Then I read ‘will you marry me?’ and looked at Vincent and he was already down on one knee with the ring in his hands. It’s still a blur but I remember being so shocked that I started laughing and left him hanging down there for a good 30 seconds haha!
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
R: I’m in marketing and Vincent is a physiotherapist. I love cooking and dining out, while Vincent loves fitness and outdoor activities. Despite this difference in interests, we’ve pretty much morphed into the same bunch over the last eight years. Together, we share a 3 year old Corgi, Finn, and a 10 month old Border Collie, Sadie. We (especially me) have a serious obsession for our fur babies and they played a very important role at our wedding. Finn was our ring bearer and Sadie was one of the flower girls – fair to say, they took the spotlight on the wedding day.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Vincent and I met when we were 21 at a music festival. I went with a group of friends and Vincent joined at the last minute through a mutual friend of ours. My first impression of Vincent was that he was really nice and genuine. We got along really well but I didn’t really think much of it.
The next morning after the festival, I woke up to his message checking how I was recovering after the day before. I remember giggling to myself reading that message because I never gave him my number at the festival so I knew he had asked for my number from our mutual friend.
Vincent has always said that the reason why he got my number and messaged me was because he was genuinely looking out for me but once we got engaged, he finally came clean and admitted that the nice gestures were his way of flirting.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
For our sixth anniversary two years ago, we went on a little getaway to Mudgee. Whenever we go away, I’m usually the one planning everything from booking the accommodations to all the restaurants but this time, Vincent planned the whole trip. I thought it was because this trip was straight after the first lockdown so he was excited to be getting out of Sydney.
We went to Lowe winery as our first stop and had a picnic there. During this time, Vincent said he got me a little present for our anniversary and gave me a book with messages written by him. In the book, he spoke about all the memories we created over the last six years with printed out polaroid images of all our memories. I should have picked up on it by then but didn’t think much of it because he’s usually the more sentimental one!
The message was about how we’ve been through so much together and that it really leaves him with one question. Then I read ‘will you marry me?’ and looked at Vincent and he was already down on one knee with the ring in his hands. It’s still a blur but I remember being so shocked that I started laughing and left him hanging down there for a good 30 seconds haha!
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
We had spoken about the type of wedding we wanted in the past and we knew that both of us wanted a relaxed wedding outside of Sydney. We’re both very social so our wedding was going to be a big one but the last thing we wanted was to have a massive wedding with a lot of formalities. We both love a party and really wanted our wedding to feel like a huge gathering with all our friends and family!
We wanted to go to Italy for our honeymoon so during our initial chat with Lily from Florals and Fika (who was so amazing and brought our vision to life perfectly), we mentioned that we wanted a Tuscan feel wedding. We couldn’t have been happier with the final styling and still have people commenting on the beautiful set up!
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
Once reception started, we all got very lit, thanks to the Fireball and Sheep Dog Whiskey welcome drinks. Everyone in the wedding party forgot about the throwing of the bouquet so this was done when we were on the bus back to our accommodation haha.
The wedding cake also tipped over but none of the guests realised because everyone was too busy drinking Fireball. Vincent and I had no idea we even cut the cake until we saw the wedding photos from Sonja!
Ceremony + Reception Location: Bendooley Estate, @bendooleyestate / Photographer: Sonja Cenic, @sonja.cenic.weddings / Videographer: Dear Vincent, @dear.vincent / Celebrant: Alison the Celebrant, @alisonthecelebrant / Fireball (welcome shot): @fireball_au / Sheep Dog Whiskey (welcome shot): @sheepdogaunz / Styling + Flora: Florals and Fika, @floralsandfika / Cake: Little Decadence, @little.decadence / Bride’s ceremony dress: Rachel Gilbert, @rachelgilbertbridal / Bride’s reception dress: Ginia, @giniaofficial / Bride’s ceremony shoes: Nine West, @ninewestaus / Bride’s reception shoes: Loeffler Randall, @loefflerrandall / Groom’s + Groomsmens’ suits: Lupo Bianco Custom Tailoring, @lupobianco_suits / Groom’s shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo, @ferragamo / Ring/s: Christie Nicolaides, @christienicolaides / Hair + Makeup: Shelley Lia Makeup & Hair, @shelleylia / Fragrance: Tocca, @tocca / Bridesmaids’ dress: Shona Joy, @shonajoy
