Most people plan their wedding venue with a single day in mind. But Gabrielle Everitt and fiance Nathan Spencer have planned theirs with a view to forever.
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After a south coast proposal on New Year's Eve, Ms Everitt said she knew exactly where she wanted to tie the knot with her former classmate.
"I've always wanted to get married at the arboretum. There was no question that's where it was going to be," she said.
The chosen venue for her special day, the new Margaret Whitlam Pavilion at the National Arboretum, was officially opened on Monday.
But Ms Everitt and Mr Spencer, a keen mountain-biker, have had the distinctive $3 million space booked for months, and have been heading up to the arboretum regularly to check on its progress as it was built.
Ms Everitt said as a child she remembered being driven past the church where her parents were married, and wanted a spot that could have similar sentimentality for her children long into the future.
"The biggest thing that drew us to it is that in 50 years' time it's going to be amazing, and we can take our kids there and show them where we got married. So it's somewhere that's always going to be there, and it will be a family spot forever," she said.
"Plus it's got to be one of the best spots in Canberra."
Ms Everitt isn't the only one to have eyed off the spot as a potential matrimonial backdrop. The arboretum is fielding about three inquiries a day for weddings at the pavilion, and have a list of 50 couples who have been waiting for it to open so they could come in for a look.
Arboretum general manager Jason Brown said they had set up a wedding expo day for potential couples after the significant number of inquiries.
Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the new pavilion, designed to be a bold counterpoint to the otherwise gentle arboretum landscape, would play host to some of the most important events in people's lives.
"As more than 40,000 trees grow around it, the pavilion will establish itself as one of Canberra's most beautiful event spaces," she said.
The pavilion's namesake, Margaret Whitlam, was also celebrated at the opening by a host of local politicians, arboretum workers and enthusiasts, and dignitaries, including Mrs Whitlam's son Nicholas.
"She would have loved it," Mr Whitlam said. "She wasn't a particular green thumb, but she was a very outdoors sort of person … and she knew Canberra pretty well.
"One of the things that was most distinctive about Margaret was the way she brought people together … and I think that's one of the things that this facility will bring."
Federal Regional Services Minister Catherine King said the name of the pavilion was an appropriate tribute to a national treasure.
"It is fitting that such a unique and special place take on the name of Margaret Whitlam - treasured nationwide, and of particular significance to Canberra," Ms King said.
"Margaret and Gough spent many years in Canberra watching the 'Bush Capital' grow and contributing to its development as a modern capital city.