Kelly’s Wedding Garden

Arriving

A painted sign on the parkway, a wide forecourt, tall pines over the roof and a tiered fountain in front of the doors.

The front of the building is modest and that is fine, because nobody is photographed here for long. There is plenty of parking right at the door, which older guests will thank you for. What is worth knowing is the brick-edged walk that runs down the side of the building: it ends at the white garden gate, and it is where guests naturally gather before the ceremony.

If you want a quiet arrival picture, use the fountain by the entrance doors. It sits in open shade for most of the afternoon, so faces stay soft even at three o’clock.

Through the garden gate

An arched white iron gate, a statue fountain under a green arbor and brick-edged paths that fork across the grass.

This is the reason to book the place. The paths are edged in brick and curve between the lawns, so a walk with the two of you never looks like a walk across a field. The courting-couple statue in its fountain is the natural centre, and the leafy arbor around it gives you a tunnel of green for portraits in any light.

The lawns, the waterfall and the gazebo

Open grass ringed with palms, globe lamp posts, a stone waterfall wall and a white lattice gazebo at the far end.

The lawns are bigger than they look from the gate. The palms are tall enough that by late afternoon they throw long striped shadows across the grass, and I would put the ceremony where those shadows fall behind the guests, not across their faces.

At the far side there is a stone waterfall wall, and under the sycamores a white lattice gazebo that works for a small ceremony or for a few quiet portraits away from the party. The globe lamp posts along the paths are worth keeping in frame once the light drops.

The topiary court and the covered patio

Sculpted round trees, a curving walk and a deep covered patio between the garden and the room.

The patio is the most useful space on the property and the least advertised. It is deep, shaded and open on the garden side, which makes it the right place for cocktail hour and for family group photographs when the sun is still high.

The round topiary trees just outside it are distinctive enough that your pictures will not look like anyone else’s garden wedding. Late in the day the low sun comes through the date palm behind them and turns the whole corner gold.

The banquet room

One large room with a wood dance floor in the middle and a draped, lit ceiling above it.

The ceiling is the feature. A wide panel of gathered white fabric sits over the dance floor with the stage lighting hung from it, so the first dance is lit from above rather than from a DJ’s stand in the corner. The walls are pale, the wall sconces are warm and there are French doors along the garden side, which keeps the room bright well into the evening.

It was set on the day I visited with white chair covers and purple runners. The plaster arches at the entry are worth using: standing behind one gives a framed view of the whole room, which is the picture that shows your guests what the night felt like.

The bar and the small things

A carved oak bar, hanging glassware, an etched glass panel and white roses at the entry.

Detail pictures are what make an album feel complete. Here the ones I would not miss are the etched Kelly’s glass in its carved oak frame, the glasses hanging above the bar with the room behind them, and the fabric ceiling photographed straight up.

The buffet line runs beside the bar, so the food, the bar and the dance floor are all in one sight line. That is good news for candid photographs, because nothing important happens in another room.