Find A Perfect Partner: Vital Partners –Introduction Agency

1. finding l♥ve ❘ a special advertising report Perfect partners THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, FEBRUARY 6, 2011 Distancenobarrier: MareeHamiltonand PeterStone Romance is in the air - you just have to know where to look for it. ORYANA ANGEL meets two couples who discovered it . . . with a little help. Clicked instantly: Melanieand Rodandbaby Shaylee. Below,on theirwedding day Farmer meets city soul mate P on findinglove –until hemet acity woman lookingfor acountry guy. ‘‘I’d hada coupleof relationships,’’ saysPeter, 57,from Wingham, 12kmnorthwest ofTaree. ‘‘I’ve metladies atthe pub— it’s good entertainmentand fun,but I felt Ineeded tolook furtherafield. I’m ahard manto please.’’ Spottinga potentialmatch, introductionagency VitalPartners playedcupid. ‘‘Distance wasn’tan issuefor me,’’ saysPeter, whosigned upwith the agencyin February,2007. ‘‘I knew therewas nopoint sayingI want someonefrom myarea. I wantedmore options,’’. MareeHamilton, 48,also contacted VitalPartners aroundthe same timeand wasn’tdeterred by their350km distanceeither. ‘‘A lotof peopleask whyI don’t go outwith someonelocally,’’ says Maree, fromParramatta. ‘‘Ihad the opportunity, butI’m notinterested. I like thelifestyle andPeter’s attitude tolife.’’ Now Mareeis preparingto giveup her citylife tomove inwith Peterin April. It’sa bigmove forboth of them, asPeter haslived alonesince separating fromhis wifeof 23years more thana decadeago. ‘‘Some ladieswouldn’t behappy moving fromthe city,’’he says. ‘‘Maree’s muchbetter thanI thought she’dbe atcoping withfarm life. She’sgot goodcommon sense. Big risk - and now one happy family F Cage weremarried witha daughter; nowthey areexpecting their secondchild. ‘‘Every day,I amthankful. I can’t believehow luckyI was,’’ says Melanie,33. ‘‘I wentinto ithoping tomeet somebody I’dbe ableto spendthe rest ofmy lifewith, hopingthat there wassomeone forme, butI wasn’t goingto settlefor anyone.I can lookafter myself,’’she adds. ‘‘Now Ilook atRod andcan’t believe eitherof usdid it.Neither of usis thatsort ofperson. Taking risks likethat isa bigthing,’’ she says ofher boldmove tocontact Vital Partnersafter movingto Sydney fromWagga Waggain 2005. ‘‘I didn’thave anyfriends in Sydney togo toclubs withand didn’t reallywant tomeet people there. I’mnot sureabout internet dating andthat sortof thing either.’’ After meetingsix orseven suitors throughthe datingagency, Melanie, apolice officer,was introduced toRod, 42,and both quickly decidedthey didn’twant to seeother people.A fewmonths later, theymoved intogether. ‘‘I reallyliked him,’’says Melanie. ‘‘Wecould havea real ETER Stonehad metmost eligiblebachelorettes inhis small townand hadgiven up There aretough situationswhen dealing withcattle –sometimes there’s bloodand manure,’’jokes Peter,a cattlefarmer. Choking backtears, headds: ‘‘She’s mybest friend,which is unreal. I’dforgotten whatbeing in love properlywas. Onlyin thelast six months Ihave resisted.I always thought Icould liveon myown. I coped OK,but therewas alwaysthat little partmissing. It’sgreat Maree hasstuck byme.’’ Peter wasthe firstperson Maree met throughthe agency.Before contacting VitalPartners, shewas single foraround twoyears, but ‘‘focused ondoing thingsaround home’’ andbuying herown property. ‘‘When Igot hisphoto Iknew I liked him,I gota feeling,’’says Maree. ‘‘I wantedto findsomeone who was honest,good andfun tobe with, had agood senseof humourand treated menicely. ‘‘Peter hasa delightfulsense of humour, he’snot reallyserious about life andtakes thingsas theycome – as farmersdo,’’ sheadds. Dates forthe long-distancecouple have includedtrips tothe horse races, takingin theSydney sights, drives tothe BlueMountains, time on Peter’sfarms andgetting toknow histwo grown-upsons. Both sharea loveof thegreat outdoors. ‘‘Shelikes theopen spaces, which Ido too,’’says Peter. Maree agrees:‘‘I likedriving and it’s beenan opportunityto goaway for theweekend.’’ OUR yearsafter theymet through anintroduction agency,Melanie andRod conversation andseemed tohave similarinterests andlikes.’’ The followingyear, ontheir first romanticholiday, Melaniewas secretly hopingRod wouldpop the question: ‘‘Iwas expectinghim to propose inthe HunterValley, but it didn’thappen.’ Melanie didn’thave towait long, though,as afew dayslater Rod askedher inMelbourne. ‘‘We were havingdinner ata nice restaurant onCollins Street,’’she says. ‘‘Hewaited forthe restaurant tobe empty,I wentto the bathroomand cameback to find hehad thering onhis pinkie finger.’’ Reflecting onthe proposal,Rod jokes: ‘‘Iwas waitingfor theplace to clearout alittle incase Ihad to do itin frontof 20,000people. ‘‘It wasa hugemoment. I actually hadthe ringfor quitea few monthsbefore that,’’he adds. In April,2008, thecouple were married inan intimateceremony with 55of theirclosest friendsand family. The couplenow livein theBlue Mountains andhave adaughter, Shaylee, whois almosttwo, and are lookingforward totheir next addition. ‘‘It’s beenfantastic; she’sa great littlekid,’’ saysRod. ‘‘She’s tall.I thinkshe’ll take after hermother’s brothers.I can see bothof usin her,she hasmy wife’s eyes– steelyblue. Sometimes Ilook ather andsee the darkerfeatures whichbelong tome.’’ As theirfamily grows,Melanie says theromance intheir relationshipdoes too:‘‘He’s romantic, butdoes itin hisown way –it’s notjust thespecial occasions,but everyday.’’