Being in the wedding industry, we love to start the week with some sweet love stories, and no other story starts off quite as sweet as the story of Emma and Anthony.
This young couple’s special connection started at an ‘under 18’s’ dance party… nine months later (no not that…) they were dating. Emma says that it is now 10 years on and “our love gets stronger each day because we are each other’s best friends.” Awwww…….
This is their story…
How is this for a proposal story:
We got engaged in 2008 around the time we were looking for our first house. We had decided it was important to get our own dog for our new home and despite still looking at real estate, Anthony declared he had found the perfect puppy for us at a pet rescue in Newport – only catch was we had to go that night to pick it up. After he asked my dad a “quick question”, we headed to the northern beaches, but as we were travelling Anthony got a call from the pet rescue informing us they had an emergency and had to close early for the night. Since we had already driven to the area, I suggested we take a nice beach stroll along our favourite summer hangout, Palm Beach. This was all too convenient for Anthony’s plan, because as we arrived I discovered the pathway to the beach was alight with lanterns. As we walked down the path, Anthony pointed out a picnic blanket, waiting with Moet et chandon and strawberries. He dashed over to it and before I knew it, he was down on one knee!
At 25 and 27, we are a young couple and we wanted our wedding day to reflect our happy, easy-going personalities. Everything we selected could be described as modern, elegant and stylish – we wanted the atmosphere to be glamorous yet comfortable enough for our guests to party!
Sidestepping what we considered was a ‘predictable look’, both Anthony and I opted for elegantly simplistic, classic styles in ivory, which were tailored with a modern edge.
For me, the key feature was a bow sash at the waist of a custom made antique silk princess ball gown. The bow sparkled with clear and golden shadow Swarovski crystals. The beading was done by Grand Jewellery By Design, which also made my clear and golden shadow Swarovski crystal bracelet and the bridesmaids’ bracelets. The golden shadow crystal earrings were from the Swarovski store. The hair piece was also made from clear and golden shadow Swarovski crystals. The dress was from Jean Fox, but was created using different dress designs and requested adjustments. My inspiration was a mix of modern styles and elegant cuts. I knew I wanted a sweetheart neckline, and I extended the bodice to create more shape in my figure. For the skirt of the dress I wanted the shape to be like a princess ball gown with a small train, but still modern. I was also inspired by many bridal magazines, and made my own wedding scrapbook with all my favourite styles and images.
The bridesmaids’ wore a shimmering deep blue tailored dress from Veronika Maine, matched with silver, clear crystal and pearl accessories.
To add some romance to the look, the girls’ hairstyles were created with soft curls pulled to the side and secured with crystal and pearl haircombs. They also wore stoneset crystal earrings and pearl and clear crystal bracelets. The bridesmaids’ peeptoe shoes featured bows to complement the bride.
Anthony wasn’t interested in the traditional three piece suit. He has always had a sharp sense of style and the wedding was an opportunity to show this off. He opted for a suit from one of his favourite labels, Industrie. Its satin-piped lapel was set off by a wing collared ivory shirt, textured ivory tie and playful black suspenders. The groomsmen wore matching suits with silver ties.
The reception centre has a modern grey marble look, which fitted in well with our main colours of silver, blue, ivory and fuschia. We used topiary trees with fairy lights and scalloping organza table cloths to highlight the main table and cake table.
The table settings were clear crystal candelabras, which sat on mirrors scattered with blue and clear crystals.
A long and low floral centrepiece decorated the centre of the main table. This was made up of a variety of flowers in softer shades of blue, pink and ivory, including sweetpeas, one of my grandmother’s favourites.
Despite the rain, we didn’t let it dampen our spirits for what turned out to be a truly romantic and special time in our lives.
One of our best memories is our bridal waltz. We chose to dance to our favourite song that was very popular around the time Anthony proposed at Palm Beach. The song was called ‘Dream Catch Me’ by Newton Faulkner and we created our own dance with the help of the ‘Ultimate Wedding Dance DVD Take The Floor’ (it features two of Australia’s top dancers from Dancing with the Stars). Our dance included a terrific lift that had our guests in tears!
It was also a very special day personally for me with my dad – it was so nice to hear the wonderful words of support he offered to us! The whole process made us feel closer to our families than ever. They were all incredibly supportive and helpful, especially our mothers Paulina and Marina. We also had a lot of assistance from friends.
Anthony particularly enjoyed the removal of the garter. He created a routine to Jimmy Henderix’s ‘Foxy Lady’, which was inspired by Wayne’s World.
Bride and Groom: Emma and Anthony Napoli
Ceremony: St Finbar’s Catholic Church, Glenbrook (Blue Mountains)
Reception: Dockside Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour.
Photography: Nicole from Two Birds Photography
Wedding gown: Jean Fox – altered, with beading by Grand Jewellery by Design.
Bridesmaids: Deep Blue tailored dress from Veronika Maine.
Groomsmen: Industrie.
Flowers: Floral Artistic Designs, Castle Hill.
Decorations: Events by Nadia
Cake: Van Maes – Chocolate and vanilla marble swirl mudcake.
Honeymmon: Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.
Congratulations to Emma and Anthony, we wish you all the best for a wonderful future together.
Happy Monday Modern Wedding brides.
Remember there is less than 2 weeks to get your entries in to win your bridal gown!
Swing by our Facebook or Twitter to say hi!
K xx