Justin says: 'I knew she was the one from the second time I saw her. She had such an infectious laugh and a certain energy about her.' Photo / Supplied
Justin says: 'I knew she was the one from the second time I saw her. She had such an infectious laugh and a certain energy about her.' Photo / Supplied
Telecommunication company 2degrees played fairy godmother and granted Hamilton couple Justin Fivaz and Jodi Ringo their seven-year wedding wish.
Justin lost his job in construction last year due to the economic impact of Covid-19 and the couple was forced to use up their wedding savings to survive.
Justin says: "It wasn't the first time we had to postpone the wedding. We have been engaged for seven years and unexpected things like broken dishwashers, washing machines and now Covid kept happening, so we never had the finances to get married."
When he saw a campaign by 2degrees to help Kiwis end 2020 happy, Justin secretly submitted their story, hoping that they might get a boost to kickstart their saving again.
Part of his submission read: "I really want to make this amazing woman my wife, but life just interrupts in some way or another. She is the mother of my two beautiful girls, and I would love for her to have the same last name as her daughters."
The couple are over the moon to now share the same surname and be officially married. Photo / Supplied
A month ago, Justin and Jodi found out that 2degrees would not only pay for their dream wedding – complete with a wedding planner – but arrange everything too – from organising the florals and cake to connecting their international guests into the ceremony.
The couple met in their home country South Africa, when they were living in the same housing block and both attended their block's Christmas braai.
After that, they kept bumping into each other on random occasions like at the swimming pool.
"I knew she was the one from the second time I saw her. She had such an infectious laugh and a certain energy about her. She was like a breath of fresh air," says Justin.
When he kept seeing the 2degrees end 2020 happy advertisements, he saw his chance to turn the year around for him and his fiancé, and sent in their story – along with more than 18,000 other applicants.
Justin and Jodi were married at Woodlands Estate on February 5. Photo / Supplied
"At first, I didn't think I would win, but my gut feeling kept telling me I should apply. It's better to try and fail than not to try at all."
When he received an email from 2degrees with a request for an online meeting, Justin thought it was only to say that his story got into the second round of selection.
"When they told me I actually won, I burst into tears – now we can finally get married! Jodi didn't know anything about the application or that we won, and I wanted to plan something special to tell her.
"But then I realised there is no way I can keep it a secret."
So, they set up another video call to film Jodi's reaction to the good news.
"She was shocked. She couldn't believe it and kept asking 'Are you serious?' a couple of times."
The couple met in their home country South Africa. Photo / Supplied
The couple got married at Woodlands Estate near Hamilton on Friday, February 5.
Through winning the campaign, they didn't have to worry about anything, from wedding planner, florals and cake to photographer and videographer, everything was taken care of.
"It was magical, we didn't even think that we would ever be able to get married on this scale.
"We originally thought of a small wedding with a couple of friends, with the ceremony at a church and then a reception braai at home. I don't think we would have been able to afford a photographer and just asked a mate with a camera," says Justin.
Family played an important role in their wedding. Justin and Jodi's daughters Scarlett, 1, and Rylee, 4, were the flower girls and Justin's son Brandon, 16, from a previous marriage was the groom's best man.
The couple was even able to include their family and friends overseas in South Africa and Switzerland into their special day.
"As they couldn't attend the wedding in person, we had them included via Zoom. Due to technical difficulties, some unfortunately missed the ceremony, but they stayed on from 3am their time until 11am for the reception and party. They even held their speeches via Zoom."
For their wedding, the couple wanted a venue in the Waikato. "We love Hamilton and the Waikato. It reminds me of home," Justin says.
