Wedding Reception Venues in Northern Beaches

Garden, sand, harbour, water or industrial chic: couples marrying on the Northern Beaches usually decide on the setting before anything else, and the region's reception venues each commit firmly to one. They also range from barely more than the bridal party to a guest list in the hundreds. The reception settings and who they suit:

• A garden lawn: in Terrey Hills, Gardens @ Miramare Gardens puts up to 310 guests at tables inside terraced planting and hedges, lit by festoons after dark.
• Over the water in Manly: the Harbourview Room & Atrium @ Manly Skiff Club takes 76 at tables once the function room opens onto its covered deck above Manly Cove, and across the cove Manly Pavilion's lower-level Cove seats 200 with room to dance.
• On the sand: the whole of Cabana Beach Kiosk at Narrabeen is hired for 30 at tables or 50 standing, the Ocean Pool Room at Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club seats 100 with a covered balcony over the beach, and Narrabeen Sands Hotel hosts receptions for up to 120.
• Among copper stills: at Seadrift Distillery on Sydenham Road, Brookvale, a single long table holds 27, and the wedding package is built around a Mediterranean banquet.
• Afloat at Palm Beach: Lilypad Palm Beach is hired exclusively, with room for 15 at the table for an elopement-sized celebration, while on land Jonah's gives its whole clifftop restaurant, bar, terrace and gardens above Whale Beach to up to 122.

For a relaxed brewery reception, 4 Pines Truck Bar in Brookvale sets up groups among its steel fermenters with a two-course share-style menu and gas heaters for cooler nights. Starting prices run from $39 per person there, from $50 per person at Cabana, from $69 per person at the Skiff Club, from $82 per person at The Basin, from $90 per person at Manly Pavilion, from $99 per person at Miramare, from $285 per person at Lilypad and from $1,500 venue hire at Seadrift.