Matt and Ollie – Wedding – Fremantle
Together with Kelly from 7 to 1 Photography I was invited to photograph the wedding of Matt and Ollie at the Fremantle Guildhall in Western Australia. Guildhall is a beautifully restored event space in the heart of North Fremantle.
The emotions
I have been involved in weddings for over 12 years now and despite the number of weddings that I have officiated or photographed in that time I still cry at every single one. After 12 years, I now normally just get a tear or two when the music starts for the processional. Ollie and Matt’s wedding was different. There was not a dry eye in the place and I didn’t have a tear or two, the emergency tissues I keep in my pocket for the bridal party were all for me!
This was the first same sex wedding I have been included in since the laws in Australia changed last year. Prior to this I had only officiated commitment ceremonies. When I was growing up all I ever wanted to be was a wife and a mum and I struggle to imagine what it would be like growing up knowing that I could never legally marry the love of my life. The real kicker for me was Matt and Ollie’s parents. Knowing that a day had come that they thought they would never see. They didn’t think they would ever see their son’s be able to legally get married and the joy they experienced watching their sons commit to spend the rest of their life with each other sets me off just thinking about it. Well the tears started early all around and they pretty much didn’t stop!
Prep
Matt and Ollie arrived at the Guildhall about an hour before their guests were set to arrive. I was able to use some of that time to capture special moments with their families, together and of course get the details like their AMAZING matching, elegant, Tiffany wedding bands.
The ceremony
The ceremony was held in the private courtyard of the Guildhall. An absolutely beautiful location for a wedding. Underneath an arbour adorned with flowers by their good friend Marco from Octaviano Interiors. The ceremony was conducted by Debra Lievense. Not much pressure for Deb, there were four celebrants in attendance, herself, Josh the DJ, Nathan the videographer and myself. I did suggest that rather than look at it as extra pressure she could see it as having more than adequate back up should the need arise! The personalised ceremony was beautiful, funny, and heartfelt and the vows Matt and Ollie had written for each other ensured that any remaining dry eye in the place was fast welling with tears.
Couples portraits
There was a very small window of opportunity between the ceremony and the meal being served that we could use for couples portraits. Kelly and I were joined by videographer Will outside for the worlds fastest couples portrait session. Luckily Matt and Ollie were fantastic and in the space of about 15 minutes we got some really beautiful shots of them. I have to say a huge thank you to the videographers, Nathan and Will from Story One. They were an absolute pleasure to work with! There can be power struggles with videographers and photographers vying for the best positions. We chatted to the guys before hand and just said ‘hey, how can we work together’ and that was it. We all wanted the same thing. Matt and Ollie to have the best possible record of the day so we could co-operate and share shots rather than competing. It was fantastic having four of us there as we could bounce ideas ‘oh I like that, do that again but this time can you do this…’.
The reception
The wedding reception was held in the private dining room of Guildhall. The table and reception were decorated beautifully again by Marco. The room was filled with candles that had been hand poured by the grooms with the signature wedding scent! The wishing well was a hand made suitcase crafted by Ollie as an ohmage to Louis Vuitton. No detail was overlooked.
Ollie told us that he had read that it is illegal for a same sex marriage to be conducted in Australia unless there is a drag queen in attendance and luckily they had a beautiful friend Diabolique fly in from New York not only to MC the reception but to perform later as well!
The dancing
Diabolique started the dancing and did an amazing job captivating the audience. The DJ Josh kept the party feel going and got everyone dancing. Ollie and Matt had decided that they were not going to have a traditional first dance at their wedding but in the days leading up to the ceremony they changed their mind and what a beautiful first dance it was. Honestly the way Matt and Ollie looked at each other made my heart swell.
Thank you
Thank you Ollie and Matt for inviting Kelly and I to be a part of your amazing wedding day. I will treasure the memories for a long time to come!
What amazing photos. So natural. 👍
Thanks so much
That’s quite the impressive pen.
Isn’t it 😀
What a lovely couple! Great work
They are such a lovely couple
Love the emotional aspect. And the evening perfomance.
Thanks, it was a roller coaster of emotions 😀
Very nice set of images , great work!
Thank you
Really natural and classy, I really like your style!
Thanks so much!
OMG! So many fantastic details here. That pen they signed the marriage contract with! I love their matching velvet coats. And those last two photos of them dancing are very sweet.
They really had all the details covered!
Gorgeous Photo’s! I love how emotional the grooms got during the vows 🙂
Thank you. It was very moving!