Smoke and mirrors proposal leads to classic wedding

Dress ups are what Gabriella Bellissimo does best, but boyfriend Robert Alvaro used her super power against her when popping the big question.

The pair, both aged 26, met as 19-year-olds at an 18th birthday party where Gabriella was dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow with dreadlocks and moustache to-boot. “He spent his night with a beer in hand, laughing and making ‘I bet that’s a girl’ jokes,” smiles Gabriella. Two months later they had a blind date and it was on.

Besides enjoying a dress-up party, Gabriella entertains children, often as a clown. So Roberto, a finance analyst, figured he’d lure her to a surprise proposal, posing as a customer booking a child’s party. “As I got closer to where the party was supposed to be in a park, I saw him beside a gorgeous river,” explains Gabriella. “What are you doing here?” led to “Where’s the kids?” and shortly after, her confusion turned to elation as Roberto got down on bended knee with a dazzling sapphire. “Of course!” she responded.

The couple married at their classic wedding on July 12, 2015. The ceremony at Saint Joseph’s Moorebank was followed by a reception at Curzon Hall, Marsfield, NSW. Gabriella wore a Pronovias gown which was the eighth dress she tried on. “I knew it was the one when I danced around the store not wanting to get out of it,” she says.

Photos courtesy of Yasmine Parker Photography.