Hannah and Ben tied the knot where their love story began: at Ormond College in Melbourne! They celebrated their modern botanical garden wedding in serious style, thanks to the floral artistry of Ivy & Eve, a bold navy blue and burgundy color palette, and the bride’s sequin wedding dress by Karen Willis Holmes! Tess Follett captured every moment of their striking wedding day!

Modern Glam Sequin Wedding Dress for a Real Bride

Modern Botanical Garden Wedding Day in Melbourne

These college sweethearts shared a connection from the first moment they laid eyes on each other during Hannah’s initiation week at Ormond College. That made it the perfect venue for their wedding ceremony nine years later – Hannah referred to the courtyard where they exchanged their vows as a ‘big Harry Potter castle covered in ivy’, which added an enchanting element to their stylish, modern wedding day. The beautiful, natural backdrop lead perfectly into their marquee reception at Gardens House in the Royal Botanic Gardens. The couple had envisioned a garden wedding with bold colors, and opted for a palette of jewel toned burgundy and navy blue, accented with fresh white flowers and an abundance of fresh greenery. Their ceremony venue spoke for itself, but they completely transformed the reception space, with Ivy & Eve crafting an enormous greenery chandelier that hung Edison bulbs over the Head Table.

Hannah and Ben loved creating the feel of their wedding day, and took their personal touch to the next level with many hand crafted details. Hannah herself baked and decorated their wedding cake with signature Aussie flavors – white chocolate mud cake with pistachio filling and caramel mud cake with hazelnut filling. Her mother and grandmother made the favors so each guest got to take home a taste of the bride and groom’s favorite flavors with apricot jam or mango chutney. A friend designed the modern botanical floral print they incorporated on their invitations and signage, with a splash of the bold colors that reflected their palette. They worked closely with their officiant to create a ceremony that reflected the joy in their relationship and the vows they had written to each other. One of the sweetest details actually came from Ben’s heartfelt proposal, where he noted that it takes 3160 days for light from the nearest star to make a return journey to earth and back, before telling his bride-to-be that ‘today we have been together for 3242 days, therefore I have literally loved you to the stars and back’.

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