Makayla and Elijah Robledo
The Proposal
Elijah and I first met in middle school but didn’t start dating until 2017. We got engaged at the end of 2020, on a bridge over a river in the gorgeous Blue-ridge mountains.
How She Knew She Had Found Her Gown
It’s hard to describe, but when the gown was zipped and I saw myself in the mirror I just knew. My dress made me feel so timeless and elegant, it was unlike any outfit I’ve ever put on before.
Highlight of Their Wedding Day
My husband's expression seeing me in my dress for the first time. Advice For 2023 Brides The MOST important part of your wedding day is that you’re happy.
Additional Thoughts…
Elijah and I eloped with just the two of us and our photographer and then had a party when we got back from Greece. I was very nervous traveling with my gown but it was so easy!
Venue: We got married on a cliff in Paros, Greece
Photographer: Katelyn Virginia Photography
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Danielle and Paul Ganas
How They Met
We met working at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. We lived across the street from each other in park housing and immediately hit it off! We were so lucky to meet and fall in love while living on the Big Island. It was an incredible adventure.
How She Knew She Had Found Her Gown
I knew I wanted something with flowers or leaves in an illusion top and my dress had that in the most beautiful way!
Favorite Part of Wedding
Planning My favorite part of wedding planning was choosing my florals!
Highlight of Their Wedding Day
The highlight for me was when we shared our vows. We had personal vows and I was so excited to finally share what I had written and hear my husband’s, which were perfect!
Advice For 2023 Brides
It is a day to celebrate you as a couple so be true to yourselves in the planning choices you make!
Venue: West Light Farm, High Springs
Photographer: June Rose Photography
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Adam and Maddi Gage
The Proposal
Adam and I met on Instagram, completely by accident. I somehow started following a kid from Florida and I was in Kansas. He slid in my DMs as I actually played his younger sister at NJCAA Volleyball Nationals that year. We got to talking and we both worked in college athletics at our schools. Had a lot in common and we talked all summer. Once the school year came around, we lost touch, but picked it back up Spring Break of 2018. World is so small as his best friend got a job at my school in Oklahoma and Adam came with him to move that summer. We hung out and hit it off immediately- from then on we have not been without one another. We did long distance from June 2018 to June of 2021. Seeing each other not very often the first year (maybe 3 times). It was hard, but we made it work! In June of 2021, we both got dream jobs at Georgia Southern in college athletics and we finally moved in together. We got engaged on July 3rd, 2021 - I knew it was coming… had my nails, hair, makeup done… it was absolutely perfect in my parent’s backyard with my family around + an amazing photographer to catch all the moments!
How She Knew She Had Found Her Gown
I knew my dress was “the one” when I saw it for the second time that day - I was 75 pounds heavier the day I said yes to the dress. I was determined to look my best in my wedding dress so I started working out and eating healthier 6 months prior to my wedding. The pictures before and after were insane. I knew with whatever dress I chose, it’d need some work as I have larger boobs and I had to get a bigger dress already in order for my boobs to fit. My seamstress took my dress in 10 sizes and it still was absolutely perfect. I was so afraid to try on dresses because I didn’t think I could fit in any… which was true for some. I almost didn’t get my dress on and my consultant encouraged me that I could do it by a few jumps and wiggles - if she wouldn’t have done that, I wouldn’t have left that day knowing.
Favorite Part of Wedding Planning
The itinerary… I love planning and my itinerary ended up being 37 pages long. I work in operations for college football, so this was so much fun for me.
Highlight of Their Wedding Day
Marrying my husband of course!!!
Advice For 2023 Brides
Get everything done as fast as you can so you can enjoy the months leading up to the wedding! Tiktok can also be the death of you - I got so many ideas off of there and was still adding a few days before. I had to finally tell myself to stop because I was stressing and not enjoying time with my family and fiancé.
Additional Thoughts…
I had an amazing bridal experience with Allure Bridal. I was in town visiting some of my fiancé’s family and we decided to make an appointment and go “look.” I wasn’t with my mom or sister and that was always a dream of mine to find my dress with them physically present. Allure made it easy for me to FaceTime both of them and they were patient as I had conversations with them. They listened and really helped. I wouldn’t have walked out knowing I found the one without my consultant encouraging me to jump and wiggle into the sample size dress to see it - I was sweating and ready to give up but she said do it. I had so much fun with them and it ended with popping the champagne bottle!
Venue: Rosemary’s Ridge - Stillwater, OK
Photographer: Lindsey Marie Photography
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Mackenzie Griffin and Erick Ausay
How They Met
UF rock climbing club during undergrad in 2015
How She Knew She Had Found Her Gown
It had everything I was looking for! Off the shoulder, some sparkle, sleek but comfortable. I also loved the little details of points on the train and off the shoulder sleeves
Favorite Part of Wedding Planning
Wedding dress shopping- the most important women in my life came together to bond we all really enjoyed the experience.
Highlight of Their Wedding Day
First look with my fiancé ♥️
Advice For 2023 Brides
Feel free to take your time to plan! Enjoy the process and know the little things really won’t matter. Your family and friends will just be excited to catch up and celebrate you two.
Venue: Ceremony at the Baughman Center and the Wooly, both in Gainesville
Photographer: Lilia Valentina
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Landon and Alyssa Wise
The Proposal
We met in high-school. I knew he had purchased the ring and said that it didn't matter where we were when he proposed because it was the proposal that matters. So while between watching anime episodes he proposed.
How She Knew She Had Found Her Gown
I knew my gown was the one when I felt confident in it and saw that my family loved it. I loved the detachable train and how it flowed. It fit almost perfectly right from the start.
Favorite Part of Wedding Planning
I loved all of the choices for an elegant fall themed design. It was extra special to have my mother and grandmother give me something old, something borrowed and something blue.
Highlight of Their Wedding Day
Completing the unity cross with my husband before God.
Advice to 2023 Brides
Make sure to focus on enjoying the process and take in your wedding day. Have some time alone with each other during the wedding to enjoy the moment.
Venue: Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club in Ocala
Photographer: Wildalysphotography
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Kodi & Garrett Lillard
The Proposal
We were hiking up to Tallulah falls on a family trip to Georgia! Once we reached the top, Garrett and I got together for a picture in front of the falls and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
How She Knew She Had Found Her Gown
I had always dreamed of having a wedding gown with sleeves. It’s not something you see very often (especially in Florida), and I had several people warn me that it would be a difficult task to find one. Allure was the very first wedding gown store that I had been to in search of my dream dress so I was cautious about getting my hopes up; I expected to search far and wide to find what I wanted. As soon as I saw the Sophia Tolli gown on the hanger, I had butterflies. Once I stepped out into the viewing area with the dress ON… I was speechless. I remember thinking “no way my search could be this easy”. We added a veil and flowers to complete the look and I knew this was the gown I wanted to be in when I marry the man of my dreams.
Favorite Part of Wedding Planning
My favorite part, by far, was gown shopping. Though I only ended up going to one store, it was so fun to try on the different style gowns.
Highlight of Their Wedding Day
The highlight of our wedding day was the look on Garrett’s face when he saw me for the first time. We were surrounded by a group of loved ones but it felt like it was just him and I there, surrounded by the beauty of Horseshoe bend.
Advice to 2023 Brides
It’s so easy to get whirled away throughout the process of getting ready, make sure you are present (mentally) for every single moment, because the day is over in the blink of an eye!
Additional Thoughts…
It was so windy on the edge of the canyon that my veil would fly towards the edge and start to take me with it! Because of that, we opted to do most of our pictures without it and we still love them!
Venue: Horseshoe Bend - Page, Arizona
Photographer: Dream Catcher wedding photography
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Sara Nutley and Chris Harris
How They Met
Chris and I met in 2016 while working at Walt Disney World. We were both completing Disney’s college internship program and were introduced by mutual friends. We were surprised to find that we grew up only 30 minutes apart in the suburbs of Chicago! When our internship ended, we traveled back to Chicago together to finish school!
How She Knew She Had Found Her Gown
Every gown I tried on was absolutely stunning, but when I first tried on my gown, I never wanted to take it off. I looked at myself in the mirror and all of my insecurities felt obsolete. I always imagined looking like a princess on my wedding day and knew this gown would bring that dream to life – I felt absolutely beautiful. I tried a couple more gowns after I found the one, but never had this same feeling. Rather I found myself comparing each dress to my final pick and knew nothing could compare to how I felt when I put on that wedding gown!
Favorite Part of Wedding Planning
Wedding planning is very fun, but it also comes with A LOT of stress, indecision, and worry. My husband and I eased the emotional burden of wedding planning by incorporating small date nights around planning. We would make a nice meal, find a great view or comfy lounge spot, put on some music, and get to planning! Our wedding planning dates were our dedicated time to talk over all the details, no matter how small. This ensured we were both happy with the decisions we made for our wedding day, but also made the entire process something to look forward to when we started to feel overwhelmed with all the details!
Highlight of Their Wedding Day
We ended the night with a pontoon cruise and private fireworks viewing from Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon! On a very busy day, it was so nice to have some time to slow down and spend time together!
Advice For 2023 Brides
Enjoy this time! Wedding day goes by so fast but it is so special to spend the day celebrating you and your spouse, and watching your vision come to life.
Venue: Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista
Photographer: Cassie Marie Photography
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