True romantic … Sydenham resident Candice Schkurat spends most of her days making brides’ dreams come true. 57462 Picture: SARAH MATRAY
By Natalie Gallenti
LIKE most four-year-old girls, Candice Schkurat dreamed of being a princess and finding her prince charming.
She spent hours in front of the television spellbound by romantic Disney movies where the lowly maiden always found her knight in shining armour who would rescue her with true love’s kiss.
And it was then that the romantic knew she wanted to live in a world filled with white tulle, bouquets of roses and sparkling tiaras.
Now 26, Ms Schkurat fulfils the dreams of brides-to-be, as a wedding planner.
The Sydenham resident recalled the moment she first realised this was the job for her.
“I was four years old and my kindergarten teacher told us she was getting married,” she said.
She remembers watching her teacher walk down the aisle and knew from that moment that was the life for her.
“I would even marry friends at primary school in the playground.”
At only 24 and with a host of degrees and diplomas under her belt, Ms Schkurat opened her own business – ‘Mackenzi Creations’ and now spends her days catering to a brides every whim and ensuring every couple enjoys a magical wedding day.
Ms Schkurat has planned more than 200 weddings and is the exclusive planner of the Park Hyatt in Melbourne.
“Every single wedding I do, I get uber-excited.
“Every single client is different and has different ideas of what they want.
“It’s all about seeing the sparkle in the girls’ eyes and knowing that what they’ve dreamt of is going to come true.”
Ms Schkurat said she gets butterflies every time she fixes the brides’ dress just before she takes that first step down the aisle and almost cries when she sees the couples’ first embrace as husband and wife.
When asked if her job was anything like the role Jennifer Lopez played in the romantic chick flick ‘The Wedding Planner’, she laughed.
“It’s exactly like that. Carrying around emergency kits, picking flowers, tasting cakes, running from pillar to pillar making sure everything is ok.”
And what about when her special day arrives?
“I’ve had it all planned since I was 10. I just need to insert the groom.”
