Gardens House
| Style | Garden |
|---|---|
| Location | Melbourne |
| Capacity (seated) | 60–200 |
| Capacity (cocktail) | 350 |
| Price Range | $160–$200 per head |
| Starting From | From $1,000 |
| Ceremony | On-Site Ceremony |
| Ceremony Options | Private alfresco garden or interior of Gardens House |
| Catering | In-house |
| Best For | Garden weddings, heritage-house weddings, marquee receptions, intimate estate-style celebrations |
| Google rating | 4.6 (119) on Google |
A Beautiful Botanical Gardens Wedding Venue
RealWeddings Guide
Tucked within the Royal Botanic Gardens in South Yarra, Gardens House is a heritage homestead built in 1854 — close enough to the CBD for convenience, secluded enough to feel a world away. A double-storey heritage façade, sprawling private garden and a second-storey balcony overlooking the grounds set the scene for a wedding straight out of a history book.
Multiple entertaining rooms can be used individually or combined to host hundreds of guests, while The Garden Marquee, set on the lawn among the trees, brings formal seated dining or black-tie cocktails under the stars. Exclusive use of the house and its private surrounds is included with every marquee booking, with the wider Botanic Gardens available for ceremonies and photography — an enchanting, fairytale backdrop just moments from the bustle of the city.
Gardens House FAQs
The Garden Marquee is available seasonally, typically from late February to mid-April and from November to mid-December.
The alfresco area seats up to 60 guests at long tables or 120 cocktail.
The seasonal Garden Marquee accommodates 120 to 200 seated guests, or 200 to 350 for a cocktail-style celebration.
Yes. Ceremonies can be held in the private alfresco garden or inside Gardens House itself, as part of a dedicated two-hour ceremony package.
Gardens House provides permanent indoor spaces, and the Garden Marquee is fully covered, giving couples a genuine wet-weather alternative depending on the booked configuration and season.
Yes. Catering is exclusively in-house through Atlantic Group, using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients across plated, sharing, cocktail, breakfast, lunch and food-station formats.
External catering isn't permitted, with one exception: a preferred external Kosher catering option is available through the venue's approved supplier.
Yes. Gardens House is hired exclusively, with the private residence and surrounding gardens reserved for the entirety of the booked event.
A 30% Booking & Planning Fee applies at the time of booking.
Yes. The venue is licensed until 1am, with Royal Botanic Gardens biodiversity and neighbourhood noise conditions also applying.
No. There's no onsite accommodation, though CBD, South Yarra and Southbank hotels are all nearby.
Yes. Gardens House is the 1854 Director’s Residence of the Royal Botanic Gardens (Melbourne), which is on the Victorian Heritage Register (H1459, registered 1982). The register’s statement of significance names the 1854 Director’s Residence among the Gardens’ significant buildings.
Good to Know
Awards & recognition
- Awards for EAtlantic Group (venue caterer and operator): Gold, Events Caterer, National Restaurant & Catering Hostplus Awards for Excellence (2025)
- Atlantic Group (venue caterer and operator): Silver, Caterer of the Year, National Restaurant & Catering Hostplus Awards for Excellence (2025)
- Atlantic Group (venue caterer and operator): Victorian Winner, Events Caterer and Caterer of the Year, Restaurant & Catering Hostplus Awards for Excellence (2025)
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible
Parking
Guests walk in from Oak Lawn Gate on Birdwood Avenue, with limited street parking and accessible parking approximately 110 metres away.
Testimonials
Thank you so much for all of your work to help bring our day to life; it was so incredible and every person who was part of the wedding remarked on the venue, the set up and organisation, the food, which was exquisite and faultless, and the use of the grounds, which greatly enhanced our overall experience of the venue.
Thank you so much for all of your effort with our Wedding. The night was a blast, went so well, and we are really pleased with the way the process went. We were delighted and really pleased with our choices to have our moment in your venue. From the very start right through to the end we were surprised at how simple and straightforward the process was with Caroline and Gardens House as our venue.
Location
Ready to find out more about Gardens House?
Complete with numerous rooms of varying sizes, this property offers formal seated dining, black-tie cocktail, alfresco events, and scenic ceremony backdrops.
Download Wedding Brochure
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne VIC 3004
This business was selected by the RealWeddings editorial team. Read how we curate, including how RealWeddings is funded.
