I am American and he is British, so it was going to be a destination wedding for either his or my family. We decided on selecting somewhere that was “neutral ground” but also that we knew people would be keen to travel to. Italy is just that.
After just a week of hanging out together and cruising around California, I was definitely falling in love.
As I am a singer-songwriter, instead of saying a small speech, after James had said his piece, he then ushered everyone to the dancefloor to listen and dance to a song that I wrote and performed all about how we first met.
Thom’s first impression of me was that he loved my red dress. He placed a small ruby on the inside of my wedding ring as a symbol of the night we met.
I proposed on December 4th 2021, it was something that we had spoken about for a while but I still managed to pull off an epic surprise, and I think I nearly killed Vanessa in the process due to the shock. I came up with an elaborate scheme involving neon signs, pink sand, rose petals, breaking and entering, and Weet-Bix.
In the gardens, I managed to lead Kelly to a quiet spot for the big moment. I lowered myself onto one knee, got Kelly’s attention, and asked the big question. Kelly, in her surprise, turned around and ran the other way. After a short chase she said yes!
We both have different versions of how this first date went. I thought that she was super-hot and really fun to hang out with, I thought I nailed the date, and it went really well overall. Apparently, G thought I was boring, and she was adamant that she would never see me again.
Nearly 5 years later, back at the same restaurant by the water, I asked Jordan if she would do me the honor of being my wife – and she accepted!
I thought, oh no he isn’t proposing because why wouldn’t my best friend be there….. well, I walk into the restaurant, and they take me upstairs and our song was playing and all my friends and family were there with the final clue and a sign that said “just say Yes!”
I really wanted a champagne tower for after the ceremony – it was all stacked up ready to go, and a big gust of wind took it out just before I walked down the aisle! And, the ibis’ kept stealing the food – my poor father-in-law had to be on ibis patrol.
I looked ahead and Tamehana popped out from the bush and surprised me. I had no idea he was in Queenstown. He proposed to me on the waterfront, and it was such a beautiful evening.
One of our long tables had table names in the wrong order which I noticed halfway through the reception but all of my family said they loved being mingled in rather than sitting across from their partners so it worked out in the end anyway!
