Melbourne Museum pre-wedding photos: Ruth and Chelsea share a kiss on a shady path beneath an avenue of tall trees in Melbourne
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Pre-wedding session · Carlton, Melbourne CBD

Melbourne Museum Pre-Wedding Photos: Ruth & Chelsea

Melbourne Museum · 11 Nicholson St, Carlton VIC · Melbourne

Destination Pre-Wedding · Region: VIC - Melbourne CBD · City: Melbourne · Venue: Melbourne Museum

A fountain crowded with bronze putti, a park bench kiss and two engagement rings catching the summer sun. Ruth and Chelsea’s Melbourne Museum pre-wedding session wandered from the Exhibition Fountain through the plane tree avenues of Carlton Gardens, then up against the museum’s sloping silver wall, where the light bounced everywhere and the two of them could not stop laughing. We finished in deep shade beside a dark museum wall, and we loved every minute of it.

The gallery
Ruth and Chelsea smile at each other beside the Exhibition Fountain, the arched entrance of the Royal Exhibition Building rising behind the spray.
The couple walk hand in hand across the lawn against dark trees, the fountain's sculpted stone blurred in the foreground of their pre-wedding session.
Ruth and Chelsea stand close together, small and bright against a wall of shaded trees in central Melbourne.
In black and white, Ruth and Chelsea laugh as they walk hand in hand, fountain spray sparkling against the dark trees.
Ruth and Chelsea walk hand in hand across the lawn of Carlton Gardens in inner Melbourne, a fountain and grand arched entrance behind them.
Smiling at the camera, Ruth and Chelsea stroll hand in hand on a pre-wedding walk, the tiered fountain sparkling behind them.
In black and white, the couple walk under leafy branches, a grand arched entrance glowing behind them in the bright sun.
Laughing together, Ruth and Chelsea walk across a shaded lawn under tall plane trees during their pre-wedding portraits.
Grinning behind glasses, the partner in the floral shirt leads the way across the lawn, the long white dress following close behind.
Two engagement rings side by side at a pre-wedding session, relaxed hands resting against a white lace dress and dark trousers.
Ruth and Chelsea sit hand in hand on a timber park bench beneath plane trees in Carlton Gardens on the edge of the Melbourne CBD.
A pre-wedding kiss on the park bench, framed by tall plane trees and sunlit grass.
Eyes closed, Ruth and Chelsea share a gentle kiss on the bench, hands clasped, the green canopy softly blurred behind.
Ruth and Chelsea stand hand in hand on the shady lawn below the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens.
Swinging their joined hands, the couple smile at each other under the trees as the white dress sways on a bright inner Melbourne pre-wedding day.
The partner in the floral shirt grins at the camera, the partner in the white dress smiling alongside, a sunny lawn behind.
Wrapped in a hug under a broad leafy tree, Ruth and Chelsea smile at the camera during a summer pre-wedding shoot.
In black and white, Ruth and Chelsea hold each other and share a look, sunlit leaves glowing almost pure white behind them.
A black and white pre-wedding kiss beneath a glowing canopy of leaves, a dark tree trunk standing tall beside the couple.
The couple hug under fresh green leaves in an inner Melbourne park, one partner beaming at the camera through dark rimmed glasses.
Ruth and Chelsea stroll a plane tree avenue in Carlton Gardens near Melbourne Museum, apartment and glass towers rising behind.
Ruth and Chelsea stand hand in hand on a grass path between flowering garden beds, an ornate fountain and a row of old buildings behind.
A green tram rolls past an ornate fountain as the couple share a smile between the garden beds during a central Melbourne pre-wedding session.
Beside a bronze bust on a plinth, Ruth and Chelsea walk hand in hand past the carved doorway of the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton.
Arm in arm, the couple share a look as they walk a forecourt beside ornate cream walls on their pre-wedding walk, gum trees bright behind.
Smiling straight at the camera, Ruth and Chelsea walk hand in hand across a sunny forecourt in inner Melbourne, tall gum trees behind.
In black and white, Ruth and Chelsea stand hand in hand under an open steel grid in front of a tall glass facade.
Hand in hand, the couple cross the forecourt beneath the steel grid and glass front of Melbourne Museum in Carlton Gardens.
Shot from low against a blue sky, Ruth and Chelsea share a laugh as they walk past an ornate cream tower during their pre-wedding photos.
The white dress swings as the couple walk hand in hand under a clear blue sky in central Melbourne, a big gum tree behind.
Ruth and Chelsea walk hand in hand past ornate cream stonework and arched windows, colourful banners hanging behind them.
Ruth and Chelsea hold each other close before the domed towers of the Exhibition Building, Melbourne Museum's World Heritage neighbour.
One hand on a hip, Ruth and Chelsea lean against a tall sloping silver wall studded with rows of steel bolts for a pre-wedding portrait.
In black and white, the couple pose against the sloping studded wall at Melbourne Museum in Carlton, the steel grid overhead.
A kiss against the shining silver wall, one hand pressed to the metal panels, steel louvres overhead.
Against the vast silver panels of Melbourne Museum, Carlton, Ruth and Chelsea share a hug in black and white.
In black and white, Ruth and Chelsea lean in close, foreheads almost touching, against the studded metal wall on their pre-wedding day.
Ruth and Chelsea smile at the camera against the studded silver wall of Melbourne Museum in Carlton Gardens, soft light reflecting onto their faces.
Ruth and Chelsea stand hand in hand between two tall steel pylons, an old stone church and inner Melbourne apartment towers behind them.
A black and white hug between the steel pylons at Melbourne Museum, Carlton, with apartment towers rising behind the couple.
Seen from behind, Ruth and Chelsea walk hand in hand down an avenue of plane trees on a pre-wedding stroll, the path dappled with shade.
The white dress swings as the couple walk towards the camera along a dappled avenue of trees on the edge of the Melbourne CBD.
Ruth and Chelsea kiss in the middle of a plane tree avenue in Carlton Gardens, a short walk from Melbourne Museum.
In black and white, the partner in glasses grins back while the couple walk past a wire fence during their pre-wedding portraits.
In black and white, the partner in the white dress gazes ahead while the partner in glasses smiles behind, a low timber building beyond.
The partner in the white dress smiles over one shoulder in a solo pre-wedding portrait on a sunny lawn, the open back catching light.
In black and white, the partner in the long white dress walks across a sunlit lawn in central Melbourne, a crisp shadow trailing behind.
The partner in the floral shirt and glasses laughs while walking down a shaded avenue of trees during the pre-wedding session.
A smiling solo portrait of the partner in the floral shirt and glasses, the leafy avenue glowing softly behind.
Holding hands at arm's length, Ruth and Chelsea stand in deep shade before a dark wall with tall slotted windows at Melbourne Museum in Carlton.
In a pool of light against a dark panelled wall, the couple hold each other close, one gazing down as the other looks up.
In black and white, Ruth and Chelsea share a tender look in a patch of sun by a dark wall at Melbourne Museum.
A quiet black and white kiss against dark panels and slotted windows in the cool shade of inner Melbourne.
Trees spill over a long dark wall, the curved silver roof of Melbourne Museum in Carlton Gardens rising behind the tiny couple.
The story

Our Melbourne Museum pre-wedding photos: an 1880s fountain, a kiss on a park bench and a sloping silver wall

Exhibition Fountain · Plane trees and a park bench · Garden beds and a second fountain · Royal Exhibition Building forecourt · Melbourne Museum’s silver wall · Shade by a dark museum wall

Read the full story

Starting at the fountain

We met Ruth and Chelsea at the Exhibition Fountain in Carlton Gardens, with the Royal Exhibition Building’s great arched entrance and dome rising behind the spray. It was a bright summer day, so we started close: the two of them wrapped together at the edge of the basin, the water sparkling over their shoulders. Then we stepped back and let them walk hand in hand across the lawn, with the fountain and the dome stacked up behind them. A wide frame there tells everyone exactly where you are without a single sign.

Tiny against the dark trees

Behind the fountain is a wall of dark trees, and we loved what it did to the long white dress. We moved back, put a curve of the fountain’s stone basin in the foreground and let Ruth and Chelsea walk across the frame, small and bright against all that shadow. Exposing for the sunlit couple turns the shaded trees almost black, which is the easiest way we know to make white fabric glow at midday. We kept one of those frames in black and white, and it looks like an old postcard.

A bench and two rings

The plane tree avenues gave us shade, and Ruth and Chelsea gave us laughs. They walked towards us giggling at each other, then found a timber park bench under the trees and sat close. One kiss on the bench turned into several. While they were settled, we came in tight on their hands: two engagement rings, side by side, against the white dress and dark trousers. Ring frames work best when the hands are relaxed and resting on something, so a bench is perfect. Nobody has to hold a pose.

Dappled light under the planes

Then we went walking. Under the plane trees the light comes through in patches, and we placed Ruth and Chelsea where their faces sat in open shade while the lawn behind them lit up in green and gold. The Exhibition Building peeked through the leaves in the background. There were hugs, a forehead pressed to a cheek and a couple of very bright black and white frames where the sunlit leaves went pure white. A walk through the avenues towards the city towers closed this part of the session.

Garden beds and a second fountain

Near the edge of the gardens we found formal flower beds with lavender and iris spears, a second ornate fountain and a row of old brick buildings across the road, with a tram rolling past. Ruth and Chelsea stood on the grass path between the beds, holding hands under a clear blue sky. In hard sun we keep the sun behind or beside a couple so nobody squints, and we let the strong colour do the work. This is the brightest, most postcard frame of the day, and it suits them.

Cream walls and blue sky

Next came the Royal Exhibition Building itself. Ruth and Chelsea walked along the forecourt beside the cream walls and carved doorways, chatting and laughing like we were not there. We dropped low for a few frames so the building’s towers and arches sat against nothing but blue sky. A low angle also simplifies a busy setting: the white event tents set up nearby shrank to the edges of the frame. A hug beside the arched entrance, one of them grinning straight at us, and we headed across to the museum.

Steel, glass and a silver wall

Melbourne Museum is a complete change of mood. We walked Ruth and Chelsea across the forecourt under the open steel grid, past the glass front and its exhibition banner, then stopped at the tall, sloping silver wall with its rows of studs. Ruth and Chelsea leant into it, a hand on a hip, then shared a kiss against the metal. That wall works like a giant reflector, throwing soft light back into faces even at noon. It is one of the easiest portrait spots in the city, and it gave us some of our favourite Melbourne Museum pre-wedding photos.

Between the pylons

From the museum we framed Ruth and Chelsea hand in hand between two tall steel pylons, an old stone church on one side and city apartment towers rising behind them, then pulled them into a hug for a black and white frame. Back in the gardens we took them down a long avenue of plane trees, the path dappled in shadow. Seen from behind, walking hand in hand, they looked tiny under the canopy. Then they turned, kissed in the middle of the path and kept walking with the dress swinging.

Solo portraits and a dark wall

We gave each of them a few solo portraits: one laughing back over a shoulder on the sunny lawn, one walking towards us down the shaded avenue with a big grin behind the glasses. Then we finished at a dark wall beside the museum, with tall slotted windows and trees spilling over the top. The deep shade felt cool after the sun, and the white dress and floral shirt stood out against the dark panels. A quiet kiss there, and a wide frame showing how big that wall is, ended the session.

Photographer's venue notes

Melbourne Museum, Carlton: a summer stroll from the fountain to the silver wall

Read the venue notes

The route Ruth and Chelsea took

Ruth and Chelsea’s session was one easy walk with no car needed. We started at the Exhibition Fountain with the arched entrance and dome behind the spray, wandered the plane tree avenues to a timber bench, then found the formal flower beds and a second ornate fountain at the edge of the gardens. From there we went along the Royal Exhibition Building forecourt, crossed to Melbourne Museum under its steel grid, and finished in the shade of a dark wall with tall slotted windows beside the museum.

Working with a bright summer sun

It was a clear summer day with the sun high overhead, which most people would call difficult light. We used it. Against the dark trees behind the fountain, we exposed for the couple so the shade went nearly black and the long white dress glowed. Under the planes we found pockets of open shade for their faces while the lawn behind them lit up green and gold. In the sunniest spots we kept the sun behind or beside them, and at the end the deep shade by the dark museum wall was a welcome cool break for everyone.

Why the silver wall works

The sloping silver wall at Melbourne Museum was the surprise favourite. Its studded metal panels bounce light back into faces, so even in the middle of the day Ruth and Chelsea looked soft and bright as they leant against it. Nearby, two tall steel pylons framed them with an old stone church on one side and apartment towers behind, a very different city feel only a few steps from the gardens. On the Exhibition Building forecourt we dropped low so the cream towers sat against plain blue sky and the white event tents slid out of view.

Tips for a Carlton Gardens session

Pair two outfits that contrast, as these two did with white lace and a bold floral shirt, because both read clearly against stone, steel and greenery. Keep an eye on the road beside the flower beds, where a passing green tram added a real Melbourne touch to one of our frames. And leave time for a few solo portraits each, one laughing on a sunny lawn and one walking down a shaded avenue, so you both take home a frame that is just yours.

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