Toni Hayes, 28, from Melbourne, Vic shares her story with Take 5.
Grabbing my boyfriend, Dale’s hand, I pushed my way to the front of the crowd.
It was 2018 and we’d flown to Adelaide from our home interstate to see the Aussie rock band, Kingswood.
A few songs later, the band talked about their new song.
“How long has it been since we released a single?” the lead singer, Fergus asked his bandmates.
They turned and looked at me.
“About two or three years,” I replied.
Dale and Toni started dating in 2018.
(Image: supplied)Dale, who I’d been dating for a few months, watched in disbelief as I bantered with the band all night.
I’d been following Kingswood for almost a decade, travelling around Australia to their shows whenever I could.
Seeing how much Dale embraced my love for Kingswood was a big step for me.
It was also important to see how well he got along with my dog, Spyro.
The miniature pinscher was my mum Linda’s dog but we’d become inseparable since Mum passed away at the age of 43 when I was 17.
After six months together, Dale and I got engaged.
Spyro and Toni were inseparable.
(Image: supplied)We decided to elope with the help of some special friends.
Could we get married backstage at your show? I messaged Fergus.
Oh my god, yes! he replied.
In 2020, our wedding day was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then six days before our rescheduled date in June 2021, Spyro passed away.
He’d been dealing with a middle ear infection when his eyes began to swell up.
Spyro’s ashes were incorporated into Toni’s wedding nails.
(Pic credit: Nails by Nicole Casati @deadlynails)The vet wasn’t sure what was causing this but after weeks of surgeries and medication, it was clear it was time for us to say goodbye.
Losing Spyro was devastating. He’d been there for me through the toughest times.
I was relieved when our wedding had to be rescheduled again.
After Spyro’s death, I wanted to find a way to have him with me at our wedding.
So I contacted Melbourne nail artist Nicole from Deadly Nails and asked her if she could incorporate Spyro’s ashes into my nails.
Nicole came up with a stunning design which included his ashes on four nails.
“I don’t want to ever take these off!” I told her.
Dale and Toni with Fergus (left) and Alex (right) from Kingswood on their wedding day.
(Image: supplied)Having Spryo with me when I finally got to walk down the aisle backstage at Kingswood’s Melbourne show on December 24, 2021 meant so much to me.
It was also incredible to have the band there.
“I haven’t given you a traditional family, but I’ve given you a band,” I told Dale after the ceremony.
“We are your family,” the guitarist, Alex said. That made me burst into tears.
Our wedding was far from traditional, but having my favourite boys with me, including Spyro, made it better than I could’ve ever imagined.
My nails had to come off after several weeks, but I recently got a dog pawprint tattoo on my wrist to honour Spyro, so I still have him with me wherever I go.
