Love with | Shelley & Dave

Tell us a little bit about yourselves. How did you meet?

Dave’s friend moved into a share house in Richmond which was less than 500m from where Dave lived. His friend invited him and his housemates up for pulled pork tacos one fateful night and there Shelley was, walking through the dining room. We caught eyes and were instantly attracted to each other, 5 years later, we’re now married and have two cats.

Was it love at first sight? 

Absolutely, we caught eyes in the dining room full of people and it was like no one else was in the room. Shel says she knew instantly that she finally found her 'one'.

Tell us a little bit about your day. Where & when did you get married?

We had spent the 18 months since the engagement planning a beautiful wedding at Montsalvat, Eltham but due to COVID19 restrictions, had to postpone the celebrations to a later date. We elected to move forward with the wedding on the 18th of April anyway and had 5 people in attendance in person, but live streamed the wedding to friends and family. The video has been viewed more than 1000 times. The big celebrations was postponed exactly 1 year, where we intend to run the day as planned, except the ceremony part of the day will be a vow renewal/anniversary. Given we missed out on sharing with everyone this year, we intend to do it even bigger next year!

Tell us about your bespoke wedding bands. What did that process look like? 

We elected to go for fairly traditional rings. Dave’s Grandmother wanted to re-purpose some gold that she had and we liked the idea of having the same gold passed down through the generations. Dave went for an organic “hammered” look which gives the ring great character. Shelley went for a traditional rose gold band to match her rose gold engagement ring.

What drew you to Michel’s Jewellery for your wedding bands? 

Dave’s Grandmother (Heather) lived in Bendigo for most of her life, so Dave spent a significant amount of his childhood there. Heather had been given the glowing recommendation of Michel’s so we made the trip up to Bendigo to meet.

What do your rings mean to you? 

The rings symbolise the commitment we’ve made to each other. A physical token to represent the pledges we’ve made to each other that will last forever.

What does love and marriage mean to you?

Love is the overwhelming feeling of connection to another. It's a fire that burns inside you which inspires you and creates such joy. Marriage is the vow in which we promise to nurture this love and the other person to be their happiest self.

What was your favourite part of the wedding day?

For Dave it was watching Shelley walk down the aisle, to a song that always reminded him of her. It was a beautiful moment. For Shelley, it was the ceremony. She didn't expect herself to be smiling and laughing so much, it was pure joy and excitement!.

What do you look forward to doing as a married couple? 

Going on a Honeymoon for starters as COVID19 took that away from us! We instead had a “Homeymoon”, where we travelled Italy, France and Spain via our foods and drinks. It was amazing. We look forward to travelling and buying a house and raising a family together.

Photographer: S.Sheldon @sshnapp