I thought I would share some of the beautiful images from our engagement shoot earlier this year and taken by our wonderful friend Emma from Emma Louise Photography.
At the same time I thought it would be nice to share a bit on how Chance and I got together and how we got to where we are now. I don’t know if this will interest anyone but I always go by what I find interesting to read on other blogs I follow so I hope you enjoy! ?
Chance and I met nine years ago when I was the ripe old age of 19. I had just come out of a three year relationship and wasn’t looking for another one in a hurry!
I had just moved cities to study journalism and started working at a local restaurant/bar. My start date was I think a few days before Chance who soon joined the team! Chance is a pretty outgoing and outspoken person so I found him a little full on at first ?. He made it pretty clear he was keen on dating but I wasn’t ready at the stage and so we remained friends (and still worked together).
It wasn’t until a year or so later (and a few other relationships in between) that we actually got together and it was right before my 21st birthday.
We hit a few hurdles in the beginning as a relatively young couple in a small town but we seemed to get through them and move on quickly. After a year of dating and me finishing my degree, I was offered a job as a reporter in another town that I couldn’t refuse so I packed up my stuff and left. The town was only a two hour drive from where Chance lived and so we commuted for a bit to see each other before Chance decided to follow me and live in Queenstown as well. He was working in hospitality and not really enjoying it so after a year we decided to move to Melbourne to further our careers and improve our lifestyle (I did love my job though!).
A few months before deciding to leave to Melbourne we found out we were pregnant (very unexpectedly).
We decided we would still move across the ditch as my family were also moving to Melbourne and we had already started planning our life over here. At four months preggo I was on the plane and we were on our way on a new venture! (yes I am crazy!)
It wasn’t until two years later that Chance proposed while we were on a family trip to Singapore. As a journo I think of myself as pretty damn observant and bloody nosy so I was pretty impressed that Chance managed to get this past me without me having a clue.
I was swimming with the dolphins in Singapore when at the end of the class, our group had to line up as the dolphin swam up to us to say goodbye (Finn & Chance were watching from the stands). Little did I realise but I was strategically placed at the front of the line so the dolphin swam to me first and was carrying an eski (or chilly-bin for us kiwis) in its little fins. The dolphin literally passed this eski to me (jumped in the air) and the instructor told me to look inside. I expected there to be fish in there to feed the dolphin but instead there was a tiny plastic bag with a note inside.
I was told to open it and on the note it said “SAY YES!!”. I was still that oblivious to what was going on that I thought I was saying yes to the dolphin. Ha! I still laugh at myself now. Little did I realise that Chance had speedily pushed Finn in the pram with Finn in it (who was sweating from the heat) around the pool to sneak up behind me (still without me noticing). The instructor laughed at me and said “no, turn around!” and I turned to see Chance on one knee with a ring in his hand. I immediately burst in to tears and was in such a state of shock that I didn’t say anything for a good 30 seconds to where Chance asked me if I was going to say yes, which of course I did. At this stage, people had started piling in to the stands for the next dolphin show so there was clapping and whistling so loud that it all became very overwhelming but a beautiful moment.
Now two years later and seven years in to our relationship we are just a few short months from getting married and with our two beautiful boys with us. I absolutely cannot wait to see everyone we love come together for our special day and to marry the man that I have practically been married too for years anyway 😛
I loved all of the photos Emma took as they were so natural and showed exactly how we are as a family (minus the tantrums). I got the idea to put the date of the wedding in the sand from Pinterest and we used the first photo for our Save the Date cards!
The rest are just a snippet of some of my favourites <3
0
Absolutely beautiful