Coming together for true love

IT has been a challenging year for Katie and Jack Fielding, but thanks to the support of the Ballarat community the pair have celebrated their wedding.

Mrs Fielding’s best friend decided to secretly nominate the couple for a $30,000 micro wedding competition by Willow and Stone Estate.

When the selection panel saw the application, they were unanimous on their decision that the pair should win the prize.

“I’ve got a beautiful friend from high school who has always been by my side, and she knew things had been tough for me,” said Mrs Fielding.

“She didn’t even tell me, she just entered me because she knew that Jack and I had been engaged for a while now and she thought it would be beautiful for us to have something to look forward to.

“She turned up on my door back in June, late at night, and she was shaking, and she said, ‘you’ve won a wedding’.”

Earlier this year, Mrs Fielding’s sister Rebecca Young was allegedly murdered in a family violence incident, and shortly before the wedding Mr Fielding lost his father.

The pair have three small children and have been engaged for seven years, but due to financial constraints a wedding was not on the cards for the foreseeable future.

“That was a bit of a backwards spiral for Jack and me but was really nice to have something to look forward to,” said Mrs Fielding.

“The wedding itself was absolutely stunning, it was like a winter wonderland with a beautiful, romantic, moody vibe.”

Leisha Wachter, owner of Willow and Stone Estate, said she was thrilled to be able to help make the couple’s special day a reality.

“It was within the first day of me opening the competition and I felt straight away that that’s who it is,” she said.

“One, it’s locals, and two, Ballarat needs a win because it was not good news stories at the start of the year.

“It was almost a no brainer, but I waited until the competition closed and read every application.”

Other business who donated their time and resources included She Takes Pictures He Makes Films, Love Lies Bleeding, JK Celebrations, Charlton Catering, FacebyNat, HM Hair Design, Pretty Special Cakes, Ell Events, Best Wines, and Blue Pyrenees.

Mrs Fielding said the experience has shown her there are still many good people in Ballarat, despite the challenges the community has faced.

“It feels nice to know that good and bad does happen, but there is still good in this world, there is good people around,” she said.

“It’s not all bad, there’s horrible things that happen, but it’s beautiful know there’s such good people out there.”