My Life as a Groom – Patrick

Patrick and Sheridan

Patrick first met Sheridan at a mutual friend’s birthday party. They didn’t start dating until well over a year later, but ever since that party, they kept in touch and spoke to each other every day. It was a friendship that blossomed into something more, and Patrick knew she was the one after only being together for a year. On Sheridan’s 21st birthday, Patrick popped the question (like a pro!) while the two were standing on the Sherbrooke Forest bridge in the Dandenong Ranges, overlooking the surrounding waterfalls!
We were lucky enough to have Patrick share with us his overall experience as a groom and gain insight into the thinking and preparing that went on behind the scenes.

How did your wedding reflect you and Sheridan as a couple?
We were determined to make the wedding as individual as possible because we’re not really like everyone else. So, we set out to find a place that both meant a lot to us and would stick with everyone who was there forever. As two science fiction lovers, as soon as we found out that we could hold our reception at Scienceworks, we knew it was perfect. It’s a bit odd – not obviously beautiful but surrounded by ‘everything science’.

What part did you play in the wedding planning process? What decisions did you make? 
I really wanted to play as big a part as I could in the planning process of the day. I organised all the suiting, chose the celebrant and made the music playlist for the DJ. I picked the flowers and, due to Sheridan starting a new job one week before the wedding, went to all the meetings with the florist to design the arrangements.

But in the end, we wanted to do as much of the planning together as possible. We scoured the city looking for a venue that suited us, made all the props together, designed our cheese wheel cake together and decided on all the vendors. It was heaps of fun.

How did you feel in the lead up to the wedding? How did you feel afterwards?
The lead up was strangely relaxed. We had decided a few months before that we wouldn’t stress and worry about things until one week before the wedding, then in the final week, just hang out and let it happen.

The hours after our wedding reminded me a lot of Christmas when I was young. You have this massive lead up of Christmas trees, Macaulay Culkin, present shopping and Coca-Cola ads, then all of a sudden, it’s Boxing Day and Christmas has come and gone. Only this time, I had the most incredible hangover; I was wearing jewellery and my credit card bill looked like a crash scene!

How did you feel once the wedding ceremony concluded and it was time to celebrate?
Relieved! The only part I was nervous about was the ceremony. I like making speeches, and I don’t mind being the focus of everyone’s attention, but for some reason, I was really uncomfortable about the ceremony part. Maybe I was just excited because I knew we had a pretty awesome party to look forward to afterwards.

What was the highlight of the day?
I never thought it would have been, but, the highlight of the day had to be when Sheridan walked down the aisle. You put so much time and effort into planning this huge day that pleases everyone, and then she walks down the aisle, and you don’t think about that anymore. That is the only thing that matters.

What did you absolutely nail? Is there anything you would have done differently?
I’m pretty happy to say that we nailed most things. The venue was perfect for us, and the people who helped us put the night together were the best. It was weird and dark and had a pretty sordid past (a sewerage pumping station…), but I think we brought out its charm. It looked pretty spectacular on the day… if you squinted and turned your head a little.

The music turned out exactly how we wanted it to. We really wanted to make a mix that said a lot about us but, at the same time, include everyone we invited. It was important to us that everyone had fun. So, we had some Elvis and Buddy Holly to swing your partner around to, a bit of Madonna to get the mums up and a couple of dance floor fillers to get some of the more prudish guests going! Oh, and we left to ‘Freebird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd… twice. Nothing like having a laugh at weddings whilst at your own.

The only thing I would have changed would have been the florist because of their location. We chose a florist who was close to the venue, thinking that this would be easier for delivery and set up. However, they were over an hour’s drive from where we lived. It meant that going in to brainstorm ideas with the florist was difficult, and we quickly realised that the flowers were a much bigger part of the day than we thought.

What advice would you give a groom getting ready for his big day?
Enjoy it. Don’t say “it’s your day, babe” and “whatever you want, babe.” Get involved, and make it fun for the two of you. And then make sure, on the day, you take time to be alone together, if only to say “wow, isn’t this crazy?”

Images by Tizia May

What are your final thoughts on the whole wedding experience? Was it all you had dreamed of?
It was great. I never thought I would be one to be a big wedding guy, but we took out all the traditional stuff and turned it into one big celebration. We made it our own and had heaps of fun with it.

Ms Chinoiserie Says: Thanks Patrick for your heartfelt insights; your advice on getting involved and making your wedding fun for the two of you is so important!