’re changing, and how their talents are being put to use in this wild time.
Hannah and Ben ducking out for the last wisp of sunlight at the Royal Mail Hotel.
You can view Hannah and Bens full day, supported by the incredible planning of Will and Jac, published over on Farewell Fiancee.
Couples always remark how easy we make the whole process, and what a fun day it was. I mean yes you have to know your craft, but technology has really levelled the playing field in terms of technical quality and whats on offer – what we do is almost intangible – so much of what we do is about how we make people feel.
We make people feel at ease and so they relax, they enjoy themselves and they enjoy hanging out with us. That means we’re able to get closer to them and their real story. Its how we ensure our films are authentic and not a remix of the same shit everyone else is doing.
If we do our jobs right, they’ll mean that hug at the end of the night. We may meet us strangers, but we’ll leave as friends.
That and ‘Please leave some canapés for the guests’
The venue said they’ll feed you straight after the bridal table and treat you like actual human beings.
That the fall from my second story balcony probably wouldn’t be enough to kill me.
I’ve learnt it turns out doing jump squats in your apartment in a vain attempt to stay fit during lockdown really pisses off the neighbours and results in a passive aggressive note being left at your door.
That and the value of human connection – we’re pretty bloody lucky to do what we do and get to hang out with people on arguably one of the best days of their lives, its a real treat. Makes us miss weddings for sure.
Blatant ignorance. Pretend its not a thing. Carry on as normal etc. Virus? What Virus?
Jacob’s taking Happy Gilmore: ‘the greatest film of all time’
I’d be taking Mission Impossible (the first one) – vintage Tom Cruise suspended upside down unnecessarily from the ceiling? Yes please.
Also, this film by Humdrum has to be seen to be believed – prepare to have any idea of what you think a “wedding film” looks like, gloriously squashed.
A short list of other vendors that took part in Hannah and Bens wedding, featured on this page working alongside these two maestros:
Photography: Briars Atlas
Videographer: Humdrum
Venue: The Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld
Wedding Planner: will&jac
Celebrant: Megan Thompson
Flowers: Prunella
Music: Rutherford Entertainment
Bridal gown: Paolo Sebastian
Makeup: Tess Holmes
Suit: P Johnson (See another delightful P Johnson creation at this Cutler and Co wedding)
Stationary: Mickey Loves Jacqui
Sperry Tent: UnderSky
Furniture: Place Settings
Whiskey Cart: Good Day Rentals
Book the best wedding planner
Check out one of the best wedding planners specialising in decadent, luxury weddings in Melbourne and beyond, Weddings of Desire.
Briars Atlas – Melbourne Wedding Photography – Enquire
Apr 4, 2019
It’s such a thrill to work with the most discerning couples week in week out, and it brings me enormous pleasure to offer a style of work and personal investment that isn’t available anywhere else, and so on this page are some of my melbourne wedding photographer reviews.
WOW Oli we just watched the clip. And again. And another time, ha! Absolutely floored by them all. We bow down to the master! So incredible.
Thank you so much.
Also, I absolutely love how much these photos show how much fun we were having that day. It seems like a dream, did it really happen? Can’t wait to see the entire set, absolutely no stress or rush on any of it.
So thankful to have received what you’ve pulled together for us so far. We’re absolutely blown away with them all.
Like seriously, absolutely overwhelmed with how amazing they all are. Thank you so so so much from the bottom of our hearts!
Where can we start? Sarah and I have just sat down to revisit your marvellous work and we’re stoked that you were there on the day capturing the magic of the land, the people and the joyous moments that flowed.
Thank you so much for giving yourself and your creativity to our party on the hill. It kinda feels like a world ago now, these very photos taken moments before a pandemic was ever on our minds. So many humans in close proximity(!). So thank you, really dig it man.
I’m going to pass it over to Sarah and she is going to share a few words 😉
Oli it was such a pleasure to hangout with you on the first of March 2020!! Thanks for being so down for the barefoot walks and the early morning in Sth Gippsland. Sooo appreciate your Very Generous extra time on the day, too. Adore your work and CAN’T WAIT to get some things printed!!
Bless you and bless your life-giving skillz x x x
You Sir are a genius!!! Our world’s aligned for a reason.
You have us two captivated, as you captured every emotion and moment – obviously we’re blubbering messes at the moment! What a marvellous showcase.
The preview was exciting and the main event has blown us away.
You captured us and each and every moment of our Wedding day spectacularly. You are quite the story teller!
Oli, we are crying. I think I’ve already ‘previewed’ it 5 times this morning. Thank you for helping us relive it.
We really can’t thank you enough.
We are over the bloody moon mate. So many incredible memories and they all came flooding back. Both very emotional. Has absolutely made both of our days.
You did such and amazing job capturing our friends, the architecture, the property and nature, the moments and the feeling. Seriously mate. Cannot wait to see anything else you have.
We particularly love our posed shots. The moody black and whites are amazing. Your colour grading is so beautiful. The way you frame. Just all of it mate!
It was one hell of a day for you starting at 6am till about midnight. I can’t thank you enough for everything you did for us.
You blew all of our expectations and still are. You have given us another shot of wedding love and vibe. Let’s see how long we can stay on this high!
Oli… wow… I knew you were incredible, but that blew me/us away.
Many many tears.
They’re beyond beautiful and we couldn’t have pictured them anymore perfectly. THANK YOU SO MUCH, you fucking maestro. And those film ones, I’m drooling.
These capture everything I love about photos, moments being encapsulated in time and feeling like you’re right there. They’re all beautiful.
And I’m so glad you took film for us because there truly ain’t anything like it!
(I do love shooting film at weddings – read this post on film wedding photography to see why)
For more Melbourne wedding photographer reviews, head to my Google reviews.
Apr 2, 2019
Food And Desire are an incredible design-driven mob of party-starters and culinary masters, and they host the most progressive, design-minded weddings and events in Melbourne. I photographed the wedding of design-lovers Bianca and Harry held at their South Melbourne warehouse wedding venue, Half Acre.
This is what a Food And Desire wedding looks like. Some of the most incredible styling and florals i’ve ever seen (floral artistry courtesy of Flos Botanical – see her work here in detail on this post about the best Melbourne wedding florists).
Food And Desire website: http://www.foodanddesire.com.au/
Food And Desire on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodanddesire
Apr 1, 2019
I’ve photographed hundreds of couples, and nearly every continent on the planet (including Antarctica). This beautiful job has had me photographing love, ceremony, and connection all over the planet as a destination wedding photographer for the most discerning couples, and it would be an enormous honour to photograph your wedding, no matter where on the planet it is.
Enjoy this little ride through all things weird wild and wonderful, from commissions in Ravello Italy, Antarctica, to Munich, Palm Springs, New Zealand, Spain, Sydney, New Zealand and beyond.
These beautiful couples have been featured in Martha Stewart, Wedding Chicks, Hello May, Together Journal and more, and it’s easy to see why.
Ryan and Alan, deep in Lake Placid, in Upstate New York. Martha Stewart Weddings featured their incredible day, and you can view it here.
Lexi and Sean locked it down in a beautiful intimate ceremony at San Francisco town hall. I got to fly in and document this old Sydney friend marrying her fella in a whirlwind day-trip from San-Diego.
This is Fran, in a gust of wind, in an actual blizzard, draped in a Brooke Tyson gown, on a volcano in New Zealand. The places this crazy gig takes me.
Maria and Ingo, from Germany, to the majestic Pumphouse Point, deep in the heart of Tasmania. I spent a few days with these marvels, and you can view their beautiful destination elopement on Together Journal. And while there, check out this Bruny Island wedding and this Cradle Mountain elopement on Tasmanias west coast.
Jenelle and Parker don’t do things in halves. That means bringing all of their beautiful community over to the pristine Gananoque waters off the coast of Canada, and hauling my ass over from Australia to document their incredible 3 day wedding, on a string of houseboats.
You can see their incredible week-long rustic wedding in full over on Wedding Chicks.
If you’re looking for a destination wedding photographer, make an enquiry at my website, and be sure to follow along at my instagram.
Mar 28, 2019
Daniel and Darkus’s majestic Yering Station wedding in the Yarra Valley. Sharon the Celebrant came along to share their story with their community, and these two gents started off with a little portrait shoot nearby, before putting in a massive day of love and good times with their community.
For more Yarra Valley wedding venues, be sure to check out this Immerse Yarra Valley wedding and Stones of the Yarra Valley.
If lush greenery and wild landscapes and art deco perfection in the Yarra Valley (cue Burnham Beeches and the incredible Zonzo Estate) aren’t your thing, check out these unique wedding venues in Melbourne for some alternatives. For a country victoria wedding venue further north, check out this Sault Daylesford wedding.
Mar 25, 2019
Best Grampians Wedding Venue: Royal Mail Hotel. Through the wedding of Hannah and Ben we’ll take a look at this bloody majestic gem of way northern Victoria.
The Grampians is renowned throughout Australia for it’s stunning scenery, numerous hiking trails, perfectly preserved National Parks and gleaming lakes. It’s also home to a diverse range of native Australian flora and fauna, and one of the most beautiful untouched utopias in all Australia. The last time I ventured there was to photograph an absolutely phenomenal wedding for a couple of gems under the gentle guidance of legendary Melbourne wedding planners Will and Jac. Take a squiz here at the very best Grampians wedding venue, the Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld.
Anyone who has visited the Grampians knows why it’s such a hot-spot for loved-up couples planning their nuptials. For those of us who are yet to visit, the Grampians is a gorgeous area just 3 hours north-west of Melbourne. It is full of rolling hills, gleaming lakes and some truly breathtaking scenic views. The natural countryside exudes a rustic cheer that seems to welcome visitors at any time of the year.
If you’re keen to stay on in the Grampians after the wedding is all said and done, there are plenty of interesting activities to sink your teeth into. You can check out the Halls Gap Zoo for a chance to make some furry friends. Or go to the Grampians Grape Escape wine, food and music festival if you’re there around the beginning of May. A simple hike through the Grampians National Park is enough to have you feeling at one with nature and about as relaxed as you can get. See, there’s plenty to do once the “I dos” have been exchanged. It’s the perfect place to spend a few days away from it all.
The Royal Mail Hotel and its sister property, Mount Sturgeon, make for one hell of a wedding. There’s this Pioneer-esque vintage feel about the place that just makes for such a timeless setting and atmosphere. The hotel has plenty of accommodation options for guests (as hotels are wont to do) and the Homestead at the Mount Sturgeon property conveniently sleeps 12. On offer are some super affordable wedding packages that include:
For more options, you can check out their 2020 Brochure or browse their blog posts that provide inspo for both Winter Weddings & Summer Weddings at their magnificent venue.
On that note, I’m going to love you and leave you with a few of the country vintage inspired snaps I managed to capture at this sweeeet Grampians wedding venue. To see more, head to Hannah and Bens wedding here, and for something rustic in New South wales (book us as your Byron Bay wedding photographer, we travel, m8), check out Deux Belettes.
Feb 2, 2019
Melbourne might be more known for it’s incredible alternative wedding venues the pop up from the inner city all the way out into the suburbs, but we’ve got so much incredible nature at our fingertips, and closer in to the city than you might imagine, so these are some of the best Melbourne parks for weddings both small and large.
As a Melbourne Wedding photographer i’ve spent over half a decade photographing love and ceremony all over the state, and so this is five of my favourite garden and park locations where you can host your wedding.
** To find out all associated costs for hosting your wedding at any of the parks below in Melbourne, please be sure to check the links and make an enquiry directly to them (you don’t wanna load the joint up with 200 of your crew only to then have the Prosecco-Police roll up and point everyone towards the exit).
Also, spot tip: if you’re planning a Melbourne elopement, this is your location guide.
Fairfield Boathouse
Fitzroy Gardens
Stephanie and Aleks were married during Covid19, which meant a downscaled wedding at one of Melbournes best parks to host a wedding.
Melbourne Botanical Gardens
Royal Exhibition Building gardens
Collingwood Childrens farm
St Vincent Gardens south melbourne
Treasury Gardens
Also to Consider
Montsalvat
That’s a wrap of some of the best Melbourne parks for weddings. Now, go forth and select one, and then let us drop one of these on it. For one of the best parks in Sydney, check out this Centennial Park Wedding.
Dec 15, 2018
Gather and Tailor is an incredible rustic, industrial wedding and events space on the edge of Footscray, just slightly west of the Melbourne CBD. Couples of all types book at Gather and Tailor Wedding as there are two distinct spaces available to cater to all sizes and scales of celebration: Warehouse One, and Warehouse Two.
I’ve been fortunate to photograph weddings at Gather and Tailor Warehouse every other year, and so here are three couples with different types of celebrations, so you can see how they’ve each used both Warehouse One and Warehouse Two, and hopefully it gives a little insight into what can be done in their incredible spaces.
Gather and Tailor isn’t just available for weddings, but the venue is also regularly host to cocktail event, fashion parades, corporate dinners and more.
An incredibly detailed blank-canvas industrial wedding venue in Melbourne, Gather and Tailor’s two unique spaces can be hired separately depending on the size of your wedding and the flavour of industrial that you prefer.
Gather and Tailor Warehouse One is the smaller of the two, but as with the specs below is still plenty large enough for weddings on the larger end of the dial, while having the space arranged in such a way that it’s also suitable for smaller weddings. The wedding you’re about to see was for Carli and Ennis, and was a communal gift from all supplies involved after a bushfire approached their first wedding in rural Victoria and forced them to evacuate. Incredible to see just how close the fire got.
Take a look at how everyone came together to get them the wedding they didn’t get to, at literally the last minute, have.
Gather and Tailor Warehouse One capacity:
200 cocktail
150 seated
Warehouse Style, flexible blank canvas
Gather and Tailor Warehouse Two is significantly larger in floor space, and one of the most epic blank canvases you can imagine. If having a smaller wedding here, the space should be used and styled in such a way that it doesn’t feel like a tiny huddle in the corner of the Vatican.
The weddings you’re about to see are of Ash and Karan, and Anna and Anna – theirs of which was featured on Australia’s largest modern wedding blog, Hello May.
Gather and Tailor Warehouse Two capacity
500 cocktail
350 seated
Warehouse Style, flexible blank canvas
Celebrant Gabriella Christopher Rings Julia Deville BRIDE ONE Dress Ellery Shoes Nicholas Kirkwood Makeup Ross Andrwartha BRIDE TWO Dress Dion Lee Entertainment The Elwood Community Shoes Proenza Schouler Earrings Ellery Makeup Ross Andrewartha Florist North St Botanical Venue Gather & Tailor Catering Pot and Pan Candles The Supply Co Lighting Technical Events Sound Hire DJ Warehouse
Heres some more of my wedding photography, made with couples from all over Melbourne, to the Yarra Valley, to Geelong and beyond.
Gather and Tailor website: http://www.gatherandtailor.com.au/
Unit 11/41-59 Sims St, West Melbourne VIC 3003
Gather and Tailor on Google Maps:
Wedding Photographer Melbourne – Briars Atlas: Enquire
Looking for more unique wedding venues in melbourne? If you’re stoked on Gather and Tailor, load yourself up with one of Melbournes best wedding celebrants, and reach out to the team at Gather and Tailor. If you want me along for the ride to capture images exactly like those here, you can book me here.
Dec 1, 2018
You’re getting married, you’re looking for a photographer, and you want to know the right questions to ask, and what sort of things you’re going to get. Experience is important, and i’m lucky to have plenty of it since our laws finally changed to allow same-sex weddings. I’m a same-sex wedding photographer based in Melbourne, and have been fortunate enough to photograph the weddings of beautiful couples all over the planet. On this page you’ll see some beautiful same sex wedding photography captured in Melbourne, and as far as San Francisco, as commissioned by couples looking for gay wedding photography that’s a little bit different.
On this page, i’ve put together some of my favourite images from five same sex weddings held in Melbourne and Beyond.
To see what other couples have said about me, take a look at my Melbourne wedding photographer reviews.
If you want to plan either a wedding (large or small) or Melbourne elopement, reach out to me if you’re after a photographer. For small and large wedding planning, I recommend Melbourne wedding planners Will and Jac.
You can see Anna and Annas gorgeous same sex wedding, held at the unique Melbourne wedding venue Gather and Tailor, over here on Hello May.
Check out Daniel and Darkus’s beautiful Yering Station wedding in full.
Sam and Pauls incredible Thornbury wedding will be on my site soon, but in the meantime you can check out their brilliant celebrant, Matt Finch, over on my Melbourne wedding celebrants page. Also check out their drop-in to Kenny Lover.
Nov 1, 2018
Each year I head out to this beautiful slice of the Yarra Valley to photograph a Zonzo Estate wedding, and each time is so different from one another. Growing up in the Yarra Valley, it’s always a treat to be a part of so many celebrations there year in, year out. Read on to check out these Zonzo Winery Weddings.
I wanted to share three Zonzo Weddings in the Yarra Valley, that I’ve had the pleasure of photographing over the last few years, that are wildly different in style, so that you can get a great idea of how different folks with different tastes have all used Zonzo (and, how they look when I photograph there). Zonzo Estate has undergone further brilliant transformation in recent years, and has a whole spread of wonderful areas on site.
These Zonzo weddings have been featured on Hello May, Ivory Tribe, and Polka Dot Bride, so be sure to read on for the links to those to find out all the other vendor information of who put their beautiful days together.
1: Elisha and Daniel (featured on Ivory Tribe)
2: Sarah and Paul (featured on Polka Dot Bride)
3: Lou and Jamie (featured on Hello May)
These young lovers met at 19, and 15 years later found themselves at Zonzo, in a bohemian-vintage themed winery wedding. These two married at the barn at Zonzo, and they carried on the entire day before whisking over to Europe for four weeks.
Celebrant: Sally Hughes
Photography: Briars Atlas
Florist: Sugar Bee
Hair: Marie Uva
Make-up: Monica Gingold
The Dress: Mariana Hardwick
Shoes: Tony Bianco
Rings: Micheli Jewellery and Uniform Black
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Alice McCall
Menswear: Oscar Hunt
Catering and bar: Zonzo Estate
Entertainment: Phoebe And The Night Creatures
Check out their full feature here on Ivory Tribe.
These two marvels opted for a rustic wedding at Zonzo, piecing together many of the elements themselves, except for a double-rainbow over the back of the Yarra Valley, which joined the party just after the ceremony.
Photographer – Briars Atlas
Bride’s Dress: Custom Made by Sarah’s Mother
Groom’s Attire – Pal Zileri
Groom’s Tie & Bowties – OTAA
Venue – Zonzo Estate
See their full Yarra Valley wedding feature here on Polka Dot Bride.
A Naturopath by trade, the planning for Lou and Jamies Zonzo wedding put calm and health first in the entire process. With this in mind, it also meant that their day at Zonzo was littered with things that brought them both joy, including selecting carefully all of their vendors over 18 months. Lou and Jamie selected Zonzo Estate thanks for the venues ability to take care of everything from top to tail with the highest level of care, along with the added bonus of the spectacular Yarra Valley surrounds.
Photos: Briars Atlas
Bridal gown: Rue De Seine via The Bridal Atelier
Robes / getting ready tees: Peter Alexander and Cotton On
Lingerie: Simone Perele
Shoes: Alan Pinkus
Hair: Renee Camilleri
Makeup: Kath Carlin
Rings: Desi Desiderata
Bridesmaid dresses: Pilgrim
Bridesmaid shoes: Jo Mercer
Groom and groomsmen suits and ties: Briggins
Shoes: Aquila
Florist: Sugar Bee Flowers
Stationery: Ink Hearts Paper
Ceremony, reception and event stylist: Zonzo
Cake: Le Petit Gateau
Decorative elements: Kikki K
Wedding favours: Little Alchemy
Signage: Fox and Fallow
Entertainment: DJ Kwenda
Celebrant: Michael Goodluck.
Check out their full Yarra Valley wedding feature here on Hello May.
Make an enquiry https://briarsatlas.com/enquire
Zonzo website: https://www.zonzo.com.au/
957 Healesville-Yarra Glen Rd, Yarra Glen VIC 3775
Phone: (03) 9730 2500
For more beautiful Yarra Valley wedding venues, check out Stones of the Yarra Valley, this Mitchelton Winery wedding, this Immerse Winery Wedding, and Yering Station.
Heading further north in Vic? Check out these gorgeous Castlemaine wedding venues.
Oct 23, 2018
Located just 50km north-east of Melbourne, the Yarra Valley is the perfect road trip destination. With over 70 wineries (see Zonzo Estate, and this Mitchelton winery wedding), a huge range of tours, and some of the most quaint little hamlets this side of the moon, the Yarra Valley is a true hidden gem. Nestled amongst the hills and valleys of this spectacular region is the incredible venue Stones of the Yarra Valley, one of the best wedding venues the Yarra Valley has to offer, and a place where i’ve been fortunate to photograph weddings at year in year out.
So, here is a Stones of the Yarra Valley wedding guide (as much as we can cover in just a few page scrolls anyhow).
Planning a wedding can sometimes feel orchestrating a symphony after necking a keg of port. You’ve got everything from accommodation, venue, food and guests to consider – plus the addition of all the little things that seem to skyscraper into the clouds and out of sight. When all the little things seem to become too much, allow Stones of the Yarra to kindly step in and offer a helping hand, thanks to their well-oiled team of wizards helmed by venue owner, Vonnie.
Here are just a few of the convenient pre-wedding services they offer:
The entire Yarra Valley region consists of amazing wineries and beautifully scenic attractions that everyone can enjoy. If you don’t find yourself too entangled in the wedding prep itself (ie. if you have an awesome wedding planner), you can check out tours, trails and townships in the surrounding areas.
We were blown away with how perfect everything was and our family and friends are still talking about it.
Stones of the Yarra Wedding Clients – Phoebe & Rob, April 2017
When it comes to creating the perfect wedding atmosphere, Stones of the Yarra Valley run a super slick operation due to the services they offer. You are in consistently good hands when you choose to exchange vows and carry on celebrations at Stones itself or at one of their two gorgeous sister properties, No7 Healesville or The Warehouse at Meletos.
The lengths that this venue goes to in ensuring their happy couples are pretty wild, which everyone finds out after just one meeting with their planning team.
Depending on the Yarra Valley wedding package you choose, you could be basking in the following inclusions:
All this is just the beginning, which is pretty par for the course when the Stones ring leader Vonnie is driving things.
Now, I’m likely talking more to the wedding guests than the stars of the show here, because they’re likely being whisked off on an amazing honeymoon. So, what can you do at Stones of the Yarra once the vows have been exchanged, the food has been consumed and the bar tab has been exceeded?
Plenty.
As mentioned above, Stones of the Yarra Valley have five ridiculously charming dining rooms to book into for a celebratory meal. You can wander the property and take in the most amazing views. Your Instagram followers will be drooling, believe me.
Outside of the Stones of the Yarra Valley venue, you’ve got the entire Yarra Valley at your disposal! My top 3 suggestions for the adventurous at heart would have to be:
If you’ve made it this far and still have juice in the tank, be sure to check out this post on these Yarra Valley wedding venues for more wedding planning inspiration.
Check out a few of my all time favourite black and white photos. These beauties are magical monochrome majesty. For more Yarra Valley Wedding venues, also be sure to check out Immerse, Yering Station, and the brilliantly art-deco Burnham Beeches. For a country victoria wedding venue further north, check out this Sault Daylesford wedding.
Jul 15, 2018
Fremantle is one of the most marvellous places to have a wedding in Australia, and benefits from the incredible natural beauty of the surrounding areas of WA being at the fingertips, as well as the beautiful heritage architecture and layout of the old city itself. I’m hired every other year as a Fremantle wedding photographer, and you can see some of the wonderful wedding i’ve photographed there here.
While you’re here, for the best wedding dresses straight out of Perth, check out the inimitable designs of Jaime Lee Major.
Some of the historical streets of Fremantle look like they were plucked straight from a movie set. A quick stroll around them can get an incredible diversity of Fremantle wedding photos.
And, just around the corner, it changes again… from heritage, historical Fremantle streets, to beautiful old decaying urban walls.
Most of these were taken at the incredible Quarry Farm wedding of Stef and Zac. Quarry Farm is located in Whitby, slightly southeast of Fremantle and Perth. If you’re having a wedding at Quarry Farm, the beautiful Fremantle wedding photo locations above are a quick and easy diversion on the drive out there.
Here are some of my favourite wedding images that i’ve photographed from weddings here, there and everywhere.
Quarry Farm Whitby website: https://www.quarryfarm.com.au/
1475 South Western Hwy, Whitby WA 6123
You can book me as close or as far away from your wedding day as you like.
The best wedding venue in Fremantle is Quarry Farm.
I photograph weddings all over Australia, including Perth.
I regularly photograph weddings in Perth and Fremantle, and there are no additional costs or complexities involved. Reach out to me via my enquiry form over here.
Mar 25, 2018
Not only is the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Trentham, Victoria a top-notch, classic Aussie hotel, it’s also one of my favourite low key wedding venues in Melbourne. Located right on the corner of High St and Cosmo Rd in Trentham, this unsung hero of wedding venues really does put on quite the show (also check out this post on rustic wedding venues that features Cosmo).
The best part? It’s only just over an hour north-west of Melbourne’s CBD, near Castlemaine. Let’s check out the awesome Cosmopolitan Hotel wedding venue and all it has to offer.
The team at the Cosmo are absolutely wonderful, for one. They place such pride in their venue that they can’t help but go all out for their wedding clients. The level of care shown for even the tiniest of aspects of every wedding is astoundingly endearing.
The event team know their venue inside and out which allows them to perfectly place each and every decoration. They’ll also suggest the best locations for photographs and assist with any and all queries leading up to and during the big day.
The venue itself is absolutely perfect for an intimate country wedding because it holds such a warm, rustic air about it. If you want your wedding to bring back memories of gorgeous gardens, rural charm and warm firelight, this is definitely the Melbourne wedding venue for you.
The two main locations within the hotel grounds that are used for wedding ceremonies and receptions are the picturesque gardens and the charming stables.
The gardens truly are a sight to behold with their vast expanse and varied species of flowering shrubs and trees. Because of this they make a wonderful spot for wedding photos. They’re also honestly just a wonderfully calming, peaceful place to hang out.
The Stables, deary me, they are simply magnificent. Picture an old, weather-beaten barn built by hand from wood and other old-school materials. It’s well-kept enough to house up to 125 guests for a sit down dinner and a good old fashioned barn dance.
Fairy lights adorn both the interior and the exterior, adding a delightfully magical air to the entire event.
Even the simplest of decorations transform this venue into a lively, homely, spirited place to host a truly wonderful wedding.
The package includes delicious, local seasonal produce and a drinks menu featuring only the best wine, beer and cider from the region. So, the Cosmopolitan Hotel wedding in-house catering team is a force to be reckoned with.
A Cosmo wedding pays tribute to Victoria’s heritage in the most charming of ways. Events held here seem to draw on the historic nature of the pub itself. As a result, there’s no better place in Trentham to tie the knot that this majestic, historical venue.
And that’s the tea.
Feb 2, 2018
There’s nothing better than a rustic wedding. Surrounded by amazing antiques, homely vibes, and gorgeous Victorian era structures, you can’t help but allow yourself to be entirely engulfed by the country atmosphere. A well-done country-style nuptial celebration can have you feeling like you’ve been dropped right into your own Aussie fairytale. And let me tell you, the photo ops are to die for. Sprawling fields, old wooden sheds and stables, gorgeous native flowers from on-site gardens, delicious local menus – it all comes together to create a truly magical experience. So, without further ado, let’s check out the top 3 best rustic wedding venues Melbourne has to offer!
I’ve thrown in a few sneaky pics too so you can truly appreciate the warm, inviting atmosphere of each of these venues.
The Cosmo Hotel is one of those classic Aussie pubs that looks and feels like your grandfather might have had his first beer at, back in the day, and maybe one of the most unique modern rustic wedding venue melbourne or beyond.
It is a highly convenient venue for Melbourne-ites to travel to because it’s situated only about an hour out of the CBD. It’s classy yet relaxed and it has a plethora of exciting bits and pieces that are honestly a wedding photographer’s dream.
In 2005, the Cosmopolitan was ravaged by a fire that destroyed a huge portion of the venue. Unperturbed, the owners rebuilt the hotel, restoring it to its former glory, with the addition of a few modern features. Although it has been done up in recent years, this historic pub still holds an air of friendly, rustic sophistication. This charm truly lends itself to the bright-eyed, love-filled couples who exchange nuptials here.
The primary locations for a Cosmopolitan wedding are the Stables and the Gardens. These two locations simply have the most peaceful atmosphere.
The Gardens are impeccably kept and host a wide range of native Australian flora. Due to this, they are the perfect location to exchange vows and capture memorable photos. You may also be lucky enough to find your reception hall at the Stables decked out in some of the native flowers that the gardens have on show.
The Stables are truly breathtaking with their dim lighting, beautiful flowers and rustic decorations. The olden-day style wooden shed works together with these features harmoniously. This creates a mystically rustic setup for both the reception and dinner.
This delightfully quaint barn surprisingly seats up to 125 guests, perfect for a medium sized wedding. Inviting a few extra guests along is easy enough because the space can accommodate more for a cocktail style function.
The Cosmopolitan Hotel wedding packages are all encompassing due to their awesome inclusions like a wedding planner, local food and drink options, access to the entire grounds of the venue and more!
The Cosmo exudes such an air of homeliness and warmth that you can’t help but smile no matter where you are on the property. It’s definitely one to consider if you’re looking to venture to truly rustic wedding venues Melbourne adjacent.
Cosmopolitan Hotel Trentham website: https://www.thecosmopolitanhotel.com.au/
Also check out this Cosmopolitan Hotel Wedding.
About 3 hours north east of Melbourne CBD sits Victoria’s wine country. This region hosts many historic wineries and vineyards just waiting for travelers and tourists to visit. For many reasons, one that stands out as a truly remarkable wedding venue is the picturesque Brown Brothers Milawa Winery.
Since its inception in 1889 Brown Brothers has held its title as one of Australia’s leading family-owned wine companies.
Brown Brothers won the award for ‘Most Loved Brand’ at the 2015 and 2017 Australian Drinks Awards. They received this due to their mix of traditional wine making methods, plus an added innovative flair that supports experimentation. Their mix of old-school and modern techniques spills over into the physical attributes of their winery with expertly designed features. Whilst it is a rustic setting, sparks of contemporary design are scattered throughout.
This unique venue in the heart of the King Valley boasts sprawling green grounds with gorgeous gardens full of natives. Cottages and heritage sites make themselves known, standing tall on the lawns. Mountains surround the valley and can be seen for miles from anywhere on the Brown Brothers Milawa site.
A nearby forest of tall native gums makes for an epic photo shoot location due to an air of intrigue and mysterious adventure. Check out these bad boys…
Even after years of photography experience, my mind is still blown by how finding the perfect angle can eloquently capture such magnificent moments in time.
The luscious on-site gardens make for a truly heartwarming ceremony with gorgeous native trees and shrubs lending their old-school Australian charm. Large oak trees surround the gardens in order to provide shelter from the elements.
A beautifully restored historic barn is the perfect setting for post-ceremony festivities and a seriously delicious dinner. Decorated to the nines, this venue is the perfect balance of modern sophistication and rustic charm.
Stained wooden features and an old-timey cellar provide a visual contrast from the light and bright wedding decorations and attire. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better venue when it came to capturing phenomenal wedding photos for this couple.
Choose from a range of packages and options including The Bridal Cottage, Prosecco Hour, a custom made wedding cake and a professional wedding planner in order to construct the perfect wedding.
Any couple would be #blessed to secure a wedding at this contemporary yet rustic venue. A wide range of wedding package inclusions, stunning grounds and photo locations that are out of this world make Brown Brothers, Milawa one of the best rustic wedding venues Melbourne has to offer.
Brown Brothers Winery website: https://www.brownbrothers.com.au/
This one-of-a-kind venue is located just under 2 hours out of Melbourne CBD allowing it to be an ideal destination for couples looking for a modern rustic wedding venue Melbourne and beyond. As you may have guessed from the name, Butterland is an old butter factory that has been masterfully refurbished as a rustic event venue (see also, this Butterland wedding of Iro and Alex).
Butterland was constructed in 1904 to accommodate an influx of settlers that came to Newstead as a direct result of the Gold Rush. It has been transformed from a dairy to a candle factory and now stands as a unique, multi-purpose venue for country-style weddings and other quirky events.
The red brick exterior, the chimney stack of the original dairy and the front signage have all been restored to their former glory in the recent restoration. Internal features have also been magnificently brought to life to accentuate the historic charm of a structure that has managed to survive throughout the ages.
The grounds of this stunning old building are nothing short of breathtaking due to the well-manicured lawns, stone walls, wooden structures and charming atmosphere.
A gorgeous garden and several homely veggie patches can be seen on the acre of land this venue calls home. Not only that, there’s a concrete pool hosted by an old sump tank and a disused railway line. These seemingly small features provide a spectacular opportunity to capture both the fun and sincerity of wedding celebrations.
The internal aspects of this repurposed butter factory are just as stunning as the external.
Because the venue is owned by a florist, you can look forward to indoor plants and flowers galore. A wedding with a botanically-forward theme would be perfectly at home here.
Exposed wooden beams and a mish-mash of chairs made from steel, wood and other materials add to the relaxed aura. Long wooden tables extend through the main hall to provide ample seating for guests.
The owners of this homely venue will work with you to ensure every detail of your wedding is truly yours.
Butterland isn’t just any wedding venue. It’s a wedding venue with history, personality and a suave charm that’s very difficult to resist. Quirky couples with a country-style wedding in mind will go nuts over this place. Honestly, it’s too much fun for its own good.
Butterland Newstead website: https://www.butterland.com.au/
Of the weddings I’ve been privileged enough to photograph, I often find myself looking back at rustic wedding venues with such fondness.
The simple, country vibe never fails to remind us of the importance of family, friends and home. It’s not just the amazing photo ops that draw me to these weddings. It’s the people, the history and the ability to connect so personally with a venue.
What are your favourite rustic Melbourne based wedding venues? Shout out in the comments!
Check out some pics from Tess and Sam’s stunning Kangaroo Valley wedding if you haven’t already…
For beautiful rustic venues specific to the Castlemaine region, check out these Castlemaine wedding venues, or on the other side of Victoria, if rustic is your vibe then you’ve gotta take a look at these Mornington Peninsula wedding venues.
Jan 30, 2018
Mariana Hardwick is Australia’s leading designer of bridal couture, with new and progressive twists on bridal classics. Over the last 30 years, modern brides all over Australia and beyond have picked a Mariana Hardwick wedding dress when looking for wildly progressive but timeless designs.
Because I photograph weddings all over Melbourne and the Yarra Valley, that also gives me the chance to check out some of the incredible designs happening on our own fine lands.
Today it’s this majestic Mariana Hardwick wedding dress on Elisha, at her wedding to Daniel at Yarra Valleys Zonzo Estate. Elisha and Daniels Zonzo wedding was featured over on Ivory Tribe.
Mariana Hardwick website: https://marianahardwick.com.au/
If you love this stunning Mariana Hardwick wedding gown, you might also like these unique wedding dresses, fellow Melbourne bridal designer Suzanne Harward, or these beautiful modern bridal jumpsuits. Pick up the work of this beautiful Victorian designer for your New South Wales wedding at Deux Belettes.
Jan 14, 2018
Donut towers, friendly neighbourhood cats, and two of the most loved-up theatrical maestros on the planet, Annie and Daz, getting their wedding on at the lush winery (see also, up in Nagambie: this Mitchelton Winery wedding), Immerse Yarra Valley.
Annie and Daz had family from all over the planet joining them at this beautifully lush patch of green out in the Yarra Valley, and so they made use of the sprawling on site accommodation available.
Annie also had a rogue echidna join in for their bridal portrait photos.
Cheers mate.
Enjoy this little peek into a majestic day of sunshine and good vibes at their Immerse Yarra Valley wedding.
Immerse Yarra Valley website: https://immerse.com.au/
Immerse Yarra Valley is located about 1 hour from Tullamarine airport, and a little closer from the Melbourne CBD. Plenty of accommodation is available for guests and wedding parties alike, and the region is one of my favourite generally to spend a week, if you can spare some time either side of the wedding day itself. Accomodation available 20 rooms for exclusive use by your crew, and the standard reception length is a nice and hefty 5.5 hours.
Immerse Yarra Valley has a vineyard on site, beautiful little chapel, and a wild array of other things dotted on the property that make for a beautiful little loop for portraits. Ceremonies can either be held inside the modern enclosed chapel, or underneath a large outdoor area that’s also protected from the weather.
To find out more information on the specific things available as standard inclusions, head over to the Immerse Yarra Valley wedding booking information page out here: https://immerse.com.au/wedding-package/
See other unique wedding venues in Melbourne, or for Yarra Valley venues, check out Stones of the Yarra Valley, this Yering Station Wedding, the pizza-wizards otherwise known as Zonzo Estate, and this impossibly wild Burnham Beeches wedding. For a country Victoria wedding venue further north, try this Sault Daylesford wedding.
Dec 27, 2017
Holding a Tanglewood Estate wedding is like holding a wedding at something straight out of the head of Tim Burton. True to it’s name, Tanglewood Estate is a layered landscape of brilliantly twisted and tangled trees with a whole bunch of options both indoors and out for hosting your Mornington Peninsula wedding.
On it’s 100+ acres, Tanglewood Estate rustic spaces include The Chapel, The Grounds, the Studio (a former artists studio constructed entirely of mud brick), and the Winery (while we’re on wineries, see this Mitchelton winery wedding). There’s a few little pieces about Tanglewood Estate’s story that are best left to them telling, but the one about their Chapel being purchased on Gumtree is a pearler.
I love shooting at Tanglewood Estate – apart from the enormous variety of spaces there, that sunset that drops behind the lake is out of this world and on our peninsula (check out these other Mornington Peninsula wedding venues).
I ran another series of wedding photography workshops at this beautiful slice of Mornington Peninsula wilderness – at it’s space called the Studio, and was joined by such a brilliant crew of Victorian creatives to spend the day together, such as the utterly inimitable Briggsy, Ashlee Hase photography, my dear mate Cass Sullivan over from Tas and so many more, and had the incredible skills of Humdrum Films (head here for more Melbourne wedding videographers) putting together a video of the day.
Here’s a little peek into the day. Huge love to Humdrum Films for capturing it.
For something more intimate on the Mornington Peninsula, view this Graceburn Tedesca Osteria wedding.
Growing up in the Yarra Valley and later towards the Mornington Peninsula, i’ve got a special love for those areas of Victoria, and it’s always a treat to photograph weddings out that way. Usually close to half of my photography year is spent across those two regions, and having spent so much time out there it makes perfect sense to host a wedding at Tanglewood Estate.
If you’re looking for a wedding photographer at Tanglewood Estate or the Mornington Peninsula, reach out and I can advise on how to go about it and how to make the best of your time out there.
Make an enquiry: https://briarsatlas.com/enquire
Tanglewood Estate website: https://tanglewoodestate.com.au/
Nov 5, 2017
Lauren and Nick had a Luminare Wedding at the iconic Melbourne rooftop wedding Venue, Luminare South Melbourne. These stylish legends had a wild and enormous day top to tail, with a Catholic ceremony nearby, before heading into the cavernous rooftop wedding event space of Luminare.
I tagged along with these maestros for the day, along with the marvels over at C2 Films.
Luminare website: https://luminare.net.au/
Luminare supports a maximum of 250 wedding guests. File this majestic joint under “decadent”, it’s a blank-canvas wedding venue that can be turned into anything you can imagine, but seems to have it’s spiritual ground in the opulent.
Take the iconic lift up and you feel like you’re entering Willy Wonkas great glass elevator.
Similar venues: see this Higher Ground wedding in Melbourne.
Luminare location: Cnr Browns Lane & York St, South Melbourne, VIC 3205
Luminare Phone: (03) 8416 9791
Luminare Business Hours: Mon-Fri: 6pm – 1am, Sat and Sun: 7am – 1am.
I’ve photographed so many beautiful weddings at Luminare and know a bunch of wonderful spots around the venue for your wedding portraits that don’t require you to tell your guests to have a 3 hour nap while you get your photos taken halfway across the country. South Melbourne has so many beautiful heritage homes, shopfronts, and unique gardens all within a short walk from Luminare itself.
To see some of these for yourself, head over to my post on the best Wedding Photo Locations in Melbourne, which also includes Google Maps pins and detailed location information.
Make an enquiry about Melbourne wedding photography
Planning a wedding? Congratulations! You’re about to spend a fortune convincing everyone you’re actually happy. But don’t worry, Luminare in Melbourne is here to ensure your big day is remembered for all the right reasons – and perhaps a few hilariously dark ones too.
Luminare isn’t just a venue; it’s an urban sanctuary where your dreams collide with Melbourne’s skyline. Located in South Melbourne, this chic spot offers panoramic city views that exude sophistication. Those floor-to-ceiling windows will make your guests think you’ve hit the jackpot, even if they suspect you’re still paying off student loans.
Forget bland ballrooms with musty carpets. Luminare’s modern design, complete with an expansive terrace, feels like stepping into a designer’s fever dream. Picture this: exchanging vows as the sun sets, casting an ethereal glow over the city—until you realize you’ve forgotten your vows and just wing it.
Let’s be honest, people come to weddings for the free food and booze. Luckily, Luminare has partnered with The Big Group, Melbourne’s top catering company, to ensure your guests are too busy eating to notice your cousin’s questionable dance moves. The menu is a culinary adventure that might make you question every meal you’ve ever had.
Imagine biting into a canapé so exquisite it makes you contemplate the meaning of life. The chefs at Luminare don’t just cook; they craft edible masterpieces that will have your guests Instagramming their plates faster than you can say “filtered.” They’ll work with you to create a menu that reflects your tastes, even if those tastes are as eclectic as your Spotify playlist.
The staff at Luminare are the unsung heroes of your wedding day. They glide through the venue like ninjas, ensuring everything runs smoothly while you take all the credit. From the initial planning stages to the day itself, the team is dedicated to making sure every detail is perfect—or at least close enough to perfect that no one notices the difference.
Need someone to subtly steer your drunk uncle away from the microphone? Done. Want custom lighting that makes everyone look like they’ve had just the right amount of beauty sleep? Consider it sorted. Their commitment to excellence might make you wonder if they care more about your wedding than you do.
Melbourne’s weather is as predictable as a soap opera plot, but Luminare has you covered. Whether it’s blistering heat or an unexpected downpour, the venue’s climate-controlled indoor spaces and stunning outdoor terrace ensure your wedding can proceed without weather-induced drama.
Located just a hop, skip, and a jump from Melbourne’s CBD, Luminare is easily accessible for guests traveling from near and far. With ample parking and public transport options, your guests have no excuse not to show up—unless they just really don’t like you.
Luminare isn’t just a wedding venue; it’s the backdrop for the most elaborately planned day of your life. With its blend of urban sophistication, stunning views, top-notch cuisine, and a team that’s as dedicated as your best friend should be, Luminare ensures your wedding day is memorable for all the right reasons.
So, if you’re ready to commit to both a lifetime of love and a slightly lighter bank account, Luminare in Melbourne is the perfect place to say, “I do… and pass the champagne.” Book a tour today and see why Luminare is the go-to choice for couples who want their wedding day to be an unforgettable blend of elegance, wit, and sass.
Got the gowns sorted? Make sure you check out these amazing unique wedding dress designs.
If you like Luminare, you might also like Metropolis Events, or just a little further out to the east, the wedding reception and function venue Vogue Ballroom. Also be sure to check out these Unique Melbourne wedding venues.
Luminare is located in the vibrant South Melbourne precinct, offering stunning views of the Melbourne city skyline.
Luminare combines modern, chic design with panoramic city views, exceptional culinary offerings from The Big Group, and meticulous attention to detail from their dedicated staff.
Luminare offers bespoke catering services through The Big Group, featuring innovative menus crafted with fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
Yes, Luminare offers versatile spaces with climate-controlled indoor areas and a stunning outdoor terrace, suitable for weddings in any season.
Luminare is conveniently located near Melbourne’s CBD, with ample parking and public transport options available for guests.
Sep 20, 2017
Iro and Alex took their marvellous crew away for a few days to Newstead, in Victorias northwest for their Butterland wedding.
Iro and Alex’s Butterland wedding is featured on Together Journal.
Photographer Briars Atlas
Bride wearing Suzanne Harward
shoes from Aquazzura,
Blue Clutch from The Daily Edited,
Groom wearing Oscar Hunt Tailors, with RM Williams boots
Bow tie from MJ Bale
Ceremony location Butterland, Newstead, Victoria
Videographer Stevan Ostojic from Life in Light Films
Celebrant Megan Watson from Marry Me Megan
Entertainment Tom O’Dwyer (DJ)
Flora by Katie Marx Assisted by Leila Sanderson from @skinny_wolf
Hire Pepper Sprout Hire
Food/beverages/catering Pot & Pan Culinary Tailoring
Cake The Naked Orange
Ring/s by GP Israel Diamonds
Makeup Kath Carlin
Hair Diane Robertson
Fragrance Bride – Poivre 23 by Le Labo & Groom – Polo Black by Ralph Lauren
Bridesmaids wearing White Runway, Scanlan Theodore, Dion lee, Shona Joy with shoes from Tony Bianco
Groomsmen in MJ Bale and shoes from RM Williams
Newstead, Victoria, Australia
Phone: +61 (0)400 123 456
Email: hello@butterland.com.au
Website: www.butterland.com.au
Instagram: @butterland_
Address:
71 Tivey Street, Newstead VIC 3462, Australia
May 17, 2017
When it comes to a phenomenal wedding package, the team at Tuggeranong Homestead are not here to mess about. They’ve got some amazing inclusions, an awesome venue that’s perfect for capturing wedding photography and videography and an air of serenity that Darryl Kerrigan would be entirely unable to resist. Let’s take a look at some Tuggeranong Homestead wedding photos and learn a little more about the services they offer to couples about to tie the knot.
As far as the ACT goes, Tuggeranong is a delightfully natural area directly south of Canberra. It’s full of Nature Reserves and borders multiple National Parks. The various scenic drives and lookouts are all sights you must see if you visit Canberra at any point.
Tuggeranong Homestead is located in the very heart of Tuggeranong Valley, not even half an hour out of Canberra CBD and airport.
The Tuggeranong Creek runs but a stone’s throw away, adding to the already naturally peaceful setting.
The venue itself is a gorgeous rustic homestead on 70 acres of the vast, secluded Aussie outdoors. The Homestead and its surrounding features exude an old-timey flavour that radiates “home”, “love” and “welcome”.
With your wedding package you get exclusive access to all the on-site areas listed below. These are perfect for hosting events, accommodation and of course, capturing some epic wedding photos and videos.
There are so many bits and pieces included in a Tuggeranong Homestead wedding package that I simply cannot fit them all in one short blog post. Here are a few though, that should help you figure out whether this venue is the one for you and your partner…
And much, much more! Just head to their website to see all the other amazing inclusions on offer.
For a charming, serene, rustic wedding, Tuggeranong Homestead has everything you need and more!
Mar 30, 2017
For Harry Potter lifers Kate and Matt, a Montsalvat wedding was only ever going to be on the table. These two maritime history buffs and fantasy purveyors crafted an otherworldly soiree for their favourite humans inside the walls of this Eltham gem.
Photography: Briars Atlas
Bride’s Dress Houghton NYC
Bride’s Shoes Shoes of Prey
Bridesmaid’s Dresses ASOS
Bridesmaid’s Shoes ASOS
Groom’s Suit Peter Jackson
Rings Karla Way
Celebrant Laura Lehmann Presented by Rachel Semmens
Flowers Raven and the Rose
Catering Montsalvat
Entertainment Spotify | Venue & Catering Montsalvat
Owl Black Snake Productions
Hair & Makeup Sophie Knox
Bridesmaids Hair Saint Lawrence Hair
Address:
7 Hillcrest Ave, Eltham VIC 3095, Australia
Phone:
(03) 9439 7712
Email:
info@montsalvat.com.au
Website:
montsalvat.com.au
Opening Hours:
Monday to Sunday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
See the Higher Ground wedding of Samantha and Michael, and this Provenance Wines wedding of Sumeyra and Daniel.
Feb 2, 2017
Carol and Dave had a beautiful intimate Superintendent’s residence Centennial Park Wedding in New South Wales, with and open invitation to their entire community of young and old. There’s always an extra unique and joy in celebrations where kids are invited (see kids at weddings for why), and the theatre that ensues is like nothing else.
Carol and David used this unique little corner of Centennial Park to host their wedding, at The Superintendent’s residence, and all the celebration, love and jenga-disappointment that came with it.
Also, every time I see the the word Superintendent…
Enjoy the images from their day, and while you’re at it, check out this Sydney Theatre Company wedding and Blue Mountains Elopement.
Superintendent’s Residence Centennial Park website: https://www.centennialparklands.com.au/visit/history-and-heritage/heritage-buildings-and-structures/superintendents-residence
Designed by architect James barnet, the Superintendent’s Residence was completed in 1892 at a construction cost of 1500 pounds. One of the more somewhat secret places within Centennial Park to host a wedding, the heritage building offers an incredibly beautiful backdrop, and can be easily scaled for celebrations of all sizes.
To have me photograph your Superintendent’s Residence Centennial Park wedding, check out some of my reviews, and let’s get myself and Nathan Kaso making magic with you.
Jan 19, 2017
It’s not all that often you get the chance to be swept into the wild world of consummate performers and their crew at Sydneys iconic Pier One wedding venue. Jane and Michael, incredibly eminent players in the music and theatre scene (Jane, travelling the world as a touring violinist and filmmaker, and Michael, amongst other things hand-picked by Brian May to front the Queen musical), had their Sydney Theatre Company wedding in a day of love, ceremony, and all the performative brilliance that goes along with having your extended community made up of artists and thespians.
Wild winds nearly blowing us off the pier, leading into late night anarchy with the Sydney Harbour Bridge as the backdrop in this brilliant warehouse Theatre Bar at the End of the Wharf wedding, and what a beautiful privilege it was to be the very two eyes to make record of it all.
As a destination wedding photographer i’m hired to photograph weddings all around the world , and that includes anywhere in Australia. Make an enquiry at www.briarsatlas.com, and check out this Blue Mountains Elopement, this Kittyhawk wedding and this Superintendent’s Residence Centennial Park Sydney Wedding.
Sydney Theatre Company website: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/
Sydney Theatre Bar at the End of the Wharf Wedding website: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/your-visit/the-theatre-bar-at-the-end-of-the-wharf
Dec 1, 2016
Karishma and Ro’s incredible Indian wedding took place all across Melbourne, with their Mandap ceremony taking place in the suburbs before their evening reception at the shed in the Docklands. Looking for an indian wedding photographer? Take a look at their incredible wedding.
So many incredible colours, rituals, and precious moments between family and community happen at an Indian wedding, it’s like nothing else, and familiar and different every time I’m lucky to be photographing one.
After Ro’s incredible energetic Baraat, I leapt back to capture the Jai Mala to the Talumbralu and onwards, and it was an incredible, love filled day with these two legends.
To book me to photograph your Indian wedding and consult on how your coverage will work, reach out to me at my contact form.
Nov 18, 2016
Next to baking a loaf of bread using nothing but beer, this is the most majestic thing I’ve ever witnessed. A helicopter elopement in New Zealand. Two lovers soaring above the treetops, with a backdrop of snowcapped mountains and glimmering glacial lakes. This is the complete guide to a quirky Queenstown helicopter elopement.
New Zealand is one of the most peaceful countries in the world, according to the Global Peace Index (2020). It’s also one of the most beautiful countries in the world, according to me (and the millions of other people who feature its glorious scenic views on their Instagram accounts).
From snowcapped peaks to glistening glacial lakes and dense, green forests, there’s endless buckets of variety for incredible wedding photography. When you add a majestic helicopter into the mix, you can capture images with phenomenal views that no ordinary wedding could match, and that’s the exact reason these two lovers decided to high-tail it over the seas to elope there.
Jumping in a chopper allows access to places that are unable to be reached on foot, especially if you’re wearing a long white dress and heels.
These Queenstown locals will give you a Queenstown helicopter elopement to die for.
“Arrive in style to your wedding venue, or capture your wedding photos against a stunning mountain backdrop. Whether it is just for two or the entire entourage, let us help you take a flight on your special day.”
– Over The Top
Over The Top have a bunch of experiences available to wedding parties and couples who want to take their nuptials to the next level, and they’ll even create a 100% bespoke elopement trip for you. Go for a super reclusive wedding on the shore of an alpine lake, or travel to the highest peak of the tallest mountain and exchange vows as you breathe in the raw, natural air of the Queenstown wilderness.
You can even fit in a cheeky round of 4500ft golf between “I dos”.
Plan your Queenstown elopement for December-February and enjoy a warmer, sunshine filled flight in the midst of summer. If you prefer the cooler months, aim for a June-August wedding and “Let It Go” in the snowcapped peaks surrounding the jaw-dropping Queenstown region.
Over The Top have a range of copters to fulfil the booking needs of every couple. They will also pick you up from your Queenstown accommodation, if that bakes your muffins.
Alongside Over The Top, Queenstown has an enormous array of businesses within the wedding industry.
For all things Queenstown wedding related, check out the Queenstown Wedding Association website.
As if you needed any more convincing, here are a few more pics snapped at a bloody delightful New Zealand helicopter elopement.
Lil (a fabulous photographer in her own right, just to add a little weight to the whole exercise) and Jake, a quiet-genius musician, at the last minute decided to elope to the brilliant Queenstown alps, before having a larger wedding day with friends and family out at the Diggers Store back in Victoria.
Check out some of the best wedding celebrants (and human beings) Melbourne has to offer, and for a beautiful slice of the Australian wilderness, this Cradle Mountain elopement in Tasmania. Since we’re on the topic of New Zealand, also check out this Solscape wedding in Raglan.
Aug 18, 2016
Sault Daylesford isn’t just the most instagrammable lavender field in the state, it’s one of the regions best restaurants and slices of country in Victoria. Jo and Mike decided on a Sault Daylesford wedding, and I hitched a ride and took some proof that somewhere in amongst the glorious food and lavender field jaunts, they also did the marriage thing.
Reach out to Jodi and Damien, the husband and wife powerhouse who run Sault Daylesford. After getting married there themselves, they fell in love with the place and bought it! As you do. This means the most wildly invested team deeply in love with the surrounds but hosting an incredible time for your wedding.
Sault Daylesford website: https://www.sault.com.au/
For more country Victoria wedding venues, check out Immerse Yarra Valley, Stones of the Yarra Valley, Yering Station, or for more industrial vibes, have a look at these unique Melbourne wedding venues. There’s something about the structure of Sault that reminds me of an incredible venue in Byron Bay: so check out Deux Belettes, and hire us as your Byron Bay wedding photographer.
Apr 27, 2015
Jono, in the world of surf, and Wendy, a camera operator for Weta. Which, if you don’t know, basically means she’s responsible for goblins in Lord of the Rings, etc. Wendy and Jono married at the impossibly majestic clifftop commune, for their Solscape wedding, which merged these two classic pillars of New Zealand together: incredible surf, and majestic nature.
Solscape is a unique Eco village in Raglan, New Zealand (check out this Queenstown Helicopter elopement and this incredible New Zealand wedding dress designer), and as well as being some of the most beautiful rustic accommodation anywhere in New Zealand, host weddings and workshops.
Bright sun, crashing waves from the Ngarunui beach below the outcrop the venue is perched on, and the incredible sounds of Cornerstone Roots driving the tunes well into the evening.
Solscape website: http://www.solscape.co.nz/
As a destination wedding photographer I’m frequently in New Zealand, and even if not, it’s a quick flight over from Australia and often easier than even going to some of our own cities. Make an enquiry at Briars Atlas.
Dec 28, 2014
Kristi and Phil headed to the Mornington Peninsula for their gorgeous All Smiles Sorrento wedding. I came along with a few cameras slung over my shoulders, and spent the day with these stylish legends and their community.
Mornington Peninsula wedding photographer: https://briarsatlas.com/enquire
All Smiles Sorrento website: https://allsmiles.com.au/mornington-peninsula/
For surf coast weddings in New Zealand, check out this Solscape wedding in Raglan. For something a little more rustic, check out Tanglewood Estate. Looking for more venue alternatives? Check out these wedding venues on the Mornington Peninsula.