When you’re both known for being last to leave the dance floor on a night out, you know your wedding is going to be a BLAST! Veronica and Jonathan and their guests did not leave the dance floor from 930pm-12am and we have the photos as proof! Veronica and Jonathan’s love story is the epitome of joy wrapped up in love! #rcrealbride Veronica wore the Maggie Sottero Hadley– An alluring fit-and-flare gown featuring striking lace motifs, a low back, and a sexy sweetheart neckline accented with a shimmer of sequins and beading. Finished with covered buttons over zipper closure. Veronica also added an overskirt for a second look. Photography by Anchor and Hope Photography THE FIRST SIGHT Jonathan and I met the old fashioned way. I met him when he was working as a barista at a café which was local to my previous work. I remember the first day I walked into that café. I noticed him almost immediately. He has the most incredible blue eyes and I was smitten from the first order of my almond latte. I remember thinking that he was way out of my league so I would just go into the café to get coffee and chat with him. Apparently after a month of me coming into the café Jonathan said to a co-worker ‘I am going to date that girl one day’. After 3 months of chatting (and me throwing coffees out because I didn’t actually feel like one, I just needed an excuse to see Jonathan), Jonathan asked me out on a date and we have been together ever since. Our first date was the best date I had ever been on, we went to Welcome to Thornbury for a drink then to the Royal Croquet Club which was being held in the city at the time. We were both so bad at croquet but we had fun listening to Hayden James play and eating lobster rolls. On the way home we went to Messina for ice-cream as Jonathan had remembered I love ice-cream. It was the most perfect date. THE PROPOSAL We had been together for 1.5 years when Jonathan popped the question. We were going to Bali, Indonesia on the Friday and he had organised a ‘date night’at our favourite restaurant Tonda (Preston, Victoria) on the Wednesday night. I remember saying ‘let’s save our money and just go for dinner when we go to Bali, we don’t need to do date night this week’ but Jonathan insisted on it as I was in the middle of my assessments for Practical Legal Training (i.e. to be admitted into the legal profession) and he wanted to take the night off to relax before we left for Bali. I honestly thought he would propose in Bali so I didn’t think it was going to happen that night. I was super stressed due to my assessments so I just kept saying ‘let’s just go and get take-away’. I was also so moody so I am happy he still proposed in the end. We got to Tonda and Jonathan was acting really strange, usually he eats really fast and finishes everything on his plate but this time he didn’t finish his main. We got to dessert and the owner of Tonda, Liza, brought out their ‘new dessert menu’. The new menu was in fact a plaque made by Sketch & Etch that said ‘Veronica Clinch, I love you. Will you marry me?’. By the time I read it, Jonathan was on one knee and I don’t even remember saying yes. He then asked me to turn around and standing in front of the restaurant window were my parents, my sister, Jonathan’s family and eight of our closet friends. Jonathan had invited them to witness the proposal and then stay to celebrate afterwards. It was a proposal and engagement party in one and honestly, I could not fault it. It was simply perfect! THE VENUE Before we even got engaged we knew that we did not want to have a Church wedding as it just wasn’t us. We wanted a winery/ estate wedding. We went and saw Bramleigh Estate before it even opened and Jonathan instantly fell in love. I was unable to imagine what the venue would look like when it was finished but Maryanne (venue owner) showed us some drawings of the deck that was going to be built and I fell in love. After that, we booked Bramleigh Estate. The outdoor decking and the white hamptons style really sold the venue to us. We had seen 8 other venues throughout the Yarra Valley region but nothing compared to Bramleigh Estate. We wanted a big dancefloor and they had that, we wanted high ceilings and they had that, we wanted lots of natural light and it had that. Bramleigh Estate had it all and made our decision really easy. It could also cater for up to 350 guests which was great for us with Jonathan being Greek and me half Italian (although we had 200 in the end). FAVOURITE MOMENT If you had of asked me this before our wedding day, I would have said the part I was most looking forward to was getting married on the deck. However, the weather had a different plan for us. Jonathan and I ended up getting married in front of the fireplace because the day of our wedding it was 36 degree, humid and sideways raining. People tell you to take time out just you two on your wedding day and we did that which was actually my favourite part of the wedding. Jonathan pulled me aside at around 9.30pm on our wedding day and we stood on the side of the dancefloor watching everyone having the best time and being in the moment which is exactly what we wanted. It was amazing to sit back and watch everyone who had come together for us! My second favourite moment was rounding the corner of the aisle with dad on my arm and seeing Jonathan standing there in his ivory jacket beaming! It was magical, we had done it! We had made it to our wedding day and everything had come together even better than I had imagined. I did not stop smiling the whole day. My third favourite, was our dancefloor. Jonathan and I are known for the ones who NEVER leave the dancefloor on a night out and we wanted a packed dancefloor with everyone dancing and that is what we got! THE DRESS My dress, oh wow, I cannot fault it. You know the saying “when you know, you know”? Well that is what happened with my dress. I had tried on about 12 dresses before walking into RC Brunswick and I thought I knew what I wanted and that was definitely not lace! Well, what did I get? Lace! I actually didn’t pick the Hadley dress for myself, Pina from RC Brunswick, picked it for me. She pulled it out and said try this on and I remember saying no I am not trying that on, I don’t like lace, it’s a bit too much, I don’t think I will like it. But, Pina insisted that I try it on. I walked out in the Hadley and stood in the mirror and burst into tears. It was my dress! I loved that it was figure hugging and that it had a deep v at the back. Most importantly, I loved that it had button down the back which was something I wanted in my wedding dress. I ended up teaming it with a detachable skirt and I loved that idea because it was like wearing two dresses on the day. The skirt made me feel like an absolute princess as it had a long train and really esentuated my back and waist. The dress was really comfortable to wear on the day and had been altered by RC alterations to perfection! Not once did I lift the dress up, it sat flush on my bust and did not move the whole day. FINDING THE ONE I loved my experience at RC! I felt really comfortable in allowing Pina to pick dresses for me. The Hadley ended up being absolutely perfect for me and I would not have picked it for myself. Pina has such an eye for detail as well as being able to pick dresses that suit your body type. My whole experience with RC was amazing. I had so much fun trying on dresses, playing around with accessories and making sure I made the right choice for my big day. Saying yes to the dress is such a big part of wedding planning and it was probably the most enjoyable part too. I mean, what girl doesn’t dream about going wedding dress shopping with their mum and best friend? RC made the whole process seamless and we even celebrated with champagne and chocolates when I picked ‘the dress’. TIPS FOR ALL THE BRIDES TO BE Not everything is going to go to plan. Everyone says this but it is important to remember that you cannot control everything. I am a perfectionist and leading up to the wedding day I was swept up in making sure everything was ‘perfect’, right down to the colour of the ties my brother in laws were going to wear. Jonathan said to me ‘you’re turning into bridezilla, just take everything as it comes’. Well, you actually have to. When you are given a day which starts off absolutely perfect with loads of sun and it turns to sideways rain, you really do have to take it as it comes. Our celebrant, Shannon, was incredible she said to me two days before our wedding ‘you cannot control the weather but you can control how you react to it and people will play off your emotions so if you don’t let it affect you, it won’t affect your day’. She was right! I didn’t care one bit it rained, I spent the whole day smiling. I didn’t care we didn’t get married on the deck or that we didn’t get our rose petal photo because in the end I got married to my best friend and that was the whole point of our wedding day, to get married! Second hot tip for brides-to-be, pick vendors that one, you get along with and two, that have worked together before. Our videographer and photographer had worked together on multiple occassions and it just made the whole day seemless, we actually barely saw them which is what we wanted. Our MC and DJ had also worked together a lot and they did an amazing job ensuring everyone was up and on the dancefloor (which was the brief we gave them). Third and final tip, have the wedding you want! Plan it your way and don’t second guess yourself. This is the day (I imagine) you have dreamed of since you were a little girl, so have fun with it. Also, let your bridesmaids and family help you if you need assistance. I ran everything past my sister and my mum and it just helped with finalising decisions and enjoying the process. It can be overwhelming at times but you just need to enjoy the process because time flies and before you know it you are walking down the aisle and its your big day! —YOUR LIST OF VENDORS— Dress: Raffaele Ciuca Bridal Photographer: Anchor & Hope Photography Venue: Bramleigh Estate Church/Celebrant: Shannon Jeans Flowers: Sugar Bee Flowers Hair: Shauna Elizabeth Hair Makeup: Lisa Mortimer Make-up Shoes: Badley Mischka Invites: Personally Invited Suits: Spectre Collection Ceremony Band: Sour Grapes Reception DJ: Rinaldo Entertainment (Eddie Rinaldo) Bridesmaid Dresses: Forever New Bonbonerie: Sketch & Etch Rings: CSP Jewellers Videographer: Annette & Dani