
Werribee Park Mansion · Gate 2, K Rd, Werribee South VIC · Melbourne
Garden Wedding · Heritage & Historic Venue Wedding · City: Melbourne · Venue: Werribee Park Mansion
Corgis rolling over on the garden path, a lop-eared bunny on the staircase and bouquets in every colour of the paintbox. Liz and Robert’s wedding at Werribee Park Mansion in Werribee South put their vows on a red carpet beside the flower beds, with the sandstone mansion glowing behind them. Then came a shower of petals, golden-hour portraits along the garden paths and a reception in The Refectory that ended with everyone’s arms in the air. We loved every minute.











































































































































































































































































































































































































































Getting ready with the corgis · A bunny on the staircase · Red-carpet vows by the parterre · Petals and a lawn-wide group photo · Parterre and arcade portraits · Speeches and dancing at The Refectory
Our day started with Robert and his two groomsmen in crisp white shirts, lined up on the edge of a bed with three pairs of polished shoes at their feet. Cufflinks went in, ties went on and bow ties were straightened between friends. Then we took everyone out into the backyard, where the corgis decided they were in charge of the group photos, rolling over for belly rubs between the suits. A cloudy spring sky is kind to a garden like that: soft, even light, nobody squinting, and the oranges on the tree behind them still glowing. Robert’s family joined him among the orchids.
Liz was in a purple robe with Bride across the back, watching her makeup come together in the mirror. Her bridesmaids raised glasses of pink bubbly with her, then laced the back of her gown while she laughed. On the staircase she sat down with a lop-eared grey and white bunny and cuddled it against all that tulle, and it became one of our favourite frames of the morning. Stairs make a lovely set for getting ready: the white banisters lead the eye straight to the bride, and the light falls softly from the window above.
Then the flowers came out: tight round bouquets of yellow, red, pink and purple blooms that brightened every frame they were in. Liz and her two bridesmaids in navy lace pushed their bouquets towards the lens and burst out laughing. We sat Liz on a cream sofa in front of a big bright window, let the light rim her hair and lace cap sleeves, and set our exposure for her face so it stayed soft and luminous. Family gathered in close around her on the sofa for a last few photos before everyone headed off to Werribee Park.
At Werribee Park a welcome sign stood against a sandstone pillar of the mansion, and a little chalkboard pointed guests along the gravel. The signing table held red roses, E and R letters, a toy bunny and a framed photo of two corgis. White chairs lined a red carpet on the lawn beside the parterre’s flower beds, with the mansion and its tower behind. Robert and his groomsmen waited at the front as the bridesmaids came down the aisle. By four o’clock the spring sun was low and behind the guests, so we let it rim the crowd and kept faces in soft shade.
Liz arrived on her dad’s arm, with a loved one walking at her other side and her bouquet glowing in the sun. At the end of the aisle came hugs, and Robert reached out to shake her dad’s hand before he took Liz’s. Her long veil streamed out behind her across the red carpet. During the ceremony the two of them stepped down to the front row to hand small cups to loved ones, a sweet pause in the middle of it all. Then they stood hand in hand for their vows, grinning at each other with the guests and the gardens behind them.
The rings went on with the mansion’s sandstone arches softly out of focus behind them, and then came the kiss, with the veil drifting across the grass. At the signing table family leaned in to watch, and we stepped back so the clock tower stayed in the frame above them. Then a confetti cannon burst white petals over the bridal party, and Liz and Robert walked back up the aisle through a storm of red and white, laughing the whole way. We finished with one big group photo of every guest on the lawn, the mansion lined up behind them all.
Some of our favourite Werribee Park Mansion wedding photos came next, as the light turned gold. Robert swept Liz off her feet so her skirt flew out, and the groomsmen returned the favour by hoisting Robert up between them. Then we took the two of them along the curving gravel paths of the parterre, between beds of bright flowers and silver-grey plants, her veil trailing behind her. Late-afternoon sun from the side shaped the lace and warmed the stone. Under the arcade at the front of the mansion Robert spun Liz on the gravel, and her skirt opened like a bell.
Inside The Refectory, a long head table was heaped with yellow lilies and red roses under arched windows and glass pendant lights. A wishing well wore a little toy bunny, with photos of the corgis beside it, and a three-tier white cake trailed pastel sugar flowers. Liz and Robert made their entrance through the tall arched timber doors, and the table photos were all big smiles. A groomsman and a bridesmaid gave speeches, then Liz took the microphone herself while Robert watched her. In a pale room like this, light bounced off the ceiling keeps skin natural and lets the whole room glow.
After the cake was cut, Liz and Robert took to the parquet dance floor for their first dance, coloured lights spinning across the walls, and one of our favourite frames of it is in black and white. The bridal party joined them, then couples of every age, a little girl twirled with a guest and a baby in big ear protectors watched it all from a loved one’s arms. Soon the whole dance floor had its arms in the air. We slipped outside for one last kiss beside the lit arched windows, then turned back to see the old building and its lamps glowing against the night sky.
Liz and Robert got ready at home, then joined their guests in the gardens, where a red carpet ran between white chairs on the lawn beside the parterre’s flower beds, the mansion and its clock tower behind. After the signing and a shower of petals, every guest gathered on that same lawn for one big group, and the bridal party stayed on for lifts and portraits. We used the last of the daylight for the parterre paths and the front arcade, then moved into The Refectory for dinner, speeches and dancing.
This was a spring wedding with a late afternoon ceremony, and the sun sat low behind the guests as Liz walked in. We let that backlight glow through the crowd and the old trees while keeping Liz and Robert’s faces in soft shade. Through the groups the light kept warming, and by the time we reached the gravel paths it was raking across from one side, picking out the pattern in Liz’s lace and turning the sandstone warm. After dark, the garden lamps and the lit arched windows took over.
Standing at the head of the red carpet gave us the whole aisle with the tower lined up behind it, and stepping well back at the signing table kept the clock tower in frame above the family. The curving gravel paths through the parterre were the best portrait walk, with silver plants and bright beds on either side. Under the arcade, the gravel forecourt gave Liz room to spin. Inside, the tall arched timber doors framed their entrance and, later on, the big crowd photo from the dance floor.
Personal touches photograph best when they sit where the camera already points: the toy bunny and the corgi portrait on the signing table turned up in frame after frame. If you are planning a petal cannon, hand it to a groomsman near the end of the aisle so the burst lands over you both as you walk back. And give the groomsmen a moment for their own lift with the groom; it was one of the biggest laughs of Liz and Robert’s whole afternoon.