There is a lot of controversy about the current inhabitants of Martin Place in Sydney, Australia.
The authorities call it 'Tent City'.
No one really wants to live there, but some folks feel like they don't have a choice (and feel more safety in numbers than alternative arrangements ‘sleeping rough’ alone).
It's not uncommon in this area for individuals to spend 70% or 80% of their monthly income just to keep a rental roof over their head.
But just as there always is when you get people together, there's good news along with bad news.
It was over one of the brightly colored tents in Sydney's Martin Place where homeless pair Kellyanne Luke, 43, and Matthew Mawson, 42, first saw each other.
He had just arrived, with hopes to stay for less than 2 months.
She was sweeping up to keep the area around her tent tidy.
The two first met on May 18, according to what Kellyanne told News.com.au: "He took me under his wing and pretty much looked after me from there and that's how we connected. We were pretty much in the same situation emotionally."
Matthew Mawson said romance was the last thing on his mind when he found himself destitute and living on the street. "I wasn't looking for any sort of relationship or anything," he said.
But Cupid's arrow struck nonetheless. "I just saw her and I knew straight away," he explains.
Talk between the pair about life and love quickly turned to marriage. "The first three days we were together he sort of said to me jokingly, 'Would you marry me if I asked you?'.
I said, 'Yeah, are you asking me?'.
And he said, 'No, I'm just checking'.".
Then three days later, under the iconic Harbour Bridge, Matthew presented her with a cubic zirconia ring and asked her to marry him (after earlier requesting permission to propose from Kellyanne's father and getting the green light).
Kellyanne said 'yes'.
The couple plans to marry by the sea within the year, in a small family ceremony.
When you team up in a pair, what you can afford can change. In the meantime, as they plan a frugal but wonderful wedding, they've been able to qualify financially for safer, more secure indoor state-sponsored housing to live together.
What do the couple want for their wedding gift?
"We all come from different races and cultures and we just want to be able to live like normal people and not be judged," says Kellyanne.
That’s something we can agree on.
Our company provides services to multi-millionaires hiring us to create a custom < $5,000 platinum replica of diamond jewelry they paid $100,000+ to buy the first time.
And we also provide service to folks without much money but lots of love. We try our damnedest to treat all customers the same, even if that means answering 77 emails before purchase! Hey, if it’s the last few hundred dollars you have— we totally understand you want to be almost as sure about that ring as you are about her.
Thanks to our customers for letting Cubic Zirconia be just a small part of your love story together.
Source 1: New Zealand Herald
Source 2: News.com.au
