Connie & Rafael celebrate their classic wedding with a bang

A near-explosion meant the bride was 30 minutes late for her own wedding, but Connie Kokiousis and Rafael Salinas were thankfully married without any further dramas.

Just as the Adelaide bride, 24, was about to leave for her ceremony on January 11, 2014, the wedding car back-fired and the bonnet burst into flames.

“I had to jump out of the back seat with my dad because we thought it was going to blow up!” recalls Connie, of the car borrowed from friends. “There was a line of cars stopped in the middle of the road rushing to try and help put the fire out while the fire brigade was on its way.”

Trying to stay calm, Connie and her bridesmaids got into her dad’s GT and made it to Al-Ru Farm at One Tree Hill – albeit fashionably late.

A year before the classic wedding with 170 guests came a humble proposal from Rafael. He and Connie had just bought their first apartment together. After picking up the keys, a trail of roses in their new home led Connie to the big question.

“The last note was in our bedroom closet; it said ‘I love you, please turn around’,” smiles Connie. “When I turned around Raf was on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was in complete shock and stood smiling, speechless!”

“I knew what type of dress I wanted the girls to wear so I got their dresses made because I knew I wouldn’t be able to find exactly what I wanted at a store,” says Connie.

“Al-Ru Farm feels very peaceful,” Connie says of their ceremony venue.

Connie chose her dress from a piece of French lace. “It was so elegant and sophisticated but at the same time full of so many beautiful Swarovski jewels and pearls in little intricate clusters.”

“As the Crowne Plaza was a modern blank canvas, we really wanted to jazz it up a bit,” says Connie.

Photos courtesy of Black Duck Photography.