West Aussie Wedding

Perth Hills Discovery Centre

This is our wedding venue.

It's on Allen Road in Mundaring, behind the Visitors Centre, nestled on the edge of the National Park.

There is the bush ampitheater where we have our ceremony, and less than 500m away is the open sided pavillion where we have our reception.

These photos were taken by me a year before we had the wedding

 
 
The Perth Hills National Parks Centre is open to the public from 9am-4pm each day, and we hired out the whole site including the camp ground for about $450.

You are renting just the space so you can BYO alcohol and use any caterers you chose. You can decorate how you want. You can make as much moise as you like and stay as late as want. It has power and lights and there are toilets on site. There is lots of parking and there are some rooms also available for hire.

We timed our ceremony for 4.30pm so that the Visitors Centre would be closed and we would have the place to totally ourselves. It is a good time of day up there as the ampitheatre is in complete shade and the kangaroos start jumping around in the bush.

You probably remember the hiccup we had with our booking, but I wouldn't want that to put anyone off having their wedding here. It was a double booking caused when they changed computer system, so would be unlikely to be repeated.

I feel so lucky to have found this beautiful bushland venue! 

Bickley Wedding

A few weeks ago one of my friends held her birthday party down at Bickley Outdoor Recreation Camp.

It went off! Such a fantastic venue for a really laid back party, complete with a bonfire, swimming, bbq and lounging in the shade. Most of us stayed the night so were able to really let their hair down

Only 30 minutes from the city and a really tranquil native setting

It's got beautiful green grass on a gentle slope with a river running through surrounded by native bush. It has a paved ampitheatre that would be a great location for a ceremony. Or there is the river bank.

It has nice wooden dormitories that sleep over 70 people. Nice bathrooms and shower facilities!

It has a industrial sized kitchen and a quaint hall as an indoor option.

Reminding me somewhat of Nanga Bush Camp

 

shabby chic

This is from a Melbourne Wedding via Real Weddings Magazine

There isnt really anything shabby about it..

It looks so cool.. I wonder who would have actually tied all those jars to ropes, filled them with flowers and hung them from the ceiling.. (the florist I guess?) it seems fiddly and time consuming.. but totally worth it.

 

Photo by Andrew Butler Photography (click to enlarge!)

Flowers and floral decorations by Katie Marx

Venue is fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne

on the rocks

Here are some cool stone ceremony locations..  

 

photo by Paul Johnson, via Black*Eiffel  

 

image by Colin Cowie via Modern Romance

  

image from 100 Layer Cake

And for the West Aussie Brides... you too can have a piece of the Cave Wedding action!

The Caberet Cave in Yanchep Natinal Park is a purpose-modified natural cave.. It's about 45 minutes drive from the city, it can seat 110 people or fit 150 for cocktail style reception, and is catered for by the Yanchep Inn

 

 

images via bokeholic's flickr and alluneed2know

Good for something a little different, I think it would be a wonderful venue for a cosy winter wedding.. or would probably be nice and cool in summer too

Old Perth Observatory

A stately wedding venue option.

  

image from wyrmworld's Flickr 

The old Perth Observatory is a National Trust Building, on the top of Mt Eliza in West Perth.

It was built in 1900 and was originally the Government Astronomers residence.

I think its a lovely touch to be married somewhere used for star gazing...

Until the 1960s that is, when city pollution drove them up into the Hills. The current Observatory is located in Bickley

It fits up to 250 for a sit down meal or 600 for a cocktail function.

For more info contact National Trust

Reveleys

Hows this for a wedding venue with character! Reveleys Cafe is on St Georges Terrace, right in the centre of Perth. It was built in 1865 as part of the Perth Boys School and has been utilised as a resturant and cafe during the working week.. but on weekends you can hire it for weddings.. they turn it into a chapel for you and you can have your ceremony.. or your reception there.. or both.

It is heritage listed building and you can arrange a civil celebrant to marry you, or a religious ceremony if you prefer. And for the reception they can hold a sit down reception for 80 people or 120 cocktail style.

 

 

images from cau3dan's Flickr and The Guide

It's a really beautiful old building in such a central location.. I always used to admire it when I was working in the city and I could imagine a really stylish event held here

WA Rowing Club

This is an awesome venue.

Its a heritage listed building on Riverside Drive, on Barrack St near the Bell Tower.

 

Photography by singletrack32

Downstairs is where they store the canoes or rowboats, so you walk past those up the stairs to the funtion room which holds has a balcony looking over the river to the South Perth foreshore

  

Photograph by Miss La La

It has a great balcony overlooking the Swan River and the interior is been restored beautifully. It has some old photos framed on the walls but they are genuinely quaint, none of the usual sports club tack. Its light and bright and airy.

 

image from WA Rowing Club

I think it would probably hold a maximum of about 80 people and I think the catering and alcohol is all organised through the club.

Its a great central location, and I would happily have held our wedding here! We wont be only bcause its a bit small..  But I would love to have a party here down the track.. maybe my 30th.. when the time comes...

Nanga Bush Camp

How awesome would it be to hire out a little bush retreat to hold your wedding.

Nanga Bush Camp is located in Dwellingup, an hour and a half from Perth. Its on the banks of the Murray River nestled in the native Jarrah forrest.

It is usually rented out for school camps and canoeing or adventure weekends, so as long as your guests were happy to stay in dorm style accomodation there would be accomodation for up to 330 people!

You can organise your own catering and its BYO. The site is powered and has refrigeration and cooking facilities.

It would probably be a little more rustic than the norm but I think it would be so charming 

 

 

OMG it seems so perfect

I can really just imagine a beautiful bushland ceremony, good hearty bbq reception, dancing around a campfire.....

Core Luxury Retreat

This looks like a beautiful Hills venue for a small wedding.

Its the Core Luxury Retreat up in Mundaring about 40 minutes from the city. It costs $1500 to hire the whole thing our for a wedding, but that doesnt include the cost of hiring the rooms, which is $350/night or $300/night if you book all five rooms.

 

shame about the palm trees.

Wheatbelt Wedding

Last weekend we went for a drive in the Wheatbelt

The place is dotted with quaint country town wedding venues 

 

The chapel at Boomehill

 

The church at Kojinup

The Arthur River town hall

Black Swan Cafe and Winery

This cafe is in Henley Brook, in Swan Valley.

 

 

The resturant is really nice. There are jarrah floorboards, big french doors overlooking the vineyard. Off the balcony is a nice grassy area set up with umbrellas and an outdoor bar.. Its a really beautiful spot.

You can do a virtual tour from their website Black Swan Winery which shows just how nice the view is. 

I emailed them about their wedding packages and they got back to me really promptly, It costs $1500 to hire the whole venue out, $120/head for food and drinks package (canapes, sit down meal, 5.5hrs of drinks), and can cater for 100-200 guests.

Why I don't think we'll have our wedding there: Out the back is beautiful but the front didnt really do it for us. The resturant frontage itself is quite nice but there is a crummy building adjacent to it, with a pile of rubble and old faded sign and it just didnt look that flash. Our first impression wasnt that great and although the back redeemed itself we sort of want to go "wow" as soon as we see it.

Quarry Ampitheatre

image from Life on Perth

This awesome City Beach venue usually hosts outdoor music andtheatre events like ballet and live bands

It is cut into an old limestone quarry and has great views of the city. It is like a blank slate but in a classy way.. imagine partying under a sparkling sky.

If I was going to have my reception here Id want to set up a marquee, to offer shelter from the sun as I've heard it can get pretty warm and there isnt much shade.

I think this venue would acutally be suited to larger weddings as the ampitheatre is pretty big and if you dont have that many people then the guests may rattle around. It can hold up to 644 people not that you'd want that many

Quarry Ampitheatre