Dana found the dress @ The Dress for her October 2010 wedding to her husband Greg. They met at the restaurant she was working at, Redstone American
Grill in Oakbrook Terrace. "He would come in every day for lunch, and eat at the
bar. His office was walking distance away. I always thought he was so handsome,
but could never find the right way or time to talk to him. So after months of
agonizing, I said to my mom (who also worked there) 'That is the guy I am
going to marry'. She of course said , 'Well, maybe you should talk to
him first!' 
So one slow Friday, I wrote my phone number down on a piece of
paper and gave it to a server to give to him. He came up to me, said he would
call. That Monday we went on our first
date....the rest is what you might call history! After that we were together
all the time, went on vacation and by that December we had moved into an
apartment together in Oakbrook Terrace. By April, we had moved into our
dream home in Glen Ellyn.
How Greg popped the The question...it happened on December 2nd, 2009. "I
actually knew the proposal was coming. We decided to pick out the ring
together, because as my husband put it 'I don't want you to not like the
ring you will wear for the rest of your life!'. The ring arrived in November, and Greg showed everyone but me. It was almost more fun, wondering when and where it might be.
I kept thinking it would be at dinner, or out, but no...WEEKS went by! I
thought maybe he changed his mind...just kidding!""Then one cold night in December, we were finishing dinner. It was late, and the fire was going and the TV was on and I was putting olive oil away in our pantry. I turned the corner to go back into the kitchen and there he was on one knee, with white ring box in his hand.
I wish I could tell you what he said...but I can't! I just held on to
our counter and tried not to pass out. I was so in love and so excited. He said
some very nice things I am sure, but the most important thing at the end I DO
remember clearly "Dana Marie Mazzuca, will you marry me?" Of course I
said yes and jumped into his arms."
"It may not sound romantic or
crazy, but he accomplished what he set out to do, completely surprise me! And
to me, there was nothing better than that moment being in our home, with our
dogs Bella and Bauer. Now, every time I put Olive Oil away I smile, or when I
look at that spot in the kitchen where he proposed, I smile. It was the perfect
memory to start our lives in what we call our "forever home".
They chose October for the wedding because they didn't want to wait a full year, neither wanted a winter wedding. "Fall seemed perfect. Also, my parents were
married in October, it was the month we met originally, so there was a lot of
meaning in that month."
They chose the Westin for their 200 guests for the ceremony and reception. A hotel was the perfect choice because they had a lot of out-of-town guests including Greg's family from Ohio. "We knew SO many
people were flying in and we wanted a nice location that was close to the
airport and where our guests would not have to worry about rental cars or
traveling. One stop shop! We wanted our guest to feel comfortable. The hotel
had everything, great accommodations, was set right in Yorktown mall
and was only a year old. They were so wonderful and organized that it was
perfect. Our block of rooms was set, each overnight guest had a gift bag
waiting, and we held a brunch there the morning after. Every detail was perfect
and thought out and every dream I had about my wedding, The Westin made come
true. I was very set on not moving during the day. I wanted to get ready and
take pictures and do everything all in one place. Call me a control freak, but
it was orchestrated perfectly."
"Oh my dress....I knew from day one that I wanted a big beautiful ball gown, strapless, sweetheart neckline, satin dress. I always dreamed the bigger and fuller the skirt the better! I started searching for dresses almost right away because I only had 9 months to find, order and alter a dress. What I came to find out, was that ballgown style dresses were very hard to come by. I tried on beautiful dresses, in all styles and of course I loved every minute of it...who doesn't like trying on beautiful gowns?? It was like playing grown up 'dress up'. I always just went with my mom, because I wanted my dress to be a surprise. But as my search continued, I got really frustrated. No one seemed to have what I wanted. I started putting 'wedding dress shops near Glen Ellyn' into Google, since I had just moved there. I had only been to the more well known shops, because that was all I knew. When I Google searched that day The Dress by Nicole came up-and it was just two miles from my house! I browsed the website and the designers and told my mom about it."
"We went in one quiet night. We walked into The Dress and met Nicole and started browsing. I still didn't see what I was looking for, but Nicole pulled a variety of dresses and tried to find what I was looking for. Every single one was beautiful, but I kept saying "not big enough". Nicole was laughing and she told me to hold on-it was like a light bulb went off in her head. She told me she had a dress that I might like in the basement. She wasn't carrying the designer any longer and this was a floor sample in a size 12 (I am a size double zero!) BUT with a hopeful grin she went and got it. She walked upstairs carrying this large garment bag, and I all I saw was gorgeous white satin. So we tried it on and with the help of those handy clips, pulled it all the way back to make it fit me."
"I walked out and looked in the mirror and started crying. This was my dress. It was the only dress that evoked emotion in me like that. It was a deep sweetheart neckline, it was white satin fitted so perfectly in the waist and opened to a ball gown style dress with a train that had the most incredible detail and detail all around the bottom. Nicole asked, 'more poof?' I said, "Yes!' We put a big tool skirt underneath...even more of a ballgown! I was so excited. I didn't want to leave, I stood up on the box and Nicole draped the dress all around me and put the final touch...and long, cathedral style veil with details that matched the beading on my dress perfectly. She had me face the opposite side of the mirror and gave me a mirror so I could look back...and It was perfect. I knew it was THE dress. She told me that she had a big ballgown style dress as well and that if I wanted even MORE poof I could add a hoop skirt (which I did). Sadly, after what felt like all night I took the dress off. I called my Dad right after we left and told him I had found THE DRESS. He was fine with the price, but told me to sleep on it (had it been up to me, I would have bought it right then and there!)"
"We also needed to find a seamstress who could make a size 12 fit a size 0! Nicole was amazing and had Mary Burlingame, a local seamstress in Glen Ellyn, come look at the dress. She assured us she could do it and that was all I needed to hear. I LOVED going for my fittings. At my last fitting, Mary had it so perfectly tailored to my body. It was tight and fitted at the top, down through the waist and then just blossomed into this stunning satin skirt. We poofed it out more with a hoop skirt, and Mary added buttons for an English Style bustle, which made it even more elegant. The final touch were my Christian Louboutin wedding shoes, a gift from my husband. The red bottoms made the all white dress just POP! The whole experience of buying my dress, finding that one, and having so many people at The Dress excited and helpful made the whole process even MORE magical for me. I loved that The Dress by Nicole had a personal touch to it. Sometimes I wish I could do it all over again (with the same guy of course!)"
Dana wanted a simple, and elegant wedding. She chose classic black and white for a few reasons. Truly it was black, white and twinkle lights. "Black and white surrounded by candles gave the reception this amazing old Hollywood feel, which fit my very traditional wedding. My girls had black gowns with white sashes, they carried white bouquets, my junior bridesmaids were in white, mini versions of me and the boys had tuxes in black and white accented with white flowers. The flowers were all white, tall vases with orchids up the middle, dripping with floating candles everywhere. It was stunning, when you walked in, you felt like you were walking into a glamorous movie from the 1950's. It was just an electric feeling when you walked into the room."
Dana's favorite moment of the day was tough to choose only one..."there were SO many great moments. But the one
that sticks in my mind was my grandmother coming up to my bridal suite when I
was getting ready. She had be very sick leading up to the wedding and we were
not even sure she would make it, but she was determined to see her only
grandchild walk down the aisle and she did. When she came through, being
wheeled in by her care taker, it was the only moment I cried. I really worried
all morning about her and to see her there, looking at me, talking to me, telling
me I looked beautiful...well there are no words to do that justice. She meant
the world to me and once she was there and ok, well THAT was my favorite
part. She died just a year later, so I
know in God's hands the timing of our wedding was perfect."
Dana's favorite detail of the wedding was the weekend
that we made out of the wedding. The wedding celebrations really started
Thursday. "We had our rehearsal dinner that night with about 40
people at Carlucci. The next day, my husband hosted a golf
outing with all the guys. That
same day, my bridal party got together and went to Cosmo's in Glen Ellyn for
mani/pedis,/drinks and fun! Then we came back to my house, girls only, and had
a proper girls night, while the boys stayed at the hotel. The next morning the
limo came to take us all to the Westin. While some people do it differently, I
loved the unique idea of making it "wedding weekend" and involving
everyone. This was just as much about us as it was our family, friends and
loved ones."
Dana's advice for other brides is..."TRY not to stress out. Easier said than done. Go to your bookstore and
get The Brides Essential Wedding Planner Deluxe. It is a life saver! It helps
give you timelines and guidelines, even if you don't follow them to a tee. Shop around and NEVER take a first offer, people in the wedding
industry are there to negotiate! Make use of this, I know I did. Most of all, remember this is your day. Other people will offer their
opinion, their input, etc. And they might be hurt if you don't use it. But YOU
are planning YOUR day....so make it essentially YOURS. You can't make everyone happy, but that
doesn't matter, only making yourself and your groom is priority."
Her advice for brides the day of..."don't sweat the small stuff...something will go wrong and remember that
when it does, it will make for a funny story years later. I will pass along the best advice I got from my cousin-she told me to
enjoy every moment, because before I knew it, it would be over. She advised me
at some point to go to the corner of the reception room, and just look
around...at the flowers, the people, the decor, the dancing. To take it all in
and 'take a mental picture'. I did get a chance to do that and it was
one of the best pieces of advice I got." That's great advice from Dana! I also was told to take a mental picture and it's so true!
The couple chose Hawaii for their honeymoon and visited the islands of Maui and Oahu. They left a week after the wedding and said it was just the best way to relax.
Thank you so much Dana and Greg for sharing your beautiful day with us! If you would like to be featured as a bride that found The Dress @ The Dress contact us!
