This week we interviewed #rcrealbride Danielle who married the love of her life Carmelo in our Parlay wedding gown by Pronovias on the 7th November 2015 THE PROPOSAL I was 24 years old and it was my birthday coming up in August so i booked a romantic getaway for my birthday in Daylesford at Hepburn by Hepburn Villas. We went up on the Thursday, Carmelo seemed very eager to get there (Carmelo is generally a VERY anxious person at the best of times), there was some road works causing traffic. I told him to relax as we had a lovely long weekend ahead of us and was in no rush to get there. When we arrived to the reception of the Villas i told Carmelo that i would walk to the Villa instead of going in the car to move 4 car spots away from where the car currently was. Carmelo snapped and said no we have to go in together. Like i said earlier he is a very anxious erratic person so i didn’t think anything of it. We walked into the Villa together and it was beautiful, i had purchased the romantic package so when i saw the spa on with rose petals and champagne and rose petals in the shape of a love heart on the bed with the fire on i thought i had purchased a fantastic deal and said this to Carmelo and he said no i called up and organised this. He then got on one knee and said lots of lovely things that i don’t remember because i was so overwhelmed and crying that much i couldn’t see my ring because my eyes were so watery. It was one of the best moments of my life, without hesitation i said YES and gave my fiance the biggest hug! After calming down and wiping my happy tears away he put the ring on my finger which fit perfectly and it was so beautiful i couldn’t have designed a better one myself. I was so amazed at how Carmelo had kept this from me so well and then realised I had unknowingly organised my own proposal haha. He was very smart using this to his advantage and i was not complaining. We waited a little to call our families and friends as i was trying to get my head around what just happened. We had a lovely long weekend getaway. THE VENUE I was not in a rush to get married as i wanted the day perfect and needed time for that. I went and looked at many venues but with two Italian families we had close to 300 people and that narrowed our options. When i had a look at Leonda i fell in love with it straight away. We spoke about prices and thought oh no thats too expensive so we kept looking but i could not get Leonda out of my head, i turned to Carmelo and Said i have my heart set on Leonda and he said ok lets do it. Carmelo made planning the wedding so fun and easy, he did everything with me including going to the Bridal expo. THE FAVOURITE MOMENT My favourite part of the wedding is a hard one to choose just one but i would have to say the moment after speeches about mid way through the night, all of the pressure was off everyone and whilst sitting on the bridal table with everyone sitting down eating, drinking and talking i looked up and around at my Groom, Bridal party, Family and friends. All the people we love in one place and the one time sharing the special occasion with my husband. THE DRESS The Dress truly made me feel like a princess, I felt so beautiful and there is truly no other feeling like it. I do not know how people sell their wedding dresses afterwards. I got mine cleaned and preserved though the people Raffaele Ciuca recommended as i have the biggest connection with that dress and always will. The dress that made me feel like a million dollars and that glow that radiates off you through the beauty of the dress and happiness of the day is priceless. FINDING THE ONE Pina was fantastic, she was so helpful without the pressure and got along so well not only with me but also my sister and mother whom mean the world to me so it was great feeling seeing everyone so happy and that Pina made it such a beautiful and fun experience for us. I would recommend the dress shop and Pina’s help for any bride to be. It makes the connection to the dress and day all that much more special. ADVICE When you get a chance sit back and have a look around and take it all in. Get your Groom to call you his Bride on your wedding day as you will be his wife for the rest of your lives but Bride for only one day. In addition to places you want your wedding pictures note with the photographer people you want in pictures as my parents are not together and i don’t have a picture with just my mum and sisters and just my father and sisters we have one all together. I also don’t have a picture with just my sisters and i, they were part of my bridal party but i had 7 bridesmaids in my Bridal party. HAVE FUN!