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Saturday, March 28, 2015

Wedding of the week: A chance meeting and dance leads to love



JOANNE COSTANZO and GEOFF SNELLGROVE

Dress: Rhonda Hemmingway Couture dress with beaded French ivory lace
Honeymoon: Being planned for Mexico, Cuba and the US
When and where married: La Perouse National Park and NSW Golf Club on November 22, 2014
THE first words Geoff Snellgrove exchanged with Joanne Costanzo were “would you like to dance?” — fitting for the 44-year-old Italian, who grew up dancing with her father and taking ballroom dancing lessons in her teenage years.
It had been a hard day for Joanne.
It was eight years ago, and she had driven her friend to Kiama after her father had a heart attack.
They drove from hospital to home and, too tired to drive back to Sydney, they pulled into a hotel for the night and fatefully decided on a drink after a long day.
“I entertained my friend’s unstoppable words of advice to talk to all men — because she thought I hadn’t met ‘the one’ since I didn’t talk to enough men, so, because of circumstance, I talked to all who ­approached and being two out-of-towners in a local, a lot ­approached,” Joanne recalls.
“Eventually I asked her if I could stop talking to people, and said ‘by the way, that one over there is the only one I’d be interested in’.
“To change pace in the night, I got her dancing.
“When I went to the bathroom Geoff approached my friend and asked if I’d be likely to dance with him, to which she said you should ask her yourself — he did when I ­returned and, to this day, we love to dance together.”

CROSSING PATHS

Geoff, a 43-year-old project manager, grew up in The Shire while Joanne grew up in Queensland, but the pair both lived in Kings Cross for a period and had many “near misses” before they met in Kiama.
“We both holidayed at Christmas at Tweed Heads as children,” Joanne says.
“I met a good-looking, kind and gentle police officer near El-Alamein fountain in Kings Cross when I lived there, but the uniform put me off talking to him any longer than necessary. He did check I was OK walking home — I’m sure now that it was Geoff.
“We both spent many of the same years in the Cross without knowing each other.
“We have similar values that have come from our similar ­upbringings and past.”



They were soon inseparable and with five children between them, quickly became one family, including Jade, 16, ­Kiahne, 15, Mason, 11, and the couple’s children together, Scarlett, 6, and Lawson, 3.

“Geoff proposed in Vietnam and was waiting for St Joseph’s Cathedral Hanoi bells to ring to do it,” she says.
“Geoff knew I loved Paris — the cathedral was built to replicate many ­aspects of Notre Dame.
“The bells didn’t ring when they were scheduled, so he delayed and extended his speech, so much so I didn’t know Geoff was proposing until he got down on one knee. After he finished, the bells finally rang — the timing was perfect.”


KISSES ON DEMAND


The pair was married at La Perouse National Park, overlooking the heads, on November 22, with a reception for 70 people at NSW Golf Club, La Perouse.
“Fresh flowers were a big part of the wedding,” Joanne says.
“I did all the flowers at the reception in crystal and cut-glass vases.
“We spent hours in op shops getting beautiful pieces — which was a tribute to my great-aunt, who I used to watch in her florist shop.
“With Italian heritage there were small Italian touches.
“We placed a crystal bell on each table so the guests didn’t break the Golf Club Riedel glasses by hitting them constantly with forks.
“The children loved ringing the bells and having their parents kiss on demand.
“Food is important to me as I am a food consultant, so NSW Golf Club was accommodating and helped deliver a great five-course meal.
“So many people commented on the food and how relaxed and joyous the day was.
“They enjoyed how comfortable the surroundings were and that the meal exceeded ­expectations.”
The Sandringham couple did a proper bridal waltz as their first dance to Can I Have This Dance to honour Geoff’s first words to Joanne.
“My dress had an 8m-long flyaway train, ­designed to be a metre long for every year Geoff and I have been committed to each other,” she says.
“This evolved from the Italian tradition of the train being one foot for each year of ­engagement — and although Rhonda commented not even princesses have trains that long, she happily designed and made it for me.”


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