Cottesloe Civic Centre
Cottesloe Civic Centre is a very popular wedding ceremony location, wedding photo location and the venue also has a hall for hire which is frequently used for wedding receptions.
The grounds are beautiful with stone balustrades along paved walk ways with mature gardens and terraced lawns most with sweeping ocean views. The cooling afternoon breezes make this a good venue for summer weddings but it can be very cold and windy in the winter months.
The grounds are complemented by vintage wedding cars as shown in the previous pictures. Sadly these images are a rarity providing spectacular feature photography for the couples involved.
Wedding cars at Cottesloe Civic Centre
Over the last eight years several couples we have assisted at the venue have negotiated access to the Civic Centre grounds for the classic wedding cars to drop the bridal party at the ceremony location. It doesn’t happen often. Rarer still we have been able to leave the cars in place for feature photography after the ceremony.
Usually a Ranger will direct the wedding cars out of the grounds just after drop-off to wait for the newly married couple to exit. For every other wedding at the venue the entry gates are padlocked and the Ranger refuses access which requires the bridal party to walk from the surrounding roads to the ceremony.
Basically wedding cars and limousines are not usually welcome within the grounds of the Cottesloe Civic Centre and there are many issues relating to the parking of wedding cars and your guests’ vehicles near the Civic Centre during a wedding ceremony (discussed below) which are wise to consider before choosing the venue for your wedding.
Other benefits are the proximity to the coast and the reception venues in Fremantle and the local area such as Mosmans Restaurant, Claremont Yacht Club, East Fremantle Yacht Club, Indiana Tea Rooms and Villa Pourzand. When organising a garden wedding ceremony be sure you discuss access for vehicles bringing the furniture for your wedding ceremony, access for your wedding cars to the grounds and/or the access points you will need to use to get to your ceremony location from the surrounding streets if your bridal cars are denied access. Cottesloe Council book several weddings into various locations on many Saturday afternoons which means your set-up and dismantling teams need to be well drilled to accommodate the narrow time frames many couples have to conduct their ceremony.
Wedding limousine access
Stretch Chrysler limousines and Hummers are definitely not suited within the grounds of Cottesloe Civic Centre. Smaller limos like our Rolls Royce Spirit limousines could negotiate the path ways and roads if granted access.
The surrounding streets are wide enough to accommodate any wedding transport with ease, classic wedding cars through to Hummer limos and stretch Chrysler limos. The problem at Cottesloe is parking. For whatever reason the rangers at Cottesloe Civic Centre often become verbally aggressive and positively unfriendly toward wedding car and limousine chauffeurs at the venue. I imagine they behave similarly to other suppliers during the course of the day, expect no support or sympathy from the grounds staff on your wedding day. Personally I find it difficult to comprehend how an organisation that markets and obviously makes so much money from wedding bookings, can be so discordant with their service on the day. I have spoken to the council’s office staff several times but the attitude of the rangers is generally aggressive.
Parking problems at Cottesloe Civic Centre
Cottesloe Civic Centre has a shortage of suitable parking relative to the number of wedding ceremonies booked during a typical Saturday afternoon in wedding season.
It is common for the wedding limo drivers to need to move the cars once or twice during the afternoon to placate the ranger or avoid the wrath of the parking inspectors that regularly patrol the area, usually arriving a few minutes after the weddings commence.
A better service from the Council to couples hiring the venue would be to instruct the ranger patrol the outer area politely advising guests to park correctly or face fines – prior to the weddings. The strategy employed by the Cottesloe Council is revenue raising pure and simple.
It is common for the chauffeurs to report the parking inspectors have issued many $100+ fines to unsuspecting wedding guests who park along the adjacent street verges due to the lack of parking beside the venue. It must be a great talking point at the reception of many weddings that have had the ceremony at the venue and certainly one that would detract from the evening and enjoyment of the day.
If you are using this beautiful venue make sure that you warn your guests to park legally or your reception may be tainted by stories of the outrageous parking fines dominating the conversations of guests during the evening.
On busy afternoons at the venue expect your limousine chauffeurs to give you a contact number to call when you are ready to be collected from the venue (in case they need to leave the area to obtain safe parking).
End of night chauffeur service
If you are using the old hall at Cottesloe Civic centre for your reception, we recommend that you pre-book and end of evening transfer for the bride and groom to their accommodation. Consider offering this service to important guests such as your parents and grand parents if they are not driving themselves home from your reception.
Taxis and Uber cars
The common situation with guests who want a lift home is to rely on taxis and Uber for short call transport. Whilst the emergence of Uber has greatly increased the likelihood of securing a ride at short notice it is worth remembering that drivers for these services frequent the busiest locations, Perth city, Crown Casino and possibly Fremantle with lesser numbers likely to be cruising around Cottesloe. The bottom line is that the two hotels and restaurants in Cottesloe will be closing around the same time as weddings in the area also at Mosmans Restaurant, Ambrose Estate, Villa Pourzand, Salt on the Beach, as well as all the activity in Fremantle. In short short call services get stretched very quickly at this time of night and guests could be in for a long wait and it is not pleasant being in the back streets of Cottesloe when the venue staff leave and lock the gate.
Pre-booked chauffeur cars seem well worth the extra few dollars around midnight.
Wedding limousines at Cottesloe Civic Centre
Cottesloe Civic Centre is one of Perth’s most popular wedding ceremony locations along the west coast of Perth. We assist with a wedding at the venue on most weekends during the wedding season. There are several peculiarities about weddings at the location so it is worth familiarising yourself with all of the details below.
Wedding car access into the grounds
You will notice many photos of our wedding cars inside the grounds of the Cottesloe Civic Centre delivering brides to the ceremony location and featuring in the photo sessions afterwards. These have been taken on rare days when the ranger at the venue is happy to permit classic wedding cars on-site. I think this may occur when a substitute ranger in on duty.
The ranger mostly assigned to weekend weddings behaves like the commander of a military detention centre and is rude, demanding, intolerant, impatient, threatening and sometimes abusive to drivers – in short very unpleasant and not the sort of person normally assigned to supervise weddings. When on duty this ranger begrudgingly opens the gates for service vehicles but never allows the wedding cars to deliver the bride to the ceremony location.
If you do get to drive into the grounds or are parked at the main gate entry for a short period after dropping off the bridal party he may give you a spray of invective. Please be polite, maybe act ignorant of the rules of the venue, apologise for the slip if it seems appropriate and leave the grounds or driveway to park elsewhere. If he acts inappropriately report his behaviour and I’ll lodge a complaint with the council (again).
Limousine access
Stretch Chrysler limousines are not to access the grounds. There is limited turning space on the narrow drives and using the lawns as would be necessary would further infuriate the ranger if he is on duty.
Entry points
There are three main entry and exit points from Cottesloe Civic Centre used for weddings and wedding photography sessions. Be familiar with all three and confer with the bride on the day which entry they would prefer to enter their ceremony or they have planner to meet with the photographer. The reception hall at the grounds is located just inside the main gate on Broome Street.
Main gate (on Broome Street)
The main gate of Broome Street is a common entry point for brides using the upper lawn for their ceremony and is also the main entry for the reception hall. If the gates are open and the bride instructs you to drive to the lawn for a drop-off at the ceremony do so, but be prepared for a ranger rant. If the gate is closed drop-off in the driveway entrance. The wedding cars will need to be moved after the drop-off is there are no dedicated parking bays available. Remember to give the wedding party a card and contact number of the limousines need to move from the site to be parked.
Side gate (on Napier Street)
This is a common entrance for a ceremony on the lower lawn as well as the upper lawn. The drop off point is at the bottom of the stairwell and there is usually parking in front of the stairwell. The wedding cars can usually park in this position for the duration of the wedding but it is important to stay with the cars in case a parking inspector comes along and requires the cars to be moved. The inspectors are friendlier if the driver is with the cars. On one occasion we observed a Hummer get a $250 fine for parking there (because the driver had gone off to watch the wedding we think) whilst the inspector chatted with our drivers and moved on. It can be a difficult location for parking. If there is no formal parking in the near vicinity of the Civic Centre give the wedding party your contact details and move to the beach foreshore south of Cottesloe where there is usually plentiful free parking suitable for stretch limousines.
Rear gate (at the end of Warnham Road)
The rear gate is commonly used for a drop-off or pick-up point for feature wedding photography sessions. It is a dead end road but there is sufficient turning space for a Chrysler limousine but no parking zone. This entrance is not patrolled (as regularly) by parking inspectors so you can usually wait at the end of the cul-de-sac as long as you remain with the wedding cars or limousine.
Parking
Read the guest parking information above. Parking can be outrageously patrolled in the area so have at least one driver stay with the wedding cars at all times. Do not get upset by the outbursts by the ranger. Nod / agree / apologise and do as requested. Seek parking elsewhere if there is no parking adjacent to the grounds.
Do not park in the main entrance driveway (except to drop-off or pick-up for a short period) and do not parallel park along the roads or park on the verges near the Cottesloe Civic Centre unless there is sign posted permission to park there. The parking inspectors are ruthless.
Cottesloe Civic Centre Contact Details
A 109 Broome Street Cottesloe
T (08) 9285 5000
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