Have you ever wondered what the next step in wedding planning is? Or if other couples are facing the same issues as you when trying to plan for one of the biggest days of your lives? The Wedding Countdown will give you a preview into the world of a real-life bride and groom to be. But first, every great wedding starts with a great proposal story, so here is how it happened for my youngest brother Darren and his girlfriend of 9 months Teagen…

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It was a crisp winter night and I had been invited to Brisbane Jazz Club to hang out with them and a dozen of their friends as they enjoyed the musical talents of Chris Poulsen Trio. Hiding outside in a bush was my other brother, awaiting my text to tell him that now was the moment. You see, I was full of nerves as Darren had earlier confided in me his proposal plan: he would be randomly selected from the audience to perform a song and he would end it on bended knee.

This was slightly amusing as Teagen is actually the songstress, and let’s just say that for all of my family’s blessed genetic traits, singing is not ranked highly! However, he made his way onto that stage despite her best efforts to hold him back and performed Can’t Help Falling in Love by the King Elvis, amidst a dry mouth and encouraging crowd. At the line ‘take my hand’, he motioned for Teagen to join him, where he finished with the words “I may have made a fool of myself, but I’m a fool for you… and I love you… and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

Unlike my own proposal story, she actually remembered to say ‘Yes!’ along with a mass cheer from onlookers and a dozen iPhone cameras capturing the moment. He slid a beautiful oval halo diamond ring on her finger as they were crushed in a group hug by excited friends. It was then that I noticed my other brother had managed to escape the possum outside and slip into the back of the venue unnoticed to witness the grand gesture of love. I was thrilled that we were able to be a part of that joyous occasion!

Fast-forward one week and I’m sitting at work when a text comes through from the bride-to-be “it’s actually ridiculously overwhelming”. Her sentiments echo those of most engaged couples when faced with the daunting task of planning a wedding. Especially when you have an idea in your head of what it will be like: a marquee dinner reception… in September of this year… with a dress from a designer that takes several months to… wait a minute! Something’s not going to work.

It is moments like these, when reality bursts the dream wedding bubble, and suddenly you are thinking of Plan B before you’ve even had time to toast your new engagement. Thus, this series of posts will follow their progress as I’ll take a fly on the wall approach to their wedding planning – the highs, the lows, the roadblocks, and the victories. Moments that every bride and groom are faced with throughout their own wedding countdown.

Image by Elana Germain Photography