A stranger gave us a $20,000 wedding!
The dress had been made, the venue was booked, but just three months before Ann Ngo was due to walk down the aisle, the fairytale came crashing down.
Despite having spent $20,000 on the nuptials, Ann and her partner of 10 years Nathan Yeung realised neither of them was ready to get married.
'Looking back, it was more for our kids and our family,' Ann, 32, tells New Idea. 'We knew even with all the money that had already been spent, it wasn't the right thing to do.'
Although it was a mutual decision, Ann was 'devastated'.
'It was a dark time. Mentally, I was preparing to be someone's wife. You plan things for the future and suddenly that's not it anymore,' she says.
It was too late for them to get a refund, but Ann and Nathan could have sold the wedding or thrown a party.
Instead, they decided to donate the ceremony and reception, which included a lavish drink and food package - to My Wedding Wish, a national charity that gifts weddings to couples facing a terminal diagnosis.
The CEO of My Wedding Wish, Lynette Maguire, was floored by Ann's selfless gesture.
With time against them, Lynette needed to get the word out fast - but unfortunately the charity's emails and calls remained unanswered.
Lynette had given up hope until New Idea stepped in - nine days before the wedding!
After hearing of the charity's plight, New Idea published an online article - and Megan Capper, 38, applied after encouragement from her friends.
Megan's partner of 13 years Antony Solis, 40, is battling terminal bowel cancer. And just six days before the wedding date, she got the incredible news.
'She squealed and she cried and laughed. It was so beautiful,' Lynette says of the moment Megan learned the wedding was her and Antony's.
'The stars aligned,' Megan says. 'Everything just perfectly fell into place. It was amazing. It just felt natural, like it was meant to be.'
On November 11, Meghan looking radiant in a '50s-style lace wedding dress - was whisked away in a limousine to the picturesque Oatlands House, near Sydney's Parramatta.
At the end of a red carpet in the venue's charming chateau, her handsome soulmate Ant was waiting for her.
The Sydney couple sealed their love in front of 118 of their closest friends and family, who had travelled from as far as Adelaide, Melbourne and Broken Hill for hte last-minute nuptials. The bridal party included the couple's children, Issac, 7, and Minnie, 4.
'It was beautiful. It was a really special, important time.'
'I got to meet Ann, who gifted the wedding, and that was incredibly special. She said the wedding didn't feel like it was meant for her. I said it could not have felt more right for us.'
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea - out now!
