Royal Botanical Gardens - Rock Garden

The Rock Garden at Royal Botanical Gardens feels like a wedding inside a landscape that has been growing toward this moment for nearly a century, with limestone steps and arches from the 1930s, alpine plants and water threaded through the whole bowl.

Construction on the garden began in 1929 and it opened to visitors in 1932, then was rejuvenated and reopened in 2016. Today it covers four hectares and holds more than 1,670 kinds of plants, with lotus blooming on the water in summer and sculptures set among the beds. A modern Visitor Centre houses the Rock Garden Bistro and the event space, so the historic garden and the practical rooms sit side by side.

Weddings here suit 50 to 100 guests. The ceremony and cocktails can take place outdoors in the Courtyard or on the Upper Lawn, with a weather plan to move inside if needed. The reception fills the Great Room, 3,455 square feet with mixed plants, round tables and the venue's own setup and cleanup.

The booking runs 11 hours, from three in the afternoon until two in the morning, with an hour of rehearsal access and a photography permit that opens the wider RBG grounds to the couple. Dinner comes from one of three catering partners, City Farm Catering, fig & lemon or Aunty's Kitchen, and guest parking is included.

Picture the processional down old stone steps between alpine plantings, then dinner in a bright room above a garden that has outlasted every trend. The Rock Garden offers a Hamilton wedding rooted in something that lasts.

• Gardens and grounds
• A historic setting
• Live music welcome
• A patio or terrace
• Tented celebrations possible
• String lights and candlelight
• Open for weddings year-round
• Pets welcome
• Parking on site
• Accessible