{"id":185328,"date":"2017-08-31T03:15:16","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T17:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/au\/real-weddings\/wade-and-mohammad-close-public-beach-for-fashion-luxe-wedding\/"},"modified":"2022-03-17T00:41:17","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T13:41:17","slug":"wade-and-mohammad-close-public-beach-for-fashion-luxe-wedding","status":"publish","type":"au-real-wedding","link":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/real-weddings\/wade-and-mohammad-close-public-beach-for-fashion-luxe-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Wade and Mohammad close public beach for fashion luxe wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wade Thompson and Mohammad Alquisi weren\u2019t going to wait any longer for Australia to get its act together and legalise same-sex marriage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nor were the pair, aged 44 and 29 respectively, hesitating when it came to creating the fashion luxe wedding of their dreams \u2013 wearing Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, Dsquared2 and Fendi – and shutting down the Palazzo Versace Hotel in the Gold Coast for the event was just the beginning! \u201cWe wanted exclusivity, privacy and yet a spectacle all at the same time \u2013 not to be difficult of course,\u201d laughs Wade. \u201cFor the first time, we were able to get permission to close down Versace beach and block it from the public, having free range to do with it as we wished.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fairy tale on March 13, 2017 was brought to life by event planners who boast their ability to create \u201cmagical\u201d spaces. \u201cEnter our modern Cinderella, Decinda, from Sugar and Spice Events<\/a>, and it was not long before our very vision<\/a> was slowly coming to life,\u201d explains Wade. \u201cWhat started as a few sketchy fashion magazine pictures, was suddenly turning into a full-scale production.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the civil partnership ceremony<\/a> was not the legal marriage\u00a0the pair had been hoping for, it was by no means a low-key occasion. \u201cAs the sunlight fell, the purple light hues hit the Versace hotel buildings,\u201d says Wade. \u201cAs the guests were ushered in, we could see all the hotel guests cramming their balconies to catch a view. As it came time to announce Mr and Mr Thompson, fireworks erupted against the hotel to the Katy Perry song <\/a>Unconditional<\/em> bellowing out across the space. All of the hotel erupted with cheers, and at least 100 people from within the hotel, and all over the balconies, suddenly were a part of our day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of Mikey Andersson Photography<\/a>; styling shots by\u00a0Tim Sherriff.<\/p>\n

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The upcoming marriage equality<\/a> plebiscite in Australia wasn\u2019t a reality when Wade and Mohammad started planning their civil partnership. \u201cAustralia had just passed the vote to have a plebiscite and, to our horror, the activists blocked it from happening. Well for us, that was enough of our lives wasted to say \u2018I do\u2019, so we chose to have the civil partnership instead.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Wade and Mohammad met 10 years ago while Wade was working in the Middle East. Their shared love of fashion and travel saw them spending plenty of time together and eventually a romance developed. \u201cFrom the pyramids of Egypt, to the jungles of Bali, it was not long before I knew he was the man for me,\u201d explains Wade. \u201cWe hold hands all the time at home, and our favourite pastime is curling up together at night and watching a movie as we drift off to sleep.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Of the catering<\/a> at Versace, Wade comments, “We told the hotel that we were men, and men like to eat. We did not want fancy and pretty, I wanted to eat, be full and stay full. So we worked with their chefs and upped the size of the meal portions to make sure everyone was as full as a bull.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Working in the fashion industry, the couple sought a fashion photographer over a wedding photographer to capture those “now” photos. They found him in Mikey Andersson<\/a>. “We’re not the sort of people who will sit and look back on a wedding album over coffee in 20 years,” explains Wade. “Mikey is a specialist in fashion photography with his works published in many of Australia\u2019s biggest fashion magazines.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Sugar and Spice Events<\/a> worked closely with the Sydney couple to make their dream a reality. \u201cThe evening was planned at dusk, Versace beach covered in dim-lit lanterns and candles by the hundreds; a huge white orchid-and-wisteria archway, our hashtag<\/a> framed, while our 25 guests where all tucked out of view drinking Cosmopolitans in a VIP area,\u201d smiles Wade.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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After the wow-factor ceremony followed a reception like no other for their 25 guests. \u201cWe booked out the penthouse and Decinda<\/a> again spared no effort to strip it\u00a0and fill it, ready for a banquet fit for us and our guests, while all along having a direct view of the #MR&MR sign, Versace beach and the purple glow of the hotel,\u201d praises Wade.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4UXl4y8xLAk<\/p>\n

Amongst all the glam, was something a little more cheap and easy. \u201cWe are famed for fancy hotels and designer shopping, but when it comes to food, we are cheap-eat fans,\u201d laughs\u00a0Wade. \u201cAs a joke, we did McDonald\u2019s Happy Meals as the party favours<\/a>!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":185330,"parent":0,"template":"","au_real_wedding_category":[6856],"au_real_wedding_tag":[8274,7287,7070,8275,7145,7722,7575],"au_real_wedding_style":[9010],"au_real_wedding_location":[9057,9024],"au_real_wedding_setting":[9017],"au_real_wedding_colour":[10571,10605,10575],"au_real_wedding_competition":[],"class_list":["post-185328","au-real-wedding","type-au-real-wedding","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","au_real_wedding_category-6856","au_real_wedding_tag-fashion-luxe-wedding","au_real_wedding_tag-gold-wedding-2","au_real_wedding_tag-luxury-wedding","au_real_wedding_tag-mikey-andersson-photography","au_real_wedding_tag-real-weddings","au_real_wedding_tag-same-sex-wedding","au_real_wedding_tag-tim-sherriff-photography","au_real_wedding_style-luxury","au_real_wedding_location-gold-coast","au_real_wedding_location-qld","au_real_wedding_setting-hotel","au_real_wedding_colour-black-wedding","au_real_wedding_colour-coral-wedding","au_real_wedding_colour-gold-wedding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-real-wedding\/185328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-real-wedding"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/au-real-wedding"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-real-wedding\/185328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_category?post=185328"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_tag?post=185328"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_style","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_style?post=185328"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_location?post=185328"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_setting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_setting?post=185328"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_colour","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_colour?post=185328"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_competition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_competition?post=185328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}