Pavilion on Northbourne wedding photos: Bec and Jez stand close in denim jackets on a winding path through a tall pine forest in Canberra
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Real ballroom wedding · Dickson, Canberra

Pavilion on Northbourne Wedding Photos: Bec & Jez

Pavilion on Northbourne · 242 Northbourne Ave, Dickson ACT · Canberra

City: Canberra · Venue: Pavilion on Northbourne

Vows under a timber arbour hung with red and white roses, a whole crowd waving up from a tropical atrium, then matching denim jackets among tall forest trees. Bec and Jez’s wedding at Pavilion on Northbourne in Dickson, Canberra, had bridesmaids in deep red, attendants in navy and burgundy, and two lace gowns sweeping down a curved staircase. The party carried on at the Pavilion under red and blue lights, and we were there for every hug and every laugh.

The gallery
The bride in a halter-neck lace gown fixes an earring by sheer curtains while getting ready at the Deco Hotel in Braddon.
A long lace train fans across the carpet as the bride holds a bouquet of white roses by the window.
Seated by the window, the bride in the halter-neck gown gently adjusts her white rose bouquet.
Looking over her shoulder from a chair, the bride rests white roses on her lap, her lace train spread across the floor.
The halter-neck bride laughs between two bridesmaids in deep red halter dresses, all three holding white rose bouquets.
A dark-haired bridesmaid in deep red and the bride in white lace hug and smile with their bouquets by the curtains.
A blonde bridesmaid in a red halter dress and the bride share a laugh face to face, white roses in hand.
An older loved one in a dark suit and blue tie smiles with the bride as her lace train trails behind her.
An older loved one in a dark suit kisses the bride's hand, her white rose bouquet soft in the foreground.
The bride beams up at an older loved one in a grey suit and blue tie beside the bright window.
A V-neck lace gown with a beaded waistband hangs in the window against sheer curtains.
In black and white, the dark-haired bride sits on the bed in a floral robe, gazing up at her gown in the window.
An attendant in a navy waistcoat and burgundy bow tie hugs the dark-haired bride from behind as everyone laughs.
The flower girl in a white tulle dress hugs the dark-haired bride and looks up at her by the window.
The dark-haired bride swishes her fringed lace skirt by the curtains, white roses in one hand.
Smiling over her shoulder, the dark-haired bride stands by sheer curtains with her bouquet held low.
The dark-haired bride and a young man in a dark suit and tie stand arm in arm by the window.
A young man in a dark suit wraps the dark-haired bride in a long, tight hug, her eyes closed.
The dark-haired bride stands between two attendants in navy suits and burgundy bow ties.
Arm around an attendant in glasses and a navy three-piece suit, the dark-haired bride smiles by the curtains.
Squinting into the window light, the bride and an attendant both raise a hand to their foreheads and laugh.
Bec and Jez hold hands under a timber arbour of red and white roses in the Garden Atrium at Pavilion on Northbourne.
The bridal party gathers around Bec and Jez at a small lace-covered table as they sign the register among palms.
Bec and Jez kiss at the signing table at Pavilion on Northbourne while bridesmaids in red and attendants in navy laugh.
From above, both brides disappear into hugs from loved ones in the aisle between timber chairs on the stone floor.
Guests wave up from the stone floor at Pavilion on Northbourne, Dickson, framed by palm fronds and a tree fern.
Bec and Jez hold white rose bouquets on the curved, carpeted staircase beneath planter balconies of trailing greenery.
Both brides pose at the foot of the staircase with an older loved one in a dark suit and a woman in royal blue.
Bec and Jez smile with a loved one in a navy top and glasses on the double staircase at the Pavilion on Northbourne Hotel.
A loved one in a striped dress chats with the brides and a woman in navy, sharing a laugh at the foot of the stairs.
Both brides stand with loved ones in navy and in a striped dress on the stairs at Pavilion on Northbourne.
The dark-haired bride stands between a loved one in a striped dress and a loved one in navy by the planter balconies.
The flower girl, a toddler and loved ones in suits and red join the brides at Pavilion on Northbourne in Canberra.
Both brides line up with loved ones in orange, red and floral dresses, one cradling a baby, on the curved stairs.
A young man in a navy shirt and a young woman in an orange wrap dress flank the brides at Pavilion on Northbourne, Dickson.
A loved one in a navy off-shoulder dress holds a baby beside the brides, with a friend in a floral dress on the other side.
Two couples in suits and dresses stand either side of Bec and Jez on the staircase at Pavilion on Northbourne.
A larger family group with boys in dark suits and a girl in pink gathers around the brides on the stone floor.
The flower girl stands in front of the brides with a young man in a dark suit at the Pavilion on Northbourne Hotel.
Bec and Jez smile on the staircase with the flower girl in white tulle and a young man in a dark suit.
The flower girl in white tulle stands in front of Bec and Jez on the carpeted stairs at Pavilion on Northbourne in Canberra.
Both brides pose with four loved ones in teal, navy and floral dresses, one holding a baby, beside the staircase.
The full bridal party lines up in red dresses and navy suits with Bec and Jez in the middle at Pavilion on Northbourne.
From above, the brides stand on the staircase with bridesmaids in red to the left and attendants in navy to the right.
Bec and Jez kiss on the curved staircase at Pavilion on Northbourne, Dickson, between a tall palm and a tree fern.
Seen through tree fern fronds from above, the brides share a kiss halfway up the curved staircase, trains spilling down the steps.
Soft green fern fronds blur across the frame as Bec and Jez lean in on the stairs at the Pavilion on Northbourne Hotel.
Hand in hand, the brides walk down the carpeted staircase beneath arching palm fronds.
A bridesmaid kicks up her red skirt as the brides kiss at the rose arbour in the Garden Atrium at Pavilion on Northbourne.
The bridal party lines up on a timber deck above the treetops under grey cloud, with hills behind.
At the National Arboretum Canberra, one bride sits on the deck railing as the other leans in, a lake and hills behind.
Sitting on the railing, the bride in the halter-neck gown touches foreheads with the dark-haired bride above tall evergreens.
The halter-neck bride cradles the dark-haired bride's face as they smile at the camera, evergreens soft behind.
The dark-haired bride looks up and laughs as the bride perched on the railing holds her face under a grey sky.
Bec and Jez walk hand in hand across the stone paving at the National Arboretum, the lake and hills opening up behind.
Holding hands, both brides stroll along the stone paving, lace trains sweeping, with the lake and hills far below.
Laughing, the brides walk hand in hand along a gravel path beneath tall evergreen branches.
Bec and Jez smile in matching denim jackets among the forest rows at National Arboretum Canberra in the Molonglo Valley.
In matching denim jackets, the brides hold hands on a winding forest path lined with tall, straight trunks.
Under red and blue party lights at the reception, Bec and Jez wrap together in a quiet moment of their own.
The wedding story

Our Pavilion on Northbourne wedding photos: vows under red roses, a wave from the atrium balcony and denim jackets in the forest

Getting ready at the Deco Hotel · Atrium ceremony under the arbour · Family on the double staircase · Portraits through the tree ferns · National Arboretum lookout and forest · Night at the Pavilion

Read the full story

Curtains, red dresses and a kiss

Our day started at the Deco Hotel on Northbourne Avenue, where both brides got ready. One stood at the window in a halter-neck lace gown, fixing an earring while sheer curtains turned the daylight soft. Those curtains work like a giant softbox, so we used them all morning, and we laid her long lace train across the carpet for a frame shot from above. Her bridesmaids arrived in deep red halter dresses carrying white roses, and the three of them could not stop laughing. Then an older loved one in a dark suit lifted her hand and kissed it, and she beamed straight back.

A gown hanging in the window

Next it was the other bride’s turn. Her gown hung in the window: a deep V neckline, a beaded waistband and a fringed lace skirt. She sat on the bed in a floral robe and looked up at it, and we kept that profile as a single black and white frame, all silhouette and backlit lace. Once the dress was on, a little girl in a white tulle dress ran in for a hug, and the bride swished her fringed skirt around for us by the curtains, white roses in one hand. Small, quiet moments like these are why we arrive early.

Navy suits and burgundy bow ties

Two attendants in navy suits, burgundy bow ties and red pocket squares were the best kind of trouble. One wrapped the bride in a hug from behind and set her off laughing, and a young man in a dark suit got a long, tight squeeze. Then the three of them lined up by the window, and when the light got too bright the bride and an attendant both threw a hand to their foreheads and cracked up. We love a bridal party that plays along. The stiff frames never end up on the wall; the ones where everyone forgets the camera always do.

Vows under red and white roses

That afternoon the ceremony was held in the Pavilion’s garden atrium, under a timber arbour with a green hedge wall and a spray of red and white roses across the top. Bec and Jez held hands in front of the celebrant, bridesmaids in red to one side, the navy suits on the other, guests on timber chairs among the palms and ferns. We shot part of it from above, which shows the whole atrium and both lace trains pooled on the stone floor. Then they signed the register at a small lace-covered table with their bridal party gathered close.

Hugs and a wave from above

The moment the paperwork was done, the hugging started. Both brides disappeared into the arms of loved ones in the middle of the aisle, right beside a chalkboard keeping the front rows for immediate family. Then we climbed to an upper level and called everyone onto the open stone floor below for one big group photo. With the whole crowd looking up and waving, framed by palm fronds and a tree fern, it is the frame everyone hunts for first. Atriums with balconies make this easy: a little height turns a crowd into a picture where every face shows.

Family on the double staircase

The atrium’s curved double staircase was made for family photos. Carpeted steps sweep up on both sides beneath planter balconies spilling with greenery, so every group gets a background that looks finished. We kept our position fixed and simply swapped the people, which keeps a family set consistent and quick: loved ones in dark suits and blue dresses, a gang of kids, a baby in a loved one’s arms and the flower girl in white tulle front and centre. Then the full bridal party lined up together, red dresses and navy suits, with both brides laughing in the middle.

Through the tree ferns

Before we left the Pavilion we took a few minutes with just the two of them on those stairs. Some of our favourite Pavilion on Northbourne wedding photos came from that short window: we shot through the tree fern fronds from the side, letting the leaves blur soft and green across the edge of the frame while Bec and Jez leaned in on the steps, trains spilling down behind them. Then they walked down together hand in hand. The bridal party came back for one last frame at the arbour, where a bridesmaid kicked up her red skirt as the brides kissed.

Grey cloud at the Arboretum

Then we headed across town to the National Arboretum Canberra. Grey cloud sat over the hills, and we were happy about it: overcast light is soft, flattering and kind to white lace. On a timber deck above the trees, with the lake and the hills behind, the bridal party lined up once more before we had Bec and Jez to ourselves. One sat up on the railing while the other leaned in for a forehead touch, and we followed them walking hand in hand along the stone paving with the whole view opening up behind them.

Denim jackets and red light

For the last portraits they pulled on matching denim jackets and we walked into the forest rows, where tall straight trunks line the path in every direction. Trees planted in rows give you natural leading lines, and the canopy keeps the light even on faces, so a forest walk is one of the easiest ways to finish a portrait session. Back at the Pavilion the celebration carried on into the night, and one of our favourite frames came late: the two of them wrapped together under red and blue party lights, sharing a quiet moment of their own.

Photographer's venue notes

Pavilion on Northbourne, Dickson: vows in the garden atrium and family groups on the curved staircase

Read the venue notes

Inside the atrium, then across town

Bec and Jez said their vows in the garden atrium under a timber arbour hung with red and white roses, with guests on timber chairs among the palms. After the signing we stayed in the same space for everything that followed: one big wave from above, then family groups on the curved double staircase and a few minutes alone among the tree ferns. A last bridal party frame at the arbour wrapped things up before the drive to the National Arboretum Canberra for portraits, and the night carried on back at the Pavilion.

Even daylight and grey hills

The atrium gave us soft, even daylight on the stone floor, which made two white lace gowns easy to expose without losing any detail in the trains. Out at the Arboretum, grey cloud sat low over the hills. We welcomed it, because overcast light flatters skin and keeps lace from glaring, and the lake and ridges behind still read clearly. Later, in the reception, red and blue party lights took over, so we worked closer and caught the brides wrapped together in the glow.

The angles that worked

Climbing to an upper level gave us the whole crowd framed by palm fronds, every face turned up to the lens. On the staircase we held one position and simply swapped people in and out, then moved round to shoot through the fern fronds for a soft green edge. At the Arboretum, the timber deck railing gave one bride a seat while the other leaned in, the stone paving opened up the view behind them, and the straight trunks of the forest rows drew the eye straight to their faces.

Ideas to borrow

Two brides means two trains, so on a staircase we arranged both to spill down the steps before every frame; build in a moment for that. Matching denim jackets were a clever second look for the forest: warm, relaxed and a real contrast to the lace. And if you love the balcony wave, ask your guests to linger on the floor after the signing, because that frame only works while everyone is still in one place.

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