Amanda & Minh head underground for their enchanted cave wedding

The one benefit of a long-distant relationship? Frequent flyer points.

Amanda Phoon, 26, and Minh Nguyen, 33, may have lived on opposite sides of the country, but that didn’t stop their love blossoming. “I was a student in Melbourne at the time we met, and he lived in Perth,” explains Amanda. “On our first date, I remember we got on like a house on fire, and were the last people to leave the restaurant. We had our first kiss and sparks flew.”

Then began the long-distance dating which was also followed by Amanda filling a commitment to the Navy. This meant even less contact for the lovebirds. “I was deployed to HMAS Creswell in New South Wales, and for weeks on end, had no contact whatsoever with the outside world,” she says. But their love survived.

The pair was married on April 26, 2015 at Yanchep in Western Australia – close to where they both now reside. After their church ceremony followed a cave wedding reception. “It felt like a magic grotto, something out of a fairy tale, and the staff couldn’t be lovelier to work with,” praises Amanda.

The couple honeymooned in Vietnam.

Photos courtesy of Enchanted Films.

The Our Lady of the Mission Camberwarra is where Amanda was baptised.

“We love movie dates and popcorn so decided to have a popcorn bar,” says Amanda.

The couple’s photographer also took Minh’s university graduation photos!