Wedding of Brittney & Shannon

 Some love stories begin with a grand romantic gesture. Ours began in Year 7.

In 2003, we were both placed in the gifted and talented class, 7 Red. Brittney quickly noticed Shannon’s chocolate brown eyes and his kind, gentle nature. Even back then, he was the sort of person who would do anything for anyone.

As high school rolled on, life took us in different directions. Shannon left school in Year 10 to pursue his trade, while Brittney stayed on to complete her HSC. After finishing school, Brittney headed to university before accepting her first teaching position in Western NSW, far from home and everything familiar.

Although our paths separated, they never drifted too far apart.

After turning 18, we’d occasionally run into each other around town—usually at the local pub over a cold beer. Each encounter was easy and familiar, but neither of us was brave enough to admit there might be something more.

So life continued.

Years later, one unexpected phone call changed everything. Living in different states at the time, we spent hours talking and quickly realised the connection we’d always shared had never really disappeared. We made plans to catch up when Brittney returned home, and she asked Shannon out to dinner.

From that moment, everything fell into place.

What makes our story even more special is that we discovered our lives had been intertwined long before we met. We were both born at Maitland Hospital in 1990. Brittney grew up in Windella, at the bottom of the hill from the home Shannon’s Nan and Pop built. For years, we lived just around the corner from one another without ever knowing that one day we’d spend our lives together.

Sometimes the best love stories aren’t about finding someone new—they’re about finding the person who was there all along.

And now, after all these years, we’re so excited to celebrate the next chapter of our story with the people we love most.