Emily + Shannon

How did you meet?

I wish we had an awesome back story to tell here, however we have to admit that we met on tinder back in May 2016. We had both just come out of previous relationships and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The first thing he said to me when we ‘matched’ was, “please tell me they are your dogs in your profile picture”? And we’ve been completely inseparable since…

When did you know they were the one?

We went to our first races together in Townsville, 2 months after hanging out. It was our first proper outing together and I was meeting some of Shannon’s friends. Shannon drove as he wasn’t drinking while training for Special Forces and I wasn’t going to drink much as I had a hens party straight after the races. However we both got our arms completely twisted and ended up drinking champagne all day!!!!! Afterwards I raced back to change for the hens party and we both found ourselves out on the town (me in a costume again). Shannon was somehow there on his own and it was at this point, into the early hours of the next morning when Shannon said I love you and I said it back.

What are your three favourite attributes of your partner?

1 – I love his intelligence and ability to have an intellectual conversation, but simplifies and explains things for me
2 – I love how respectful and patient he is with me, even when I don’t deserve it.
3 – I love how nothing much phases him. It’s admirable and reminds me to take a step back and not take things so seriously and to heart sometimes

Who proposed and how?

Thinking back, we definitely flirted the idea of getting married, but never had many serious conversations about it. Most of our friends are/were getting engaged/married and I always knew I wanted to and I think Shannon was warming up to the idea, but we always just kept the topic pretty chill. Thanks to covid we basically spent every single second together in 2020. Luckily we didn’t have much planned for that year anyway, other than a few trips over the border to see family and friends. That clearly wasn’t going to happen, so a few weekends before my birthday we decided to go for a drive to Palm Beach and walk up to Barrenjoey Lighthouse (I think at this point we were only allowed in our local area, borders were still closed), which is the perfect spot for a proposal but nothing happened here haha…. While there Shannon mentioned he found a waterfall in Narrabeen and that we should check it out the next day. (Waterfalls are a huge passion of ours) I didn’t think much of it and obliged, while knowing it couldn’t be an epic waterfall being in a suburban area. And I was correct…. It was warming up so I wore a singlet and shorts, but quizzed Shannon as to why he was bringing his jumper, again didn’t think much of it and brushed it off. We got to the location and there was a kids birthday party and a few other groups gathered around the most average ‘waterfall’ we’d both ever seen. Nonetheless, we looked around and discovered we could hike a little up to the top landing. A nicer area than down below and no other people around so we explored a little. There was quite a bit of rubbish lying around so I started to pick some up and as I turned away I heard Shannon say – “Hey Emily, I know this isn’t Jourama Falls, but will you marry me?” I turned around and he was on one knee!!! I’m pretty sure I said ‘are you sure, did I pressure you into this’? Then I realized he was serious and I absolutely said yes! Being the know it all that I am I started to analyse everything, the reason he had his jumper etc, how did I not see this coming etc haha. We both agreed that waterfall sucked so we left and drove to the beach to sit and call all our family and friends <3

Where did you fall in love with your dress and why?

I fell in love with Elsie Flowy as soon as I saw the sneak peek photos on Instagram!! She had the most beautiful modern, romantic feel and that’s exactly what I wanted for my wedding. I had saved the photos but kept an opened mind when dress shopping. There was a few other dresses I liked but I kept gravitating towards Elsie Flowy. In the end I went with my gut instinct and purchased her at the St Ives store in Sydney!

What was the best moment for you at your wedding?

The best moment was a quiet moment with my new husband outside, looking into our wedding venue and seeing all of our family and friends inside. There were so many moments throughout the planning where we thought it might not have been able to go ahead as planned, so it was extremely special to spend the day with all of our loved ones.

What were your favourite details?

Too many to describe! Looking out into the crowd at the ceremony and exchanging glances with loved ones, repeatedly pinching myself and asking my new husband if this is real, being offered a drink for the reception from the amazing wait staff, dancing with my nieces and nephews on the dancefloor. The list goes on!!!

What advice would you tell other brides?

Stop worrying about the time!!!! I was constantly asking for time updates to make sure we were on schedule, which was silly as all of our vendors had our back, so there was absolutely nothing to worry about!! Who cares if it doesn’t follow the exact schedule, all of our guests had the best time and everyone was super relaxed, so just relax and soak it all in!!!!