Real Wedding – Laura & Matt, South Yarra VIC

When Laura married Matt wearing a bespoke Mariana Hardwick gown, the choice was as sentimental as it was stylish.

Her mother had worn a dress by the same designer on her wedding day in 1987 and, according to Laura, it looks just as timeless and beautiful four decades on.

The housemates turned lovers made all their styling decisions with the vision of curating a modern spring garden aesthetic, perfectly underpinned by the impeccable style and stunning service of their reception venue, The Terrace.

The bridesmaids wore unique but complimentary dresses and carried a single flower adorned with a bow into the ceremony at Picnic Point within Melbourne’s Botanical Gardens.

The White Tree’s dancefloor-filling five-piece band and an audio guest book by Off the Hook made for lively and memorable celebrations at the reception all while Fern and Stone photographed every feeling and formality with a romantic, timeless tone.

The meeting. 

We met eight years ago in London. I had moved over on a working holiday and found myself a spare room in Matt’s flat share.  It’s bit of a risk dating your flat mate (and we probably went against our better judgement in doing so) but we are obviously very glad that we did!

The ‘one’.

Neither of us can point to a particular moment, but early in the relationship we were discussing visas so that we could be together in the long term. We were both “all in” quite quickly, as we knew the relationship was something special.

The proposal. 

Matt – I knew that Laura didn’t have any fixed ideas on an engagement ring but that she wanted to be involved in picking it. So I bought an inexpensive proposal ring and kept it hidden waiting for the right moment. Ultimately, I went for the element of surprise and at the last minute concealed the ring inside a gift that I was wrapping the night before her birthday. I popped the question on her birthday in the morning and we celebrated with her family that evening. We designed the ring together a few weeks later.

Laura – it was genuinely the last thing that I expected to see on opening that birthday present! I love the proposal ring so much; I wore it on my right hand on the wedding day.

Planning process. 

We had to choose between Australia and the UK for our wedding but landed on Melbourne as we wanted to be able to host our family in the city that we currently call home. We picked the Terrace at the Melbourne Botanical Gardens as it was the perfect inner-city location with a lush, green backdrop. Quite early on we realised that we were going to need some help in the planning process, particularly in picking vendors and managing the planning timeline. One of the best things we decided to do early on was purchase the wedding consultation package with a wedding planner (CelebrAIT). This was the perfect option for us as we didn’t feel as though we needed a full wedding planning service but wanted some extra support throughout the process. It also gave us access to some great discounts. We prioritised locking in our photographer and band as we agreed that these were the most important to us for setting the scene for the day. Closer to the time we decided to book an on the day coordinator through the same wedding planner, which was probably the best decision we could have made. Outsourcing a large portion of the correspondence in the final weeks of planning freed us up to enjoy the lead-up and gave us peace of mind, knowing everything was in capable hands. This was important to us specifically as we had Matt’s family and friends visiting from the UK and we wanted to spend as much quality time with them as we could.

Style inspiration.

Given our wedding was in October and located in the botanical gardens, a ‘spring wedding’ was an obvious starting point for us. One of our vendors gave us the sound advice to pick three words for the style of our wedding and we landed on ‘Spring/Modern/Classic’ – when planning we used these words to filter our options and ultimately make decisions.

The ceremony. 

We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day for our wedding, so we got to have our first choice of an outdoor ceremony. Our celebrant surprised us by secretly gathering little stories about our relationship from our bridal party, which she then included in the ceremony. It was such a beautiful touch. Exchanging our vows and rings was one of our happiest memories of the day. But ultimately, we both agree that the most special part of our ceremony was seeing our two extended families from opposite sides of the world gathered – something that we will treasure forever.

The outfit. 

Laura – My dress was a strapless gown made bespoke for me by Mariana Hardwick. It’s so different from what I had envisaged for myself but from the moment I put it on I had ‘the feeling’. The designer holds a lot of sentimental value to me, as it’s the same one who made my mother’s wedding dress in 1987 (which even looks timeless nearly 40 years later!).

Matt – in keeping with the classic style, I opted to go with a black tuxedo. Mine was also made bespoke by a tailor.

Favourite moments. 

We both loved doing our first dance. We did a single lesson where we learnt the choreography but had been practicing for a few weeks before the day. It was amazing hearing our song played live by the band. It was by no means a perfect performance, but we had so much fun dancing together.

Meaning of marriage. 

Marriage is a commitment to one another and to us, symbolising a promise to prioritise each other and our relationship for the rest of our lives.

Wedding soundtrack. 

Bridesmaids and Bride entry – Only You by Dave Thomas Junior

Bride and groom aisle exit – Missing Piece by Vance Joy

Reception Entry – Signed, Sealed Delivered (I’m Yours) by Stevie Wonder

First Dance – Real Love Baby by Father John Misty

Farewell circle – I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons

We also had a few extra special requests of the band for our dancefloor including Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond (guaranteed to get a Brit out on the dancefloor), 500 Miles by the Proclaimers (a nod to our Scottish family members) and Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen (for our mothers).

Funny stories or near disasters.

It was a windy day, so I had a bit of a struggle keeping my veil in place. Just as our celebrant was beginning the ceremony, a strong gust of wind blew the veil right into her face and over the microphone. She handled it with such grace and it became one of those little comedic moments of the ceremony. On the bright side, the wind in the veil made for some stunning photos.

Also because of the wind, our floral arrangements, which were originally meant to be raised on plinths, ended up on the ground instead. While it wasn’t the plan, it was far from a disaster— the flowers looked perfect just as they were.

Planning surprises.

The intricacies of the run sheet was something we completely overlooked — specifically, how much detail our vendors needed to ensure the day went smoothly.

Words of wisdom. 

If you’re considering a first look but worry it might take away from the emotional impact of the ceremony, don’t be concerned. We’re so glad we decided to have one. For us, it helped ease any stress from the morning and created a special moment we could share before the wedding. Afterward, we both agreed that we were still deeply moved by the entrance, even though we had already shared our reveal – we were able to truly be present and take everything in during the ceremony.

For more garden wedding inspiration, see Andrew and Tania’s real wedding. 

LAURA & MATT’S SUPPLIERS:  

Ceremony location: Picnic Point, Royal Botanic Gardens

Reception venue: The Terrace (Royal Botanic Gardens) It’s a stunning venue that sells itself, but it was all the fantastic interactions with the team from the Darling Group that sealed the deal with us. They offered so many options to customise the package that we felt that we had the chance to plan a special event.

Celebrant: Christine Noonan

Photography: Fern and Stone – We knew we wanted Jess as Laura was familiar with her work after following her for years on Instagram. We absolutely love her style, and she did such an amazing job of putting us at ease on the day. We are SO happy with how our photos turned out.

Videography: Odd Sock Society – Storm and Xavier are an absolute delight and did such an amazing job at capturing those little moments of the day.

Styling:  We coordinated this ourselves using the consultation service from CelebrAIT.

• Candlestick holders from The Small Things Co.
• Candles purchased via Hueseeker.
• Audiobook from Off the Hook

Florist: Piper and Posie – After quite the search for a florist that had availability on our wedding day, we were so lucky to have landed Piper. She is an absolute artist and one of the nicest people to work with.

Hair: Ashlea Aitkin through Tonic

Make-up: Zara Henderson through Tonic – I knew that Zara and Ashlea’s work is impeccable, but I was still completely blown away by how it turned out on the day. They brought such warmth to our getting ready vibes. Any bride would be so lucky to have them help her glam for their wedding day.

The dress & veil: Mariana Hardwick

Shoes: Bared

Rings: Dwayne Designs

Bridesmaid’s dresses: All sourced independently from the following labels Aje, Significant Other, Mister Zimi and Ownley – I’ve always loved the look of mismatched bridesmaid dresses and really wanted to execute this for my own wedding.  The starting point was the Aje piece worn by my sister/maid of honor which has tones of blue, green and terracotta. The girls then picked dresses one after the other making sure that they fit the colour palette and style. I absolutely love how it turned out.

Suits: MBO tailors

Bow ties / ties: David Jones

Catering: The Darling Group 

Cake / Cake topper: Made by a friend decorated using dried pressed flowers from Pretty Produce

Stationery / Signage:  Designed by CelebrAIT

Entertainment: The White Tree – We could not recommend Mark and his team from the White Tree more. They were recommended by several friends who had used them for their own weddings. They were so responsive throughout the entire planning process. We had an acoustic soloist for the ceremony, a duo for the cocktail hour and a 5-piece band for the reception.  It was so important to us to have a lively dance floor, and they absolutely made this happen.

Transport: Enrik Limousines

Hire: Ceremony furniture via Weddings of Distinction

Wedding consultation package and on-the-day coordinator: CelebrAIT – Cait is a good friend of ours, but we were paying customers for her services. Her consultation package offers online resources and five meetings to guide us in picking and booking vendors, planning the run sheet and styling. It also gave us access to some great discounts that she has cultivated through her connections in the industry, so it pretty much paid for itself.

First Dance Choreography: Love in Motion – Andrea is an absolute legend. Our dance lesson with her was probably our favourite part of the whole wedding preparation process! She created a dance that was fun and fitted our personalities. After just one lesson, she gave us all the tools we needed to practice independently, so we only needed that single session with her.