Lake House, Daylesford

Lake House sits in six acres of country garden running down to Lake Daylesford, a short walk from Daylesford village in central Victoria and about 80 minutes from Melbourne. The Wolf-Tasker family created it, and it is a member of Luxury Lodges of Australia.

The restaurant holds two Good Food Guide Chefs Hats, and its wine list, drawn from a cellar of around 13,000 bottles, has been named the best in Victoria. Much of the produce comes from the family's own Dairy Flat Farm ten minutes away. Studios, suites and villas sit among the gardens, alongside a spa, an infinity pool and a tennis court.

Bigger weddings take The Terrace, with its own bar, open fire, wrought iron chandeliers and a dance floor, for 40 to 150 guests. The Waterfront Pavilion below the restaurant opens two glass walls to the lagoon and suits up to 40, while The Cellar seats 14 among the wine collection for the smallest weddings. Both lunch and evening celebrations work here. For vows by the water, a staircase leads from the Pavilion down to the paved foreshore. Ask the team about other ceremony spots in the gardens, finish times and menus.

Couples who marry in The Terrace receive the Sutton Suite for the wedding night, with a private courtyard and a deep ceramic tub. Guests can book the rooms and suites on site, and the party can stretch to Dairy Flat Lodge nearby. Ask how many rooms are free for your date and where bigger groups should stay in Daylesford. Days fill with spa treatments using the region's mineral waters, the lakeside firepit, farm tours, ballooning and horse riding. Limousine and helicopter transfers can be arranged.