Celebrating Love in St Kilda: The Wedding of Anna-Rose and J

Weddings are a special occasion, a day that is cherished for a lifetime, and Anna-Rose and Jake’s celebration of love in St Kilda was no exception. The couple had known of each other since they were teenagers, but it wasn’t until later in life that they reconnected and fell in love.

Their love story is one of fate and destiny. They first met when Anna-Rose was just sixteen years old. She was a close friend of Jake’s sister, and they went to school together. However, they never imagined that they would end up together. It wasn’t until years later that they reconnected at one of Jake’s family’s house parties. They went on a date a few weeks later and have been together ever since. As Anna-Rose says, “When you know, you know!”

Jake had planned to propose to Anna-Rose on her birthday at their favourite restaurant, Ichi Ni in St Kilda, surrounded by her family. However, COVID-19 affected many of Anna-Rose’s family members, so he postponed it until they could all be together. During the peak of the pandemic, when people had to isolate until receiving a negative PCR test result, Anna-Rose then had to isolate awaiting a PCR result, which foiled Jake’s second planned proposal. All the while, Anna-Rose was none-the-wiser to any of this. As they were both at home, awaiting the text message of Anna-Rose’s results, Jake couldn’t wait anymore. He propped his phone up where she couldn’t see it and proposed to her in their lounge room. He filmed the whole thing, and Anna-Rose says she relives that all-consuming, love-drunk moment often.

Their wedding was a unique and special occasion. They got married in the chapel of Anna-Rose’s high school, Star of the Sea, where Jake’s seven aunts and sister also went to school. Most of Anna-Rose’s friends are Star girls, making it an even more special setting for them and their guests.

The couple then had their photos taken in Elwood, on the bridge over the canal and along the beachfront. This is where they first lived together and made so many of their first memories. The reception was held at Encore in St Kilda, situated on the St Kilda foreshore, with beautiful beach views. The venue was perfect for the couple as they lived in Elwood and loved the St Kilda area. It was also convenient for guests as international and interstate guests had a range of accommodation to choose from, and guests had a huge range of places to kick on to after the wedding. The venue itself was big, comfortably fitting 150 guests on three long tables and hosting a huge dance floor which also comfortably fitted their dancing guests in celebration of this love in St Kilda.

Anna-Rose’s favourite moment of the day was walking down the aisle and seeing Jake at the end. She was initially worried about how emotional she would be on the day and what the weather was doing – little things out of her control. But it turned out that excitement and adrenaline took over, and she couldn’t wait to see him. Jake looked so handsome, and she couldn’t believe their special day was finally happening, and she was marrying the man of her dreams.

For Jake, the lead up to the day was so exciting for him, and he couldn’t believe that as each day went by, he was getting closer and closer to marrying his best friend. It is hard for him to pinpoint one moment of the day as his favourite, as he loved every single second of the day from waking up in the morning to arriving at their hotel at the end.