We just wanted to have a relaxed wedding day, celebrating our love and families coming together with all the people who mean a lot to us.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We are both doctors in Oncology (Grace in Medical Oncology, Ed in Radiation Oncology) based in Melbourne. We both love being close to nature, trail running, hiking, camping in our rooftop tent, and cooking together.
After Ed finishes his specialty training, our dream is to move to a smaller town much closer to nature. Our sights are set on Tasmania and New Zealand. A very memorable holiday we had last year was tramping the Rees Dart Track on the South Island and doing some trail running in Wanaka and near Christchurch.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We first met at the Royal Hobart Hospital in a meeting at work. We were both new to Hobart at the time and were rotating there for the year as a part of our training. Ed had messy, wavy hair with knots in it, his shirt was untucked, and he looked like someone who had a lot of difficulty finding pants the right length for him (he is 6 foot 5). He didn’t look like a doctor but more like a surf model, and I was intrigued. I was excited when I found out that Ed was the radiation oncology registrar and that we would be working very closely together. We talked about how much we were both looking forward to exploring beautiful Tasmania and spending every chance we got in nature. I think I made the first move and invited Ed to bouldering.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Grace: Ed seemed mysterious, and I initially thought he would only be into making jokes and having light-hearted conversations. When I told him about a tough day at work, I was so surprised at how he listened to every word I said and opened up to me about a similar experience. I felt like we connected so easily, and the conversation just flowed. I felt like I wanted to keep talking to him. He is also very silly and makes everyone laugh, including his patients, and I really loved that about him!
We were already hanging out a lot as friends, going for trail runs, bouldering, dumpster diving, and going to yoga. One night, we went out with some friends in Hobart, and we were all standing by a fire, and Ed held my hand under the table. It was so unexpected and it felt like the whole world went blurry, and it was just the two of us. Since then, we have wanted to see each other every day and could not be apart! Ed always made sure we had plans to see each other again before we said goodbye.
Ed: Initially, I thought I was not ready for anything serious as I had just gotten out of a long-term relationship. I thought Grace was extremely beautiful, thoughtful, kind and intelligent and saw that she had many similar interests to me. She was extremely honest and would always speak her mind.
At the time I thought that I would maybe never get into a serious relationship again due to feeling like I would never be able to commit to anyone. We got to know each other over 6 months as friends and over that time I believe the whole time I was attracted to her but would never admit it to myself!
We went out to get drinks with some work friends, and while we were sitting next to each other with a group of our work colleagues, I impulsively grabbed her hand underneath the table. At this point, we had been friends for about five months or so. The moment she squeezed my hand underneath the table, I knew that I was in love with her.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Ed and I had plans to walk the Rees-Dart Track in New Zealand. To prepare, Ed suggested we go for a practice hike in the Brisbane Ranges with our backpacks. He really downplayed the weekend, saying, “I don’t think this place is going to be anything special. We’ll probably camp next to a dam. I don’t even know why this place has a name!” After about 4 hours into our walk, I was struggling with my heavy backpack while Ed was charging ahead. He was out of my sight until I found him sitting next to a rock, holding his hand. He said, “I don’t want you to be alarmed, but I’ve been bitten by a spider”, and held out his finger, blood dripping from it, and asked me to get the first aid kit from my bag to see if there was a compression bandage. Right next to it, I saw a gold ring but immediately focused on the bandage. I grabbed the bandage and started applying first aid, but then Ed asked, “Is there anything else there?” I said, “Yes, there’s a ring, but we have no need for that right now.” I was so caught up in the moment that I did not realise that this was an elaborate rouse to direct me to the first aid kit with the engagement ring hidden within. He had punctured his own finger in order to fake a spider bite to make it work.
We made our way to the campsite, where we discovered our sleeping mat was punctured. Ed had also been quite indulgent in terms of his food intake for our first day, leaving us with scarce rations for the next big day of hiking. I knew we had another night ahead of us, and the idea of camping a second night on a deflated mat while running out of food filled me with dread. Ed had also taken responsibility for navigation, a task which he did not seem to be taking very seriously, as we were completely lost. Tired, hungry and deflated, we rested next to a dirt road for the hottest part of the day. Suddenly, my brother Angelo and sister-in-law Clarissa pulled up in their car next to us! They whisked us away to a beautiful Airbnb, where they had prepared a delicious meal and wine. We had such a lovely weekend! We were never lost, Ed had engineered the food shortage and “getting lost” including our seemingly impromptu rest by the side of the road – the exact location of which had been pre-determined as a pick up spot. The deflated mat was not part of the plan.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
We just wanted to have a relaxed wedding day, celebrating our love and families coming together with all the people who mean a lot to us. We were very happy to have Sarah Godenzi as our wedding photographer.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
The morning of our wedding, Ed and I went for a run with my siblings and their partners. It started drizzling, and I was freaking out a little bit, but it cleared up by the afternoon and ended up being a beautiful day. I think everyone was expecting me to be at a hair appointment, or getting my make-up done that morning, but I loved spending the morning of our wedding day doing what we love the most- it was so memorable.
CEREMONY LOCATION Under a beautiful Oak Tree at Heide Museum of Modern Art, @heidemoma RECEPTION LOCATION Heide Kitchen PHOTOGRAPHER Sarah Godenzi, @sarahgodenziphotography VIDEOGRAPHER Twin sons of Ed’s former boss – Max and Ari ENTERTAINMENT Ceremony – Piano, Cello, Clarinet Trio: Ensemble Liaison, @ensembleliaison; Flutist: Grace’s Mother FLORIST Flowers Vasette, @flowersvasette CELEBRANT Megan Thompson, @Meganthompsoncelebrant CATERING, BEVERAGES, LINEN, STATIONERY & CANDLES Heide Kitchen RINGS & JEWELLERY Krista McRae, @kristamcraejewellery BRIDAL DRESS Ulla Johnson, @ullajohnson BRIDE’S SHOE Gold Sandals – Sezane, @sezane ACCESSORIES Abalone Earrings – Phoebe Edge, @phoebeingrid; Vintage beaded bag from mum HAIR & MAKEUP Bride’s Sister – Bona SUIT P Johnson, @pjohnsontailors GROOM’S SHOE Old shoes from my cupboard lathered in polish
