Heaps EnGayged: Nadia and Meagan
By Kat Dopper
So we love love… We love seeing people happy.
We have decided to start a new column on Heaps Gay called Heaps EnGayged. Each week we hero a bloody lovely loved up couple from our community. If you want us to feature you, send me an email, kat@heapsgay.com.au.
NADIA & MEAGAN!
How did you meet?
NL: We met at the rock pool near Maroubra. Meagan was wearing a read g string bikini and I was trying to avoid eye contact in case I started staring inappropriately. She just thought I was being a bitch…
MO: We met at Mahon Rock Pool. I had heard that Nadia was from South Africa and I really wanted to engage with her as Cape Town had always been my favourite place. I was met with a distinct coldness and I just thought she was a bitch.
Why is marriage important to you?
MO: Whilst we can register our love as a civil union, it is merely seen as a legal contract. Marriage is about celebrating the joy of love and commitment to each other. It is a bond like no other. It gives us a life partner and a teammate, as we move through the challenges of life together.
I want to be able to look at Nadia in front of everyone who matters to me and her and promise them that I will love her and take care of her. I want to legally be able to call her my wife.
NL: Marriage to me is an important recognition of our love and commitment that is captured through a celebration of love with those that mean the most to us. It’s also really important for us when we look to build a life together for legal security and easy access to protection for our children.
If you could get married today what would you do?
We are getting married in South Africa next year. South Africa is a special place for us. It’s my home country and Meagan’s favourite place in the world. We want to have a destination wedding where all our friends come together for a holiday. We want an entire week to be dedicated to travelling through Cape Town. Going on a wine tasting tour around Franschoek or Stellenbosch, climbing Table Mountain at sunrise, taking a dive with the Great White sharks, going on a safari and most importantly sharing the incredible love we all have for each other. Oh, it’s also legal for same sex couples to get married in South Africa,
What traditions do you plan to stick with? Which ones will do away with? Why? (Eg father giving away, etc)
NL: Meagan wants to do some polish thing, she can explain this better than me.
I am not really a traditional girl and well, I cant really lift Meagan up and carry her through to the honeymoon suite either but we plan on having a really good time with the people that mean the most to us – the rest doesn’t really matter to me.
Id like to walk down the aisle in unison with Meagan with both our dads on either side, but that’s not really a tradition and we would probably need a really wide aisle.
MO: My dad is Polish and it’s really important for me to integrate my Polish heritage in to our wedding. My parents will present us with rye bread sprinkled with salt and a drink; the bread represents the symbolic hope that we will never go hungry; the salt reminds us that our joint life will have its difficulties and the drink represents my parents’ wishes for health and happiness. The additional dimension: one glass contains vodka, and the other only water. Of course we cannot tell which is which, however, the one who gets vodka supposedly will play a leading role in our new marriage.
Have you ever been in a situation where not being married made things more difficult for you?
NL: Given we aren’t married yet no, but I can imagine that when we start looking to have children especially in Australia that this might be particularly difficult especially if we were trying to adopt.
No I have not experienced any difficulties. I have heard about some difficulties though that can arise; for instance that poor British man who lost his husband on their honeymoon recently and was told the death certificate would state “never married” and he would not be recognised as next of kin. On top of that, all arrangements for his husband’s funeral had to be made by the deceased father. How heartbreaking! We need change!
Something fun?
NL: Once Meagan took me on a date. She thought we were going to some sort of cirque du soleil but we ended up going to a kiddies circus show. We were the only adults there without screaming children on our laps… It must of looked pretty creepy but we had heaps of fun.
