Grandchildren
guests as Michael and Marian wed 51 years after they met.
ULSTER FRIENDS ENJOY SPECIAL WEDDING IN AUSTRALIA. (By Victor Gordon)
It was a rather unique wedding - seven of their
nine grandchildren were there, it was 10,000 miles from home, and they
finally tied the knot 51 years after they met. Former Portadown College
sweethearts Michael Spathaky and Marian Chambers (nee Mitchell) were
married on board a river cruiser in Sydney, Australia, with 55 family
and friends enjoying the day, including several from their Portadown
roots, and others from various parts of Ulster.
The romantic event took place on board the 'Penrith Platypus', with a local clergyman performing the ceremony, and the guests enjoying a superb spread for a reception - and basking in 23 degrees of warm sunshine in the Australian winter. It marked the climax of a special romance between two lonely people whose first spouses had died - Marian's husband Sammy Chambers, with whom she had emigrated to Australia, and Michael's wife Diana (nee Jones) - in the late 1990s, both from brain tumours. In the meantime, they met up again through 'Friends Reunited' after Marian surfed the website - something which simply didn't exist when they became teenage sweethearts in Portadown College in the 1950s.
They went their separate ways in 1956 when Michael's England-born parents Ron and Kath moved back to England - his dad was a French teacher in the College - and they finally lost touch. Those days were recalled as they cruised down the River Nepean in Sydney on Saturday, and there to speed them into wedded bliss were Portadown-born friends like Margaret Page, Jim and Jean Patterson and Jean's mum Harriet Ashe, plus other Ulster people like Derek and Pat Crawford (originally Bangor), Ruddy Becket (Lurgan), Tommy and Ann Rice (Ballymoney) and Mary Davidson (Stormont). And there was another special guest, thanks to the Portadown Times - Rebecca Foley (nee Harrison) originally from Church Street in the town.
Rebecca's family send her the Portadown Times every week, and when she read about the wedding date, venue and time, she turned up to wish the Spathakys all the best. Said Marian, "We insisted that she join the party, and - like the rest of us - she had a ball. Thanks to the Times, we've made another contact from back home and we'll be keeping in touch."
Marian's son Gary gave her away, and also present were her daughters Dawn and Gillian and families. Michael's son John was bestman, although his daughter Jane from England couldn't make it, she and her family had been to Australia to visit him earlier in the year. "It was a wonderful day for us, the family and friends," Marian told the Times from Australia. "We'll never forget it." The new Mr and Mrs Spathaky will be spending six months alternatively in Australia and England, and they'll be in Portadown in September for a party with old friends. And there will be a blessing in England in October, with the guests of honour being Michael's mum and dad who are married for almost 70 years and who were unable to travel to Oz for the special wedding. "It's wonderful the way life turns full circle," said Marian. "We both remember Portadown College days vividly - and here we are together again after 50 years."
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The romantic event took place on board the 'Penrith Platypus', with a local clergyman performing the ceremony, and the guests enjoying a superb spread for a reception - and basking in 23 degrees of warm sunshine in the Australian winter. It marked the climax of a special romance between two lonely people whose first spouses had died - Marian's husband Sammy Chambers, with whom she had emigrated to Australia, and Michael's wife Diana (nee Jones) - in the late 1990s, both from brain tumours. In the meantime, they met up again through 'Friends Reunited' after Marian surfed the website - something which simply didn't exist when they became teenage sweethearts in Portadown College in the 1950s.
They went their separate ways in 1956 when Michael's England-born parents Ron and Kath moved back to England - his dad was a French teacher in the College - and they finally lost touch. Those days were recalled as they cruised down the River Nepean in Sydney on Saturday, and there to speed them into wedded bliss were Portadown-born friends like Margaret Page, Jim and Jean Patterson and Jean's mum Harriet Ashe, plus other Ulster people like Derek and Pat Crawford (originally Bangor), Ruddy Becket (Lurgan), Tommy and Ann Rice (Ballymoney) and Mary Davidson (Stormont). And there was another special guest, thanks to the Portadown Times - Rebecca Foley (nee Harrison) originally from Church Street in the town.
Rebecca's family send her the Portadown Times every week, and when she read about the wedding date, venue and time, she turned up to wish the Spathakys all the best. Said Marian, "We insisted that she join the party, and - like the rest of us - she had a ball. Thanks to the Times, we've made another contact from back home and we'll be keeping in touch."
Marian's son Gary gave her away, and also present were her daughters Dawn and Gillian and families. Michael's son John was bestman, although his daughter Jane from England couldn't make it, she and her family had been to Australia to visit him earlier in the year. "It was a wonderful day for us, the family and friends," Marian told the Times from Australia. "We'll never forget it." The new Mr and Mrs Spathaky will be spending six months alternatively in Australia and England, and they'll be in Portadown in September for a party with old friends. And there will be a blessing in England in October, with the guests of honour being Michael's mum and dad who are married for almost 70 years and who were unable to travel to Oz for the special wedding. "It's wonderful the way life turns full circle," said Marian. "We both remember Portadown College days vividly - and here we are together again after 50 years."
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