Set to get married on Valentine day
Easy Weddings, Australia’s number one online wedding resource site, CEO Matt Butterworth said more than 300 couples were married on February 14 last year, making it a popular choice with engaged couples.
Today, Canberra’s Samira El Haj and Al Walker will be among them as they tie the knot after a five-year engagement in front of an intimate gathering of 30 guests in the backyard of their Canberra home.
Samira said the date appealed to them for two reasons. “Al is a very romantic guy and I have always received roses on Valentine’s day, but he has forgotten my birthday in the past, so we thought if we get married on Valentine’s day, he won’t forget it,” she quipped.
“The only downfall was that the flowers were quite expensive due to the high demand associated with Valentine’s Day.” Samira, now 47, and Al, now 45, met at a bar in Canberra in 2008 and enjoyed a whirlwind romance when Al followed Samira to Spain when she intended to move back to her native country.
“He came over for six weeks and it was like a baptism of fire for our relationship – it really was make or break as we were with each other 24/7 for six weeks,” Samira said. “And after that, I moved to Canberra to continue our romance. “Because of our ages, we had to get a move on when we found each other.”
They only started to plan their “wedding on a shoestring” in December, after they had confirmation Samira’s family would be able to travel from Spain for the event. Their two gorgeous children Aisha, 6, and Harry, 4, will have integral roles in their 3pm ceremony.
“Harry will be our ringbearer and we will find a cushion to tie the rings really, really tight onto and Aisha will be our flower girl and throw out handmade petals made by my mother-in-law,” Samira said.
“Aisha’s very disappointed that I’m not having the big white ballgown and white carriage fairytale wedding, because that what she thinks marriage is all about. But we are all very excited.”