Troy and I went away to Margaret River W.A. for a quick getaway after I left that same job. (28th March 2009) We had spoken of marriage and children from early on, it had always felt so right (cliché I know!) The morning of going away, about 10 minutes before leaving, he told me he needed shampoo. I said “we will just get it down there Troy.” He insisted on getting his shampoo before we left. He left and took forever! He came back and nothing was really said, but I had a feeling that  I knew what was going on! We left for Margaret River.

That evening we had dinner and some cocktails, and after dinner we were heading back to our room. He opened up the door for me and said “If you enter this room Mel, your life will NEVER be the same.” I laughed at him thinking he was being corny and walked in. He then walked up behind me and got down on bended knee (about my height!) and said “Melissa, will you marry me?” I immediately got teary and said “yes!” I couldn’t believe it was happening.

So now we had a wedding to plan. It took us a few months to decide we wanted to do it pretty soon. We went to a wedding expo. I had heard of Peel Manor House in Karnup previously, but speaking to Paul and Ryan at the expo, we were convinced we had to have a look. It was only 10 minutes from our home. We went and saw the property and what they did and we were very impressed. We booked on the day without seeing any other venues. We loved that we could get ready there, have the ceremony in the gardens, photos and reception then stay there and not have to leave. The grounds are gorgeous- we could get married by the pond, huge old trees and plenty of ducks and grass made it a perfect natural setting. We chose Friday the 26th March 2010, which meant we had 8 months to plan. Immediately we booked the photographer (Cyrus), DJ (Steve) and found my dress. I absolutely loved that my dress was a bit different. I tried on some white gowns but soon as I put mine on the colour and design was just me to a T. It was a Maggie Sottero gown, named “Blaire” It was covered in emerald cut jewels and crystals on the straps under the bust and back.

We wanted to have a smaller, simple wedding, with just our family and close friends. There was no question that my sister Amanda would be my Maid of Honour and Mark (Troy’s best mate) would be Best Man. I knew I wanted colour and fell in love with a fuchsia pink and white colour scheme. I didn’t have a set theme, just classic, pretty and elegant.

So the day finally rolled round. Mum and Amanda stayed at my house the night before. We picked up the cake and favours (Marble cupcakes boxed and decorated by Troy and I) and headed to the Manor. The setup was absolutely gorgeous. Everything looked amazing. Our centrepieces were martini glasses with fuchsia pink-white roses. They looked wonderful. I had a feather in my hair on the day so I wanted to incorporate that into the bouquet. I had a cream posy bouquet with feathers throughout it. We went with block colour, Amanda had Fuchsia roses and feathers with her dress and I had cream. I was thrilled with the outcome, I think it looked beautiful.

We got ready and I was so nervous! We were running on time until I needed to go the toilet which was an interesting task. By the time we were ready again apparently we were 10 minutes late! Dad, Amanda and I walked to the bottom of Peel Manor's stairs. Josie (Celebrant) was waiting for us. She went through everything. I was supposed to put my veil over my face at that point but we all forgot! Amanda went first of course, and then Dad and I. Seeing Troy at the end of the aisle was one of the highlights of my day. He looked so handsome, and we couldn’t stop staring at each other. It was hard not to zone out a little and get caught up in the moment! I couldn’t believe the day we had dreamed of was finally here and I was marrying my best friend.

Josie was amazing, we wrote our own vows and thought I would cry on the day but adrenaline took over. The ceremony was gorgeous. The scenery, the people, it was amazing. We had a ring warming ceremony which was great, it gave everyone an opportunity to be involved in our ceremony and new life together. It also gave us a quick moment to speak to each other and take in the moment. A lot of people laughed at the sight of our rings in the bag, mine was tiny and Troy’s was like a bangle! After the ceremony we had celebratory drinks and canapés.

Shortly after the ceremony Troy and I went to hug the same person and he knocked my champagne out of my hand, onto the bottom of my dress! It was lucky it was a very similar colour, you could hardly see it. After photos, we had our entrance and the evening began. Dinner was great. My Dad Peter, Troy’s Dad Merv, Amanda, Myself, Troy and Mark made a speech. Not overly long, but short and sweet. I think Amanda’s speech created a few tears, she was bawling her eyes out during hers, and I think everyone appreciated her emotion. Mark’s was a typical Best Man's speech, it had everyone in stitches.

We cut our beautiful cake, (which was very yummy!) then it was time to dance. Troy and I had been having lessons with Deb from Dancezone for 6 weeks and we had come such a long way. Dad had mentioned in my speech that in my teenage years my favourite band was Marilyn Manson. Expecting Michael Buble, we were quite surprised when Steve started playing the Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson. It had everyone laughing! As we were walking onto the floor (for the second time!), my bustle broke, which made it EXTREMELY hard to dance in! It’s not easy dancing with your train fully undone! We soldiered on and did it as best we could. Our lifts and turns were still great, but the “simple part” of dancing was the hardest. Amanda managed to hitch it up with a safety pin for the rest of the night. Steve managed to get most people up on the dance floor, even my Nana, who was doing moves I didn’t think she could! It was so funny, sprinklers and shopping trolleys were going everywhere. It was a lot of fun. We finished the night with a farewell circle which gave us the opportunity to thank everyone for coming. Most people stayed the night at the Manor, so we all had a delicious buffet breakfast the next morning which was really another highlight. It gave us all a nice time to reflect on the previous day.

It was such a beautiful day, the weather was perfect. The amount of people (46) was just right, it gave us time to see everyone, which is what we wanted. We achieved the more relaxed and casual wedding we were after. All suppliers and people along the way were fantastic. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It was the best day of our lives.