It is a love story that was 20 years in the making, and finally after making their relationship official in 2015, Karen and Jane celebrated their love and made their life long commitment in September of 2018 at the stunning Wallalong House.

Venue Wallalong House, Wallalong | Photographer Popcorn Photography

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How and when did you meet? We met at our workplace 20 years ago. We felt a mutual attraction and connection to each other, but the timing was not right. In 2015 our stars aligned, we had our first date and have been inseparable since… the rest is history!!!

Tell us a little about the early days of your relationship… Our family, friends and work colleagues were over the moon to hear we were “an item” and very supportive in every way. We are blessed to have had the love and support of our 4 children, parents and siblings, we have never taken this for granted. From the very early days of our relationship we have always felt very comfortable with each other, we have no doubt we were always meant for each other.

What does marriage mean to you? Marriage means everything to us as a devoted couple. It is a commitment we have made for life, to stand by one another throughout life’s journey. Marriage legally formalises our love and commitment to each other for all to see and accept.

Who proposed and how? Karen proposed to Jane on the 15th November 2017, the day the Yes vote was announced. It was a very emotional end to a very exciting and emotional day. A beautiful moment we will both never forget and Jane said “yes”.

When did you get married? We were married on Friday 28th September 2018, it was a magical day.

Karen & Jane’s story continues below →

What was the main influence behind your wedding day? Our desire to have our wedding day in a beautiful serene, peaceful and natural setting. We wanted a private magical place to share our special day with our nearest and dearest family and friends, we also wanted the best of food and wine to share.

What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding? Having our family and closest friends share our amazing wedding day and have them witness our exchange of vows to confirm our love and commitment to each other.

Where did you find the bulk of your ideas? We had collected our own thoughts and ideas about most aspects of planning our day, we gained other ideas from magazines and google searches but used no one in particular.

How did you choose your suppliers? Our venue owner was able to help us with sourcing some suppliers which made the planning process a lot easier. Other suppliers were found through internet searches.

Any standout suppliers? Our venue Wallalong House, caterers Restaurant Mason and photographers Popcorn Photography were all amazing. Bernadette and all her staff from Wallalong House were simply incredible and ensured our day was perfect in every way. The catering from Restaurant Mason was absolutely delicious and to die for………our guests are still raving about it !!!! and every moment of our day was captured beautifully by Meredith and Keegan from Popcorn Photography.

Our celebrant Sandi Shaw-Falcioni set the scene by bringing her extra special touch to our special day, spending the time to build a personal connection with the both of us in the lead up and performing our ceremony with sincerity, humour and grace

Did you find it difficult to translate more common traditions into a “same-sex” wedding? We were not concerned about traditions on our wedding day. Our 4 children Ben, Elijah, Ashleigh and Isabella preceded us to our place of marriage, weaving through our guests, the girls went first, then the boys and then we followed hand in hand. It was important to us to write our own vows and our sons were our ring bearers, our daughters read a significant poem during the ceremony. Karen’s sister Jennifer and Jane’s brother Paul were our witnesses. We lit candles in love and memory of our deceased parents whose presence was very much missed on the day.

What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding? We can honestly say we had no issues or difficulties in planning our wedding day. We enjoyed the planning and preparation process together and all our suppliers could not have been more helpful or accommodating. Our wedding day went absolutely seamlessly and we found the lead up very exciting

Where did you spend your honeymoon? We spent an amazing 3 weeks of total relaxation and immersion in each other in Thailand, visiting Bangkok, Chang Mai and Koh Samui.

Any advice for couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey? Enjoy and soak up every minute of the planning process and the lead up to your special day. Stand by your choices, make your day exactly what you both wish for as a couple.