Corio Villa wedding photos: the bride and groom stand close on the waterfront boards beside Corio Bay under sweeping white clouds, Geelong
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Real heritage wedding · Geelong, Melbourne

Corio Villa Wedding Photos: Garden Vows by Corio Bay

Corio Villa · 56-58 Eastern Beach Rd, Geelong VIC · Melbourne

Heritage & Historic Venue Wedding · City: Melbourne · Venue: Corio Villa

Vows under two white market umbrellas on a heritage lawn, a flower girl hiding her eyes from the first kiss and a white Jaguar parked beside the bay. This Corio Villa wedding in Geelong moved from an 1850s cast iron house to the boards of the waterfront, where the bride waved her bouquet at the sky with Cunningham Pier behind her. Then came speeches full of laughter and a dance floor that a little one claimed early. We loved every minute.

The gallery
The bride and groom hold hands on the lawn under leafy branches before the white heritage facade of Corio Villa, Geelong.
In black and white, the groom fixes his shirt collar by a curtained window in a simple room on the wedding morning.
Framed through a half open door, the groom in a grey suit and burgundy buttonhole smooths his hair in the bathroom.
In black and white, the groom adjusts his collar in a tall mirror while a grinning groomsman points from a second mirror.
The groom and a groomsman sit at a small balcony table with bottled drinks, chatting and laughing in their grey suits.
In black and white, a groomsman raises a bottle towards the groom, who laughs so hard on the balcony his eyes crease shut.
In black and white, the groom and a groomsman tip back their drinks at the balcony table above a red brick courtyard.
The groom walks down the outside stairs in his light grey suit while two groomsmen lean on the white railing above.
Silver heels sit on a timber bench beneath a window, with the bride's round bouquet of white roses and burgundy accents below.
The bride's lace gown hangs on a timber hanger from a white cupboard door beside a framed print of a pink rose.
Wearing her veil and a floral wrap, the bride touches up her lipstick at the bathroom mirror at the end of a bright hall.
Two close portraits of the bride by the window light, one smiling under a jewelled hair comb, one gazing softly away.
A little flower girl in cream lace with a mauve sash tucks her hair behind her ear as she watches the bride.
In her veil and jewelled hair piece, the bride leans down to lift her sparkling silver heels from a pink cushioned stool.
A loved one in a champagne satin dress and glasses fastens the back of the bride's lace gown as the bride looks down.
Wearing pearls and her lace gown, the bride smiles as she checks her hair while a bridesmaid in mauve looks on.
The bride stands at the end of a long white tiled hallway, lace train fanned out, as the flower girl peeks from a doorway.
Three views of the bride: fixing her hair at the window, standing by tall glass doors in black and white, and holding her rose bouquet.
Her dad walks the bride along a white tiled hallway towards an arched doorway, with the family dog trotting beside them.
In black and white, the bride and her dad grin through the window of a vintage car, the flower girl tucked in behind them.
In black and white, the bride steps out of the vintage car at heritage listed Corio Villa, smiling over white roses and orchids.
In black and white, the bride arrives on her dad's arm beside the ornate white iron gate of the historic house.
In black and white, the groom waits under a market umbrella on the heritage lawn at Corio Villa in Geelong as the celebrant reads.
In black and white, the bride pauses on a brick path through the historic garden, her veil trailing beneath a large old tree.
Her dad walks the bride across the sunny lawn of historic Corio Villa between standing guests and white chairs.
Under a white market umbrella, the bride in pearls and a jewelled comb looks up at the groom during their vows on the historic lawn.
Two white market umbrellas shade the celebrant's and signing tables as the couple hold hands for heritage garden vows at Corio Villa by Corio Bay.
A triptych from the historic grounds: a kiss at the signing table, the walk back up the aisle and a stroll along the brick path.
Laughing with her bouquet held close, the bride waits as the groom hugs a guest on the heritage lawn at Corio Villa, Geelong.
The flower girl covers her eyes while the couple kiss on a white stone bench under the spreading cedar of the historic garden.
Seen through blue green cedar branches, the couple sit close on a stone bench by the ornate iron fence of Corio Villa in Geelong.
The couple sit together on a stone bench in deep shade beneath the huge old cedar in the heritage grounds, an iron fence behind them.
Hand in hand between two ornate arches, the couple stand on the historic cast iron porch of Corio Villa above clipped hedges.
Small on the sunlit lawn, the couple face each other before the whole white front of the heritage villa, seen through a canopy of leaves.
Two frames past the chrome leaping cat on a white Jaguar bonnet, the couple kiss and smile in soft focus by the water.
The bride throws one arm in the air and waves at the sky on the waterfront boards, with historic Cunningham Pier stretching out behind her.
The groom watches from behind as the bride lifts her bouquet high on the boardwalk, laughing towards the heritage pier in bright sun.
The groom dips the bride beside a timber bollard on the weathered boards, the historic pier far behind under wispy cloud.
Smiling over her shoulder at the groom, the bride holds her bouquet before the white pavilion and towers of Cunningham Pier in Geelong.
Under a sky streaked with feathery cloud, the couple share a forehead kiss on the timber deck with deep blue water beyond.
The groom kisses the bride against the deep blue water of Corio Bay, her veil and jewelled comb catching the sun.
Two frames of the bride's veil flying out on a breezy street below the columns and curved portico of a grand old stone building.
The bride and groom walk hand in hand across a quiet road into the late sun, tall trees glowing behind them.
A white cake with deep red orchids, white roses and a little bride and groom on top, beside a place setting with cream roses.
Wicker hearts hang from an iron stand by the table plan, with candles and white letters on the reception table behind.
In black and white, the smiling bride is caught in a reflection on the reception window, the view outside washed to white.
In black and white, the groom sits at the bridal table in his bow tie, smiling as he listens to the speeches.
In black and white, a guest stands against the bright windows with both arms raised while the tables laugh around him.
In black and white, the groom shakes hands with guests by the tall reception windows, railings and water faint outside.
A guest in a purple tie shows his phone around a table beneath strings of fairy lights in the timber lined reception room.
In black and white, the couple twirl with the flower girl on the dance floor beside a timber barrel and the bar.
In black and white, the bride laughs into the groom's shoulder at the bridal table, seen past rows of guests.
Two frames of a loved one reading his speech from a yellow note while the bride and groom laugh at their table.
The loved one in champagne satin and glasses beams at a guest table as two women beside her laugh along.
Three frames of the bride giggling through the speeches, hand to her chest, as the groom leans in behind her chair.
In black and white, the bride and groom gaze at each other under dark palm fronds after nightfall.
The groom leads the bride by the hand onto the timber dance floor for their first dance, a tall lamp glowing by the window.
In black and white, the couple hold each other close for a slow dance, faces nearly touching, beside the stage lights.
In black and white, the bride and groom sway cheek to cheek on the timber floor in front of the DJ booth.
Three frames of the first dance turning into spins, the bride's lace skirt flaring as guests clap behind them.
The groom twirls the laughing bride across a crowded dance floor as guests dance beneath fairy lights and round pendant lamps.
The wedding story

Our Corio Villa wedding photos: vows under market umbrellas, a white Jaguar and a bouquet waved at Cunningham Pier

Getting ready morning · Garden ceremony at Corio Villa · The iron porch and the old cedar · Waterfront portraits by Cunningham Pier · Speeches and cake · First dance

Read the full story

Balcony drinks for the boys

Our morning with the groom started in a simple room with a big window, which is all we need. He fixed his collar in a black and white frame we still love, checked the grey suit in two mirrors at once, then headed out to a sunny balcony with the groomsmen. Drinks came out, a bottle clinked towards him and he laughed so hard his eyes disappeared. A balcony like that is a gift: open shade, a railing to frame people and room to step back. We finished with the boys walking down the outside stairs.

Shoes on a garden bench

Over at the bride’s, the details were already waiting for us: her heels and a round bouquet of white roses with deep burgundy accents set out on a timber bench under a window, and the lace gown hanging on a white door beside a print of a pink rose. She did the last of her makeup in the bathroom mirror, then sat still for us by the window. Close portraits at this point are about the light on her face, so we kept her turned towards the glass and let the room fall away behind her.

A flower girl and a long train

A little flower girl in cream lace wandered in, fiddling with her earring and watching every move. A loved one helped the bride into her gown and fastened the back, and a bridesmaid in mauve watched from the doorway as she checked her hair. Then we found the best spot in the house: a long white hallway with a tiled floor. The bride stood at the end with her train spread out behind her and the flower girl peeking from a doorway. Long corridors make great frames because the walls lead your eye straight to her.

Her dad and the iron gate

Her dad met her in the hallway and walked her out under an arched doorway, the family dog padding along beside them. They rode together in the back of a white vintage car, both grinning through the window, and when the car pulled up at Corio Villa we went ahead of them to the front gate. That gate is cast iron, white and full of curling patterns. We framed them right beside it as they came through, her dad proud in his tie and the bride smiling past us to the garden.

Vows under market umbrellas

The ceremony was on the villa’s back lawn, with two white market umbrellas shading the celebrant’s table and the signing table, and a musician playing beside the hedge. The groom waited with his groomsmen in grey, then the bride crossed the lawn on her dad’s arm with guests standing either side. Midday sun on a lawn can be hard on faces, so those umbrellas did double duty for us: soft shade for the couple during the vows, and a neat white shape that sits beautifully in a wide frame of the garden.

Hugs and a hidden kiss

Corio Villa wedding photos always have the old garden in them, and after the signing the lawn filled with hugs, a bouquet tucked under one arm while loved ones lined up to congratulate them. Then we sat the couple on a white stone bench under the huge spreading cedar for a quiet moment. The flower girl stood in front of them on the grass and covered her eyes with both hands while they kissed. We kept shooting, because nobody can plan a moment like that, you can only be standing in the right place when it happens.

Lace on the iron porch

Next we brought them up onto the villa’s porch. The whole front is white cast iron, with arched bays, fretwork and ornate columns, so we stood back on the lawn below the clipped hedges and let the house become the frame around them, holding hands between two arches. Then we moved further back again, under the trees, and shot the whole white facade through a canopy of leaves with the two of them small on the grass. That wide, shaded frame tells you exactly where you are.

Waving at Cunningham Pier

Down at the waterfront, the white Jaguar became our foreground, its leaping chrome cat sharp and the couple soft behind it. Then we walked out onto the boards above the bay. With Cunningham Pier and its little white towers behind her, the bride threw one arm in the air and waved her bouquet at the sky while the groom laughed. He dipped her by the bollards, and we lay low so the high wispy cloud filled the frame. Bright water and pale timber bounce the light back, so faces stay open even under a summer sun.

Speeches, cake and the dance floor

On the way to the reception we caught her veil flying against a grand old building in the city, then a walk under the trees into the late sun. Inside, there were wicker hearts by the table plan and a white cake with deep red orchids and a little couple on top. A loved one gave a speech from a folded note that had the bride laughing into the groom’s shoulder, and one guest stood at the window with both arms up. The first dance turned into a spin, and the flower girl took over the floor.

Photographer's venue notes

Corio Villa, Geelong: umbrella shaded vows on the back lawn and portraits on the waterfront boards

Read the venue notes

From the iron gate to the back lawn

The villa part of the day ran in a neat loop. The bride and her dad came in through the white iron gate on the street side, then followed the brick path under a big old tree to the back lawn, where guests stood either side of the white chairs. After the vows and the signing, the couple stayed in the garden for hugs, a quiet sit on the stone bench under the cedar and a few frames on the porch. Only then did the white Jaguar take them down to the water, so the garden portraits never felt squeezed.

Bright sun and a breeze

The sun was high and strong for the ceremony, so those two white market umbrellas mattered as much to us as to the couple: under them faces stayed soft while the lawn around them glowed. The cedar held the deepest shade in the garden, which is why we sat them there after the signing. Down by the bay the sky was streaked with thin, wispy cloud, and a breeze in town on the way to the reception sent the veil flying. By the time they crossed the road under the tall trees, the light had turned late and warm.

The frames that worked

Three spots carried the villa portraits. The porch, seen from the lawn below with the clipped hedges in front, turned the iron arches into a frame around the two of them. Walking well back under the garden trees let us show the whole white front through the leaves, with the couple small on the sunlit grass. On the waterfront we got down low on the boards so the sky filled the space above them, and used the Jaguar’s chrome cat as a crisp foreground. Cunningham Pier gave every frame by the bay a clear sense of place.

If you are planning a similar day

Pair the garden with the bay. Old ironwork, lace and deep shade first, then bright, airy frames on the boards gives you two very different looks in one afternoon without a long drive. If your vows fall in the middle of the day, ask your stylist for something white and simple to shade the front of the aisle; the umbrellas here looked lovely in the wide frames too. And wear your veil long, because a little wind off the water is a gift for movement.

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