▶Butlers Lane Vineyard · 70 Butlers Ln, Glenlyon VIC 3461 · Melbourne
▶A country wedding beside the lake at Butlers Lane Vineyard in Glenlyon, ten minutes from Daylesford, with the rose arbour at the water's edge and dinner on the deck under the vines. The couple planned a full twelve hours: a first look and a song on the piano at their holiday house, portraits at The Convent, a two part ceremony at half past four, dancing before dinner, a sunset walk and a tunnel of sparklers to finish.
First look in the paddock · Parasol at The Convent · Vows at the lakeside arbour · Dinner on the deck · Sunset walk and sparklers
The holiday house had rammed earth walls and big windows, and the morning filled it with family: the groom's dad, uncles and a cousin on the couches, then the bride with her mum pinning the veil over her tiara. Her hands found the piano before the dress did. The first look happened on the dry paddock out the front, the groom turning under a gum to find her in the full skirt, then a reveal for her parents inside. At The Convent her father held a parasol over her on the garden path, and we worked through the tower, the chapel and the pink walled room before the drive to Butlers Lane.
At half past four the bride came down the timber stairs from the deck on her father's arm to the rose arbour, the lake flat and bright behind. Vows went into handheld microphones, their own words first and then the formal ones, the register was signed and petals flew on the walk back. Guests cheered for a group video, then the couple danced into the white function room and pulled everyone onto the floor before dinner on the deck. The arbour came up behind the table for their speech, a sunset walk found the gold paddock, and after cake under the fairy lights the night ended in the gazebo and a tunnel of sparklers.
Ceremony spot · Moving between spaces · Light · How the day ran · Portrait spots · Our advice
The ceremony at Butlers Lane Vineyard was at the rose arbour on the lawn where it runs down to the lake. Guests sat on white chairs facing the water, and from above the whole thing looked like a small theatre: the arbour, the aisle, the lake behind. The bride entered down the timber stairs from the deck, which gave her a real walk with the garden on both sides. Put the arbour close to the water's edge so the lake fills the background, and seat guests a little further back than feels natural, because the lawn is wide and the view is the point. Watch at 8:12 Watch at 8:20 Watch at 8:28
Everything sits within a minute's walk. The deck above the lawn held dinner, the function room beside it took the dance floor and the cake, and the gazebo on the far side of the garden became the spot for a private dance in the dark. This couple used the deck stairs for the entrance, danced from the lawn straight into the function room before dinner, then walked back out for the sunset and finished in the gazebo. No cars after two o'clock, so the guests stayed together all evening and the cameras never lost anyone. Watch at 8:04 Watch at 11:16 Watch at 16:52
Early autumn at Butlers Lane gave us a hot, bright middle of the day, which is why The Convent took the midday hours: pink walls, window light and the shade of the garden. At half past four the arbour sat in soft shade from the trees while the lake stayed bright, so we exposed for the couple and let the water glow behind them. The gold hour came during dinner, with long shadows from the gums across the paddock and warm backlight for a twirl. After dark, the fairy light curtains and the gazebo lights made their own pools of light for the cake and the last dance. Watch at 6:52 Watch at 9:32 Watch at 15:16
Twelve hours, planned in favourite places. The groom dressed first, the bride took the house afterwards, and the first look at a quarter past twelve settled them both before a single guest arrived. An hour at The Convent, the venue walk through at two, vows at half past four, and a group video and family photos in the hour after. Dancing before dinner was the clever bit: the room was full of energy at six, dinner on the deck at a quarter to seven was relaxed, and the couple's own speech came between courses with the arbour behind them. Sunset walk, cake, gazebo, sparklers, done. Watch at 4:20 Watch at 11:24 Watch at 17:20
Two sessions did the work. Before the ceremony, The Convent in Daylesford, fifteen minutes from the vineyard, gave an hour of portraits with a completely different look: the garden path under a parasol, the stone tower, the chapel, the pink walled room. After the ceremony we kept the couple on the property. Family groups and the group video at the arbour took twenty minutes, and the sunset walk after dinner covered the gold paddock, the stone courtyard with wine barrels and the red steel frame shot from above, all within ten minutes' walk. Keep that evening walk to twenty minutes and your guests will barely notice you have gone. Watch at 5:56 Watch at 10:20 Watch at 15:00
What our team noticed was how calm the ceremony felt, and that came from the first look and the piano earlier in the day: by half past four the nerves were spent. Carrying the arbour up behind the dinner table was a small move with a big payoff, because it gave the speech a backdrop of roses and the lake instead of a blank deck rail. At Butlers Lane Vineyard the sparkler tunnel at the end works beautifully because the deck is dark and the lawn is open. And leave time for the gazebo: two minutes alone there under the lights was the quietest moment of the whole day. Watch at 4:28 Watch at 12:12 Watch at 17:00
Butlers Lane Vineyard sits on 40 acres in Glenlyon, about ten minutes from Daylesford and just over an hour from Melbourne. For a wedding day it is generous: a lake with a lawn running to the water, a large gazebo with a chandelier, a rose arbour, stone-walled gardens, a vineyard, and a function room with floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors opening onto a big timber deck. The function room seats up to 80 and there is boutique accommodation onsite in The Loft. Everything is a short walk apart, which means the day is spent celebrating rather than packing up and driving.
The lakeside lawn is a lovely ceremony spot, but water and open sky change the light and the sound. Late in the afternoon the trees soften the light on the couple while the lake behind them stays bright, so expose for faces and let the water glow. Open ground also means a breeze, so a handheld mic each for the vows keeps every word clean. The timber stairs down from the deck make a beautiful entrance; a drone held wide from above as the bride comes down, with a second camera waiting on the grass, covers it well.
Both spaces can be used in a clever way. Dinner and speeches on the deck under the vines put the lake behind the guests, and the ceremony arbour can be carried up the lawn to frame the couple during their speech, which gives a colourful backdrop and clean sightlines from the tables. The function room is bright, white and full of glass, so a daytime entrance looks fresh and airy, and once the fairy-light curtains come on at night it turns warm and sparkly for cake cutting and dancing. A second camera on a tripod in the room means no reaction is missed.
Leave room in the evening for a walk. In early autumn the paddock grass turns gold and the gums on the boundary throw long shadows, classic country wedding light, perfect for a twirl or a lift with the sun flaring through. Closer to the house there is a timber arbour framing the lake, a stone courtyard with wine barrels, a rope swing, and a red steel frame overhead that looks fantastic from a drone shot straight down. A short walk between dinner and the dance floor is enough to cover all of them, and it gives the guests a breather too.
A holiday house nearby for getting ready and a midday portrait stop at The Convent, when the sun at the vineyard is at its harshest, is a smart order. The gallery's gardens, staircase, chapel and pink-walled rooms give soft window light and a completely different look, about fifteen minutes' drive from the venue. If the weather turns, Butlers Lane has a large undercover deck, the gazebo for shelter, and the indoor function room with a white wall backdrop for a ceremony. Bring the night outside too: the gazebo's lights make a gorgeous setting for a private dance and a sparkler send-off.