Luxury Garden-Inspired Wedding Transports 'Down Under' Magic to Washington, DC

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May 23, 2024

The Planning

Design / Vibe / Vision

For Camilla and Ben's wedding design, we leaned into a quiet luxury aesthetic and took cues from the beautiful Anderson House garden in the Spring. We wanted to create an elevated, yet laid back garden party in neutral tones that felt cohesive and organic with the setting while still having a memorable wow factor.

Proposal Story

Camilla and Ben first met while living in DC in October 2020 on Hinge. They started messaging about their shared interest of skiing, leading Ben to ask Camilla on a first date to join him and his friends on their annual Halloween wine tour. Camilla agreed, but only after meeting him for a quick Friday drink to make sure he was somewhat normal before agreeing to spending a full day with him and his friends. Ben decided to dress up as Tony Soprano, and Camilla headed to Target to find a Carmela Soprano worthy outfit. Needless to say, the Halloween wine tour date was a success! In December 2020, they went on their first trip together to Ben’s parent's beach condo for a cozy weekend getaway. Ben proposed at the same beach house in June 2022.

Getting Ready

Bridal Portraits

Flat Lays

The Fashion

Wedding Gown

Camilla travelled back home to Australia to shop for her wedding dress with her mom. She selected a sleek, bias-cut silk dress by Australian designer Karen Willis Holmes and pearl embellished shoes by HARLO Australia.

Wedding Party

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

The Details

Food & Drink

Food and drink was a top priority for the wedding. Guests were greeted with Peach-Lavender agua fresca as they arrived to the al fresco garden ceremony. During cocktail hour, Camilla and Ben served two of their favorite cocktails as signature drinks - a Jalapeno Margarita and French 75. Guests enjoyed a delicious selection of passed hors d'oeuvres, including lamb and mint pesto lollipops, lobster noisettes, miniature crab cakes and hawaiian tuna poke. Dinner service began with a beautifully composed red endive salad with pickled plums, camembert and honeycomb brittle, followed by a pre-selected entree choice of beef tenderloin and pan-seared branzino.

Florals & Decor

The florals were designed to be chic, elegant and garden-esque in a palette of whites, sand, dusty rose and lush greens. For the ceremony, large urn arrangements were placed on existing columns in the Anderson House garden, designed asymmetrically for a more organic look. Camilla held a simply chic, rounded rose bouquet while Ben wore a classically minimal single ranunculus with hellebore accent to complete their looks. For dinner in Anderson House's garden, long dining tables surrounded the reflecting pool draped in blush and taupe floral patterned linens and cane backed chairs. Each table featured lush floral garden centerpieces, illuminated by sandstone taper candles, pillar candles and votives for a romantic glow as the sun set into the evening. Each corner of the reflecting pool was flanked with a statement urn arrangement atop a venetian plaster pedestal to add a wow factor to the setting.

Wedding Cake

In lieu of a traditional wedding cake, Camilla and Ben opted to serve a plated chocolate hazelnut crisp cake with blackberries for dessert.

Special Detail #1

For Camilla, who was born and raised in Australia and came to the US for grad school and her post-graduate career, it was a priority to create a memorable experience with her family and friends who were traveling in from across the globe along with having Ben’s loved ones all together in the same place for the first time. We brought a bit of the Land Down Under to their wedding with through their seating chart and table names, which featured illustrations of Aussie animals to lead guests to their seats (each dinner table was named after an animal instead of a table number). “Smile and Have a Vegemite Sandwich” - a lyric from the famous 80’s song by Men at Work finished the look, which ended up being a hit with guests from both Australia and the US.

Special Detail #2

The invitations were designed to be cohesive with the wedding colors in a palette of green, white, cream and taupe. A floral patterned envelope liner and ivory silk ribbon added a romantic touch to the classic design. The floral pattern was brought in again on their seating chart wall.

Couple Portraits

Reception

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