Avalon Castle wedding photos: Lizzie and Jack walk hand in hand up the sunny driveway toward the ivy covered castle tower, Dandenong Ranges
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Real mountain wedding · Cockatoo, Melbourne

Avalon Castle Wedding Photos: Lizzie & Jack

Avalon Castle · 1 Flora Close, Cockatoo VIC · Melbourne

Garden Wedding · Mountain Wedding · Rainforest Wedding · Region: VIC - Dandenong Ranges · City: Melbourne · Venue: Avalon Castle

White paper parasols bobbing over the guests, Lizzie on her dad’s arm down the castle’s stone steps and a cheer from Jack that bounced off the tower. Lizzie and Jack’s Avalon Castle wedding in Cockatoo, high in the Dandenong Ranges, was a sunny lunchtime celebration with a giant game on the lawn, a first dance under a crystal chandelier and a kiss beside a suit of armour. We were there for every bit of it, and we loved it.

The gallery
Lizzie's fitted lace gown with thin straps hangs in a bright window at home, green leaves outside and a potted plant beside it.
Close on the lace hem and long chiffon train of Lizzie's gown pooling on the carpet beneath the window at home.
A pair of glossy white pointed heels with ankle straps rests on a fold of sheer tulle veil.
Three pairs of blush slingback heels for the bridesmaids lined up on the carpet beside a white shelf of woven baskets.
Four bouquets wait in white tissue on the bed, Lizzie's with deep red and blush roses, the others in lilac, blue and ivory.
Pearl drop earrings and a ring with a violet stone lie on white linen beside a deep red rose and white blooms.
A strand of pearls loops around a small bottle of perfume beneath Lizzie's bouquet of red, blush and ivory roses.
Lizzie laughs in a plum lace-trimmed camisole as a hairstylist in glasses pins up her dark hair by the window.
Three bridesmaids in blush satin robes laugh together beside a timber door frame, one seated at the table.
A bridesmaid pours bubbles into a row of tall flutes next to a single white rose in a blue glass bottle.
Lizzie in a white satin robe sits on the bed between her three bridesmaids in blush robes, all raising flutes of bubbles.
Lizzie smiles across at a blonde bridesmaid as they lift their glasses, another bridesmaid laughing softly behind them.
Four flutes meet in a toast as Lizzie beams in her white robe beside two bridesmaids by the bright window.
Seen from behind, Lizzie and her bridesmaids link arms at the window and raise their glasses, crystal sprigs in their hair.
Lizzie and her bridesmaids stand barefoot in slippers on the grass outside the house, robes on and glasses in hand under a leafy tree.
Laughing bridesmaids lift the long train of the hanging lace gown so it glows in the window light as Lizzie watches.
Lizzie in her white robe smiles down as she draws the lace skirt of her gown out from the hanger.
By a sunny window framed with scalloped blinds, Lizzie holds the train of her hanging gown, a potted palm at its foot.
Lizzie stands at the window in her white robe, her red, blush and ivory rose bouquet held low beside the lace gown.
From behind, a crystal sprig glints in Lizzie's half-up hair as she gazes out the window holding her bouquet.
Smiling down at her bouquet, Lizzie stands side-on to the bright window beside her lace gown on its hanger.
Lizzie and her three bridesmaids in robes hold their bouquets of lilac, blue and ivory roses outdoors among leafy shrubs.
A row of bouquets in lilac, powder blue and ivory, Lizzie's in deep red and blush at the centre, held in front of the robes.
Lizzie and her bridesmaids look down at their bouquets and giggle in the shade, deep red roses among the lilac and blue.
Lizzie and her bridesmaids relax on outdoor chairs on a timber deck, bouquets in their laps and leafy shrubs behind.
The ivy-clad stone front and red arched doors of Avalon Castle rise above the rose garden and lawn under a clear mountain sky.
Giant white LOVE letters wait on the lawn beyond a timber gate with a painted shield, rainforest gums of the Dandenong Ranges behind.
Jack unwraps a small yellow gift as a groomsman opens his own beside a carved four-poster bed, getting ready in the Dandenong Ranges.
Two grey jackets and a crisp white shirt hang from a brass rail under a timber-lined ceiling at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
A polka dot bow tie and a white box sit beside a kraft envelope labelled for Jack's wedding vows before the rainforest ceremony.
A slim diamond-set wedding band rests in an open blush ring box beside a black polka dot bow tie, ready for the garden ceremony.
Jack in a white shirt hangs his navy jacket on a wall rail by the lace-curtained window of his room at the mountain castle.
Jack stands by the window at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges in his navy suit, polka dot bow tie and white rose buttonhole.
In black and white, Jack turns towards the window before his rainforest wedding, half his face lit and half in shadow.
A young man in a blue blazer strides past the timber walls with papers in hand, forest gums leaning over the path to the gardens.
Early guests gather on the stone steps below the ivy wall in the Dandenong Ranges, a young man in a white shirt pointing the way.
From the timber mezzanine at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo, a blonde woman in navy embraces the young man in the blue blazer on the parquet.
A long hug on the herringbone parquet beneath the crystal chandelier, the set tables waiting by the leafy windows of the rainforest venue.
Tall gums tower over the ivy-covered wing of Avalon Castle and its swan planters as guests arrive for the garden wedding.
The young man in the blue blazer greets arrivals at the foot of the stone steps on a bright mountain day, an older man above.
Two guests rest on a bench by the red door as a woman in navy takes a phone photo in the rainforest gardens.
On the lawn, a young man in a white shirt laughs as a friend pulls a navy jacket over his head, Dandenong Ranges gums behind.
A guest walks past the giant white LOVE letters on the lawn at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo, the gum forest climbing the hill beyond.
Two bridesmaids in pale blue floral dresses fasten Lizzie's lace gown and pearls in a cream room before her rainforest ceremony.
Lizzie looks down at her red and ivory rose bouquet beside a diamond-paned window, ivy on the glass, ahead of the garden ceremony.
From behind, Lizzie leans on the open leadlight window at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges, her lace train fanning across the carpet.
Lizzie stands side-on at the diamond-paned window on her rainforest wedding day, her train pooling across the dim room.
Window light runs down the lace as Lizzie holds her bouquet low by the ivy-framed glass, a wall lamp glowing in the mountain castle room.
A tilted frame of Lizzie smiling in her pearls beside a leadlight window at Avalon Castle, roses held at her waist and ivy outside.
Lizzie perches on the timber end of a bed in her lace gown and pearls, roses in her lap, ready for her Dandenong Ranges wedding.
Seated at the foot of the bed, Lizzie gazes down at her roses, tall leadlight windows and ivy glowing beside her in the mountain light.
Close on Lizzie in her pearl necklace and lace bodice, smiling softly to one side over red and ivory roses at the rainforest venue.
A bridesmaid lifts the sheer veil over Lizzie's head as she looks towards the window, bouquet in hand, ready for the garden ceremony.
Through the soft veil, Lizzie rests a hand on her chest, pearls and red roses glimpsed beneath the tulle in the soft rainforest light.
A bridesmaid in pale blue lets the long veil fall around Lizzie as she sits in the window light at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Framed by her veil, Lizzie looks straight at us over a bouquet of deep red, blush and ivory roses on her garden wedding day.
Lizzie sits on the bed in her veil and train as her three bridesmaids in pale blue floral gowns smile down before the rainforest wedding.
Lizzie and her bridesmaids in pale blue embroidered dresses line up under dark timber beams at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
A red-haired bridesmaid in a strapless pale blue gown and Lizzie in her veil smile together by the window, the gardens green beyond.
Lizzie and a bridesmaid in a one-shoulder pale blue dress beam beside a diamond-paned window of the rainforest castle, her train sweeping the carpet.
A dark-haired bridesmaid in pale blue and Lizzie hold their bouquets at a leadlit window of Avalon Castle, ivy and gardens behind the glass.
Down the dim castle hallway, her dad waits in an armchair in his dinner suit and bright blue socks, ready for the Dandenong Ranges ceremony.
Lizzie stands beside her dad in his bow tie and rose buttonhole by the leadlight window, her train swirling, ahead of the rainforest ceremony.
White paper parasols shade the guests at the garden ceremony at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges, tall gums over the draped timber roof.
A timber refreshment cart with jars of pink drinks waits in the rainforest gardens before the ivy-covered castle and its red arched doors.
A white welcome sign with a watercolour leaf wreath stands on an iron easel before the giant LOVE letters at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
A copper marquee WISH sign and a posy of pink roses top a white wishing well, the LOVE letters blurred behind on the mountain lawn.
A guitarist in a black shirt and blue tie plays beside a speaker against a leafy hedge as guests gather for the garden ceremony.
Jack and his three groomsmen line up on the drive before the ivy-clad front of Avalon Castle under a hot mountain sun, guests seated behind.
Two guests in sunglasses, one in navy and one in burgundy lace, smile under a white paper parasol in the rainforest shade.
A guest in silver satin and a man in a navy shirt sit close in the front rows, parasols twirling behind in the Dandenong Ranges.
Guests in the shaded rows grin and wave for the camera under white paper parasols in the gardens, one holding a paper fan.
Rows of guests wait on white folding chairs on the lawn below Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges, gums towering at the forest edge.
Jack waits with two groomsmen and the celebrant under the draped timber frame, wrought-iron fencing and rainforest greenery behind.
The bridesmaids step out of the red arched doors and down the stone steps through the garden at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Lizzie and her dad appear at the red arched door as the bridesmaids descend the stone steps into the rose garden under a mountain sky.
A red-haired bridesmaid in pale blue walks the curving garden path past timber benches, tall forest trees overhead.
A bridesmaid in a one-shoulder blue gown leads as Lizzie and her dad come down the steps below the ivy at the mountain castle.
Her dad walks Lizzie along the path at Avalon Castle behind a smiling bridesmaid in pale blue, clipped hedges and mountain gums around them.
A bridesmaid passes the giant LOVE letters on her way to the rainforest ceremony as the guitarist plays under tall Dandenong Ranges gums.
Lizzie walks on her dad's arm along the curving path from the crenellated front of Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges, veil over her face.
Her dad leads Lizzie past the giant LOVE letters towards the garden ceremony as the guitarist plays beneath the gum forest.
Lizzie smiles under her veil as her dad walks her past the towering white LOVE letters in the gardens at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Jack and his groomsmen watch from the draped ceremony frame as Lizzie and her dad reach the end of the aisle in the mountain sunshine.
Jack grins at Lizzie as her dad brings her to him under the white drapes, a groomsman smiling behind at the garden ceremony.
A woman in a navy pleated dress and wrist corsage smiles under a white parasol beside a friend in burgundy lace in the Dandenong Ranges.
Her dad watches the vows from the front row in sunglasses and a bow tie, the woman in navy beside him under the rainforest canopy.
A bridesmaid wipes away a happy tear as Lizzie stands veiled before Jack under the white drapes of the garden ceremony.
Her dad clasps his hands in the front row as the women beside him shelter under parasols in the mountain forest shade.
Guests turn to grin at the camera under white parasols, a man in a pink tie giving a cheeky wave in the Dandenong Ranges sun.
Jack in his blue check suit and bow tie stands with the celebrant and groomsmen in the Avalon Castle gardens as Lizzie faces him.
From above, guests on white folding chairs listen under paper parasols at the rainforest wedding, sunlight dappling the rows.
A sea of white paper parasols fills the rows before the draped timber ceremony frame at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo, beneath towering mountain gums.
Wide across the parasols to the bridal party under the draped frame, a huge old gum rising from the forest floor at the rainforest wedding.
The three bridesmaids in pale blue beam beside Lizzie under her veil as Jack faces her at the microphone, the gardens bright behind.
Jack laughs as he lifts Lizzie's veil back, his groomsmen grinning behind him against the green mountain forest.
Jack listens with a soft smile, hands clasped, as the celebrant reads beside Lizzie under the draped beams in the Dandenong Ranges.
Lizzie reads her vows into a microphone from a small card at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges, her bridesmaids smiling behind her.
Lizzie dabs her eye as Jack reads his vows from a little card, her bridesmaids beaming in the dappled rainforest light.
Lizzie listens with hands folded and a gentle smile, the celebrant's red folder beside her and rainforest gardens behind the iron fence.
Jack eases the ring onto Lizzie's hand while the smiling celebrant holds the red folder open at the mountain ceremony.
Lizzie grins up at Jack, her hand in his, as the ring goes on in a patch of bright sun at the rainforest wedding.
Jack and Lizzie share their first kiss under the white-draped timber pergola at Avalon Castle as the bridal party cheers in the gardens.
Her dad and the front rows clap and laugh under their parasols as the kiss lands at the Dandenong Ranges garden wedding.
Guests in the rows applaud beneath white parasols at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges, the ivy-clad stone front and clipped shrubs behind.
Seen from the front, guests clap under a scatter of white parasols at the rainforest ceremony, a red-haired woman in a sun hat laughing mid-row.
A woman in a wide straw hat and a man in a navy suit smile under the parasols, sunlight filtering through the rainforest trees.
A man in a bow tie and sunglasses twirls his parasol among the seated guests at their Dandenong Ranges rainforest wedding.
Holding hands with Jack, Lizzie laughs towards the guests as two bridesmaids in pale blue smile beside the drapes of the garden ceremony.
Lizzie signs the register in the Dandenong Ranges, pen in hand and her bouquet of red and blush roses blurred in front.
Jack's three groomsmen in grey and charcoal suits stand in a row under the timber beams, rose buttonholes on and rainforest green behind.
The bridesmaids in pale blue embroidered dresses hold lilac and blue bouquets by the wrought-iron garden fence at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Jack signs at the white wrought-iron table after the rainforest garden ceremony as Lizzie looks on and the celebrant stands behind.
The celebrant turns a page as Lizzie and Jack sit at the lacy iron table under the drapes, the rainforest canopy above.
A bearded groomsman with a white rose buttonhole leans over the iron table to sign as a witness against the rainforest backdrop.
A bridesmaid in a strapless pale blue gown signs as the second witness, her lilac and blue bouquet on the table under Dandenong Ranges gums.
Lizzie and Jack rest their hands with new rings on the signed certificate beside a deep red rose at their rainforest garden wedding.
Lizzie and Jack sit at the signing table at Avalon Castle with their bridesmaids and groomsmen behind, mountain forest all around.
Jack leans across the iron table to kiss Lizzie as the bridal party laughs behind them in the forest shade of the garden ceremony.
Jack and Lizzie stride out past the giant LOVE letters as newlyweds, the bridal party following across the rainforest lawn.
Jack steals a kiss from Lizzie by the giant LOVE letters as her bridesmaids and two groomsmen grin in the mountain sunshine.
Lizzie glances back with a smile as she and Jack walk through the gardens towards the ivy-covered tower of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Jack and Lizzie cheer with an arm and a bouquet in the air below the crenellated tower, newly married after their garden ceremony.
All the guests gather around Lizzie and Jack on the lawn, the ivy-hung stone hall of Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges behind.
Arms fly up as the whole crowd cheers the newlyweds on the lawn, a stone birdbath beside the gardens of the rainforest castle.
Lizzie and Jack pose with her dad and two women in burgundy lace and navy by a huge red-barked trunk in dappled Dandenong Ranges shade.
Lizzie and Jack hold hands between her dad and a smiling woman in pleated navy for family garden portraits in the rainforest shade.
A young man in a navy shirt and a woman in grey satin join the newlyweds by white iron benches under the rainforest canopy.
A woman in a sheer black top and floral skirt stands arm in arm with Jack beside Lizzie under the mountain forest.
A group of friends, one in a red bow tie, crowds around Lizzie and Jack by a timber bench under tall Dandenong Ranges rainforest trees.
Lizzie sits on the white wrought-iron bench under the garden arch at Avalon Castle, her bridesmaids in pale blue gathered around her.
Jack joins Lizzie on the curly white bench for garden portraits, the bridesmaids holding blue and lilac bouquets in the forest shade.
Jack kisses Lizzie on the white bench while her bridesmaids laugh, a sweet pause in their rainforest garden wedding.
Sitting under the white garden arch, Lizzie and Jack show off their new rings beneath the leafy boughs of the mountain forest.
A quiet kiss on the wrought-iron bench beneath the arch, Lizzie's train across the leaves, at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
Close on Lizzie and Jack laughing on the bench, her hand over his and her red and blush roses raised in the rainforest light.
Jack gazes at Lizzie as she smiles across at him from the white bench, tall white flower heads rising from the garden beds behind.
Lizzie and Jack stand with three guests, one in teal satin and one in a floral dress, in the gardens before Avalon Castle.
A friend in a green jacket and blush dress beams beside Lizzie and Jack, the red door and rainforest gardens bright behind them.
Two guests in black suits pose with white paper parasols on their shoulders beside the drive under tall mountain gums.
Her bridesmaids gather up Lizzie's long lace train as she glides by the giant LOVE letters on the rainforest lawn of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Lizzie tucks back her hair as the bridesmaids carry her train over the leaf litter, white chairs still in rows in the rainforest garden.
The bridal party lines up before a tiered stone fountain, forest gums soaring over their mountain garden wedding.
Six attendants line up with Lizzie and Jack beside the tiered fountain of Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges, forest gums towering behind.
The bridal party bursts into laughter under the tall gums, Lizzie doubling over as a groomsman tugs at his jacket at the rainforest estate.
Jack and Lizzie lead the grinning bridal party across the leaf-strewn ground, tall forest gums of the Dandenong Ranges overhead.
Lizzie smiles straight at us on Jack's arm, the bridesmaids and groomsmen following past the fountain and gardens at Avalon Castle.
Lizzie and Jack stand close by a dark timber screen in a leafy corner of the mountain garden, red and ivory roses at her waist.
Jack bows his head towards Lizzie as she smiles at the camera, pearls and veil glowing on their Dandenong Ranges rainforest wedding day.
Lizzie perches in the O beside Jack while the bridesmaids lounge in the other giant letters on the garden lawn of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Lizzie and Jack kiss inside the O as the bridesmaids and groomsmen line the giant letters, gum forest behind on a bright mountain afternoon.
Jack looks down at Lizzie as they stroll past white swan planters in the rainforest gardens, a white horseshoe charm on her wrist.
Hand in hand, Lizzie and Jack walk past the clipped conifers and ivy-covered walls of Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
Jack laughs as he leads Lizzie by the hand and she leans back playfully along the dappled path during their garden portraits.
Lizzie turns to Jack as he draws her along the shaded path past tall clipped conifers and deep green ivy at the mountain castle.
Lizzie and Jack smile at each other walking down the garden drive from the ivy-draped walls of Avalon Castle, the drinks cart behind.
Lizzie and Jack pose with four friends on the shaded drive, a bearded guest leaning in behind, Dandenong Ranges rainforest beyond.
Lizzie hugs two friends in a striped knit dress and a blue lace slip dress on the sunny drive at the garden wedding.
Three friends crowd in beside Lizzie and Jack before the gardens and gabled stone hall of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
A guest in a black ruffle-sleeved dress and a bearded man in a red tie lean in close in the Dandenong Ranges sunshine.
A guest in a striped dress links arms with a young man in a black suit, the fountain and mountain forest blurred behind.
A man in sunglasses and a paisley tie stands with a woman in navy lace, flute in hand, on a path through the rainforest gardens.
A bearded guest in pinstripes strikes a pose beside Lizzie while a friend in teal snaps them at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
Jack throws his arms around four friends in blue suits on the lawn, giant pick-up sticks on the grass at the garden wedding.
Jack crouches into a cheeky pose as his friends crack up around him, forest trees edging the rainforest lawn behind.
A guest in a black halter and a man in a red bow tie share a white iron bench in the Avalon Castle gardens.
Guests relax on a timber bench under a huge red-barked tree while a woman in navy scrolls her phone in the mountain shade.
A man in a blue shirt flashes a peace sign behind the seated guests under a big shady tree at the rainforest venue.
Two friends in a blue lace slip dress and a striped knit dress smile arm in arm by a garden path in the Dandenong Ranges.
Lizzie poses with a friend in round glasses and a peach floral dress, the castle's ivy and gardens soft behind in the mountain sun.
Jack throws an arm over a friend in sunglasses and a purple tie beside Lizzie, the ivy-wrapped tower of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo, behind.
Lizzie laughs with friends by the flower-topped refreshment cart as a bearded guest in a pink tie raises his drink after the garden ceremony.
A blond guest in a silver bow tie taps his watch with a grin by the giant LOVE letters at the rainforest venue.
A bald guest drops a yellow counter into the giant four-in-a-row game as friends gasp at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
Lizzie and Jack stand with a man in a blue suit and a red-haired guest in a floral skirt at the rainforest estate.
A blonde bridesmaid in pale blue lace and a man in a paisley tie smile together at the garden wedding in the Dandenong Ranges.
Lizzie and Jack pose with a bridesmaid in flutter-sleeved blue lace and a friend in glasses by the drinks cart at Avalon Castle.
A bridesmaid in ruffled sleeves smiles with a friend in glasses close behind her, the crenellated tower of the mountain castle beyond.
Lizzie stands with a tall friend in a lace-hemmed blue slip dress, the lawn and rainforest gardens of the Dandenong Ranges behind.
Lizzie and Jack glance back hand in hand on the stone path, heading through the gardens towards the red door of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Lizzie and Jack stroll the curving garden path from the draped ceremony frame towards the LOVE letters, forest gums rising behind.
Jack and Lizzie kiss on the path between the draped ceremony frame and the LOVE letters at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
Lizzie pauses on the timber staircase as Jack looks up at her beneath the glittering crystal chandelier of the mountain castle.
Jack gathers Lizzie's train as she turns with a smile on the timber staircase under the crystal chandelier at Avalon Castle.
Lizzie gazes down at Jack from the stairs as he holds her train below a leadlight window of the rainforest castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
Framed by a dark doorway, Jack carries Lizzie's lace train along a lantern-lit hallway inside Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Jack follows Lizzie through the dark timber doorway from the hallway, her bouquet held low and a soft smile on her mountain wedding day.
A rose-crowned Find Your Seat chart on a white easel waits beside a dark timber post for the garden wedding lunch.
Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges sets its reception room with white tables, a flower-hung top table, timber beams and leadlight windows.
Deep red and white rose centrepieces and tiny jars of red lollies line a hessian runner down the long table for the rainforest lunch.
A long garland of white and blush roses with trailing greenery spills over the top table of the mountain wedding beneath a polished shield.
A handwritten name card, a flickering tea light and a deep red rose arrangement sit at one place setting for lunch in the Dandenong Ranges.
A tiny jar of striped lollies tied with a pink ribbon sits beside a place card and polished cutlery at the rainforest celebration.
At Avalon Castle, a three-tier white cake with blush roses stands by the leadlight window beside the wishing well and wrapped gifts.
A selfie station of feather boas, a sequined top hat and a purple hat waits by a red curtain at the rainforest venue.
Holding hands, Lizzie and Jack cross the parquet of the reception hall at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo, past the cake table.
Their first dance begins on the parquet, Lizzie's hand on Jack's shoulder under the crystal chandelier and timber mezzanine of the mountain castle.
Guests film from their seats as Lizzie and Jack dance under the chandeliers inside Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
Three crystal chandeliers glow over the timber mezzanine as Lizzie and Jack dance on the parquet and guests film at the rainforest reception.
Lizzie smiles up at Jack as he looks down at their joined hands, her veil drifting across the dance floor of their garden wedding.
Jack bows his head close to Lizzie's as they sway on the parquet, a slow dance on a Dandenong Ranges rainforest afternoon.
Seen past the seated guests, Lizzie and Jack dance before tall windows full of forest gums at Avalon Castle.
Lizzie leans into Jack as they dance by the leadlight windows, a heart-shaped wall light and a glowing chandelier above them at the rainforest castle.
Guests at a long table turn towards the dance floor, tall windows behind them full of Dandenong Ranges greenery.
Her dad sits with a woman in navy and a guest in burgundy lace at their table during lunch at the rainforest garden wedding.
Lizzie, Jack and their bridal party sit along the top table under a rose garland and fairy-light curtain at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Standing at the top table, Lizzie hugs her three seated bridesmaids from behind, a shield and red-diamond leadlight beside them at the rainforest wedding.
Jack stands behind his three groomsmen with white rose buttonholes at the top table of the garden wedding, a gleaming shield on the wall.
Her dad, bow tie and white rose buttonhole on, sits close to a smiling woman in navy at lunch in the Dandenong Ranges.
A friend in peach florals, a bald guest in a striped tie and a woman in deep red lace smile at a mountain wedding table.
Three guests share a smile over a red rose centrepiece and a bottle of bubbles on ice during the rainforest lunch.
Three guests, a woman in teal satin among them, share a rose-filled table inside Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
A blonde guest in black lace leans in beside a man in a grey bow tie for a grin at the garden wedding.
A red-haired guest in glasses and a friend in navy polka dots beam side by side at the rainforest venue, ribbon-tied chairs behind.
A guest in a striped tie wraps an arm around a red-haired woman as she leans on his shoulder at the mountain lunch.
A bearded guest in a red tie cuddles up with a woman in black ruffles by a sunny window onto the rainforest garden.
Two friends in black ruffles and a striped off-shoulder top lean close by a sunny window looking out on the Dandenong Ranges.
A guest in a striped top and a man in a black shirt and tie pose against bright rainforest windows at Avalon Castle.
A young man in black and a guest in a navy tie sit at a rose-filled rainforest lunch table, forest greenery through the window.
A guest in a red bow tie rests his chin on his fist beside a woman in a black halter dress at the mountain reception.
Two guests in olive satin and a navy slip dress with crystal earrings sit beneath a diamond-paned window in the castle reception.
A guest in a cream wrap dress smiles beside a man in a blue shirt flashing a peace sign at the rainforest garden wedding lunch.
At their table, a guest in a floral strapless dress and a man in a crisp white shirt smile for us in the Dandenong Ranges.
A man in a green striped shirt and a blonde guest in navy lace grin between rose centrepieces at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Two friends in navy lace and a blue slip dress smile behind a posy of blush blooms at the rainforest wedding lunch.
A bearded man in a pink tie laughs with friends at a sunny window table above the gardens.
Two friends, one in stripes and one in a green satin jacket, laugh by a bright window framing tall mountain forest.
Guests tuck into lunch at a long table beneath a crystal chandelier and wire hearts at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
Guests chat over lunch by a tall window onto the rainforest, a wire heart lamp glowing on the white wall beside them.
A guest in black lace laughs mid-story beside a man in a grey bow tie as Jack listens at the rainforest wedding top table.
Heads turn along a guest table towards the bridal party seated before the fairy-light curtain at the mountain reception.
Lizzie and Jack smile behind a lush bank of white and blush roses, fairy lights twinkling in the curtain at their garden wedding.
From the back of the room, long lunch tables fill the Avalon Castle reception hall beneath a raked timber ceiling and chandeliers.
A bridesmaid in pale blue stands with a microphone for her speech as Lizzie and Jack listen at the rainforest reception.
A red-haired bridesmaid laughs into the microphone during her speech as Jack grins beside Lizzie at the top table in the Dandenong Ranges.
Lizzie beams up at a blonde bridesmaid speaking into the microphone, Jack and the groomsmen smiling along the mountain wedding top table.
Lizzie gives a blonde bridesmaid a bright smile as she speaks, the groomsmen grinning along the table at the rainforest celebration.
Hands folded, Lizzie listens as the bridesmaid holds the microphone beside the fairy-light curtain at their garden wedding lunch.
Jack glances across with a shy smile during the bridesmaid's speech, his groomsmen leaning in along the rose-lined table in the Dandenong Ranges.
Her dad, jacket off and bow tie on, listens to the speeches beside a woman in navy at the rainforest castle lunch.
A bridesmaid in pale blue laughs into the microphone as Lizzie and Jack grin at the top table of their rainforest wedding reception.
A groomsman in a charcoal suit reads his speech from folded notes as Jack and Lizzie look up during their Dandenong Ranges lunch.
Jack points to himself with a grin as the groomsman turns a page of his speech under the fairy-lit drapes of the garden wedding.
Lizzie claps and Jack beams as the groomsman reads into the microphone, two bridesmaids laughing along the top table in the Dandenong Ranges.
A blond guest in a white shirt and bow tie turns towards the speeches in the reception room at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo, chandeliers above.
Guests on dark timber chairs tied with white bows turn and smile from a long table in the rainforest venue, wire hearts on the wall.
Three bridesmaids in pale blue laugh at the speeches beside a heraldic shield and a leadlight window looking out to the gardens.
Lizzie gasps in mock shock as the groomsman reads on and Jack glances sideways behind blush and white roses at the Dandenong Ranges reception.
Guests at a long table with a hessian runner and red roses smile our way, a braced timber door behind them in the rainforest hall.
A guest in a pink tie and his friends listen from a garden wedding table by a tall window filled with green forest leaves.
The top table raises glasses and a bottle in a toast beneath a white rose garland and glowing bulbs at Avalon Castle.
Lizzie claps under the fairy-lit drapes beside Jack and the groomsman with his folded notes at their rainforest wedding lunch.
Jack, Lizzie and two friends pose on the parquet floor under the crystal chandelier at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
A tall blond guest in navy and a bow tie stands with Lizzie and Jack on the herringbone parquet at the garden wedding.
A curly-haired guest in a polka dot dress joins Lizzie and Jack on the parquet beneath the timber beams of the rainforest castle.
Lizzie and Jack pose with a young man in a black shirt and blue tie for garden portraits below the ivy of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
A bridesmaid in her one-shoulder pale blue dress and a man in glasses pose before the top table on a mountain afternoon.
Two friends in black lace and polka dots raise flutes by sunny leadlight doors at the Dandenong Ranges rainforest venue.
A bridesmaid in her strapless pale blue gown and a man in a purple paisley tie stand by a diamond-paned window, the gardens green outside.
Six friends with drinks gather by the leadlight window and a rose-topped console on a bright mountain afternoon at the rainforest wedding.
A blonde guest in black lace beams beside a tall blond man in a striped bow tie, champagne in hand, in the Dandenong Ranges.
The groomsman who gave the speech and a curly-haired friend in polka dots smile with flutes by the timber bar after the garden ceremony.
A curly-haired groomsman with a white rose buttonhole hugs a blonde friend in black lace and a dotted pleated skirt at the rainforest wedding.
A woman in a black ruffle-shouldered dress and a tall blond man in navy pose under the timber mezzanine of the mountain castle.
Jack walks through a shaft of sunlight against a dark wall of ivy in the rainforest gardens, his white rose buttonhole bright in the shade.
Glancing back over her shoulder, Lizzie rests a hand on the iron rail by a weathered timber door at Avalon Castle, forest trees behind.
Lizzie walks across the lawn past a stone birdbath for garden portraits, the ivy-clad front and red arched door of the mountain castle behind.
Lizzie lifts her lace skirt and smiles down at her roses on the rainforest lawn of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo, the ivy wall rising behind.
Jack looks down at Lizzie with a grin as they stroll the path under tall forest gums, the giant white letters behind them.
Laughing, Lizzie walks with Jack past the giant white LOVE letters at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges, forest gums overhead.
Lizzie smiles over her shoulder as Jack hugs her from behind in the gardens, folded ceremony chairs stacked under the mountain gums.
Jack and Lizzie laugh as they walk the grass past the stacked white chairs, rainforest gums of the Dandenong Ranges rising behind them.
Lizzie throws an arm round Jack's neck for a piggyback by the stone birdbath below the ivy-clad front of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo, and its gardens.
Jack lifts Lizzie high on the lawn, her train flowing, the ivy front and red door bright in the mountain sun.
Back inside after their garden portraits, Jack and Lizzie stand close beside a full-size suit of armour and an arched timber door at Avalon Castle.
From above, Lizzie smiles up beside Jack between the armour and the arched door, her train fanned on the brick floor of the rainforest castle.
Lizzie and Jack kiss beside the suit of armour, the moment caught again in a gilt-framed mirror at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
The wedding story

Our Avalon Castle wedding photos: parasols in the garden, a cheer under the tower and a kiss beside the armour

Robes and bubbles at home · Getting ready at Avalon Castle · Garden ceremony under white drapes · Arch, bench and LOVE letters · Lunch and speeches under the chandelier · Mirror and armour portraits

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Robes, roses and bubbles

Lizzie’s morning started at home. Her lace gown hung in the window, the rings and pearl earrings sat on white linen beside a red rose, and a bridesmaid poured bubbles into a row of glasses next to a single white rose in a blue bottle. Out in the garden, Lizzie and her bridesmaids lined up in pink robes and slippers, giggling in the shade. Their bouquets were soft blue, lilac and white, with Lizzie’s in deeper reds. We shot the details by the window, where the light was clean and even.

Jack in the castle

Up at Avalon Castle, Jack and his groomsmen had the castle to themselves. Three jackets hung on a rail under a timber ceiling, and Jack stood by a window with his boutonniere pinned, one side of his face in light and the other in shadow, a frame we kept in black and white. Downstairs, a young guest ran across the parquet floor of the reception room into a big hug beneath the chandelier. Outside, giant white LOVE letters stood on the lawn, framed by the gums.

Lace by the leadlight window

Lizzie arrived and stepped into her fitted lace gown in a room with a diamond-paned window. We stood her side-on to the glass with her bouquet low, so the light ran down the lace and the train pooled on the carpet. Her bridesmaids, in pale blue patterned dresses, crowded round to fuss with the veil and laugh. Down the hall, her dad waited in an armchair in the half-dark, in his suit and bright socks, ready long before anyone needed him. That quiet frame is one of our favourites.

Down the stone steps

Guests found their seats past a welcome sign beside the LOVE letters, and someone handed out white paper parasols, which bobbed over the rows all through the ceremony. Then a bridesmaid came down the stone steps from the castle’s red arched doors and through the rose garden, and Lizzie followed on her dad’s arm along the curving path. We shot that walk from the lawn below, because the steps stack the castle, the garden and the bride into one frame. Under white drapes, Jack was already grinning.

Parasols and a happy tear

The ceremony spot sat under a timber roof hung with white drapes, with the garden’s trees all around and wrought-iron fencing behind. That combination is a gift at lunchtime: the drapes soften the high sun on faces, while the guests sit in the light. Lizzie dabbed her eye as Jack read his vows from a little card, the bridesmaids beamed beside her, and the front rows clapped and laughed along. The ring exchange was all giggles. We stayed tight on their faces and let the parasols fill the wide frames.

A cheer under the tower

They signed at a white wrought-iron table with the celebrant beside them and the bridal party gathered behind, and then they were off. On the drive in front of the castle, Jack threw both arms in the air and Lizzie laughed behind her bouquet, the crenellated stone tower and its ivy right behind them. It was the happiest frame of the day and it took a second. Family photos followed in the dappled shade, with Lizzie and Jack between two loved ones in navy and black.

Arch, bench and LOVE

We walked the bridal party into the garden. Under the trees, a white wrought-iron arch and a curly white bench gave us a soft, shaded frame for the bridesmaids, and then for Lizzie and Jack alone, his hand on her knee. The bridesmaids carried her train across the lawn, the whole party strolled under the gums, and everyone posed behind the giant LOVE letters. Then a slow walk past the ivy-covered tower and its clipped conifers, and a few minutes of Jack and his mates being silly on the grass.

Lunch under the chandelier

While we worked, guests crowded round a giant four-in-a-row game on the lawn, arguing over every counter. Inside, Lizzie paused with Jack on the staircase under a crystal chandelier. The reception room had polished parquet, a timber mezzanine and leadlight windows, with a floral seating chart at the door. Speeches came over lunch: a bridesmaid with a microphone and a groomsman reading from folded notes while Lizzie and Jack laughed at the top table. Then their first dance on the parquet, in full afternoon daylight, with the chandelier glinting above them.

The gilt mirror and the armour

We finished with a last stroll on the lawn, Lizzie lifting her skirt to walk and Jack looking down at her with a grin. Back inside, we found a gilt-framed mirror on a cream wall beside a full-size suit of armour and an arched timber door. Lizzie and Jack kissed beside the armour, and we caught them twice: once in the room, once in the mirror. Castles are full of little corners like this, and they are worth ten minutes of wandering with a camera.

Photographer's venue notes

Avalon Castle, Cockatoo: a parasol garden ceremony at lunchtime and an afternoon of castle corners

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How the day moved around the castle

Lizzie and Jack used almost every part of the estate without ever needing a car. Jack dressed upstairs in the castle while Lizzie arrived from home and finished in a room with leadlight windows, so the bridal walk began right at the red arched doors. From there the stone steps and the curving garden path carried her to the draped timber ceremony frame. Family groups, the bridal party and the couple’s portraits all stayed outdoors, and lunch, speeches and the first dance followed inside.

Working with a high midday sun

A lunchtime ceremony on a clear mountain day puts the sun almost straight overhead, and that shaped every choice we made. The white drapes over the ceremony frame acted like a huge diffuser, so Lizzie and Jack’s faces stayed clean while the guests sat bright under their paper parasols. For family groups we moved into the dappled shade of the big red-barked tree. By the end of lunch the light on the lawn had eased, and their last walk had the ivy front glowing behind them.

The corners that worked for Lizzie and Jack

The wrought-iron arch and curly bench gave us a shaded, flattering set for the bridesmaids and then for the two of them, with tall white flower heads in the beds adding a soft edge behind. The giant LOVE letters became a climbing frame for the whole party, which loosened everyone up. Indoors, the timber staircase let Jack stand below and gather her train under the chandelier, and the gilt mirror beside the armour gave us a second view of the same kiss.

Tips for a lunchtime castle wedding

If your ceremony falls in the middle of the day, choose a spot with a roof or drapes over where you will stand, and let guests carry parasols or fans so nobody squints through the vows. Keep portraits brief before the meal and plan a second, slower walk afterwards, once the shadows have stretched across the grass. Lawn games such as giant four-in-a-row keep guests happy while we steal you away. Then leave a little spare time to explore the darker rooms indoors, where the quirkiest frames hide.

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