Wedding Reception Venues in South Melbourne

Two neighbouring South Melbourne pubs offer couples a city-fringe reception without a purpose-built reception centre. Main Hall @ Bells Hotel is a loft-style hall on the roof at 157 Moray Street, with a retractable roof and skyline views, and the Golden Gate Hotel at 238 Clarendon Street can be hired as a whole for 140 seated.

Bells is the pick for a reception that feels like an event space; the Golden Gate keeps a pub's warmth, with timber, leather lounges and windows over Coventry Street.

Reception points to compare:

• Seated dinner: 150 to 160 in the Main Hall at Bells, or 140 across the whole Golden Gate
• Cocktail reception: 250 to 300 at Bells, or up to 370 standing at the Golden Gate
• Arrival: at Bells a lift rises from a private laneway door, and both venues are listed as wheelchair accessible
• A smaller wedding: the Golden Gate Dining Room seats 40 with a view of tree-lined Coventry Street
• Canapé receptions: From $35 per person at Bells and From $37 per person at the Golden Gate

The adjoining Hennessy Lane can be added to the Bells hall if the guest list grows, and the Golden Gate's upstairs Library makes a quiet room for the wedding party.