“YOU ARE THE ONLY WORLD I WANT TO BE A PART OF.”
THE PROPOSAL
Connor has always been full of sweet and surprising gestures, nothing overly grand or dramatic, but just little things like hiding a note for me to find in my lunch at work or even picking a flower on his way home for me—understated gestures that are just all about love. We’d been together for just over five years and he had always been very vocal about wanting to get married, so I knew it would happen at some point but had no real idea when it would be. It was a typically hot Melbourne summer weeknight and we had just gone for a walk to wind down after the day. I was sitting on the couch, sweaty and sleepy, researching for our upcoming South America trip. Connor had a shower, got changed into some nice clothes and even did his hair, which I thought was odd, but not odd enough to question it. He said my name twice (I was too distracted by South America to hear him the first time) and I looked up at him. He was on one knee, in front of me, with the biggest smile and his hands behind his back. He told me he loved me, that I make the world a better place and that without me, there is no sunshine in his life. He then asked if I would do him the honour of marrying him because the only life he could ever envision was one with me by his side. I was in total shock—I didn’t know what to say because I was trying to register everything. Once I came to, I said absolutely, and that was it. We didn’t know what to do or who to tell because it was so late so we called my Grandpa who is always up late, and told him the news. We then spent our first night together as an engaged couple drinking a few too many glasses of wine and just relishing every moment of being two of the only three people in the world who knew we were engaged. I remember waking up early the next day for work, seeing Connor sleeping and just thinking to myself, This is my future and it could not possibly be any better. Our proposal was low-key, surprising and just full of love—it couldn’t have happened in a better way.
AS A COUPLE …
Like most couples, we seem to balance each other out so well, considering we’re opposites in so many ways. Connor has a calming presence about him that I definitely benefit from—he teaches me that it’s OK to do nothing sometimes and to just enjoy the simplicity of it. I’m always on the go, doing something or going somewhere, and he loves that because it inspires him to try new things or do more of the things he loves but is sometimes hesitant about. I always have my head in a book, in a cosy corner inside and Connor is usually found outside in the garden. He is a little quieter and more reserved, I’m a little more outgoing and will talk to anyone (He always questions whether I know the five random people I’ve said hi to while on one of our walks around the river). However, on the things we consider important in life, we couldn’t be more similar. We both view life as an adventure and love to explore and travel. We both get so much joy from being surrounded by our friends—we love to cook and entertain and this is where you’ll find us most weekends. We both want to move to the country when we have children and lead a slower life, and lastly, we both value family and familial connections above all else. We just love doing life together—it’s the only way we want to go about it for the rest of our days.
DEAR CONNOR
I love you. I learn so much from you; how to be more patient, how to be present and most importantly, how to love without fear. Your love has never known any bounds. Throughout everything, the ups and downs, I always knew I was infinitely loved by you. I didn’t know it was possible to love someone like this, so selflessly. You taught me that and now, I don’t know any other love. A little tale that I’ve never mentioned to you before; years ago, I was worried about the idea of marriage so I called my Grandpa and spoke to him. I asked him about marriage and how he just knew Nana was for him. He told me that from the moment he met her, life was just inexplicably better. The lows felt less low and the highs more high; he was drawn to her. As for getting married, life without her was simply not a possibility. He had known what living was like before her and now with her in his life, it wasn’t possible to return to that. He married her because she was the only world he wanted to be a part of. Connor, you are the only world I want to be a part of. My dream for our future is simple—I want to love you with everything I have. I want to be your wife, become a mother and fall in love with you all over again when you become a father. I want to adventure with you, cry with you and laugh until we’re on the floor. I want to experience it all, with you, hand in hand.
DEAR JESS
I love you! I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. You are everything I could have ever dreamed in a partner. You are the smart one, the funny one, the beautiful one, the thoughtful one, the driven one, the kind one, the caring one, the adventurous one and just the incredible one. You make me a better person every day. You will be the best mother in the world, I know this! How you interact with our friends’ kids is amazing. You have so much patience and time for them and it is a joy to watch. I love knowing you will be there to eat the food I cook, enjoying every moment we get to share it. I love travelling with you, seeing the world, and being able to share it with my best friend makes every trip so special. I cannot wait for all the adventures we will have and challenges life will bring, and just growing old with you. When we are all old and grey I love the thought of looking back and seeing how much fun we have had. I love you!
WEDDING VOWS
JESS’ VOWS
My darling Connor, you are everything to me. Unfailingly kind, overwhelmingly patient, ridiculously caring and so unbelievably gorgeous. I love each and every inch of you, fiercely and deeply. The choice to become your wife was so simple and it’s easily the best decision I’ve ever made. Although our future may hold some unavoidably tough choices, there are some that will never require a second thought from me. I choose to wake up every day, thankful to have you by my side as my husband. I choose to appreciate you, all that you do, all that you are and all that you will be. I choose to celebrate and relish the good times with you and support you through the bad. I choose to never stop adventuring with you, even when we have to do it with matching walking sticks. I choose to give our love everything I’ve got, every moment of every day. I choose you, above all others and all else Connor. You make the world infinitely better—you are my heart, my soul and I choose to spend the rest of our lives loving you more and more every day. I love you Connor Timothy.
CONNOR’S VOWS
My beautiful Jess, from the moment I served a little, smiling redhead her first drink, I knew you were something special. In the almost seven years since, it has been the best adventure I could have ever imagined. We have lived in Canada, travelled across New Zealand, partied at Carnival in Rio and trekked the Bolivian Salt Flats, amongst other places in South America, sampled fine wines in Tasmania and the Hunter Valley and taken countless road trips. My favourite part of all those adventures is that we have done them together. You are incredible. You have such a passion for life, such determination for success in everything you do. You are my inspiration. From that, I promise to be the best for you, to be there when you need help, to be your inspiration, to give you a push when you need it, to always feed you more than you need and to be the husband you deserve. I vow to never let the adventures stop, to keep seeing the world and to embrace all the other adventures the future will bring. As one of your favourite lines of poetry goes, “I carry your heart with me, I carry it in my heart”. There is no statement truer for me. I love you Jessica and always will.
