Burnley Gardens wedding photos: Angela and Sean share a dipping kiss on a flagstone path beneath a leafy arched pergola, Melbourne
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Real wedding · Burnley, Melbourne

Burnley Gardens Wedding Photos: Angela & Sean

Burnley Gardens · 500 Yarra Blvd, Burnley VIC · Melbourne

Garden Wedding · City: Melbourne · Venue: Burnley Gardens

A curly apricot dog who sat beside Sean through the whole ceremony, vows under old trees on a bright February afternoon, and a golden finish on the water at Docklands. Angela and Sean’s Burnley Gardens wedding in Richmond took in family mornings at two homes, an afternoon garden reception with speeches and cake, and an evening walk across the Webb Bridge. We were with them from the first cup of tea to the last of the light, and we would happily do it all again.

The gallery
Sean, seen from behind, shakes hands with his smiling dad in a red patterned tie as the morning gets under way at home.
Sean in a charcoal suit and sage green tie gazes out a bright window as he buttons his jacket.
Sean stands by the window with his hands in his pockets, a white rose buttonhole pinned to his lapel.
Sean and his dad in a navy suit and red tie stand side by side against a white garage door.
Sean and his dad turn to smile at each other, hands in pockets, in front of the white garage door.
Sean stands shoulder to shoulder with a smiling man in glasses and a blue tie against the white door.
Sean poses beside a man in a grey check suit and blue tie on the driveway in front of the garage.
Sean lines up with three men in his family, all in dark and grey suits, along the white garage door.
Sean and three of the men in his family chat and laugh, hands in pockets, against the white garage door.
Arms around shoulders, Sean and three family men in suits grin together in front of the garage.
Six family members in suits and dresses, one in blue satin, line up on the front lawn by a clipped hedge.
Five loved ones in suits, a trench coat, blue satin and blush pink stand by the hedge outside a red brick house.
In the bay window, a friend in blush pink lifts the train of Angela's strapless lace gown as a loved one in blue satin smiles.
Angela turns towards the window light, her long veil and train spread across the pale carpet behind her.
Seated in a cane chair, Angela laughs as a friend in blush pink kneels to fasten her white heels.
A friend in a blush pink gown buckles Angela's shoes beside a cane armchair, white roses on the bed in front.
Angela smiles over her shoulder through the soft tulle of her veil in black and white.
A close portrait of Angela peeking out from under her veil, red lips and a bright smile in window light.
Angela holds white roses with a friend in blush pink, a loved one in blue satin and her dad in the leafy back garden.
Angela and her dad in a navy suit and striped tie smile together in front of the ivy covered fence at home.
Angela holds her white and blue bouquet beside a loved one in a blue satin halter dress against green leaves.
Angela and her friend in a blush pink one shoulder gown pose cheek to cheek in front of the hedge.
Angela and her friend in blush pink turn to smile at each other, the bouquet of white roses between them.
Angela looks down at her veil as it spills across the back garden grass, white roses and blue berries in her hand.
Angela sits by the curtained window holding white roses and soft grey leaves, smiling up at the camera.
Angela glances towards the window with her bouquet resting in her lap, in black and white.
In soft morning light Angela looks aside, her lace bodice and veil glowing against the floral curtains.
Sean steps out of a white sports car, buttoning his jacket in front of the red brick house.
Angela and Sean kneel to serve tea to a loved one in blue satin as a relative holds the tray.
Sean passes a cup of tea to her dad, seated in a dark suit, while Angela smiles beside him.
Her dad sips from a blue and white teacup beside a seated loved one in blue satin.
Angela reaches out with a teacup in both hands to her dad in the living room.
Kneeling on cushions, Angela and Sean receive a red envelope from her dad in a carved timber chair.
A loved one in blue satin wipes away a tear beside her dad as Angela and Sean hold their red envelopes.
Angela and Sean stand behind her dad and a loved one in blue satin, seated in front of cream curtains.
Sean offers tea to a loved one in a red floral dress as a relative in a white jacket holds the tray.
Angela laughs as she hands a teacup to a seated loved one in a grey suit, Sean waiting at her side.
Angela and Sean stand behind a loved one in a red floral dress and a loved one in a grey suit, both seated.
Sean and Angela pose behind a seated loved one in a black suit by the tall bay window.
Angela and Sean stand behind a seated woman in a trench coat and a young man in glasses and a blue tie.
Now seated themselves, Angela and Sean take a teacup from her friend in blush pink as she leans in.
Sean accepts tea with both hands from Angela's friend in a blush pink dress while Angela beams beside him.
Angela and Sean sit side by side as her friend in a one shoulder blush pink dress stands smiling behind them.
A young man in a red tie stands behind the seated couple, Sean in sage green and Angela in strapless lace.
Eleven family members gather around Angela and Sean in the living room, two loved ones seated at the front.
Angela, Sean and her friend in blush pink stand behind her dad and a seated loved one in blue satin.
Family in suits and silk dresses line up behind two seated women with the couple in the centre by the curtains.
Eight loved ones pose with Angela and Sean in the bright front room, a loved one in blue satin seated at the front.
Angela laughs with her bouquet as Sean walks into the dining room, her friends filming and grinning by the table.
At Sean's house, Angela and Sean offer tea to his dad, seated in a red tie beside tropical flowers.
His dad lifts his teacup towards Angela as a loved one in an apricot dress looks on.
Angela hands a cup of tea to a seated loved one in a pleated apricot dress beside a carved timber side table.
A loved one in a pleated apricot dress presents Angela with a watch in a green box.
Sean and Angela open a small gift box from his smiling dad at the carved table.
Kneeling in the lounge, Sean grins and holds up a key from his gift box while Angela laughs behind him.
Angela and Sean stand behind his dad and a loved one in apricot, seated in carved timber chairs.
Angela and Sean pose behind a seated woman in a dusty pink dress and a young man in glasses and a blue tie.
A smiling woman in an orange floral dress and a man in a tan suit sit in front of the couple by the windows.
Sean and Angela sit in the carved chairs with a man in a grey check suit standing between them.
A big group of family and friends crowds in behind Angela and Sean and two seated loved ones at his house.
Angela and Sean line up with family on the driveway, two fluffy dogs on leads sitting at their feet.
Ten friends and family in suits and summer dresses gather around the couple in front of the white garage door.
Holding hands on a narrow garden path between big leafy plants at Burnley Gardens, Angela glances back as Sean leads the way.
Sean wraps his arms around Angela from behind under the trees for their garden portraits before the ceremony.
Angela laughs as Sean leans in close behind her, soft green branches of the gardens framing them in the shade.
Sean walks their curly apricot dog down the aisle at Burnley Gardens, Richmond, ahead of the garden ceremony.
Sean waits beside the draped white arch with their curly apricot dog at his feet on the sunny lawn of the gardens.
Her dad walks Angela down the white runner past rose filled urns for her garden wedding at Burnley Gardens.
Her dad places Angela's hand in Sean's beside the white draped arch, a huge old tree shading the gardens behind.
Angela and Sean face each other under the rose topped arch for a garden ceremony at Burnley Gardens beside the Yarra.
Front row guests in blush pink and blue satin listen closely, sitting in white chairs dressed with roses.
Rows of guests in sunglasses and summer suits watch the vows in the shade of old trees at Burnley Gardens, Richmond.
A guest in mirrored sunglasses and a pale blue jacket laughs with a woman in a floral dress during the garden ceremony.
A guest in an apricot pleated dress claps from the front row, a small fluffy dog in a red bow at her feet.
Her dad and two men in dark suits smile from their seats as guests stand and clap across the lawn at Burnley Gardens.
Angela and Sean show their certificate at a white desk after the garden ceremony, her friend in pink and a man in grey behind.
At the little white signing desk, Angela and Sean hold up their certificate under tall shade trees at the University of Melbourne's Burnley Gardens.
A smiling woman in cream leans in over Angela and Sean as they show off their certificate in the gardens.
Angela throws her arm up in triumph beside Sean and their dog under the rose arch at Burnley Gardens, Richmond.
Angela and Sean kiss on the white aisle runner at the end of their garden wedding, towering pines against a blue sky.
Her dad reads his speech at the garden reception at Burnley Gardens, the couple and guests seated in the shade of an old tree.
Angela and Sean laugh in their front row seats as guests behind them listen and smile in the gardens.
Her dad speaks into a microphone in front of garden beds of purple flowers at Burnley Gardens beside the Yarra.
Angela covers a laugh beside Sean as their dog in a red bow tie sits by the aisle during the garden reception speeches.
Angela and Sean grin at the next speaker from their seats on the lawn as the old trees of the gardens cast soft shade.
His dad gives his speech into a microphone in sunglasses and a red patterned tie beside the marquee at Burnley Gardens, Richmond.
Angela dabs at a happy tear as Sean smiles beside her during the speeches at their garden reception.
Angela beams at the speaker while Sean laughs and holds the dog's lead in the shade of the gardens.
All the guests gather for one big garden wedding group shot with Angela, Sean and their dog under towering pines at Burnley Gardens.
Arms in the air, the whole crowd cheers with the couple on the lawn beneath the old pines of the gardens.
Sean's family poses with the couple on the grass for garden portraits, his dad in a red tie and two fluffy dogs at the front.
Angela and Sean with her dad, a loved one in blue satin and her friend in pink under cedar boughs at Burnley Gardens in Burnley.
A closer family portrait in the gardens of Angela and Sean with her dad, a loved one in blue satin and a friend in pink.
Thirteen relatives in suits, green silk and blush pink join the couple for a garden wedding portrait under an old pine at Burnley Gardens.
Both dads stand at either end as Angela and Sean pose with loved ones in blue satin and apricot under a cedar in the gardens.
Angela holds white roses as she and Sean smile with both dads and two loved ones in dappled shade at Burnley Gardens beside the Yarra.
Friends with drinks in hand crowd around Angela and Sean beside the white marquee at the garden reception.
Friends and family surround the couple and a white fluffy dog under a giant conifer at the University of Melbourne's Burnley Gardens.
Angela and Sean stand arm in arm with friends in pale blue lace and a light blue suit at their garden reception.
Sean cuddles their curly apricot dog as Angela leans in, laughing under the pine boughs at Burnley Gardens, Richmond.
Angela and Sean share a kiss as he holds their curly dog against his chest in a shady corner of the gardens.
Angela climbs the stone steps of the Sunken Garden with her veil spilling down behind her, glancing back over her shoulder.
Sean twirls Angela on the stone path under a long leafy pergola in the gardens.
Sean dips Angela into a kiss beneath the Wisteria Walk pergola, a last garden portrait before the drive into the city.
Angela and Sean stroll hand in hand along the marina promenade, their long shadows stretching across the paving below the towers.
Angela and Sean walk hand in hand across Webb Bridge, her long veil streaming through the curved steel ribs.
Walking away under the white curved ribs of the bridge, Angela's veil and train trail behind her in black and white.
Sean lifts Angela into his arms for a kiss on Webb Bridge in Docklands as the low sun flares between the towers.
Angela and Sean hold hands above the water, the marina, apartment towers and river glowing behind them in the evening sun.
Sean and Angela pose by the water's edge at Docklands, sun flare spilling past the towers and moored boats.
Angela and Sean rest their foreheads together under her veil, apartment towers soft in the background.
Foreheads touching beneath the sheer veil, Angela and Sean stand against the bright evening sky in black and white.
Angela looks up at Sean with a smile under the drape of her veil, his sage green tie close beside her.
In black and white, Sean and Angela gaze at each other beneath the glowing veil, her braided hair pinned with white flowers.
Sean and Angela share a kiss under the billowing veil, warm evening light glowing through the tulle.
A kiss under the drifting veil in black and white, Sean's hand resting at Angela's waist.
Light flares through the veil as Angela and Sean kiss, the tulle blurring the city towers behind them.
Wrapped in the veil, Angela and Sean kiss in a soft black and white frame full of backlight.
Angela and Sean sit close on a timber bench beside the Yarra River, foreheads touching, city towers across the water.
Sean looks out over the marina with his hands in his pockets as the low sun flares past the towers.
Angela holds her bouquet at the water's edge in Melbourne's Docklands, boats and towers glowing in the evening light.
Sean and Angela touch foreheads and laugh as the veil streams out in the wind, sun flaring between the towers.
Angela and Sean kiss in a burst of sun flare at the marina, her veil streaming out across the frame.
The wedding story

Our Burnley Gardens wedding photos: a dog at the altar, a dip under the pergola and sunset across the water at Docklands

Family mornings at home · Garden ceremony at Burnley Gardens · Speeches and cake on the lawn · Pergola and garden-path portraits · Webb Bridge, Docklands · Sunset on the marina

Read the full story

A white garage door

Our day began early with Sean at home, where a loved one helped him into his charcoal suit with a sage green tie. We took him to the window for a quiet portrait, then outside to a white garage door. It sounds unglamorous, but a clean white door gives the same effect as a studio wall: no clutter, even light and every suit colour reading true. Sean lined up there with a loved one, then with a few of the men in his family, and later, outside Angela’s red brick house, loved ones gathered on the front lawn by the hedge.

Veil, window and a white car

At Angela’s house, the strapless lace gown went on in a bay window full of morning light, a friend in blush pink lifting the long train while a loved one in blue satin watched. We came in close for a portrait through her veil, the tulle softening everything except her smile, and kept one quiet frame of Angela on the bed in black and white. Then a white sports car pulled up outside the red brick house and Sean stepped out, buttoning his jacket, while her friends crowded the dining room laughing and waiting.

Tea in the living room

The morning’s heart was in the living room. Angela and Sean served tea to family members seated in carved timber chairs, one pair at a time, at her house and then at his. Each pair took a sip, smiled, and many brought a gift: a loved one presented a watch in a green box. We kept our distance and used a wider lens so the room, the flowers and the faces all stayed in the frame. Afterwards each family posed with the couple in front of the curtains, and at Sean’s house two fluffy dogs joined the group.

Paths before the guests

Angela and Sean arrived at Burnley Gardens an hour before the ceremony, while the chairs were still being set out, so we used the quiet time for portraits. They wandered hand in hand down a narrow path between big leafy plants, and Sean wrapped his arms around Angela from behind under the trees. Doing couple photos before the ceremony is a smart move on a hot summer day: everyone is fresh, makeup is perfect and you are free to enjoy every guest afterwards. Then Angela slipped away to wait while Sean greeted guests arriving on the lawn.

A dog at the altar

The ceremony was set on the lawn beneath tall, old trees, with a white aisle runner and a draped white arch decorated with white roses. Sean waited at the front with their curly apricot dog sitting calmly at his feet on a lead. Angela’s dad walked her down the aisle and placed her hand in Sean’s. The ceremony had a lovely relaxed shape: Angela and Sean sat in chairs at the front facing the celebrant, the dog lying beside them, and the shade from the canopy kept everyone’s faces soft despite the bright afternoon.

Laughing through the vows

Angela laughed through half the ceremony, and so did the front rows. A guest in blue lifted a hand to her face, and behind her, sunglasses and smiles filled every seat. We moved around the edge of the aisle with a longer lens so we never stood between the couple and their guests. After the vows Sean kissed Angela on the white runner under a perfectly blue sky, and they signed the certificate at a little white desk, holding it up proudly with a friend leaning in behind them. Then everyone gathered on the lawn for one big cheering group.

Speeches by the marquee

The reception happened right there on the lawn, with drinks, a white marquee and garden beds of purple flowers behind. Both dads spoke into a microphone with family standing close, and the speeches drew plenty of laughter. Then came the family groups under the trees, one branch of the family after another, each with Angela and Sean in the middle. We placed the groups where the shade was even and the sun sat behind them, so there were no squinting faces. Their dog made a few cameo appearances too, including a cuddle in Sean’s arms.

Under the pergola

Before the evening we took a few more frames in the gardens. Angela climbed a set of stone steps with her veil spilling down behind her, glancing back over her shoulder, and then we found a long pergola covered in green leaves. Sean dipped her into a kiss on the stone path beneath the arches. Pergolas are brilliant for portraits: they filter hard sun into gentle light and draw the eye straight down the tunnel to the couple. It was the last of the garden before the drive into the city.

Sunset on the water

At Docklands, Angela and Sean walked across the Webb Bridge, the long veil streaming through the curved steel ribs. Then we moved to the water’s edge, where the low sun was dropping between the towers and lighting up the marina. We pulled the veil over both of them and let the sun shine through it, which wraps a couple in warm light and blurs the city behind. Angela and Sean shared a kiss as the light flared into the lens. Burnley Gardens wedding photos in the afternoon and city lights at night made the perfect pair.

Photographer's venue notes

Burnley Gardens, Richmond: shady lawn vows with the dog at the altar and a pergola kiss before Docklands

Read the venue notes

How the afternoon moved

Angela and Sean arrived early enough to have the gardens almost to themselves, so couple portraits on the narrow paths came first. The ceremony and the reception then shared one lawn under the old trees: a white runner, a draped arch and rows of chairs, then later the white marquee, drinks and speeches with purple garden beds behind. Family groups followed right there under the pines and cedars. Before leaving for the city we took them up the Sunken Garden steps and along the Wisteria Walk, then drove to Docklands for the sunset.

Shade first, sunset last

It was a bright, blue sky summer afternoon, but the old canopy kept the ceremony lawn in soft shade, so faces stayed even through the vows and speeches. The open sky above the tall pines gave the kiss on the runner its clean blue backdrop. In the evening the low sun was sliding between the towers at Docklands and flaring across the marina, and we put it behind the couple so the veil lit up around them like a lantern.

Our favourite spots on the day

The Wisteria Walk pergola was the standout for portraits: green leaves overhead, a stone path underfoot and arches that lead the eye straight to the couple, so a twirl and a dip both read beautifully. The narrow paths between the big leafy plants felt private even in a public garden. For the big group we stood well back so the towering pines rose above the crowd. On the Webb Bridge the curved steel ribs made a tunnel for the veil, and a bench by the river gave us a quiet close frame with the towers across the water.

Tips for a summer garden day

On a hot day, take your couple portraits before the ceremony while you are fresh and the paths are quiet; Angela and Sean then had the whole afternoon free for their guests. If your dog is part of the family, bring them for the ceremony and the groups, and plan who will hold the lead once the photos are done. And pair the gardens with a short evening session on the water: the shift from leafy shade to city light gives your album two very different chapters.

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