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When Ben proposed to Tori, he incorporated so many memories from their relationship into his proposal. They walked down a pedestrian bridge during a light snow fall, to the very place they had their first date together, four years earlier! Tori said that Ben was so excited to no longer have to keep his secret of the upcoming engagement. Her favorite part of the proposal was when she realized that she would officially be becoming Ben’s wife.

Once Ben and Tori started their wedding planning process, they decided that their vision was to create a romantic garden setting full of botanicals, lanterns, friends and family. Tori had always dreamed of a fairy tell wedding – for her this looked like a big ballroom dress, with her husband in a slim, classy tuxedo. She dreamed of candle lit lanterns, succulent terrariums, and light, airy flowers. Tori and Ben hunted together for terrariums, lanterns, and greenery as their decor items to fit their wedding dreams! Before they decided to get married at the Inn at Irwin Gardens, they knew they wanted a botanical garden theme for their wedding. Their wedding venue made you feel like you walked straight into the Secret Garden – it was filled with so many gorgeous florals, trees and vines. The venue’s victorian style home on the property was the perfect finishing touch for this beautiful botanical location.

When Tori went to search for her wedding gown, she took 10 people with her! These included Tori’s mom, Ben’s mom, Tori’s grandma, some of her bridesmaids, and a few friends. The town where she lives had recently gotten a new bridal boutique – Christina Vail. Tori made an appointment and they all went to check it out! In the course of just over 2 hours, she tried on nearly 20 dresses. By that point she was slightly overwhelmed – all the lace and beads and different styles were running together in Tori’s mind. Finally towards the end, she decided to try on a slightly different style dress, getting her own opinion of the gown before showing everyone else. It then hit her – it was the one!

When it came to the day of their wedding, their favorite decision was choosing to read their personally written vows to one another during their first look, prior to reading them to everyone else during the ceremony. They said that it was such an intimate moment and really allowed them to express their vows more emotionally and authentically. (It really was so sweet!)

Though their wedding day was hot (REALLY hot!), it was such a blast and so, so beautiful.

Tori and Ben, congratulations! I’m SO excited for you both.

Cheers!

Allison

The Inn at Irwin Gardens | Columbus, Indiana | Tori + Ben | Allison Slater Photography1.jpg