Alicia loves Mark | Maleny Manor - Matt Rowe Photography

Before on-line dating became a ‘thing’ these two connected through a popular dating site. The match-maker must have sensed the magic that would ensue as Mark and Alicia were connected. At the time they met, Mark was working as a teacher in a very small regional town in Queensland. They actually did not meet face to face until three months after they ‘met’ on-line. In this adventure for the long haul, these two held tight to a long-distance relationship for two years. Mark would make the six hour drive back to Brisbane after school on Fridays and then return to Eidvold on Sunday mornings as often as he could. What commitment! Alicia remarks that, “it was tough to say the least.” The proposal: “It was a surprise and so was the ring. We went to Melbourne for four nights and went on a day trip to the Yarra Valley to visit the wineries. We both love photography and always try to get artistic photos whenever we go away so we had our SLR camera with us to capture the wineries. We had lunch at the Chandon Winery and afterwards we wandered the grounds taking photos. We stopped at a beautiful rose garden and Mark knelt down to get the camera out of the bad and instead of standing up he stayed on his knee, pulled out a box and popped the question.” This gorgeous couple held their reception at the ever-beautiful Maleny Manor. Mark and Alicia say that what defines them as a couples is that they have been through some difficult times and had to make some tough decisions in their five year relationship. And yet, through it all, they have never let anything falter their relationship or come between them. “Our ability to stand by each other, love each other and support each other no matter what would be one of the defining characteristics of our relationship.”