He asked me to meet him on quay street to show me a car, I was still in my gym gear, and he took me down the road to the helipad and threw a white dress and shoes at me. I knew it was on when he did that. We took a helicopter out to Bethell’s Beach and landed on the top of the hill where there is a beautiful stone engraved with, “True love doesn’t have a happy ending, it is never ending.”
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Raphael is originally from Brazil but has been in NZ for the last 12 years and built a business in construction recruitment. I work in the pharmaceutical industry, we manufacture and sell mostly weight management products. We both love spending summer days on the boat with our friends near Waiheke or one of the other beautiful islands Auckland has to offer. We have so many great memories of this which is why we chose to get married on Waiheke.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met at a party in Karaka in December 2019. I pranced in wearing a long kimono and he quickly rushed up to me to introduce himself and asked if I was south American. I laughed and played along speaking Spanglish to him for the rest of the night.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
It was more of a slow burn. We had our daughter Caterina very early on in our relationship and that really bound us together.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Raphael was acting so weird all day, I knew something was up. He asked me to meet him on quay street to show me a car, I was still in my gym gear, and he took me down the road to the helipad and threw a white dress and shoes at me. I knew it was on when he did that. We took a helicopter out to Bethell’s Beach and landed on the top of the hill where there is a beautiful stone engraved with, “True love doesn’t have a happy ending, it is never ending.”
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
Elegant and timeless. I also wanted to incorporate the Brazilian culture into the day so we surprised everyone by having the samba dancers and drummers join our entrance into the reception. We also had a harp playing at the ceremony. It was just so beautiful.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
I can’t think of anything that was stressful that’s why if can you afford it, use a wedding planner and stylist. The only thing I can think of is it was so warm inside our cake started to melt so it needed emergency repairing but that was about it.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
My dress was designed and hand-made in Melbourne by the very talented Anthony Montesano of Signor Mont. Yes, every single bead was hand stitched onto my dress. It took over 200 hours and some very sore fingers. Also, there was hundreds of metres of silk organza to create the ruffles which you see in the train which was 3 metres long.
Ceremony location, Catering & Beverages: Tantalus Estate, @tantalusestate / Photographer: Wild & Grace, @wildandgrace / Videographer: Side Project Films, @ben.journee / Celebrant: Father Sherwin Lapaan St Mark’s Catholic Church Pakuranga / Entertainment: Samba Passion, @nzsambapassion; Mix It DJ, @mixitdj.co.nz / Styling: Deluxe Events, @deluxeeventsnz / Flora: Blush, @blush_flowers / Cake: The Caker, @thecakernz / Gifting: Wishing well / Bride’s Dress: Signor Mont, @signor_mont / Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss / Ring/s: Culet Jewellery, @culetjewellery / Shoes: Jimmy Choo, @jimmychoo / Makeup: Grayson Coutts, @graysoncoutts / Hair: Jenny Good, @jennyvioletstyled; Ashlee Bierens, @ashlee__jayne / Fragrance: Louis Vuitton, @louisvuitton / Bridesmaid’s Attire: Duchess Boutique Australia, @duchessboutiqueaustralia / Groomsmen’s Attire: Frank Casey Suit Hire, @frankcaseyparnell
