Melanie & Justin

While photographing Melanie & Justin's small, winter wedding at Islington Hotel, I was told an amazing love story about the antique rings pinned to Melanie's bouquet. At around the age of eighteen, Melanie's Ukrainian grandparents were individually forced to work in labour camps making munitions for the army. They met at the camp, fell in love and got engaged. Melanie's grandfather made their wedding rings out of tin and engraved their initials on each of them. By the time their camp was liberated by allied troops, Melanie's Grandma was pregnant and her uncle was born in Germany while her grandparents we're waiting to leave the country. They were offered residency in Australia, Canada or the US but not allowed to return home to Ukraine. So they moved to Australia and settled in Adelaide. Later, Melanie's Grandpa bought a new gold wedding band for each of them, but kept the original ones in a box on the bedside table where Melanie's mum found them when her grandparents passed away...  

Islington Hotel