Friends unite and create precious wedding memory for Mandy and Neal

Every couple’s wedding is a special day but, for Neal Trevena and Mandy Morley, the kindness of friends and strangers have made it something much more.

Neal has battled bowel cancer for the past five years after being diagnosed in 2017. Since then, he has endured multiple rounds of chemotherapy and undergone several major surgeries to control its spread.

In November, however, Neal was given the devastating news that the tumor in his pelvis was inoperable and no longer able to be treated.

With limited time left as a family, friends of Neal, Mandy, and their three young children rallied to help throw them a wedding to remember. 

“My friend Teresa Preston, she started organising things and then she spoke to her friend Kelly Rimmer, who decided that this was a good project and then she got her sister Mindy involved and they did all of the organising,” Mandy explained.

Neal and Mandy’s friends also started a GoFundMe campaign to make the couple’s nuptials something truly special.

“We can’t take Neal’s illness away, but we can help them make the best of whatever time they have left,” the GoFundMe page reads.

“Mandy and Neal, along with their three lovely children, are simply the most beautiful family, and they deserved a much happier life. They have been active, involved, and giving members of the local community, volunteering their time and helping out in the community when possible. Now it’s our turn to give back to them.”

As well as financial contributions, businesses waived their fees, while others volunteered their services to make Mandy and Neal’s day a special one.

“An anonymous donor paid for the reception, which was at the Orange City Bowling Club and I believe once they realised the circumstances of the wedding, they actually waived their booking fee as well, which was amazing,” Mandy said.

“Helmut Berndt, our photographer, he donated all his time and services for us; he was wonderful and did a great job. Then Kildary Aromatics offered to make candles for our centrepieces, and Bespoke Country Weddings made buttonholes for the boys and flowers for the cake… Oli Adams, who is 17, offered to make a cake for us and it looked, and tasted, fantastic! 

“That so many people were willing to donate their time and services,in many cases for people they didn’t know, made the day all the more special,” said Mandy of the late January wedding. 

“The kindness of strangers can be amazing! It would have been a special day regardless, but it really means a lot for people to do that for you; it makes it that little bit extra special.

“For us to finally be married and have had such a beautiful wedding, the way that we wanted it to be, is very special. Whatever comes in the next year, we know that we got to do that.”

Mandy and Neal are planning on taking a family vacation in April, a chance for them to get away from the hospitals and medical treatments and make memories with their children. If you would like to help make their vacation a special one you can donate at: www.gofundme.com/f/lets-share-our-love-with-mandy-and-neal