Real Brides: Nathalie

We met in college at Boston University, and both of us love the classic architecture, history, and romanticism of Boston and New England, in general. He proposed at the waterfront in Boston and we knew we wanted to get married at his parents‘ property in Northport, Maine. Nick was in Naval ROTC at BU, so when he graduated, he commissioned as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy. We live in Norfolk, Virginia, where we are stationed, and he proposed prior to his first deployment in November, 2018. He returned home in July 2019, and our wedding was October 19th, 2019. I’d always known I wanted a classic, elegant wedding gown, but still youthful and feminine, with a touch of sexy (I know, lots of adjectives). I always loved timeless bridal looks, with simply beautiful designs that allow a bride’s personal self and beauty to be the center of attention, and alongside my groom in a classic Naval officer uniform, I wanted my gown to exude timeless, classic beauty. A wedding overlooking the New England sea also inspired me to go for elegance and not simply current trends. I tried on around 10 dressed in total, at two different salons, but I have to give credit to my older sister for selecting the dress that would become my own (which is perfect because I found her gown for her too years ago). She found it and my mom and I both immediately thought it was perfect, I think we even said it was like if Ralph Lauren and Brooks Brothers made a wedding gown for a young, New England bride. I put it on and could not stop smiling or twirling around. I loved the buttons, the dainty spaghetti straps, and the way it accentuated my waist and curves but kept me demure and elegant, not over the top, but the perfect amount of skin and details while always classic. I pictured it with my grandmother’s pearls and my sister’s bridal headband, standing beside Nick in his uniform, sith the Penobscot Bay begins us, and knew it was the one. My mom cried, my sister looked so proud, and I kept asking the boutique associate if I could put it back on between trying on other gowns. When I put that gown on, I knew what women meant when they said you just KNOW which gown is the one. I loved getting to try it on at every fitting, and I made minor adjustments, like adding bra cups because I am quite busty, added a bustle to dance, sewed my sister’s bridal headband onto it as a belt, and I sewed Nick’s uniform nametape into the bust as my “something blue”, and in the end, the final product was even better than I could’ve ever imagined!

Photo by Marco Catini Photography

Bride Nathalie wore a custom Moonlight Tango style.