The winners of the Brisbane Wedding Giveaway have been announced! A big congratulations to Anastasia & Eugen who have won over $20,000 worth of wedding services & products for their Brisbane wedding!

Organiser Sarah says “The process to choose a winner was. Nikki and myself chose 3 finalists,  Nikki and myself met with the 3 .Each contributor from the creative team was given 1 vote.

A friendly and honest couple and loving family (both 30, with a 3 year old boy and 2 year old girl). Anastasia met Eugen while in Greece and although they did not speak the same language they fell in love.

When we met Anastasia, she was obviously extremely nervous and excited about the opportunity to win the giveaway. She said she felt very humble as there are so many deserving people and they would feel the need to “pay it forward” in some way if they were to win.  Anastasia grew up on the Sunshine Coast and met Eugen while traveling in Greece and after dating for 3 months they rented an apartment there together. When Anastasia fell pregnant they decided that it was best for her to come back to Australia for medical care. When she left the couple were unsure if and when Eugen would be able to join her. They were very lucky that he ended up being granted residency and arrived only 12 hours after his little darling was born.

Eugen is Albanian and grew up in a country that was falling apart — at 15 he left his family and his country to become a refugee in Greece, where he would ultimately learn to survive and work in an entirely foreign country. He mentioned that he thinks little of it as so many people are in harder situations than he was and prefers not to be called a refugee as he believes that many other people have had a much harder time than he.

Anastasia and Eugen brought lots of photos of their children as well as of their families to show.  Eugen works two jobs to look after his family and is very proud of them. They are a couple that are also very easy to relate to and become attached to as they are friendly and open. Although we had met to interview them, they were genuinely interested in both Nikki and myself and wanted us to thank all of the creative team for the giveaway regardless of the outcome.

They were very emotional about the opportunity win the giveaway. There is something undefinable and truly lovely about this couple.”

 

Anastasia tells their story in their entry “My partner and I met in Greece 2007. I was backpacking/working through the Greek islands and Eugen, was an Albanian refugee living in Athens. Despite the cultural differences between each other, we fell in love and I fell pregnant to our son. My partner had fled civil war in his country 10 years prior. He had lived a life full of Conflict, displacement and poverty. Because of the horrible situation in Greece (for refugees) we returned to Australia on a spouse visa just in time for the arrival of our son. With the stress of work and supporting a family, we never did marry. Fitting in to a foreign country, participating in the work force and a language barrier for Eugen consumed our affairs. I gave birth of our daughter in (2010) and despite intentions, funds for a wedding was never a priority. It would be lovely to consolidate our love with our family one day. If we were to win this competition, and have the financial burden lifted, it may be possible to fly Eugen’s parents from Albania to join us here in Australia for the nuptials. My partner will become an Australian Citizen in March 2013. Thank you.”

Congratulations Anastasia & Eugen! I can’t wait to see what plans you make!