The Australian Women\'s Weekly - June 2018

66 The Australian Women’s Weekly|JUNE 2018

Wedding exclusive

says the bride. “We had been talking
about it for nearly two years.”
By the time guests descended on it,
the barn had polished concrete loors
and a glittering chandelier. The colourful,
eclectic furniture had been collected
from op shops and antique stores on
the couple’s travels. There were “very
personal” pieces, too. “A few things
from my mum; my grandma’s cabinet,
which is nearly 100 years old.” A love
of vintage cars, retro furniture, caravans
and ’60s music were some of the
things they discovered they had in
common when they irst fell in love.
Lisa and Mark met back in 2015 on
a gruelling 400-kilometre charity walk
from Melbourne to Portland to raise
money for children suffering illness

and trauma. Mark, an internationally

renowned entertainer and Elvis performer

who has toured with Presley’s original

entourage, had arrived halfway through

the walk to provide entertainment.

Just as Lisa arrived at the house

where thewalkers were staying, Mark

wandered bleary-eyed out of a bedroom,

where he’d been taking a nap. “My irst

impression was that he was very good

looking,” Lisa remembers, but he was

married and she had a partner, too.

“Like everyone else on the walk, we

were friends and didn’t think too

much about it.”

Some months later, Mark performed

on the Sunshine Coast and Lisa took

some friends along. They met for

breakfast the next morning and he told

her that he and his wife had separated.

“I did a little ist pump under the table,”

Lisa says with a mischievous smile.

By this time, she was single as well.

For a few months, there were

friendly exchanges on Facebook. Then

she went to visit him in Melbourne.

“He freaked because he wasn’t ready

for a relationship at all, and neither

was I.” But they went to a Kombi

show, a shared passion. “And yeah,

we just clicked, it was incredible.”

Two years later, Mark planned his

proposal for maximum romance. “If he

wants to make something really special,

he goes to a lot of effort,” Lisa says. She

was a big fan of the TV seriesGame of

Thrones, which she had convinced him

to watch. The irst time, he’d fallen

Above: Lisa and son Jett walk

down the aisle. Below: With

I’m a Celebritypals (from left)

Keira Maguire, Tegan Martin,

Natalie Bassingthwaighte

and Julia Morris.