Kelsi & Lucy

In Kelsie's words...

"Lucy and I️ met in July of 2015, after a very unexplainable friendship request on Facebook. To our knowledge we had no friends in common and since then our worlds have continued to collide in the best of ways. As a Canadian/Australian couple living in Canada with visas soon to expire, we talked a ton even from the beginning about how we would make our relationship work, until the end, knowing that we had found our ‘forever person’.

We have been blessed to have such incredible, welcoming families, who love us both like their own. My first time meeting Lucy’s parents (who live in Melbourne) was for Christmas in Portugal after only 5 months of dating. My family lives a short drive from Calgary, Alberta, Canada where we live, and Lucy adopted them quickly to fill in when she started to miss her family. Travelling to Australia this November was a monumental trip for us as I️ finally got to meet the rest of the family, and see where Lucy grew up. For me, however, this trip was much more than that. I️ would be asking Lucy to marry me in her hometown, with the permission of her parents that I️ had awkwardly asked for the day before.

My proposal began simply as a ‘far-fetched idea’ and quickly turned into a solidified plan after reconnecting with Anne, an old friend from my backpacking days in Australia 5 years ago. White Shutter Photography has been one of my absolute favourite Instagram pages to follow in the past years and I️ love Anne’s work. I️ thought, how cool would it be to propose and have her hiding in a bush to capture it? I️ thought I️ was being creative, but the outcome you see here is all thanks to Anne. Anne constructed such an amazing game plan of how I️ would propose to my soon to be fiancé and I had nothing better so I️ just went with it. Our only time to shoot was a three hour time frame for sunrise before we rushed off on another flight to Sydney. Without Anne, none of this would have been possible, even up to our late night phone call the night before where she convinced me that our plan would work and that I️ could do this even if my nerves were trying to convince me I️ couldn’t. Surprises were on the horizon, even for me, as Anne quickly filled me in that our proposal would also be filmed by her friend James, from Zephyr Productions Those nerves? Yep, they came back, full force.

The big day started early, and I️ got up before my alarm to rehearse in the shower what I was going to say. “Do these things EVER go to plan?” I️ asked myself in my head. Whether or not, time was ticking, and we had to get to the pier before the sun would come up. No pressure, I️ thought, as I wondered if I️ would be able to hold down last nights dinner or not. Seeing Anne for the first time in 5 years brought instant confidence and comfort to me, and meeting James for the first time brought a sense of ease to the moment. Everything was going to be alright. Soon, the sun was up, and I was on one knee, and the rest followed without any real effort.

Having this moment captured in such a magnificent way, by two obviously very talented people, is something we will forever be grateful for. We have a life of happiness, adventure, and surprises ahead of us. Marrying your best friend is something we hope everyone gets the chance to do, no matter what gender your best friend is. Love is love, and love should be celebrated."

Make sure to watch the film at the end of this post and have some tissues ready!