Jan and Annie Jordaan were never able to meet their son's "energetic and vibrant'' girlfriend but it's because of the relationship that they have made a new set of friends, in her parents.
The two sets of parents, who had previously never met, suddenly lost their children on on January 7 last year when the hot air balloon Chrisjan and his girlfriend, Alexis Still, were in near Carterton crashed in flames, killing all 11 on board.
Just two days before the crash, Chrisjan, 21, and Alexis, 19, had bought tickets to visit Chrisjan's parents in Southland. It would be the first time he would introduce his girlfriend to his parents.
"He first didn't tell us about her, but we knew there was something going on, and they sent me a pic on the cellphone. [At] Christmas he gave us a photo of them, it was good,'' Mr Jordaan said.
Today marks a year since the horrific tragedy and a public memorial service for all 11 victims was to be held in the morning at St Mark's church in Carterton.