If you’ve ever wondered who would make the perfect wedding planner, look no further – it’s a former Navy stoker.

HMAS Toowoomba Deputy Maritime Logistics Officer Lieutenant Alice Moir was busy planning the most important day of her life when she received news that her country had other plans.

“We booked our wedding for when we were supposed to be in maintenance period, but the program changed and we ended up in this predicament,” she said.

Her ship was tapped to embark on a five-month regional presence deployment through East and South-East Asia. But rather than think of cancelling, she was determined to do both, delegating all planning to her soon-to-be husband and ex-Navy stoker, Jason. 

“I didn’t think about cancelling either. Weddings cost a lot of money and this is my first overseas deployment. Jason did an amazing job. He knew what I wanted and he delivered it perfectly. He’s a bloody legend,” she said. 

With Lieutenant Moir’s family from the United Kingdom – though she was raised in Pymble on Sydney’s North Shore – she deployed, leaving her fiancé to coordinate across the continent and the globe from his family home in Landsdale, Perth.

“Over Christmas, we sat down and made sure we had everything organised with all the vendors, with all the big-ticket items planned and ready to go. Then, I put it in his trusty hands to do all the final things, like seating plans, decorations and everything else,” she said.

'I didn’t think about cancelling either. Weddings cost a lot of money and this is my first overseas deployment. Jason did an amazing job. He knew what I wanted and he delivered it perfectly. He’s a bloody legend.' 

Across the past five months, Toowoomba has visited six of Australia’s regional partners, completed an operational deployment enforcing United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea, and engaged in multilateral and bilateral exercises, activities and operations with allied nations.

However, perhaps the ship’s greatest mission was ‘Operation Get Alice Home’.

“I left the ship in Manila, flew home for the wedding and, two days later, flew back to the Philippines, meeting the ship at Subic Bay, before continuing the rest of the deployment,” Lieutenant Moir said. 

She left the ship as Lieutenant Goldsack, and proudly returned as Lieutenant Moir. 

“From the beginning, the ship and the Captain were very supportive. I appreciated all the efforts the Navy made to make sure I could be there for my special day,” she said.

“They really look out for their people. Hopefully, my experience keeps happening for more people in the future. I think it’s a real turning point for people making a decision to stay with the Defence Force, as they know how supportive Defence really is.” 

The biggest takeaway from the whole operation: if you’re in need of the ultimate wedding planner, make sure you have a stoker on speed dial.