▶The Craft & Co · 390 Smith St, Collingwood VIC 3066 · Melbourne
▶An autumn city wedding at The Craft & Co, the converted warehouse at the north end of Smith Street in Collingwood, a few minutes from the Melbourne CBD. The couple planned portraits in the Carlton Gardens before a late afternoon ceremony in the upstairs Maker's Bar, then dinner for 119 guests at long tables in the Maker's Hall, with an entrance run through the tables under a storm of spinning napkins and a first dance everyone was invited to join.
Rooftop skyline mornings · First look at the fountain · Vows by the big windows · A napkin storm down the long tables · Smith Street after dark
The groom and his groomsmen started in an apartment with the skyline in the window, beers on the bench and burnt orange bow ties in a wooden box. The bride's side had been in hair and make-up since eight, her mum fastening the gown and her dad choking up when he saw her. The two parties met at the Carlton Gardens for the first look by the fountain, the veil lifting in the backlight, then bridal party groups under the plane trees and family photos on the lawn. Guests climbed the stairs to the Maker's Bar at four, and the bride walked in on her dad's arm to vows read on a handheld mic.
At six the black curtain opened and the couple ran the length of the Maker's Hall while every guest whirled a napkin over the candlelit tables. Speeches came through dinner against the white panelled wall: the bride's father first, then a bridesmaid and the best man, and finally the couple together, a glass in hand. The choreographed first dance lasted a minute or so before the whole room was waved onto the floor under the festoon bulbs. A photo booth with a red curtain kept the party silly, and late in the night we took the couple down to Smith Street for a last walk past roller doors and the glowing lattice windows.
Ceremony spot · Moving between spaces · Light · How the day ran · Portrait spots · Our advice
The vows were upstairs in the Maker's Bar at The Craft & Co, the front room with tall street windows and a long tiled bar. The couple stood against the wall between the windows under a hoop of greenery and a sign in their own words, with guests in rows facing them and daylight pouring in from both sides. It is a tight, warm room, so sixty or so guests feel close to the action, and the bar behind them is closed until the kiss. The walk in starts at the top of the stairs, so the bride appears through the doorway. Watch at 6:15 Watch at 6:39 Watch at 6:51
Once guests are up the stairs, nothing moves far. Drinks and a grazing table filled the Maker's Bar after the vows while the Maker's Hall next door was finished behind its black curtain, and the curtain became the reveal for the entrance. The hall's long tables run the full length of the room, which is why the running entrance works: one camera at the far end, one behind the couple. The street is one flight down for a late portrait. The only drive of the day was across to the Carlton Gardens and back. Watch at 9:33 Watch at 10:15 Watch at 14:09
Autumn sun in the gardens at two was high and bright, so we worked the fountain with the sun behind the couple, letting the spray and the veil glow and exposing for faces. The plane tree avenues gave shade for the bridal party. Upstairs at a quarter past four the bar's street windows throw soft, even light, lovely on skin, with the windows going bright behind the couple. By dinner the hall is candles and festoon bulbs, so for speeches we stood each speaker against the white panelled wall with one soft light. Outside at night the shopfront glow and lit lattice windows did the rest. Watch at 7:21 Watch at 10:45 Watch at 14:09
The groom's crew from half past eleven, the bride's from eight, both sides together at the gardens by half past one for an hour and a half of portraits. Guests arrived at four, vows at a quarter past, then cocktail hour in the bar and a short portrait slot outside before six. The entrance and the napkin spin opened dinner, speeches were spread between courses, and the first dance landed around twenty to eight so the floor was open early. Sweet canapes came out late and the last song was just before eleven. Daylight photos done early is what made the evening feel unhurried. Watch at 5:21 Watch at 10:15 Watch at 12:51
Most portraits came before the ceremony, across at the Carlton Gardens: the fountain in front of the Royal Exhibition Building for the first look and the backlit veil, the plane tree avenues for the bridal party in burnt orange and navy, the lawn for family groups, the building's deep doorways and steps for the whole party cheering, and the museum's steel walls on the north side for something sharp and modern. Allow ninety minutes. After dark, Smith Street outside The Craft & Co gave us roller doors, painted brick and the lit lattice windows in ten minutes between dances. Watch at 7:15 Watch at 9:03 Watch at 13:57
What our team noticed was how much the colour story carried this wedding: burnt orange bow ties and bouquets, rust bridesmaid gowns, a clean white dress, all against black steel and candlelight. Pick a palette and let the venue's dark bones frame it. The napkin spin was the loudest thirty seconds of the night and cost nothing. Asking everyone onto the floor after a minute of first dance is a trick we recommend to any couple who feel shy. And do the gardens first, because by five in autumn the light is gone. Watch at 0:21 Watch at 10:15 Watch at 12:57
The Craft & Co is a converted warehouse at the north end of Smith Street in Collingwood, with an on-site brewery, distillery, and rooms where the team make cheese and cured meats. Weddings run upstairs in two spaces side by side. The Maker's Bar is the front room, with high ceilings, a tiled bar and large windows over the street, and suits a ceremony of around sixty seated guests. The Maker's Hall next door takes long shared tables for well over a hundred, under exposed trusses and festoon bulbs. For a city wedding that wants character without a long drive, it keeps everything on one level once guests are up the stairs.
The Maker's Bar is lit by its street windows, and at a mid-afternoon ceremony that light is soft and generous. Couples usually stand against the wall between the windows, which means shooting slightly into the light; we expose for faces and let the windows glow rather than fight them. Trams and traffic on Smith Street are audible through the glass, so our advice is a lapel mic on the groom plus a feed from the celebrant's system. A handheld mic for the vows gives clean, close sound for both readings. Keep the aisle clear of tripods and there is room for a camera on each side.
The best part of this layout is the short walk. Drinks flow in the bar straight after the vows while the hall is reset behind its black curtain, so guests never leave the upper level. That curtain makes a natural reveal for an entrance. A running entrance down the long tables works beautifully on camera because they run the full length of the room: one camera at the far end on a wide lens and a second operator behind the couple. The hall gets dim once the candles take over, so for speeches we use the white panelled wall as a clean backdrop with a soft light, and keep the room's warm glow behind the tables.
Carlton Gardens, on the north-east edge of the Melbourne CBD, is a short drive across from Collingwood and gives couples a first look spot and most of their daylight portraits. The fountain in front of the Royal Exhibition Building backlights beautifully in the early afternoon, and the plane tree avenues give shade for bridal party groups. In autumn the leaves turn and the sun sits lower, which suits a slow, walking style of filming. The modern steel walls of the museum on the north side make a sharp contrast to the old building. Allow at least an hour and a half so family photos are not rushed.
Do not leave the street out of your plan. Smith Street at dusk has cafe umbrellas, shopfront glow, old roller doors and painted brick within a few steps of the venue's entrance, and the lit lattice windows of the building itself make a lovely closing shot. In the cooler months the light goes early, so a sunset slot often lands during the cocktail hour; ten minutes outside between courses works just as well. If the weather turns, everything but the portraits is already indoors, and the Exhibition Building's deep doorways give some cover. The same plan suits any couple marrying in or near the Melbourne CBD who wants an urban look.