Wedding Reception Venues in the Dandenong Ranges

Choosing the Right Wedding Reception Venue

Three wedding venues are spread across the Dandenong Ranges, each with a ceremony spot on its own grounds. Avalon Castle is a bluestone castle on a two-acre estate in Cockatoo, Forest Edge looks out from a 20-acre hilltop property at Gembrook, and Fortnums is a conservatory-style restaurant at Sassafras.

Cockatoo and Gembrook lie towards the south of the ranges, while Sassafras is up on the ridge along Mount Dandenong Tourist Road.

Comparing the three for a wedding:

Ceremony choices – Avalon Castle offers three: a stained-glass Chapel, a redwood Gazebo in the gardens, and a lawn setting called the Rose Terrace.
Garden or wine bar – Forest Edge holds vows in a raised terraced garden or in its French-inspired wine bar, which doubles as the wet-weather plan.
Under the tree ferns – Fortnums marries couples beneath a white arch in its gardens, usually from 4:30pm, moving inside if it rains.
Reception size – Avalon Castle seats 120 or takes 130 cocktail-style, Forest Edge seats 120 or 150 standing, and Fortnums suits 45 to 100.
Drinks – the Cockatoo package runs a six-hour bar, and the Gembrook estate covers wine, tap beer and cider for five hours.

Avalon Castle quotes from $11,000 minimum spend; the other two give prices on request. An enquiry to each, naming the season and guest list, lets you line the packages up side by side.

Dandenong Ranges Wedding Reception Venues

Every wedding at Avalon Castle has the estate to itself, on a seven-hour package that starts at the ceremony.
Fortnums is a working family restaurant, with an outdoor deck over the ranges for photos and drinks.
Forest Edge has hosted weddings for more than twenty years, and its glass-walled reception room faces the Warburton and Yarra Ranges.
For an elopement, Fortnums offers its Garden Room for daytime weddings of 15 to 30, and Avalon Castle has elopement packages for up to 20.

Menus and small-wedding options

Avalon Castle serves either up to 12 canapés per guest with a grazing station, or a three- or four-course table-served meal with alternate drop.
Forest Edge plates two or three courses or runs a canapé and grazing format, all cooked on site from seasonal produce.
Fortnums packages range from a four-course meal to a cocktail or grazing reception, or a buffet high tea.
Avalon Castle also runs micro weddings for up to 60 and mini weddings for up to 40.

Common Questions About Wedding Reception Venues

Which Dandenong Ranges venue has a chapel?

Avalon Castle in Cockatoo has a Chapel with stained glass, timber panelling and traditional pews, plus a Gazebo and the Rose Terrace for outdoor vows.

Where do the vows go if rain sets in?

Forest Edge moves vows into its wine bar, with oak beams and a stone fireplace, and Fortnums brings garden ceremonies indoors. Avalon Castle's Chapel gives an indoor option on the estate.

What is included in the Avalon Castle wedding package?

Table linen, décor, cake service, easels, a lectern and the in-house sound system with a wireless microphone, along with a six-hour drinks package. A wedding coordinator and an event supervisor look after the day.

Can we have a wedding in the ranges for under 50 guests?

Yes. Avalon Castle has mini weddings for up to 40 and elopements for up to 20, and Fortnums takes daytime elopement weddings of 15 to 30 in its Garden Room.

Wedding Reception Venues in Dandenong Ranges

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