Meagan and Stephanie were matched through the Best Buddies Citizen’s Program in Victoria four years ago. Here, Peer Buddy Stephanie tells us their story....
“The day we first met we were both feeling nervous, hoping that the one would like the other. But we became instant friends.
“There are so many things we like to do together. Meagan taught me how to make jewellery, and that is something we have enjoyed doing. We like to go shopping, and sometimes to just go out for coffee and chat. It’s so nice to have a friend to go out with, and to share things with a friend who is always there for you. We are best friends, and usually don’t even remember how we met.
“We love to watch chick-flicks. Other things we have done are cooking (smarty-cookies!), going dancing, roller-blading, visiting the Queen Victoria market, and listening to music. We’re both really happy people, and we like to be a bit silly together. We laugh a lot, but we also know that we can go to each other for a listening ear.
Meagan recalls the moment when Stephanie asked her to be one of her bridesmaids; “I was very, very happy; I had no idea. It was a very big shock.”
Stephanie says, “I just had to have Meagan as my bridesmaid. She’s one of my best friends, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. We are there for each other, sharing in life’s big moments and little moments.
“Throughout the wedding-planning, Meagan said it was ‘fun doing the dresses’. The four of us girls all went out for coffee and shoe-shopping together. We visited Priceline for make-up ideas and ended up with make-up testing all up our arms. Stephanie visited the florist where Meagan works and ordered the flowers for the girls’ bouquets, and the guys’ buttonholes. Ordering the flowers was even more special because it was from Meagan’s work.
“On the day of the wedding we woke up at 7am and enjoyed being pampered by getting our nails done in a French manicure. The hairdresser arrived to do the bridesmaid’s hair. There was so much activity as the flowers were delivered. Soon it was time to put the dresses on. The photographer arrived and we all moved into the sunlit garden for a photo shoot which was a lot of fun.
Meagan recalls feeling nervous in the weeks leading up to the wedding, but being excited on the day. The best part of the wedding for her was, ‘being with Steph and the bridesmaids and being pampered’. The best part for Stephanie, ‘apart from getting married to the man I love; I was so excited to be celebrating with friends and family, and to have such close friends beside me. The day really was made all the more special because of the people I got to share it with. I look at the photos now and remember feeling so loved and supported, particularly by my bridesmaids. With all that was going on around me at the wedding, I could just turn to Meagan and we’d share a laugh or a comment or even just a smile’.
Meagan and Stephanie agree that they have a lot of fun together, but their friendship means that they can go to each other for encouragement and support, because that’s what being best friends is all about.
Recently Meagan has become engaged and asked Stephanie to be her bridesmaid! Stephanie says: “We are very excited to now be planning her wedding. I'm looking forward to being there for her, as she was for me. “My husband and I attended Meagan's engagement party. In his speech, Meagan's dad thanked me for being Meagan's friend over the last four years and said that in that time she has really grown. His words were such a great testimony to all that Best Buddies stands for. I felt so unworthy of such praise, and it really was a teary moment. “Sometimes Meagan and I look back on everything we've done together over the last four years, and we're just so amazed. We really do have such a beautiful friendship.”
Best Buddies Australia would like to thank Stephanie and Meagan for sharing their inspiring friendship story with us all!
