While Adrienne and Shaun’s wedding could be described as a fairy tale, their path to marriage wasn’t quite so straightforward! Here Adrienne shares how to embrace the off-road adventure that is committing to someone for a lifetime. As her parents put it on her wedding day, “Enjoy the wind in your hair and the bugs in your teeth.”
“Shaun and I first met at work. A couple of years into our relationship he joined the Australian Defense Forces and was required to move away for training. We spent the next two and a bit years in a long distance relationship. It was a difficult time for us as a couple and definitely a growing experience for both of us. These challenges allowed us to understand that relationships require both parties to seek their dreams and support each other, regardless of what that might entail. It helped us solidify as individuals and assured us that we wanted to be together. It was during this time that Shaun proposed on one of his trips home.
When our wedding celebrant asked about the proposal, I answered the question with a huge essay, but Shaun’s response was wonderful. He said, “We got engaged at Mount Tambourine, on the wrong side of the mountain to see the sunrise, after calling into the wrong restaurant for dinner the night before, after coming to the wrong hotel thinking I had a reservation. Nothing I envisioned of the experience had come true. Although when it happened and she said yes, nothing could have been more perfect.”
The thing about all of these little hiccups were, the Shaun I met four or five years ago would have been frustrated by each road bump, but everything that didn’t quite go to plan he just rolled with. That was the best thing, having fun together and laughing off the little things. I don’t remember any of the things he said during the proposal, but I love the story.
The wedding was all planned as a surprise for Shaun. Apart from the venue and food, he intentionally remained oblivious to most of the details until the day arrived. His surprise for me was planning our entire honeymoon, which allowed me to focus on the wedding and not stress about other things to come. I had no idea where we were going until a few days before we left, and we had a wonderful week relaxing in Vanuatu. It was the perfect end to the whole adventure, and the beginning of the next.”
Don’t miss Adrienne and Shaun’s whimsical garden wedding in our free online magazine!
Photography: Lover of Mine | Venue: Gabbinbar Homestead | Styling & Flowers: Green and Bloom | Wedding Dress: George Wu Couture | Hair & Makeup: Best Tressed | Suit: David Jones