Tara & Dean

When it comes to backdrops that Mother Nature makes to take one’s breath away, I think waterfalls must be top of the list. So when Willow and Finch Photography joined Tara and Dean on top of Mount Tambourine, with the mystical, magical waterfalls as their backdrop. Well, it was always going to create a pretty beautiful engagement session.

“We wanted something outdoors but not beachy, as our wedding vibe is beachy” tells Tara.  “Originally we were going to go to a lookout at Mt Tambourine for Photos but our photographer Monique pulled the pin on that at the last minute and said “We are going on an adventure – trust me on this”. The weather that day was raining off and on, overcast and some clear sky – basically it didn’t know what it was doing. The photo style and location was just more than we could have ever hoped for!”

On what she loves about Dean, Tara remarks “I love that Dean has given me space to really be myself. We are polar opposites in most respects – I love going out for drinks and dinners with friends, he is more of a homebody, I love travelling overseas, trying new foods and having new experiences and Dean is more into camping, 4WDing and working on the house. I never feel like I have to hide any part of myself or my personality, he is accepting of every part that makes me who I am and is understanding of the things I want to do in life, even though they are 80% different to the things he would consider fun or enjoyable. He has really helped me grow into the person I always wanted to be, by giving me the time and space to figure myself out. I never thought anyone would love me so completely to want to be with me forever – and here he is.”

Tara and Dean actually went to high school together, but it was not until they were both older and wiser that they fell in love. Tara remembers “We originally met at school when we were 13 and 14 years old. We had a crush on each other and everything!! Dean even turned up on my doorstep one night to invite me to come to a party with him – Mum did not let me go to the party (in hindsight rightfully so but 13-year-old Tara was furious), and that was that. Dean left school the following year, to start working and I changed schools to finish my high school education. We both continued to live in the Redlands but never bumped into each other again until 14 years later when we bumped into each other on a night out!”

“Well the start of our relationship was pretty funny – when we bumped into each other at the pub that fateful night – we spoke for hours” recalls Tara. “We ignored the friends we came with and caught up on everything. At the end of the night, Dean asked me for my number and I refused to give it to him. I told him I didn’t want a relationship and I wasn’t interested in what he had to offer, BUT if he wanted to chat as friends only he could add me on Facebook! He added me on Facebook about 5 minutes after he walked out of the pub. We spoke online for a few weeks before I finally gave him my number. And here we are getting married now!! The thing is – I wasn’t even playing hard to get – I legitimately didn’t want ANYTHING remotely close to a relationship and was NOT interested. The world works in mysterious ways haha.”

Dean tells of Tara “I never thought I would and never wanted to get married. When Tara came into my life I realized she was different to anyone else I had ever known. It was 100 little things she did for me, and just who she was as a person that made me realize that she was the one – I hit the jackpot having her as my girlfriend and there was no way I was going to let anyone else have the chance of getting her. I couldn’t imagine being without her.”

The groom to be proposed on Tara’s 30th birthday. She tells “Dean took me down the Coast under the guise of a belated celebration for my 30th birthday. I was quite sick at the time, with a virus I just couldn’t shake so I wasn’t really feeling it. It was a drizzly day and Dean spent the drive nervously chatting about the weather, where would be the best place to watch the sunset. I was oblivious to it all and just thought Dean was being a weirdo.

Once we checked into our hotel, Dean wanted to go for a walk along the beach to watch the sunset. We walked and talked up and down the Spit at the Gold Coast until they could go no further. I then beelined for the car (assuming that the romantic walk was over), and started googling what we were going to have for dinner that night (Hard Rock Cafe – definitely recommend it!!), while Dean stood outside the car, having a cigarette (his 30th of the day lol). He then called me to come out because he saw dolphins! He cuddled me from behind and pointed out to the water and told me to keep looking cos he just saw them (It felt like for 5 minutes he kept saying “Just keep looking, they were right there!” It was probably 1 minute). He finally said “oh they must be gone……….but can you see this” – I then turned around to see him holding a ring in his hand. He dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him. His recollection is that I didn’t say yes straight away and kept saying “Are you serious” and “Oh my god”. All I remember is thinking “This guy knows the full extent of my craziness and he wants to be with me forever??” Eventually, I said yes, and then began the next chapter of our love story, only 12 months after it had started. All those years apart- learning and growing and experiencing life to be reunited forever.”