Chateau Dore Winery
About
Overview & Vibe
Chateau Dore is an 1866 winery in the Mandurang Valley just south of Bendigo, set in acres of manicured English-style gardens. Ceremony, photographs and reception all happen on the one site, ninety minutes from Melbourne.
Setting & Style
Ceremonies are held in the gardens, or in the historic sandstone Chapel Room if it rains. The usual shape of a day here is vows in the garden, canapés and drinks on the lawn, then into the winery for a sit-down dinner or a cocktail reception under exposed timber trusses strung with fairy lights. The cellar and the old winery buildings give the photographs somewhere to go that the gardens don't.
Ideal For
Couples who want a single-site garden-and-winery wedding near Bendigo, and particularly those who want to control the budget — the venue will go from fully catered to bare venue hire with your own caterer and your own drinks.
The Need-to-Knows
- The ceremony is priced separately at $990 when the reception is on site. That covers 40 white folding chairs, a PA system, a music sound system, a registry table and a water station for guests on arrival. Extra chairs are $2.50 each.
- Packages run the whole range — from all-inclusive venue hire plus food plus beverage, down to venue hire only with self-catering and BYO beverages, and everything in between. That flexibility is unusual and is the main reason to ask for the pack.
- Package prices are not published. They are sent on request through the form on the site; the venue undertakes to reply within 24 hours.
- Venue hire includes a lot of what is usually hired in: round or long tables, chairs, white linen, premium cutlery and glassware, tea lights, vases, mirrors, table numbers, menus, seating display, wishing well, cake and bridal tables and a cake knife — all set up by staff.
- Overhead fairy lights inside and festoon lighting on the building exterior are included.
- Menu packages carry no cakeage charge.
- No capacity is published. The venue says only that it “can comfortably cater for any number of people” for garden ceremonies. Confirm your numbers directly.
Standout Feature
An 1866 sandstone winery with fairy-lit trusses at one end of the day and acres of English gardens at the other — hireable fully catered or completely bare.
Contact
Amenities
- Historic 1866 Winery
- Manicured English Gardens
- Sandstone Chapel Room
- Wet Weather Ceremony Option
- Garden Ceremony Sites
- Lawn For Canapes
- Cellar For Photography
- Vineyard Photo Locations
- Overhead Fairy Lights
- Exterior Festoon Lighting
- Round Or Long Tables
- White Linen Provided
- Premium Cutlery And Glassware
- Wishing Well
- Cake And Bridal Tables
- Wine Barrels
- PA System
- Music Sound System
- Registry Table
- 40 White Folding Chairs Included
- Full Wedding Planning Service
- Self-Catering Option
- BYO Beverage Option
- No Cakeage Charge
- Live Music Venue
- Ninety Minutes From Melbourne
Ceremony Setting
- garden
- outdoor
- indoor
- chapel
- vineyard
- lawn
Dietary Options Supported
Nearby Landmarks
- Mandurang Valley – The valley the winery sits in
- Bendigo – About fifteen minutes north
- Bendigo Art Gallery – One of regional Victoria's major galleries
- Rosalind Park – Bendigo's central parkland and lookout
- Greater Bendigo National Park – Box-ironbark forest around the city
- Heathcote wine region – The shiraz country east of Bendigo
- Melbourne CBD – Ninety minutes south
On Site Accommodation
Price Notes
- CEREMONY PRICING, published: 'Wedding ceremonies at Chateau Dore are $990 when having your reception on site, inclusive of 40 white folding chairs, PA system, music sound system, registry table and water station for guests on arrival. Additional chairs may be hired at $2.50ea.'
- RECEPTION PRICING IS NOT PUBLISHED. The venue lists its package structure but no figures: 'Packages ranging from all-inclusive Venue Hire + Food + Beverage Package to Venue Hire only with Self Cater + BYO Beverage options - and everything in between!' Wedding Packages and Menus are sent on request through a form on the site, with a stated 24-hour response.
- The self-cater and BYO-beverage option at the bottom of that range is unusual for a winery and is the main cost lever available here. The top of the range is fully catered with beverages included.
- Venue hire inclusions, as published: professional assistance from staff in planning and running the day; round or long tables, chairs, white linen cloths and napkins, premium cutlery and glassware, tea lights, vases, mirrors, table numbers, menus, seating display, wishing well, cake and bridal tables and a cake knife, all set up by staff; overhead fairy lights and festoon lighting on the building exterior; wine barrels and other occasional tables; and complimentary tickets to the venue's Tasting Events held in Spring and Summer.
- Menu packages include no charge for cutting the cake.
- NOTE ON CAPACITY: directories quote 150 seated and 200 cocktail for this venue, but neither figure appears anywhere on the venue's own site, so no capacity has been recorded. The only guidance the venue gives itself is that garden ceremonies 'can comfortably cater for any number of people', and that the ceremony fee covers 40 chairs with more available at $2.50 each.
Price Per Head
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