These two teachers (one primary and one high school) both proposed to each other, which we’re so into, right?
“We were playing Monopoly and I had written a poem and stuck it on the chance cards, because we always joked about how we met by chance,” says Bronte. “We were playing with Amber’s son, Mac, and I had told him my plan and given him the ring to put in his pocket. I had placed a couple of dummy cards on top of the cards where the poem began. It essentially went through all of our memories and little love stories. The final card then read, ‘We used to joke about how this was just a holiday fling, we were very wrong, Mac could you please pass the ring.’ I got down on one knee, Amber said a big yes and we had a picnic at Barangaroo for the four of us (including our dog Badger) and a romantic dinner at Hotel Palisade for Amber and me.” A couple of months later, Amber proposed to Bronte with Badger’s help. “She had made a personalised tag to go on our dog’s collar. It read, ‘Chuey, please will you marry me too?’”
From there, these brides called in the pros, getting the very talented Scott Surplice Photography on board to snap the day, picked out some dreamy colourful gowns, which we are so very here for, and had the gals at Eternal Elegance get them glammed up for their big occasion. Overall, a 10 out of 10!
THE THEME “We wanted a relaxed, fun, garden-party vibe. Lots of laughs, cuddles and dancing!”
THE VENUE “We did a lot of research and loved the garden vibe of The Grounds as well as being so close to the city.”
FAVE DETAILS “I organised a ‘LOVERS’ neon sign as a surprise for Bronte to be hung above our bridal table, it is fab.”
LITTLE LOL “COVID threw a few curve balls at us. So the night before the wedding we walked up to our local pub for a drink and to unwind a bit. People heard we were getting married the next day we ended up sharing three bottles of bubbles with three sets of locals and woke up very hungover. A very fitting way to start our wedding day.”
THE DRESSES “We found our dresses online. I found my Lirika Matoshi dress first, during COVID lockdown. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one. I told Bronte right away, who then went on a spree also trying to find one. We shared the pictures with Bronte’s sister, Sarah, who let us know if they were going to suit each other or not. Thankfully, Bronte’s first choice, by Needle & Thread, was also perfect.”
MEMORABLE MOMENT “Our actual wedding day was devastating, we cried the whole way through. They called the Northern Beaches lockdown at 11am, so from then, our guests started dropping like flies. By the time we saw each other again that night, we were just soooo happy, relieved and excited to see each other and get the fun times rolling.”
COOL CUSTOM “We had photos of our passed loved ones on a table next to our bridal table as a beautiful reminder and memento of them.”
MARRIAGE MEANS… “Marriage means equality. Being a gay couple, we’ve had to fight a bit, even with family members to have our love recognised as equal to hetero love. Marriage means unifying our family, so Mac (15-year-old son) feels included, too. Also, we just wanted to be able to call each other wife, for real.”
WE’RE GLAD WE… “We included Mac in our ceremony by presenting him with a signet ring as an inclusion of our marriage. It was a really sentimental, heart-felt moment and I am so glad we did it. Not wearing white dresses but splashing with colour instead was so fun, as was not walking down the aisle – we entered from opposite entrances together, I loved that.”
STANDOUT VENDORS “Scott Surplice was unreal, super relaxed but also professional. We were on the same page from the get-go and he produced some incredible photos that we look back at allllll the time. The Press Club Band were awesome too, we spoke with Paula a fair bit in the lead-up and she was great at explaining how things would work and being flexible with our requests. Our celebrant, Jessie Cacchillo, was fab, very relaxed and loving and included our guests perfectly throughout our ceremony.
We first got a good squiz at this here wedding when it appeared in print in Hello May Issue 32 – which was a super-popular one and has since sold out, but there are plenty more spectacular weddings to check out in all our other issues and our epic 2021 Real Wedding Special.
If you want to hit up Scott Surplice for his pic-taking skills, head on over to his directory listing, and if you’re still on the lookout for a glam squad, the gals at Eternal Elegance have you sorted.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Scott Surplice Photography Florist The Grounds Florals by Silva Ceremony, Reception, Catering & Cake The Grounds of Alexandria Photo Booth Undisposable Entertainment Press Club Band Celebrant Jessie Cacchillo Rings Natalie Marie Jewellery THE BRIDE (Amber) Gown Lirika Matoshi Hairpiece Jan Davidson Designs Shoes Lauren Marinis Hair & Makeup Valentina at Eternal Elegance THE BRIDE (Bronte) Gown Needle & Thread Hairpiece & Earrings Swarovski Shoes Harlo Hair & Makeup Sandra at Eternal Elegance
