Penny + Nathan by Kyra Boyer - Together Journal

I knew that this selfless and generous person made me feel calm, happy and safe and that I didn’t want to be without her.

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

We are Penny and Nathan, a couple whose love was forged during Melbourne’s COVID lockdowns. We feel that we have known each other for 20+ years already, and that closeness has only brought us closer together.

Penny was born and raised in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, and she now teaches English at a high school in Brunswick. Penny convinced Nathan to move North with her and, much to his surprise, he admits that it is the superior side of the Yarra River. Penny is a lover of indoor plants, floristry, family and collecting cute things.

Nathan was a true Southside boy, who is an Anaesthetic doctor now working at Northern Health. He enjoys sleeping in on days off, dreaming of Japanese food and spending too much money on bouquets of flowers.

We are now living in Collingwood with our sweet calico cat, ‘Mouse’ (formerly known as Kylie). Our short-term plans are to buy many more plants and adopt at least one more cat.

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

We first met in January 2020 at a rooftop bar called Good Heavens on Bourke Street in Melbourne’s CBD. It was 40 degrees, and we both arrived late because the trams were down due to the heat. When Nathan arrived, Penny was crying into the fur of a random person’s golden retriever – Penny really likes animals.

Penny: I was super nervous. Nathan was a second-year doctor at The Alfred Hospital, and I was a full-time master’s student working at a pizza shop in the evenings. He also knew how to drive and didn’t have any tattoos, three things (a job, a licence and no tattoos) that no one I’d ever dated before had ever had. The first thing I noticed about him was his kind and gentle eyes. Throughout the whole date, he made a conscious effort to make eye contact, which really made me feel listened to and important.

Nathan: The first time I saw Penny, she was lying on the floor, and her whole face was buried in a golden retriever’s furry tum. After she left her new best friend alone, we sat across from each other at a table and talked honestly and openly until I had to rush off to a meeting. I remember thinking this kind, empathetic and beautiful woman was much too cool for me, but that I think she liked me as much as I already liked her. I knew from that first meeting that I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Penny.

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

Penny: I knew Nathan was the one about 2 and a half months into dating. Because we met right before COVID kicked off, we ended up moving in together just before Easter 2020. Nathan was working on the COVID Ward at the Alfred, and I was trying to finish off my Master of Teaching remotely. On Easter Sunday evening, we were sitting at the dining table, having a nice meal and facetiming with my parents. Although we hadn’t been together long, I was just completely in awe of Nathan’s kindness and compassion. I kept looking at him throughout the call and just thinking, I really don’t know how many other men would be facetiming their short-term girlfriend’s parents and brother, whom they’d never met, in the middle of Easter dinner after a 14-hour shift on the COVID ward. Once we hung up the call, I turned to Nathan and blurted out, “I think I love you, lol” Just as he turned around to answer me, I flipped his fork full of Easter dinner onto his lap, got out of my seat and ran out of the room.

Nathan: For me, there wasn’t a specific day that I realised I wanted to be with Penny forever. Rather, all I knew was that, after making the decision to move in together in early 2020, I just couldn’t wait to get home every day. I knew that this selfless and generous person made me feel calm, happy and safe and that I didn’t want to be without her. I was excited to meet her friends and family and wanted her to meet mine. So, when Penny professed her love over dinner, I didn’t hesitate in telling her I felt the same way!

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

There wasn’t really a proposal, per se. We had reached out to a jeweller in the hopes of having a ring made over the coming 12 months to be ready for a proposal in a year or so’s time. We were in the car one afternoon, and Nathan called his twin brother Josh to let him know that we had started designing a ring. Josh answered, “If you’re already planning to be engaged, aren’t you just engaged?”. We both sat in the car in silence for a little while and eventually pulled up outside Dan Murphy’s. Penny turned to Nathan and said, “So, wanna get married?” Nathan said yes, obviously. Penny called in sick to work the next day and ended up emailing Rhys Turner asking whether he had anything in gold with a green stone because we were too impatient to wait the 12 months for something to be made. We were in there within the hour and walked out with a stunning green Australian sapphire ring. Nathan drove to The Botanical Gardens, and we both sat down, and that’s where Nathan officially popped the question. I guess you could say it was a joint decision, which perfectly encapsulates our relationship!

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

We wanted our wedding to be fun! For us, that meant an explosion of florals and colours with a relaxed and playful mood. Guests were instructed to wear outfits that were ‘fun and fancy’, which resulted in some incredibly bright and playful outfits. The flowers were the most important aspect of the wedding for Penny, and she took inspiration from her mother’s beautiful and much-loved garden, which then decided the colour scheme for the whole wedding. We wanted to personalise the space as much as possible, even sourcing 50+ second-hand coloured glass vases for the tabletop flowers at the reception. Nathan’s love of jazz music showed with a trio of musicians welcoming the guests just prior to the ceremony. We aimed to create a day that, if it was repeated in a few decades, we would still love.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

Definitely the flowers! We had our first meeting with our fantastic florist, Paul, 14 months before the wedding. We came in with a Pinterest board full of flowers, colour schemes and bouquet designs. After sitting down with Paul, we landed on the following brief: Light, airy, bright florals with lateral shapes and plenty of ranunculuses and tulips. However, Paul’s design of our ceremony backdrop was a total and wonderful surprise. All of the beautiful arrangements in the vases also served as our wedding favours, which meant no flowers or vases went to waste at the end of the night.

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

We decided to walk down the aisle together, which was something we thought really signified the way we intended to spend our lives together. We were waiting upstairs, ready to walk down for the ceremony, when a song we didn’t recognise started playing on the speaker. Being that we were both upstairs, there was no one downstairs to alert the band that they had played the wrong song for us to walk to. We had to ask one of the staff members upstairs to run down and tell the band. They were absolutely mortified, but our celebrant Megan quickly diffused the situation by making a well-timed joke to our guests, which resulted in an eruption of laughter. Hearing our friends and family laughing quickly lessened our anxiety, and once the right song started seconds later, our anxiety was gone.

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

Penny: I wanted something I felt comfortable in, that was both bridal and also wearable. I already owned a few pieces from Meg By Design, including a beautiful sleeveless drop waist dress made of linen and a cotton organdy/organza fabric. I managed to find the same dress in ivory at a small boutique on Smith Street, Fitzroy, along with a beautiful organza shift to wear over it. The loose, smock style of the items felt true to my style, and I wasn’t worried about having to readjust anything throughout the night. I wore an incredible pink ostrich feather bag from Oroton, some low and comfy heels, and some understated diamond jewellery, also from a boutique on Smith Street. My mum crocheted the most beautiful pale pink shawl for me, made from an extremely fine mohair wool. It is one of the most beautiful things I own and it made me feel so special.

Nathan: What better time to buy your first three-piece suit than your wedding day? I almost exclusively wear clothes in the autumn spectrum of colours (I don’t think I even have black socks), so I went looking for something that would match those colours. I wanted something that would be regarded with amazement by my fashion icon (my dad) but also something I could also wear in the future. After visiting a number of disappointing shops, my darling Penny pointed me towards Suitably, a boutique custom suit shop in Collingwood. I attended a number of measuring and suit fitting appointments with my dad, my twin brother Josh / best man, and my best friend Talia / grooms person. Each appointment led to greater and greater excitement, and when the suit was ready, I could not have been happier. On the day, I felt comfortable, stylish and unique, and it really contributed to my love for our wedding day.