When Anita met Dwain

2015

A chance meeting

It was 2015 and a chance meeting at Tokyo Sake in Southbank sparked the start of an extraordinary love story. Little did Anita know, when her boss cancelled on a business dinner last minute, that Dwain would bring more than just networking connections to their table!

The evening was filled with lively discussion about businesses, opportunities and cultures. The conversation flowed so well that Anita couldn’t help but feel inspired by the company of Dwain. She decided to reach out to him via LinkedIn after the meal, expressing her admiration for his business as well as mentioning the potential of collaborating on business together.

Little did Anita know that Dwain read this message very differently than intended – he thought she was asking him on a date! This made him all the more nervous because at that time women were considered ‘men’s worst enemies’ and he didn’t reply for three weeks! Meanwhile, Anita had other plans in mind; she was planning on moving to Singapore since men were ‘women’s worst enemy.’

With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Dwain gathered up his courage and sent her an invitation for coffee which they both accepted eagerly despite being quite nervous of the prospect of dating. On their first coffee meet up neither could find enough words to say until finally it felt like something clicked between them.. It wasn’t even five minutes into their conversation on their 2nd coffee date before Dwain blurted out “enough about business let’s talk about you…” Many dinners would take place over the coming months and the instant attraction continued to grow. And so began a love story between two people who didn’t see it coming.

2021

The Proposal

It was December 2021 and they had just arrived in Tasmania for an extended family Christmas getaway. Anita took charge of planning all their activities and accommodations while Dwain planned something else – his proposal! He wanted to make sure he asked her at some point during their stay, but with Anita taking care of all the details he was a little lost at where to start.

Night one he thought…. Ill surprise her early. But Anita had others ideas… it would be a family night instead. When night two came around ,they found themselves in a small town without any restaurants or entertainment venues – except for one: The Shearwater wine bar. With no other options available, they decided to head there for drinks.

Upon arrival at the wine bar though, things weren’t as expected – it was empty! Dwain decided this would be the perfect spot! Anita went to get drinks while Dwain waited eagerly for her return. Little did he expect, the wine bar was now filling with patrons and he knew his opportunity was slipping away with every passing minute… he started to brainstorm an idea. He noticed that Anita was now deep in conversation with the owner of the bar, talking about what events they could do there in the future. It was now or never so he hatched an ingenious plan. Pretending to go use the restroom he instead approached the bar owner inside and asked if he could borrow pen & paper to write down a marriage proposal on! The bar owner looked at him funny but she followed his lead nonetheless- everyone loves love. To top it off, since Anita had asked for contact information from the bar owner she unknowingly provided Dwain with exactly what he needed; an opportunity for this letter to be handed directly over to her moments later- proposing right then & there!

She Said YES!

After some confusion (and processing) Anita said “OF COURSE” without hesitation – much joyous laughter followed shortly afterwards along with plenty of congratulations from other patrons who were lucky enough witness such a romantic gesture unfold right before their eyes!

The two celebrated with dinner at the nearby bowling club where they rehashed every single detail leading up towards this beautiful moment.. And just like that – another happy ending came together thanks to true love!