Michelle and Colin are your hosts at our beautiful forest venue
We are a family business, having raised our two children, Darcy and Vanessa, here in Kinglake for the past 21 years. In fact, the whole team is a family - it's just our culture! You will not feel more comfortable anywhere, we are relaxed and welcoming. We just want to help you create your dream weekend.
Where it all Began
Over the years, we’ve offered all kinds of services, ranging from school camps and corporate retreats to treetop adventure tourism. We have always been a workplace that welcomes innovation, and so when our niece asked us if we’d host her dream wedding, it was to no-one’s surprise that we said “yes”!
Together, we created a rustic bohemian wedding of unimaginable beauty – a day and evening full of magic and love! Just watch the video at the bottom of this page to see for yourself. The rest is history – Forest Weddings was born!
Savour the moment
Our venue is very unique in that you can have up to 120 guests stay overnight, share a great breakfast together the next morning and just embrace all the love over a full weekend without having to rush home.
A new direction
This was a new direction for our family business, but decidedly one that brings us a great deal of fuzzy happiness. Who doesn’t love a beautiful wedding in an environment like ours?
Word got out that we were open to hosting weddings, and we have never looked back.
Weddings should be personal
You can get to know more about our core wedding crew down below, but it's worth noting Sean and Kym have been part of our French family team for 18 years - since the beginning - and Donna, has also been with us for 16 years. Mandy may be a fresher face to the team, but we treasure her just as much! We provide a personal touch from start to finish. It’s always us you are dealing with – just Michelle, Col and our small crew.
Meet our team
Colin French
You will soon find out that Colin is a big softy and loves when he gets the chance to host a wedding tour. Even when he’s not needed, you can find him hanging around the morning of a wedding, simply admiring the hustle and bustle of our crew bringing together yet another magical celebration.
Michelle French
Michelle LOVES love, and nothing makes her heart glow like showing you around our magical venue whilst hearing about your love for each other, your dreams for your big day and the little quirks about your love that make you smile.
Sean 'Slim' Adam
Slim is a true-blue Aussie who has dedicated his life to seeking adventure, travelling around Australia and learning all there is to know about the flora and fauna. Slim always finds his way back to Kinglake as he knows what a special part of the country this is, and when he’s in charge, everything runs like clockwork! Slim, as well as being around setting up for your wedding is your overnight host.
Kym Smith
Kym is our hospitality manage for our school camps and has been with Col and Michelle for all their 18 years at KFA/Forest Weddings. Kym is our stylist extraordinaire who will just make everything perfect. Kym will work with you to arrange tables, flowers and decorations as much or as less as you like. She will also coordinate and make sure your morning after breakfast is a highlight of your stay.
Donna Ryan
Donna loves many things, including coffee, cracking a joke, and working hard to make things perfect. She is always invested in our couple’s vision, and has been known to watch scenes from the movie, Breaking Dawn, over and over again simply because a couple wanted their wedding to look just like Edward and Bella’s from ‘Twilight’.
Mandy Haakmeester
Mandy has lots of hats including working with troubled youth, facilitating school camps with us and a master at event management. As one of our hosts for weddings Mandy will make sure your reception runs smoothly and is available for anything that pops up during the evening. A partner and mum, who loves the outdoors, Mandy is never happier than being in our forest making sure your wedding runs perfectly.