We're celebrating 1 year since Australia said 'YES' with this beautiful shoot
To celebrate the first anniversary of Australia saying ‘YES’ to love, we showcase this impeccably styled shoot by none other than two of our favourite Queensland based wedding suppliers - Mondo Floral Designs and CL Weddings.
Photography Studio Impressions | Location Spicers Peak Lodge
-
Today marks exactly one year since Australia said 'YES' to Marriage Equality. What a year it has been, with so many SS couples now legally saying 'I Do' and much of the wedding industry embracing all couples with love and support.
To celebrate the first anniversary, we showcase this impeccably styled shoot by none other than 2 of our favourite Queensland based wedding suppliers - Mondo Floral Designs and CL Weddings. The two very talented ladies behind these businesses are known to go above and beyond with their work, creating the most divine weddings for all their couples.
This shoot was created to celebrate that love really is just love, combining their strengths to create a concept that is unique and truly beautiful.
Both ladies, Terrianne from Mondo Floral Designs and Carly from CL Wedding - give us an insight into why they styled the way they did and what was important to them regarding the look and feel of this inspired wedding setting.
The shoot features Brisbane based inspirational couple Matt Joudo and Taylor Fielding. A couple that has also felt passionately about Marriage Equality and share with us the story of their relationship.
Continue Reading Below >
The Concept
CL Weddings
"My vision for this styled shoot was to partner contemporary and modern, with clean lines and a dark sleek colour palette, while still adding that touch of traditional wedding elegance hence the use of our white floor length linen. The olive napkin was my muse really, I wanted to create a setting that had even balance of masculine and feminine colours, with texture, layers and sophisticated style. The freestanding canopy that housed the dining experience framed the space beautifully, still providing an alfresco experience with a touch a structure of timber to add that masculinity and an organic texture to the style.
For me, the concept that all same-sex weddings are flamboyant and wild in crazy ass colours is so outdated and arguable, for this shoot I wanted to create a real glimpse of what an intimate stylish affair would be for two people in love, elements that showcase them as a couple and their individual style." - Carly CL Weddings
Mondo Floral Design
"The timber structure became the frame for the creation of an overhead garden of foliage, unstructured and organically placed above the guests. Touching on sage grey and forest green foliage accents, we created a hedge of greenery above and throughout the installation white phalaenopsis orchids cascaded through parts of the design. The greenery was the hero, the orchids representing the sophistication and intimacy that the setting was designed for. Matt black vases with simple white orchids were placed down the table to accent the black and white style and add texture and flow to the tablescape. I love the impact of the collaboration of two primary colours against the white linen, it’s modern and sophisticated, the impact was dramatic without being ostentatious and perfectly aligned for the brief of the day. We loved everything about this shoot, these two handsome gents were a dream to work with and the greatest compliment we had was their love of our partnered concept, the refined style, intimate setting and urbane touches was exactly how they imagined their celebration to be." Terrianne Mondo Floral Design
The Couple
Matt Joudo & Taylor Fielding
Tell us about how and when you met? M- This is my favourite story to tell, I was heading to the gym when my best girl friend called to say she had a terrible night duty and needed breakfast with me. I met her at my favourite little breaky spot! As soon as I walked into the café I was immediately drawn to this handsome young man, who was sitting there at breakfast at 7am, super happy, loud and bubbly. My friend continuously demanded my attention when I drifted my eyes onto him. Later that day, I kept thinking about him, and pinched myself for not saying hello, I was very shy. I went onto Instagram as I saw him taking a picture of his breakfast, I found the café, clicked the tagged pictures, and there he was Taylor Fielding. I immediately commented on his picture as we had the EXACT same breakfast 😊. He replied straight away, so I slid into his DMs and asked him for coffee. We had coffee almost every morning for weeks, before we started to meet for lunches and then dinner. I met his entire friend circle before we even kissed!. I get butterflies talking about it.
In terms of sexuality, did you encounter any difficulties around acceptance? Not only with your relationship, but also personally? I (Matt) struggled with my sexuality for a very long time. I am from a very religious family, who I love and adore, I had a very fortunate upbringing, however when it came to my sexuality it was a completely different story. I knew that if I was to come out, I would lose them indefinitely. This personally affected me, as my family meant the world to me. Four years on, I still have difficulties with my family, but I am living my true life, the way that I truly am, I am gay. Finding Taylor has been so refreshing, he has a very supportive family which makes me feel whole.
How has your relationship developed over the years? I still cant believe we have been together for almost four years. To be completely honest, our relationship has been extraordinary, as the years go on we get stronger and stronger. Sure we fight from time to time, but passionate people will fight. The important thing is how quickly we solve the dispute and move on. We have a rule that we MUST go to sleep happy, with a kiss and a hug.
What’s your relationship secret? I don’t think we have a specific secret. Something that I strongly believe in is open communication. Without communication you formulate thoughts and feelings that may be untrue. As soon as I have an issue or concern, I tell him, and he communicates back.
Has life for you changed since the Marriage laws changed ? I didn’t think Marriage Equality would really affect me, it’s been a life long battle for me, I just didn’t think it would happen. When the law passed, I was so emotional. I finally felt accepted, although my family feel different, having the majority of Australian’s saying yes made it all ok. I finally felt welcome and equal to everyone else.
Let’s talk weddings… What’s your idea of the perfect wedding? I think my idea of the perfect wedding is having all my beautiful friends and family there, I have ideas of a long table, maybe in a vineyard with fairy lights overhead. Beautiful native flowers and WHITE, I am obsessed with white.
You worked with some incredible wedding suppliers on this Spicers Peak shoot… what was the one thing you loved the most? The suppliers at the Spicers shoot were incredible! From the stunning table designs, to the fantastic photographer, they all made us feel completely comfortable but also personable. The one thing I loved was how they represented us as a couple.
Any wedding plans yourself? ;) Hahah I was waiting for this one… you never know, watch this space 😉..
