Rachel + Dean by White Parrot - Together Journal

We finally arrived at the vineyard and I tried to discretely grab the ring box and put it in my pocket, BUT Rachel saw it and then proceeded to touch up her make-up in the car (in anticipation). We then walked towards the vineyard with Rachel laughing hysterically all the way, so I had to ask Rachel to stop laughing before I got down on one knee and the rest is history as they say.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
RHL: I’m from a big family, number 4 of 6 siblings, Vietnamese heritage. Project Manager by trade. I’m always thinking about: my next meal, improving my running pace, travel destination, a wine drop, or something new I can learn or experience. In no particular order.

DDB: I grew up in the country on a farm, I’m from a smaller family but have lots of cousins (so a large extended family). I’m a bit of a nerd/techy at heart and am a Technical Project Manager by trade. I love water sports (water skiing, snow skiing & swimming), I also enjoy good food and wine.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
DDB: We both met at work on a project, Rachel was working with a consultancy firm on the job and I was working as a contractor. In Rachel’s words she thought ‘oh who is that new guy on the floor – he’s good looking’. I thought Rachel was cute and sweet. Rachel was based in Sydney at the time and I was Brisbane based flying in and out of Sydney every fortnight for the job (something that confused Rachel initially as she didn’t know where I was every second week).

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
DDB: On our first overseas holiday together in Europe, we had some free time to explore the streets of Paris. We stumbled upon a boutique Parisian jeweller near the Montmartre area just as it was closing, and Rachel casually pointed to a yellow sapphire set ring sitting in the counter and said – “that would be a nice engagement ring if we were one day to get married” and secretly hoping that it meant one day we’d go back to Paris for that very reason. We picked up a card from the store and carried on with the rest of our touristy plans for the evening.

After our 4-week holiday ended, I started to make enquiries with a local jeweller in Brisbane specialising in handcrafted pieces using the engagement ring design from Paris as inspiration. The process of sizing the ring was quite funny as Rachel had never owned a ring to use for sizing the engagement ring, so often when holding Rachel’s hand I would size her finger in relation to my own finger (It turned out her engagement finger was about the same size as my pinkie); she never picked up on what I was doing. When I was confident with my guess on the size, I took a printed picture of the Parisian ring to the local jeweller and started the process of crafting a similar ring; the whole process took about two months. I had the intention of proposing for Christmas when we were in Melbourne, I was so nervous. When Rachel was having a girl’s day out, I went around to her parent’s place to ask for permission; I had planned the proposal just before Christmas at Leventine Hill in the Yarra Valley. Her parents both gave me their blessing and we carried on the week with Rachel having no idea of what I had planned.

On the morning of our engagement day, things did not go, quite as I had planned; I obviously wanted to get to the Vineyard booking on time (for the proposal), but prior to leaving Rachel’s mother’s car got a flat battery, and I had to help jump start it from our car and did so with speed! Rachel couldn’t understand what the hurry was; we finally arrived at the vineyard and I tried to discretely grab the ring box and put it in my pocket, BUT Rachel saw it and then proceeded to touch up her make-up in the car (in anticipation). We then walked towards the vineyard with Rachel laughing hysterically all the way, so I had to ask Rachel to stop laughing before I got down on one knee and the rest is history as they say.

We do both have plans to return to where it all began in Paris at some point in the future.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
RHL: We wanted something timeless, simple yet elegant without being over the top. We decided to go with pastels, in season florals and decor that would complement the rustic surroundings of the venue.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
RHL: The Florals, they provided the perfect backdrop for our reception. I really wanted to have orchids as part of my bouquet even though they weren’t in season. We were only going to do this once after all.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
DDB: Our written vows went missing 10 minutes before we were supposed to be walking down the aisle! The vows were entrusted to Natalie (Rachel’s eldest sister) – the most responsible person, or so we thought, who was helping us get ready beforehand. After a quick dash and search back at the onsite cottage accommodations, we realised Nat had actually placed the vows in the back seat pocket of the car we were in so that we wouldn’t lose them. Thankfully we found them and we were able to continue with the ceremony without much delay.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
RHL: I originally had my heart set on a 2 piece or a pants suit which was more modern and reflective of my style and something I could re-wear in future. On the other hand, I was also really keen on the 3D lace applique which was really feminine and whimsical. After 4 different store try on’s, I finally realised the style that I wanted and found my wedding dress online at a Jane Hill sample sale. I ended up with a modern linen 2 piece from Dissh for our signing ceremony day. Overall, I’d say I got to have my 2 different styles over the 2 days, so was very happy in the end.

I definitely needed to go through the process of trying on different styles in person and eliminating them as I progressed, and it was nice to make an afternoon out of it by inviting my mum, sister, Dean’s mum and aunt along for the experience too. In the end, I made Dean a little nervous by telling him that the value of the dress was only marked as 50 pounds (for tax on arrival purposes) as it was being shipped from the UK and I hadn’t in fact tried the dress on at all. He did mention a few times that he was concerned but, on the day, was very pleased to see what dress I had chosen when we did the first look.