Real Bride

#EnzoaniRealBride: Sophie & Naveen

17th June 2022 | An International Love

Tell us your love story...

"It was 2016 when myself and Naveen first met on the beautiful island of Ibiza. I had travelled from the UK with a friend for a week of sunshine whilst Naveen being from Australia was on a 2 month trip travelling Europe with friends. We had a great time together on the island, but both realistically felt with the distance at the end of the holiday it was unlikely that we would ever see each other again. Despite feeling this way, we couldn’t help but stay in contact; we began talking every day which led to us meeting up again 6 weeks later in Malaysia and then another 8 weeks after that in Thailand! We had become inseperable.

3 months later, I moved to Australia were we lived happily together enjoying spending time outdoors and at the beach. Naveen’s proposal was just amazing. We were spending the day on Rottnest Island, a gorgeous island just a ferry journey away from Perth. He had arranged a scenic flight for us to take in the breathingtaking views of the island from above. It was on the plane he popped the question. It was a tiny plane so no space to get down on one knee, but he sat beside me and proposed with the most beautiful ring. I was in so much shock, I felt like I was in a movie.

Due to visa reasons, I then returned to the UK just before the pandemic. The plan was to be apart only for a short while to organise a new, more permanent visa, and then along came Covid. So a short while turned into 758 days being apart due to Australia’s strict border closure. It was incredibly tough on our relationship and we are still unsure now how we managed to get through over 2 years without each other. We were both fortunate to be working during the pandemic, I was nursing for the NHS and Naveen was working at a mine site so we believe this helped to keep us busy. It was also tough on our friends and family to watch us go through this difficult time. But in February 2022, Perth finally opened its borders and Naveen landed in London – It felt like a lifetime that I had been waiting for this day, I was so emotional, I burst into floods of tears the moment he walked through the arrivals gate at Heathrow. We then had the most amazing time together, making up for the past 2 years. Our wedding had originally been booked for June 2021, but with the border closure, we moved this to June 2022. After a rubbish couple of years, we felt a well deserved holiday was needed for many, so we choose Greece as our wedding destination where we were joined by our nearest and dearest. Greece was also the first time our families were meeting! We had a magical day and it was definitely worth the wait. Our next chapter is going to involve me heading back out to Australia where we are planning to buy a home together."

Blue by Enzoani Wedding Dress | MALIA

Tell us about your wedding dress...

"Malia was the one for me! Mermaid gowns are what caught my eye when I began wedding dress shopping as I felt they complimented my figure well. I absolutely loved Lesley and Lena and went away to think about these dresses, but I had a little inkling that they weren’t quite what I was looking for. I spent a long time looking and one evening discovered Malia. I just knew this was the dress I had been looking for. I found a shop close to me that sold the dress and was so excited to try it on. I absolutely loved the fact the dress was unlined at the top, this was different to what I'd previously tried on, and I felt this really made the floral lace stand out. I also loved how the floral lace around the top was then followed by more plain material and then continued with more lace again around the bottom. The low back was perfect for the down hairstyle I was planning and the large floral train made me feel like a princess."

Blue by Enzoani Wedding Dress | MALIA

What was the most memorable part of your wedding day?

"It’s got to be the end of Naveen's speech. The preparation and arrangements for our wedding were all made by myself and my amazing wedding planner, Agata. Naveen sat back relaxed and left us to it. Knowing people were travelling so far and wide to Greece for our special day put a huge amount of pressure and stress on me to make sure it all went smoothly. At times I felt Naveen didn’t really understand or appreciate the amount of work I was doing to make our abroad wedding day come together ...... but I was wrong. He surprised me at the end of his speech by not only acknowledging the hard work I had put into the day but thanking me for all my efforts and expressing how grateful he was and how happy he was with my choices. It was really heartwarming and meant a lot for me to hear this from him. I smothered him in kisses afterwards which our photographer happened to capture!"

Blue by Enzoani Wedding Dress | MALIA