Daniel & Rory: These handsome gents got engaged on the same day Australia changed its marriage laws

These handsome gents got engaged on the same day Australia changed their marriage laws - 7th December 2017. Daniel and Rory then celebrated their relationship in a picture perfect wedding at Centennial Vineyards, Bowral in New South Wales.

Location Centennial Vineyards, NSW | Photographer Hilary Cam

How did you meet? We met through a mutual friend in 2005 at a musical theatre performance of ‘Altar Boyz’. Never at the time did we imagine we would be the boys together at the altar getting married.

Tell us a little about the early days of your relationship? All our friends and colleagues have been very accepting of our relationship. It took Daniel a couple of years until his immediate family learnt Rory was more than just his flatmate, but fortunately our families remain very loving and welcoming of both of us.

Tell us about the proposal? Rory popped the question to Daniel the same day Australia’s Parliament voted ‘Yes’ to same-sex marriage: 7th December, 2017. It was all very fun & spontaneous. We went to the local for dinner to celebrate the day as proud gay Australians and a newly engaged couple.

And then there was the wedding, when was that? We married on the 9th June, 2018 at the magnificent Centennial Vineyards, Bowral. The rustic country setting of the restaurant and the sweeping valleys of the vineyards were a beautiful backdrop for the day.

Daniel & Rory’s story continues below >

Was there a theme to your wedding? Our theme for the special day was simple: elegant, classy but with a masculine flair. Our stylist summed it up perfectly: “A modern masculine love.”

What was important to you for your wedding day? Our goal was to get both our families together for their first time to enjoy our celebration along with our friends. With plenty of advice along the way, the best we heard was to focus on food & wine and good music. The rest all followed.

Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration? Daniel found most of his inspiration on Instagram & Pinterest. He honestly doesn’t know how he could’ve done without it.

How did you choose your suppliers? Surprisingly for Rory, Daniel shortlisted many of our key suppliers directly following his Instagram research.

Tell us a little about your overall wedding planning experience in regards to being a same-sex couple in a predominantly ‘Bride & Groom’ saturated industry? Many suppliers were sincerely excited to get on board. We all had many laughs with the terminologies, and adopted the double entendre “groomscrew” in lieu of “bridal party”. It was the first gay wedding for our venue and we made many productive suggestions of where their paperwork could improve but it was all in good fun with no offence taken.

Did you find it difficult to translate more common traditions into a ‘same-sex’ wedding? Deciding who went first down the aisle was based on Daniel’s ego – insisting on making the final grand entrance!

What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding? The production management aspect was fine for us. Probably our greatest anxieties were the classics – key decisions on the seating plan and weather contingency. We also spent a good amount of time on music choices.

Where did you spend your honeymoon? We had a mini-moon in the Margaret River region of Western Australia.

Any advice for other same-sex couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the wedding journey? Understanding your suppliers can deal with problems in their domains – they’re the experts – will reduce many of your troubles. Be up front and proud to suppliers about the fact it’s a same sex wedding, you can quickly get a vibe from those who should and shouldn’t be hired. All our suppliers had extensive wedding experience and made the process a breeze. Enjoy the planning and love each other!