Something new, something blue | NMJ Lovers, Aisha & Maurice

Created in celebration of love, The Wedding Collective is our newly launched curation of ceremonial treasures that are an ode to the many sentimental moments we have shared with our clients. Having played a role in untold engagements, we wanted to extend the connection to our customers by dedicating precious pieces for their big day, and every special moment that follows. As part of this, we connected with our NMJ Lovers, past and present to honour their love stories - a sentimental tradition that is at the heart of everything we do as a brand. 

To say Aisha and Maurice complement each other would be an understatement - they were simply made for each other. Partners in life, love and work, Aisha and Maurice have shared many wedding experiences together both being wedding singers, but now, the spotlight is on them. Maurice proposed to Aisha with a beautiful bespoke sapphire ring which she says, is the perfect representation of them as a couple - doing things differently and celebrating their shared appreciation for the ocean. While neither of their families are strong on wedding traditions, they are excited to welcome newer traditions such as something new, but also something blue, being our new Amatus Lapel Pin with a small sapphire set into it. Here, we chat with them about their love story and what traditions mean to them.

 

You recently got engaged, congratulations! Can you tell us a little bit about the proposal Aisha?

Thank you! Moz (Maurice) had planned a number of weekly diversions for about 5 weeks before the actual proposal, to ‘throw me off the scent’. It seemed like he might ask the big question at any of these outings but the day that he did, it was cold, windy and raining. I had a sneaking suspicion when he made us get out of the car to go to a spot that overlooks the ocean in the pouring rain and somewhat ferocious winds. Nervously, he took both of my hands, knelt down on one knee and I can’t remember what he said but he pulled out a tiny box, opened it up to the most stunning piece of jewellery, and the rest is history. 

Maurice, we’d love to know why you chose NMJ to help create the perfect engagement ring for Aisha. How was your experience and how did you end up with the sapphire ring that you did?

Well it was pretty easy, Aish found NMJ through a friend of hers, during her ring inspo gathering phase and after showing me many Pinterest boards and Instagram profiles I agreed that out of all the rings it seemed to be that NMJ had the style that we were looking for. I think the process for us was pretty straight forward - we knew we didn’t want a diamond, we were after a coloured stone in a slightly different shape that would stand out and the sapphire we went with was one of the first stones that was presented to us. The hardest part was coming to terms with the fact we had found the perfect stone straight away!

 

What are your thoughts around ceremonial traditions, and will you be adopting any for your own celebration?

We like doing things differently, it’s a blessing and a curse! At first we thought we would do away with a ceremony but then our minds changed. We’ll definitely be exchanging rings as we love what they symbolise. Thanks to NMJ we’ll be throwing ‘something new’ and ‘something blue’ into our ceremony. We might even try to incorporate some Pakistani traditions from Aisha’s mum’s side of the family into the ceremony and lots of bread, butter, salt and pepper for Moz’s family during the reception ;) the possibilities are endless!

 

Are there any family traditions that influenced you to choose these pieces?

Neither of our families are that strong on traditions, which leaves us free to pick and choose what we would like to do. We really love the ocean, it’s where we came up with the idea for our business together and is why we were drawn to the shimmering blue sapphire, so I guess we get to start our own traditions. 

At NMJ, we believe jewellery is a form of storytelling, self-expression and individualism. What does jewellery mean to you?

Jewellery definitely means all those things to Moz and I, it’s a representation of who you are. Our ring tells the story of us, it’s shape and colour being like a drop of the sea, it’s uniqueness expressing that we like being different. All my close friends have said ‘the ring is completely you’ and so I don’t think NMJ could have been more right.

 

What are you most looking forward to on your special day? Have you decided on a particular wedding style?

We are really looking forward to having a destination wedding. We might not be able to get to another country during these crazy times but we’d still like to travel, possibly up to Byron Bay and put on a really fun day, not to mention the other fun events we’ll have in the lead up.

We’re excited to spend time with our closest friends and family, and to basically go on a big family holiday. There are so many incredible wedding styles at the moment and we are so spoiled for choice. A dinner under a sky of fairy lights with one long table probably wouldn't go astray, we love being outdoors so a garden party is very appealing to us. The only thing we have decided on right now are our photographers, who are just incredible.

 

At NMJ, at the heart of everything we do is love. Tough question, but tell us, what do you know about love?

Tough one indeed, well let’s preface this by saying we are still young and have a lot to learn! Nevertheless, it’s a journey that’s for sure, it seems to grow and change with us, and you have to let it do it’s thing. I have to admit until I met Aish I never really took the whole “other half” phrase that seriously, but wow! I don’t think life started until her - it’s a lot of fun and energy but it’s also a commitment to nurture, sacrifice and learn. Being that we go to a lot of weddings in our line of work I would say I can’t fault 1 Corinthians 13:4-8...