First impressions don’t necessarily last!

Sonja Says:

“I’m sure every girl has had at least one bad date in her life, but does that really mean it’s not worth giving it another try? Dina’s not-so-good start with Justin ended up with her literally on top of the world…”   

First impressions don’t necessarily last!

As soon as I met Justin we had a spark. Hitting it off at a local football game, we arranged a date for soon after.

Justin had recently broken his arm playing footy so, although slightly out of the ordinary, I offered to pick him up for our first date at a Chinese restaurant. Deciding on an entrée, Justin ordered some dim sims to start with but was shocked when a massive overflowing plate of dim sims arrived. Struggling to cut them with the use of just one arm, he suddenly lost control of his cutlery- and the dim sim- which plummeted in the soy sauce, in turn splashing all over his shirt!

Smiling awkwardly as he tried to clean up the mess, I was trying to hold in my laughter at what a mess he’d actually made! Just when we’d laughed it off and attempted to move on, a mosquito started buzzing around our table, interfering with our dinner.

After ages of trying to flick it away, Justin quickly swiped at it when he thought I wasn’t looking. However I was- and there was no missing the big, bloody mess he’d made all over the wall after squashing it.

Apologising with reddened cheeks, Justin was notably embarrassed and it was certainly turning into the oddest- and messiest- first date I’d ever had! And when it came time to pay the bill, things just got worse. Patting at his pockets hysterically, Justin quietly revealed he’d forgotten his wallet at home. Telling him it was okay, I paid the bill and told him he could pay next time- but secretly doubted a “next time” would ever come.

Arriving home and unwinding after my disastrous first date with Justin, I couldn’t help but start giggling to myself. Although anything that could’ve gone wrong did, I hadn’t laughed so much in ages!  

So when Justin called a couple days later asking me out again, I decided to give him a go. And lucky I did- our second date went off without a hitch! Following that second date was many more lovely dates, Justin and I falling head over heals within months.
After a year together we were on a lovely road trip to Ocean Grove, Vic, when Justin suddenly got down on one knee and proposed.

Our relationship had been perfect since our imperfect start so I didn’t have to think twice!
Wanting to be different, we set the wedding date for Monday November 5 and decided to add lots of unique touches to our special day.
With our invitations in the form of DVDs, my pink wedding dress, our lamington cake and me arriving to the wedding by helicopter, we certainly had one amazing day to remember!

Now happily married, I’m so glad I didn’t judge Justin by our first date; otherwise I wouldn’t be living happily ever after with the man of my dreams.
Dina Pearson, 34.

Here are some of the details that made our wedding day so unique:

Cake
I decided to design and make the cake myself. It was 80 pieces of lamington cake squares on a 5-tier cake stand. I wanted it to look like a mountain and then we had a helicopter on top.

Ceremony Location
We married in the beautiful secret garden at Sky High, Mt Dandenong.

Celebrant/ Priest
Father Mahony.

Reception
The reception was held at Sky High, Mt Dandenong. Our 110 guests loved the marvelous views.

Decorations
All of our decorations were supplied by Sky High. We had glass vases on the tables and as an extra touch I added goldfish to them! And on the bridal table we also had six huge cocktail glasses with one fish in each.

Bride & Groom’s wear
My dress was from BridalStar, Murrenbeena. I knew I didn’t want a traditional white/ ivory dress, so as soon as I saw the pale pink, strapless dress with a lace-up back I knew it was the one for me!
The groom and groomsmen hired their suits from Miss Gowns, Berwick.

Hair & Makeup
D Design Hairdressing, Drouin.

Invitations
I also decided to design and make the invitations myself as I wanted them to be different from any I’d seen before. Our guests were handed a black DVD box with ribbon around it. When they opened it there was an invitation, with a photo of Justin and I on it, followed by directions, RSVP postcard, and chocolates.

Music
We had an amazing DJ - Darren Watson – who kept our guests partying the night away!

Photography
Genelle Bevan, from Studiomax.

Transport
As mentioned I arrived by helicopter- which was an amazing way to start my special day! The rest of the bridal party arrived in my dad’s Aqua Pontiac Catalina convertible.

Accommodation
On our wedding night we stayed at Lochiel Treetops Cottages, Olinda.

“Dina’s first disastrous date with Justin led her on top of the world; floating on clouds as she arrived to her wedding by helicopter. So next time you or a friend is ready to ditch a guy after a bad first date, remember you could be missing out on a happy ending like hers.”