Getting married in a garden designed just for you, surrounded by thousands of flowers without a hefty pricetag, is something most couples dream about. But that’s exactly what’s happening this week.
The Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show created its first-ever purpose-built wedding garden, called Love Blooms Here, right in the heart of Carlton Gardens.
Designed by Jason Hodges and constructed by Semken Landscaping, Jason said, “Designing this Wedding Show Garden has been a real joy. We wanted to create a space that doesn’t just look beautiful, but truly feels special and layered with colour, fragrance and thoughtful design at every turn.”
MIFGS weddings
On Wednesday evening, the garden becomes the setting for a real wedding — a deeply personal moment for Dean, a long-time Semken team member, and his partner Tayla.
On Friday, Vinny and Alice will be tying the knot after they won a competition to say ‘I do’ inside the garden, surrounded by 50 of their closest family and friends.
The garden
The garden itself is framed by established trees, with soft whites, creams and greens layered along both sides of the aisle. A white timber pergola sits at the centre, strung with fairy lights, while stone steps lead guests up through the garden, lined with candles.
In the background, the dome of the Royal Exhibition Building rises through the trees, giving the whole setting a pretty incredible backdrop.
Alice and Vinny’s story
Alice and Vinny are both artists working in education. They’ve been together seven years and engaged for nearly two. Fittingly, Alice’s proposal to Vinny came via a cryptic crossword she made, a nod to the puzzles they became obsessed with during Melbourne’s lockdowns.
“Watching him work through it was pretty stressful,” shared Alice. “What if he didn’t get it?”
Thankfully, he got it. And when it came to the competition, they very nearly talked themselves out of entering.
“It really was a whim,” Alice says. “The ‘imagine if…’ kind that you almost talk yourself out of.”
They wrote about their love of nature, colour and creating moments. And according to Vinny, they also snuck in a few garden puns for good measure.
Are we being pranked?
When they found out they’d won, they didn’t believe it at first.
“Like maybe we’d misread something or were getting pranked,” Alice recalls, “and then this wave of excitement. It’s one of those moments you know you’ll replay in your mind for years.”
For Vinny, the whirlwind pace of it all has only added to the magic.
“It feels like skipping straight to the magic part, honestly,” he says. “Most weddings have a year of build-up. You get all the details ironed out, but this one has this chaotic, beautiful storybook quality to it. We don’t have time to overthink every detail. Just, okay, we’re getting married. Let’s go.”
As for their friends and family, Vinny said they weren’t surprised.
“They love the idea of it being something different,” Vinny says. “But also, we are chaos agents. So they were kind of like, yeah, this is so them.”
“Flowers have always been something I’m drawn to”
For Alice, an art teacher with a lifelong love of painting flowers, the setting feels like it’s meant to be.
“Flowers have always been something I’m drawn to. Their colour, how beautiful their tiny details are,” she says. “To be surrounded by them on our wedding day feels so right for us.”
