“The girls in the Armadale store were terrific in helping me find the perfect dress for me. Actually, the dress I ended up with wasn’t originally one I had chosen from the racks but I am so glad Serafina encouraged me to try it on. Once it was on, I was totally in love from then on..” #RCREALBRIDE KRISTEN RC – How did you meet Sam? Sam and I first met back in school in 2006. I hardly knew Sam in school as we had both come from different schools. One day as I was leaving school, Sam was leaning against a pole waiting for me to walk past. I heard him call my name so I stopped. He asked me to the Debutante ball, and I answered “I will think about it” and walked fast to my mum’s car. My thoughts were “who is this guy, I don’t even know him and how does he know me?” Sam on the other hand had it all planned out. He apparently said to his mate Joey when he first saw me in the library, that I was going to be his, and here we are. RC – How did Sam propose? Here is how the proposal panned out in Sam’s words: “The engagement was pretty epic for me cause I wanted it to be perfect..my plan was to do it at 4 mile beach, one of Kristen’s favourite places in Port Douglas. She refers to it as her happy place. The first attempt was the first day we arrived in Port Douglas as I wanted to use the brownie points the whole time we were away so we went down there but the vibe wasn’t there and she was a little hangry. So I left it to the second time when we were in a big glass chair lift type capsule going over the Daintree rain forest. It was amazing looking over all the dark green tree tops with massive exotic birds flying past and while I’m caught up in the moment, about to pop the question I focus on Kristen and notice she’s having a little panic attack about being stuck in a swaying glass pod as she’s quite claustrophobic so I gave it a miss again. Then I had another crack at 4 mile beach and had the plan in my head that I’ll find a nice pretty spot, sit down and write it in the sand or something. I found this beautiful spot under some palm trees and again just as I was about to pop the question this massive coconut flies past my head and buries half itself in the sand and with the near death experience I took it as an omen and left it yet again. So here we are on this beautiful little Island off the great barrier reef, the weather is amazing, the water calm, there’s turtles and little lemon sharks in the water and it couldn’t be a more perfect day. Kristen and I walk around to the side of the island where there wasn’t anyone else around and it felt like we were the only people on the island but I needed a distraction to get into position so I went and got the photographer and made up some cheesy request where she should face the forest and I’ll face the ocean for a photo and then bam that’s how I proposed, and Kristen said that she couldn’t ask for a more perfect location as Port Douglas is our happy place.” RC – Is there a particular reason as to why you chose your venue? Sam and I choose Killara Estate as our venue after only seeing one other venue. As we stepped out of our car at Killara Estate we both immediately knew it was the venue for us. The view was spectacular and the staff were amazing! Sam and I met with the events management staff Kevin and Louise who basically sealed the deal for us. Killara is a relaxed rustic venue which suited us perfectly. I highly recommend this venue. I will even be looking at hosting my 30th birthday lunch at Killara. RC – Your favourite part of the wedding? My favourite part of the wedding would of had to have been seeing everyone’s happy smiles/ tears as I walked down the aisle. Especially seeing Sam’s smile at the end of the aisle. It was such a spectacular feeling knowing they are all there to share your special day with you. RC – How the dress made you feel? I could not have chosen a better dress to suit my style wedding. I felt like an absolute princess in my dress. I had so many comments on how nice my dress was so thank you RC! RC – How was your bridal shopping experience? RC was only my second bridal shop stop. The girls in the Armadale store were terrific in helping me find the perfect dress for me. Actually, the dress I ended up with wasn’t originally one I had chosen from the racks but I am so glad Serafina encouraged me to try it on. Once it was on, I was totally in love from then on.. RC – Tips for brides-to-be! My tips would have to be: 1. Create a lists of things that need to be done and cross off completed tasks. 2. Stress less as things will fall into place. 3. Trust your judgement. 4. Enjoy every second as you blink and it’s over. KRISTEN WEARS PRUNELLE BY PRONOVIAS