Heart of the Nation: Melbourne 3000

WHO gets married at 8.50am on a Tuesday?

wedding

PHOTOGRAPHER Andrew Chapman was wandering the lanes around Federation Square in Melbourne last month when he chanced upon this scene. It's what he loves about street photography, the serendipity of it.

"You never know what you're going to find," he says. What he found here looked straightforward enough - a couple on their wedding day - but something puzzled him: it was 8.50am on a Tuesday. Who gets married then?

Denis and Milina Dirks, it turns out, actually tied the knot last March in a big church wedding in their hometown in Germany, and when they were packing for their honeymoon - a year-long trip around Australia - they had the wonderful idea of taking their wedding outfits with them. Well, why not? "It's better than wearing the dress once then packing it away for the rest of your life," says Denis, 25, a carpenter.

Fitting it all into their backpacks was tough - they had to remove the dress's hoop and cram the beautiful tulle creation into a sleeping-bag sack - but it has enabled them to compile a quirky album of "wedding" photos on their travels. Their favourite so far was at the Devils Marbles near Tennant Creek, where Milina teamed the dress with runners in order to climb the amazing rock formations. This Melbourne shot, where the "bridesmaids" were played by Australian friends, is a close second.

The couple, who met four years ago at their local Baptist church near Hanover, lived with their parents until their wedding day. For the past 10 months, home has been a '91-model Toyota HiAce campervan that they bought in Brisbane for $3500. They've circled the continent in it - living, sleeping, cooking and eating together in that tiny space. How has that worked out? "You get to know each other really well," says Milina, 21. Before heading back to Germany at Easter they'll have to sell the van; that'll be a wrench. "It's been our first home together," she says.

They've got the domestic chores sorted. She cooks, he washes up. With no fridge and a tiny gas stove to work with, Milina says she's only able to make "very simple dishes". Her husband quickly adds: "But it's always really tasty!" He's learnt a thing or two already.