Glitter Cherries, Pride Bubble Wands, and a Brisbane Queer Wedding
Anna (she/her) and Avijon (AJ) (she/her) spent most of their teenage years within 45 minutes of each other in Central Queensland, with mutual friends and crossing circles, and never knew the other existed. Their Brisbane queer wedding was a ‘legals only’ elopement in the bookstore section of Empire Revival, a Paddington antique store, ending with a glitter cherry under a red tassel chandelier. After that came photos among record stands, a train ride with rainbow-clad Pride marchers, and an Italian family dinner at Bianca Restaurant.
An invisible string love story that started on Hinge
If you’ve heard of the invisible string theory, our story fits that to a tee. We spent most of our teenage years within 45 minutes of one another in Central Queensland. We had many mutual friends, and our circles crossed multiple times, but we had no clue the other existed. Though, this was probably for the best: we joke about how incompatible we would have been in our teens/early twenties.
It wasn’t until 2021, both fairly fresh out of long-term relationships, that we connected on Hinge. I asked how to pronounce AJ’s name, and the rest was history. In a spontaneous (cocktail-fueled) moment, I invited AJ to meet me at Felons for a drink after a girls’ dinner, and we played Uno and chatted until the lovely staff asked us ever-so-politely to move on. Since then, we’ve had many late nights over board and card games alike.
We started “officially” dating on the 3rd of April in 2022, and agreed that marriage wasn’t really going to be in the cards for us for quite some time. Our time together was filled with date nights (food is our love language: we have been to so many restaurants it’s not funny), musicals, concerts and travels (interstate and overseas). We’re lucky enough to save money by living in a shared house with two of my best friends, and we only have two dependents: our cats, Oreo and Monte.
Over the years, our best memories have been made both at home, having pizza and game nights, and overseas, exploring the beaches of Thailand, the streets of Bali and, more recently, the castles, shrines and food markets of Japan.
A photobooth proposal with a Heidi Gibson engagement ring
Of course, throughout the first few years of us dating, I still occasionally sent AJ links to my favorite jeweler, Heidi Gibson, on Instagram, enough so that she took the hint and secretly purchased my dream engagement ring. When the ring arrived from the US, AJ tried it on and thought to herself: “Well, I need to propose this week.”
AJ didn’t have a grand plan (she’s not one for planning; she’s more of a spontaneous gal), and she isn’t one for a spectacle. We’d already planned to go to dinner that weekend for a date night, and had booked somewhere a little fancier than normal to try. Beforehand, though, our ritual is to go to a photobooth wherever and whenever possible, so we went into our tried and true one in Brisbane CBD.
There, while I scuffled my heels off for the photo, she told me I was her best friend, to which I replied “mmhmm, you too” while the camera counted down. Suddenly she was on her knee popping the question! She still believes I knew it was coming, but I have journal proof there was no inkling at all!
Planning a Brisbane queer wedding as an elopement and family dinner
What a wedding would look like for us was one of the first conversations we had, getting a celebratory drink after our engagement and sitting along the riverside. We talked about what a wedding would look like for us.
I was the last to get married on my side as the youngest of my siblings, so my family had had their fair share of traditional, larger weddings. And although AJ is the oldest of her siblings, and the first to be wed, her family is fairly non-traditional and would never have expected a big showy wedding from AJ (it’s just not her thing).
AJ’s first instinct was to elope overseas, just us, but this turned into an elopement followed by a dinner with our immediate family. This worked for us as we both wanted to spend our money on a honeymoon rather than one day. I hate stress, and AJ is a more private person. Everything aligned for this to be the best choice for us.
Honestly, we let our friends know pretty casually and they were in full support. I think when you’re in your late 20s/early 30s, people understand the choice a lot more than when you’re younger. Our parents and families were all for it: they understood the costs of big weddings and loved the idea of a more intimate dinner where they could all actually spend time with us and one another. All positive, thankfully!
Finding LGBTQIA+ wedding vendors in Brisbane on Instagram
I scoured Instagram for LGBTQIA+ vendors, and ones that fit the vibe of the day we were really going for. I reached out to Tayla, our photographer from Tayla Jayne Photography, first to ensure she was free for our chosen date. Once I knew she was, we booked her in for both our engagement shoot and our wedding day. Meeting her prior to the big day was really nice, as we were comfortable knowing who she was and knew her personality worked with ours really nicely.
Lisa, our videographer from The Light Photo and Film, was a perfect fit: gentle, kind and not invasive at all. She was so easy to get along with and follow directions from, and she and Tayla had met previously, so they worked seamlessly alongside each other.
I found Michelle, our celebrant from The Wild Hitcher, on Instagram, and she was SUCH a vibe: I knew our day was going to be in great hands with her as soon as we had our first online meeting. She had so many of the same interests as us, was funny as anything, and got along with our loved ones so so easily on the day. She was just the best.
My makeup and hair artist, Phoebe of Phoebe Lowenna, is actually an SFX specialist and does the occasional glam, so I knew she was going to fit the vibe of the day perfectly (we love a creative in this household). She did a wedding trial for my birthday and it was like catching up with an old friend: I adored her.
All of the vendors felt like friends or family to us, which was so important when realistically these were the people we spent the most time with on the day. They witnessed everything, helped us with everything, and kept us smiling all day. We couldn’t have asked for more.
Secondhand wedding dress finds and a Reuben F Scarf jacket
In the spirit of sustainability (and cutting costs), I looked for my outfits second hand. I knew I wanted a getting-ready outfit, an elopement dress and then a jumpsuit for the dinner. I got lucky on Depop and scored my morning-of-slip for $40 pre-loved the week before the wedding (I left this so late!), but it came right on time.
Months prior, I had been trawling TikTok for elopement inspiration in Brisbane and came across a creator called Hannah Sands, whose entire wedding day vibe was immaculate: effortless, chic and entirely fun. I fell in love with her dress, which she picked up from the brand House of CB. To Facebook Marketplace and Depop, I went hunting for the Persephone gown. Eventually, I found it with tags still attached for half the retail price, and it only needed minor alterations (score). Shoes were a simple Nine West pump, the ‘Kately’, purchased from Myer on a whim.
AJ, in true AJ fashion, left her suit hunting until only a few months before the big day. She didn’t love the vibe of most suit stores, and struggled to find a lot that fit her unique style. She ended up landing on a Reuben F Scarf jacket, paired with some standard pants and a shirt from David Jones.
Getting ready in New Farm with pastries, matcha and a Sonny Angel
We’d booked an Airbnb in New Farm for the night prior and the night of, to give us a space of our own to get ready. The space had such a vibe, and really set up the weekend to be memorable.
On the day, we got up and went for a walk to New Farm Park and then to Idle Bakery to get some pastries, a coffee and a matcha, before heading back to the Airbnb and putting some music on to set the tone for the day. I then finished making my bouquet and popping on the finishing touches of ribbon, before also finishing AJ’s boutonnière. We made a little snack platter after breakfast, and soon after welcomed Phoebe in at around 9:30am.
I got changed into my getting ready outfit, and AJ hung out on the couch while I started to get my makeup and hair done. Not long after, Tayla and Lisa arrived and started taking all of the detail shots. My sisters, Hayley and Sharyn, arrived not long after that, all done up and ready to be our witnesses for the ceremony. We were all just snacking and listening to great music, as the morning felt more like a hangout with friends than anything too serious.
I then opened my wedding-day Sonny Angel (shark acquired) before AJ got changed and had some of her first photos completed. It was then time for me to get dressed, and AJ hid away so we could get some first look photos as well.
Private vows and an antique store ceremony at Empire Revival
Private vows on the balcony
We did our private vows on the balcony overlooking New Farm Park (gorgeous). This was the most intimate part of the day (when tears were shed). I had already asked Lisa to record these, and she did such a fabulous job (our entire vows overlay our gorgeous wedding film she put together for us).
I don’t think either of us really struggled to write our vows: my biggest struggle was to make sure they weren’t going to be too long, and to find a balance of fun and sincerity. In the lead up to the wedding, all you get on your FYP are vow and wedding ceremony videos, and we’d seen a lot of couples write vows that felt more like a comedy set than something genuine, or ones that felt too wishy-washy or non-specific in an attempt to be sentimental (though, I was getting fed a lot of heterosexual weddings… so maybe that is why). I think we both struck the perfect balance because we both just genuinely know each other and are one another’s best friends.
Sharing these, and hearing them, felt so special, especially when we both ended our vows with the exact same line from our favorite musical. Crazy happy tears were shed!
A ‘legals only’ ceremony in the bookstore
Then we headed off to Empire Revival in Paddington to meet up with our celebrant, Michelle. Chelle had beaten us there to suss out the space and have everything set up ready to go: I just had to reapply my lip gloss and I was ready to walk down the tiny set of stairs into the bookstore section of the antique store. AJ chose my aisle song, a Yungblud and Halsey cover of ‘I Will Follow You Into The Dark’.
Chelle was our officiant/celebrant who organized all the legal bits for us. We had a ‘legals only’ ceremony (spanning maybe 30 minutes) that she helped us plan completely. Even though it was so short and sweet, it was still full of so much personality and tidbits of our love story: Chelle nailed this balance perfectly. She organized the licensing, the certificate… the whole shebang.
The ceremony was a quick and cheeky moment full of laughs and little stories of us, and ended with a fun little cut of our delicious lemon and raspberry vintage-style cake from The Quirky Cakery. A glitter cherry was fed to AJ under the red tassel chandelier strung above us, and we gave the rest of our cake to the beautiful staff of Empire Revival for hosting us.
Train photos, Pride bubble wands and dinner at Bianca
Off we went to Dutch Vinyl up the road for some piccies amongst the record stands. From there, we took an Uber to Roma Street train station to get some snaps in front of some trains (trust me, the vibes were cool) before jumping on a train to Central Station.
Funnily enough, the Pride march had just finished in the city, so we got to have a bunch of cute interactions on the train with protestors clad in rainbows: one even gave us some bubble wands to celebrate. Once we got to Central Station, we wandered the streets of Brisbane CBD for some photos.
We followed our noses when we got hungry, and we stopped for a late lunch at Em Saigon for some banh mi and rice paper rolls. Then we trekked on to Mr Percival’s, where we met up with some of our closest friends for a celebratory drink. It was here that we split from our photographer and videographer to head back to the Airbnb and freshen up, before heading to Bianca Restaurant for our family dinner. Once there, we took all of our family portraits, then tucked into our shared Italian meal (and open bar)!
Advice for couples planning a queer elopement
Do it. It was the best choice we could have made that didn’t compromise the uniqueness or importance of our day. It allows you to make time for one another on the day (hello spending the entire day together!) and alleviates so much stress, while still allowing you to make things official and celebrate on your terms. Spend the money on an unforgettable honeymoon instead!
My advice to anyone looking for vendors for such an intimate day: look for those you gel with like your best friends!
Captured by Tayla Jayne Photography
Cake Maker The Quirky Cakery
Celebrant The Wild Hitcher
Ceremony Venue Empire Revival
Dress Designer House of CB
Engagement Ring The Tower Galley
Engagement Rings Heidi Gibson
Make Up Artist Phoebe Lowenna
Signage With Every Detail Events
Stationery A Day To Remember Studio
Suit Designer Reuben F Scarf
Venue Bianca Restaurant
Videographer The Light Photo and Film
