Michael and Hayley have been making each other laugh since their very first date, which famously involved sitting in the wrong cinema and asking strangers to move before realising they’d walked into the wrong movie. That easygoing energy followed them all the way to their wedding day, where a green princess gown, burnt-orange tailoring, handmade dinosaur cake toppers, and a surprise father-daughter dance created a celebration packed with memorable moments.

Photographer Jackson Grant documented every colourful detail at Jackalope Hotel, from their beautiful vineyard ceremony to the conversational reception, proving that when you stop worrying about what weddings are “supposed” to look like, really fun things can happen!

Michael and Hayley met like many couples – the old-fashioned way (which really is just Tinder!). On their first date, they went to the movies to see The Imitation Game, where they got the cinema wrong and asked the wrong people to move. “Omg, embarrassing, but at least we were in it together. Afterwards we went and got Nando’s and the rest is history!!”

Celebrating their fifth anniversary on a trip to Tasmania, Michael and Hayley were galavanting around the fairgrounds where Michael was looking for the perfect spot to propose! “He was originally going to propose there as the fireworks went off, but it was very crowded, so he waited until we got back to our hotel room and got down on one knee. Hayley had no idea he was going to propose and was genuinely surprised! They celebrated with room service ice cream sundaes. The smell of hot jam doughnuts always reminds Hayley of that night now! (At the fairground),” they shared.

Hayley’s dress is what whimsical dreams are made of – with a stunning, poofy princess vibe in an incredible shade of green. “I didn’t plan to get a green dress necessarily; I just knew I didn’t want something entirely white. The dress was custom-made by Teuta Matoshi, a Kosovar fashion designer who specialises in amazing ball gowns. I have always loved her work, and when I saw my dress on her website, I knew it was the one!” Hayley shared.

“Funnily, I wore a dress made by her sister, Lirika Matoshi, to our engagement party! I bought the dress online, with custom sizing, but still had to make a few alterations when it arrived – but nothing major! I had a really pleasant experience with my dress and only chose it in December. (Our wedding was in Feb haha) I know that might make some people freak out, but our whole wedding planning vibe was very chill!”

Michael wanted to match Hayley’s vibrant vibe, and he found the perfect option at Peter Jackson. “I wanted to wear something a bit more colourful to suit the vibe of our wedding (not just your standard black/blue suit), and ended up choosing a burnt orange suit jacket from Peter Jackson, paired with a casual linen shirt from Rodd & Gunn. I love the look of the orange, and it paired perfectly with Hayley’s green dress,” Michael explained.

Jo Laver Flowers was the perfect florist for this whimsical wedding, filling the space with the most vibrant florals in the peak of summer! “Oh my goodness, our florist was absolutely AMAZING! She is very familiar with the venue, so we didn’t have to worry about the tablescapes or the layout – she just knew exactly where to put everything. We put together a document with the colours we wanted & lots of examples, and Jo put together the most spectacular bunches of flowers that we’ve ever seen!!”

The entire celebration took place at the Jackalope Hotel on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. The venue was all the more beautiful in the height of summer, with luscious greenery everywhere you looked. “We stayed at the hotel the night before and the night of the wedding, which was really lovely and made the day flow so much easier. It also meant we could take a breather whenever we needed to, since we could sneak back to our room! (We did this during the reception for about 20 minutes, just had a little lie down hahaha),” Hayley shared.

“We held the ceremony overlooking the vineyard – it was a beautiful summer day at 24 degrees, and we got so so lucky with the sun and cloud coverage. Honestly couldn’t have asked for better weather!”

Hand in hand, Michael and Hayley made their way down the aisle together as The Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition” floated through the air. “Funnily, when we were trying to pick a song, we both thought of that song at the same time. Knew it was the one!”

From start to finish, their ceremony was exactly as they’d dreamed, with their celebrant Jess from Stan by Me Ceremonies leading them through. “Jess was such a fantastic celebrant who made us feel so comfortable from the get-go, and she was SO helpful with vow writing. She put together the most lovely ceremony. We wanted our friends and family to laugh and cry with us, and that’s exactly what happened. The joy we felt from everyone was tremendous!”

There wasn’t one detail that stood out as a favourite; instead, the fact that they planned every detail together and intentionally made everything feel all the more special. “We truly didn’t follow any trends we didn’t like and made sure that our day was actually OUR day. We think that’s why it went so smoothly and didn’t feel stressful in the lead-up or on the day; we knew it was exactly what we wanted it to be. We still have no regrets about anything or wish anything was different!!” they shared.

There was no other photographer who could have captured the whimsical, Wes Anderson-inspired celebration as THE Jackson Grant! “My oh my, our photographer!!!! What can we say?! Jackson was absolutely amazing. Everyone loved him, and he made us feel incredibly comfortable. He is a creative genius, and while we had a few ideas, we let him take the reins, and he took the most incredible photos that captured our day perfectly,” Hayley gushed.

So much of their day was DIY, and thanks to Hayley’s designer background (find more of her incredible work here!), all the paper bits had the perfect amount of whimsy. “The save-the-dates, invites, seating chart and welcome letter. I have my own laser cutter in my studio, so I created the table numbers and name cards from acrylic and painted them. (With Michael by my side – we really did everything together!). Michael made the dance floor doof sticks with our baby heads and our two cats, Aya & Pippy. They were an absolute hit on the dance floor!! Can’t recommend highly enough and they were super easy to make!” Hayley explained.

“We also spray-painted a bunch of dinosaurs gold to have on the tables and as our cake toppers. People who know us know that we are dinosaur fiends and there was always going to be some dinosaur element present. Michael also handmade the clothes on the dinosaur cake toppers – yes, he sewed them and made them the mini versions of what we wore!!”

The Rare Hare, one of Jackalope’s on-site restaurants, was the perfect location for the reception, with huge windows letting in the golden sun and long tables for guests to mingle at. “It’s a beautiful space with long wooden tables and benches, brickwork and their amazing plate wall! (They have little animal characters that represent the Rare Hare brand) Felt like the perfect blend of charming and whimsy.”

Hayley and Michael’s overall approach to wedding planning was chill. Every decision was made together, from the design, the seating plans, the timing – everything! “We actually really enjoyed the whole planning process and have now offered to plan our friends’ weddings who are stressed about it because we had so much fun hahaha,” they shared.

After barely seeing each other at their engagement party, Hayley and Michael planned their reception so that they could do everything together the whole time! “We really wanted to make sure we got to spend the entire night together. At our engagement party, we were so busy running around and speaking to people that we didn’t see each other all that much! We wanted to make sure that at our wedding we’d be together the whole time! We had our own private table, and we also made sure that we ATE. We were paying for amazing food; let’s make sure we actually get to eat it!!”

No practise went into Hayley and Michael’s first dance; instead, they winged it completely and had the most fun doing it! They boogied to “Dancing In The Moonlight” by King Harvest.

The advice Hayley and Michael want to leave for couples planning their own whimsical weddings is this: “Make sure you plan together – you’re a team! Split the planning equally – it’s both of your days after all!! In saying that, don’t overplan the day and have the wedding YOU want, not the wedding that’s trending.”

To end out the night, Hayley surprised her dad with a special father-daughter dance. If that wasn’t enough to bring him to tears (it was), she picked “A Little Ray Of Sunshine” by Axiom, a song he used to sing to her when she was a baby! “He had no idea it was coming, and he absolutely bawled his eyes out! He isn’t a dancer, but Hayley knew there was a certain song that would get him up (and very emotional). It also makes Hayley super emotional, and she is actually tearing up while typing this hahaha. It was a really special moment.”

Please join us in congratulating Hayley and Michael on this incredible (!!!) celebration! And a huge thanks to Jackson Grant Photography for not only capturing everything so perfectly, but for sharing it with us.