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At the Gympie Music Muster, we’re all about the music, mates and great causes and this year… marriages!

In 2022, we were delighted to share in at least two proposals at the festival.
Although they didn’t get engaged at Muster, Simone Ward and Geoffrey Borninkhof, will be married on the Hill Stage in front of thousands of their family, friends and mates they haven’t met yet.

Engaged in 2019, they’d planned their nuptials for 2020, but, thanks to COVID-19, have postponed their wedding three times, but it’s fourth time lucky for this couple, as Muster magic makes it happen.

Simone said Geoff had been going to the Muster for about 14 years and took her for the first time last year.

“While we were at the Muster, he asked whether I would love to get married there and I said I’d love to,” she said.

“We’ll be doing it at 11am on the Saturday on the main stage with Danielle Jones from Gympie as our celebrant.”

Although new to the Muster, Simone said she had loved country music since she was a child with one of our headliners, Kasey Chambers, among her favourites.

The engagement, four years ago, was a special moment as it marked new beginnings on January 1, 2019 at 5am.

“Geoff asked me to marry him at 5 o’clock before I went to work,” Simone said.
Their courtship began in an unlikely manner but, when you know, you know.
“We both were giving up on life and we both went to a friend’s place,” Geoff said.

“I walked in and said to my mate she’s going to be my wife. I couldn’t quite remember her name, but she took my breath away and we had an instant connection.

“My mate said, ‘don’t be silly, she’s not for you’ and I said, ‘she’s going to be my wife’.

“The reason I proposed to her on January 1 was that she had lost her father the August beforehand and I said, ‘we are going to start off this year with a new beginning in life’.”

In a nod to tradition, after her father’s passing, Geoff asked Simone’s grandfather for permission to marry his granddaughter, and asked her mum.
“Her grandfather was really happy about it,” he said.

Together for five years, Simone, who hails from Kingaroy, and Geoff from Nanango, will be attended by a Maid of Honour daughter, Best Man son and Geoff’s two grandsons as Page Boys with about 40 friends and family coming to the festival especially for the wedding.

You’re all invited to the wedding at 11am, Saturday., August 26, 2023, at the Hill Stage.