Leonie & Trudie – Marriage After 16 Years Together
After 16 years together, and exactly 11 years to the date after their commitment ceremony, Leonie and Trudie finally got to marry each other.
How Did The Love Story Begin?
T: In 2005, we met through a lesbian walking group called Wayward Women Walkers. I made sure that I could see Leonie again by signing up to do a 30km bike ride which Leonie was organizing, even though I was not a confident rider and had never ridden more than 5km on a bike. I borrowed my daughter’s bike to practice on for weeks before the organized ride.
Luckily I made the distance, and that was the start of our beautiful relationship.
What Is Your Favorite Memory Together?
Our wedding is our most favourite memory. It was a perfect day filled with laugher and love celebrated with family and friends.
Tell Us Your Favorite Thing About One Another.
Leonie is the most positive person I have ever met, and she lights up any room with her smile and contagious laugh. She is a very generous person who has also guided my children, and both my children feel she has shaped them into who they are today.
Trudie has the best sense of humour and is the most grounded person I have ever known. She is also very creative, and this was evident on our wedding day as she made over 110 bonbonnieres of a small pot of jade, which she had propagated from a jade plant in our garden.
Tell Us About Your Proposal.
Leonie originally proposed to me back in 2008. We both had wanted to have a commitment ceremony, so when the relationship register in Victoria was established, Leonie bought me a book of Poems for Weddings and gave it to me as a gift. When I opened it, I realized that she was asking me to marry her. We were one of the first couples to take advantage of it. When same-sex marriage was legalized later, we both wanted to legalize it even further. We had said after our commitment ceremony that if it was ever legalized, we would not have another ceremony as, in our eyes, we were already married. We were so excited about the legalization that we just had to have one more celebration!
Tell Us About Your Wedding Day.
The day was so perfect. We had family and friends travel from all parts of Australia to be with us on our special day. One of our favorite memories of the day was our first dance, to Norah Jones, “Come Away With Me.” We had taken dance lessons for months to make sure the dance was just right, and it was beautiful being able to dance it in front of our friends and family finally.
Having Dee as our photographer was also very special. We live in Bayside Melbourne, and the beach has always been one of our favourite places to walk, so it was a natural decision that we wanted to get married at the beach, and Sandringham Yacht Club was the perfect setting. The sunset over the bay was extraordinary.
Is There Anything Else That You Would Like To Add?
We have seen so many changes during our time together and feel so grateful that we can live a life now that is so accepted in society.
Dancing With Her Recommended Vendor
Photography by Finder Seeker Photography
& Gold and Grit Photography
Cake Miss Ladybird Cakes
Catering & Venue Sandringham Yacht Club
Celebrant Diana Sguerzi
Cinematographer Like A Bonfire
Dance Instructor MarShere Dance Studios
Entertainment Cheek to Cheek Trio
Florist Mordialloc Florist
Gown Designer Gemma Nicholas, Peri Cutten, Girls on Film
H&MU Dana Leviston
Shoes Miss KG
Venue Sandringham Yacht Club
Wedding Rings Jasmine Frazer Jeweller
