Christine + Brent

How did you meet?

Brent and I were secretly set-up by our married friends Rachel and Rob. I was happily telling Rachel over lunch how much I was looking forward to my ‘Single Girl Summer’ after another bad breakup. After hearing my rant, Rachel suggested that we meet her husband (Rob) and his friend (Brent) for a drink after lunch, little did I know this was the beginning of their plan. We arrived at the pub where the boys were having a few beers after playing a game of soccer. I immediately spotted Brent with his dishevelled blonde hair, sunscreen covered face, and gorgeous grin. We sat down and ordered lunch. Being an avid movie lover my ears perked up when I heard Brent quote a line from my favourite movie ‘Kindergarten Cop’, we started chatting and sparks started flying. After arriving home, I couldn’t get that grin out of my mind so I texted Rachel about the “dreamy” guy at lunch, which prompted her to call Brent and urge him to find me on Facebook. A few minutes later, we were planning to meet the next day for a dinner date.

When did you know they were the one?

I knew Brent was the one for me after our first date. During dinner, he made an inappropriate joke about our dinner plates looking like nipples. I laughed louder than I’d like to admit and then we talked non-stop until the restaurant closed. Afterwards, he walked me to my car where we spent another 2 hours chatting… and kissing. After we had said our goodbyes, I hopped into my car and immediately texted a friend saying “I’m in trouble”.

What are your three favourite attributes of your partner?

My three favourite attributes about Brent would have to be:
1. He makes me laugh everyday. Every single day ends with a smile on my face.
2. Patience is not my strong suit, luckily Brent has enough for the both of us.
3. I’ve never met anyone who has his ambition and drive, it makes me so excited to see where this takes him.

Who proposed and how?

Brent proposed to me in January at Bendooley Estate in Berrima. We planned a weekend away as the Spring and Summer months are always busy for me as a hairdresser/make-up artist who’s specialises in bridal and events. I was in desperate need of some downtime. Meanwhile, Brent secretely contacted Louise (a photographer friend of mine) and organised a surprise proposal photoshoot in the Bendooley Vineyard. Brent suggested we have a picnic when we arrived Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, it rained that entire week so instead we decided to grab our umbrellas and take a stroll through the grounds. Brent suggested we dress up so we can take a cute selfie during our walk. I happily agreed considering Brent’s poor track record of taking cute couple photos. As we were walking down the pathway between the trees, Brent stopped, bent down on one knee and asked me to marry him. After I was done jumping up and down, he pointed to Louise who was behind me photographing the whole thing.

Where did you fall in love with your dress and why?

I found my dress in the Sydney ‘Made With Love’ showroom. I knew I wanted a crepe dress as I love the feel and look of the material. What drew me to MWL is the fact that they use a double layer of french crepe to hide all those little lumps and bumps. I wanted my dress to hug and accentuate my curves whilst exuding understated glamour, and the Ryder Crepe did just that. The plunging neckline, cinched waist, and stunning train completed my vision and made me feel like an Old Hollywood bombshell. I was in love. I paired my dress with vintage sapphire earrings and a pearl veil.

What was the best moment for you at your wedding?

It is so difficult to pick out the best moment of my wedding as there were so many amazing moments! I think my favourite moment would have to be watching my dad shake the hand of my fiancé. Seeing my dad so happy and proud was really heartwarming. Then turning to my fiancé to hear him say: “You look beautiful”. I wish i could rewind time and relive that moment over and over.

What were your favourite details?

There are so many details that I loved about our wedding as we put a lot of thought into it. My favourite details would have to be:
Personalised place cards. After finding their name on the Seating chart our guests made their way to their seats to find a nickname or favourite memory that Brent and I had picked!
Our Dessert buffet. We chose a Carrot Cake as the wedding cake and a few of our favourite desserts including biscoff, Nutella and caramel stuffed donuts!
Our Recovery Brunch. We wanted to be able to enjoy Greyleigh for as long as possible so we threw a recovery brunch using a few of our favourite local vendors including a Coffee Cart, which was one of the BEST purchases of the entire weekend… Coffee was needed. Brent playing cricket with the boys, the kids fed the neighbouring farm animals and it was such a relaxing morning and the perfect way to wind down after the wedding.

What advice would you tell other brides?

The best advice I could give other brides would be to ignore everyone else’s feelings and opinions. This is your day, your dress, your vision. It is very easy to get overwhelmed when making so many decisions and it is easy to be swayed by the many friends and family members that will have strong opinions about every little detail. Take your time. Once you have decided on something and are completely happy with that decision, move on and don’t look back. Trust yourself. It will be an amazing day no matter what the weather may be. Little things will go wrong, it is inevitable, but there are so many moving parts to a wedding and believe me, your time is better spent having fun and enjoying this day of love! Enjoy your day… it flies faster than Superman!

Any standout vendors?

Being a bridal Hair and Makeup artist, I had a list of vendors before I was even engaged! This is the dream team that I chose:
– Photography: The Evoke Company, based in Kiama. The most fun people to have by your side and their work speaks for itself.
– Videography: Phamily Productions. Calvin is such a pro, nothing else has to be said. Such a calm presence! Just what I needed on my day!
– Makeup: Stephanie K makeup. I’ve worked alongside Stephanie at a few weddings and seeing her work in person and on camera, I knew I wanted her doing my makeup as soon as we booked a date!
– Hair styling: christine.azzopardi Hair & Makeup stylist, although people advised me not to, I do not regret styling hair on my wedding day. I am a perfectionist after all, I could not leave that to someone else. Hair stying will always be my first love.
– Catering:
After our ceremony we wanted everyone to relax and enjoy the day so we chose Il Nidos pizza truck to serve woodfire pizzas and arancini balls as our canapes, whilst we played lawn games and mingled.
We really wanted a banquet style dinner, everyone sharing food and conversation over warm candlelight. We chose 2 Smoking Barrels, an American BBQ food truck to cater our wedding and it was DELISH!
– Drinks: Alongside the yummy food, Henry Clive Bar provided amazing cocktails and service. Their Salted caramel Espresso martini was a huge hit!
– Venue: Greyleigh Kiama. You will not find a more STUNNING piece of earth. Just you wait till you see a picture of this place and the staff are incredible!