Avalon Castle wedding photos: Katherine and Lucy embrace among tall forest trees and ferns, their long gowns trailing across the leaf litter, Dandenong Ranges
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Real mountain wedding · Cockatoo, Melbourne

Avalon Castle Wedding Photos: Katherine & Lucy

Avalon Castle · 1 Flora Close, Cockatoo VIC · Melbourne

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

A black dog trotting along the aisle, two brides meeting under a timber arbour among the gums, and a fountain glowing blue after dark. Katherine and Lucy’s wedding at Avalon Castle in Cockatoo had all of it, high in the Dandenong Ranges on a bright summer afternoon. We followed them from a toast with cans by the window to portraits on an arched balcony, a reception under a crystal chandelier and a last kiss in the night air, and we loved every minute.

The gallery
Lucy in a white satin robe has her eye makeup finished at home on the morning of the wedding.
Lucy leans in close to an old black dog with a grey muzzle, cupping its ear as she gets ready.
Lucy smiles in her lace gown beside her dad and a woman in a burgundy sequin dress, her bouquet in front.
Lucy holds her burgundy, blush and white rose bouquet between her dad in a navy waistcoat and a woman in burgundy lace.
A young girl in a black dress with a red sash hugs Lucy in front of tall white vertical blinds.
Lucy stands beside a young man in a pale blue shirt against the window blinds, holding her rose and fern bouquet.
Lucy poses with a bridesmaid with bright pink hair, a young man and a young girl against the white blinds.
Lucy stands between a man in a linen blazer and her pink haired bridesmaid, both bouquets held out in front.
Lucy and her bridesmaids in burgundy halter dresses clink cans with a bridal party member in braces and a bow tie.
Close in on the burgundy, blush and white rose bouquets as Lucy laughs with her bridal party by the blinds.
Lucy and a blonde bridesmaid in a burgundy halter dress smile side by side, their rose and fern bouquets together.
A bridesmaid with a curled updo and drop earrings shares a smile with Lucy in soft light from the blinds.
Lucy and the bridal party member in braces and a burgundy bow tie grin together in front of the window blinds.
Lucy and her pink haired bridesmaid press their matching rose and fern bouquets together for a close portrait.
A guest with spiked teal hair and a patterned tie laughs with Lucy beside the bright window.
Lucy lowers her eyes and adjusts a stem in her bouquet of burgundy and blush roses, lace bodice in soft light.
Lucy turns side-on against a plain white wall in her lace and satin gown, bouquet resting at her hip.
Katherine in a white satin robe sits in the honeymoon cottage at Avalon Castle, her dad in a dark suit behind her.
Katherine sits at the end of the carved four-poster bed in her satin robe, glass in hand, on her mountain wedding day.
Katherine raises a glass with her bridesmaids in pink and lilac satin robes and a bridal party member in braces before the garden ceremony.
Arm in arm from behind, Katherine and her robed bridal party walk a stone path through the rainforest greenery of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Getting ready in the Dandenong Ranges, Katherine glances back to show her tattoos and lace low back as a bridesmaid fixes her skirt.
A bridesmaid fans out Katherine's long chiffon skirt across the cottage tiles beside a giant pink confetti balloon at the rainforest wedding.
Holding her rose and fern bouquet, Katherine turns to the open cottage door as a black dog wanders in from the garden.
Katherine smiles by the open timber door of the Avalon Castle cottage, her long chiffon train spread across the floor beside an old bookcase.
Daylight from the doorway and the gardens beyond runs down Katherine's low back, a line of buttons and a shoulder tattoo.
Katherine and a blonde bridesmaid in a raspberry halter gown stand before tall bamboo screening at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
Katherine stands with a bridal party member in a burgundy bow tie and braces against a green wall of bamboo at the mountain venue.
A bridesmaid with a shoulder tattoo smiles beside Katherine on the shaded deck among the bamboo, a summer afternoon in the Dandenong Ranges.
Katherine and a bridesmaid with drop earrings hold matching bouquets in the bamboo shade before the rainforest ceremony.
Katherine and a bridesmaid in a raspberry halter dress smile in the shade of the bamboo at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Katherine stands arm in arm with her dad in his grey double-breasted suit among the bamboo ahead of her garden wedding.
Close detail of Katherine's beaded lace bodice above a cascading bouquet of burgundy, peach and ivory roses and fern for her mountain wedding.
Katherine glances down over her shoulder by the cottage window, back tattoo showing and bouquet held low, on her rainforest wedding day.
In black and white, Katherine tucks a loose curl behind her ear in the soft mountain light by the window.
Katherine sits sideways on a timber chair in the mountain cottage, her chiffon train pooled over the tiles, ready for her garden ceremony.
Her dad walks Lucy across the lawn and gardens from the ivy-covered façade and red arched doors of Avalon Castle.
A bridesmaid in burgundy leads the old black dog down the deck aisle under the gums, opening a garden ceremony in the Dandenong Ranges.
Katherine's dad brings her along the deck past an old wagon-wheel cart, the leafy rainforest canopy overhead.
Katherine and Lucy hold hands under the timber arbour on the Rose Terrace, the rainforest rising tall behind them.
Guests in sunglasses smile from white folding chairs as a young girl leans on a woman in a burgundy sequin dress in the mountain sun.
An older couple and a man in a grey suit watch the garden ceremony, two little boys in bow ties sitting on the deck behind.
The bridesmaids in burgundy halter gowns smile beside a tall gum trunk at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges as the vows begin.
Lucy's dad holds hands with the young girl in black as guests watch the rainforest ceremony, a tiered fountain behind them.
Katherine and Lucy throw their arms in the air under the arbour on the Rose Terrace as bridesmaids cheer beneath the rainforest canopy.
Every guest gathers with Katherine and Lucy on the lawn before the ivy-covered castle and its crenellated tower in the Dandenong Ranges.
Arms go up and bouquets wave as the crowd cheers for the brides on the lawn at Avalon Castle under a clear mountain sky.
Garden portraits begin with the brides, two little boys in matching bow ties, a man in braces and a bridesmaid under tall gums.
A bridesmaid in burgundy and a man in braces pose with two little boys in bow ties near the fountain at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Katherine and Lucy stand with both dads and two women in burgundy and pink lace on the lawn at the edge of the rainforest.
Lucy's dad and a woman in burgundy lace stand either side of the brides in a family group under tall gums in the Dandenong Ranges.
Katherine's dad and a woman in pink lace join the brides by the weeping tree, the tiered fountain and rainforest gardens behind.
Katherine's dad, a woman in pink lace and a bridesmaid in burgundy join the brides at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges.
A family group with a little boy in a bow tie at the front gathers on the lawn, rainforest trees behind them.
The pink haired bridesmaid, a young girl in black and a young man in blue join the brides at their Dandenong Ranges garden wedding.
The young girl in black hugs the pink haired bridesmaid's arm as a young man stands close behind, rainforest greenery all around.
A big extended family group lines up with the brides and a little boy in a bow tie in the rainforest gardens of Avalon Castle.
The brides pose with a woman in a teal sequin dress and two young men in suits during mountain garden portraits under the gums.
An older man in a dark suit and a young man in a burgundy tie flank Katherine and Lucy beneath the rainforest trees.
The guest with spiked teal hair stands between Katherine and Lucy, an arm around each, at their Dandenong Ranges rainforest wedding.
A man in a striped tie and a woman in a sheer floral wrap stand beside the two brides for garden portraits on the lawn.
A man in a blazer and a woman in a navy floral dress pose with the brides by the weeping tree in the mountain air.
The man in the dark blazer joins the brides again with a woman in burgundy lace holding a glass of bubbles in the rainforest garden.
The full bridal party in burgundy and braces lines up with the brides as the black dog wanders through at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Katherine and Lucy sit beneath an iron arch for garden portraits in the Dandenong Ranges, their bow-tied dog at their feet.
The brides laugh together on the bench as the old dog in its pink bow tie looks up at Katherine in the rainforest shade.
Katherine and Lucy share a kiss on the bench beneath the iron arch at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges while the dog grins.
Close on the brides holding hands on the bench, Katherine's crystal hairpiece and shoulder tattoo beside Lucy's lace at their garden wedding.
The whole bridal party in burgundy and braces stands with the brides among tall straight gums in the forest at Avalon Castle.
The bridal party walks towards us with the brides hand in hand along a rainforest track lined with slender gum trunks.
Katherine and Lucy embrace among tall gum trunks and low ferns in the Dandenong Ranges forest, trains spread over the leaf litter.
A wider view of the brides hugging in the rainforest, sunlight dappling the ferns and straight trunks around them.
Katherine laughs over her shoulder with an arm around Lucy, her tattooed shoulder lit by sun through the mountain forest.
Katherine and Lucy raise joined hands as they enter the reception room at Avalon Castle, Cockatoo, under a crystal chandelier.
Lucy sits at the bridal table with the bridesmaids in burgundy and the man in braces at their Dandenong Ranges reception.
Katherine stands behind her seated bridesmaids at the bridal table beside a floral hoop bearing both their names at the rainforest wedding reception.
The brides look out from an arched balcony doorway beside a suit of armour, the gardens of Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges below.
Seen from above, Katherine and Lucy embrace in the arched doorway, trains spilling across the floor, the mountain gardens bright beyond.
The brides kiss inside the arched balcony doorway of Avalon Castle, the gardens, a bench and the drive glowing in low sun beyond.
Katherine and Lucy kiss on the stone path in late sun, light flaring through the rainforest trees behind them.
Hand in hand, the brides walk past the three-tier fountain in the gardens in warm late light, the Dandenong Ranges rainforest behind.
Katherine and Lucy embrace on the drive below the ivy tower and clipped conifer gardens of Avalon Castle, Cockatoo.
Katherine and Lucy begin their first dance on the parquet floor under the crystal chandelier as guests look on at the rainforest venue.
In black and white, the brides rest their foreheads together during the first dance of their mountain wedding.
After dark, Katherine and Lucy hold each other by the garden fountain at Avalon Castle in the Dandenong Ranges, lit blue and violet.
Rim-lit against the night, the brides kiss beside a curling iron balustrade at the end of their garden wedding.
The wedding story

Our Avalon Castle wedding photos: a dog on the aisle, an arched balcony and a fountain lit at night

Getting ready at home and in the castle’s honeymoon cottage · Ceremony on the deck under the gums · Every guest on the castle lawn · Forest, balcony and fountain portraits · Reception under the chandelier · Night portraits by the lit fountain

Read the full story

Cans up by the blinds

Lucy’s day began at home, with her makeup being finished and an old black dog with a grey muzzle leaning in for a cuddle. We like to start with whoever drops by, so we lined up loved ones one after another against the vertical blinds. Light coming through blinds is softer than it looks: it wraps around faces and stops a white lace bodice from blowing out. Then the bridesmaids in burgundy, plus a member of the bridal party in braces and a bow tie, raised their cans and clinked them with Lucy.

A quiet minute with the roses

Between the hugs, Lucy found a quiet minute. She fiddled with a stem in her bouquet of burgundy, blush and white roses with ferns, and we came in close so the lace and the petals shared the frame. A young girl in a black dress wrapped her arms around her, and a bridesmaid with bright pink hair squeezed in for a photo of their own. For the last frame here we turned Lucy side-on and stepped back against a plain white wall. A clean background is the simplest way to make a lace gown read clearly.

Satin robes and a four-poster

Over at Avalon Castle, Katherine was getting ready in the honeymoon cottage, a dark-timbered room with a carved four-poster bed and lace-covered side tables. She sat at the end of the bed in a white satin robe while the room settled around her. Then the robes came together: her bridesmaids in pink and lilac satin and one of her party in braces and a bow tie, all leaning in around her with glasses raised. Rooms like this are full of character, so we shoot wide and low to keep those carved bedposts in the frame.

Buttons in the doorway light

The gown went on, and a bridesmaid knelt to fan out the skirt while a giant confetti balloon floated behind them. The low back showed off Katherine’s tattoos and a long line of buttons, so we turned her towards the open cottage door and let the daylight run down her back. Right on cue, a black dog wandered in through that same doorway. Outside, a timber deck screened by tall bamboo gave us shade and a green wall for photos with each bridesmaid. One quiet frame by the window we kept in black and white.

Two walks to one arbour

Late in the afternoon, Lucy’s dad walked her out from the castle’s red arched doors and across the lawn, a wide frame that takes in the whole ivy-covered façade. On the deck under the gums, a bridesmaid led the dog along the boards, tongue out and loving the attention. Then Katherine’s dad brought her in past an old wagon-wheel cart. They met under a timber arbour and held both hands. We worked from the side aisle and the back rows, catching guests holding hands, smiling behind sunglasses and leaning in to hear every word.

Every guest on the lawn

At the end of the ceremony both brides threw their arms in the air under the arbour, with the bridesmaids cheering on either side. Then we gathered everyone for the photo Katherine and Lucy had asked for: every guest on the lawn in front of the castle, waving. It is a favourite among our Avalon Castle wedding photos because the ivy and the turrets fill the background so well. For a group that size we stand well back and go wide. Family groups followed by the fountain and a weeping tree, including two little boys in matching bow ties.

Burgundy, braces and a bow-tied dog

The bridal party lined up in front of a stand of tall gums: bridesmaids in burgundy halter dresses, a man in braces and a bow tie at each end, and the dog wandering through the middle. It was never going to sit still, so we stopped asking and photographed it anyway. For a calmer frame, Katherine and Lucy sat on a timber bench under an iron arch with the dog between them, now wearing a burgundy bow tie of its own. Pets at weddings photograph best with a handler close by and a few treats in a pocket.

Gum trunks and an arched balcony

Then it was just the two of them. A few steps from the lawn the gums close in, and their tall, straight trunks look like deep forest. The light under there is broken and soft, ideal for full-length frames with long trains spread over the leaf litter. Inside the castle we found an arched doorway onto a balcony, a suit of armour standing guard beside it and the gardens falling away below. Backlit by the arch, they leaned in for a kiss. As the sun dropped we walked them past the fountain in warm, low light, then finished at the ivy tower.

Chandelier, first dance, blue fountain

The reception room had a crystal chandelier, a wrought-iron mezzanine and a parquet floor. Katherine and Lucy came in with their joined hands in the air and the guests already clapping. At the bridal table a floral hoop with their names hung beside a diamond-paned window. Their first dance drew everyone to the edge of the floor, and we kept one close frame in black and white. After dark we took them back outside, where the fountain glowed blue and violet, and finished with a kiss against a curling iron balustrade, rim-lit from behind.

Photographer's venue notes

Avalon Castle, Cockatoo: a deck ceremony under the gums, forest portraits and a fountain glowing after dark

Read the venue notes

From cottage to deck to forest

Katherine dressed in the honeymoon cottage on the grounds while Lucy arrived from home, which let the two brides make separate entrances to the same arbour. Lucy came out through the red arched doors and across the lawn, and Katherine came along the deck past the old wagon-wheel cart. After the vows everybody spilled onto the lawn for the big group, families moved to the fountain and weeping tree, and then we slipped into the gums with the bridal party before the reception began.

Summer sun and a shady canopy

Their ceremony fell late on a bright summer afternoon, and the canopy over the deck kept the arbour in open shade while the lawn in front of the castle stayed sunny. That contrast was useful: the shaded deck gave even skin tones through the vows, and the bright lawn made the crowd shot crisp and colourful. As the sun dropped behind the trees we chased it, using the flare through the forest for a kiss on the stone path and warm side light for the stroll past the fountain.

The spots that suited Katherine and Lucy

Inside the cottage, the open timber door was the best light in the room, and it ran beautifully down Katherine’s low back and tattoos. The bamboo screening on the deck outside gave us a green wall for one-on-one frames with each bridesmaid. In the forest, the straight trunks and low ferns let both trains spread out without competing. Our favourite indoor frame was the balcony doorway: with the brides just inside and the bright gardens behind, the arch outlines them and the armour adds a wink of character.

Ideas for planning a day like theirs

Two brides with two walks need two clear routes, so decide early which entrance suits each family and we will place ourselves to cover both. If you want every guest in one frame, call it the moment the ceremony ends, before anyone drifts off for a drink. Keep a short window free after dark for the fountain once its lights come on. The blue and violet glow gives you a completely different set of portraits from the daylight ones, and it takes only a few minutes away from the party.

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