Jill + Josh by Jen Tighe Photo - Together Journal

We wanted it to be classic, a bit glamorous and warm in atmosphere. Neither of us wanted to worry about weather in the lead up, and we both have older family members who we wanted to be comfortable on the day, so when we looked at the Convent in Daylesford, it ticked every box.

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

Josh: I’m a public servant, former academic, soon-to-be consultant. I love football, squash, coffee and Nashi (our dog).

Jill: I’m Japanese-Australian, I love the ocean and I’m a dancer with the Australian Ballet. When I’m not dancing I love hanging out with Josh, shopping, doing crafty things at home, reading magazines and walking.

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

Jill: I saw Josh for the first time on a bus when I was working in Sydney. I thought to myself ‘this guy looks like the love of my life’. I promised myself that if he got on my bus again I would give him my number, and a couple of weeks later, he did.

Josh: We met on a bus in Sydney back in 2013 – Jill had seen me prior (though I hadn’t seen her) and she had prepared a paper crane with her number on it for me. When she tapped me on the shoulder and handed it to me, I was first struck by her long wavy hair and gorgeous legs. The whole interaction was quite fleeting, but it was her looks and confidence that stuck out.

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

Jill: He was walking me to work at the Sydney Opera House, and we took the long way around near the Botanical Gardens. I remember standing, looking out at the harbor, then back at him and thinking ‘I want to watch this man grow old’, which sounds a bit odd in writing, but it’s true! He is so interesting, funny and caring, I just want to be in his orbit every day.

Josh: I can’t pinpoint an exact moment, but it definitely came on quite quickly. For me it was the build up of a number of moments; spending so much time together over the first few months of our relationship – in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide – I realised how hard it was to imagine not being with Jill. Time apart was so much less enjoyable, so I knew that I wanted to spend all of my time (and life) with her.

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

Josh: There was a proposal. I took the day to work from home (pre-COVID), to give myself space and practice making paper cranes, which was the big romantic element of the proposal. We were going out to dinner that night at a restaurant that has always meant a lot to us – Supernormal – and my plan was to stop by first with a paper crane with ‘Will you marry me?’ written on the wings, asking the staff to bring this out to us before dessert. Thankfully everything went to plan – despite me having no appetite whatsoever due to nerves – and straight after we had our mains a small dish came out with the crane on it. I dropped down to one knee, pulled out the ring, and the rest was a blur.

Jill: I was annoyed that we were out for a lovely dinner and Josh had no appetite. Then it all made sense! It was such a perfect proposal.

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

Jill: We wanted it to be classic, a bit glamorous and warm in atmosphere. Neither of us wanted to worry about weather in the lead up, and we both have older family members who we wanted to be comfortable on the day, so when we looked at the Convent in Daylesford, it ticked every box. Having everything on site meant that we lost no time traveling, and we got to make the most of the day mingling and celebrating with our nearest and dearest.

Josh: The wedding was delayed three times, so in the end we wanted it to be something simple, elegant, and fun. Aside from the colour scheme and flowers, a lot of the thinking went into the after party – definitely one of the most memorable parts of the day. Jill’s dad put a tab on the bar, and her sister bought two enormous boxes of truffles from Haigh’s. It was decadent, boozy and incredibly fun.

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

Jill: My veil broke about 20 minutes before the ceremony. It was a vintage piece that my mum wore for her wedding, and as I put it on, the comb just fell off, so I couldn’t attach it to my head. Luckily I am pretty good at sewing, and had a needle and thread, and I quickly sewed it back together. I was actually fine, it was my bridesmaids that were really stressed. I’m not sure if they can laugh about it yet…maybe in a few more months.

Josh: Not really (aside from the veil drama, which I was completely absent for). I was quite nervous and overwhelmed at various points, but by and large it was stress-free and better than we could have imagined.

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

Jill: The shoes came first. My mum took me to a small bridal boutique when I visited her in Switzerland at the end of 2019, and I tried on a number of beautiful dresses, but I couldn’t decide which was the one for me. A few days later Josh and I went to Paris for a few days, and I saw some shoes that I instantly fell in love with; they were exactly what I wanted to be married in. Once I had them, I knew which dress was for me. A few months later, mum mentioned she still had her veil from when she married my dad, and that it might work with my look. She sent it over, and it was just perfect. My favourite finishing touch was my nail polish; I wore a fabulous dark colour called ‘Carob’ by J.Hannah. My style is a mix of vintage and modern, old and new, and I was thrilled that everything came together so I felt like me on my wedding day. Josh: My tuxedo was black Italian linen, double-breasted, with a big, floppy 70s-style bow tie, all by P Johnson. My vision was always to have the floppy-bow tie, but the laidback-tux in linen was the recommendation of our tailor, Dane.