Stylish and Sincere LGBTQI Wedding

Paul and Paul

After 4 very happy years together, we celebrated our commitment and love for each other in the company of loved ones at spectacular Brisbane venue, Cloudland.

We knew we were meant to be when I gave up my trendy life and job in the city to be with Paul D on the Gold Coast. Not long after moving in together we adopted our two dogs Spencer and Rambo forming a little family, which only confirmed for us how committed we are to one another.

After opening two successful Paul and Paul hair salons and both very much in love with our life together, I decided it was time to propose.

Following a year long preparation I put into motion a plot to pop the question. With the help of close friends it was decided that a surprise trip to Sydney for Paul D’s 30th would make for the perfect setting to ask that all important question “will you marry me” during an intimate yet rather festive birthday celebration. In front of close friends I dropped to one knee and after telling Paul why he means the world to me, I popped the question. With tears in his eyes he eagerly accepted. It was a night we would never forget.

When deciding on our wedding venue, we couldn’t go past Cloudland, the most beautiful and spectacular setting for any wedding ceremony and reception. We didn’t have to worry about the weather as our wedding was indoors but had the benefit of feeling outdoors due to all of the beautiful plant life, waterfall and garden like features that help decorate this truly stunning venue.

Jenni the wedding events and functions coordinator at Cloudland is a dream to work with. She goes above and beyond for you and is very flexible with your needs and any arising issues leading up to the big day. But more importantly we were blown away by how affordable and fair the price was. Cloudland really is a one-stop shop when it comes to hosting your wedding.

We had a large grooms party of 10 plus ourselves. Our groomsmaids were dressed in long black dresses, which were inspired by Charlotte’s bridesmaid look from the Sex and the City movie, and our groomsmen were in dark grey tailored suits. Both being hairdressers and doing a lot of shows and photo shoots we envisioned having an editorial feel to how we all looked.

We also had our niece in a light grey ruffled dress made out of tulle and she was so excited to have a train on her dress just like the big girls!

We all walked down the aisle paired off, hand in hand with 16 Strings quartet playing ‘I can’t help falling in love’ by Elvis.

16 Strings quartet are amazingly skilled and having them there made the whole ceremony experience feel so much more special.

Having someone play a song for you just feels so much more personal. We were absolutely blown away and so glad we made the choice to have a string quartet.

Our ceremony was sentimental, light hearted, fashionable and in part comical! This perfectly reflects our life together and our relationship, so it was very fitting and very ‘us’. During the ceremony there were both heartfelt tears and roars of laughter, we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Our Celebrant Jamie Eastgate from Brisbane City Celebrants was wonderful! He was professional, warm and caring. His ability to speak in front of everyone was perfect and eloquent.

Communication between us and Brisbane City Celebrants was regular and genuine. A personal and sincere interest in your life and how your wedding plans were coming together was apparent and appreciated during our correspondence leading up to our special day. We were so, so, so happy we went with Brisbane City Celebrants!

Our reception was very special to us, and a true reflection of us as a couple. We had a humorous dance entrance that we themed to Kylie Minogue (we’re kinda big fans haha!) followed by a Kylie Minogue impersonator, Riely Saville of EPIC creations who choreographed, performed and sourced the back up dancers for our wedding entrance and entertainment for our guests.

This being a gay wedding we couldn’t not feature the biggest Aussie gay icon (and our personal favourite) Kylie Minogue! Riely delivered an amazing performance along with her talented back up dancers and it was evident how much thought and research had gone in to this performance – We felt like Kylie was actually in the room!

With it being a gay wedding we also steered away from tradition, so instead of a bouquet toss we had a $200 Tiffany & Co. voucher toss and instead of a garter toss we had a $200 Flight Centre travel voucher toss. We had a professional DJ, Jaye from Explosive Entertainment play all throughout the night. Jaye is so much more than just a DJ, Jaye is a musical wizard! What he offers in the way of music and lighting and special effects that provide that all important wow factor is truly sensational.

He goes above and beyond for his clients and we were so impressed when he offered to stay a little longer so we could all dance the night away!

A special mention also to Di our Wedding Cake Maker from Cake Tiers and Sugar Blooms who created our 5 tier wedding cake, standing more than 40 inches tall which was served as dessert. Each tier had a butter cream centre and featured a different flavour so guests could swap flavours according to their favourite.

Di is nothing short of an artist and a true professional. She captures the details of your desired cake perfectly. We can’t recommend her highly enough, she is so skilled at making and decorating cakes that I would go as far as to say there is nothing she cannot do for you.

The videographer captured every aspect of our wedding perfectly for an amazing price so we could have a beautiful video keep sake of our big day! The team are extremely professional, humble and deliver amazing videos. We have had the opportunity of working with this videographer in the past so we were overwhelmed when he agreed to document and make our wedding video.

The food was sensational and the wine was flowing for an amazing night of dancing, fun and celebration of our commitment to each other – it was a perfect day and night!

When it came to choosing a photographer after much research we decided to book the very well known Studio Impressions. They have a long standing reputation within the wedding and photographic community for being the best. Gabe Viet was our photographer and he was amazing! He was attentive, unimposing and humble.

Our advice to other couples planning their wedding – Don’t cut any corners! You only want one wedding so do it exactly how you want. We also found it was great for everyone to have the ceremony and reception all at the one venue. Don’t take any gambles. Don’t select a service from a provider purely because it’s the cheapest, do your research and make sure you choose the best.

Just because one photographer offers you more for the same price as another who offers you less doesn’t by any means guarantee that you’re getting more for your money. At the end of the day if a photographer, a DJ, a venue or entertainer costs a few hundred dollars more and has a fantastic reputation, it often means they are worth it and you are likely to be guaranteed a perfect result.

We loved EVERYTHING about our special day!

Photography by Gabe Viet of Studio Impressions