Sometimes it can be quite a struggle finding a good balance between work, socialising, all things in between and of course, the love life! We can get so caught up in everything else that before you know it, you can't remember the last time you had a date night. I had this realisation and thought to myself, why wait for it to happen when I can just make it happen? So I did exactly that!
THE PLANNING
Usually I wait for Alexander to plan everything or we wait until there’s a special event and if we are both available, there’s our date night...real romantic huh!
I went through our calendar for April and May to find a date we both didn't have work, sent him a calendar invite so it was blocked out in our phones which left him very intrigued by the title “Surprise Date Night” and refused to give him any inkling to what it could be.
I have been following Picnics By Design on Instagram for quite sometime and thought it would be the perfect set up for a date night, they’re so in demand I had to book two months in advance but it was well worth the wait.
Next I posted a Facebook status reaching out to my photographer friends to see if anyone was available for a “special event” in May and of course I blocked Alex from seeing the post. Usually Alexander is the one capturing everyones special moments so it was important to me that he could have the night completely off. It still didn't stop him from bringing his camera in the car though!
I was very lucky that Perry Mclaughlan was available and his style was exactly what I was after.
ON THE WAY
The most important question Alexander could ask was “what the hell do I wear?”. I told him relaxed casual but to also dress warm. When it was time to get dressed he did a mini fashion show to make sure it was ok and we were complimenting so it was a thumbs up from me.
When we got in the car I gave Alexander a sleep mask to wear and his sunglasses so there was absolutely NO PEEKING! During the ride he made a comment that got me nervous, “I think I know what you’ve organised”. I was then lucky because Google Maps took me a different direction to the South Perth Foreshore to beat the traffic, which helped Alex lose his sense of direction.
THE SURPRISE
We arrived and I refused to let him take off his mask or bring his camera with him, I told him “they don't allow cameras here”. I then slowly lead him by hand to our beautiful set up, meanwhile onlookers are stopping in their tracks taking photos of the moment as well. Alex could hear the photographer snapping away so I told him on the count of 3, he could take his blind fold off..
1....2.....3!!!!!!
GREAT SUCCESS!
This is probably the first time ever where I have successfully planned a surprise without dropping any hints or ruining it altogether. I can keep a secret but god help me when I know about a surprise, it finds a way to leave my mouth and leaves me in all sorts of trouble.
Alex admitted he thought I had organised a helicopter ride over the sunset so I was relieved his guess was completely off THANK GAWWWD!
THE DETAILS
Picnics By Design went above and beyond and every single bit of attention to detail had been thought of. The weather was thankfully on our side and as it got cooler we had blankets to wrap ourselves in. I lost my marbles over the sparkling water (ahh the small things!) and there was even a pot of hot water with a selection of teas to choose from. The graze platter...HOLY MOLY SO MUCH FOOD!!! I usually smash through platters but our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. One of my favourite things though was the wooden box that you could lock your phones in to enjoy the romantic evening together. We did exactly that after taking a few selfies together and played our music through the box.
CONTACTS
After sharing a few Snapchats and Instagram Stories I got inundated with messages asking about Picnics By Design so I thought it would be easier to share the details with you all here:
Picnics By Design // Website ♡ Email ♡ Facebook ♡ Instagram
Perry McLaughlan // Website ♡ Facebook ♡ Instagram
Keep in mind they’re a small business so to be patient when waiting for a response ☺
The set up was more than what I could have imagined and it wowed everyone walking by as well. Many stopped to ask if Alex had just proposed or if we had just gotten married, elderly people were getting photos with us...it was quite adorable. It was a night together that we certainly needed to simply just enjoy one another, especially before things start to get crazy with our wedding planning.
I honestly can’t thank Picnics By Design enough for all the effort they went into and for making our date night one to remember forever.
