Michael & Will: Saying ‘I Do’ in a beautiful Autumn ceremony

“Maya was holding a blue Tiffany box with a little jumpsuit that read Daddy, will you marry my other Daddy?”

Location Sassafras, VIC | Photographer LJM Photography

Tell us a little about how you met… We met online in 2004 (14 long years ago). We used to tell others we met through friends as ‘online’ seemed so out of the norm back then compared to today’s standards.

Tell us a little about your relationship... Michael and I (William) have both come from very supportive and accepting families. Being together for 14 years (feels like 50) we were already considered an old married couple amongst our friends and work colleagues. 4 years ago we started the process of starting our own rainbow family through surrogacy. We have a daughter Maya who is coming up to 3 years old, with another little bub on the way due in October 2018.

Give us a little insight into the proposal... Michael proposed to me (William). I was picked up at work by a suited driver, driving a Range Rover (anyone who knows me, rolls their eyes when they hear me talking about how I will one day own a Range Rover). Surprisingly, I was driven home to find Michael and Maya waiting for me with a picnic on the living room floor. Maya holding a blue Tiffany box with a little jumpsuit that read ‘Daddy, will you marry my other Daddy’. The answer was a yes before the box was opened.

When did you get married? Saturday, May 12th, 2018

Michael and Wills story continues below >

Was there a particular style to your wedding? Michael is obsessed with anything English and was adamant he wanted to wear an English made tweed 3-piece suit. Our theme of Autumn English Garden stemmed from that.

What was the primary influence behind your wedding day? After attending several weddings as guests, you form a much clearer idea of how you picture your own special day. We wanted to keep our wedding small and intimate with only immediate family and close friends present. This enabled us to really show how special each guest in attendance really meant to us. We wanted it to be informal and relaxed, so we had friends stay on the estate for a long weekend leading up to the day.

Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration? As we did all the planning, organising and setting-up ourselves (even down to setting up the tables at 5am on the day), we took a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. It’s a great resource to get inspiration and narrow down the ideas you have floating around in your head. We wanted to keep tables, flowers, and the ceremony area simple and let the fantastic venue speak for itself.

How did you choose your suppliers? We initially searched all our suppliers via google. We admit we took on board the reviews other people had left with their own experiences. With catering it was a no-brainer, the food we had during the tasting with Going Gourmet was just amazing, and the team were so excited to be part of a same-sex wedding.

When it came to choosing our celebrant and photographer the stakes were a little higher. It felt more like an interview process, but as soon as we spoke with Kate Morgan we knew she was the one we wanted to marry us. Her warm gentle nature and the fact that she was pro same-sex marriage was the perfect fit for us.

The one thing we knew we would never skimp on was the photographer. We went through the work of so many photographers before the one and only Lauren from LJM Photography jumped out, and the decision was said and done. We fell in love with her quirky point of view and her attention to the detail which forms so much of the day itself.

Did you face any challenges from suppliers? None whatsoever. However, we have to admit there was that little negative thought in the back of our minds, ‘will they be willing to be part of a same-sex wedding?’

Did you find it difficult to translate more common traditions into a ‘same-sex’ wedding? There were a few parts of the ceremony which we found to be old-fashioned and did not relate to who we were as a couple. With the help of Kate, our celebrant, she really enabled us to create a ceremony that fit us perfectly. Neither of us had best men but instead had our best women by our sides.

What was the most challenging thing about planning your wedding? With Michael being an avid writer of lists, and myself having slight OCD tendencies we had the whole planning stage down to an art form. The only stressful part of the entire thing was trying to keep the secret from Michael that one of his closest friends was flying in from the UK for the wedding. This little omission became a tremendous stress when it came to the seating plan.

Where did you spend your honeymoon? The honeymoon is currently on hold until our little bub arrives into the world. We have a trip to NYC planned for November 2018 (with the kids).

Any advice for other same-sex couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey? Our wise words of wisdom when it comes to planning a wedding is "always remember that if things don’t go perfectly, roll with it and have fun!" Standing up in front of the person you love, in front of family and friends that love and support you unconditionally, will be the most amazing experience you can imagine.