Once upon a time…
Every love story begins somewhere. Ours starts here.
Her Story
The night we met I was invited to a trivia game (at the prestigious Premier Hotel in Broadmeadow 🫶🏼) about halfway through the game. By the time I got there it was up to the final 2 questions. I was feeling a bit nervous as this was my first time meeting this friend group before, so I was unsure how I would fit in or who I could talk to. The second I turned the corner, I spied an empty seat next to Josh and sat down as quickly and quietly as I could. I remember that Josh didn’t stand for this - he immediately turned around with a big smile to introduce himself and worked to make me feel comfortable and included in the group. His first question to me: “what are your thoughts on the fax machine emoji?” We immediately hit it off.
A few nights later the whole friend group and I forced ourselves into Josh’s apartment despite his protests that he was sick. I baked him 2 dozen cupcakes (vanilla and chocolate, I wasn’t sure what he liked! Turns out, he didn’t want to eat them anyway…) and we spent the night laughing and getting to know each other better. Not too long after that we all went out to Customs House where everyone riled us up to kiss each other for the first time. Josh ended the night with his first “I love you” to me (to say I was stunned is an understatement, but what can I say… I must be a fantastic kisser!), and the rest is history!
The Proposal
We had been talking about marriage for a few years, and knew it was a mutual goal of ours. My family all lives back at home in South Africa, so Josh has never had the opportunity to meet them before, but early last year we started planning a trip to Thailand to meet some of my family halfway. I was so excited for them all to finally meet and get to know Josh! Of course I started secretly hoping he would propose over the trip, and it especially seemed possible after we went looking at ring designs in early March.
A few weeks before our Thailand trip (which coincidentally fell over our 5 year anniversary), I asked Josh if he was thinking of proposing overseas so I could set my expectations right. In all fairness, there wasn’t much Josh could say except for “no, not yet!!”. This freed my brain up to enjoy the trip for what it was, instead of being on the lookout for the exciting possibility of our engagement! I definitely noticed some signs like Josh taking my mom out for dinner (to ask her permission to marry me, the sweetheart!), and him randomly texting me from Charlestown one Friday late afternoon, which was coincidentally where we went ring shopping too!! On top of all this, I packed our bags, so there was no way I could think that he could hide a ring in there without me seeing!
The day he proposed was the day before our anniversary, and we were all sunburnt and exhausted from the previous day trip to an island off Pattaya. Josh sneaked off a few times through the morning to enjoy some aircon time, and at some point through all this he sneakily got my mom to hand him the ring - she had been carrying it the whole time and was in on it all along!!
When we arrived at our accommodation, we enjoyed some time to refresh in a cold pool with some fruits, chocolates and a cocktail. The hotel made the check-in process very special by decorating our bed and leaving me a large bouquet of red roses.
Josh surprised me with a private dinner overlooking the ocean, and asked me to have a small walk on the beach with him before we settled in for our meal. I remember we hugged and danced a little before he took a small flat box out of his pocket. I asked “What’s that??” Thinking it would be a necklace or small piece of jewellery as a pre-anniversary gift but to my great surprise he dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him!
That will forever be the best sunset and greatest surprise of my life, and I can’t wait to marry Josh and spend the rest of our lives making memories and sharing experiences together. I love laughing with him, and we still giggle about the proposal as the very next day we both got struck with a case of Bali Belly…
His Story
Marissa and I first met at a pub trivia night with our friends. She took the spare seat next to me and we immediately hit it off. I remember asking her questions and yapping about the most random things to help make her feel comfortable as this was her first time meeting me and my friends.
Some days later, our friends decided to come over to my place. I wasn’t exactly thrilled - I had the man-flu (think bathrobe and sea of tissues sick) - but they insisted. Despite my protests, everyone showed up at my door anyway and we sat on my bed playing party games. Marissa brought cupcakes and tea which was super thoughtful, and completely unexpected (she’s a fantastic baker). We had a chance to get to know each other a bit more.
We really hit it off when our friend group went to Customs House one night. I think it was a Wednesday, as that was Uni night and that was the ‘place to be’ during the week. We all had a bit to drink, and I think everyone could see Marissa and I liked each other, but I wasn’t sure how to make the next move. With a little help from our friends, and some liquid confidence, we shared our first kiss.
Amongst all the excitement of the evening, I accidentally blurted out “I love you” at the end of the night, and what began next was one of the best summers of our early twenties.
The Proposal
I knew I wanted to propose when we planned our 2024 Thailand trip to meet some of Marissa’s family who live in South Africa. Since our anniversary would be during the trip, I wanted it to be a special moment. I remember asking Marissa’s mum to hold the ring and pack it in her bag because I didn’t trust myself not to lose it (I struggle enough as it is to keep my wallet and glasses from getting lost on the best of days.)
The afternoon before I proposed, we spent the day at the beach and I got cooked by the sun to the point of heatstroke. We had lunch the next day with family before splitting off to go to our hotel, and I was already really nervous about proposing whilst also trying to rally without passing out from the heat. We checked into our room before Marissa asked if I was going to propose…and of course I said no to maintain the surprise. Whilst getting ready for dinner, I was so paranoid Marissa would find the ring in our bag before I could give it to her that I slid off one of the room’s wall panels so I could stash it in there.
Since before the trip, I had organised an over-water private dinner where I originally planned to propose. We sat down to eat but the suspense was eating away at me, and I couldn't focus on anything else but popping the question. I recall making up an excuse that I wasn’t too hungry yet and we should go down to the beach first. There were also a few other people around and I knew I wanted an intimate moment, so I thought the beach would be perfect.
After a few photos, I finally got the courage to pull out the ring, got on one knee and asked if she would marry me. It was the most amazing day of my life and a definite highlight of our trip. When we returned from our hotel we met back up with the rest of the family and they surprised us with a party which was really special.
