15 The applicant deposed to spending time with the respondent after the trip to Queensland. She said he told her he wanted to take her to visit Sydney. She said she gladly accepted. She said they travelled to Sydney in December 2023.
16 The applicant alleged she and the respondent travelled to Sydney in order to attend a party she called a "white party". She gave evidence that the respondent told her she needed to bring with her to Sydney a white dress in order to attend the white party. She said the respondent refused to give details to her of the white party he said they were to attend.
17 She did not depose to how they travelled to Sydney (I assume by air although that was not stated) nor the accommodation arrangements while in Sydney. She needed to change clothes because she deposed to dressing up for the white party. She said that she was shocked (her word) to find out when arriving at "the venue" (wherever that was) because she found out for the first time that the respondent had "organised a wedding for us" (her words).
18 She gave very little evidence to set in context her assertions of the wedding she described. From other evidence in the trial of this proceeding depicting a video recording of the impugned wedding, it was evident that the alleged wedding was held outdoors, the applicant was wearing a white dress (she emphasised in her cross-examination that it was not a wedding dress) and the respondent wore a dinner suit and sunglasses. The significance of their dress was equivocal in the circumstances. In my view it provided no evidence in support of the respondent's opposition to the application in this proceeding.
19 The applicant did not give evidence in her affidavit about the time of day the impugned ceremony took place. However, she did say that she was unaware that the respondent had previously arranged a man whose name was Mr C to be the civil celebrant at the event.
20 Mr C did not give evidence in this proceeding.
21 The applicant gave evidence that after the respondent told her to dress for the white party, while at the venue, she was shocked to find out that the respondent had organised a wedding for the applicant and him. She said she became very uncomfortable and that she told the respondent she was leaving the place immediately. She did not leave. Instead she deposed to telephoning a friend asking about aspects of a notice of intention to marry.
22 Pausing at the juncture, on the version of the evidence just narrated the applicant said nothing on a variety of important issues. Those included –
