Amanda & Kate

Peppermint Photography lesbian same-sex couple tropical water wedding Sunshine Coast Queensland Dancing With Her magazine

Words by Amanda

I had initially planned to propose on a hike in Maui.

We went to Hawaii with a group of friends, and I had found a stunning hike and had all my friends ready to carry all the props. It turns out, we ended up being caught in a hurricane and came home early – it just wasn’t meant to be.

Instead, I hired a pop-up picnic business to go to one of our favorite spots under the story bridge close to home. They laid pillows, candles, and fairy lights along with a massive cheese platter to set the scene. I told Kate that I wanted to get Uber Eats under the bridge and drove nervously into the city, missing the turn-off and everything.

When we got there, she spotted the picnic and said, “wow, what is that someone has set up?” When I took her over, she burst into tears.

I got down on one knee, and she said YES!

We were engaged for one year.

We love the sunshine coast, Kate has many fond childhood memories from there, and we visit it frequently. A friend of hers had mentioned that The Boathouse was amazing, so the weekend after we got engaged, we headed up there to check it out. We fell in love and knew it was going to be perfect.

We decided on a coastal meets tropical vibe – we love it, our house is that theme, and we wouldn’t have wanted anything else. It was also the perfect theme for a wedding in one of Australia’s most beautiful beaches.

I had always known what I wanted to wear on my wedding day. I had the vision in my head as soon as we got engaged. Kate is so beautiful she would suit anything, she didn’t want to spend a fortune, so she found her dress for under $1000 and then had it altered to her perfect.

We stayed the night separately before the big day and didn’t sleep a wink.

We had agreed to ‘the first look’ photoshoot, so after lunch and a few drinks, I went to find Kate. Having our first look at a small jetty in the sprinkling rain. It was stunning.

I then made my way to the boathouse; when I walked in with my bridal party, I couldn’t believe how many people were there. Kate was soon to follow. We had Matt Corby’s song ‘Monday’ being played by a local guitarist as she walked in. He was phenomenally talented. “Could it be you” were the words sung just as she entered the aisle, and everyone gasped as they saw her.

We wrote our vows and had the most captivating celebrant, Erin Woodhall. Photos were taken, and when we returned to The Boathouse, we had our bridal party dance, in pairs, to 90s RNB songs. They really embraced it and had everyone up clapping!

Entrée’s and speeches followed, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.

Kate’s bridesmaid Dani had organized a photo montage of our lives that really gave an insight into us and our lives prior.

The night went so quickly, and everything was just so beautiful I didn’t want it to end! There was so much love in the room; it was honestly just perfect.