True love bloomed early for Sydney doctor and his glamorous bride

Rafael, a doctor, moved to Sydney in 2008 for a work opportunity and a mutual friend thought he would be a good fit with Claire, who works in fundraising and events at the University of NSW.
Their friend was right. The pair clicked immediately and chatted the night away on their first date in October of 2012 at Bronte, the same beachside suburb where they now live.
“We had a lot of fun together and our families really clicked, too. My two brothers really liked him, which helped, and we wanted the same things — we were moving in the same direction,” Claire, 31, says.
“We dated for a while. I moved in with him a month before we went on a safari in South Africa in December, 2013. My lease was expiring, so it wasn’t hard to convince me to move to Bronte.”
Rafael encouraged Claire’s mum, dad and two brothers to join them on their African adventure, promising to be the best tour guide they’d ever had.
“It was quite special as I got to meet his family too, especially his mum, who sadly passed away a few months later from breast cancer.
“So we went on safari and on one of those days Rafael and I got up at 5am and he took me to a famous lookout called God’s Window. When we got to the top of the lookout, Rafael nervously started mumbling. He then got down on one knee, which was almost cut from the rock, and he proposed.
 “It was just beautiful. And he had organised a big breakfast with my family at the lodge (where we were staying), and then went to Cape Town to celebrate again with his family — it was really special.”
Just over a year later they were married in front of 120 friends and family at Dunbar House at Watsons Bay.
“It was perfect,” Claire says. “It was the day of the state election and was forecast to be the worst weather, but it was 25 degrees and sunny, not a cloud in the sky.
“The whole day was really special. We had guests from overseas, including Rafael’s dad who I hadn’t met when we went to South Africa because he is a doctor on a cruise ship and was away — so that was special.”
The couple’s colour scheme for the day was big and bold and bright, featuring vibrant plums and fuchsias and accentuating an old Hollywood glamour theme that Claire had planned.
“We had really colourful flowers and bridesmaid dresses, and we injected some Polish and South African traditions into the day, which was really nice. In Polish tradition, people yell out ‘gorzki’, which means ‘bitter’. So when something is bitter, you have to make it sweet and kiss — so that kept happening all though the night (guests yelling out gorzki), which was fun,” she laughs.
“Rafael’s best friend came from South Africa and brought us these traditional fur hats, and guests were given little jars of tea as gifts labelled ‘Claire and Rafael, a perfect blend’ — it was a really great day.”
After honeymooning in Tasmania for a week the newlyweds happily discovered they were pregnant, with their baby due on Christmas Day.
“It’s really exciting, we are just getting everything organised and ready for baby’s arrival,” Claire says.
“It is my parents’ first grandchild, too, which makes this extra special for everyone.”