Balancing carefully on the stepladder, I stacked boxes of cereal neatly on the top shelf.
Aged 21, I’d been working part-time at Coles supermarket in Mount Barker, SA, for about three months. As I bent down to pick up more boxes, I noticed a tall, handsome guy walking towards me in our uniform, but I didn’t recognise him.
‘Need any help with that?’ he teased, poking fun at my shorter height, 161cm.
Looking into his eyes, I raised an eyebrow back, being sassy. He introduced himself as Harley, then 18, and I was drawn to his quick wit and kind eyes.
Getting back to work, we crossed paths here and there. It wasn’t until two weeks later, joining Harley for dinner in the break room on a night shift, that he gave me his SnapChat details so we could chat after our shift.
As we exchanged messages over the next few weeks, I wondered if he was into me.
Finally, after two months, Harley asked me to the movies.
‘Sure!’ I smiled.
Watching La La Land together at the cinema, I had butterflies.
After that, we were inseparable, spending breaks together, and going for dinner with co-workers.
'It all started with cereal!'
It was fun working alongside my boyfriend, especially when I became his boss!
Whenever I stayed at his house the night before a shift, I’d have Coco Pops for brekkie.
It all started with cereal! I’d think.
In October 2019, after three years together, Harley proposed with a beautiful aquamarine ring.
‘Will you marry me?’ he asked.
‘Yes!’ I beamed.
Although we were excited to get married, we hoped to start a family first. A few months later, we left our jobs at Coles.
I found work as a home support worker, while Harley began on-and-off opal mining in Far North SA. But we always cherished our time together at the supermarket.
'Old supermarket workmates were in the bridal party.'
In early 2021, I fell pregnant. Our beautiful boy Parker was born in November.
We were so excited for our boy to be a part of our big day. As we began planning, I had an idea.
‘Why don’t we have our wedding photos where it all began?’ I suggested.
Harley took some convincing, but soon came around. After speaking to the store manager, he was on board too.
Tying the knot at Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens in December 2023, I walked down a very different aisle towards my soon-to-be husband.
And two of our old supermarket workmates, James and Leesha, were in the bridal party.
While our guests made their way to our reception, we made a quick detour to our old work with our photographer.
Posing in the supermarket cereal aisle, it felt like we’d truly come full circle. There were certainly a few curious stares from customers, but it was all part of the fun.
Now when we look back at our beautiful shots, we’re thrilled we went ahead with our quirky plan.
Aisle always remember the supermarket as the place I found my soulmate.
