Aftyn and January: Love At First Sight
It was love at first sight for January and Aftyn who met via a mutual friend. "As soon as I started talking to January, I was attracted to her amazing eyes. She has heterochromia, which means her eyes are different colours," says Aftyn of the first time the couple met.
Photographer Bianca Virtue | Venue Seville Estate
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How and when did you meet?
In true lesbian style, we met at a Sundaylicious event on October 9th, 2016.
Tell us a little about the first time you met?
Aftyn: We met at a bar after a mutual friend organised for different groups of friends to meet up for drinks. January (who was recently single) went alone after deciding it would be good for her to step out of her comfort zone. We hit it off immediately and spent the rest of the night chatting away.
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Aftyn: As soon as I started talking to January, I was attracted to her amazing eyes. She has heterochromia, which means her eyes are different colours.
January: I met Aftyn while out with a group of people in which I only knew one person. I was immediately attracted to how warm and friendly she was and how at ease I felt in her company. This was further cemented when she told me she was a detective because I’m a big crime and horror movie lover.
What have been some standout moments in your relationship?
January: Buying and moving into our first home together was such a cause for celebration. Aftyn made it even better when she surprised me with a kitten on moving day.
Aftyn: We both love travelling, so a couple of trips to Europe and New Zealand have been a standout for me. However, the biggest highlight would have to be January falling pregnant with our first baby, which is due in spring 2020.
What does marriage mean to you?
Aftyn: Marriage, to me, is about having someone to share your greatest and most challenging times with, and all of those other moments in between.
January: Marriage is about having someone in your corner who’s there through good times and bad. Someone who loves you for who you truly are and genuinely wants the best for you.
Who proposed, and how?
Aftyn: I had been thinking about proposing for a while when January suggested going to a retreat in Byron Bay to ring in 2019. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to propose. After a five-hour flight delay, and a ring box burning a hole in my pocket, we finally touched down. The retreat had given me a few location ideas, so I just had to convince January (who was very hungry) to come for a walk before we went to dinner. While she was looking out at the stunning scenery, I set up the camera on a timer to take a photo of us and popped a knee. I was completely overcome with nerves and could only get out a few words, but she said yes, and the rest is history. We had already decided not to be on our phones while we were away, so we made a few quick calls to our family and then turned our phones off for the next three days. It was a beautiful way to start our engagement.
When did you get married?
Saturday, June 8th, 2019.
Aftyn & January’s story continues below.
What was the main influence behind your wedding day?
We decided early on that being able to sit down and share a good meal with our friends and family was a non-negotiable. Then we talked about how we wanted to feel and experience each stage of the day and night and planned around that. Although the first part of our reception was quite formal, we were adamant that the rest of the night should feel like a big party.
What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?
January: The most important thing to us was that we enjoyed the day together and spent it as a couple. We’d both been to plenty of weddings where the couple spent the night on opposite sides of the room, and we knew we didn’t want that.
Aftyn: Having a relatively small and intimate wedding was a big priority. We wanted to make sure we had enough time to actually speak to and dance with all of our friends and family throughout the night.
Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration?
We got a lot of our inspiration from weddings we had attended and various magazines and websites. This was probably one of the most challenging aspects as we were trying to find weddings of other same-sex couples and had a difficult time finding them in more mainstream publications.
How did you choose your suppliers?
January: It was really important to us that all of our suppliers were pro-marriage equality as the last thing we wanted was to feel uncomfortable on the day. We looked at various directories on wedding websites and then checked to see if the suppliers we liked had worked with same-sex couples before. If not, we checked in with them to make sure they were on the right side of history.
Any standout suppliers?
Aftyn: All of our suppliers were incredible and went above and beyond for us. Our good friend Brihony Dawson (who also introduced us) was our MC for the night and an absolute riot. They were more like a stand-up comedian than a traditional MC, and later on, they performed a few songs and kicked off the dance floor.
Did you find it difficult to translate more common traditions into a ‘same-sex’ wedding?
January: Throughout the planning process, we talked about the traditions we liked and those that didn’t feel right for us. We each kept traditional aspects we liked and got rid of those that made us feel uncomfortable. Aftyn didn’t want to wear a wedding dress or be formally walked down the aisle, so we scrapped that for her. I love those traditions, so I wore white and had my dad walk me down the aisle. Some of the common traditions we also got rid of were bouquets tosses, garter removals and name changes.
Any surprises on your wedding day? Or anything that didn’t go to plan?
We were blessed with a gorgeous sunny 20 degree day in June. After preparing for a freezing cold day filled with rain, that was a big surprise!
What was the most challenging thing about planning your wedding?
Aftyn: Probably the fact that we only gave ourselves four months to get it all done. However, having a tight planning period meant that January couldn’t be too indecisive.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
January: We left for Europe the day after our wedding, without so much as a bag pre-packed. Definitely not a decision for the faint-hearted. We spent three weeks travelling through Rome, Tuscany, Athens, Crete and Santorini. It was one of the best holidays we’ve ever had.
Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
January: Don’t get too caught up in the small details (napkin colours, stationery etc.) I promise that you won’t notice these things on the day, and neither will anyone else. Focus instead on how you both want to experience the day and what will help you to have the most relaxed and enjoyable time.
Aftyn: Don’t invite every single person you’ve ever met. The day goes by so quickly, and you want to be able to experience it with those you hold near and dear.
Suppliers
Photographer Bianca Virtue
Videographer Moment Seeker
Venue Seville Estate
Suits/Dresses Aftyn’s tux from Spectre Collection January’s dress from Karen Willis Holmes
Flowers Aftyn’s lovely mum Janet Rockes
Wedding Party Attire Dresses from Rebecca Vallance and Bianca Spender. Tux from Spectre Collection. Top and pant set from Dominique Healy
Cake Torte by Mirjana
Stationery Paradise Invitations
Celebrant Our dear friend Claudia Gatt
Entertainment DJ Daniel from Melbourne Entertainment Co and a performance by our wonderful friend Ladyhood (They/Them)
Rings Saphira Diamonds
Hair & Makeup Phoenix Ly (hair), Efi Tzagarakis (makeup)
Confetti Canon DJ Warehouse
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