Or maybe it's that comfortable silence watching the world go by together.

Fairfax photographer Elesa Kurtz went searching for everyday images of love that went beyond the Valentine's Day greeting cards and who-got-the-best-one-in-the-office bouquets.

And everyone has a love story.

Palmerston couple Errol and Karen Kowald will celebrated 29 years of marriage in April. They met 10 hours after he landed in the United States in 1984 to take up a job as an engineer. She was a friend of someone going to work with Errol.

''He said, 'I'm having a party, I've got these Aussie guys coming. Do you want to come?''' Karen recalled.

''That evening Errol, 10 hours after he had arrived, joked to me, 'Do you want to come back to Australia with me?' And I said, 'Sure, ha, ha'.

''And a year later, that's exactly what I did. So, now I'm an Ausmerican.'' she said.

Karen and Errol have four children.

Karen said she loved Errol's ''cheekiness''. She joked that the secret of long-lasting love was ''taking separate vacations''.

''Just listening, and don't sweat the small stuff,'' she said.

Alex Cooper was celebrating his 18th birthday with girlfriend Leigh Kalsbeek, also 18, with a paddle boat ride on Lake Burley Griffin on Thursday. They have been going out for a year but have known each other since attending Jerrabomberra Public together.

Any romance back then?

''Oh, she liked me,'' Alex reckoned.

The plumbing apprentice said they ''just get on pretty well''. Leigh said she had never celebrated Valentine's Day before and was awaiting Friday with some anticipation, although they were a pretty laidback couple.

''We're really into our sports and have a lot in common. It's pretty cruisy really,'' she said.

Debbie Howroyd could not stop laughing as her partner Stuart Wright was asked what he liked about her.

''I like everything about her,'' he said, diplomatically, sparking more giggles.

Debbie said she loved Stuart for his ''absolute honesty and positivity''.

She used to live in Canberra but they have taken the road as itinerant workers. They were relaxing by the lake to escape the heat of a caravan park. They met two years ago at the Canberra Inn at Lyneham when Stuart, from the Gold Coast, was working in Canberra.

He asked if he could join her on her daily walks and ''it went from there''. Simple pleasures.

Narrabundah couple Peter Saunders and Stephanie Chan have been going out since 2005 but there are no plans for wedding bells at the moment.

''We like spending money on skiing holidays rather than weddings,'' Peter said.

The outdoorsy couple had a ''laidback and very solid'' relationship, Stephanie said. But it took a while to get going after they met at work.

''Pete chased me for ages, for years actually,'' she said, with a laugh.

She joked she loved ''his height''. ''No, he's very nice.''

He reckoned: ''I love Steph's independence''.

The romantic pose of Kambah couple Ben and Cathy Crowley reflects their shared love of theatre. They met 10 years ago at the University of New England in Armidale. She studied theatre, he studied economics but was also drawn to the stage. They married in 2007. Both continue to perform, Cathy in her job entertaining kids at Canberra Hospital and Ben when not working in the public service.

Ben said they were both busy people but always made sure to set time aside for each other.''The main things are communication, being happy we both have separate lives as well and being really good friends.''

With Valentine's Day synonymous with roses, roses, roses, Shannon Lee was spotted busily preparing bouquets in a park in Fyshwick ahead of selling them on the Monaro Highway on Friday.