Michael and Gordon were married in Brighton. This super stylish pair both wore two amazing outfits each – Michael’s both from Burberry and Gordon’s, Reiss. They wanted their wedding to be laid back and fun for their guests and themselves. They had just 40 people there and did things that made them really happy. That included funfair rides at the end of Brighton Pier and a romantic sky message!
“Our Inspiration for our wedding were our friends and family”, wrote Michael. “They are incredibly important to us. We wanted an intimate, fun filled day full of treats and heartfelt surprises. I guess our day was unique in many ways. We hired Drakes Hotel exclusively for our civil partnership. We had 40 guests all staying in the 20 amazing rooms. We covered the costs of the rooms and put welcome bags full of goodies in each room with an itinerary attached to it! We were there the morning of the big day greeting our guests while they were checking in, it was so lovely knowing they were checking in not really knowing how the day would unfold.”
“Then came the ceremony”, he continued. “This was very unique and something that we never anticipated being so very emotional. The legalities were done in Germany two days before with just Gordon and I and no witnesses, so for us this really was a formality. We are not religious at all and so Gordon’s best friend Christiane organised and conducted a beautiful service/blessing. My best friend Maria took part in it also (she flew all the way from Australia and I was so grateful). Everything was translated in German and English and they spoke of us both also as their best friends and at one point we were all in tears. It was quite simply amazing, and a very special moment that all four of us shared. We wrote our own vows which felt so personal and so right. My niece and nephew gave Gordon his ring from me, and Gordon’s niece and nephew gave his ring to me. This was very special as all the children are all younger than the time we have been together and we very much see them all as a token of our relationship! There were lots of laughs and tears and many of our guests said it was just the way it should be, personal and from the heart.”
After the ceremony everyone went out onto Brighton sea front. They served canapés, champagne and an ice cream van showed up! “Betty the vintage ice-cream van was one of our first surprises for our guests!” he said. “The ice-cream was amazing and all locally produced, all of our vegan guests were chuffed to as the variety included vegan options. The weather was amazing and just perfect for the day. Next stop was BRIGHTON PIER!! In our guests welcome bags were all inclusive wrist bands for all the rides at the end of the pier, it was so much fun!!! The kids loved it, and I mean, when do you ever get a whole wedding party on a loop the loop roller coaster pictures? Emma, our photographer, was such a great sport and wore her wrist band and came on some of the rides, too.”
“While we were walking over to the pier I was in contact with the pilot who was literally in the sky telling me how far away he was flying a message from me to Gordon as a big surprise. I was the only person along with Emma (our photographer) who knew. It was touch and go if it would happen a few days before as the weather kept changing. It could have been cancelled however, it was glorious and sunny on the day and the flight went over and it was magical. Gordon’s face was a picture!! It circled for 15 minutes and was such a proud moment. We spoke about it after and it felt so amazing that we live in an age where we can love each other, as two men and shout it from the sky just like anybody else!”
“For the day time part of our wedding we told our guests to come in relaxed attire as we would be spending the day having fun and frolicking! We wanted everybody to be comfortable and relaxed for all the action. We did however tell them that they would have a ‘costume change’ before the evening celebrations. We did this for a number of reasons. First we both wanted to wear two outfits (!) but it also gave us a nice break in the day. We went up to the room together and had a little little moment to ourselves to reflect. We put cupcakes in everyone’s rooms with a ‘sorry I couldn’t make it’ card from our dog, Connie, and gave them an hour to chill out.”
“After our cocktail reception we had an amazing dinner at Drakes, facing the sea. We are so happy we were able to just pop downstairs for an amazing meal. We had Rock Candy made for each person with their names on it and ‘Gordon loves Michael’ through the middle. Another unique part of our day was the wedding cake. We originally wanted a three-tired themed cake from a very well known cake company but were quoted £2000! We could not believe it and point blank refused. We are so happy because it led us to Elisa at Betsy’s Bakes. She bakes cakes in her very own kitchen from one oven. We decided to get an array of cakes and tarts, cookies and more.”
“We would not have changed a single thing about our wedding”, Michael summarised. “We were really so happy with how the day went, it was literally perfect for us and absolutely everything we ever dreamed of. It was so nice to have such a small amount of guests, so often you see the married couple dashing around desperately trying to talk to everyone. We were chilled, took everything in our stride and just felt like we were hanging out with our family and friends.”
The Gallery
Suppliers
- Photography: Emma Lucy Photography
- Venue: Drake's Hotel, Brighton
- Groom #1 Attire: Burberry
- Groom #2 Attire: Reiss
- Flowers: Gunn's Florist
- Stationery: Petal and Pray
- Cakes: Betty's Bakes
- DJ: DJ2K
- Aeroplane Banner: Airads
- Ice Cream Van: Vintage Scoops
- Custom Rock: The Rock Works