"You can really tell that she just loves weddings and she lives and breathes them," Ms Hall said."She travelled three-and-a-half hours each way, she dressed me, she pressed all the bridesmaids' dresses — she even made sure that my Dad was up to scratch, it really was amazing to have her there [at the wedding].
So with only the memory of the dress in her head, she booked a $600 flight to Moree and an appointment to meet Ms O'Donoghue. "I found the whole thing a once-in-a-lifetime experience to have a piece of couture made by a classically trained seamstress, and the fact she lives on a property in the middle of nowhere just adds to the mystique of it," Ms van der Veen said.
"It was drought when I was having my dress made and it was such a dust bowl out there, but then you step into this room and it's just silk and lace and you just have this magical creature that is Melinda and she just transforms you into this incredible bride."