My husband Malachi and I are celebrating our 6 year wedding anniversary under Stage 4 COVID19 Lockdown in Melbourne this year and I am taking this opportunity to look back, reflect and give thanks to this life we have made together.

Malachi and I met almost 10 years ago through the miracle of online dating and a little website called Oasis Active. This was pre-Tinder days when it was still considered a little weird to go on a date with someone you have just been talking to on the internet. I have been dabbling in online dating for a couple of years and have had my share of horrible dates, but I still had hoped that I’d find someone who I’d click with.

It was one lazy Saturday arvo that I logged on and saw that this mysterious looking Treeman23 had viewed my profile. His black and white profile photo didn’t give too much away. He was pictured sitting on a boulder looking away in the distance, and when I clicked into his profile his photo gallery revealed that he was smoking hot and also that he knew how to have a good time. I sent him a ‘wink’ to connect and we got chatting that night. During our online banter we found that we were living only around the corner from each other (Johnston St/Smith St) until recently when he relocated down the coast to Mount Martha. I mentioned that I have never been down that way and it just happened to be that Mal’s birthday was coming up the following Thursday. So next thing we know I’m driving down to Mount Martha on the eve of his birthday to meet him for the first time.

We really went for it! And it was instant magic at first sight.

I remember locking eyes with Mal as he walked in the door. He was wearing a sleeveless black Harley Davidson t-shirt that showed off his tatts, and as I looked into his clear blue eyes there was this bashful gentleness that immediately put me at ease. I then presented him with some blue orchids and the game Twister to help us celebrate his birthday. The rest of the evening unfolded with him preparing our roast veg dinner (he thought I was vegetarian), driving down to the beach to watch the sunset and getting to know each other over dinner. By the end of the night we both knew that I would not be staying in the guest room.

We embarked on a summer of love and had an amazing time together. The following year saw us test our relationship with me living in New York for 3 months. In that time Mal had moved in with some of my friends at their sharehouse in Carlton. We had planned a rendezvous at the end of my time in New York with both of us flying into Shanghai and then travelling through India for a month together. Our connection grew stronger through our wild India adventures, and on our way back Mal got to meet some of my family in Shanghai as well as seeing where I had grown up. Upon our returned to Melbourne, I conveniently moved in with Mal and our friends at the Carlton sharehouse.

During our time in Carlton I completed a Masters’ degree in Teaching, whilst Mal worked as a contract arborist across Melbourne. We were able to live our lives to the full with the best of inner city social offerings and playing host to some great times. We also welcomed our furbebe, French Bulldog Oscar Wild and thanks to our awesome housemates we continued to embark on many travel adventures away to Tasmania, Thailand and also visiting Mal’s family throughout WA.

It was when we were planning our next big trip to the US to rendezvous with our good friend Raae and attend Burning Man that we thought about visiting Las Vegas. Mal had off handedly mentioned that he had ‘always wanted to get married by Elvis’. After hearing this I basically ran with it! Getting married wasn’t really on our radar and come to think of it, the logistics of having a wedding was just too much, especially with half my family living in Shanghai and Mal’s family in WA. So going to Burning Man then driving to Las Vegas to get married just made perfect sense for us. Also I wasn’t going to get married in Vegas with Elvis just for the LOLZ, so if we were going to do it then it will be legit.

We shared the good news of our unexpected wedding plans with all our loved ones and it was met with much excitement. We then enlisted the help of our friend Mitch from Evita Jewellery to design and make our rings for our trip. Next we booked our Elvis wedding ceremony package at Graceland Wedding Chapel - World’s First Elvis Wedding Chapel and our Viva Las Vegas accommodation at the Hard Rock Hotel. In order to make our marriage legal we completed an online application for a Clark County Marriage Licence, which we had to pick up in person from the Las Vegas Marriage Licence Bureau once we rolled into town. All that was left to do is to find our wedding outfits and of course to survive Burning Man!

Or so we thought.

With less than a month to go until we fly out on our US trip we received a letter informing us that we had 60 days to find a new home as our rambling Carlton sharehouse was going to be auctioned off. Our hearts sank and we went into instant action searching frantically for a new house to call home. We had many a sleepless nights thinking that we might end up married and homeless. It was a small miracle that I stumbled across this beautifully renovated self contained one bedroom cabin in North Melbourne, we were able to arrange a private viewing with the owner and secured the rental on the spot. Our wonderful friends helped us move into our new home with a week or so to spare, in which time we held a smashing housewarming/send off party! Life sometimes throws us some crazy stuff, but time and time again we somehow find ourselves coming through the other end shining brighter.

Our road trip across the US was everything we had dreamt of and more. Needless to say Burning Man was EPIC. We drove outta there as soon as the Man burned in order to make it to Vegas in time for our wedding ceremony. We checked into the Hard Rock Hotel a day out from the big day and we are joined by my cousin KC who flew down from Vancouver for the occasion, as well as our motley crew from Burning Man, which include our good friend Raae, her housemates CJ, Sam and their English mate Harry.

Mal and I woke up together on the day of our ceremony, quickly said goodbye to each other and then rushed off to get ready in seperate hotel rooms. Mal arrived at the chapel first and waited anxiously as my ride was slightly delayed. By the time I rocked up with my entourage Mal was all set to go and waiting nervously inside the chapel. What happened next is but a surreal blur, all I could remember was thinking to myself that ‘this is really happening!’, thank goodness we took out the ceremony package including a video recording of the whole event.

I vaguely recall Elvis coming over to ask me if I was ready to Rock’n Roll and then taking me by the hand to enter the chapel. I remember walking down as he was serenading us to the tune of ‘Love Me Tender’ and watching Mal finally turning around to see me for the first time in my wedding dress. Our eyes met across the chapel and we gave each other the ultimate once over, nodding in appreciation of the moment. Our celebrant then proceeded to say lots of hilarious things in a very thick French accent. At one point Mal accidentally vowed to be my ‘Facebook husband’ instead of being my ‘faithful husband’. Our Elvis really knew how to work the room throughout the ceremony and after our kiss we all broke into a dance to ‘Viva Las Vegas’ finishing with a victory lap up and down the aisle with the King of Rock’n Roll.

We were married by lunch time and celebrated afterwards by hitting up some All You Can Eat Sushi with our wedding party. The rest of the day was spent lounging poolside back at the hotel and then when night came we toured the casinos and finished up the day at a karaoke bar.

We did it our way and it was the most fun!

It’s 6 years, 2 kids and a house later during a global pandemic and I’m still having fun with you.

Thank you to my handsome husband Malachi for being my ultimate partner in adventure and I am excited to keep on making magic with you in this life!