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 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 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 Wedd