Grazing Gundaroo wedding photos: Erika and Jackson walk together through tall golden grass under a soft sunset sky, poplars on the horizon, near Canberra
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Real heritage wedding · Gundaroo, Canberra

Grazing Gundaroo Wedding Photos: Erika & Jackson

Grazing Gundaroo · 42 Cork St, Gundaroo NSW · Canberra

Country Wedding · Heritage & Historic Venue Wedding · City: Canberra · Venue: Grazing Gundaroo

A bride laughing in her robe beside her lace gown, happy tears under a weeping willow, autumn leaves flying and a sunset kiss in a golden paddock. Erika and Jackson’s Grazing Gundaroo wedding brought their favourite people out to a heritage village in the Yass Valley, with champagne under the branches and a fairy-lit reception to finish the night. We were right beside them all afternoon, and we loved every minute.

The gallery
Erika laughs in a white satin robe beside her lace gown, hanging against sheer curtains at the Canberra Rex Hotel in Braddon.
Two bridesmaids in dusty mauve fasten the long lace sleeves of Erika's gown in front of a bright curtained window.
In black and white, her bridesmaids do up the buttons down the back of Erika's lace gown against sheer curtains.
Erika smiles at a bridesmaid as they fasten the cuffs of her lace sleeves in soft window light.
Erika sits by the curtained window in her lace gown, veil spread wide, smiling down at her folded hands.
In black and white, Erika leans back in an armchair by the window as her long veil floats over her skirt.
Erika gazes down at her bouquet of blush roses and silver green leaves, her veil draped over one shoulder.
In black and white, a quiet seated portrait of Erika with her veil drawn forward and roses resting in her lap.
Erika laughs towards the window, holding a bouquet of pink and ivory roses with silvery leaves in her lap.
In black and white, Erika laughs towards the bright window while her veil falls over the arm of the chair.
Erika stands between her two bridesmaids in dusty mauve, all three holding pink and white rose bouquets.
Erika and her bridesmaids throw their bouquets up over their heads in front of the tall hotel room window.
Erika and her bridesmaids dissolve into laughter, heads tipped back, bouquets of roses and silver leaves in hand.
Erika squeezes in between her grinning bridesmaids, cheek to cheek in the bright window light.
A young girl in a lilac wrap dress and flower crown stands in front of Erika, flanked by both bridesmaids.
Erika laughs with a bridesmaid while the young girl in lilac leans in beside her, rose bouquets all round.
Erika and a loved one in a floral dress smile face to face against the bright curtained window.
The loved one in the floral dress kisses Erika on the cheek as she closes her eyes and smiles.
Erika bursts out laughing beside the loved one in the floral dress, her rose bouquet held low.
Erika poses with the loved one in the floral dress and the young girl in lilac, all smiling by the window.
Erika, the loved one in floral and the young girl in lilac share a laugh together in soft curtained light.
Erika walks down a tree-lined gravel country road with her bridesmaids, the young girl in lilac holding hands with one of them.
Erika swishes her lace skirt in a paddock of long golden grass under a bright, cloudy sky.
Erika walks through the long pale grass of the open country, lifting her skirt as seed heads blur past.
Erika smiles back over her shoulder, her veil drifting behind her in a golden country paddock.
Jackson in a charcoal suit stands with his two groomsmen in navy under the weeping willow at the historic Grazing Gundaroo.
Her dad walks a smiling Erika along the leaf-strewn gravel path of the country garden.
Her dad leads Erika along the leafy gravel path past the timber deck and outdoor tables at Grazing.
Her dad and the loved one in the floral dress walk Erika along a stone path past the heritage-style stone hall.
Her dad and the loved one in floral bring Erika down the aisle under yellow autumn trees at Grazing Gundaroo in the Yass Valley.
Jackson wipes his eyes as Erika appears, the celebrant beside him holding her red folder in the heritage garden.
Jackson presses a hand to his chest to steady himself as his groomsmen in navy wait under the willow.
Erika laughs on her way down the aisle with her dad and the loved one in floral, past white iron benches at Grazing Gundaroo.
Erika smiles down the aisle between her dad and the loved one, golden autumn trees glowing over the historic garden.
An older guest in pink presses her hands to her face during the ceremony, seated on a white iron bench.
Jackson dabs his eyes with a handkerchief under the willow while Erika stands before him at their country garden ceremony.
Both bridesmaids in dusty mauve stand beneath the thick willow trunk in the heritage gardens of the old Royal Hotel in Gundaroo.
Two groomsmen in navy suits wait with hands clasped as autumn leaves lie scattered across the country garden lawn.
Her dad and the loved one in floral sit up front at historic Grazing, beside the young girl holding a red box.
Erika and Jackson both wipe away happy tears as the celebrant holds out a tissue in the heritage willow garden.
Her dad and the loved one in floral smile from the front row under bright yellow trees on a country autumn afternoon.
Guests laugh along the aisle at the Grazing Gundaroo heritage gardens, an older guest in pink and one in a red shawl among them.
Erika and Jackson hold hands and laugh under the hanging willow branches of the historic inn's garden as the celebrant beams.
Erika and Jackson share their first kiss under the willow at Grazing in Gundaroo while the celebrant smiles beside them.
Her dad, the loved one in floral and the front row clap and cheer after the kiss in the heritage garden.
Guests on white iron benches clap and grin at the country wedding ceremony, an older guest in pink leading the applause.
The bridesmaids in dusty mauve watch the vows from beside the willow trunk on the historic venue's lawn.
Erika and Jackson kiss beneath the sweeping willow canopy at Grazing Gundaroo, their bridesmaids and groomsmen standing either side.
Erika signs the register at a white iron table in the country garden while Jackson and the front row look on.
Erika and Jackson sit at the signing table, the wedding party gathered behind, in the heritage gardens of Grazing Restaurant.
The wedding party gathers round the signing table on the lawn of the historic inn, the young girl in lilac holding the red box.
Erika and Jackson walk back up the aisle grinning as guests blow bubbles across the lawn at Grazing.
Erika and Jackson kiss among floating bubbles at the end of the aisle in the heritage garden, a groomsman laughing behind.
Erika and Jackson smile behind a champagne bucket ringed with coupe glasses and fairy lights at Grazing Gundaroo in the Yass Valley.
The celebrant and the loved one in floral laugh together on the country garden lawn, holding a white folder and the red box.
Erika and Jackson sip champagne from coupe glasses together under the willow branches at historic Grazing Gundaroo.
The wedding party raises champagne glasses for a toast with Erika and Jackson beneath yellow autumn leaves on a country afternoon.
Erika and Jackson stand at the centre of one big group of family and friends under the willows at Grazing in Gundaroo.
Family and friends throw their arms in the air around Erika and Jackson beneath the heritage garden's weeping willows.
Erika and Jackson with family on fallen leaves in the country garden, an older loved one in pink seated beside Jackson.
Smiles all round from Erika, Jackson and their family among the red and gold leaves of the historic garden.
A larger family group gathers around Erika and Jackson under bright yellow autumn trees at Grazing, leaves covering the lawn.
Another family group stands with the couple beside an old timber gate in the heritage garden, the older loved one seated in front.
Erika and Jackson pose with the older loved one in pink, who sits between them as Jackson holds a small red heart.
Erika and Jackson stand in the middle of a long family line on a lawn of red and gold leaves at historic Grazing Gundaroo.
Erika and Jackson with her dad and the loved one in floral against golden autumn foliage in the country garden.
The young girl in lilac joins Erika, Jackson, her dad and the loved one in floral, everyone beaming in the heritage garden.
Erika shares a cheek to cheek laugh with the loved one in the floral dress against glowing yellow leaves.
Erika and Jackson with their bridesmaids and groomsmen on fallen leaves beside a wine barrel at the old Royal Hotel in Gundaroo.
The wedding party cheers with bouquets and fists in the air as Erika and Jackson kiss among the heritage garden's autumn trees.
Jackson and his groomsmen strike a playful pose on the gravel path in front of a dark leafy hedge at historic Grazing.
Jackson stands between his two groomsmen in navy suits against a dense green hedge in the country garden.
Jackson and a groomsman launch into mock boxing under the willow at Grazing Gundaroo, fists raised and grinning.
Jackson and a groomsman in navy smile side by side under the willow branches of the heritage garden in late afternoon light.
Jackson and a groomsman bust out dance moves beside the country garden beds at Grazing Restaurant, the willow behind them.
Jackson and a bearded groomsman in navy stand shoulder to shoulder in front of the hanging willow at the historic inn.
Erika laughs between a bridesmaid in mauve and the loved one in floral among yellow autumn trees at Grazing Gundaroo in the Yass Valley.
Erika tips her head back laughing with a bridesmaid and the loved one in floral on the leafy lawn of the heritage venue.
Jackson holds hands with the older loved one in pink, seated beside him with a bunch of dried flowers in the country garden.
Jackson and a bridesmaid lean in around the older loved one, who holds a little red heart in the historic garden.
Jackson and the bridesmaid rest their heads against the older loved one's as she cradles the small red heart.
Jackson and a curly haired bridesmaid stand together beneath a willow trunk on the leaf-scattered heritage garden lawn.
Autumn leaves flutter down over Erika and Jackson as they kiss beside an old timber gate at Grazing Gundaroo.
Erika and Jackson kiss as they walk into a golden paddock, the sun dropping behind a line of poplars.
Erika and Jackson laugh nose to nose as the low sun glows softly behind them in the open country.
Erika and Jackson walk back through the long paddock grass laughing, her skirt swinging, poplars on the horizon.
Jackson dips Erika for a kiss in the long golden grass under a soft, cloudy country sky.
Erika punches an arm up in triumph, holding Jackson's hand as the sun sets behind the poplars across the paddock.
Jackson twirls Erika through the long grass at sunset, both laughing, in a wide country paddock.
Jackson wraps his arms around Erika from behind, both smiling, as the setting sun flares across the paddock.
Erika leans back into Jackson's embrace in the tall grass, the sun setting over rolling country.
In black and white, Erika rests her head against Jackson as he holds her close in the long paddock grass.
Seen low through the grass, Erika and Jackson stroll side by side through the country fields as her skirt flares in the breeze.
Jackson leads Erika by the hand across the open paddock at sunset, her long train sweeping the dry grass.
Erika laughs and lifts her skirt beside Jackson as they walk together through the country grass in warm evening light.
Erika and Jackson kiss mid stride in the long grass, the poplars glowing gold along the edge of the paddock.
Erika and Jackson share a kiss as they walk, seed heads blurred in the foreground of a country sunset.
Guests hold up their phones as Erika and Jackson make their entrance into the heritage-style Stone Room under strings of fairy lights.
Erika and Jackson cut their gold and ivory cake, topped with a heart, inside the historic venue's fairy lit hall.
Erika and Jackson stand beside their gold and ivory cake in front of the long reception windows at Grazing in Gundaroo.
Erika and Jackson kiss beside the cake table, fairy lights glinting through the windows of the country reception hall.
Erika plants a kiss on Jackson's cheek as he grins beside their heart-topped cake at Grazing.
The wedding story

Our Grazing Gundaroo wedding photos: happy tears under the willow, autumn leaf confetti and a paddock sunset

Getting ready in Braddon · Golden paddock walk · Ceremony under the weeping willow · Champagne and family among autumn leaves · Sunset paddock portraits · Cake under fairy lights

Read the full story

Window light in Braddon

Erika’s morning began at the Canberra Rex Hotel in Braddon, in a room with a wall of sheer-curtained windows that did half our work for us. Her lace gown hung against the glass while she laughed in her robe, and we photographed it right there, because curtain-filtered light keeps white lace soft instead of glaring. Her two bridesmaids in dusty mauve fastened the long lace sleeves, then Erika sat by the window with her veil spread wide and a bouquet of blush roses and silver-green leaves in her lap. We kept one of those quiet seated frames in black and white.

Mauve, lilac and a flower crown

Then the room filled with noise. The bridesmaids threw their bouquets up over their heads and dissolved into laughter either side of Erika, and a young girl in a lilac wrap dress and a flower crown squeezed in between them. Groups like this work best when we stop directing and let someone crack a joke, so that is exactly what we did. A loved one in a floral dress arrived next and kissed Erika on the cheek, and the two of them laughed face to face in the window light. Little moments like that are why we like to arrive early.

A gravel road and a golden paddock

Before the ceremony we took Erika outside. She came down a tree-lined gravel road with her bridesmaids, the young girl holding hands with one of them, all four smiling straight at us. Then we found a paddock of long, pale gold grass and let her move. Erika swished her skirt, the veil drifted behind her, and she turned back over her shoulder with a grin. A low camera angle lets the seed heads blur softly across the bottom of the frame, and a bright, cloudy country sky gives even light with no hard shadows across faces.

Waiting under the willow

At Grazing, Jackson waited in the garden under a big weeping willow with his groomsmen in navy, the celebrant beside him holding her red folder. White wrought-iron benches and garden chairs lined the aisle, with autumn leaves scattered across the grass. Erika’s dad walked her along the gravel path past the timber deck, and a loved one in a floral dress joined them beside the old stone building for the last stretch. The moment Jackson saw her coming, his hand went straight to his eyes. We always watch the groom as the bride appears, and this reaction was worth it.

Happy tears and a red box

The ceremony was full of feeling. Jackson read his vows into the microphone, and both of them were wiping their eyes at the same moment while the celebrant held out a tissue. In the front row an older guest in pink pressed her hands to her face, and a young guest in lilac sat holding a little red box very carefully on her lap. Willows are a gift for ceremonies: the hanging branches filter the afternoon sun into soft, dappled light, so faces stay open and nobody squints. Then came the kiss, and the whole garden cheered.

Bubbles under the branches

Erika and Jackson signed the register at a white iron table on the lawn, their bridesmaids and groomsmen gathered close behind, then walked back up the aisle grinning. Under the willow a champagne bucket waited on a lace tablecloth, ringed with coupe glasses and strands of fairy lights. They took a sip together before the wedding party raised their glasses with them for a toast. Then we called everyone in for one big group under the willows, arms in the air. For a crowd that size we step well back and wait for the back row to find their gaps, so every face is seen.

Family among the autumn leaves

Some of our favourite Grazing Gundaroo wedding photos came from a corner of the garden where the trees had turned bright yellow and the lawn was carpeted in fallen leaves. Autumn colour is the best backdrop a garden can give you, and it needs no styling at all. We moved through each family group quickly, keeping an older loved one seated right in the middle of every photo. Erika shared a cheek-to-cheek laugh with the loved one in the floral dress, and Jackson and a bridesmaid leant in around the older loved one while she held a little red heart in her hands.

Mock boxing and a leaf toss

Jackson’s groomsmen had no interest in standing still. Against a dark green hedge they struck a pose, then under the willow they launched into mock boxing and a run of dance moves that had us laughing behind the camera. Erika had a gentler moment of her own among the yellow trees with a bridesmaid and the loved one in the floral dress. Then handfuls of fallen leaves went up over the couple as they kissed beside an old timber gate. Leaf confetti is the easiest autumn trick we know: it is already lying on the ground, and it hangs in the air just long enough to catch.

Sunset in the long grass

We finished portraits back in the open paddock as the sun dropped behind a line of poplars on the horizon. Jackson dipped Erika for a kiss, she punched an arm up in triumph, and they walked back through the long grass laughing, her skirt swinging. Keeping the low sun behind a couple puts a soft rim of light around hair and veil. Inside, under strings of fairy lights, guests held their phones up as Erika and Jackson made their entrance, then the two of them cut their gold and ivory cake, topped with a heart, with big smiles all round.

Photographer's venue notes

Grazing Gundaroo: a willow garden ceremony, autumn leaf portraits and a paddock sunset

Read the venue notes

Willow, deck and Stone Room

Erika and Jackson used Grazing the way a long autumn afternoon wants to be used. Jackson waited under the big weeping willow, Erika came in along the gravel path past the timber deck and the stone hall, and the register, the bubbles and the toast all stayed on the lawn beneath those same branches. Family groups moved only a few steps into the yellow trees, and once the paddock portraits were done everyone headed inside to the fairy lit Stone Room for the cake.

Afternoon light under the branches

The ceremony sat in the middle of the afternoon, and the willow did the heavy lifting for us. Its hanging branches broke the sun into soft, speckled light, so we could keep guests on the white iron benches in frame without anyone squinting. By the time family photos started, the sun had dropped lower and came through the autumn trees from the side, lighting the yellow leaves from behind. We saved the couple portraits until the sun sat just above the poplars.

Where we stood the camera

Our strongest frames here came from a handful of spots. For the walk in, we stood at the far end of the gravel path so the deck and the old stone wall layered up behind Erika and her dad. For families, we turned everyone towards the brightest yellow tree and used the fallen leaves as a carpet. The dark green hedge made the navy suits look crisp, and the open paddock gave us long grass, backlight and a clean horizon line.

Tips for an autumn day here

If you marry in autumn, love the leaves where they fall. They became free confetti beside the old timber gate, and they looked wonderful under every family group. Plan your paddock portraits for the last of the sun and bring flat shoes for the walk through long grass. Erika also dressed in a room with sheer curtains, which kept her lace soft, so look for big, filtered windows wherever you get ready.

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