When Parramatta Eels captain Tim Mannah, 26, first saw a photo of Stephanie Du Plessis, 22, on his friend’s Instagram, he knew straight away she was the girl he was going to marry.
While at first Stephanie refused his advances, like all good sportsmen Tim wasn’t fazed by a challenge.
“She brushed me off pretty quickly,” laughs Tim, “but I just kept chasing her until she finally gave in.
“I knew the first time I met her I wanted to marry her, for sure.”
Tim’s persistence paid off at the weekend, when the couple tied the knot – just nine months after they first met – in a stunning ceremony at historic Merribee house on the New South Wales south coast. Surrounded by rose gardens and rolling green fields, Tim and Stephanie said their vows before 200 guests – and of course some of NRL’s biggest names.
“All the boys were there,” smiles Tim, whose guest list included Jarryd Hayne, Tony Williams, Willy Tonga, and Nathan Hindmarsh, whose wife Bonnie helped organise the wedding with along with the team at The Style Salon.
“It was the most beautiful, fun, gorgeous day,” says Stephanie, whose dress was made by a family friend in South Africa.
“We were expecting rain and thunderstorms but the weather was just perfect.”
“It was just this really chilled out day,” Tim agrees. “Everyone was just hanging out, playing lawn games. We didn’t have a dance floor, but people made their own by the end of the night.”
The wedding was bittersweet for the Mannah family. In January last year, Tim’s little brother and fellow Eels player Jon passed away at just 23, after a three-year battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“Growing up, you always just assumed he’d be there on your wedding day,” says Tim, who spoke of the pain of his brother’s absence in his speech.
“Of course we all wished he was there, but we just had to take comfort in knowing that he’s not in any pain anymore. He’s in a better place now.”
Introduced by mutual friends, Stephanie soon helped turn Tim’s year around.
“Everything just happened so quickly,” says Stephanie.
She was only in Australia temporarily to complete her bible studies, and had planned to return to her home country of South Africa, until Tim swept her off her feet.
And while many would call their brief courtship a whirlwind romance, the newlyweds couldn’t be surer of their feelings for one another.
“He has the biggest, softest heart in the world. He’s just a big teddy bear,” gushes Stephanie.
Tim is equally as smitten: “She’s the kind of girl that I’ve always wanted to spend my life with, so it’s pretty surreal that I get to do it. I’m stoked.”
Following the wedding, Tim and Stephanie enjoyed a two-night honeymoon at Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort.
And although Tim’s strict training schedule meant the newlyweds couldn’t linger, when asked if he had to choose between football or Stephanie, Tim’s answer was unequivocal.
“Stephanie. Definitely Stephanie!”
Photos by Passion For Pixels
Related video: Mannah pays tribute to brother
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