Melbourne · Melbourne
Garden Wedding · City: Melbourne
A golden dog and a little white staffy met the car, a flower girl in pink tulle scattered petals down a curving brick path, and vows were said on a round stone terrace above a wooded valley. Misty and Dave’s wedding in a private garden in the hills east of Melbourne was full of laughter, a cheeky swig from a beer can and dancing on the lawn after lunch on the terrace. We were there for every bit of it.
Arrival in the garden · Ceremony on the round terrace · Signing under the crepe myrtle · Family photos above the valley · Portraits in the paddock · Long lunch, cake and dancing on the lawn
We arrived to long tables already dressed in white on a red brick terrace, tucked under the eaves of the house, with a brick wood-fired oven and a lawn sloping away towards the trees. A hand-painted Mr & Mrs sign leaned in a garden bed, the rings sat on a slice of timber beside red roses and native blooms, and a little gold basket waited, filled with petals. Detail frames like these take us ten minutes, and they are worth doing early, before guests fill the space and the light changes.
Misty pulled up and climbed out of the car laughing, gathering her beaded gown while the little white staffy pressed against her legs to say hello. A loved one fixed a final touch at Misty’s wrist, her bridesmaid in royal blue wrapped her in a hug beside the car, and then Misty stood arm in arm with her dad on the brick path, grinning. We kept a longer lens here so we could stay back and let the greetings happen without anyone feeling watched. The dogs, of course, ignored us completely.
The flower girl went first, in pink tulle and a lace top, holding her basket in one hand and her bridesmaid’s hand in the other as they followed the curve of the brick path. The golden dog wandered along too. Then Misty’s dad walked her past the potted succulents and a crepe myrtle in full pink flower, out onto the round terrace where Dave was waiting. We shot from behind for that reveal, so the valley opened up in front of them, and caught her dad shaking Dave’s hand at the top.
The ceremony took place on a circular paved terrace with a fire bowl at its centre and nothing behind the couple but a wooded valley rolling away under a soft grey sky. Misty laughed through the opening words, read her vows from a card, and the white staffy settled himself right at their feet. Cloud cover like this is kind to a ceremony: no squinting, no hard shadows under the eyes, and the greens of the bush stay rich. After the rings and the kiss, Misty raised her bouquet high in triumph.
They signed at a wrought iron table under the crepe myrtle, and the flower girl took her job seriously, scattering a last handful of petals across Misty’s train. Our Melbourne garden wedding photos from the next ten minutes are pure celebration. Misty took a long swig from a can of beer with her bouquet still in hand, threw both arms up with Dave and her bridesmaid, and a groomsman did a little dance step down the path. We stayed loose and quick, because moments like these do not wait for anyone.
We used the round terrace again for family photos, lining everyone up with the valley behind so every group had the same soft light and the same green backdrop. Groups went fast and nobody stood still for long. In between, Misty and her dad sat side by side on garden chairs under a tree, champagne in her hand, laughing so hard he threw his head back, and he kissed her hand as they talked. Those in-between frames are often the ones families treasure most, so we always keep shooting between the formal set-ups.
For portraits we wandered down into the paddock below the garden, where a huge fallen log lay across the grass and animals grazed on the slope behind. Misty and Dave sat on it together, she rested her head on his shoulder, and the white staffy came over to supervise. Under the gums, Misty twirled her train on her own and glanced back over her shoulder. Nearer the house, they sat on a timber bench with a maple just turning red behind them, and the dog stretched out at their feet.
Back on the terrace, the long tables filled with plates, red wine and laughter. A little one in a sparkly jumper stood on her chair, and Misty curled up on a swing seat on the deck with a glass in hand while Dave pulled a groomsman in for a selfie. Then the dancing spilled onto the lawn: Misty and Dave first, then older guests twirling each other, the flower girl running between the dancers and everyone throwing their arms wide. Open lawn and grey sky meant we could shoot freely in every direction.
The cake was a simple semi-naked tier topped with red roses, sitting on a timber round wrapped in ivy. Misty and Dave cut it at the edge of the terrace, and Misty brandished the knife with a huge laugh. Her dad read his speech from a folded page, an older guest punched both fists in the air, and Misty lifted the flower girl high overhead. We finished in the garden among clipped hedges and autumn maples, where they shared a cheeky kiss through their face masks and laughed at themselves.
Everything for Misty and Dave happened within a short walk. The aisle followed the curving brick path past potted succulents and a crepe myrtle in flower, out to the round stone terrace with its fire bowl and the wooded valley beyond. They signed at a wrought iron table under that crepe myrtle, family groups went back onto the terrace, and the long lunch ran on the red brick terrace under the eaves of the house. The lawn beside the tables became the dance floor, and the paddock below the garden gave us room to wander for portraits.
A soft grey sky sat over the garden for the whole day, and it was the kindest light we could have asked for. Nobody squinted through the vows, there were no dark shadows under eyes, and the bush beyond the terrace stayed deep green. Autumn added its own colour: a maple just turning red over the timber bench, warm foliage along the hedged paths and pink blossom above the signing table. With the light so even, we could shoot the dancing on the lawn from any side without worrying about where the sun sat.
For the processional we stayed behind Misty and her dad on the brick path, so the valley opened up ahead of them as they stepped onto the terrace. The round terrace earned its place twice, because it put the same clean bush backdrop behind every family group. Down in the paddock, the huge fallen log gave Misty and Dave somewhere natural to sit, with animals grazing on the slope behind, and the tall gums nearby suited a few walking frames. Back near the house, the clipped hedges and narrow garden paths made a tidy, leafy frame for kisses.
Let the family dogs roam: the white staffy settling at the couple’s feet during the vows is one of our favourite frames from the day, and nobody had to arrange it. Keep the signing table a few steps from the ceremony spot, in open shade, so guests barely need to move. And slot your portrait walk after the family groups and before lunch, while everyone is relaxed and ready for a breather, then save one last kiss among the hedges for the end of the afternoon.