Gay Space Rocks and a Surprise Proposal at Edgar’s Mission in Victoria
Sarah (she/her) and Ella’s (she/her) engagement story started in a way that feels almost movie-like: one last try on a dating app… and an opening message so specific it was impossible to ignore.
What followed was a return to a place that already held meaning in their relationship. Edgar’s Mission in regional Victoria, where a private tour, a flock of very friendly sheep, and a photographer hidden in the bushes became part of a proposal neither of them will forget.
How did you two fall in love?
Ella: I was so incredibly over dating at this point. I’d deleted all of the apps and had been off them for a long time, but decided I’d give it one last go, and this incredibly beautiful massive nerd was one of the very first people who messaged me.
Sarah: I absolutely had to when I saw a gorgeous redhead sword lesbian pop up in my Hinge feed saying she was looking for “the Yennefer to her Triss.” So I slid into her DMs and said, “I’m tall, dark, and handsome, but I promise I won’t burn down a sacred grove,” referencing Yennefer’s actions in The Witcher 3 video game.
Ella: It was the first interesting response I’d had from someone in ages.
Sarah: And it WORKED! I am still smug about that line.
What made Edgar’s Mission feel like the right place to propose?
Sarah: I wanted my proposal to be personal, memorable, and fun, so I was inspired by stories of other couples who had returned to special date locations from earlier in their relationship to propose (like romantic salmon). In 2022, Ella organised our first out-of-town date at Edgar’s Mission, so I thought it would be really cute to return there.
I had to get in touch with the team at Edgar’s Mission because they don’t normally do private tours or proposals, but very luckily for me, they agreed.
Tell us about the proposal!
Sarah: We had the usual tour of Edgar’s Mission to start with and had a great time visiting all the animals. Nikki Russian, our photographer, arrived while we were on the tour and scoped out the proposal location and other good photo spots.
Then, with my heart in my throat, our guide from Edgar’s Mission picked us up for our “private tour” to meet Harmony and her friends, a very adorable and friendly flock of disabled sheep. I had been a nervous noodle all morning, and because Edgar’s Mission doesn’t normally do private tours, Ella knew something was up. When Ella turned her back to pat Harmony, I rummaged around in my backpack for my speech and the ring box.
Ella: It was very obvious what was happening, but it was so cute and thoughtful and exciting, so I kept patting Harmony and didn’t look at the ring-box-shaped bump in her pocket.
Sarah: I got through my speech without crying (nailed it), got down on one knee, and then Ella made me the happiest woman in the world when she said yes. But then, despite Ella knowing since that morning that I was going to propose, I finally got the drop on her when Nikki Russian popped up out of the bushes at the back of the paddock with her camera!
What was going through your mind in those moments?
Sarah: I was on the edge of panic, but also joy? I am awful at keeping secrets, and as a professional reader of body language cues (as a psychologist), Ella knew from the morning that Something Was Up. So I really appreciated that she was trying to help me keep it a surprise, because this was so important to me and, after Ella’s incredible proposal two weeks before, I wanted this to go perfectly.
Ella: As Sarah said, on the day, I definitely knew something was up. Sarah is an incredibly authentic person – it’s one of the things I love most about her – but it means she’s absolutely terrible at lying or keeping secrets. So what I was thinking as we were led out on our private tour at Edgar’s Mission was that I knew she was about to propose, and just how lucky I am to be with someone so incredibly thoughtful, who brought together this proposal experience in a way that was so special for us both.
I definitely hadn’t noticed Nikki Russian hiding in the back of the paddock with her camera, though. That was a big surprise!
How did you find the rings?
Sarah: We’re idiots in love who didn’t realise we had asked the same jeweller, Aislinn Neave Jewellery, to make our partner’s engagement ring! We were upfront with each other that we were planning our mutual proposals, and we each went to get our ring size measured separately, but the rest of the detail we kept secret from one another.
We both had unusual stones that we wanted for our rings. I wanted an oval-cut moissanite because they’re gay space rocks (moissanites have rainbow sparkles and are only found naturally on meteorites), and Ella wanted a multicoloured stone in a pointed cut.
Aislinn Neave Jewellery did a fabulous job sourcing the moissanite and a stunning tri-colour Australian sapphire in a kite cut, and then creating our incredible rings. Aislinn was wonderful to work with for both of us, so we’ve asked her to make our wedding rings as well.
How have you navigated this season of life together since getting engaged?
Sarah: We like to joke that sometimes we decide to do life on hard mode. Since we got engaged, we’ve both started new jobs, we got another rescue cat, we bought and moved into our first house together, we’ve had some health issues, the pets have had health issues, we’re planning a wedding, and most recently we’ve been organising a renovation of our bathroom because the waterproofing failed!
So juggling all of this has been a lot, but I think what keeps us going is how very lucky we are to have each other and this remarkable life we’re building together. We’re a team. We get through the hard stuff together, and celebrate the good stuff together.
Why did having engagement photos feel important to you both?
Sarah: We are both somewhat camera-shy people. We probably have triple the number of photos of our cats than we do of us together. So I wanted to capture this once-in-a-lifetime moment because these were photos we would look back on for the rest of our lives.
But we’re both anxious in front of a camera, and many wedding photographers don’t know how to pose and photograph queer people, so we needed someone who knew their stuff and who we could trust. I chose Nikki Russian both because of her experience and portfolio, but also because I saw myself in her and felt I could trust her (every interaction we’ve had with her has confirmed this, and we’ve booked her for our wedding in March 2027!).
Nikki Russian is wonderful to work with, and she truly brought out the best in us. We felt safe and seen, and we actually had so much fun as well, which we didn’t expect! She also went above and beyond to surprise Ella by scoping out the location in advance and then hiding in the bushes at the back of the paddock with a long lens, not an easy spot to hide, let alone photograph from!
Captured by Nikki Russian Photography
Engagement Rings Aislinn Neave Jewellery
Venue Edgar’s Mission
