Hearts racing ahead of biker couple's wedding

WHITE with two sugars is not the most conventional way that a love story starts.

ROAD LESS TRAVELLED: Quirky couple Tonia Stokes and Tony Waterson weren't looking for a relationship when they met. Picture: Mike Knott BUN050819TON1

WHITE with two sugars is not the most conventional way that a love story starts.

But similar to how their fairytale began, Bundy bikers, Tony Waterson and Tonia Stokes are one of a kind.

Three years ago, Mr Waterson was interested in a caravan that Tonia was selling online and little did he know that although the sale did not eventuate, he found himself a keeper that day.

"He was the only one that seriously wanted the caravan - he got under it and looked at the suspension and everything, whereas everyone else just kind of stared at it and that really impressed me,” Ms Stokes said.

"Neither of us were looking for a relationship and I wasn't expecting it at all, but when he turned up, I was like 'wow', so I started looking him up on Facebook.

The couple will tie the knot this weekend. Picture: Mike Knott BUN050819TON5

"I mean look at him, look at his eyes and I saw how he was with (son) Bailey and I liked that he knew what he was doing and had done his research with the caravan, because I'm a bit like that too.”

For two weeks following their first encounter, Ms Stokes pursued Mr Waterson.

"I knew she was keen but I had been a single parent for a long time and liked to keep to myself, so I wasn't very keen,” Mr Waterson said.

"She asked me out to the pub for a beer, she asked me to meet up with her for a coffee, a mutual friend tried setting us up and I just kept saying 'no'.”

Despite playing hard to get, Ms Stokes was spurred on by the challenge presented before her, with her determination and hard work ethic eventually triumphing.

Ms Stokes unknowingly found Mr Waterson's weak spot and asked if she could accompany him on his back porch for a cup of tea, to which he finally relented.

"I reckon he made me about 10 cups of tea because he was so nervous,” Ms Stokes said.

"It was funny because I was just wanting to touch him and hold his hand and he'd go 'Uh, I gotta go make another cuppa tea'.”

The couple hit it off straight away and the duo haven't looked back since.

In addition to their similar sounding names, they were both motorcycle fanatics, self-confessed hoarders and single parents.

When they decided to start working together, as a handyman and woman team, their relationship flourished further.

And when the couple moved in together and merged both families, livestock and possessions, they tackled these obstacles as a unit and came out the other end stronger.

During Tonia's 50th birthday party, Tony surprised her with a wedding proposal and the quirky couple are set to say "I do” this Saturday.

The wedding guest list consists of 60 going on 120 people, from all over Australia and South Africa, and will feature a lot of denim, leather and white, with the bridal party dressing in jeans and biker boots.

While their busy work schedule means they often take "the whole urn, depending on how big the job is”, one thing remains the same and the soon to be Mr and Mrs still make each other a tea - white with two sugars.

Originally published as Hearts racing ahead of biker couple's wedding