We wanted to share some of our favourite outdoor Garden Ceremony locations in some of Sydney‘s most beautiful gardens. It is always best to try and find a location that either has a wet weather option onsite or you can hire a separate indoor location nearby just in case it rains. Another thing to keep in mind when planning your ceremony,is to make sure you understand exactly how long you have the lawn for and does the hire time include the set up and pack down of the chairs and florals for example.

We hope you found this helpful but if this list does not have the perfect garden location for you, please get in contact us as we specialize in sourcing unique and beautiful outdoor locations for our couples.

1. THE MINT: The Mint is located in Sydney CBD and is an oasis where history and Heritage meets contemporary design. The venue has it own exclusive lawn surrounded by a heritage sandstone building. The lawn showcases a beautiful tree, which is perfect to get married under. The fantastic thing about this location is you have a plan B in case of bad weather onsite and only meters away from the lawn in the Gold Melting Room. The Mint also does not limit the amount of chairs that your ceremony can have like a lot of other gardens do. Photo by Siempre Photography.

2. DOCTOR MAY BOOK LOOKOUT: Doctor Mary Booth Look Out is a hidden treasure in Kirribillias not a lot of people know that it is even exists. It has the most drop-deadview of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge from the North Side. You are able to obtain a permit to have you ceremony on the lawn from North Sydney Council. Please note if you are having less than 60 guests you don’t have to get a permit but I would suggest you do just so no one else can book that time slot. Also all your suppliers must have public liability insurance of over 20 million and the couple needs to send these certificates to the council before the big day. Photo by GM Photographics.

3. QUADRANGLE AT SYDNEY UNIVERSITY: The Quadrangle is an incredible space located in Sydney University and is surrounded by aHeritage sandstone building. Please note the venue does limit the amount of chairs you can have for your ceremony. The wonderful thing is that you can also hire the Great Hall or Maclaurin Hall as a back up weather plan just in case it rains. Photo by Quadrangle Website.

4. LINDESY HOUSE: Lindesay House is an elegant 1830 Mansion in the Darling Point overlooking Sydney Harbour. Ceremonies canbe held on the beautiful manicured lawns and you can use the onsite Marquee as you back up wet weather plan in case of rain. Lindesay House only does 12 weddings a year and does not limit the amount of chairs that you can have on their lawn. Photo from Lindesay House Website.

5. HICKSON ROAD RESERVE: Hickson Road Reserve is located in the Rocks right next door to the Park Hyatt and boasts incredible views of Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. You are limited to 30 chairs on this lawn and you could look into hiringa back up wet weather plan for your ceremony at the Park Hyatt right next door or one of nearby venues. Photo by GM Photographics.

6. WHARF AT PIER ONE: Pier One is one of my favourite hotels to do weddings at. My favourite ceremony spot is the Wharf as it has beautiful views of Sydney Harbour and the Harbour Bridge. The Ceremony package includes a wet weather back up plan in one of the hotel function spaces so you are covered just in case it rains. You can also stay and get ready at the hotel eliminating the need for wedding cars if you also plan to have your reception at the hotel. Fun Fact: back in the day the wharf had a concrete floor and so in order to create a garden we often fully turfed the wharf for our weddings to give it that more lush feel. Photo by Lost in Love Photography.

7. FAVOURITE LAWNS INSIDE THE ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS: We are so lucky in Sydney that we have the Royal Botanic Gardens located in our city. The Botanical Gardens has a large amount of lawns that you can hire-take a look at the map we have included of all the lawns available. To make it easier for you, we have decided to share a short list of our Favourite Lawns at the Gardens for you to consider. If there is any other lawns you where considering at the Botanic gardens and you would like some advise,please give us a call any time. Please note you are only able to have 30 chairs for a ceremony in the Botanic Gardens and if your suppliers need to be escorted to the lawn to set up you will need to pay a $75 Ranger Escort Fee.Most Ceremony Bookings are 2 hours long and this includes set up and packdown so you might to extend by 1 hour (max. of 4 hours) to have enough time at the lawn before the next wedding arrives to set up.

A. The Rose Garden: (Q on the map). The Rose Gardens is a wonderful Lawn in the Botanic Gardens. The lawn is located more inland and so does not have the harbour views like some of the other lawns by has two advantages: it has a beautifully manicured garden surrounding the lawn including a large rose garden and it also have a large pavilion onsite,so you have a back up wet weather plan. You can also access the toilet as part of your ceremony booking.Photo by James Day Photography.

B. Lions Gate (L on the map): Lions Gate Loge is such a pretty location in the Botanic Gardens–if feels like your own private cottage with a stunning lawn filled with beautiful blooms and a small marquee perfect for a back up wet weather plan (which we draped in the photo). It also have a kitchen and toilet onsite plus it own access via Stoneyard Gate off Mrs Macquarie Road for your suppliers.Please note this venue can only be booked for a ceremony 8 weeks before the wedding so to avoid this hire it for an indoor function –which is double the cost but is worth it for a number of reasons. This allows you to book it at any time and you can access the venue on the wedding from 8am to 5pm (including set up and pack) so there is no rush to leave and perhaps you can serve champagne and some canapés afterwards and take advantage of this unique venues catering facilities. I also find if you hire it for a reception (even if you don’t use it as your reception) they are more flexible around what furniture you bring onsite so you could potentially have more than 30 guest chairs for example. Belowis the link to book it as an indoor reception function(and above is the link to book it for a outdoor ceremony only) Photo by Inlighten Photography and GM Photographics.

C. Herb Garden (J on the map): The Herb Gardens is another beautiful Lawn surrounded by lush gardens and has a small pavilion onsite and stone staircase. Photo From Botanic Garden Website.

D. Bennelong Lawn (B on the map): Bennelong Lawn is Botanic Garden’s premier wedding ceremony location with magnificent views of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Please note this lawn can only be booked 8 weeks before the event so the way to get around this is to book the lawn next door called the Tarpeian lawn and just place Tarpeian and Bennelong Lawn on you invitations. See link below to book the Tarpeian Lawn:https://www.botanicgardens.org.au/venues-and-lawns/all-venues-and-lawns/tarpeian-lawnThen 8 weeks out from the wedding if Bennelong lawn has not been booked for a marquee wedding then you can transfer the booking from Tarpeian Lawn on the Bennelong Lawn. There is obviously a slight risk that Bennelong lawn could get booked for a Marquee Wedding so you must be happy with Tarpeian lawn just in case this happens. Photo by MM Photography.