Tell us how you met.
L: We’ve been together just over a year and a bit now.
There was an Emergency Services games held in late 2018, we were both representing our different states, and every night everyone comes together to celebrate. Jet caught my eye across a crowded dance floor, and then it happened, she smiled her Colgate smile at me. It was the most beautiful smile I had ever seen, and I knew I just had to talk to her. I walked up to her in front of all her friends and introduced myself. Not wanting to come on too strong, I told her I hoped to see her around during the week. It was so loud I didn’t quite catch her name, so from then on out, she was known to my friends and me as #OperationColgate.
The rest of the week went by without seeing each other. I was kicking myself as I thought I might never see her again.
In the dying hours of the games, when I thought all might be lost, I saw #OperationColgate, and from the look on her face, I knew she might have been looking for me too.
Was your engagement something you spoke about or something that was a surprise?
L: We definitely talked about it, but both never let on to a time frame. Our first year together, we did long distance, so I took the opportunity while we were living apart to get all the planning squared away. I know I’m horrible at keeping secrets!
As far as secrets go, this is the only one I was willing to keep, it killed me but was so worth it as Sandra had absolutely no idea, so much, so she had planned to propose to me a couple of months later!
You decided on a ‘proposal holiday,’ how did you choose the location?
L: I didn’t have an exact location in mind, but I knew it had to be near a beach. Sandra grew up on the water, and it’s always been a special place for us both to go and destress.
I did my research, and after a couple of reconnaissance missions, I knew Minnamurra would be the perfect backdrop for getting down on one knee.
I fell in love with GCC visuals and all the work they were doing. Together with GCC, I found a company called ‘Picnic by the Sea‘ who specializes in proposal picnics. So I brought them together and couldn’t be more grateful for how they worked together and went above and beyond to make our proposal special.
Tell us about that beautiful ring!
L: I was fortunate enough to inherit a beautiful diamond from my grandmother, family means everything to us, and after spending hours with the fantastic ‘Jasmine Fraser Jeweller,’ I managed to use the diamond and create Sandra’s dream engagement ring. One day soon, Sandra will return to the favor with a ring of my own to wear.
What does your engagement mean to you both? Has anything changed?
J & L: For us, the most special part has been how everyone has reacted and embraced the news with such love and happiness. Sandra once mentioned that the reaction is the most memorable part of any engagement, so I ensured every angle was covered. We took a giant leap of faith posting it for the world to see, and the response we had from our family and friends, young and old, really blew us away. We are so thankful for that.
How is wedding planning going? What do you hope for your wedding to be?
J & L: We are in the early stages of planning and lucky enough to be a part of so many different weddings to really get a feel for what we would like. Our biggest hope is to have a really intimate and beautiful wedding with the most important people in our lives.
Lucky for us, GCC visuals were absolutely incredible, so at least our videographer is sorted. We have slowly started following certain Instagram pages and putting together vendors that would come together for our perfect, intimate day for everything else.
We haven’t set a date yet, but we were thinking somewhere on New South Wales South Coast. Definitely, somewhere our families and friends from either state can come together with either a barn style theme or somewhere close to the water.
Photography by GCC Visuals
