Brendon and Joshua: Thanks To Instagram
It is thanks to the popular social networking app Instagram that Brendon and Joshua are now together. After stumbling across each other's profiles and chatting via Instagram for about a week, Brendon and Joshua decided to meet in person, and as Joshua tells us, "I have to be honest, it was love at first sight."
Photographer oliversmithphoto | Location Lake Crackenback Resort, NSW
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How and when did you meet?
Joshua: Interestingly, we met through Instagram. This is always a unique yet exciting thing people find out about us. Let’s just say, I couldn’t be more thankful Brendon stumbled across my profile, and here we are.
Tell us a little about the first time you met?
Joshua: Brendon and I had been chatting for around a week when we decided to meet in person. We found such a strong interest in each other and our lives very quickly so meeting up was inevitable. It was mid-October 2014 in Brisbane and I have to be honest it was love at first sight, but in a way that is refreshing as it was so unexpected. My heart wanted him, even to this day I often catch myself wondering how we ever became so lucky. Each day together is better than the last. Since being married this has only personified our relationship and the love we share.
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Brendon: His green eyes. It was a photo of him standing outside of Brisbane City Hall on Instagram that I first noticed, white shirt, dark jeans and hands in his pocket. He had a sly grin on his face. The first time that we met in person I’ll never forget the feeling I had looking at him.
Joshua: Those eyes, that smile. I mean, they’re impossible to avoid. Just look at them. Swoon! He carried himself with such charm and I was simply in awe of this man in front of me, and to this day I still am. In every way, I knew it had to be him, there was no one else for me. Not then, not ever.
What are some of the standout moments in your relationship?
Brendon: Watching Joshua learn to ski for the first time, his reaction when he got his first kitten, the moment he realised I was proposing. His face at the airport when I returned from deployment to Iraq. I could keep going…?
Joshua: There are too many moments and memories to list! Every day is a standout as we share many common interests and love for the same things such as being active, travelling and getting away as often and as long as we can. We are very grateful to be able to spend each day with our best friend. Of course, our engagement, which you’ll read about below, was beyond a dream. We are both in the Royal Australian Navy and it has strengthened our relationship tenfold as we have a mutual understanding of what this means and also ensures we are 100% supportive of each other’s careers. We are always there for one another no matter what.
Have you ever faced any issues of non-acceptance?
Brendon: I grew up in a very small rural area in Queensland, and I was the first out gay kid in my high school. There has been a number of times in my young life where I’ve not been accepted because of my sexuality. Moving from the small town to a bigger city after high school was certainly eye-opening, and I’ve had little issues since.
Joshua: For me, I have been very fortunate being accepted with all I have done and all that I am. I know this is not the case for everyone, so, I am very thankful to be supported by my family, friends, colleagues and people in society.
What does marriage mean to you?
Brendon: To me it is a partnership with an equal, someone you trust and someone you always guarantee will be there for you no matter what…even if you do eat the last Tim Tam.
Joshua: Marriage is a coming together as two equals in a love-filled and enriching relationship. It reinforces the bond that is shared, the support and encouragement of each other and provides a safe place you can always call home no matter what life is dealing you at any time. It’s the next chapter we write together on our life-long journey. Truthfully, it is one of the most amazing things we have done.
Who proposed and how?
Joshua: Well, Brendon did beat me to the punch, however 07 January 2018 was a day that is just as magical as our wedding day. Brendon brought to life a dream of mine, seeing New York covered in snow, yet he went above and beyond to have a photographer in the helicopter we were in flying above my favourite city on Earth. He even had a code word with the pilot that was his cue to ask me to spend the rest of my life with him. Yes, was the only answer I’ve ever had and would ever have.
When did you get married?
14th September 2019.
What was the main influence behind your wedding day?
Brendon: I had seen Lake Crackenback online when I was in my early twenties and had dreamed of being married there one day, the grounds covered in snow and me holding my Husbands hand as we walked back towards our friends after saying yes. It was just lucky that I was posted with the Defence Force nearby and I took Josh for a drive to see it when we were thinking of places – he fell in love with it instantly.
Joshua: We absolutely adore the snow and colder weather, so it was a no-brainer for us to have our wedding in the Snowy Mountain region. Lake Crackenback Resort is located in a gorgeous part of Australia and exceeded our expectations.
What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?
Brendon: I wanted the people who meant the most to me, the friends and family who had grown up with me to be there. I wanted them to be able to share the special day with us whilst also being reminded why they were special to us too.
Joshua: The most important thing was to have our nearest and dearest loved ones there with on us on what is one of our most significant and memorable days. We wanted each of them to have the best time and enjoy every minute of it. It was about having everyone together and sharing that day as one big family.
Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration?
Joshua: Inspiration came from our travels to America and Canada during their winter season being covered in snow, in particular places such as Whistler, Banff and Yosemite National Park. We wanted the theme to capture this atmosphere in as many ways as we could. We had snow-top mountains as a backdrop, twig and pine cone centrepieces finished with hanging tea light candles, a colour palette to compliment the scenery and all of the wedding party attire give the impression of warmth in a cooler climate.
How did you choose your suppliers?
Brendon: We had received recommendations through the venue on a few different local suppliers who could deliver the dream we had in our minds. We stalked their social media profiles and read their reviews from others who had used their services to make our decision.
Our photographer Oliver Smith was a random advert on Facebook, and actually the only photographer we met. We decided to meet in person at a Bar on the north side of Sydney and we all hit it off immediately. He was so excited about our vision for the wedding, and whilst we were his first gay male couple, we had absolutely no concerns after seeing some of his previous work.
Joshua: Choosing local to the area and around Jindabyne was also a factor for choosing some of the suppliers and we couldn’t have chosen any better.
Any standout suppliers?
Brendon: Everyone at the wedding absolutely LOVED our DJ, DJ Sue. She’s a lady in her older years but damn could she hold a room. Immediately after the speeches she had the entire guest list on the dance floor.
Joshua: DJ Sue was a dream, and to some extent the life of the party. Our cake was also a hit with us and our guests too. Erin from Cake Tin took every request on board and it turned out beautifully! It looked better than we had hoped, the flavours were so tasty and we even saved the top tier to have on our upcoming one-year anniversary in September 2020.
Did you find it difficult to translate more common traditions into a ‘same-sex’ wedding?
Brendon: The only difficulty I had was wondering what to call our ‘groomsmaids’ haha!
Joshua: I found this to be an exciting part of the process to be honest. Knowing a same-sex marriage, in a nut shell, is traditionally very different, this allowed us to be creative and be very unique in the way each part of the wedding unfolded.
Any surprises on your wedding day? Or anything that didn’t go to plan?
Joshua: The day could not have unfolded any better. It was perfection. Being able to relive that day over and over again would be incredible. We are so grateful our photographer, Oliver from olivesmithphoto, captured every moment. Every single photo truly allows us to go back to each part of that day and feel what we felt in those moments. We were incredibly fortunate to have our happily ever after exceed all of our expectations.
What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding?
Brendon: The guest list – we both have large extended families and didn’t want to insult anyone by not inviting them. It was truly hard to keep it to the original numbers we suggested so as not to blow the budget.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Brendon: We had to wait a couple months because of work, but it was the best decision we had made. We did an around the world holiday visiting 15 countries over about a 5-week period, mainly through Western Europe.
Joshua: We love to travel, and overseas travel has become a yearly hobby of ours. It was only natural this would form part or all of our honeymoon. We had an incredible time with tonnes more memories added to our story.
Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
Brendon: Have patience and don’t sweat the small things – remind yourselves that it’s your day to do as you please. Don’t worry about making anyone else happy! Pick all of your favourite things.
Joshua: Enjoy the process! Build ideas off each other’s interests and likes and tailor that to what you both want. After all it is your day to express yourself through every detail, be that a particular colour for a vest, the walk down the aisle or every song choice throughout the night. Make it yours, make it special and fun, feel every emotion that the day brings.
The team behind Brendon and Joshua
Photographer Oliver Smith from oliversmithphoto
Venue Lake Crackenback Resort, NSW, Australia
Suits Custom made from Joe Button
Accessories Burberry scarves, Daniel Wellington watches,Windsor Smith Shoes, OTAA bowtie, cufflinks and lapel pin
Centrepieces and Foliage CH Floral Designs
Cake Erin from Cake Tin
Celebrant Michelle “Shellibrant” Bailey
DJ/Music Sue Freeman from Runaround DJs
PhotoBooth Party Booth Frolics
Favours Milkshake Candles
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