Nick Plummer has known for a long time he wanted to make Tam Nestler his wife – life just got in the way.
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Together for eight years and busy parents to Noah, 5, and Seth, 4, they had planned to quietly elope this weekend.
That idea went by the wayside when Tam, at just 29 years old, suffered a stroke.
For the past month the couple have been focused solely on Tam’s recovery – while family, friends, and the community rallied to support them financially.
The last thing Nick expected was an email from Melbourne celebrant Sharon Palmieri, offering to donate her time to marry the two.
“I was mind-blown, it was such a big thing for a complete stranger to do,” he said.
“It’s really something that’s been exciting to look forward to and breaks up the day-to-day rehab.
“It’s a bright light in a dark time, I suppose.”
Ms Palmieri said the celebrant who originally set to marry the two in Melbourne put a call-out to see if anyone could take the ceremony to Wodonga, and she put her hand up.
“I think so many of us can relate to her because of her age – a mother with small children,” she said.
“They’re just good people, and I believe good things come to good people.”
The wedding, at the Vermont Street campus of Albury-Wodonga Health, came together within a fortnight.
Border businesses – Make up on the Move Beauty Therapy, Enhance Styling and Events, and Flowers with K.R and Co – donated services to put together a ceremony for a handful of loved ones.
Tam couldn’t hold back tears as her father, Tilo, pushed her down the aisle.
“You have been my strength and my rock through all of this, I love you,” she said after reading her vows to Nick.
Tam’s mother, Adriana, was ecstatic to see the two married – and to see Tam’s strong recovery since the stroke.
“I can’t cry anymore, I’m dried out,” she said.
“When I saw her in Melbourne, it was so scary, I didn’t even want to touch her because she looked like she would break.
“She’s nearly there, so now it’s tears of joy.”
The joyful tears were shared by Nick as well.
“My amazing warrior Tam, I love you, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life harassing you and doing my best to make you smile,” he said.
