WHEN YOU JUST ‘CLICK’...
Dean and Suzzanne (nee Van Bael) Stoodley had a wonderfully country wedding at Adora Downs, Mt Tyson, in early October last year.
The young couple met online over three years ago, and decided to meet in person at Wilsonton Hotel — and the rest, as they say, is history.
“I knew I wanted to marry Dean after seeing him fit into my values and beliefs, and I knew I couldn’t part ways with him,” Suzzanne says.
“Dean is a very thoughtful and caring person who will do anything for me.”
Dean shares the same appreciation for his new spouse.
“(Suzzanne is) amazing and beautiful, very smart and intelligent,” he says.
These traits shone through with the wedding proposal.
“I had a hunch Dean was going to propose, and then began searching the car for the ring box,” Suzzanne recalls.
“We both had a really good laugh because he knew I wouldn’t find the box — Dean proposed at the top of Picnic Point; he had the ring sitting in his pocket without the box.”
The theme of the wedding itself was country, with centrepieces and bouquets all containing succulents — Suzzanne’s favourite plant — and the wedding cars all being Hiluxes.
“I made all of the centrepieces, bouquets for the bridesmaids and button holes for the groomsmen myself,” Suzzanne says.
“My mum, who enjoys cake decorating in her personal time, made our cake.
“Attached to my bouquet was two rings which belonged to my grandma who passed away in 2009, who I still hold very dear to my heart.”
At this stage, the newlyweds are hoping to travel both overseas and locally, and Suzzanne has also begun university studies.