Ian and I met on ChristianMingle on January 2, 2013.  We lived over 1400 miles apart – Ian in Townsville, northern Queensland, and I in Sydney, New South Wales – so I wondered how this was going to work!  He was wonderful. He either flew to Sydney to see me or flew me up Townsville at least once a month, and several times, twice in a month. We were able to spend quality time from the start, as his first visit to me was 16 days after we’d met on ChristianMingle. We quickly felt very comfortable, and right about each other, and exchanged email addresses and phone numbers in that first month.

I was in Townsville in June and Ian told me we had an appointment at 9am on the 10th. I had no idea what it would be, as Ian is always full of surprises! Ian had hired a little airplane called ‘The Red Baron’ to fly us around beautiful Magnetic Island, a holiday island off the coast of Townsville. Capacity is three people – the pilot and passengers. It had an open cockpit, single engine, and was very noisy, but the view was magnificent! Whilst in the air, doing deep dips to each side, Ian proposed with a ring in his fingers. I didn’t even hear his well-prepared little speech, but the ring told me what he was saying, and I jubilantly said “Yes!” Besides… we had purchased my dress the month before, finding the perfect dress in a little boutique on one of our weekends, so I knew the proposal was coming soon!

The following months flew by as we visited each other and made our plans. I have six grandchildren and his first grandson was born three weeks before our wedding on January 25, 2014.  My grandchildren, three children and their partners, and one of Ian’s sons were all in the wedding. It was a mixture of formal and very informal, lots of laughing, shared with almost 200 guests. We had a church wedding in my church, after pictures in a local park, and a catered reception at the church for anyone who came along. It was great fun. We were told many times it was the happiest and most fun wedding they’d ever attended.

We have now had our first anniversary, and I can say we are perfectly suited to each other, more content and happy than we imagined possible. Ian is a veteran of Vietnam and so he retired just prior to our wedding and relocated to Sydney.  We give thanks to the Lord nearly every day that He led us both to ChristianMingle, and that ChristianMingle led us to each other.  We’ve shared our story many times and know of at least one other person who is in a stable relationship because of following our advice to search on ChristianMingle for a life partner! 

Thank you again for changing our lives!