After many adventures together we finally settled back in Forster and built a house. It was June 2003 and we had only been in our new house for 3 months when Dean came home early from footy training one night. I found it a bit odd that he was home so early but continued to cook dinner. He called me into our bedroom and when I walked in, there he was in "normal" clothes, (not footy training clothes) down on one knee and had a box in his hand open. I nearly died.

After the proposal I was kind of numb I think as I had absolutely no idea. He had gone to the Central Coast that afternoon and bought the ring - we had been there the weekend before for a weekend away. I'm usually pretty cluey about everything so was just so shocked that he had done all this on his own and without me finding out! The funny thing was that I was standing there in my pink flannelette pj's!! My parents and Dean's parents and siblings then arrived after Dean had called them and they had known all week. My poor mother had to keep the secret all week - not easy to do!

I had always wanted to get married in spring so we made the date for the following spring - October 2004. It was way too soon to have it that spring and we probably wouldn't have been able to book what we wanted anyway. So we had nearly 18 months to plan everything which was plenty of time but I did leave a lot to the end which was very naughty of me!

The first thing we did after our engagement was set a date and then we booked the church, reception & photographer. Happy that those important things were done, we just cruised through the rest. We had decided to have a 'smart' wedding with pink oriental lilies and an asian style theme, with around 125 guests. My sister owns a boutique in Forster so she, as my chief bridesmaid, totally controlled the bridesmaid's dresses and accessories - which was fine by me. I told her the colour and that was it. She did a wonderful job too. Dean had the groomsmen totally under control and we used Formalwearexpress which are a mobile suit hire business, they were so easy and so helpful. I left my dress to the last minute but it was worth it as I found my ideal dress and was totally happy with it.

The whole week leading up to our wedding was hectic and not to mention cold, rainy and very windy. I was too busy to even worry about it but was reminded about it from everyone I saw. The day before the wedding, the bridal party all arrived (3 from Sydney and the rest from Forster). The girls moved into a unit overlooking the beach/lake at Sails. After a restless night I was awoken by Dean's sister, Carlie waking me up to say that it was a perfect day. I was so happy I nearly cried. After listening to the wild storm that night I had given up hope!

I was very excited but also extremely nervous about the day. Dad spoke with Dean later in the morning and he was also extremely nervous and excited and probably tired from a massive night before! We were up and into it early and all headed down to the hairdressers/beauty salon at 8.30am. We had totally taken over the whole shop which was so funny and were giggling and laughing and crying at each other the whole time. We all headed back up to the room around 1pm and it was pretty full on from there as the photographer and video guy had arrived and were snapping away at us running around getting dressed. I nearly died when I first saw our beautiful pink oriental lilies, as they were just beautiful and perfect. After the photos were done we relaxed with a glass of champagne and then headed downstairs. Awaiting us was our cars - I had a Rolls Royce and the girls had white Ford Ghia's.

Our church was beautiful up on a hill. It had a lovely wooden interior, very traditional. Dad and I arrived at the church about 10 mins late and were both extremely nervous! We walked down the aisle to "Canon in D" by Puchabel which was so lovely. I just looked at Dean the whole way up as I was so nervous and there were 125 faces watching me. After a very moving and emotional ceremony, we lit our candle, signed the registry to "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden and walked out of the church to "Beautiful Day" by U2. Outside the church was a haze of everyone giving kisses and hugs and family photos.

The whole planning process although hectic and tough at times, all worked out on the day. Every detail I worried about or planned or worked really hard on made a difference on the day. The biggest high was the whole day and seeing all my loved ones together at the one event was very special to us.

Our reception was held at The Wharf Bar & Grill in Forster which overlooks the lake. It has a beautiful big balcony also which was decorated with fairy lights. Our room was totally pink, white and oriental lily theme and was just so pretty. We served finger food on the balcony whilst we were having photos and then had an entree and main pretty much as soon as we got there at 6.15pm. We wanted all the formalities over so we could party and hit the dance floor. Our waltz was to "All my life" by Kci & Jojo which was a song out when we were first together and had loved ever since. The rest of the night was a total party and everyone danced and had a great time until we left at 1.30am.

If I had my time over again, I wouldn't change a thing, everything was perfect on the day. It was such a wonderful and special day to us and one we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

We honeymooned in Fiji for 10 magical days. We spent the first 5 days on Matamanoa Island and then the next 5 days on the main island at the Outrigger. It was such a lovely and relaxing holiday and Dean had never been overseas before which was also a highlight.