Alice + Patrick by Sophie Isabella - Together Journal

I spent most of my time on one knee trying to convince her that I wasn’t joking. The ring was on her finger eventually and it was no less special. But if we were to do it again, I probably wouldn’t pull that prank at the gift store or push the ‘de facto’ narrative quite so hard.

Alice —— Patrick is a commercial banker and I’m a project manager in the construction industry. We met in Wellington — it was my second year at uni while Patrick was at the beginning of his career. There were multiple attempts to set us up, but it wasn’t until 2013 that we finally met at a gig at San Fran on Cuba St. My first impression was that Patrick was fun, charming, and handsome.

Patrick —— Alice, this shy little brunette girl with gorgeous green eyes, loved a cocktail and a pointy-finger dance.

Alice —— We eventually went on a casual date at Hotel Bristol. After a few drinks and a bowl of hot chips, we realised we’d been sitting there for a few hours and still hadn’t run out of things to talk about. Patrick was really sweet and surprisingly sensitive. Talking to him was easy.

Patrick —— Alice wasn’t the shy girl I thought she was. She was sharp, knew exactly what she wanted, and was the daughter of a chef. She made it known that she was a bit of a foodie.

Alice —— I knew almost immediately that Patrick was my person. During the wedding speeches, it was cute to hear that he’d messaged his sister after our first date telling her I was ‘the one’. When he proposed, we’d been in a relationship for 7 years, and living together for 5. While I was hopeful, Patrick’s motto was “de facto is the future, babe”. Then, in 2020, I organised a road trip down the West Coast to Queenstown. We were killing time in a tourist shop before heading to Fox Glacier when Patrick jokingly asked what I’d say if he proposed with a ring he’d picked up from one of the shelves. I said, “I’d be happy with anything”. Soon after, we were strapped into crampons, exploring ice caves, when our guide asked if anyone wanted a photo. Patrick handed over his phone. When our guide said “Cheese!”, I looked to Patrick who was down on one knee with a ring in his hand.

Patrick —— I spent most of my time on one knee trying to convince her that I wasn’t joking. The ring was on her finger eventually and it was no less special. But if we were to do it again, I probably wouldn’t pull that prank at the gift store or push the ‘de facto’ narrative quite so hard.

Alice —— We were on cloud nine once I managed to process everything. Our first decision was the wedding venue. We wanted to get married in Marlborough and knew Paripuma, an award-winning native garden, was the spot when we saw it. It’s already breathtaking, so we kept everything very simple, with only white florals and festoon lights to bring it all together.

I managed to keep my party dress a secret from Patrick. In the days before the wedding, Patrick became more and more nervous about our first dance, especially when he saw my dress, which weighed 5 kilograms and had a 2-metre train. In contrast, my party dress (which I kept secret from Patrick) weighed less than 500 grams, so once I’d changed it felt like it really was time to party.