Against the city skyline on the rooftop of Melbourne’s Luminare, Andrew and Grant exchanged vows surrounded by their nearest and dearest on Saturday the 27th of October 2018.

Photographer Emily Howlett Photography | Venue Luminare, South Melbourne

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How and when did you meet? “Andrew and I first met in January 2016, on Andrew’s birthday. He had been celebrating with his friends and I guess I was at the after party, we stayed up most of the night and talked as we didn’t really know each other that well. We talked about Andrew’s upcoming move to Singapore and that he would be leaving in just one week time.

Skip forward to July 2016, I had quit my job and packed my bags to start which was going to be a long 10 months of flying back and forth between Melbourne and Singapore.”

Tell us a little about the earlier days of your relationship? “Our early days started in Singapore where Andrew was working, so life for myself was away from my family and friends, however, Andrew did have a great friendship group in Singapore. Since moving back to Melbourne our life has been full of adjusting with family and friends and since we’ve been home I’ve been the ultimate housewife!”

What does Marriage mean to you? “Marriage for us was really being able to be recognised where ever we can live and travel, and to have the same rights as everyone else. It’s also a great excuse to have a massive celebration.”

Who proposed and how? “Andrew proposed to me, it was cute and simple. I had just got home and was walking out of the bathroom. Andrew said ‘I think we should do this now’ and pulled out my 4.5 carat diamond set in platinum ring. Of course I said YES!”

When did you get married? “We got married on Saturday the 27th of October 2018.”

Andrew & Grant’s story continues below >

What was the main influence behind your wedding day? “It was just about bringing all our friends and family together and celebrating our love for each other.”

What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding? “A calm and simple energy and just being in the moment with each other.”

Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration? “PINTEREST – I had never used it before.”

How did you choose your suppliers? “I just went with my gut and found them all on Instagram.”

Any standout suppliers? “My flowers were the best and I loved them all.”

Did you find it difficult to translate more common traditions into a ‘same-sex’ wedding? “Andrew and I didn’t spend the night before together as he stayed at his mums house. I had all my GROOMSMAIDS stay with me and Andrew had his best man with him. Andrew waited for me to be walked down the aisle by my mum.”

What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding? “I didn’t realise you needed an MC until the week of the wedding, luckily Grant’s good friend Sally stepped up to the plate. Other than that I started planning at the start of 2018, my attitude was to not get stressed and just go with the flow – and don’t have a budget.”

Where did you spend your honeymoon? “We had a pre-wedding honeymoon and went in the winter of 2018. We visited Andrew’s family in Scotland as well as visiting Ireland, Italy and Spain.”

Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey? “Don’t let anything stress you and always remember why you’re doing all this planning for, start early and just go with the flow.”