Dulan and Nicholas: A Celebration of Everyone Who Shaped Their Love Story

Dulan and Nicholas first ‘officially’ met during lockdown in 2021, though they had crossed paths a couple of years earlier in a gym class without ever saying hello. Their first date was a simple walk around Centennial Park, meant to be a quick coffee but turning into three hours of conversation. What followed was a relationship that eventually led them to celebrate their wedding surrounded by the people who shaped their story.

Photographer Benedict Sutton | Location New South Wales, Australia

How and when did you meet?

Dulan and Nicholas: We met back in 2021 during lockdown! Well, technically, we met a couple of years earlier during a gym class (but neither of us said hello, haha!).

Tell us a little about that first time you met…

Dulan and Nicholas: Our first date was a walking date around Centennial Park. We had planned to get a quick coffee during our lunch break, but we ended up spending three hours together. The conversation was riveting: topics included Dulan's sore knee and Nick's dad having a shoulder replacement. Both of us found it hard to finish the date!

What was the first thing you noticed about each other?

Dulan: For me, the thing I noticed about Nick instantly was how he was quick-witted and funny. At first, I was terrified; I could not be the unfunny one in the relationship. But apart from his humour, his genuine interest and caring nature always shone through.

Nicholas: The first thing I noticed was Dulan's smile, but then that quickly turned to how at ease and comfortable he made me feel throughout the whole first date (which was great, because I was pretty nervous going into it). We spent three hours together, most of it in front of a swamp, but the time absolutely flew by.

Tell us about the standout moments in your relationship…

Dulan and Nicholas: We met in Sydney and spent our first few years together there. We eventually made the decision to move to Perth, which was incredibly daunting. While Nick's family was from there, Dulan knew no one else there. It was a really formative time in our relationship and helped us grow as a couple.

Have you ever faced any issues of non-acceptance?

Dulan: Both Nick and I have been incredibly fortunate with our respective families. Both have been so supportive of our relationship and have always wanted what is best for us. We don't take this for granted at all.

What does marriage mean to you?

Dulan: For Nick and me, marriage was really a way to symbolise our dedication to each other. We had already built a life together, so perhaps it made formal something we already had. It was the obvious next step for both of us from a really early stage. As well, getting married was a way to be able to celebrate our relationship with our loved ones.

Who proposed and how?

Nicholas: I proposed to Dulan during a trip to Copenhagen. I had previously lived here, and decided to propose on my favourite street in the city. All of the good spots were taken, so I panicked and ended up proposing in front of a bin. Very romantic. Luckily for us, there were a few onlookers, one of whom owned the local wine bar. She rushed back to her wine bar, came back, and gave us a beautiful bottle with some glasses to celebrate.

When did you get married?

16/08/2025.

What was the main influence behind your wedding day?

Dulan and Nicholas: We wanted our wedding day to be a celebration not just of us but of everyone who had been part of our love story. We wanted our guests to feel comfortable and for it to reflect us and our personalities.

What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?

Dulan and Nicholas: The most important thing for us was to make sure our loved ones attending the wedding had a fun, enjoyable time and that no one felt left out. It was really important to us that this not be just a celebration of us two, but of everyone who was attending.

Did you incorporate any family sentiments or traditions?

Dulan and Nicholas: For both of us, the journey of creating a wedding was new territory. We hadn't had many gay friends who had weddings, and so we weren't always sure what to do when it came to more traditional aspects. We started approaching it with this mentality: nothing about our wedding was 'traditional', so we just did what made sense to us. Our families were a big part of planning and organising the wedding. We wanted to make sure both of our parents were involved and that no one felt excluded.

Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration?

Dulan and Nicholas: Quite early one we read Theodore to find some inspiration of other gay weddings. This led us to find our suppliers, and we were able to start creating a vision for what we wanted. Ultimately, it meant something non-traditional, no black and white, only colour.

How did you choose your suppliers?

Nicholas: We had a lot of help from the lovely girls at Paloma. They were exceptional throughout the whole process and helped us navigate which suppliers to choose. A really important aspect of choosing the suppliers was that they had done LGBT weddings in the past or at least made it clear they were LGBT-friendly, which wasn't the case for all the vendors we considered. In addition, with Dulan being a person of colour, it was really important to us that our photographers and videographers had couples in the past who were also from varied backgrounds.

What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding?

Dulan and Nicholas: The most difficult aspect of planning the wedding was that it was happening in NSW, while we were based in Perth. However, our vendors made it so easy, especially our wedding planner, Brooke, at Paloma. The clear communication and calls really made that process much less daunting.

Where did you spend your honeymoon?

Dulan and Nicholas: We spent our honeymoon across three locations: (1) Menorca, (2) Mallorca and (3) Copenhagen. It was really important to us to pick a location that was gay friendly and somewhere where we would feel comfortable to enjoy such a special moment. Copenhagen was a must-do to almost have a full-circle moment.

Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
Dulan and Nicholas: Our advice would be to reach out to other couples, and in our case gay couples, who have navigated this in the past. If you find a vendor that you like, you should also ask them for suggestions. In addition, places like Theodore were so helpful for us, as it helped us dilute the vendor list to those that were gay friendly.

Dulan and Nicholas’ Team

Planning and Styling @paloma.eventco

Photography @benedictsutton

Videography @joyridefilms

Venue @redleafwollombi

Florals @ffoliar

Catering @ciaopepis

Music @thevintagestylus and @sydney_ensemble

Stationery @studioroux_

Celebrant @tamaracelebrant

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