A photographer’s guide
Perth is made for an outdoor wedding: long dry summers, soft light late in the day, and gardens, bush and beach all within an hour of the city.
These are 18 outdoor venues our team has photographed, grouped by the kind of setting. Each one links to a page about the venue and to real weddings there, so you can see how it looks on an actual wedding day.
For each venue we have noted where the ceremony happens and what the plan is if it rains, because those are the two things that shape an outdoor day. Facts come from each venue’s own website, so check the details with them before you book. For every venue we have published, see the full guide to Perth wedding venues.
Lawns, old trees and water features. Gardens give you shade and greenery in every season.
Caversham
Best for: A formal garden ceremony
Two outdoor ceremony spots: the Colonnade Gardens, with cobblestone paths, lawns and a platform at the top of a four-storey waterfall, and the Hidden Gardens on the riverbank, with three terraces and a private jetty. The Garden House on the main lawn is the indoor option, seating up to 70.
Real weddings: Ben & Immy
Wanneroo
Best for: A waterfall behind your vows
A five-acre garden on Lake Joondalup with two ceremony spots: the Waterfall Garden for up to 150 guests and a timber Wedding Deck for up to 70. The ceremony hire includes the gardens for photos, so the bridge, the palms and the lake are yours afterwards.
Real weddings: Mick & Marian, Caitlin & James
Caversham
Best for: Two ceremony lawns in the vines
The Chenin Lawn and the Merlot Lawn sit in landscaped gardens and private courtyards around the vineyard, and there is a newer ceremony location, the Hill House. The Estate Room behind has a big deck looking across the lawns to the vines.
Real weddings: Jayde & Josh
Perth
Best for: Native gardens above the city
Ceremony sites range from small and intimate to much grander, and some have lawns for a cocktail-style afternoon reception. A venue booking includes your photography permit, and the Botanic Garden and the skyline are both a short walk away.
Real weddings: Brittany & James, Hayley & Connor
Herne Hill
Best for: Three outdoor ceremony spots
A natural arbour with jasmine-covered archways, a sunken garden lawn between two ornamental pear trees and a magnolia, and a big lawn with the vineyard behind it. Both couples we photographed here married under a big tree on the lawn.
Real weddings: Nat & Jordan, Natalie & Bailey
Upper Swan
Best for: Moving between gardens on foot
The Lakeside Gazebo, the Jacaranda Garden and the Equestrian Lawn are all a short walk from the Chateau, and the estate hosts one wedding a day. After sunset the vine arbour is strung with warm bulbs, which makes an easy outdoor night photo.
Real weddings: Shona & Saif
Gum trees, granite and big views. Bush light is at its best late in the day, when it comes in low and warm through the trees.
Darlington
Best for: A bush ceremony with a rain plan
Bushland and views all around, with ceremony areas for both sunny and rainy days, so the wet-weather plan is built in. Tracks through the trees and the slope above the old vines give the portraits a real Perth Hills look.
Real weddings: Thyla & Rob
Karragullen
Best for: Gardens with forest behind
Ceremonies are in the Cider House gardens with native bushland behind, and couples can walk into the forest of marri and jarrah for photos. The Alfresco under the main building is the wet-weather plan.
Real weddings: Will & Mackenzie, Mikaela & Tom
Perth Hills
Best for: A tiny wedding with a huge view
Up to 30 guests, exclusive use, and Walyunga National Park as the outlook behind your ceremony. It is protected bushland and not a landscaped garden, which is why the wide photos from here look like nowhere else.
Real weddings: Jamie & Anthony
Yanchep
Best for: Lakeside under the willows
Lawns, willows and a viewing deck on the lakefront, a wetlands walk around the lake, and tuart forest with footbridges and limestone walls. If you want cover for the reception, Cabaret Cave is underground.
Real weddings: Caroline & Linden, Katie & Matthew
Metricup
Best for: Bush or lakeside, your pick
Three ceremony settings on 75 acres at Metricup: the Bush Chapel down a white limestone path, the Willow Tree by the lake and a lakeside Gazebo. The open canopy in the bush keeps the light even right through a ceremony.
Real weddings: Danja & Andre
Open space, fences and animals. These are the venues where the last hour of light does the most.
Whitby
Best for: Four backdrops and no driving
A jacaranda lane, an old shearing shed, an enormous wild fig and open paddocks with the Darling Range behind, all within a short walk. The property is yours from 10am until 2am, so photos can wait for the right light.
Real weddings: Nyomi & Kortnee, Nat & Shanni, Tom & Hayley, Sandrine & Jarrod
Mardella
Best for: A choice of four ceremony spots
Lilac Lawns with eucalypts behind and a choice of eight arbours, the hedged Secret Garden, the Corner Log and The Hedges. If it rains, the ceremony moves into the Chapel. Paddocks, hay bales and animals over the fence do the rest.
Real weddings: Barry & Loren, Ian & Juanita
Buckland
Best for: Wide open country
A heritage homestead in the Avon Valley with white post-and-rail fences, a long tree-lined drive and paddocks that glow in the last hour of the day. The venue offers a choice of ceremony spots and both indoor and outdoor reception spaces.
Real weddings: Garth & Natalie, Lucy & Tim
Katrine
Best for: Long grass at sunset
Old stone buildings with red doors, a rose garden, and a creek running through long grass that turns gold at the end of the day. Plan a mid-afternoon ceremony so the portraits land in that last hour.
Real weddings: Aimee & Daniel
White sand and the Indian Ocean. The beach is bright in the middle of the day, so plan the ceremony for later in the afternoon.
North Fremantle
Best for: Vows on the sand
Right on Port Beach in North Fremantle. Bec & Reagan married on the sand in front of the venue, under a pampas arbour. The blue weatherboard building gives shade and a bold backdrop when the light on the open beach is too hard.
Real weddings: Bec & Reagan, Lauren & Zac
Fremantle
Best for: Sand or boardwalk
Ceremonies are on the sand or on the boardwalk in front of the building, and the venue says the boardwalk is the most popular choice. The upstairs function room has two balconies over the beach, so the reception keeps the view.
Real weddings: Sharrie & Steve
Cottesloe
Best for: Lawns above the ocean
The Main Lawn has the grand staircase and ocean views, the Sunken Lawn is sheltered by terraced gardens and stone walls, and there is a Secret Garden and a Rotunda as well. The War Memorial Hall is the indoor room. Confirm your date with the Town of Cottesloe first.
Real weddings: Josie & Alex
In a Perth summer the sun is high and hard until late in the afternoon. A ceremony two to three hours before sunset gives softer light on faces and leaves the best hour of the day for portraits straight after.
Stand at the ceremony spot and find out where the sun sits at your ceremony time. With it behind the two of you, nobody squints and the light wraps around you. With it in your faces, everyone squints in every photo.
A big tree, a hedge line or the shady side of a building gives even light at any time of day. Patchy shade under thin branches is the one to avoid for the ceremony itself, because it puts bright spots on faces.
Every outdoor venue needs a plan B, and you should like it as much as plan A. Ask to see it set up for a ceremony. A little rain and cloud is no problem for photos: overcast light is soft and flattering.
On the Perth coast the sea breeze usually arrives in the afternoon. A veil in the wind looks wonderful in photos, but pin hair well, weigh down anything light and keep the arbour simple.
Shade, water and somewhere to sit matter more outdoors than anywhere. Comfortable guests look happier in the photos, and they stay longer on the dance floor.
Questions