Victoria & Justin
April 2, 2023
Victoria wore Style 1079 with sleeves from the Demetrios Collection
How did you meet your spouse?
Justin and I met on the dating app Bumble. We actually have a running joke about the moment we "swiped right", as initially when I joined the app, being a tall woman of 5"10, I had set a filter on my app to only see men that were 6"2 or taller. One day I decided to lower my restrictions to 6"0 and he managed to sneak in haha! He was very polite and a great conversationalist. He asked to take me out on a date and the rest was history.
Tell us about your proposal
17 is my family's lucky number and has followed us all forever. Like fate, I met my husband on the 17th of the month. Naturally, my husband chose the 17th to propose. At the time, we were building our first home by the beach in San Remo. It was a big adventure and change for us both, as we had both lived in Melbourne for so long. He booked a mid-week get away for us down on Phillip Island, and explained that with the hectic build going on, he just wanted to do something special for us. He took me out to the Fig & Olive, the most beautiful steak restaurant where we shared an amazing meal. After dinner, he told me he had organised a surprise dessert. We drove out to a secluded beach in Ventnor just as the sun was about to set. Out on the beach, there was a beautiful afghan rug, with fairy lights, electric tea light candles, a miniature picnic table with champagne, roses and chocolate. He got down on one knee and told me how much he loved me and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. After I said yes, out came my best friends, the girls who later became my bridesmaids, emerging from the shubbery that they'd been hiding in, capturing our moment. All girls had travelled well over an hour to come and help Justin set everything up and it was so magical!
Tell us about your wedding dress. How was your experience when you were searching for "The One"?
I always wanted to get married in a long sleeve dress. I loved the look of vintage dresses and was into that "Grace Kelly" kind of look. After a little searching online, I started to love the way the blush dresses looked, and was hoping to find something that encapsulated all of these elements. The first day I went into Sposa I had seen them online, but didn't actually have an appointment. I was visiting my sister in Glen Iris and told her I'd seen the store nearby her house online. She suggested we pop in and have a browse. Despite not having an appointment, I met Jaz, the most incredible shop assistant I have ever met! She informed me that she had a 15 minute window until her next appointment and we could make it work if I wanted to quickly try something on. The brief was simple - long sleeve, vintage, pink undertones. Jaz pulled out 3 dresses, the first one was an EXACT match! Quicker than the speed of light, we got me in and out of those dresses, but no dress I ever put on was as perfect as that very first dress! I booked appointments at several stores, hunted for a few extra weeks, but I could never get that gown out of my mind. Eventually, Sposa had a floor sale and a replica of the dress I had fallen in love with was on sale, in my size! I booked in with Jaz again and had my very own "say yes to the dress" moment, tears and all. I added the sleeves I loved so much and had Leffy, the most beautiful seamstress, there to help me tailor my dream gown.
Describe a favourite highlight or two from your wedding day.
The highlight of my wedding day was seeing my husband for the first time when I was walking down the aisle. We were both shaking and crying and it was such a special moment for us both. My other highlight was definitely dancing with my father and grandfather. They have both been such influential people in my life and it was beautiful to share that with them. I also loved the photobooth, we had an absolute ball!
Do you have any advice for couples currently planning their wedding?
My only advice is to invest in the memories. We were on the fence with our photobooth and videographer, but including them was the best decision we ever made, as now we have the most sensational memories forever. Remember to just savour the moment. Our day was over so quickly and it goes even faster when you are trying to get around to say hello to 130 guests! Sit back and enjoy it, hopefully, you'll only ever do it once haha!
| Wedding Dress | The Sposa Group Melbourne |
| Venue | Yarra Ranges Estate |
| Photography and Videographer | Single Soul |
| Hair and Make up | Monique Ringeri |
| Florist | Debbie O'Neill Freelance Designs |
| Shoes | Diana Ferrari |
| Cake | Fig & Duck |
| Celebrant | Ray Galea |
| DJ | Music with Memories |
| Photobooth | The Photobooth Girl |
| Bonbonnaire | Caked By Linnu |
