When Australian Ian Clifton met Danish backpacker Rebekka Kynde on a trip to Nepal, little did he know they would follow in the footsteps of Danish royalty and chart a transcontinental modern-day fairytale.
On Saturday, Mr Clifton will marry his Danish sweetheart at the 17th-century Frederiksborg Castle, 40 minutes north of Copenhagen.
Their 40 guests will be at risk of neck strain during the ceremony as they admire the Great Hall's heavily ornamented gold-leaf decorative ceilings and chandeliers.
Two months ago, the couple found out they had won a wedding ceremony in Scandinavia's largest Renaissance castle as part of Denmark's Golden Days Festival - 50 couples will wed on the same day at some of the nation's most iconic cultural landmarks.
It's the first time the castle will host civil weddings.
"It's pretty fancy," said 38-year-old Mr Clifton, who grew up on the NSW Central Coast at Bateau Bay.
"It's the nicest castle I've been to."
They will have a champagne picnic in the Baroque gardens after the ceremony.
Ms Kynde, who frequently read Denmark's famous Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales as a child, said the couple were still pinching themselves that they would declare their love in such an elaborate setting.
"It's just like when you walk into a church, there's just this special energy... It's not just a room; there is so much history behind it," the 33-year-old kindergarten teacher said.
"I look forward to having a moment to celebrate us and our story. Our story is a bit against all odds."
Just like Tasmanian-born Danish Queen Mary's chance encounter with then-crown prince Frederik at a pub during the Sydney Olympics, Mr Clifton and Ms Kynde randomly crossed paths in 2017 at a Nepalese restaurant in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.
They ended up travelling together around Nepal until Mr Clifton, who works in finance, had to return home.
But he convinced her to come visit him in Australia for a month.
"We hadn't known each other for more than a week, but I thought there might be something worth exploring further," Ms Kynde said.
During the next half-year apart, Mr Clifton sent her flowers every month and they wrote love letters, until Ms Kynde decided to move Down Under.
The couple relocated to Denmark in 2020, where they welcomed their son Eliot.
They plan to return to live in Australia in 2026.
Frederiksborg Castle has hosted royal weddings, including the 1752 wedding of Frederick V to his second wife, Queen Juliana, as well as the controversial nuptials of Countess Danner and King Frederik VII in 1850.
In 1995, it hosted the wedding ceremony of the king's younger brother, Prince Joachim, to his first wife, Alexandra.
