We ended up finding a happy medium with a micro ceremony followed by a larger dinner party. We decided to keep it simple and ended up organising the whole thing in three months.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Both: We’ve been together for ten years, having met as teenagers and spending the entirety of our 20’s together. We are both very like-minded – we are both extremely competitive (but only ever with one another), enjoy being in the kitchen, and we tend to spend a lot of time building Lego while watching re-runs of movies and shows we’ve seen a thousand times. In summer – you will likely find us having fish & chips at the beach during sunset. And whenever we have the opportunity we try to use it to explore Southeast Asia, eating street food while drinking cheap beer on plastic stools.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
J: Dec and I met when we were just 19 years old. Up until that stage I had never actually met Dec, but he had been on my radar for a while ever since his random Facebook invite popped up in my Friend Requests. Despite this, we had a lot of mutual friends and were finally introduced at a circus-themed event in one of Perth’s worst nightclubs. I was wearing a tutu and he was wearing oversized clown pants, so needless to say neither of us left that meeting thinking the other was particularly “cool”.
We spent the next few months both playing coy, mostly saving our interactions for group study dates at the uni library until he finally asked me out. We had a very wholesome first date at a waffle house (young love), during which he won me over with his incredibly endearing but super nerdy love of Star Wars. After that I was totally smitten!
D: Jose and I went to different schools growing up, but we we had a very similar circle of friends so I knew about Jose for a few years before we met for the first time at an event. We still argue like cats and dogs about who really slid into who’s DMs on Facebook, but I do remember having to chase Jose for a while before she eventually agreed to go out with me. It is true that our first date was at a waffle house on ‘half price Tuesdays’ (broke uni student) but I think I had the last laugh after Jose managed to get cream and maple syrup in her hair. I loved how goofy and relaxed Jose was about life which still holds true today. She never took herself too seriously, still gets food in her hair during meals and just enjoys the moment which is what I found so endearing about her so early on.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
J: I’m not sure if there was one defining moment. When you find that person who you can be your true self with, you just know.
D: I don’t think there was any ‘one moment’; it was just a culmination of 10 years of fun and embarrassing memories together with our family and friends always nearby.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
J: We were camping with friends, having just made the 15 hour drive from Perth to beautiful Karijini. We had just spent a whole day trekking and swimming through the gorges. I would never have expected at the end of it that he would propose, overlooking one of the most stunning view points in the national park. We mostly save the mushy stuff for when it’s just us two, so being a group trip he really caught me off guard. It was the most perfect surprise.
D: Still to this day, I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous before getting the knee dirty. In the lead up I felt relaxed about popping the question, even with the ring sitting in my car glovebox for 15 hours while Jose stored road trip snacks in every compartment the car had (all but the one the ring was sitting in). Come game day, that relaxed feeling quickly disappeared. I tried my best to enjoy what was an awesome day exploring the Karijini gorges, but I knew that the big moment was coming. After swimming and trekking for a few hours, I asked Jose if she’d like a picture together at a point overlooking the national park. I honestly thought this would have raised some red flags because I NEVER ask for photos, but Jose was oblivious to what was about to happen (so she says). Eventually I popped the question and we celebrated at our camp site with our closest friends, sipping champagne that I had to hide the entire trip to avoid any suspicion! An awesome moment that we’ll never forget.
CEREMONY Perth Marriage Office, @perthmarriageoffice RECEPTION Heritage Wine Bar, @theheritageperth PHOTOGRAPHER Sammy & Tom, @sammyandtom STYLING & FLORA Lull Floral, @lullfloral CANDLES Hall of Flame Candles, @hall.of.flame.candles STATIONERY Gatha Designs, @gathadesigns WEDDING DRESS & VEIL Paula & Jo, @paulaandjo SUIT Perth Tailoring Co, @perthtailoringco SHOES Amina Muaddi, @aminamuaddiofficial RINGS Novita Diamonds, @novita.diamonds GLOVES Karen Willis Holmes, @kwhbridal
