About Victoria Park

As a wedding & events photographer since 2015 I have shot countless weddings & events at Victoria Park located at 309 Herston Road, Herston.

Since 1931, Victoria Park was an active golf course but was converted to a dedicated park in June 2021.

As most people have heard by now, It has been announced that a 63’000 seat stadium for the 2023 Brisbane Olympics will be built there breaking ground sometime in 2026. That’s a shame, but the ‘Victoria Park’ event precinct will live on as it has done since 1999 via a long term lease from the Brisbane City Council.

I’m actually a Herston resident and to me at least, it made more sense to put the stadium in Hamilton, and not in an established green space. But I digress…

I wrote this blog to help couples considering getting married at Victoria Park, and for planning corporate events. I would describe Victoria Park as an ‘event precinct’ meaning that as a large area it can take a few visits to get your head around where to park, the pros and cons of each event space etc. The website is actually excellent in terms of information, but sometimes there is no substitute for third party photos and perspectives.

I personally love shooting at Victoria Park, for several reasons and recommend it for any event.

All event spaces features white ceilings of some sort (including the two marquees). This is a professional photographers dream situation, because it makes bouncing flash light to create beautiful soft light is easier, faster and more effective than direct flash.
Parking is available on-site within a few hundred metres of the main event areas (more on those later). It’s important to note that at Victoria Park parking is free, there are no council meters or apps that are required to park there.
The venue staff are what I would call ‘well honed’ and very professional, and the kitchen seems to always run on time and deliver delicious, mouth watering food for all occassions (I have seen and eaten breakfasts, lunches and dinners there and they all hit the mark).
I have worked out what makes all their event spaces so special. Every one of them from the biggest to the smallest has all the essential elements for a great event including indoor/outdoor spaces to work with and amazing views of the park and city always in the background. The only thing that comes close to this is Howard Smith Wharves IMHO, but then parking there is not what I would call a pleasant experience (limited paid parking).

It’s very popular for a wide range of events and budgets, so don’t assume it will be out of your budget - you might be pleasantly surprised and their website has plenty of information about packages.

Herston is actually where I live, which means on a practical level it takes just a few minutes (literally) to get there to scope out locations if required, and highlights can be delivered (from a wedding or event) in under an hour after the event finishes. My familiarity with the area and park helps me know where all the best spots are for photos, whether those be wedding portraits or corporate group photos.

The park setting offers fantastic views of the city skyline at sunset, and throughout the night from the city lights in the distance.

Access to all function rooms is a doddle compared to some event precincts and you can use a buggy or roller bag to access all areas, and this also makes it quite wheelchair accessible.

HOW TO GET THERE - THERE’S A GOTCHA!

I fell into this trap on my first visit to Victoria Park about nine years ago for my first Victoria Park wedding. I simply entered ‘Victoria Park’ into my GPS and hit the GO button without a second thought.

Unfotunately, Google Maps took me to Victoria Park (the park - not the function precinct)!

You can avoid all of this hassle and ‘that sinking feeling’ that you are going to miss the ceremony by simply entering 309 Herston Road into your GPS, Google Maps or Apple Maps. Do not just enter ‘Victoria Park’ as you may suffer the same fate as me.

Herston Road is where the Royal Brisbane Womens Hospital and Emergency is located, and for this reason Herston Road is ultra convenient to get to when you are driving (it has to be to facilitate the efficient arrival of emergencey services).

The Herston Road exit on the inner city bypass is actually located just before the tollpoint which is super nice bonus.

Getting to Victoria Park from the city is simple, it’s just 7 minutes drive from Fortitude Valley and about 8 minutes drive or Uber from most parts of Brisbane CBD. If you are coming in an Uber from the city it’s not so close that your Uber driver will be grumpy, but it’s literally only a few kilometres aways.

CHOOSING A FUNCTION SPACE

So you are considering hosting an event at Victoria Park but confused as to which function space is best suited? Your choice may well come down to the number of guests you expect, but that won’t really affect the experience because all the event spaces has similar feature - they just differ in guest capacity.

I have also provided my take on each function space, based on my experience shooting there and what I would recommend for each type of event. These comments are purely my opinion, but hopefully they will help with your event planning.

THE Marquee (372 seated | 700 cocktail)

Please note that with the shots below The Marquee was themed in the corporate colours (red) for a corporate client and this would definitely not be the standard colour of the chairs ;)

The Marquee is the large Marquee located on the western side of the Victoria Park function precinct, very close to the Bistro. If you know where the bistro is and the golf putt putt, just head here and follow the path to the left of the Bistro to reach The Marquee.

‘The Marquee’ can easily be confused with ‘The Garden Marquee’. I would suggest they could have actually called the large Marquee something like ‘The Grand Marquee’ to differentiate it, because when you are Victoria Park it’s really important to know that there are two marquees, one is called the ‘The Garden Marquee’ and the other just ‘The Marquee’.

I have shot numerous corporate events at The Marquee, and these have tended to be daytime events for long lunches etc, but it would of course work really well as a wedding venue for larger weddings. Having said that, my personal preference for weddings would probably be ‘The Ballroom’.

The reason I would recommend ‘The Ballroom’ over ‘The Marquee’ for larger events is for practical reasons, the car park is closer to ‘The Ballroom’ by about 150 metres, and ‘The Ballroom’ has better overall light for event photography. Lighting in ‘The Marquee’ can be quite warm with the chandeliers which also tend to blow out in photos, and bouncing light to the ceiling requires quite a bit of flash power.

I know there is a car park right next door to ‘The Marquee’ but it’s notoriously hard to get a car park there due to the popular golf driving range. If you are planning a wedding at ‘The Marquee’ though, there is every chance the Victoria Park staff will be able to cone off a space for your arriving bridal car, to make it easier.

THE Garden Marquee (100 seated | 120 cocktail)

The Garden Marquee is one of my favourite event spaces at Victoria Park, and also one of the most popular for events and weddings in Brisbane. Not to be confused with ‘The Marquee’ The Garden Marquee is strategically very close to the main car park, so it’s often possible to walk just 50 metres from parking straight into ‘The Garden Marquee’.

The deck area outside works really well for networking photos or receptions before sunset, with direct views of the city and the surrounding park. The interior of ‘The Garden Marquee’ is impressive while not being huge like ‘The Marquee’ - it’s much more intimate. This makes it suitable for an average size wedding, as well as for corporate events.

I have shot many corporate breakfasts and lunches in this space, as well as weddings and evening corporate events such as Awards Dinners and Prize Givings. This is a space that ‘just works’.

If you are considering ‘Alabaster’ or ‘The Garden Marquee’ (similar seated guests counts) I would personally choose ‘The Garden Marquee’ as I think it offers much more razzle and dazzle. If feels more like an event in ‘The Garden Marquee’ rather than just an event space.

ALABASTER (90 seated | 120 cocktail)

While Alabaster is used for corporate events, it hits the nail on the head as a purpose designed mid-sized wedding venue and is pretty hard to fault.

What makes Alabaster great (like all Victoria Park event spaces) are the generous indoor/outdoors areas which are just perfect for canapes at sunset, sparkler exits or family group photos. The white ceilings make this photographer friendly for creating nice soft light.

The dancefloor is just right, not small like in it’s baby brother next door - the Quartz room.

QUARTZ (48 seated | 80 cocktail)

Quartz is the smallest event space at Victoria Park, but it’s by no means lacking in terms of amenities or indoor/outdoor appeal. The only thing I would caution about this space is the tiny dancefloor. For many couples holding weddings, the first dance is more a ceremonial exercise anyway, so this may not be a deal breaker for you.

It’s located right next to the Alabaster Room and as a small bonus, it’s actually closer to the main car park.

THE BALLROOM (230 seated | 550 cocktail)

Leaving arguably the best space to last, The Ballroom is the jewel in the crown on Victoria Park offering (yet again) spectacular indoor/outdoor spaces, the closest available parking, and the largest space to entertain up to 230 people seated.

The Ballroom is set on Level 1 so it enjoys even more mesmerising views of the city, and provides that extra wow factor for guests arriving close to sunset on the (seemingly) neverending terrace.

The Ballroom is very popular for a wide range of events including large weddings, school formals and larger corporate events.

This is only venue at Victoria Park where the dancefloor is located bang in the middle, making it the centrepiece for the space.

PRETTY PORTRAITS

For wedding couples and bridal parties Victoria Park offers golf buggies to career around the park. These cost extra of course, but are a fun and relaxing way to kill 60-90 minutes or so while your photographer captures some portraits.

Here are some examples of the type of photos that I have captured at Victoria Park over the years at various times of the year. The best time of the year if of course in Jacaranda season around October each year. If it’s not Jacaranda season the park is still nice, but I would probably recommend heading to Roma Street Parklands which is an eight minute drive from Victoria Park for more colour and variety.

FANTASTIC FOOD!

As a wedding photographer I have eaten Victoria Park supplier meals many times, and I always try to snap a few photos of food when I can on bridal tables (because it’s very easy to forget what the food looked like - much harder to forget what it tasted like!). And in the case of Victoria Park I can honestly say it’s always been very good indeed (and I can’t say that about every venue, if I am being honest!).

Here are some quick shots over the years of food being served at Victoria Park: