Avril + Jack by Mitch Pohl - Together Journal

Our lives and sanity revolve around the ocean and being outdoors. One thing we knew we had in common from the start.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

Avril: Jack and I are both originally from the South Coast, NSW. Jack, a tunneller, and I, a nurse, are currently living in Sydney, working hard to make our dream of getting back down the coast to raise our family come true. We have a 2-year-old daughter, Gabrielle and are expecting our second babe in April 2024. Our lives and sanity revolve around the ocean and being outdoors. One thing we knew we had in common from the start.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

Avril: Jack and I were set up on a blind date in 2019 by our best friends who are a couple also. I definitely needed a lot more convincing than Jack did, and it had been geed up for a while prior to it actually happening. We went to a Mexican restaurant in Wollongong, and to be completely honest, I needed a
couple of beverages beforehand to pluck up the courage to do it. It turned out to be one of the best dates ever. The only ones that came close were the ones that followed. My first impression of Jack was that he was tall and fit… and funny. We didn’t stop talking and laughing the whole night. Thanks to our friends Elle and Tim!

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

Jack: The moment for me (one of) was Christmas that year; we were out on Avril’s dad’s yacht collecting oysters. Knowing well by now Avril was born and bred on the south coast we had so much in common with fishing and being on the water. We’d pulled up, and without hesitation, she jumped over the side of the boat, no shoes on and started walking through the oyster beds. Totally outdid me on the oyster harvest too. I was pretty impressed and knew this girl was a keeper.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

Avril: Literally one of the best days ever. In April 2021, we flew down to Tasmania, hired a campervan and road-tripped from one end to the other. I was about 16 weeks pregnant at the time, and the plan was to find an epic spot, set up the self-timer and get a pregnancy announcement photo. So there we were, Honeymoon Bay, in the Freycinet of Tassie. Sunset just kicking off. It was the most perfect afternoon. Jack had set up the phone on film.. couldn’t have walked into that proposal anymore if I tried. He did very well.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…

Collectively our main vision was for a traditional ceremony with all the feels and then an amazing party to follow. The theme I envisioned was a combination of chic, minimalistic and timeless. I went with my love of whites and neutrals, and the florist absolutely nailed the brief. The lovers moon was exactly what I had pictured. Lush greens and whites everywhere. For our photos, incorporating the cabbage palms was such a dream come true. We scaled barbed wire fences and stomped through paddocks to get the shot. It was worth it, for sure.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

Jack: Food. For sure. Hungry guests were one thing we didn’t want at our wedding. We loved our caters. A local company based in Gerringong. They did such a great job.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

Avril: So I feel like our actual wedding day went quite smoothly. It was something that occurred in the preceding few weeks that still kind of haunts me now, but I know it might be funny later… maybe. My hens party was planned close to the wedding date due to a lot of my best friends flying interstate and internationally. Two weeks out from the wedding- virtually the whole hens party contracted covid, including myself. It was absolutely stressful. Of course, no one’s fault, and at this stage, COVID was considered pretty mainstream, but I couldn’t help but feel responsible for it all happening and the possibility of our dream wedding being cancelled. Once we had all recovered, that last minute rush to get things done was real. Gosh, it’s stressful. But we did it. And we’re married. And it’s amazing.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

Avril: Jack and the groomsmen outfits were the easy party when planning a wedding. We just needed to find a suit that matched the brown boots. Done! My wedding dress was purchased on a whim. I got online one night and saw the designer having a sale. I was always after a basic crepe style, and as soon as I saw it, I loved it. It came in the post a few weeks later, and the rest is history. The second dress was the little splurge that I don’t regret. I’m excited to wear that dress over and over again.