Real Wedding – Kirk & Normie, Fremantle WA
What does a wedding professional do when it’s time to celebrate his own epic love? For Kirk and Normie, it was about stripping back the fuss and amping up the intimate, relaxed vibes. The result is a light-filled, effortlessly stylish micro-wedding packed full of the most gorgeous, natural emotion.
Superstar celebrant Dilhari of Kiss Me You Fool kicked off the celebrations with a ceremony filled with warmth, laughter and the happiest of tears, all against simple, stunning foliage by Wallflower. Kirk and Normie were masters of style in their contrasting suits in tones of soft taupe and deep umber, elevated with matching ties and buttonholes of natural textures in peach flushed tan.
While the celebrations ramped up inside, Kirk and Normie took a moment out together for a portrait session that truly wows – lens legend Sandie Bertrand Photography has captured every emotion against exquisite urban backdrops, providing textural treats to delight the eye.
We love Kirk’s advice, to surround yourself with a team of true talent and trust them to work their magic. In this case, the magic was nothing short of pure perfection.
The meeting.
We met when both living in Melbourne, through the gym – Kirk was a step aerobics instructor and Normie came along to one of his classes! We struck up a friendship for years until one day we decided to go on a date!
The ‘one’.
When we decided to have a child through surrogacy, we knew we were in it for the long haul! Our son, Henry, was born in Thailand in 2014. We then moved to Perth a year later and set up our family life here.
The proposal.
There was no proposal! Just a mutual agreement that it was time! Henry was six years old, and it had been legal in Australia for a couple of years, so we had no excuse!
Planning process.
Ours is another ‘Covid elopement’ story, where we realised it was going to be years until we could safely plan a big wedding with interstate guests. So, in December 2020, when it looked like the borders were opening and Normie’s mother and step-father could come from Melbourne to Perth for Christmas, we decided to get married whilst they were in town! Seeing as Kirk has been a wedding celebrant for 13 years, organising a wedding in five weeks was a breeze! But it was with a huge amount of support from our fabulous vendors (friends!).
We put complete trust in our vendors. We knew that they knew us and would produce what we wanted. And that’s what I advise my own couples – pick the right vendors and give them your trust – that’s our job!
Style inspiration.
We really wanted something low-key, intimate and simple. We chose a venue ten minutes from our house, so logistically, it was easy. We had a morning ceremony because we’ve never been a big fan of the whole waiting around all day thing. Followed by a ‘pub’ lunch in a private section where everyone could order whatever they desired! Someone had ribs, someone had a burger, someone had pasta – it really felt just like a low-key lunch with 20 of our closest family and friends. I (Kirk) can certainly appreciate and love the big weddings that I work at most weekends, but when you do it for a living, it’s not always what you want for yourself.
The ceremony.
The most significant thing about it was that it was officiated by our very close friend Dilhari at Kiss Me You Fool, who is known around the country for not just being an amazing celebrant but is the most beautiful person. We really didn’t care what she said; we knew it would be perfect.
The outfit.
The one thing we decided was we didn’t want to wear matching outfits. We’ve seen lots of other same-sex male couples do it, and they look fabulous, but we wanted contrasting colours. We also wanted no blue! We both own so many blue suits, shirts etc.; we wanted something different from the typical blue!!
Favourite moments.
Henry waking up at 3:30am in sheer excitement, asking if it was the wedding day? No! We would say after the ceremony – that realisation that we are married and that everything we have worked together as a couple and family have all culminated in an official, legally binding union.
Wedding soundtrack.
We are both Delta Goodrem fans – have always been, so we walked down the aisle to Sitting on Top of the World by Delta – and the lyrics meant everything!
Funny stories or near disasters.
Like other Covid couples, we did have to reschedule four days before the wedding! When WA introduced their retrospective Covid restrictions on travellers from Melbourne, Normie’s parents had to self-isolate, so we had to push the wedding back a few days. We spent New Years Eve rescheduling a wedding, but our vendors were amazing, and we did it! Just like everyone else who has had to!
Planning surprises.
Just the Covid announcement/postponement, but it’s the new normal now, isn’t it?!
Words of wisdom.
If you pick the right vendors, your wedding planning and day will be a dream. Honestly.
Want to follow Kirk and Normie’s lead and surround yourself with a team of true talent? Check out some of the best in the biz, on our directory. Be prepared for a huge inspiration hit!
KIRK & NORMIE’S VENDORS
Ceremony & reception venue: Tradewinds Hotel. The customer service was second to none. They were so accommodating. Despite only having a very small and simple wedding, they made us feel like VIP guests. The food was amazing.
Celebrant: Dilhari at Kiss Me You Fool. After 12 years of being a celebrant, one might think that choosing a celebrant for my own wedding would be a challenging task… but it wasn’t. We have had the privilege of getting to know Dilhari over the last few years, both professionally and personally, and she is one of the most talented, dedicated, kindest, sassy and energetic little pocket-rockets you will ever meet. She masterfully strikes that perfect balance of sincerity and comedy with complete genuineness. Her love for love, her couples and weddings simply shines through in all your encounters and, most importantly, on the wedding day. I already knew Dilhari was amazing, but all our guests who had never seen her in action before had nothing but the highest praise for her delivery, personality, energy, presence and presentation.
Photography: Sandie Bertrand Photography. Kirk has worked with Sandie many times, and he knew she would be a perfect match for our wedding. We asked Sandie to think of our wedding day more as a family photoshoot than a typical wedding day. We wanted the day to be about the three of us, and she certainly captured that. We are so happy with the gorgeous photos. We have had so many compliments about our photos from the industry, family and friends.
Videography: Folktales. Ash and Alex are the dream team wedding videographers – they are so easy-going, fun and chilled but equally talented, creative and amazing! We love our video and will treasure it for the rest of our lives.
Florist: Wallflower. So, what started as a very simple, “Hey Steph, can I get three buttonholes?” turned into buttonholes, a flower girl bouquet and a wall installation! She realised our brief perfectly – natural, simple, classic. The wall feature was just the perfect pop the ceremony backdrop needed. She’s a true professional and creative.
Make-up: Elicia Rudd. So many of my (Kirk) brides have used Elicia and raved about her, so I knew she would be amazing! Elicia gave us a little make-up to hide the 3:30am wake-up call by Henry! She did my sisters make-up and Normie’s mum hair and make-up. And she is so quick! No one likes a make-up artist that runs late!!
Rings: Nordhoff Jewellery. When looking for rings, I put a post on my social media asking for recommendations for jewellers. A number of people recommended Nordhoff. We went and saw Clint, not having any idea what we wanted. Through a process of elimination, he helped us create our wedding bands, and we just love them. They were very supportive and friendly. Highly recommend!
Cake: The Cake and I. And last but not least, Jo! I’ve known Jo from the industry for so many years – she’s one of Perth’s most in-demand cake makers. She’s so friendly, fun and talented. Once again, we had no idea what we wanted, but Henry wanted a chocolate cake. So I said, “Jo, make me a chocolate cake.” She asked about layers, ganache etc. I said, “I don’t know, Jo… just make me a bloody good chocolate cake,” and with that, she did! It was fantastic! And we had leftovers, and it froze so well!! I’ve had her salted caramel, which is my fave, but Henry wanted chocolate and what Henry wants is what Henry gets! She also got married at the Tradewinds years ago too.
