The Manor Basket Range

The Manor sits on Lobethal Road in Basket Range, in the Adelaide Hills, 25 to 30 minutes from the city. Albert Pinchbeck built it as a scaled-down version of England's Warwick Castle, and for years it was known as Camelot Castle, before it reopened as The Manor in 2018. It has a stone courtyard under real battlements, a tiny garden chapel, woodland paths, three reception rooms and twelve suites, all a few minutes' walk from each other. That is why we love it: a whole wedding day can happen here without anyone getting in a car.

This guide follows the day in order, the way we photographed Porscha and Jordan's wedding here in July 2026: where to get ready, where the ceremony goes, where we take portraits, where the reception happens and what to do when the weather turns.

Getting ready

There is a bridal dressing room on the estate, and the venue mentions dressing and relaxation spaces for both partners. For a lot of couples the easier option is one of the twelve townhouse suites. Each has a living room downstairs, a kitchenette, a queen bedroom upstairs, a bathroom and a balcony, so there is room for a hair and makeup chair and somewhere for the bridal party to sit. Check-in is 2pm, so if you want to get ready in a suite on the day itself, ask the venue about booking it from the night before. Hair, beauty and massage can be arranged on site.

Porscha and Jordan's getting ready rooms had white walls, tall windows and a long mirror, which is exactly what we hope for. Tall windows give soft, even light on a dress and on faces, and a full-length mirror gives us a second angle without moving anyone. Jordan and his groomsmen dressed by another set of tall windows, and a leadlight window made a lovely spot for a last quiet portrait of Porscha before the first look.

Ceremony at the Garden Chapel

The Garden Chapel is tiny, copper-roofed and has a working bell. It sits in the gardens with a pond and a small waterfall, and ceremonies usually happen outside it, with guests seated on the lawn and the flagstones in front. Porscha and Jordan put a pink and white floral arch on the flagstones by the chapel, with rows of white cane chairs facing it and a mirrored welcome sign framed in red roses at the entrance.

Tall trees ring the chapel. They soften the light on a bright day, so a ceremony here depends less on the time of day than one on a beach or a hilltop. The flagstones are uneven, so we always suggest flat shoes for older guests, and an aisle runner if the stone is wet. After the vows, the signing table can go right beside the arch, and the walk back up the aisle is long enough for a proper shower of petals or bubbles.

Portraits around the castle

Few venues near Adelaide give you this much within a short walk. Our usual route at The Manor:

• The castle terrace and walls. Up on the walls there is a terrace looking out over the hills. Porscha and Jordan had their first look here, just the two of them, and it is one of the best places on the estate for one.
• The stone courtyard. Beneath the battlements and the arched windows, with a heavy sky overhead, it is the frame everyone remembers from The Manor. It is wide enough for a twirl and works beautifully in black and white.
• The garden pergola and the stepping-stone path. A white pergola in the greenery, perfect for private vows or a quiet moment out of the wind.
• The woodland path to the chapel. Tall trees, fallen leaves and the chapel at the end of it. A long train spreads across the path here, so bring a bridesmaid to lift it between frames.
• The rose garden, the fountain and the view. The terrace by the Warwick Terrace Room looks over the gardens, the chapel, a fountain and a rose garden.

Allow about an hour for couple portraits if you want all of it, more with a long train. In winter, plan them before the ceremony. Porscha and Jordan's first look was at a quarter past one, and by half past two we had the castle, the garden and the woodland finished, with time left for two family first looks before the guests arrived.

Reception rooms

The Manor has three rooms for a reception, and the right one depends on your numbers:

• The Pinchbeck Ballroom seats up to 220, with more for a cocktail party. It has oak floors, an open fire, stone walls, leadlight windows, its own bar and bathrooms, and an outdoor courtyard. This is the room for a big wedding with a full dance floor.
• The Warwick Terrace Room seats up to 120. It opens onto a terrace with an outdoor bar overlooking the gardens, the chapel, the fountain and the rose garden, which makes canapés outside at golden hour easy.
• The Parlour is private dining for 22, for an elopement or a very small wedding.

Catering is in-house. Porscha and Jordan's reception ran under a covered stone terrace with arched windows and fairy lights: long timber tables set with candles and green runners, and a head table in front of a giant Poké Ball made of pink and white flowers. Their first dance was on the stone floor in the middle of it all, and they cut the cake in front of a stone archway.

A day at The Manor, hour by hour

Every wedding is different, but this is how Porscha and Jordan's winter day ran, and it is a good starting point for planning:

• 12.30pm The last of the getting ready: the dress, the tiara, the groomsmen's jackets.
• 1.15pm First look on the castle terrace.
• 1.30pm Portraits in the courtyard, the garden and the woodland, then private vows under the pergola.
• 2.30pm Two family first looks on the garden path.
• 3.30pm Guests take their seats at the chapel, and the ceremony begins soon after.
• 4pm Signing, the walk out through bubbles and petals, family photos.
• 5pm Reception, with the cake on display.
• 5.20pm Grand entrance and first dance.
• 6pm Speeches, then the cake cutting.

In summer you can push everything later and save the portraits for the last hour of sun. In midwinter the sun sets around half past five, so a first look and an early ceremony give you the most daylight.

If it rains

The venue says its mix of indoor and outdoor spaces means a wedding goes ahead in any weather, but it doesn't name a wet weather ceremony room on its website, so ask them which room is the plan for your date and your numbers. Rain at The Manor is not the end of the world. Porscha and Jordan's ceremony went ahead outside in the drizzle, with clear umbrellas for the guests, and the wet flagstones around the chapel turned into a mirror. We arrived early to scout both an outdoor and an indoor version of the day, and then used whichever the sky allowed.

Staying the night and other practical notes

The twelve townhouse suites mean you and your closest people can stay on site. Eleven are two storeys and one is single storey, which suits a grandparent who finds stairs hard. There is a car park on site. The Manor is in the Adelaide Hills, so for a summer date read the venue's safety page: it asks guests to plan for total fire ban days and, on a catastrophic day, to leave early or the night before. Smoking is only allowed in the designated outdoor areas.