Sarah and Dave

This shoot is so Melbourne it hurts (I could never be a hipster or talk in hipster speak so indulge me). From taking in Melbourne’s laneways, the fabulous architecture and the graffiti and hidden bars. Luke from Luma Photography really captured it all!

Sarah wrote the most amazing story about her relationship with Dave, so now it’s over to her.

“Dave and I are getting married at a beautiful winery in the Adelaide Hills for two reasons: 1) We met working at a wine store and 2) To represent the new life we will be starting together in Adelaide. Dave proposed to me the day we visited that particular winery.

I met Dave in Melbourne as I was finishing my teaching degree and was about to travel to India for a few months. He was in a gap year between Uni and finding a job in design and we both happened to land jobs in the wine section of a liquor store. I never wanted to work there. Before my first shift, I called a friend saying I didn’t think there was any point in starting a new job when I really only needed it for a month or so. She convinced me to give it a go for a least one shift. On my first shift, I met Dave and during my break, I checked the roster to find out what his last name was – just in case I was to take his name one day. I was smitten. Of course I decided to stay on at the store and Dave became my mentor; training me up how to work the tasting table. In our position, we got to taste wine in the back room to see if the wine was corked. Dave always snuck in a few extra bottles to try and one time, Tim Tams. He had me. Over the next few weeks, we grew closer and he finally plucked up the courage to ask me out to coffee after work. Coffee lasted four hours before Dave had to go and meet his family for dinner. I no longer wanted to go to India. I wanted to stay with Dave.”

“After two months together, I flew to India on my own. Dave and I spoke whenever we could and I yearned to be back in Australia with him instead of battling gastro and crowds in India. The phone bill cost over a two grand even after I cut my trip short!”

“After returning home, we began to spend every day with each other, moving in together after 10 months. My love of travel sparked something in Dave and together we travelled to South East Asia in 2009 and South America in 2010. Our love of food and wine always sparked new adventures wherever we went and some of the happiest memories in my life are of Dave and I cycling from winery to winery in Argentina’s wine country, stopping for enormous amounts of steak for lunch, more wine and cycling through vineyard to the next winery. Heaven.”

“I thought Dave was going to propose in South America. He didn’t. However, I waited until we had been together for four years to really put the hard word on him. In Adelaide in December 2010, Dave and I visited Howard Vineyard in the Adelaide Hills. Here we enjoyed a delicious lunch, laughs and good wines. I was sure that seeing my father had given Dave my grandmother’s engagement ring, he would propose. He didn’t. The drive home was tense. I was rope-able. When we arrived home, Dave suggested that we go for a walk on my high school oval at the end of my parent’s street to calm down. As we walked, I texted my friend saying I thought Dave would never propose and I didn’t know whether we had a future. We lay down on the grass and looked up at the sky. I suddenly became calm and we agreed that by looking at the sky, we could be anywhere in the world – we were only limited by our imaginations. In that moment, Dave rolled over, presented me with a ring and said “Hey Sarah, will you marry me?”. I actually forgot to say yes because through my tears, I kept repeating “Are you serious? Is this real? REALLY?”.”

“So I’m bringing back my lovely husband-to-be to Adelaide to begin a new life. There’s plenty of wineries there to keep us occupied and we can’t wait to begin this second phase in our relationship. The first one has been amazing.”

Photos by Luma Photography