The proposal that dreams are made of and not just because it involved Pizza and Waffles! This dream proposal was under the sparkly lights of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and completely unexpected! Anthony pulled off a dream proposal and of course Melissa said YES to the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with! #RCRealBride Melissa wore the Nicole Spose NISK19143 gown. The perfect combination of crepe and lace with illusion tulle back. Melissa has added the over skirt to create two completely different looks. Photography by Journey By Light – Wedding Day Photographer & Post Wedding Photography Alex Wysoki THE FIRST SIGHT Anthony and I met when I was 18 years of age, and Anthony was 21. At the time, I was working in hospitality while I was completing year 12, where incidently Anthony became a regular customer. I remember that my first impression of Anthony was that he had amazing and clear blue eyes. Initially I was not interested in developing a relationship with Anthony as I had the clear goals of completing year 12, beginning a university degree, and to volunteer for a month in Sri Lanka, and did not want someone else distracting me from these goals of mine. Nonetheless, Anthony strongly supported me in completing each of these goals, and all while being my boyfriend. THE PROPOSAL While Anthony and I were living in London, we travelled to Paris for the weekend to celebrate 5 years of our relationship. After a beautiful sunny Summer’s day, we sat on the grass under the Eiffel Tower while the sunset. We ate pizza and waffles. At 10pm, when the Eiffel Tower begun to sparkle and a busker began playing his acoustic guitar, Anthony leant on one knee and asked me to marry him. I did not expect Anthony to propose to myself, with the reason being that I had not noticed any shift in money in our bank account (however, it then made sense why my internet banking had not been working for the days prior), and we had not spoken about when we would become engaged. Prior to being engaged, we already had aligned our goals for the future and knew each other wanted to spend the rest of our lives with one another. As we value the connections we have with the people in our life, we did not tell any of our family or friends that didn’t visit us while we were living in Europe, until we returned to Austalia 4 months after the proposal. THE VENUE Anthony and I celebrated our marriage and wedding day at Mount Macedon Winery, in Woodend Victoria. We chose this venue as the scenery is simply beautiful. Additionally, we loved the relaxed atmosphere of the reception area, and felt that the nature and relaxed atmosphere suited our relationship well. We both have a family background in farming, and when we visited the winery the first time, we thought about how much my Pop in particular would love the location. The owners and staff at Mount Macedon Winery were so personal and kind, which was important to us. For each business and vendor we had involved in our wedding, we ensured they were kind, and did our best to involve businesses local to the Macedon Ranges. FAVORITE MOMENT I so loved spending the day leading up to the ceremony with my Mum and my best friends who were also my bridesmaides. We are so fortunate that so many of our family and friends were part of the day- from the flower arrangements, to displaying their artwork in the décor, to a home-made ring-cushion, to live music being played in the ceremony – having people we love so much create this and be apart of our day was pure magic. Above all, my favourite part of the wedding day was having the most dearest people in our life all in the same room, and all who looked so happy – and beautiful! I will forever love the ceremony where Anthony and I shared our vows to one another. It was extra special that Anthony had organised with a friend to bring our second dog (who can get a bit too excited, so we initially agreed for this dog not to come) for a cuddle after the ceremony. I also loved hearing my Nan on the microphone singing ‘the final countdown’ in the later part of the night! THE DRESS I am still so in love with the dress I wore on my wedding day. The whole experience surrounding the dress has been absolutely magical. My favourite feature of the dress was the illusion look at the back of the dress, and how the overskirt extends this feature. I also loved that when taking the overskirt off, it changed the look of the dress. The dress I wore was the second wedding dress I ever tried on, and was in the first shop and wedding dress shopping experience I had. I was nervous deciding on a dress so quickly and without doing much research. However, I remember looking at the smiling faces of my Mum and my two best friends who were there, and I remember thinking that I always wanted to remember this special moment, and that the dress represents the happiness they have for me and give me in my life. I also had the amazing help of the Raffaele Ciuca Bridal sytlist, Francesca, to assist me with deciding on what dress to choose, and create magic and excitement around my decision. FINDING THE ONE The stylist, Francsesca, was absolutely incredible. Francesca welcomed myself, my Mother and two of my bestfriends with such genuiness and thoughtfulness. Francesca provided guidance around the styles of dresses, all while considering the theme and location of the wedding, as well as incorporting my body, style and personality. I also decided for the alterations to occur with the Raffaele Cuicia alteration store in Brunswick. There, Luana and Tammy used their amazing sewing skills and literally brought the dress together and to life. Francesca, Luana and Tammy were absolutely amazing! Thank you. TIPS FOR ALL THE BRIDES TO BE We are so thankful that we approached our wedding day about it being a day to celebrate the love that Anthony and I have for one another, with the people in our lives that are most dear to us. Our wish was for the day to be an enjoyable, relaxed and fun day for everyone, and for everyone to be in good health and happy to be in one another’s company. We also held at high value the officiant marrying us, and were so blessed that Paul, who has known Anthony and I for 7 years due to being neighbours, was the person to Marry us. We also acknowledged that the wedding day won’t all go to plan, and kept the perspective that all that needs to be completed is the legalities, as well as being sure that it is each other we want to spend the rest of our lives with- The day was absolutely perfect. Gown: Raffaele Ciuca Bridal Photographer: Journey By Light Wedding Day Photographer Alex Wysoki Venue: Mount Macedon Winery Celebrant: Paul Crothers Flowers: My Mum! With help from Sweet Blossoms florist Cake: Blackbird Cakes Hair: Kochuo Hair and Make up (Australia) Tori Harris Pro Team (London) Makeup: Dani Cousens (Australia) Shoes: Kurt Geiger Invites: Designed by Anthony and myself- Printed by Proficient Printing Suits: Peter Jackson Band/DJ:DJ Masters Bridesmaid Dresses: Pilgrim Table Centerpieces: DIY Rings: Burges Jewelers, Gisborne