OUR LOVE IS UNSTOPPABLE'

After a heartbreaking diagnosis, Kellie and Jeremy celebrated in a secret wedding ceremony

Amid an unimaginably difficult time, Kellie Gardner and AFL star Jeremy Finlayson's wedding was perfect.

"It was everything and more we'd ever dreamed of. I couldn't have asked for a better day," Kellie, 27, tells Woman's Day.

The couple were joined by their nearest and dearest for an intimate gathering at Tennyson Beach in South Australia, where they surprised each other with personalised vows.

"There wasn't a dry eye in the room," she says. "It was so special to be able to read them in front of our friends and family... everyone was stoked to see us get married after everything we've dealt with in the past 18 months."

DEVASTATING NEWS 

The wedding, which was originally planned for next October, was brought forward when Kellie was recently given the heartbreaking news that her bowel cancer had returned. She was diagnosed with stagefour cancer in her bowel and lungs after falling ill over Christmas.

Their nuptials took just over three weeks to plan after Kellie's oncologist advised how she might lose her hair through the treatment.

"I had to focus myself on chemotherapy and getting better. We couldn't think about October as an option any more," she says.