AFTER meeting on an aeroplane, it was fitting Tony Hewitson and Heidi Thomas wanted to incorporate a nod to their world travels in their Remembrance Day wedding.
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The couple, who visited Northern France and Belgium during a year of travel in 2016, asked for a minute of silence before their Merewether beach ceremony began at 11am on Sunday.
“It was something we felt strongly about – choosing a time and a day where we could link it to the sacrifices those soldiers made to give us this special country and the freedom we have,” Mr Hewitson said.
“It seemed natural to share our new beginning thinking about the sacrifices of the souls who made this new beginning possible.
“We wanted to incorporate that into a day that’s going to be special to us for the rest of our lives.”
Mr Hewitson said the couple spent a few weeks in the region around Villers Bretonneux and were “blown away by what happened” in World War I.
“We went to the Australian National Memorial and grave site after grave site and there were so many Aussies, from places like Cessnock and Maitland,” he said.
“It was very close to home and it hit you fair and square in the face.
“We kept saying to each other ‘Those poor buggers’. They had photos up of all these Diggers down in the trenches and we read about the hopelessness of what they were doing, the futility.
“They knew they were going to die.
“It just made you realise what these people had done to protect their families back in Australia.
“It was so sobering to see what they did for our freedom and way of life.”
They have since discovered several of Mrs Hewitson’s ancestors served in WWI.
The nuptials are a long time coming for the Toronto couple, who met in January 2001.
“She should have said yes the first three times I asked her!” Mr Hewitson said.
“She didn’t take me seriously because I’ve either been working on the other side of the planet or may have had a couple of beers for courage before I asked.
“But in January this year we got the ring made, I knelt down and asked her in such a way she knew I was serious.
“Heidi is one of those people that absolutely nobody has a bad word to say about.
“If you’ve met her, you like her.
“She is down to earth, easy going, has a glass half full mentality, is reliable, very attractive and is one of those people that people are drawn to because of her quiet strength.”
The couple met on an Ansett flight from Brisbane to Sydney.
“I was the cabin manager sent to deal with a woman who was ‘irate’ because a children’s meal had not been loaded on for her daughter Genaia, who was two,” he said.
“She was not rude at all, but she had a quiet confidence about her and I was instantly drawn to that.
“I gave her two small complimentary bottles of red but could tell it didn’t win her over, so I then gave her a large bottle of champagne with a linen collar. Tucked into it was my number.”