Surrounded by their loved ones and the familiar warmth of her parents’ garden, Bridget and Frances took each other’s hands and, with a ring (or two), made it official! Their garden-party wedding included the most important details they wanted: their malamute Hunter and nods to those no longer with us. They finished the night off with a sword cake cutting and heart-warming conversations, all perfectly captured by Finding Happy Photography.

Who knew a Krispy Kreme doughnut travelling from mainland Australia down into Tasmania would change two people’s lives forever? Bridget certainly didn’t! “Bridget was picking her friend up from the airport, and her friend was bringing her Krispy Kreme doughnuts, which at the time weren’t available in Tasmania. Bridget’s friend insisted she come for a night out at Flamingos – a gay-friendly bar in Hobart that is no longer open,” they explained.

“Bridget really didn’t want to go out, but her friend held the doughnuts hostage! Fran also wasn’t planning on being out that night but, like Bridget, had some friends visiting from the mainland, so went out to Flamingos. As soon as Bridget saw Fran, she knew there was something special about her. Fran thought Bridget was gorgeous. They danced together, Bridget bought Fran a drink, and they exchanged numbers.
That was about 15 years ago! We were engaged for about 14 years before we finally decided it was time to get married!”

After 18 blissful months together, Fran and Bridget went out for a seemingly normal winery lunch… that included a handmade book. “Fran presented Bridget with a photo book she had made of our time together so far. On the last page, Fran had written a piece about spending the rest of their lives together. Fran then got down on one knee and proposed. Bridget, of course, said yes,” they shared.

“Although Fran had already proposed, Bridget wanted to somehow present Fran with her own engagement ring. On our second anniversary, we went to Coles Bay for a getaway. Originally the plan was to ‘propose’ at the lookout, but there were people everywhere! Ultimately, Bridget set up a camera on a timer to take a photo of us at Honeymoon Bay to capture the moment. She tested the photo first to make sure it looked good, and in typical Fran style, she exclaimed, ‘Just hurry up and take the bloody photo!!’ Despite Fran’s impatience, we got a beautiful photo that captures Bridget on one knee with the engagement ring and Fran’s surprised reaction.

Their garden party wedding took place in Bridget’s parents’ home, with views over the Derwent River and beautifully manicured gardens. “We decided to have the wedding there because not only are the gardens amazing, but we could have both the ceremony and reception there so guests didn’t have to worry about leaving for another venue,” Fran explained.

“We used flowers from Bridget’s parents’ garden for the table. Bridget’s mum grows dahlias, so we used those. A few days before the wedding, we decided we didn’t quite have enough – as some had died off prior to the wedding – so we sourced some flowers from a local grower in Taroona from Facebook Marketplace. We wanted pink and white tones to fit the garden-party vibe we were going for.”

Instead of a traditional aisle walk, Fran and Bridget walked out from the house into the gardens. Bridget had her dad accompany her into the ceremony, and Fran walked with her oldest son, Caleb. “We both walked out to a string version of Give Me Everything by Pitbull. It was special to us because that’s the song we first danced to on the night we met.”

Led by their celebrant Kath Tilly, Bridget and Frances’ ceremony was quick and casual, surrounded by their most loved ones. “We wrote our own vows, and neither of us could get through them without crying.”

Originally, the pair had picked out more casual dresses, but when Bridget decided her dress wasn’t ‘dressy’ enough for this special occasion, she found a new look from Still White. This made Fran feel like her dress didn’t match Bridget’s new look, so she found her own second-hand piece from Marketplace.

They also had Pink Buns provide all of this delicious food for their guests, serving casually straight from the tent. “We engaged them because we wanted to have a food van/tent and party-style food, not a formal sit-down meal. The menu included vegetable dumplings, chicken and pork bao buns, panko-crumbed prawns, salt-and-pepper squid, and chips. Guests could go up to the tent and ask for whatever they wanted. The food was amazing, and the casual nature was a hit. Pink Buns were so easy to deal with!”

As it was a home wedding, most of their decor and styling was DIY’d! They thrifted all the furniture from Facebook Marketplace, with an added lick of paint wherever needed. The lawn games each had their own custom sign made of reclaimed timber – and Bridget went as far as to custom-make a wedding-themed mini golf set! “Bridget 3D printed chairs which matched the chairs we used in our ceremony, as well as a bride and bride statue. Jill made some paper flowers to decorate this. We also sourced a chandelier off Marketplace and hung that in the carport area, as well as a gorgeous pink chaise lounge we put in the garden,” Frances shared.

“Our cake was from the supermarket, and we just decorated it ourselves with flowers from our garden. We had kept the ‘B’ and ‘F’ cake toppers from our engagement party, so we used these too. Jill and Richard’s garden is amazing all year round, but they took extra special care in the months leading up to the wedding to make sure it was just right.”

The one piece of advice Bridget and Frances want to share with those planning their own celebrations right now is this: “Make sure the wedding reflects you both and do what feels right, not what you ‘should’ do.”

Will from Finding Happy Photography was the perfect photographer to capture Frances and Bridget’s garden party wedding. He understood their vision from the get-go and slotted right into the celebrations. “Even though we don’t like having our photos taken, Will was able to get us to laugh, and we didn’t have to pose much. We barely knew he was there, and yet the photos show he was everywhere,” they explained.

“There’s one photo of us both holding hands and walking around the side of the house. It’s just such a lovely, relaxed photo and really sums up the day. We also absolutely love the photos of us both with Hunter. In one, he’s looking up at Bridget, and you can feel the love.”

Another great benefit to having their garden party wedding was being able to include the details that mattered most to Bridget and Frances. Like Hunter, their Alaskan Malamute. “He is a huge part of our life, and it was so important to have him there on the day.” Bridget shared.

“Fran’s dad also unfortunately passed away three months into our relationship, and it was important for us to include him in some way in the wedding. Fran made a bracelet using ribbon and a photograph of her dad that she wore on the day.”

A fun tradition from Bridget’s family that they kept alive in their celebrations was cutting the cake with an heirloom sword! “The sword was her grandfather’s ceremonial sword from his time in the army,” Frances explained.

“We had a buffet, which, along with having some decorative and practical items such as napkins and flowers, also had a lot of items from family members. We had photos from our parents’ and grandparents’ weddings, vintage Wedgwood plates from the 1950s that were used at Jill and Richard’s wedding, a brass carriage clock that belonged to Bridget’s grandparents, vases from both sides of the family, and a crystal bowl that Richard gave Jill for their 15th wedding anniversary. Nearly every item had a story behind it, which we loved.”

Congratulations, Frances and Bridget, on taking this next step and for sharing your story with us! Thanks to Finding Happy Photography for capturing it all.