Dreamy Dandenong Ranges Wedding Venues

Dreamy Dandenong Ranges Wedding Venues

Do you love the Dandenong Ranges and the surrounding hills, ranges and forests, but you're after a wedding venue that's a bit different to the "norm"? Here are some unique Dandenong Ranges wedding venues.

Tucked away in Monbulk on 10 acres of bushland, Log Cabin Ranch couldn't be further from a traditional reception centre, there's not a chair sash in sight. It's the original home of the weekend-long wedding, with exclusive use from Friday through to Sunday, onsite accommodation and glamping for your crew, and a relaxed DIY setup that lets you bring your own caterer or food trucks if that's more your speed. Across the road from where Puffing Billy finishes its run, The Independent in Gembrook is a different kind of unique altogether, a heritage-listed former car garage turned modern dining space serving up Italian-Argentinian inspired food that's an absolute drawcard for your guests in its own right, with a private courtyard for ceremonies and a setting that feels nothing like your standard function room. And right on the border of the Dandenongs and the Yarra Valley in Monbulk, Yarra Ranges Estate gives you the best of both worlds, rolling vineyards and rose-lined pathways with the Dandenong Ranges as your backdrop, many different ceremony locations to choose from, and that polished, romantic winery feel without losing the Ranges charm.

White confetti dots and short lines scattered across a black background.

LOG CABIN RANCH, MONBULK

What an absolute goldmine of a wedding venue you've got here. Rustic vibes, on-site accommodation, farm animals, surrounded by beautiful bushland AND the option to bring your own choice of catering or food trucks. C'mon; could a Dandenong Ranges wedding venue get any more perfect that this?!

Rust-coloured ranch sign beside flowering plants and tall garden trees. Wedding party cheering with raised arms beneath leafy trees.

You're surrounded by amazing bushland & landscape. In summer, there's so much shade for everyone to chill under. In winter, romance. Guests chatting on a shaded lawn beside a timber building.Wide view of guests socialising beneath broad tree branches.

Log Cabin Ranch has the most beautiful heated/air conditioned indoor barn/chapel for your ceremony location. Perfect for any time of year. Easily holding north of 100 people.

Rows of wooden chairs facing a ceremony arch beneath exposed timber roof beams.Bride and groom laughing as they walk between guests inside a timber-roof ceremony room.

Or an amazing outdoor ceremony area, surrounded by native bushland.

White ceremony chairs facing a rustic wooden arch in a forest clearing. Wooden ceremony arch with flowers beside barrels and timber gates. Bride walking toward the outdoor ceremony between standing guests. Guests seated on chairs and picnic rugs beneath large leafy trees. Couple walking through guests throwing pale confetti in a woodland clearing.

Did I mention you can bring any caterer or food trucks if you like? You can even choose your own tap beer, if that's your thing. This allows you to make your wedding, truly yours. And typically speaking, you save a fair bit of cash using external catering compared to using all on-site supplied.

Guests gathered beside a white mobile bar outdoors.Two photographs of drinks being poured and a platter of small fried canapes.Guests socialising across a lawn beside timber buildings at dusk.Musician performing on the veranda of a timber building beneath tree ferns.

There's even a rad donkey and deer on site. Who doesn't love donkeys and deer!? #nodeerforamonth

Donkey standing behind a fence beneath leafy garden trees.Two photographs of a deer beside the bride's dress and the couple leaning toward it.

Awesome sunsets and locations for your couple portraits.Bride and groom smiling and holding hands in a wooded garden. Groom spreading his arms toward the bride in golden forest light.Bride looking back while holding the groom's hand beneath sunlit trees. Groom lifting the bride as they share a kiss in a garden.

Followed by eating, drinking and dancing the night away. Under the afternoon sun & stars. Guests gathered beside a timber reception building in warm evening light.Two guests standing on the lawn near wooden ceremony benches.Man speaking into a microphone from a timber veranda as the couple watches. Guests raising drinks and cheering on the lawn.Couple and two guests sitting together on patterned rugs on the grass. Guests dancing outside a timber building beneath string lights at dusk.Guitarist singing among guests beneath glowing outdoor string lights. Illuminated timber reception building surrounded by dark trees at night.

THE INDEPENDENT, GEMBROOK

This venue is an absolute hidden gem in The Dandenong Ranges. The Independent is just across the road from the old Gembrook train station, where Puffing Billy finishes. Surrounded by amazing forests, parks & bushland, your spoiled for choice with photo opportunities here too.

Long wooden reception tables and dark chairs beneath exposed roof beams. Couple embracing on a quiet road through tall forest trees. White restaurant building and roadside sign in low evening sunlight.

The venue features a sweet little courtyard out to the side of the restaurant where the ceremonies can be held.

Bride and groom smiling through confetti thrown by guests in a courtyard.

The Independent is an absolute food lovers dream. The Argentinian inspired menu will have all your wedding guests mouth-watering and wanting more. Upon visiting Australia in 2019, Charlie Hunnam (aka, Jax Teller) even visited the restaurant and left rave reviews.

Black bowls of prepared food arranged along a kitchen counter. Guests serving themselves from a shared platter at a reception table.

The nearby Gembrook train station provides some sweet and unique photo opportunities too.

Two photographs of the couple walking in a garden and holding hands beside railway tracks.

Couple standing in a lit doorway of a white restaurant building at night.

YARRA RANGES ESTATE, MONBULK

I was weighing up between placing this venue in my Yarra Valley category, or here on The Dandenongs page.  I settled with here, because you do have the best of both The Yarra Valley and The Dandenong Ranges here at Yarra Ranges Estate. The beautiful forests and trees surround you are what The Dandenongs are known for. But, you also have fantastic fields, wide-open spaces and vines that are quintessential to The Yarra Valley.

Rust-coloured estate sign mounted on a corrugated structure beside flowering plants. Ceremony chalkboard sign beside a timber gate and vineyard rows. Guests walking across a field toward an outdoor ceremony beneath a cloudy sky.

The property features are beautiful forest bush area down the bottom of the hill, perfect for an intimate ceremony. Weather permitting, of course.

Woodland ceremony space with wooden benches and fabric draped between trees. Guests gathered around the couple beneath a broad tree and draped white fabric.

And canapes down amongst the trees!

Wide view of guests socialising in a grassy clearing beside dense woodland.

Or the more accessible location for their ceremonies is at the top of the hill by the venue. It is overlooking the forest, vines and fields. Beautiful.

Outdoor ceremony beneath a floral arch overlooking grapevines and green fields.Bride and groom walking down a lawn in front of a building with multiple gabled roofs. Guests gathered beside an outdoor ceremony arch near a timber reception building.

Amazing locations for your couple photos amongst the vines or in many of the nearby forests.

Wide portrait of a couple holding hands on a rolling lawn beneath heavy clouds. Bride and groom sitting together between leafy vineyard rows. Couple embracing beside grapevines in warm sunset light. Two black-and-white photographs of the couple walking and embracing among forest trees.

The reception room inside is also one of the more sizeable ones in the area, catering for over 150 sit down guests if needed.

Long white reception tables with greenery beside wide windows and timber roof beams. Reception tables beneath hanging plants and warm lights in a timber-roof room.

And plenty of room to bust a move!

Bride smiling while guests lift her on a chair beneath reception lights. Groom lifting the bride across his arms while guests applaud on the dance floor.

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