Same Sex Weddings Archives - Brisbane City Celebrants

Michael and Philip’s Sunshine Coast Wedding

on January 29, 2019 · 1 Comment

Michael and Philip’s Sunshine Coast wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants was everything dreams are made of!

With groom Michael well known and acclaimed within the Brisbane Wedding community for planning luxurious events, naturally every detail was thoughtfully planned and designed, resulting in a truly beautiful day full of love, happiness and laughter.

This gorgeous wedding was so special to us. Not only was Jamie given the honour of being the Celebrant for the happy couple, as friends of the two grooms we are invited to stay and celebrate as guests.

Michael and Philip worked with Jamie to design a ceremony that celebrated their love and shared the story of their 13 years together.

Balancing their humour and zest with a meaningful sincere celebration, both the grooms and their guests were laughing out loud one minute, then shedding happy tears the next. Very much the same emotions the guests continued to have later when the epic speeches were delivered over lunch.

One simple point of difference that contributed to the success of the day, was opting for a morning wedding ceremony, followed directly by a lunch time reception.

The two grooms opted for a mid morning ceremony on a week day which took place at Noosa’s Hidden Grove on the foreshore of Noosa beach. Following the ceremony, instead of the guests being separated from the couple for photos, everyone took a short stroll along the beach to the reception at Sails Noosa where the celebrations began with flowing drinks, canapes and even an oyster bar before guests were seated on long tables decorated with soft pink flowers.

To the guests surprise they were invited to choose their own entrees and main from the menu. Everyone was in awe at how delicious every dish was! The service from Sails Restaurant was equally exceptional with glasses always staying topped up with champagne.

After lunch the band began to play and the dance floor instantly filled, with Michael stealing the show (and the mic) to present his own surprise rendition of Nicki Minaj.

The fun didn’t stop there, when the long lunch reception wrapped up at 4pm, the guests headed off to a nearby venue for the optional after party to continue the celebrations, while the grooms made the most of the golden afternoon light heading off to a quiet beach with their Photographer and Cinematographer for sunset shots with their bridesmaids.

What an amazing way to begin your journey in to married life and what a huge honour to be a part of and share in this long awaited very special day.

Congratulations on your marriage Michael and Philip, and to repeat what the grooms said in their speech “Thank you for voting YES”.

If you enjoyed hearing about this stunning Sunshine Coast wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate and are looking for a Celebrant for your special day, Jamie would love to hear from you. View more Real Weddings with Jamie Eastgate or contact Jamie to confirm availability for your special day.

Michael & Philip’s Wedding from Forever Features on Vimeo.

Michael and Philips vendor dream team

Wedding Planning and Concept Design: Michael Taylor Public Relations

Photography: Liz Soda Wedding Photography

Cinematography: Tyrone Forever Features

Marriage Celebrant: Jamie Eastgate Brisbane City Celebrants

Ceremony Location: Hidden Grove, Noosa

Reception Location: Sails Noosa

Ceremony and reception band: Rush Entertainment

Make up: KM Makeup Studios

Suits: Wil Valor

Bridesmaid Dresses: White Runway

Event Styling: Main Event Weddings

Tableware: The Supper Club

Invitations and Menus: September Creative

Accommodation: Fairshore Noosa

Choosing Equality Friendly Wedding Vendors

on July 29, 2018 · 1 Comment

Choosing Equality friendly wedding vendors

Authors Cara and Jamie of Brisbane City Celebrants

At Brisbane City Celebrants we are genuinely honoured every time we are chosen as the Celebrant for a same-sex wedding. We understand many of our couples have experienced difficult times and often lack the support of family members so it’s imperative to us that we are part of creating an amazing and memorable wedding day. Sadly we continue to hear stories from our couples alongside regular press reports of same-sex couples being refused service, treated inadequately and being discriminated against. We have written this post to assist couples with choosing equality friendly wedding vendors.

When choosing your wedding vendors you want to be sure you really ‘connect’ with them and that you’re all on the same page when it comes to the role they will be playing on your big day.

This is particularly important for same-sex couples who will likely enjoy a better experience in the lead up to and on the special day, by carefully selecting wedding vendors that are genuinely passionate and supportive of your relationship.

Do your research

Before contacting your potential dream team of suppliers, do your research and read reviews (Google Reviews and Facebook Reviews are a great place to start). No vendor can describe the service you can expect to receive more accurately than their former clients.

Check their website

A quick scan of their home page, and real weddings they have featured on their website will give you an indication of how enthusiastic they are about same-sex weddings.

The wording of their website will also give you a good indication of if they have you in mind as their ideal client, for example, are they talking to brides only, or to brides and grooms and couples in general.

Social Media

Practically every supplier in the wedding industry has a social media presence and following the recent campaign in Australia for marriage equality, equality friendly vendors will likely be proudly displaying their support on their social media pages.

Needless to say if you spot rainbows and wedding images showcasing same-sex couples, you can rest assured they will be delighted to hear from you.

A question to ask your potential wedding vendors:

What experience do you have working with same-sex couples?

While any experience working with same-sex couples is appreciated and reinforces the vendors support of marriage equality, many vendors simply haven’t had the opportunity to work with same-sex couples.

Having done your research, and carefully selected who you would like to contact, by simply engaging in conversation with the right people, you will quickly realise how comfortable or excited they are about potentially being a part of your special day.

Authors: Cara Hodge & Jamie Eastgate – Brisbane City Celebrants

Creative Team

Photography: Studio Sixty Photography

Celebrant: Jamie Eastgate, Brisbane City Celebrants

Venue: Old Government House

Stylist: Styled Event s

Flowers: Kate Dawes Flower Design

Cake: A Little Cake Place

Suits: Wil Valor

Stationery: Paper Love Invites

Two Brides Celebrate Marriage Equality

on May 23, 2018 · 3 Comments

With Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

Two Brides Celebrate Marriage Equality

This light filled romantic styled shoot took place on the banks of the Brisbane river just along from the stunning waterfront venue, Medley Cafe with real couple Fiona and Megan. Created to showcase the contrast of simple pure white daytime styling and to showcase Brisbane wedding professionals that support marriage equality and are committed to providing same-sex couples with an exceptional experience.

Despite being new to being new to being professional captured, real couple Fiona and Megan shared the most beautiful love filled connection.

The shoot began with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants guiding the couple through a ceremony, amidst the all-white ceremony set up created by Brisbane Wedding Decorators, with a simple white arbour draped with hanging lengths of fresh orchids and ivory rose heads, perfectly framing the loved-up two brides.

Low boxed white fresh floral arrangements lined the fresh rose petal aisle and the custom laser etched wooden sign by Rustic at Heart created the perfect welcome, and set the tone for a relaxed and enjoyable day.

Simple coordinated greenery bouquets were created by Flora Organika with a combination of natives and textured botanicals, which looked and smelt divine.

The brides looked spectacular in their beautiful Goddess by Nature Chloe and Celeste gowns, with intricate detailing and playful low backs. The elegant custom-made jewellery by Redki completed the look perfectly.

Brightly coloured confetti cannons were let off by Celebrant Jamie as the gorgeous brides made their way back down the aisle together, which really brought the celebration of marriage equality to life, hence naming this shoot: two brides celebrate marriage equality!

Gorgeous Brisbane waterfront venue Medley Café & Restaurant was the perfect spot for the styled reception luncheon, with gorgeous stationary and place names designed by the talented creative at Rustic at Heart and how adorable are the Mrs and Mrs Chair signs by Brisbane Wedding Decorators on the gorgeous clear ghost chairs!

We are thrilled to announce these lovely girls got engaged shortly after the shoot took place and we wish them every happiness for a marriage as beautiful as their wedding will no doubt be.

Thank you to all these amazing equality friendly wedding vendors for creating and sharing this exciting collaboration. If you are planning a same-sex wedding in Brisbane, you can rest assured you are in very capable hands with anyo of the following Brisbane wedding vendors.

Styling & Décor Hire– Brisbane Wedding Decorators

Celebrant – Jamie Eastgate Brisbane City Celebrants

Dresses – Goddess By Nature

Hair & Tanning – Laa Hair Boutique

Venue – Medley Café & Restaurant

Florist – Flora Organika

Jewellery – Redki – Couture Jewellery

Make up –Mumma Make Up Brisbane

Stationary – The Rustic at Heart

Real Couple Fiona and Megan Fi & Megan

If you are planning a same-sex wedding in Brisbane, equality friendly Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants would love to be your Celebrant for your special day. Contact Jamie to confirm availability for your special day.

Brisbane same-sex wedding with Celebrant Cara Hodge

on April 4, 2018 · 2 Comments

Congratulations to the new Mr & Mr!

The warm and fuzzies of this Brisbane same-sex wedding ceremony with these two happy grooms were off the charts! The happy couple wed in a short and simple, small and intimate ceremony surrounded by close friends on a gorgeous autumn afternoon at the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens.

Brisbane Celebrant Cara Hodge with the two grooms.

It’s a very exciting time to be in the wedding industry, particularly as Celebrants we now get to say the words “marriage according to the law in Australia is between TWO PEOPLE’… “

These two words that so many people have longed to hear for so long, now result in cheers, applause and even goose bumps from those present (myself included!).

With just a slight change of wording, the Celebrants mandatory wording has suddenly become celebratory!

Being a Celebrant I feel incredibly grateful that I get to spend my weekends (and often week days) amongst so much happiness with the loveliest of people.

If you are looking for a Celebrant for your wedding, same-sex or otherwise Cara from Brisbane City Celebrants would love to hear from you.

View more Brisbane City Celebrants same-sex wedding weddings here and contact Cara to confirm availability for your special day.

A stylish same sex Brisbane wedding

on May 25, 2017 · 2 Comments

A stylish same sex Brisbane wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate

It was such an honour to be a part of Paul and Paul’s stylish same sex Brisbane wedding as they celebrated their commitment and happiness by tying the knot in the presence of a large gathering of family and friends that all mean the world to them.

Paul and Paul celebrated their commitment in a glamorous and stylish ceremony at Brisbane’s exquisite Cloudland venue with a dream team of wedding suppliers to ensure their day was nothing short of amazing.

Paul and Paul’s same Sex Wedding at Cloudland. Images by Studio Impressions Photography

Paul and Paul kindly provided the following glowing testimonial for their Celebrant Jamie Eastgate:

“Our Celebrant Jamie Eastgate from Brisbane City Celebrants was wonderful! He was professional, warm and caring. His ability to speak in front of everyone was perfect and eloquent.

Communication between us and Brisbane City Celebrants was regular and genuine. A personal and sincere interest in your life and how your wedding plans were coming together was apparent and appreciated during our correspondence leading up to our special day. We were so, so, so happy we went with Brisbane City Celebrants!”

Paul & Paul – Cloudland Wedding Grooms

Paul and Paul’s tell us about their wedding ceremony:

“We all walked down the aisle paired off, hand in hand with 16 Strings quartet playing ‘I can’t help falling in love’ by Elvis.

16 Strings quartet are amazingly skilled and having them there made the whole ceremony experience feel so much more special.

Having someone play a song for you just feels so much more personal. We were absolutely blown away and so glad we made the choice to have a string quartet.

Our ceremony was sentimental, light hearted, fashionable and in part comical! This perfectly reflects our life together and our relationship, so it was very fitting and very ‘us’. During the ceremony there were both heartfelt tears and roars of laughter, we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Our Celebrant Jamie Eastgate from Brisbane City Celebrants was wonderful! He was professional, warm and caring. His ability to speak in front of everyone was perfect and eloquent.

Our advice to other couples planning their wedding – Don’t cut any corners! You only want one wedding so do it exactly how you want. We also found it was great for everyone to have the ceremony and reception all at the one venue. Don’t select a service from a provider purely because it’s the cheapest, do your research and make sure you choose the best. It really pays off!

We loved EVERYTHING about our special day!”

Paul and Paul carefully selected an amazing ‘dream team’ of wedding vendors to enable them to turn their dream wedding in to reality, and from their fantastic feedback all their hard work and planning certainly paid off.

We would like to give a very special mention to Studio Impressions Photography who were a dream to work with and kind enough to allow us to share their images here.

We were so excited to hear that Paul and Paul’s immaculately captured wedding was featured in Bride to Be magazine!

The feature shares the story of the surprise proposal that took place at Paul’s 30th birthday party, the romance of sipping on French champagne in Paris while shopping for Paul’s engagement ring at Cartier and how Sex & the City’s Charlotte’s black mermaid style bridesmaid dress was their inspiration for their ‘groomsmaids’.

The connection between the 2 grooms throughout the ceremony was captivating! There were tears, smiles and roars of laughter.

Cloudland was a perfect fit for the owners of a leading Gold Coast hairdressing salon, being fashionable and sophisticated it provided the perfect atmosphere for both their ceremony and reception to take place.

A ceremony full of love and laughter is a recipe for happily ever after. Their love shined throughout the ceremony which was only enhanced by the guests glowing with pride and happiness for the two grooms.

Bride to Be Magazine feature.

Hear all about Paul and Paul’s amazing day and what they had to say about their special day and their dream team of wedding vendors on Polka Dot Groom.

Brisbane City Celebrants believe that everyone should have the opportunity to have their relationship recognised and celebrated. If Brisbane City Celebrants are the kind of Celebrants that you would like to officiate your same sex wedding in Brisbane, we would absolutely love to hear from you, contact us now to confirm availability.

We are so happy to see their amazing wedding featured on the awesome Polka Dot Groom wedding blog!

The dream team for this very special day included the following wedding vendors:

Photographer: Studio Impressions Wedding Celebrant: Brisbane City Celebrants Ceremony & Reception Venue: Cloudland Hairstylist: Paul and Paul DJ: Explosive Entertainment Ceremony Musicians: 16 Strings Entertainment: Epic Creations Cake: Cake Tiers and Sugar Blooms

If you enjoyed hearing about this stylish same sex Brisbane wedding and are looking for a Celebrant for your special day, Brisbane City Celebrants Jamie would love to hear from you. Contact Jamie now to make a time to meet and start planning your own unique ceremony.

Surprise Gay Wedding

on May 25, 2017 · 2 Comments

A surprise same sex wedding with Celebrant Cara of Brisbane City Celebrants

Oh how I loved working with these two gorgeous girls in planning their surprise gay wedding.

Guests thought they were attending a surprise 30th birthday for one of the girls, only to discover the surprise was on them and they were actually about to witness a wedding!

The two brides went dress shopping separately and got ready separately as per wedding tradition so they both got to take in that WOW moment as their eyes met at opposite ends of the aisle.

This same sex wedding took place in the function space at the Foxy Bean in Woolloongabba which was simply perfect.

What an amazing surprise for all those present and such a special wedding ♡Congratulations to the new Mrs & Mrs!

Cara Hodge – Brisbane City Celebrants

If you enjoyed this post and looking for a Celebrant that is passionate about pulling off the ultimate surprise wedding and can fit in inconspicuously with your guests if need be, before the surprise is revealed, or perhaps you are looking for a Brisbane Celebrant that truly believes in marriage equality, Brisbane City Celebrants would love to hear from you. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants now to confirm availability for your special day.

Being the Wedding Celebrant for Claire and Jess

on December 22, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Being the Wedding Celebrant for Claire and Jess….

With Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

Was such an honor and one of the highlights of my Celebrant year! The happy couple planned their big day with both their ceremony and reception held at unique Brisbane wedding venue, Cloudland, which just so happens to be the very same venue that I had the pleasure of performing Paul and Paul’s amazing same sex wedding last year.

Their ceremony took place in Cloudland’s stylish Cellar Room (check out those lights on the ceiling!) and the vibe of their ceremony was the perfect combination of meaningful and heartfelt, and upbeat and fun, with a few roars of laughter thrown in to get their marriage off to an amazing start!

Celebrant Jamie Eastgate officiating Claire and Jess’s same sex wedding at Cloudland.

The happy couple were kind enough to not only very thoughtfully send me these images, but they also gave me a 5 star review!

“Thank you so much Jamie for being a part of our magical day. Your personal touches and positive energy was very welcoming” – Jess & Claire

The connection between the 2 smitten brides was so apparent as you can see in the wonderful images captured by the talented team at Pelizzari Photography.

Brisbane City Celebrants are 100% behind marriage equality. We spend our weekends surrounded by couples in love and we believe everyone deserves the right to marry their soul mate and have the rights and recognition that marriage provides.

We can’t wait to make all our same sex couples marriages legal once equality is passed in Australia. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait much longer.

If you are looking for a Wedding Celebrant for your same sex wedding in Brisbane, or if you strongly support marriage equality and are looking for a like minded Celebrant, then we are well and truly on the same page so Brisbane City Celebrants would LOVE to hear from you!

Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to start planning your special day.

Highlight Video of Paul and Paul’s AMAZING Same Sex Wedding

on August 31, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Highlight Video of Paul and Paul’s AMAZING Same Sex Wedding

With Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

We are so excited to share this highlight reel of Paul and Paul’s stunning wedding video.

We highly recommend considering having a Videographer at your wedding, even if it’s just for the ceremony.

We just love how happy they were to tie the knot!

We can’t wait for the day that same sex weddings become legal and we can be surrounded by so much more of this pure happiness!

“Jamie was wonderful! He was professional, warm and caring. His ability to speak in front of everyone was perfect and eloquent.

We were so so SO happy that we went with Brisbane City Celebrants!”

Paul and Paul, Same Sex Wedding with Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

If you enjoyed watching this amazing highlight video from This same sex wedding at Brisbane’s Cloudland venue, and are looking for a Celebrant for your own same sex wedding, Brisbane City Celebrants would love to hear from you. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.

Bride to Be Magazine featuring an exquisite gay wedding

on March 27, 2015 · Leave a Comment

With Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

Bride to Be magazine featuring an exquisite gay wedding performed by Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.

When a myriad of brides to be mentioned they had seen Jamie featured in Bride to Be Australia, curiosity got the better of us and we just had to rush out and snap up a copy to find out which wedding had been published.

Bride to Be Magazine featuring Jamie Eastgate – Celebrant Brisbane

We couldn’t have been happier when we opened the magazine to see Paul and Paul’s exquisite Cloudland wedding, immaculately captured by the highly renowned Studio Impressions Photography.

Paul and Paul’s exquisite Cloudland Wedding

The connection between the 2 grooms throughout the ceremony was captivating! There were tears, smiles and roars of laughter.

A ceremony full of love and laughter is a recipe for happily ever after. Celebrant Jamie Eastgate

Their love shined throughout the ceremony which was only enhanced by the guests glowing with pride and happiness for the two grooms.

Bride to Be Magazine Celebrants Brisbane

Bride to Be Magazine with Jamie Eastgate Celebrants Brisbane

A big thank you to the two grooms for sharing your special story, to Studio Impressions Photography for capturing this magical day and to Bride to Be Magazine for publishing this wedding and for your professionalism in crediting all the vendors that created the dream team for this very special same sex wedding.

If you are looking for a Celebrant for your same sex wedding, Jamie would love to hear from you. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.

A Stylish and Sincere Gay Brisbane Wedding at Cloudland

on February 15, 2015 · 2 Comments

A Stylish and Sincere Gay Brisbane Wedding at Cloudland

With Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

Having accomplished so much together Paul and Paul couldn’t wait to celebrate their commitment and happiness together by getting married.

While same sex marriage is yet to be recognised by Australian law, that didn’t stop Paul and Paul from celebrating their commitment in a glamorous and stylish ceremony at Brisbane’s exquisite Cloudland in the company of their incredibly supportive and proud guests.

Same Sex Wedding at Cloudland with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate

Paul and Paul’s same Sex Wedding at Cloudland. Image by Studio Impressions Photography

If you recall reading Brisbane City Celebrants 2014 highlights you may recall this same sex wedding featured as a huge highlight of our year, both for being Brisbane City Celebrants first same sex wedding, and also being such a huge hit! We are so happy to see their amazing wedding featured on the awesome Polka Dot Groom wedding blog!

Paul and Paul’s amazing same sex wedding at Cloudland featured on Polka Dot Groom

Paul and Paul left the following glowing testimonial for their Celebrant Jamie Eastgate:

“Our Celebrant Jamie Eastgate from Brisbane City Celebrants was wonderful! He was professional, warm and caring. His ability to speak in front of everyone was perfect and eloquent.

Gay Wedding at Cloudland with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate

Paul and Paul’s Cloudland wedding with Brisbane City Celebrants Jamie Eastgate

We would like to give a very special mention to Studio Impressions Photography who were a dream to work with and kind enough to allow us to share their images here.

Hear all about Paul and Paul’s amazing day and what they had to say about their special day and their dream team of wedding vendors on Polka Dot Groom.

Brisbane City Celebrants believe that everyone should have the opportunity to celebrate their relationship in the form of a wedding. If you think Brisbane City Celebrants are the kind of Celebrants that you would like to officiate your same sex wedding in Brisbane, we would absolutely love to hear from you, contact us now to confirm availability.

Gay Brisbane Wedding with Brisbane City Celebrants Jamie Eastgate

Paul and Paul’s Cloudland Wedding with Brisbane City Celebrants Jamie Eastgate

The dream team for this very special day included the following wedding vendors:

If you enjoyed hearing about this Cloudland wedding ceremony and are looking for a Celebrant for your Brisbane wedding, Jamie would love to hear from you. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.