Civil Partnership in Dorset By McKinley-Rodgers

Happy Monday everyone and welcome along to not just another week but another month! How on earth did it get to September? It feels like it was only April a month ago! This year has certainly whizzed by! It’s a busy week for me as I have my last wedding of the year on Saturday, so lots of last-minute checking to do ready for the big day! Today though, I have a gorgeous Civil Partnership to share with you courtesy of McKinley-Rodgers who are good friends of the two handsome grooms. It comes complete with a beautiful slide show/video that brought a tear to me eye when I watched it, so heartwarming and so beautifully captured by Penny and Cam.

‘The whole day was more amazing than either of us could have ever envisaged. The emotion, love and happiness that flowed throughout the day made it the most incredible experience of both our lives.’

Josef and Krishna who were married on 26th July at Mountfield Registry Office in Dorset with the reception at Olive Tree Restaurant, Dorset. ‘We both live in Australia where you can’t have a civil partnership. We thought it would be fitting to have the ceremony in Josef’s home town. We had 40 guests, We started planning it in March 2013 when my Josef’s dad and sister were with us in Australia for a holiday.’

How they met
We met though friends of friends. One of Krishna’s good friends had a friend who knew me. They tried on multiple times to get us to meet up with not much success. When we finally met on the 3rd December 2010, we instantly clicked and the rest is history.

The proposal
Krishna: We had gone out for dinner with my parents, who were celebrating their 32nd wedding anniversary. After we returned home we got on the topic of marriages. My sister had an extravagant wedding and a very expensive honeymoon and I was complaining that there was nothing us gays could do that would trigger an expenses paid trip around the world. That’s when Josef asked me to marry him in the UK, because we could. I wasn’t facing him when he asked and went deathly quiet. Internally I was furious that he had wrecked all my extravagant plans to propose, but I can see how Josef may have interpreted that silence very differently.

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Why did you choose your photographer?
We chose Penny and Cameron McKinley-Rodgers because I had known them for a long time and knew what good photographers they were.

Where were your suits from?
Moss Bross

Theme or colour scheme
Krishna and I wore pink and blue, but there was no real overall colour scheme

Food
We ate at the Olive Tree restaurant where they provided an Antipasti starter, choice of Skirt Steak Bourguignon, Chicken Breast with Parma Ham & Madeira, Plaice with Crayfish, or Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni for main, and An Individual Pudding platter for desert.

Entertainment
We had a close up magician going around the tables and an acoustic guitarist providing background music

Decoration
Josef’s sister had managed to get into the restaurant early and decorate all the tables. Much to both our surprise she had also printed out pictures of us both, that she had quietly gotten from Krishna’s parents, and put them up around the restaurant. It was an amazing, and very emotional, surprise when we walked in.

Personal / DIY touches
• Josef’s dad loaned us his 2CV AZ van that we used as the wedding car.
• The confetti was fresh rose petals that Josef and his dad picked the morning of the ceremony.
• All the decorations were done by Josef’s sister and cousin.
• The cakes were backed by Josef’s Auntie.
• Josef’s sister read an ancient Sanskrit poem that Krishna had pricked a few weeks before. On the morning of the wedding we got a call from Krishna’s parents telling us that the same poem was read at his grandparents wedding.

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Special moments
The most special moment of the day was when we got to escape with just the photographers and enjoy each others company for the first time as a married couple.

Advice
Don’t plan too much. Don’t worry about your guests not being constantly entertained. Step back and enjoy the day for the two of you.

Biggest surprise
Walking into the restaurant and seeing the amazing personalised decorations my sister had organised.

Supplier Shout Outs