Brittney Found The Dress @ The Dress!

Brittney found The Dress @ The Dress to wear for her 2011 Labor Day weekend wedding to her husband Chris. The couple met at work and the rest is history! Chris proposed on the beautiful Hawksnest Beach in St. John.  "He had a little speech prepared, which began by him asking me how long I wanted to travel with him for.  I thought he was asking me how many days I wanted to be on vacation with him, in a row.  Of course, that was not the case.  He wanted me to say “forever!”, so he could follow up with saying he wanted to travel with me forever, and continue on with his speech.  My confusion caused a funny hiccup, but he kept at it anyway, and after a few seconds of trying to process everything that he said (and thinking in my head that he had the sweetest, most sincere look on his face at that moment), I of course said 'Yes!'."

Brittney and Chris love the fall, and since the ceremony was outside, they thought September would be one of the safest months’ weather wise.  "We were picturing a sunny day with a cool breeze.  It ended up to be about 95 degrees and sunny that day.  The poor groomsmen were extremely hot standing up near the altar, directly under the sun.  But no one complained and the guests danced through the heat.  To this day, whenever I mention it being hot, people that attended say they don’t even remember the heat; they were busy having too much fun!"

The couple chose Galleria Marchetti for the ceremony and reception for their 175 guests. It was the last place they looked at.  Right away, they felt like it was the right fit. "The space for a ceremony was beautiful and garden like. The cocktail area was hosted on the darling patio, right next to the ceremony spot.  The reception area was under a great big tent next to the patio."  They loved that it was all in one spot, so guests wouldn’t have to worry about traveling from the ceremony to the reception.  They could just move seamlessly from one place to the next.  "Chris and I are also self-proclaimed foodie’s, so the meal was an important factor for us, and they did it right.  All in all, it’s a place that’s in the heart of the city, but it feels tucked away somehow in this romantic, garden setting."

Brittney chose a gorgeous lace gown called Paris. It was designed by Amy Kuschel and was handmade with love at her studio in San Franscisco. The hem had a tightly gathered tulle ruffle just peaking out from under the skirt and really gave the skirt a vintage look. It was the very first dress she tried on. "I knew from the beginning that I wanted a dress with lace. 
With an outdoor wedding in mind, I felt that lace matched the idea of the style of wedding we wanted.  I was open to vintage and classic looks.  I loved everything about it, from the detail in the French Chantilly lace, to the cap sleeves, to the hemline.  I kept trying on others for good measure, but my mind kept coming back to Paris." Brittney says, "It was one of those 'when you know, you know' moments.  It just felt right.  Amy Kuschel also sent me a signed sketch of the dress, which was such a nice keepsake." One of the perks to ordering her gown during a trunk show weekend. "As far as where I purchased, I liked how The Dress By Nicole was an intimate shop.  It didn’t feel like you were one in hundreds of brides being shuffled around."

Her bridesmaids wore short navy dresses with white wedge heels. Brittney chose dark navy blue, apple green, ivory and hints or gold as their wedding colors. They wanted to stay away from flashy colors, and stick with a “simple elegance” theme.

Her advice for other brides with their planning is that you should try to focus on one task at a time.  Getting the ceremony spot/church and reception site planned is the first big step, and major weight off your shoulders once reserved.  "After that, commit to the next task, and do your research and see it through until it’s booked.  If you’re looking at multiple vendors for each item (flowers, linens, transportation, hotels), keep a spreadsheet of information such as the vendor contact information, pricing, and any relevant notes.  It gets overwhelming to try and go back and find information in a sea of emails.  Also, most hotels require that your guests book a percentage of the amount of rooms you reserve.  So, try not to overestimate how many rooms you’ll need, or you might be shelling out cash for unreserved rooms.  On the other hand, you don’t want to greatly underestimate, and have the rooms booked up with many guests left that aren’t able to take advantage of the special room rate, or having to stay at another hotel all together.  I kept in contact with my two hotels and reserved more rooms when we were nearing zero rooms remaining."

Brittney's advice for brides on their actual wedding day..."A lot of blogs suggested getting a day of wedding planner.  Since we had an employee at Galleria Marchetti that was going to be there the whole time, I thought I could do without.  Looking back, I think this really would have helped to keep us on track and on time.  We started getting ready so early that morning, but the time really flies, and the trolley we bought to take the bridal party and groomsmen around to take pictures ended up waiting outside our hotel (without me knowing) for an hour.  Not only was not a lot of money wasted, but since we were that late, it cut down on the time we had to take pictures before the ceremony.  The photographer and I had a few spots in the city planned to take pictures, and we weren’t able to hit them because of the time constraints."

Her favorite moment of the day was probably the first look at Chris.  Since we took our pictures before the ceremony, the first look allows the bride and groom some private time to see each-other all dressed up for the first time that day.  "Chris cried! I think I was too overwhelmed to cry, but it was such a happy moment.  It kind of felt like an out of body experience, like the whole day did for me, but it was one I’ll never forget."

Brittney's favorite detail was that her mom bought a ton of mason jars, and filled them with fresh cut Hydrangeas from her parents’ house.  "It was such a cute idea, it looked great, and it was extra special since they came from my mom."

Hawaiian honeymoon in Maui and Kauai

Thank you again Brittney and Chris for sharing your day with us! If you would like to be featured as a bride that found The Dress @ The Dress contact us!