Sophie Falkiner had been single for nine years when she met a confident and handsome man with a “twinkle in his eye” who instantly charmed her with his unabashed love and affection for his family.
That chance meeting three years ago changed everything for Steve, 59, and Sophie, 50, with the former Wheel Of Fortune star revealing that within a month, she had fallen hopelessly in love.
THE MOMENT SHE KNEW
When Steve rushed to be by her side in hospital after she fell and broke three bones in her wrist and her coccyx and ended up staying for three days to help nurse her, Sophie knew she’d found the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
“That’s the moment I fell in love,” Sophie tells Woman’s Day in an exclusive interview after their beautiful afternoon garden wedding on the waterfront at Church Point on Sydney’s Northern Beaches last week.
“The ceremony and vows were incredibly meaningful. All my family and friends were crying. Having both my kids stand up there with Steve with all the beautiful flowers on a picture-perfect day made for something out of a fairytale.”
Sophie’s daughter, Bella, 19, was her maid of honour and her son Jack, 15, was Steve’s best man and Bella later delivered a poignant and touching tribute to Sophie and Steve at the reception at the stunning Pasadena restaurant.
“I did cry in my daughter’s speech because it was everything a mother wants to hear after going through all the teenage years,” admits Sophie. “It’s something I will never forget. There wasn’t a dry eye in the whole room!”
AN EMOTIONAL DAY
Steve, who proved to be quite the romantic when he proposed to Sophie with an oval-shaped diamond on a deserted beach last year, was overcome with emotion when Sophie walked down the aisle to an acoustic version of Simply The Best.
“Sophie took my breath away the first time I saw her in her stunning dress,” he says, explaining that superstitious Sophie banished him from their Northern Beaches home the night before the
fairytale wedding.
“When I reflect on it, I don’t think we’d change a thing. It was everything we wanted. Life’s short and it’s a blessing and you really have to enjoy your time, and Sophie and I have already created so many great memories together.”
Sophie, who is now a television presenter on Sydney Weekender, wowed the 130 wedding guests who flew in from around the country and from the UK, America and New Zealand with the show stopping wedding gown designed by celebrity favourite, Steven Khalil.
“I really didn’t want a typical bride dress. I wanted something that was more old Hollywood glamour,” explains Sophie, who was introduced to guests as Mrs Wood by close friend, actress Erica Heynatz, who also sang at the reception.
Sophie spent months working with Steven to create a gown with a strapless, corseted bodice decorated with art deco beadwork and a Grecian-style skirt with a big split and a glamorous long train.
“I did have a long veil, which I wore for the ceremony, but midway through the ceremony it flew off my head like a scene out of Mary Poppins!”
Steve presented Sophie with two diamond bands when they exchanged vows, promising to make each other smile and laugh every day and remain lovers, confidants and companions to the end of their days.
“Our wedding was filled with so much love and happiness,” beams Sophie.
