Brittany + Luke Proof 1

Brittany

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Luke

Brittany

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Luke

JANUARY 5, 2021 W H I T T O N M A LT H O U S E , N E W S O U T H W H A L E S

Our love story So, where did the story of Britt and Luke begin? Well, before they met for the first time, Britt was working as a humble bartender at the good ol Leaguies.

She was working hard and saving as many dollars as she possibly could, so that she could move away and pursue a job in Marketing. And around the same time, Luke was living his best G Town life, working during the week and going out on the weekends, in amongst the odd gig here and there. Now Britt and Luke knew of each other, because well, Griffith, but on the 21st of August, 2015, they officially crossed paths at the Muso Ball, where Britt received a wristband from Luke, as she was entering the venue.

But as they chatted briefly in that moment, the wristband wasn’t the only thing that Luke gave to Britt. He gave her a fair bit of cheek about the number of boxes of food she was bringing in, and in Britt’s words, ‘Initially, I noticed a nice, funny guy, who was extremely worried about how much food I had.’ But despite this, Luke also gave Britt a great first impression, not only at the door, but on stage as well, as in Britt’s words, ‘I never really had a thing for musos, but after seeing Luke up on stage, I quickly changed my mind.’ And so naturally, Britt found him on Facebook and confidently slid into his DM’s. And in the smoothest way possible, she wrote, ‘What are you doing afterwards :)?’ But Luke didn’t see Britt’s message right away, as he was up on stage, and when he finally got the chance to reply, he wrote, ‘I’m at the ball. Are you still here?’ But at the ball, Britt was not. After fan girling for a little while longer, she responsibly tapped out, and arranged for her brother Jake to pick her up and take her home. So, she replied to Luke to let him know that she’d taken off.

The following day, Luke messaged Britt to ask if she’d like to catch up, and given her ‘red cordial recovery’ state, Britt wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but she said yes. So, Luke picked her up the following night, and they went on what was, the most romantic, and most ‘Griffith’, first date. They simply drove around, chatting and getting to know each other. Britt was quite nervous and can’t really remember too much of what they spoke about, but she does remember that after a few hours of hanging out, she felt a sense of comfort and happiness, as Luke was such a great listener. And Luke remembers thinking what a piss pot Britt was, after she told him that she had drunk an entire bottle of red, before their first date. Perhaps to calm those nerves.

But after getting to know her a little, Luke liked her bright personality and her bright eyes. And he also liked that she was easy to talk to, and that they shared many great laughs that night. On Boxing Day, 2015, Britt and Luke were chatting about how their individual Christmas’s were going, when Luke randomly asked Britt what she was doing in the afternoon. She had just arrived home from visiting Altina Wildlife Park, when he asked her if she’d like to meet his immediate and extended family, in just an hour, as they were having Christmas on Boxing Day. Despite thinking how last minute this was, and feeling quite nervous, Britt grabbed a bottle of red and rushed out the door to meet Luke. She knocked on his front door, and Jordan answered and said, ‘Hey Britt. What are you doing here?’ Now, her and Jordan were mates, but Britt explained that she wasn’t here to see him, but rather his brother, to which Jordan said jokingly, ‘But you’re my friend.’ Britt then politely smiled, and blushed a little, as she stood there waiting for Luke to join them at the front door.

He finally did, and he took Britt inside to meet the family. And the Alpen gene struck once again, as that day, they drank many bottles of Gin and had such a great time, that Luke mentioned that the family had never had such a wild Christmas event.

And that was that. Soon after, Britt and Luke made things official, and since, have shared many incredible milestones together. Such as, moving in together, travelling around Europe, renovating their home, and after a lot of convincing by Britt, welcoming their wild fur child, Tommy, into the family. But by far, one of their best moments to date, was that moment when Luke asked Britt that nerve wracking, yet life changing question. On the 12th of October 2020, Britt and Luke were in Berry for a romantic weekend getaway. They were on a day tour of the wine region, and were at their fourth and last winery. Needless to say, by this stage, they had enjoyed a skin full of tastings (pun intended), but despite this, Britt noticed that Luke was acting a little strange. In fact, she thought that he had been acting a little weird the entire weekend, and she suspected that something was up. Little did she know, that a very nervous Luke, for the last two days, had been carrying and trying to keep secret, the ring box. And he was simply waiting for the right moment, to pop the big question, which took a couple of goes to get right. He tried to do it at the beach, the day before the wine tour, but he choked, and then bailed on his plan A. But finally, he got his chance. As they stood there enjoying some fine wines, Luke thought to himself that this moment, was as good as any. And judging by the look on Britt’s face, which said, ‘Well come on. Do it here’ Luke did just that. He dropped to one knee and said those famous four words to Britt. And in that moment, the penny finally dropped for Britt. Luke’s weird demeanour finally made sense, and she was not only incredibly happy about what was happening in front of her, but also relieved that Luke could finally stop acting so weird. To say the least, both Britt and Luke were super happy and excited, and during the car ride back to their accommodation, Luke couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Britt, staring at her ring, as if she were a magpie, admiring a new, shiny treasure. And the rest as they say way too often is history, so family and friends, please go crazy for Britt and Luke!!

Sheridan’s Words A LOV E LETTER FRO M J O HN N Y C A S H TO H I S W I F E J U N E C A RT E R ( 1 9 9 4 ) We get old and get used to each other.

We think alike. We read each other’s minds.

We know what the other wants without asking.

Sometimes we irritate each other a little bit. Maybe sometimes take each other for granted.

But once in a while, like today, I meditate on it and realise how lucky I am to share my life with the greatest woman I ever met.

Maddison’s Words AN EXCER P T FRO M C A PTA I N CO R E L L I ’S M A N DO L I N

BY LO U I S DE B E R N I È R E S Love is a temporary madness.

It erupts like volcanoes and then subsides.

And when it subsides, you have to make a decision.

You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together, that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.

Because this is what love is.

Love is not breathlessness, It is not excitement, It is not the promulgation of eternal passion.

That is just being “in love” which any fool can do.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, And this is both an art and a fortunate accident.

Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground, And when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches, They find that they are one tree and not two.

Brittany’s Vows I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, Brittany Terese Alpen take thee, Luke John Beltrame to be my lawful wedded husband. The most remarkable moment in your life, is when you meet the person that turns your world into colour. The person that accepts you for all that you are, and the person that suddenly, you cannot live without. Luke, I have found this in you.

You are kind, very very patient (we all know I don’t listen when it is time to go home or when to slow down the drinking). Anyone that has you in their life is lucky. You are loyal, funny and would do anything for anyone.

While we both could not be more different, our differences in personality, make us stronger as one. You came into my life at the right time. You have successfully adapted to the Alpen Antics with flying colours. Fate brought us together for all the right reasons and I’m so happy to have found you. From this day on, I choose you, Luke, to be my husband, my lover, and my best friend. I promise to fill your life with laughter and your days with sunshine (with a G & T in hand, of course.) Faithfully, I will stand by your side and continue to push you out of your comfort zone.

Even if that includes short notice adventures and persuading you to be become a dog person. I promise to encourage you and to inspire you. By encourage I mean nag you to get out of bed in the morning to walk our dog, Tommy. And by inspire, I mean to inspire you to follow your music dreams wherever that takes us. I will continue to be your no.1 groupie (but only if you play ‘Horses’ at every gig). I promise to bring joy to your heart, and food (lots of food) to your soul. I have never met another that loves a panini like you do!

Love is accepting the bad habits, and I am happy to work around the toilet seat being left up 99% of the time. I promise to face all of the many challenges and any obstacles heading our way, together. All that I am, I give to you. All that I have, I share with you. All the days left to me, I vow to spend them loving you.

You are my deepest love and my truest friend. May our love be modern enough to survive the times, but old-fashioned enough to last forever.

Luke, I love you.

Luke’s Vows I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, Luke John Beltrame take thee, Brittany Terese Alpen to be my lawful wedded wife. Brittany, what started out as just simply you wanting to be a groupie, on a cold winter’s night at the Muso’s Ball, in August 2015, took a turn for the best.

I guess life is all about taking risks. I took one in replying to your message, and in return you gave me a fair go.

At the time, I don’t know what I was looking for, but I found it at the right time. I must admit, before we met, I was feeling a little lost in the world, not quite right (yeah I know what you’re all thinking – I still look a bit lost at times,) but after spending time with you, my days begin to brighten more and more. I found happiness, love and gratitude in all the right places. But most importantly, I found my soul mate and my best friend.

As staunch as I tried to be, it was hard to resist your warm presence, huge smile, and beautiful blue eyes. It took a while to open up, but soon the flood gates opened, as I realised being quiet and reserved was no longer an option.

You are great at making conversation and a good listener, so thanks for putting up with me.

The years have flown by but in that time we have achieved so much together. We’ve travelled and explored, went on fun trips, moved in together, adopted Tommy, and the absolute carnage he brought to that beautiful backyard.

Which I’ve spent so much time in, thanks to him, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve made our home warm and comfortable, thanks to all your inspo.

You’ve pushed me out of my comfort zone a few times, and even though I can be a hard headed wog, I’ve given in and even surprised myself along the way. The fact that you got me to jump out of a plane is insane, and I still cant believe it myself. I probably haven’t pushed you out of your comfort zone too much, as you seem to be able to adapt and roll with the punches, no matter what comes your way. This is truly inspiring. I guess the only thing I can say that I have influenced you with, is a love of food, and the many different ways you can cook pork.

Here’s to many more adventures together and a life full of happiness with my number one. I can’t wait to see what the future brings for us and I promise I will always look after you, through sickness and health.

On my good days, and on my worst.

Britt, I love you so much.

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