A wedding that isn’t a wedding? When it came down to it, all Annie and Luke wanted for their big day was an amazing celebration, and in fact, I know my words won’t even do it justice, so I’ll let them explain it. “Imagine you’re attending an event hosted by Elton John with guests like 70’s era Cher, Harry Styles, Barbie, Billy Porter, David Bowie and Michelle Obama (we love a good power suit). A festival of colour, glitter diamanté encrusted cowboy boots but make it FASHION HUNNYYY. Gender creative/non-conforming is encouraged.”

And let’s just say, with all the glitter, colour and fun you could pack into one day, this is one New Years Eve celebration that Annie and Luke, and their guests are sure not to forget anytime soon. With Kelsea Midson behind the camera, this was less about making it official (in fact, Annie and Luke didn’t get legally married) and more about celebrating their life together.

The couple met at the school they were both working at, remembers Annie, “we met at work. Luke is a teacher and I was a teachers’ aide assigned to his class. Our first time meeting outside of work was for trivia, and then we started playing Pokémon Go together (lol).” The proposal at home, and very special, while still being very them “Luke proposed to me in a pillow fort decked out in fairy lights in our lounge room whilst watching the Wedding Singer and eating Mexican cuisine.”

My mum and I collected rose petals throughout the year to make the confetti, and made confetti cones out of metallic craft paper. At midnight we all had handheld confetti cannons for our midnight countdown.”

Annie and Luke chose the beautiful Sandridge Estate for their wedding, sharing “We wanted somewhere large that could host both the ceremony and reception. We also liked that it could cater to any kind of weather without needing a last minute marquee. We also loved how spacious the shed was and that it was pre-decked out with fairy lights, and that there was no curfew!
Another big reason for us choosing this location was that it included the glamping village for 2 nights so that our wedding party and guests could stay there too. As most of our guests are from the mainland this was important!”

The couple opted for just two flower arrangements. “The only flowers we had were two wall art pieces custom made by Everbloome in shades of pink” explains Annie, “the bridesmaids carried bubble bazookas down the aisle and I opted for no bouquet as I was being walked down with both my parents.”

The couple had their wedding party – which included their children, nieces and nephews and dear friends all wearing bright and beautiful colours.

Both Annie and Luke walked down the aisle on the arms of their parents. They played “Wannabe” by The Spice Girls for their wedding party and “Lovely” by Billie Eilish as they and their children walked down the aisle.

Yes it was a wedding, but Annie & Luke didn’t actually have a legal ceremony. “We chose not to get “legally” hitched as the institution of marriage itself has historically and continues to harm and oppress women.” They explain ” We just wanted a special commitment ceremony with a party to celebrate our love.”

“We loved having our friends and family all play such integral parts of our ceremony” remembers Annie. “Two of Luke’s closest friends “mulli” and “poodles” were our flower boys and celebrants, running the ceremony for us. Our nieces and nephews walking our kids down the aisle and reading out things they had written themselves were so special to us.”

It was important to Annie & Luke, that their ceremony was relaxed, but that it also involved their children. They share “We wanted our ceremony to be joyous, colourful and warm. We wanted everyone to feel comfortable, happy and relaxed.
We allowed our kids and other children to mill about as they wished, playing with the bubble bazookas and bubble machine.”

For the readings, Annie shares “Ellie  read out a Winnie The Pooh quote, Grayson read out a quote from Twilight “About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him—and I didn’t know how potent that part might be—that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.” Joey read out a poem he wrote himself and Paddy performed a rap he wrote himself which ended with “now we’re at this fancy wedding, but patriarchal slavery is not what they’re gettin’!”

That beautiful gown? Annie found it at Selkie. She tells “I wanted something unique and fun but still “bridal”. I loved the puffy sleeves and flowing train. I wore multicoloured Swarovski earrings and matching necklace, and rainbow metallic platform heels from Nasty Gal. I later changed my shoes to platform lilac crocs.”

The best way to end your wedding vows? Just ask Annie! “I ended my vows with Cardi B’s  line from WAP “Make it cream, make me scream, out in public, make a scene. I don’t cook, I don’t clean, but let me tell you I got this ring!”

“The whole vibe of our day in general was so fun, loving and vibrant. I loved how much our guests got into the theme, and said that they had so much fun with their outfits and dressing however they wanted to. We loved having everyone make the trip down for our day (one of Luke’s brothers even made the trip from Delhi, India!) and putting in much effort with their outfits. A lot of people reached out of their comfort zone which we appreciated a lot!”

What better way to celebrate your brand new status as newlyweds than with icecream? Annie and Luke hired Sweet Treats Ice Cream to bring the goods. Remembers Annie “Luke was very clear that we MUST have an ice cream truck. It was so cute for photos and was a massive hit with all the guests – especially the kids.”

The couple’s photographer remains one of their stand-out vendors. “Kelsea was incredible. everyone loved her and found her so friendly and professional. I got some photos back the next morning and could not be happier with what I have received so far. She has captured our day so incredibly well and made us all feel so comfortable!”

Advice from Annie and Luke to you? “Don’t feel like you need to include every little detail that lots of people seem to – most of it doesn’t matter! FOOD and drink are the most important things to the guests, as well as FUN! Have fun with it and do what YOU want for your day, not what you think other people want. Release your inner child!”

The signage was all created by Annie herself. “I (Annie) have my own small art business (Anniemal Art) and did our wedding poster to welcome guests myself. I modelled it off some old Elton John and David Bowie concert posters and some images found on Pinterest. I also drew up our drinks list with some artwork of Cher dancing and disco balls for our DIY cocktail bar that had the option of being non-alcoholic too.”

The reception was a DIY affair, all decorated by Annie and Luke. “We did our decorations with streamers, mylar paper, tulle, colourful candles, a bubble machine, a smoke machine and a blow-up glitter pool filled with iridescent cellophane. We had a  hot pink LED sign that said “til death do us party”, we used Luke’s guitar case as our wishing well,  We had a pinata filled with candy, condoms and sex toys.”

And of course, you expect all the fun details and Annie & Luke made plenty – including a glitter bar! “We built a glitter bar with body glitter, makeup, wigs, accessories and diamantés was set up to help people look “fabulous”. This was a hit with the kids and kept them all super busy and entertained for hours.”

Guests enjoyed a buffet dinner catered by P&W Catering and Condiments, of course, accompanied by ice cream truck Sweet Treats Ice Cream. Share Annie and Luke, “our food vendor P&W Catering and Deanna and her partner from Sweet Treats Ice Cream were both so lovely and helpful, even creating a last-minute cake for us as our planned one never turned up!”

Not so bad for a stand-in wedding cake right? Remembers Annie “Our cake didn’t turn up! Our food vendors and the people running the icecream truck came together to save the day with a cake made of doughnuts, icecream, fairy floss and two fizzers as the bride and groom!”

And for the reception fun? The couple both changed into something a little comfier, says Annie “At the reception I wore head to toe Dyspnea. Matching fuchsia sequinned gloves, dress, robe and corset. Pink is my favourite colour and I’m a massive fan of anything sparkly! I also believe strongly in #freethenip so I opted for the dress to be unlined. For our first dance and beyond, Luke wore a “be kind” t-shirt by kind is cool and a fuchsia Dyspnea skirt to match Annie. We also both wore socks with each other’s faces printed onto them for after the ceremony.” The first dance song, of course, fit right in with the mood – “Hallucinate” by Dua Lipa.

Congratulations on your explosion of colour wedding Annie and Luke! What a beautiful personal story we are so honoured to share. Thank you both and thank you to Kelsea Midson for sharing this fun celebration with us.