Sarah & Michelle

Lesbian wedding on the beach at St Kilda Melbourne photography by Chamore Creations (1)

Their love tale was nothing short of love at first sight – but they weren’t able to come out right away because they feared losing friends and disappointing loved ones. They’ve now been together eight years, and married after a three-year engagement.

Tell us about your proposal.

Sarah– Being untraditional lesbians (haha!), we decided to wait for our engagement! We had discussed that if I proposed, it would have been within the first year, I’m a born romantic, and I loveeeeee love!

Michelle decided she knew how much it would mean to me for her to propose and give me the “moment,” so when the time was right, five years in, she took her sister ring shopping, then planned the perfect weekend away beach camping with our little dogs!

I couldn’t have been more oblivious – completely shocked, expecting it to be another two years away as Michelle was a student.

She had been secretly saving up for a ring ALL along! She played a romantic song from when we first told each other we had feelings for another, Calvin Harris, ‘Thinking about you,’ and when the sun was setting, she got down on one knee! Michelle asked me to spend the rest of my life with her, and I couldn’t believe my eyes, the most magical moment I’ll never forget!

One month later, I bought Michelle a beautiful diamond ring, got down on one knee, and gave her a lifelong commitment!

What was the inspiration behind the theme?

We wanted our wedding to be us, full of love and timeless! So we chose a powerful classic palette of brides in white and BridesBabes in black, florals in fresh white and green with touches of gold around the venue! Our florist created the most incredible wedding arbor that we could then move into our Photobooth as a backdrop (with Mrs + Mrs neon sign!)

Talk to us about the wedding day!

Planning for two years and locking in our special people makes the weeks leading up soooooo stress FREE! Being organized has its perks! It was just the most beautiful time, super sentimental and really enjoyable! A day we both have said really was the best day of our lives thus far.

We had family, friends husbands, and family friends in their 60s from country Victoria, who I’m sure haven’t met an “out” gay person before, come up to us post-ceremony and had tears in their eyes saying how BEAUTIFUL it was and how lucky they are to have witnessed something so special.

That makes us think it’s bigger than just our wedding, and they might accept and acknowledge other members of our community widely now that they’ve experienced that it really is “same love.”

What are your favorite moments?

The first look when Michelle was so nervous she was silent back to back with me!

And Michelle’s hand reached out to grab mine as I walked down the aisle after her to officially say “I do” with our personalized vows.

Advice for other couples planning a wedding?

It seems simple but don’t sweat the small stuff. Being a wedding makeup artist myself, I always say to my couples no one else will notice if the font is different on that sign or if your flowers don’t match your Pinterest board. You only get the lead-up and the day once. So enjoy every single second – I know we really honestly did!

Be yourselves, wear the suit! Wear what makes YOU feel powerful and confident! So please yourselves, and the rest will fall into place – after all, it’s you and your love – that’s it! Oh, and do the personalised vows – I’ve made Michelle read hers to me at least ten times already. They’re so beautiful!

We didn’t do the traditional go around to tables – in our speech we said to meet us on the dance floor, and most people did! We wanted to make the most of the night. So we sat down to eat and then danced and partied the night away together! The next day we held a relaxed recovery where we could spend more time “catching up!” Also, send thank you cards – it’s nice to acknowledge people’s gifts!