How long have you been together, and how did you meet?
We have been together for just over six and a half years. We first met when Alison moved into the share house that Lana was living in March 2017. Lana hadn’t met Ali before she moved into the house. Their housemates had met Ali to do the meet and greet and show Ali the room (Lana’s old room). We had left a pride flag up in the room in a very low-key attempt to avoid homophobes. The place was an old Queenslander; Lana had moved downstairs into the house’s bigger but probably not up-to-code enclosed area.
When we finally did meet in the stairwell of the house, we became fast friends and started going on outings which neither of us were willing to admit were dates. After two months and a couple near misses, we attended an Adore Delano show at Fluffy and the next day we were dating. We kept the secret poorly and sooner rather than later our housemates knew and Ali’s room remained mostly empty until we moved out at the start of 2018.
Tell us about the proposal.
Lana first proposed to Alison in February 2021 while we were away in Montville, QLD. We were staying in a beautiful location, watching the sunset and eating dinner at the time. It was all adorable, except Lana timed it poorly, and Alison still had a chip in her mouth.
Alison proposed a few weeks later at home. Lana arrived home from work to a lounge room full of tea lights and a cross stitch that read, “Will you marry me?” It was a fire hazard but very wonderful.
What was the inspiration behind the vibe of your wedding?
We had been trying to plan our wedding for a while and went through a few different ideas but were still deciding. When Ali found Flash Romantics, we were sold pretty quickly. It seemed like a lower-stress but fun way to get married. As we were from Brisbane, we also got to take a holiday away to Melbourne for the wedding, which was an added bonus.
Did you undertake any DIY projects for the big day?
We made party bags for all our guests, which included a collection of cute little things, including a friendship bracelet and key chain we made for each guest. We also made a small model of a wedding arch on a grassy hill for each person. Lana made a larger model of a wedding arch, which held our wedding bands for the ceremony.
Talk to us about your experience finding the perfect outfits.
We had a few thoughts and directions we wanted to go and looked at various options.
Ali had known about Selkie for a while, and after looking through their site, she found the perfect pair for her. After much consideration, she chose a pair of pink Lamoda heels.
Once the Selkie dress was purchased and the vibe was set, Lana bought a relatively cheap suit and then spent about double the price to alter the pants. The fabric was good, but the fit was not. After finding their shirt on Dangerfield, Lana made many attempts to purchase it; however, they consistently needed help with the size running out of stock. Eventually, Lana got lucky and was able to order the shirt. The buttons on the blazer were modified to be flowers to match the shirt, and a white panel was sowed into the front of the shirt; this time, Lana did it and not a tailor.
Talk to us about the big day! We want all the details.
We had an early start to the day, waking up at 5:30 am to get our hair and makeup done for our noon ceremony. This went wonderfully, as we had the lovely Wendy with us, who did an excellent job for both of us and was an absolute pleasure.
Our friends rocked up shortly before our departure to the venue to hype us up and be there to see Lana get to see Ali in her dress for the first time.
Once we arrived at Flash Romantics, the team made everything a breeze, and we just went through the motions. We had some more time together with our friends prior to walking down the aisle while our final guests arrived. During this time, we were able to chat with Renee the Celebrant, and the Flash Romantics team about the ceremony and the process for the day.
When it came time to get married, we walked down the aisle together. The rest is a blur. We had lovely photos taken with Charlie and Ben. Lastly, we got our matching tattoos with Nick.
We then had time to return to our accommodation and take a nap before going out for dinner that night with our guests.
What does marriage mean to you?
People keep asking us what marriage life is like, and we keep responding, “About the same.” For us, it was just a way to continue our commitment to each other and have a little party with our friends. We both wanted to get married one day, and it was important to us to take that step.
Anything you are glad you did? Or wish you didn’t do?
We are really glad that we decided to have a break between our ceremony and reception. Having the time to sit and relax with each other without distractions from everyone else was very special.
Having the Flash Romantics team organise and run the day was incredible. We couldn’t recommend them enough. Having a low-stress wedding is important to us, and they went above and beyond to achieve this.
Lastly, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
When we started dating, marriage was not legal in Australia.
The fact that we were legally allowed to celebrate our love at a young(ish) age is not lost on us. Queer love is such a magical experience, and we have more than earnt our right to show the world that we have something worth celebrating.
Photography by Ceremony by Charlie
Celebrant Renee the Celebrant
Ceremony Venue Studio Take Care
Cinematographer These Wild Eyes
Decorative Elements Flash Romantics
Florist Tribal Rose
H&MU Wendy Nguyen
Reception Venue Ichi Ni Nana Izakaya
Wedding Rings Staghead Designs, Earth + Heart Jewellery
