From a sweet encounter at 18 years old, to the sweetest double proposal at the Crown, Melbourne, to having the most magical ceremony in the breathtaking Sicily, Rachel and Brendan definitely haven’t lost the spark after 7 years and it shows! #RCRealBride Rachel wore the stunning Adeline gown. Streamlining the silhouette with a stunning mermaid design and sheer corset bodice is the main objective of this marvellous wedding dress. A romantic design that plays with proportions and the sophistication of the beaded appliqués. Photography by Fabrizio and Romina Photography & Films THE FIRST SIGHT I first met Brendan when I was 18 years old and thought he was a spunk. We instantly hit it off and definitely had chemistry but I wasn’t really looking for anything too serious and thought he was a little older then me so he wouldn’t be interested, but as I walked away he pulled me back into him and we kissed. He contacted me soon after wanting to catch up for coffee. My best friend pushed me to go, now we are married and the rest is history. Thank you Karen! THE PROPOSAL In all honestly I wasn’t all for marriage, we had only briefly spoke about it and he knew in my eyes as long as we were happy together I was happy. Brendan however is a little more old fashion and did like the idea of marriage. We were in our 5thyear of dating when his brother and him spoke about both wanting to propose to their partners. They organised a night out at crown for dinner for the 4 of us so naturally nothing seemed suspicious. Our typical date night is playing basketball at the arcade followed by dinner and a movie. All couples have a song and ‘our song’ is Dela from George of The Jungle, the movie. We arrived at crown and headed straight to the arcade where we played basketball. A worker approached Brendan and challenged him to a game and said if he won, he would be given a prize. The first game they drew and the second game Brendan won. The man gave him his prize, that’s when Brendan turned around and got on one knee and asked me to marry me, in the background he had our song playing through crown’s speakers. It was personal an perfect. We celebrated with champagne and then went to dinner. After dinner the waiter brought over the bill that had a napkin over it, he removed the napkin and there was an open box for my sister in-law, his brother got on one knee and asked her to marry him. It was a beautfiul, love filled night that we will never forget. THE VENUE I chose the Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea in Mazzaro, Sicily, Italy. I chose this because the venue was just breathtaking, the view picturesque and I did not have to organise any decorations as it had so much natural beauty surrounding. The roof of the venue could open up, it had a beautiful garden for aperitif and views overlooking the water where my guests watched the sunset. They had homemade granita which I wanted served upon arrival of my guests and beautiful food options. They were extremely flexible and accomodating to our needs for the menu. It was out of our budget so it was a difficult decision but at the same time there was nothing else I would have settled for after seeing this. I had travelled there with my father a year prior and had a look at the venue however my husband had never been to Sicily before so everything was new for him. He only saw photos so it was all a bit nerve wrecking for me but he still can not believe how perfect our day was. FAVOURITE MOMENTS I can’t choose, the whole day was perfect, better then we ever imagined. I loved everything from waking up with my sisters and neice in our hotel and getting everything on the breakfast menu from room servcie, to getting ready with my bridesmaids, seeing my mum walk down the isle, Brendan seeing me in the church and lifting my veil, walking down the main strip with live street music and my wedding guests following, driving around in our wedding car just the two of us and the dancing, we didn’t want it to end. THE DRESS My eldest sister forced me to try on this dress. I saw it on the rack and said ‘no way, it’s seathrough’, she said ‘just try it on so we can see what shape you suit’. It was the first dress I tried on. With a hoop underneath it was a stunning dress, nothing what it looks like on the rack and look completely different on me than the model online. I loved that it was not the same lace you usually see on wedding dresses and the boning really shaped me. It hugged my body perfectly. I only had my sisters with me when I first tried the dress on so after shopping around with my sisters and my mum for the second time and then taking my mum back to RC to show her the first dress I tried on that she hadn’t been there for, my mum cried and we bought the dress that day. It was a beautiful experience. FINDING THE ONE Honestly everyone we dealt with was amazing. My eldest sister also purchased her dress from RC so I already knew it was going to be easy and fun which is exactly what it was. It also helped that my wedding was in Italy as a lot of the ladies that work at RC are Italian. VENDORS Dress: Raffaele Ciuca Bridal Photographer: Fabrizio and Romina Photography & Films Venue: Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea Church/Celebrant: Chiesa di San Giuseppe Flowers: Petali e Capricci Cake: Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea Hair: Naomi Zerafa MUA Makeup: Karen Molina Makeup Shoes: Bella Belle Amelia Invites: Salvatore Falanga, My father Suits:Calibre Australia Band/DJ: DJ Merlino Bridesmaid Dresses: Forcast Bonbonerie: Modiano Siciliane Italian Playing Cards Table Centrepieces: Flowers and candles supplied by Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea Rings: Torres Jewel Co Diamonds