Woman’s Day Australia – August 26, 2019

40 WD

B

iancaAravenaspent

yearsthinkingshe’d

missedoutonher

dreamsofa wedding

anda baby,butmeetingTroy

Hopkinschangedeverything

forthisbraveyoungwoman

fromNewcastle,NSW.

“Troylovesmeandtouches

meonmyrightarmlovingly,like

it doesn’tmattertohim.This

wastheworstpartofmyburned

bodyforme,sowithhim

acceptingmelikethis,I felt

trulylovedforthefirsttime

inmylife,”shesays.

Bianca,32,hadalmostgiven

uponlovewhenshemet

father-of-twoTroyona dating

sitein2010.

“Hewaslovelyanda burns

survivorhimself,aftera mishap

arounda bonfireputhimin

hospitalwithleginjuries,”she

says,gazinglovinglyather

ruggedlyhandsomenewhusband.

BiancaandTroygavetheir

familyandfriendsthebest

possiblesurprisewhenthey

heldanimpromptuwedding in

Newcastle– afterinviting them

towhattheythoughtwas going

tobeanengagementparty.

TEARS&GIGGLES

“Wehad 16 inourwedding party,

sotheyallknewinadvance, plus

I hadtofessuptointerstate

relativesortheywouldn’t have

come,”saysBianca,whohas

adoptedTroy’ssurname.

“Andofcourse,wecouldn’t

dresstheeightbridesmaids

andeightgroomsmeninthe

sameoutfitsbecausethat would

havegivenit away.Butthe

restofourguestswereblown

awaywhenmymaid-of-honour

toldeveryonetogooutside and

TroyandI werestandingunder

the arbour.”

Many cried tears of joy at

the ceremony, but the quirky

couple had to stifle giggles

when they said “I do” as 35km/h

winds played havoc with

hairstyles, dresses and even

the celebrant’s notes!

“Her paperwork was flapping

around wildly in her hands

during our special ‘handfasting’

[Celtic hand binding] ceremony,”

smiles the new bride.

The newlyweds chose a boho

rustic theme for their nuptials,

using barrels for tables, vintage

chairs, doilies and decorative

milk bottles wrapped in

hessian and adorned with

sunflowers. Bianca wore an

Alexandradress from

Tree of Life and made her

own flower crown, and

their wedding rings

were engraved with,

“Okay, I love you, bye,”

which is how they

finish every phone

call to each other.

Bianca thought

she would never

experience the

joy of her own

wedding after

65 per cent of

her body was

burned in a

teenage prank

that went horribly

wrong on May

11, 2001.

Bianca was in an induced

coma for three months.

Not even strong

winds could blow

their love away!

Real life

Miracle burns survivor Bianca thought no one

could ever love her because of her scarred body