He knew he was dying, so Noel Townsend married the love of his life

The 73-year-old sadly lost his battle with cancer in the early hours of Thursday morning, September 17.

But before he went out, he made sure he did so married to the love of his life.

Noel and his bride Teresa Kingdon tied the knot at their home in Mandurah, WA, on Sunday, surrounded by 40 of their closest family and friends.

Teresa's daughter Tracy described it as a beautiful day filled with happy memories.

"It was just a gorgeous day, because this is what they've both wanted for so long," she said.

"They've desperately wanted to be man and wife pretty much from the day they met, and now they've done that.

"The day was amazing. We had a big wedding arch and a balloon filled with confetti and everyone had done their part to make sure it went off last minute."

Noel was originally given just weeks to live when his cancer resurfaced earlier this month, and he entered his final days determined to marry his love.

Noel and Teresa first crossed paths in January, 2019.

Individually they wanted was to draw some cash out of an ATM, but the pair found something much more valuable.

"I said to Noel, 'save some for your wife', and that's when he told me that his wife had passed away and I started tell him about my husband who had passed away," Teresa said. "And just from that one little encounter you could tell there was a spark."

Exchanging phone numbers and a few laughs the pair went their separate ways, eventually catching up for their first date the next day.

From there blossomed what the two describe as a "magical" almost two years in their lives.

Filled with getaways to Margaret River and Albany, or simple strolls along their local beaches, the pair were inseparable from then on.

Originally a minister with the Catholic Church in England, Teresa's journey to Australia is somewhat miraculous in itself.

Having moved to Mandurah with her husband Bryan, daughter Tracy and the rest of their young family in 2006, she found it hard to settle.

Missing her parish and the life she once knew, Teresa and Bryan decided to return home. But in 2015, Bryan lost his own battle with cancer.

A short time later, while out shopping, Teresa suffered a stroke caused by a pair of aneurysms in her brain.

The health scare prompted her to once again relocate to Australia, looking to live the rest of her life surrounded by family.

"I missed them, dearly," she said. "So I packed my bags and found myself back here in Mandurah."