From 350 guests to two witnesses: Shepparton couple says ‘I do’ in whirlwind ceremony
For two years, Shepparton's Daniela Posteraro and Adam Rando have been dreaming of their wedding day.
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Set for Saturday, March 28, every detail - from the dress to the flowers to the reception venue for their 350 guests - was planned to perfection.
They just didn't bargain on a pandemic sweeping the globe.
But if there's one thing Daniela and Adam are, it's persistent.
Because not one of the revolving door of new public gathering restrictions could stop them from getting married last week.
“When you become husband and wife, you start your life together,” Daniela said.
“We have been waiting so long to be married. And with all this craziness going on around us, we wanted to be together.
“Especially as we're not sure how long these restrictions are going to last.”
Daniela and Adam have been dating for five years and engaged for two, having long ago set their wedding date for Saturday.
But their plans began to unravel two weeks before the wedding after Adam returned from his bucks party in Bali.
“I got home just before the 14-day self-isolation rules came in,” Adam said.
“A couple of days later, they announced social gatherings of more than 100 people were banned.”
Still adamant they wanted to get married, they decided to cancel their initial venue at the GV Hotel.
“They were really good, they gave us a full refund which is so appreciated,” Adam said.
“Companies we used from Melbourne have been a lot less helpful.”
Adam and Daniela decided to move their wedding to The Woolshed at Emerald Bank, where they could comfortably seat 100 guests while maintaining the cap of one person per four square metres.
They then faced the tough task of calling their guests, shaving the list from 350 to just 100.
“It took an entire day to call everyone. Thankfully people were very understanding,” Daniela said.
But as restrictions continued to tighten, the couple had to face more drastic changes.
“The next day the government placed further rules around gatherings, but council said we could still do a gathering on a private property,” Daniela said.
“Both our families have farms, so we decided to go for my place.
“We hired a marquee from GV Party Hire and asked Woolshed executive chef Angela Mangiameli to cater.
“Then they brought in new restrictions that outdoor gatherings should be limited to 10 people.
“We were like ‘oh my god, seriously?’ But we still wanted to get married.”
On late Tuesday, March 24, the final blow was dealt when the Federal Government announced weddings would be limited to just the couple, celebrant and two witnesses.
“We had to decide then and there whether we'd postpone or go ahead with it,” Adam said.
“We wanted (former Shepparton priest) Father Rob Galea to marry us. We'd planned our wedding around a date that would suit him.
“So we called him and told him what was going on and he said, ‘I'm free 5.15 this afternoon. I've got the paperwork - let's get you married'.”
With only three hours until the wedding, the couple scrambled to get ready - or, in Adam's case, chuck on some chinos and a top.
“I texted my brother Jacob who was at work and said to him, ‘Be home in an hour, I'm getting married’," he said.
“We took about five minutes.”
Daniela was in the garden helping her mum when she got the call.
“I was a bit beside myself,” she said.
“I raced inside and was like, ‘I don't know what to wear'. And my three younger sisters were all around me trying to suggest things. It was chaos.
“In the end I found a white dress in my cupboard I forgot I had.
“I decided not to wear my wedding dress. So much time and thought had gone into it, I didn't want to wear it for five minutes and for it to not be special.
“I was also going to pick some flowers from the garden for a bouquet but there just wasn't time.”
The couple was married at St Brendan's in a swift 20-minute ceremony.
“Fr Galea said he had nine weddings booked in, but out of the nine, we were the most persistent,” Daniela said with a laugh.
“We just didn't give up.”
Afterwards, the newlyweds had a quiet barbecue with their respective immediate families.
Daniela admitted her parents were still in a bit of shock over the whirlwind wedding.
“Dad really wanted to walk me down the aisle,” she said.
“We'll still do a proper church wedding later on down the track so all our family and friends can celebrate with us.”
While they admit their wedding day wasn't quite what they'd imagined, Daniela and Adam wouldn't change a thing.
“We're just so happy we are finally married,” Daniela said.