Some couples choose a wedding venue. Karthik and Sivai chose the place where their story had already begun. They met in Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden, tucked into the hillside at Lavender Bay under the Sydney Harbour Bridge — and when Karthik proposed, he did it in that same garden. So when it came time to marry, there was only ever one place it could happen.
A ceremony before the day had properly started
We started at 7am. Karthik and Sivai both had a full workday ahead of them, so we kept the ceremony early, quiet and completely uncomplicated — no chairs, no arch, nothing styled or brought in. The garden didn't need any help. I arrived just before seven, the light was still soft, and the whole thing had a stillness to it that no amount of planning can usually buy. It's one of the most peaceful ceremonies I've conducted.
The story I told them, in the garden that told it first
Before Wendy Whiteley began her work here in the 1990s, this stretch of land above the harbour was a neglected, rubbish-strewn easement below her home. She cleared it by hand — moving rocks, planting trees she was told wouldn't take — and turned it, over years of grief and love, into one of Sydney's most beautiful hidden gardens.
I told Karthik and Sivai that story as part of their ceremony, standing right in the middle of it, because a marriage is built the same way: with care, in whatever ground you're given, over far more time than anyone expects at the start. It felt right to say it in the one garden that proves it true.
A moment from their ceremony
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Their ceremony in the Secret Garden
Legal in Sydney, sacred in India
Karthik and Sivai aren't done celebrating yet — a religious wedding in India is still to come, surrounded by family and the traditions that matter to them. This Sydney ceremony was the quieter, legal half of the story: the Notice of Intended Marriage lodged in advance, vows spoken, certificate signed and witnessed. It means that by the time they arrive in India for the main celebration, the paperwork is already behind them — they get to just be married, and enjoy the day.
Coffee, then straight to work
There was no reception to rush off to. Once we'd finished, Karthik and Sivai walked to their local café for a celebratory coffee, and were at their desks by 9am — married, caffeinated, and back into an ordinary Tuesday. It's one of my favourite kinds of wedding: enormous in meaning, small in fuss.
Thinking about a garden or public-space wedding in Sydney?
A well-established public garden can be one of the most beautiful, least expensive venues in Sydney — often needing no décor at all. If there's a spot that already means something to you, I can help you check what's allowed there and build a ceremony around it, the way we did for Karthik and Sivai in Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden.
And if you're also planning a religious or cultural wedding overseas, marrying legally here first is worth considering — it keeps that celebration purely ceremonial, with none of the visa or paperwork pressure hanging over the day. More on that on the overseas recognition page.
Common questions about garden weddings in Sydney
Can you get married in a public garden or park in Sydney?
Yes — with the right permissions in place, a public garden can be one of the most beautiful and affordable wedding venues in Sydney. Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden in Lavender Bay needed no décor at all; decades of planting had already done the work a florist normally would. I can help you check what's allowed at a public site before you book your ceremony there.
Can a legal wedding ceremony happen early in the morning, before work?
Absolutely — there's no rule about ceremony timing. Karthik and Sivai married at 7am so they could still make it to their desks by 9. If your schedule is tight, an early or quick weekday ceremony is completely valid, and often calmer than fitting a wedding around a busy weekend.
We're also having a religious wedding overseas — should we get legally married in Australia first?
Many couples choose to. Marrying legally in Australia first means an overseas religious or cultural wedding can be purely ceremonial, with no visa timelines or foreign paperwork riding on it. Karthik and Sivai married legally here in Sydney and are now free to have their religious wedding in India without any legal admin hanging over the day.
Do we need decorations for a garden wedding?
Not if the garden's already doing the work. A well-established garden — like Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden — already has the colour, texture and shape couples usually pay a stylist for. I always walk a location with couples beforehand so we know exactly where to stand, and what's already perfect just as it is.
Picturing a ceremony somewhere that already means something to you?
A garden you love, a park where you first met, a quiet corner of the harbour — if it's meaningful to you, I can very likely build your ceremony around it. Tell me the place you're picturing.
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