Forty Brooms, One Beach, and a Platonic Wedding Spell
Carly’s wedding didn’t have a couple or rings. It had 40 friends in surrealist ball outfits making vows on the dunes of Minjerribah. A celebration of platonic love, it unfolded through ritual, ridiculousness, and deep care. There was a group ceremony, a feast by Vera Byrd Banquets, ocean swims, and a dance floor that ran straight onto the sand. Every moment was documented by Kyra Boyer Photography, whose dreamy, light-filled style captured the energy and intimacy of the weekend.
What inspired you to create a wedding for platonic love?
As a wedding photographer myself, I’ve been in and around weddings for years, photographing other people’s big days. And I’ve often thought about how, in a culture that’s so stripped of ritual, weddings are one of the few we do still show up for. We take time off. We travel. We cry. We dress up. It’s a spell we all know how to cast.
At the same time, I had complicated feelings around marriage, not because I’m anti-marriage, but because I’ve always felt weird about how we prioritise one type of love above all others. Romantic, monogamous love gets the spotlight, while the love I’ve shared with my friends; love that has held me, grown me, and taught me how to be my truest self, is rarely celebrated in the same way.
So I decided to flip the script. I threw my brooms the wedding they deserve. It was an ode to the realest, wildest, most abundant Friend Love I’ve known.
Why was Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island) the right place for this celebration?
It’s my favourite place in the world. We wanted the whole weekend to feel grounded and held, and being on Country with wildlife, ocean air and ancestral presence made it all feel extra powerful.
The day before the wedding we did a tour of Country with the local Quandamooka mob through Yura Tours, which felt like such an important part of honouring place and story. We swam in the ocean, watched the sun rise and set, and let the land be part of the ceremony.
The fashion was next-level. What was the dress code?
Oh we went big. Our dress code was: deeply extravagant, upcycled, colour-filled fabulousness. Think surrealist ball. It was wild and glorious and honestly the most affordable, sustainable and joy-filled way of decorating a venue. Because why put flowers on a table when you can bedazzle your friends?
Dress-ups are a love language in our crew. They help us step into character and play. It felt like a costume party meets performance art meets sacred ritual. Everywhere you turned, there was sparkle and velvet and feathers and sequins and glitter. Just heaven.
My surrealist broom outfit was made with love by Hause Of Glassborrow.
What were some of your favourite moments from the ceremony?
We stood in a big circle, hand in hand. No aisle, no top-down structure. Just 40 of us, holding each other and speaking our truths out loud. My friend Astra (actual witch, deep legend) officiated. We cried and laughed and chanted and made our vows to each other.
Rather than rings, we created a wreath made of beads that everyone had blessed with intentions. We ended the ceremony with a cuddle pile and honestly it felt like a spell had been cast. Our friend Maddy said, “I think that just healed all my attachment wounds.” Which kind of says it all.
What kind of vows did you and your friends make?
We promised to be here for all the seasons, not just the sunny ones. To take each other out of the swamp of assumptions and into the forest of intentions. To plan, to dance, to cry, to make magic together.
And we vowed to Truly Babe. That means practicing emotional availability and transformative justice. Being people who speak up, who make space, who repair. Who embody care instead of just talking about it. It was big. And it felt so real.
What happened after the ceremony?
We feasted. Chef Steph from Vera Byrd Banquets made us the most delicious, locally-sourced banquet. It was full of love and flavour and just radiated goodness. We shared poems, sang songs, and offered Odes to Platonic Love between bites.
Then we danced. Ran up and down the beach. Laughed ourselves breathless. Took photos. Cried again. And kept the vibes going with a karaoke recovery night hosted by our sparkle king Manoli.
What do you hope others take away from your wedding?
That they are enough. That if they don’t see their story reflected in the world, they can make one. That love doesn’t have to be romantic to be sacred. That our imaginations are more powerful than any rulebook.
And if any of this resonates; if you’re dreaming up a wedding, ritual, spell, or celebration that lives outside the usual lines, I, as a photographer (and bb witch), would be honoured to help bring it to life and capture it. Let’s remind the world of all the possibilities that exist.
Photography by Kyra Boyer Photography
Catering Vera Byrd Banquets
Dress Hause Of Glassborrow
Vision & Ethos Carlita Sari Photo
