Willsmere Estate Wedding Photos
Slate towers, long verandahs and lawns made for colour in Kew.
Willsmere Estate in Kew opened in the early 1870s as the Kew Asylum and is one of Melbourne’s grandest Victorian buildings. Designed by G.W. Vivian and Frederick Kawerau in the Italianate and Second Empire styles, it has slate mansard roofs, tall towers, iron-columned verandahs and wide courtyard lawns. It has been home to apartments since the early 1990s, and its cream walls make a beautiful backdrop for wedding and pre-wedding portraits.
We photographed Aasheen and Emmanuel’s Mehndi Day portraits at Willsmere Estate: a bridal party in yellow kurtas and pink lehengas twirling across the lawn beneath the tower, before the celebration moved to Arts Centre Melbourne.
Photographing portraits at Willsmere Estate
The courtyard lawns sit between the long wings, so a tower frames almost every angle. On a bright afternoon the cream walls bounce soft light back onto faces, and bold colours and flowing skirts look wonderful against them. Leave time for the verandahs and the arched portico for a change of scene.
Read the wedding venue guide
Portraits at Willsmere
Willsmere is a portrait stop, not a place to marry or dine, and the old building is now apartments, so people live here and the session should be short, quiet and respectful. Start on the courtyard lawns between the long wings, where a tower rises over almost every angle and the rounded hedges give you a path to walk. Then move to the iron columned verandahs, the stone steps beside the colonnade and the arched portico for a change of scene, and finish with a walk up the drive towards the facade. Half an hour to forty minutes covers it, and it pairs well with a city venue later in the day.
Weather and the year
The lawns are open, so a summer afternoon here is hot and bright, and the pale walls throw the heat back, so bring water and keep the session for late in the day when the light lasts until well after eight. Autumn gives softer sun and cooler air, and spring is green but changeable. The cloud that rolls over Kew is no loss, because the cream walls glow under an even grey sky and colours look richer without hard shadows. Winter is cold, the sun drops not long after five, and the verandahs give cover if a shower passes through.
Light and colour
In the afternoon the cream walls act like a giant reflector and bounce soft light back onto faces, so even full sun is kinder here than on a plain lawn. Bold colour is what the place is made for: bright skirts, long veils and flowing fabric all stand out against the pale walls, so give the bridal party room to move and twirl rather than lining them up. A breeze crosses the courtyards and lifts a veil nicely. The last hour before sunset warms the facade to gold, and the slate towers hold their shape against a bright or a brooding sky alike.