Where I'd host a Sydney wedding if I wanted a garden, not a ballroom

Every Sydney couple gets shown the same five ballrooms. Here is where to look instead if you actually want greenery over chandeliers.

Start with the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, which has more range than people give it credit for. Lion Gate Lodge sits inside a secluded, paved courtyard with a permanent awning for shade, tucked away from the tour groups. If you want drama, the Palm House is New South Wales's oldest glasshouse, all natural light and greenery, and it does not photograph like every other glass box venue in the city.

For something further off the well worn path, the Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour is a genuine hidden gem. Most people walk past it without realising you can actually get married there, which is exactly why it works, a proper landscape painting come to life without another wedding party crossing your ceremony photos.

Lindesay House in Darling Point is the pick for couples who want history with their garden. It is a Georgian era home with a Garden Courtyard that trades the polish of a modern venue for genuine, aged charm, the kind every wedding blog claims to have found first but rarely actually has.

If you want space and water views without a marquee price tag, Estate Vaucluse House sits on ten hectares of gardens running down to the harbour, dating back to 1803. It handles ceremonies for up to 200 guests on the Lone Pine Lawn, with exclusive catering through PEARL, and there is enough grounds to host your ceremony and reception without shuffling everyone into a different building halfway through the day.

None of these need fairy lights and a marquee to feel special. That is rather the point of a garden wedding, the setting is already doing the work a ballroom needs a stylist and a six figure budget to fake.

Sugar Honey is the social media and advertising agency behind What's The Buzz, and wedding advertising across the Hunter Valley, Sydney and Melbourne is one of the things we do best. Get in touch at info@sugarhoney.com.au.