Gary and Tim: Autumn in the Country
It was a classic country wedding for Gary and Tim who married in the renowned Central Victorian country town of Daylesford. A work Christmas party in 2014 had brought Gary and Tim together, and five years later these two gents decided that they would make it forever.
Photographer Katie Harmsworth | Venue Sault Daylesford
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How and when did you meet?
Tim: We met at a work Christmas party, it was December 2014.
Tell us a little about the first time you met?
Tim: Gary and I met at a Grill’d Christmas Party, Gary was wearing a whole lot of blue sequins and feathers, and I was dressed as Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes from TLC. Yes, this event was themed!
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Gary: It was hard to miss Tim in his see-through crop-top and face paint.
Tim: Gary was literally wearing the most sequins and feathers I had ever seen outside of a Spotlight store.
Tell us about the standout moments in your relationship?
Gary: For me, it’s the little things. I’m always struck by how many people mention what a great team Tim and I are. The moments when we’re working together, be it entertaining, babysitting, or anything else really, are my favourites. Tim really is the best teammate you could ask for.
Tim: Also, moving into our first place together was great, setting up a home and adding a cat to the family was definitely something we remember fondly.
“Marriage to Gary and I was an incredibly important step in our relationship. It is something that we both wanted since we were young, and something that we both felt we would never have. ”
Have you ever faced any issues of non-acceptance?
Gary: We have both been incredibly lucky with our friends and family being incredibly supportive. It was overwhelming at the wedding to see just how supportive our families were. Both of our Dads, and Tim’s brothers, gave incredibly moving speeches that had the whole room wishing they’d brought tissues.
Tim: I grew up in rural Victoria, and despite having super supportive friends and family, there were many times where I faced homophobic behaviour, both from people I knew and strangers. Growing up queer in rural communities can be incredibly difficult, I was just lucky I had amazing parents who allowed me the opportunity to move to Melbourne when I was 18.
What does marriage mean to you?
Tim: Marriage to Gary and I was an incredibly important step in our relationship. It is something that we both wanted since we were young, and something that we both felt we would never have. When the law changed in 2017 it was a powerful moment for us, it meant that we could finally celebrate our love and have it legally recognised.
Gary: I didn’t realise going in just how emotional we would be. For me, I think that my emotions were heightened not only because I was getting to marry my soulmate, but also because it had always felt like I would never have that. It wasn’t lost on us how lucky we were to be able to get married, there are still so many LGBTQ people around the world who are not afforded that luxury. The whole day felt really significant and important.
Who proposed and how?
Gary: Neither of us proposed technically, it was something we had been talking about for a long time, both of us sharing ideas of what we thought our wedding day would be like.
It happened when we were in the car driving home after we had just bought our house, and we made the decision then that we were ready for the next step. We celebrated the occasion by buying each other ‘engagement watches’!
When did you get married?
Saturday 25th May, 2019.
Gary & Tim’s story continues below ↓
What was the main influence behind your wedding day?
Tim: A relaxed wintery country wedding, with incredible food and wine.
Gary: ...and 90’s pop and RnB on the dance floor.
What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?
Tim: Just having all the people that we loved in the room with us to celebrate.
Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration?
Gary: We spent a lot of time scrolling through Instagram, which is when we found Mr Theodore!
How did you choose your suppliers?
Tim: We made a lot of our decisions based on our first interaction with the suppliers. First impressions are super important to us both, and it was important that we got along well with our suppliers.
Gary: We also wanted to try and use lots of local suppliers as we really (and stereotypically) love Daylesford and the surrounding area.
Any standout suppliers?
Gary: Absolutely! Our photographer Katie Harmsworth was hands-down one of the most talented, caring and funny people we have ever met! She made us feel so loved and relaxed on the day, and in the weeks leading up to the wedding.
Did you find it difficult to translate more common traditions into a ‘same-sex’ wedding?
Tim: Not particularly, we made the wedding our own, and took advice from friends and family to do what we wanted.
Gary: Deciding how we would walk down the aisle was one of the only things that had us a bit confused. We eventually decided that we both wanted to walk down the aisle, so that’s what we did. It turned out beautifully, and we wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Any surprises on your wedding day? Or anything that didn’t go to plan?
Tim: No, it all went according to plan. Actually, maybe that was the biggest surprise, I had been expecting at least one thing to go wrong! Even the rain turned out to be a blessing, it made for amazing photos!
Gary: I will add that I think we got all of our bad luck out of the way the night before when Tim locked us out of the house we were staying at on the way to our family dinner. We ended up having to wait for an hour in the rain and cold for a locksmith, and were more than fashionably late for our own dinner.
What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding?
Gary: Finding the time! There is so much to do, and it’s no surprise that so many people hire professionals to help them with all the planning. It was just lucky that Tim is hyper-organised and is no stranger to organising an event.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Tim: We spent 5 weeks enjoying a European summer, putting on all of the weight we lost in the lead up to the big day.
And finally, any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
Tim: Choose suppliers who you get along with and who are super responsive, they’ll save you a lot of stress!
Gary: Don’t sweat the small stuff, and try to stick to your budget!
Gary & Tim’s Suppliers
Photographer Katie Harmsworth
Venue Sault Daylesford
Suits Hugo Boss
Flowers Raven & the Rose
Accommodation Vintage House Daylesford
Stationery Fabled Papery
Celebrant Barbara Kruse
Rings Cartier
Strings Artistique Strings
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