Answers to frequently asked questions can be found below, but if the answer to your question is not to be found on this page, or elsewhere this site, please contact us.

Q. How do you say "Laloli"?

The answer is simple: "La - Lo - li", rhyming with "me". The name is an extended acronym of the words Laugh Love Live: our motto for a happy marriage.

Q. What is the history of Laloli?

Garry and his family came first to the property in 1961, and they worked incredibly hard to establish a productive sugar cane farm here. Laloli was established when Jeneve arrived in 1991 with gardening tools, and a heart’s desire for a relaxed country garden. Family and friends married here, and we experienced the pleasure of sharing the property with others for the most romantic and special day of their lives, and the delight of their guests as they explored the property and got the feel of a country garden surrounded by a traditional North Queensland sugar cane farm. 

Q. Can we come and see the garden?

Yes - of course! We welcome inspections from couples who are looking for an exclusive, all in one, unique and private event venue, with lovely relaxed gardens, plenty of space and magnificent views, great photo opportunities, and wet weather options, where you will feel like you are at home.

We are very happy to have you bring parents or others who will be involved in your event, and we prefer that you bring them with you the first time you come to see the garden, especially if you want them to see the venue before your big day. This means that we can use the rest of our precious weekend time working in the garden and making it prettier for our couples.

Q. Where is Laloli located?

Laloli is located at Little Mulgrave, Far North Queensland, on the junction of the Mulgrave and Little Mulgrave rivers. Laloli is just 37 kilometres from the city of Cairns – an easy, pleasant 40 minute drive mostly through beautiful cane land and rainforest.

Q. Where is the closest airport to Laloli?

Cairns Airport is located about 45 minutes from Laloli. Cairns Airport has direct flights from all over Australia, and from many international destinations. Cairns city has a massive range of accommodation and activities, including the reef and rainforest, the Atherton Tablelands, north to Port Douglas and south to Mission Beach.

Q. What have other weddings done with regards to travelling after the wedding? Do you have any suggestions?

Taxis, Uber, private car and limousine services are available in Cairns, but should be booked in advance for both delivery or return.

Bus transport is convenient for your guests, and buses move people very effectively and affordably. In addition to afternoon pick-ups in the city for set-down the Laloli car-park prior to the ceremony, we recommend a bus pick-up from the Sugar Shed at 10.45pm. This has worked very well for our past events, and we recommend this option as a thoughtful option for your guests.

Q. What about guests who want to drive their own vehicle?

We have on-site parking for around 30 vehicles. Additional parking can be facilitated, if necessary. Guests with mobility support requirements may be dropped off at and collected from The Sugar Shed.

Q. Is Laloli wheelchair friendly?

The grounds of Laloli are mostly grassed lawn, and are relatively level.

The walk up from the car park may not be suitable for wheelchairs, or for people with mobility restrictions, so access for any guest with mobility restrictions is from the Sugar Shed drop off point.

The ladies bathroom is wheelchair accessible.

Q. What accommodation options are there near Laloli?

Cairns city offers extensive accommodation options for every budget, and there is a limited range of accommodation nearby in Gordonvale.

Q. Do you have on-site accommodation?

No - there is a huge range of accommodation for every budget available in Cairns.

Q. Is camping at the venue an option?

No - our permit does not include camping, but there are numerous other options, including informal camping elsewhere in the Little Mulgrave Valley and at Gordonvale Green Patch.

Q. How many guests can we have?

Our zoning approval allows us to have 150 attend your event at Laloli.

Q. What time should my ceremony start?

We suggest that you plan your ceremony around 2 ½ to 3 hours prior to sunset. We will advise you of the exact sunset time on your date when you book your wedding at Laloli.

Ceremonies may be scheduled from 3:00pm but not before, unless you intend having an earlier shut-down. Please discuss earlier start times with us before you book your event.

Guests may access the venue from 30 minutes prior to your ceremony.

By choosing to hold your wedding and reception in the one venue, you have more time between ceremony and reception for photographs and garden party, and there are plenty of beautiful afternoon light opportunities later in the day as the western lawn glows with the afternoon sun.

It is beautiful for your guests to experience the gardens in the afternoon, and to enter the reception area while it is still light, while allowing the Bridal Party to continue with capturing stunning photos outside prior to the reception.

Q. We had planned to have our dogs involved in the ceremony and photos afterwards, would this be possible at Laloli?

Yes, of course, but this is strictly by prior arrangement, so you must confirm this with us before booking the venue. You should make arrangements for your dogs to stay for the ceremony and photos, but go home after that.

If you want to have other animals, you must check with us first.

Q. What support will I receive from Laloli?

We will assist you substantially with your wedding function, in all kinds of ways. We have supported more than a hundred weddings at Laloli, and have loads of experience borne out of observation and experience, so we can support you with your queries about planning and holding your wedding at Cairns’ most popular country garden venue.

We will arrange a planning visit closer to the date of your event, and provide telephone, video call and email planning support from when you book until the day of your event.

We can assist with suggestions regarding options and observations about what works, in addition to recommendations for suppliers.

We will also be available throughout the day to provide general support to you and your suppliers, and to your guests.

Q. Do you offer recommendation lists of accommodation, photography, hair and make-up, etc?

Yes! Click here to see who we recommend.

Q. Is Laloli licensed, or can we supply our own drinks?

Our couples supply their own beverages. We require our couples to engage a properly staffed RSA qualified professional bar service.

We supply a chilled water station for your guests as they arrive, and and a self-service tea and coffee service station for later in the evening.

Q. Can we have spirits?

From experience, we strongly discourage the service of spirits, but if our couples do choose to serve spirits, the spirit service should not commence before the meal service, and should be limited.

Q. How do my suppliers know what to do on the day of the wedding?

When you choose suppliers from our list of recommended suppliers, you can be confident that your suppliers have been to Laloli for past events, and that we have found them reliable and good to work with. You should provide your suppliers with a detailed run sheet so they know what is expected of them, otherwise they will draw upon their experience to deliver excellent services and products for your event.

When you book, we will give you a run-sheet that you can modify to suit your needs, and we can help with developing the detail throughout your planning process. Please provide us with the information about your event that you would want to know about were you the venue hosts. This will assist us to problem-shoot before and during your event, and to assist you in ensuring a stress-free and trouble-free best day ever.

Q. Can we access Laloli prior to our wedding for a rehearsal?

We strongly recommend that you have a rehearsal of the bridal walk prior to your wedding day. A rehearsal will help you to conquer nerves, and to ensure that you are aware of the timing and pacing required to achieve a special and memorable entry.

It will take you about an hour to run through your ceremony rehearsal. It can be a challenge to get all the bridal party together for the rehearsal, but the most important thing to rehearse is the bride’s and bridesmaids’ walk down the aisle, and to ensure that your chosen music will play correctly. If you can, arrange your rehearsal time to coincide with your ceremony time so you can see where the sun is and where the shadows fall.

It is not essential that your celebrant or the groom and groomsmen take part in the rehearsal, but if that can be accommodated, we recommend that you do so.

If a rehearsal cannot be arranged, we can assist on the day with advice and tips to assist with carrying off this most important part of your event, and we would be delighted and honoured to assist.

Q. When can I drop off my personal items and decorations for my wedding day?

You are welcome to drop off any special personal or styling items during the week prior to your wedding day. Please let us know when you will do this. This can be in conjunction with your rehearsal, or at other times by prior agreement with us.

Q. Who looks after all the little details on my wedding day?

We can help with a range of support throughout your day, particularly if you use our run-sheet to list out your requirements and identify the person responsible for each item. For example, in addition to assisted with the ceremony, and moving styling items from one part of the venue to another, we can assist with ensuring that your run-sheet is being followed. We often help with setting up “sparkler exits” or similar, and packing down our couples’ styling items. Let us know if we can help you with this.

Q. Can we get ready on-site?

We do not have getting ready facilities at Laloli, but you can do a “first look” on-site if you wish.

Q. Who coordinates the ceremony to start?

Before the ceremony start time, we will assist with ushering your guests from the car-park to the ceremony location. We welcome you and your bridal party into our home prior to the ceremony, and we will assist with the commencement of the bridal walk.

We will be there to ensure everything runs smoothly for your ceremony, including cue-ing music, and liaising with your celebrant and your MC.

We do not have a microphone or other amplification and, unless your celebrant is particularly quiet, amplification for your celebrant is not required for your ceremony.

Q. Who ushers our guests for the reception to start after the in-between party?

We are happy to do this for you, or to assist. If your MC experienced, s/he should take charge. We will plan with you and you will tell us how much involvement you want from us.

Q. What happens with all our outdoor ceremony and garden party decorations and items?

While your guests are enjoying the reception, we will be putting away our pews, and pulling down the ceremony and garden party set up. We will relocate any decorative or other multiple use items that are to be re-used in other locations or pack away items no longer required for the reception.

Q. So, what furniture do you have?

Our furniture collection is expanding and changing all the time, and we prefer (but do not require) that our couples hire from us. We will show you our currently available furniture when you come for your first inspection, and we can give you a detailed list with pricing upon request.

The reason that furniture hire is an “add-on” to the basic Venue Hire Fee is because of the many different requirements of each of our couples, from tiny weddings, to casual weddings with little formal seating, to weddings of 150, fully seated. The costs of providing furniture for the varying sizes and types of weddings varies significantly because of the difference in the extent of the work involved in setting up, cleaning up and pulling down.

Talk to us about costs and availability.

Please be aware that we may not permit some suppliers at Laloli, so discuss your preferred suppliers before you book.

If off-site suppliers are engaged to supply furniture or lighting, they must clean up and pull down after shutdown at 11.00pm.

Q. What do we do if it rains?

Some days it rains.

When that happens, we nimbly stage The Sugar Shed for your ceremony and the rest of your reception as needs be.

Q. Can we have a big marquee, tipis or tents set up on the Western Lawn?

No.

We have extensive underground irrigation throughout the garden. This keeps our lawns beautifully lush and green . But it also means that we do not allow marquees, because of the potential damage to our important underground irrigation.

Q. Do I have to arrange for my family and friends to pack up after the reception concludes?

At the end of the evening we will pull down and put away any items of furniture you have hired from us. Your caterer is responsible for cleaning up your food waste, and your bar service will take care of most of the bar waste. We will pack-up all your decorative items (within reason) and place them in storage for pick-up by you in the following days.

This means that you can leave your wedding reception, completely carefree, and leaving the clean up for your suppliers.

If you hire off-site furniture hire or styling, we require you or your suppliers to pull down, clean up and remove equipment, furniture, decorations or other supplies, and require this to be done after 11.00pm when you and your guests depart.

Alternatively, we will clean up and pack your hire furniture for a fee which you should discuss with us prior to committing to hire from off-site suppliers.

Q. Do you have a dance floor?

Yes - we have a fabulous dance floor for hire which can be set up outside or in The Sugar Shed.

Q. When can I access Laloli after we have booked?

We welcome you to Laloli for a planning visit prior to your wedding day to plan your event, and to finalise your choice of ceremony or decoration locations. Please note that site visits are strictly by appointment and, because of our work commitments, can be accommodated usually only on weekends. If you wish to show family or friends, please coordinate your family to attend with you on your planning inspection as we do have limited availability.

In addition to your initial inspection, you will also have your planning visit, telephone planning review, and a rehearsal visit the day before your wedding.

If you wish to make extra visits in addition to those included with your booking, we charge an additional inspection fee of $110.

Q. Who sets up my ceremony decorations?

We will set up  our gorgeous white painted wooden pews in your ceremony area of choice unless you prefer to use or bring in other furniture for your ceremony. We can assist with setting out other decorations – but we are not stylists. The garden is so beautiful we think that other decorations should be minimal, but it is your wedding, so if you do wish to decorate our garden, you can make arrangements for additional decorations provided, of course, that no damage is done to our garden and infra-structure.

Otherwise, if you wish to have special decor or furniture, you or your suppliers will be responsible for setting up and pulling down those items. We require pull down and removal of the hired items on the night of your event, although you are welcome to arrange for pickup of your special items as soon as possible in the days after your wedding day.

Q. Who provides the ceremony sound system for the ceremony?

Your celebrant may provide an amplified system for the ceremony, although some do not use amplification. We can arrange to have a power supply available in your chosen ceremony area, for your celebrant or entertainer if requested. We currently do not have sound or PA systems available on-site.

Q. Do you provide a signing table for the ceremony?

We have a simple signing table matched with two elegant chairs in your choice of our ceremony locations.

Q. What do my guests do in-between the ceremony & reception?

The time between your ceremony and your reception is your opportunity to show off your hospitality to your guests, and to get the party started, by offering a garden party or, as we call it, “the in-between party”. You should provide a modest menu of drinks and canapes, or something more substantial such as a grazing table or catered cocktail service.

The in-between party is the ideal time for you to spend casual time with your guests and, because you can get your photos onsite, you will be able to join your guests for celebratory drinks and photos.

Q. What do we do for music during our Garden Party?

You can provide live entertainment for your guests, or arrange for your prerecorded playlist and speakers to be set up.

Q. Who provides food and beverage for our in-between party and reception?

You do! You choose your caterer according to your taste, desired style, and budget. We are more than happy to make recommendations for excellent suppliers who have supplied to our couples in the past, and who have provided excellent food and service. Click here to see who we recommend.

You also supply your own beverages, and you organise wait staff for your beverage service, or you can have your caterer supply wait staff for your bar service.

We require that our couples engage a bar service, as this provide hassle-free hospitality for your guests, including appropriate drink-ware, ice, and bar waste clean up. Our preferred caterers can provide full bar service to you at relatively minimal cost, and your bar service will also dispose of your bar waste. Most bar services can supply poly-carbonate drink-ware in compliance with our glass-free policy. If not, it may be necessary to hire poly-carbonate drink-ware or other alternatives to glass.

You also choose and arrange for your own wedding cake, if you wish to have one and, again, we are pleased to recommend those suppliers listed on our website. Your cake can be delivered to Laloli during the day, and kept safely in an air-conditioned room in the house, or in our cold room, ready for your celebration.

Q. Do you have a cold room on-site?

Yes! Our on-site cold room is available to our couple as part of our Basic Venue Hire. Our couples can arrange to have their beverages delivered the day before their event and chilled in our cold room ready for their party the following day.

Q. Can we self-cater our reception?

We do not permit self-catering, except for some special traditional or cultural dishes, by pre-arrangement. Please talk to us before your book if some self-catering is going to be part of your event.

Q. With regards to alcohol, is glass ok (for toasts etc)? Or would you prefer cans and plastic?

Glass is not ok. Broken glass is very difficult to clean up safely during a function, and very dangerous when your partying guests kick off their shoes. That is why we have a glass-free policy.

Drinks may be served in cans, or polycarbonate or plastic glassware. Of course, glass wine bottles and beer stubbies are fine.

Q. What lighting is there in the Sugar Shed?

The Sugar Shed is equipped with fairy lights and chandeliers, and appropriate lighting in the bar space. And that is plenty of light for your reception. It is gorgeous! The lights can be adjusted down later in the evening if you want less light for dancing or other shenanigans. Our installed lighting in The Sugar Shed makes it a lot easier for our couples to use the shed because the lights are already set up and included in the cost of the basic Venue Hire.

The Bamboo Chapel has fairy lighting on a arched framework that runs the length of the grove and is a standard inclusion. The framework can hold other decorations and additional lighting.

We have additional lighting packages available for hire in our outdoor event spaces. We have a chandelier “bling” package for the Bamboo Chapel where we set up chandeliers in addition to the existing fairy lights. It looks sensational!

And for Western Lawn receptions we have our modular, de-mountable festoon light roofless "marquee", which provides overhead festoon lighting over up to 150 seated and dancing guests. These packages are in addition to the basic Venue Hire Charge but are convenient and cost-effective options for our couples.

Our beautiful established trees are up-lit, and there is other lighting throughout the garden, which creates an amazing sense of romance and adventure in the garden.

Q. Do you have a hot water urn for tea and coffee?

Sure do! We have a 20 litre urn which is big enough for the largest of parties. We set up a self-serve tea/coffee station with cups and other supplies for your guests’ convenience as part of the Basic Venue Hire.

Q. I noticed those beautiful white pews in your photo gallery and am wondering if they can be used for our ceremony? If so, will they be included in the venue hire?

Yes - our fourteen handcrafted white painted wooden pews are included in the venue hire for your ceremony. They comfortably seat 56 guests. We will set them up for you in your choice of ceremony location. We then pack them away after your ceremony.

Our other furniture is also available for hire for your ceremony if, for example, you would like to use our bentwood chairs for your ceremony.

Q. What happens if the power supply fails?

We have installed a massive 25kva power generator which powers the whole of Laloli so that in the event of power supply interruption we can quickly have power restored for your event. This ensures that power supply is secured on-site throughout your event.

Q. Are children allowed at Laloli?

Children are welcome at Laloli. Children generally delight in the space and the freedom offered by our fabulous venue. They will be intrigued by our chickens, and enjoy playing in the garden.

Q. Will there be a cut off time? If so, what time?

Yes - your reception must wind up not later than 11.00pm. The total event hire period form a ceremony plus reception event is no more than eight hours calculated from the time of the ceremony.

We suggest you hire a bus to assist your guests with transport towards the end of the evening. This has worked really well for our past events so the party finishes on time.,. and safely gets all your guests back to their accommodation. The bus should be scheduled to arrive at 10.45pm.

And, you can end your party earlier than 11:00pm. There is no requirement that your event run through to later in the evening.

Q. Can I set up payment plans?

Weddings are usually big, fancy events, and putting on a full ceremony to reception event for lots of your closest friends and family can be costly. A personalised payment plan might assist you with your budgeting. It can help you to manage your wedding budget and ensure that you do have sufficient available funds to pay for everything you want for your wedding. Please discuss this with us.

If budget is an issue, we can also assist with advising you about how to get maximum bang for your buck on your wedding day. For example, you could choose inviting fewer guests for an elegant and stress-free ceremony plus garden party event, following up with a restaurant celebration in the city.

Q. We wanted something spectacular, like a helicopter entry, or fireworks. Is this possible?

Yes! We have space for helicopter landings, and plenty of room for fireworks displays. Please ask us about arranging these options before you go ahead and make your arrangements as it is absolutely essential that we approve your plan.

We reserve the right to refuse such supply in the event that we are not satisfied statutory requirements have been complied with. Naturally, fireworks must be presented by qualified and licenced operators such as Xplosive Art or similar.

As you would expect, Laloli has local council permission that is essential for the conduct of all our future wedding events and we must ensure that individual events do not jeopardise our permit. We have a noise limit for the comfort and enjoyment of our neighbours so although we encourage and welcome live music including bands, we will ask your musicians to abide by reasonable noise levels.