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Constance Gomez-Poulin and Nick Smith tied the knot in a romantic garden wedding hosted at Bowral’s Hopewood House on October 28, 2017. Wedding photographer: Zoe Morley Photography

Doctor Constance Gomez-Poulin met the love of her life, Sydney Swans player Nick Smith, at a friend’s son’s first birthday party in 2014. Two years later, the footballer popped the question while the pair were holidaying in Spain.

“My family is from Spain so we went on holidays and stayed with my grandmother,” Constance tells Vogue. “The morning of the proposal, Nick asked my grandmother if he could marry me in his broken Spanish. He attempted to say “with your permission I would like to marry Constance, it’s a secret.” Instead, he said “with your permission I would like to close Constance, it’s sacred.” Needless to say my grandmother was very confused.”

“That evening we went for a walk to a small beach I have been going to my whole life. It was dusk and the beach was deserted,” she recalls of the memorable occasion. “He dropped the knee and proposed.”

Constance and Nick tied the knot in an elegant, romantic wedding ceremony organised sans wedding planner on October 28, 2017. “We didn’t realise until later it was exactly one year after Nick proposed,” says the bride. The pair chose to host their nuptials at Hopewood House—“It was timeless, elegant, intimate, and had the most stunning gardens.”

When quizzed on the moment she knew Nick was the man she was going to marry, Constance shares: “I knew Nick was the one after watching him interact with his friends and family, and saw how kindly, humbly and respectfully Nick treats everyone he comes across.” As for Nick, his response was simple. “When you know, you know,” he told Vogue.

On her big day, the bride wore a Moira Hughes gown paired with Tony Bianco shoes. “Initially I wanted something very simple but one of my bridesmaids convinced me that this would probably be the only time in my life to wear an elaborate dress,” says Constance. “I took her advice and found some really beautiful dresses, but they all felt very heavy and uncomfortable. Then I went to Moira Hughes and loved the space, the designs and Moira’s expertise. I picked my dress because I loved it, but it was also a perfect mix of bridal and comfortable.”

When asked what the most memorable part of the day was, Constance recalls the moment she saw Nick at the altar as a moment she won't she won't forget: “watching Nick’s face as I walked up the aisle and listening to Nick painstakingly give part of his speech in Spanish so that my Spanish family could understand,” she responds.

Following their wedding, the pair jetted off to Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas, took off to Kenya on safari, and then landed in the Seychelles for a break by the beach. “Everyone tells you how special your wedding day is, but I didn’t quite understand how significant the day was until after,” Constance tells Vogue. Scroll through to see more moments from their special day.