Until early 2020, thanks to Covid19, weddings are going to be happening on a smaller scale (or, straight up elopements). With that said, if there’s one thing i’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. So while we have to wait a little while to have big parties and weddings again, here are some of my favourite small wedding venues in Melbourne.

The Altar Electric

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.

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 5 guests, 20 guests, or 30 guests, this brilliant peach palace is a great place to get a fab ceremony done.

I Do Drive Thru

When Covid19 hit full-steam and we were locked down to having weddings with a maximum of 5 people in total, local genius Mel of The Ceremony Store came up with a hit 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 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.

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, 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.

Read more about I Do Drive Thru here, and reach out to them to see if they’re the right fit.

The Family property

Tess and Sam, married on their family property in Australia’s Kangaroo Valley.

If larger wedding venues aren’t a part of the plan, 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.

Air BnB

An Air-Bnb has all the intimacy and timeline benefits of hosting it 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 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.

Sarah and Simons Australian wedding was featured on the wedding blog Rock n Roll Bride, so head over there for more of their story.

Other small wedding venues in Melbourne

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, here’s a list of incredible alternative wedding venues in Melbourne.

Looking for a large venue? Check out their Indian wedding reception.

Oli Sansom

Oli is hired to do this all over the world documenting humans and ritual, from America to Antarctica.

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.

Enjoy this little peek into Rachel and Pauls real wedding at The Altar Electric.

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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.

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Get married at Melbournes own Vegas chapel. The Altar Electric:

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.

Oli Sansom

Oli is hired to do this all over the world documenting humans and ritual, from America to Antarctica.

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.

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.

Oli Sansom

Oli is hired to do this all over the world documenting humans and ritual, from America to Antarctica.

I 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 i’d shoot their Albanian Rock n Roll Warehouse Rave Wedding stands out as one such enquiry. I 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.

Book a Fortyfive Downstairs wedding

Fortyfive Downstairs website: https://www.fortyfivedownstairs.com/wp2016/private-events/

Oli Sansom

Oli is hired to do this all over the world documenting humans and ritual, from America to Antarctica.

Located just 50km north-east of Melbourne, the Yarra Valley is the perfect road trip destination. With over 70 wineries (see Zonzo), a huge range of tours, and some of the most quaint little hamlets this side of the moon, the Yarra 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 Melbourne 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).

Pre-Wedding Prep

Planning a wedding can sometimes feel bigger than Ben-Hur. 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. Ugh. When all the little things seem to become too much, allow Stones of the Yarra to kindly step in and offer a helping hand.

Here are just a few of the convenient pre-wedding services they offer:

• Event staff on hand to provide professional advice.
• Suggested offsite accommodation and transport, if required.
• Five exquisite dining rooms to host pre-wedding celebrations.

The entire Yarra 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

Stones of the Yarra Valley Wedding Day Vibes

Game on, maestros.

When it comes to creating the perfect wedding atmosphere, Stones of the Yarra 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.

Honestly, the lengths that this venue goes to in ensuring their happy couples are… well, happy, is absolutely phenomenal.

Depending on the wedding package you choose, you could be basking in the following inclusions:

• Seasonal decorative foliage.
• Use of the exquisite grand piano in the chapel.
• Private bridal room.
• Tables, chairs, menus, microphones, lecterns, iPod facilities – plus all of the other bits and bobs that go into designing a stunning venue for a stunning reception.
• Coordination with your external wedding planner and/or services booked to ensure a smooth wedding experience.
• Friendly staff who are just as excited about your wedding as you are.

All this is just the beginning, which is pretty par for the course when the Stones ring leader Vonnie is driving things.

Post-Wedding Shenanigans

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 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 venue, you’ve got the entire Yarra Valley at your disposal! My top 3 suggestions for the adventurous at heart would have to be:

• Take a hot air balloon ride over the Yarra Valley
• Visit the De Bortoli Yarra Valley Cellar Door
• Book yourself in for a high tea, a sweet (and I mean that in the most literal sense of the word) tasting session or a pastry making class

If I missed anything, please let me know in the comments. Let’s spread the word that the Yarra Valley is prime wedding venue territory!

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.

Oli Sansom

Oli is hired to do this all over the world documenting humans and ritual, from America to Antarctica.

Lauren and Nick had a Luminare wedding at the iconic South Melbourne rooftop wedding Venue, Luminare. 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.

Book Luminare for your wedding:

Luminare website: https://luminare.net.au/

If you like the look of Luminare, you might also love these other Melbourne rooftop wedding venues:

Also be sure to check out these Unique Melbourne wedding venues.

Oli Sansom

Oli is hired to do this all over the world documenting humans and ritual, from America to Antarctica.

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.

Book me as your Mornington Peninsula wedding photographer

Mornington Peninsula wedding photographer: https://briarsatlas.com/enquire

Book All Smiles Sorrento for your wedding

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.

Oli Sansom

Oli is hired to do this all over the world documenting humans and ritual, from America to Antarctica.