Real Brides: Rachel

Bryan and I met on Tinder. I remember seeing his profile, swiping right, and being really happy it flashed an “it’s a match” sign! He messaged me not long after we matched and I very quickly gave him my number because he said he was restoring an antique truck and I wanted photo evidence. Like most boys who claim to be fixing cars, I assumed he had one that was basically good to go and he was just adding his own touches to it. He texted me pictures of the truck and sure enough he was actually restoring it, rebuilding it really, and I was pleasantly surprised and happy I was wrong. Come to find, he’s a diesel mechanic who fixes fire trucks. After talking for a just a few minutes I knew really wanted to meet him. So, we set a date to meet and went to a local brewery- Nansemond Brewing Station is the name of it now. The very next day, while at lunch with a friend (one of my bridesmaids), I was telling her all about him and how special I though he was. She gave me a little nudge and I texted him and asked him if he could meet up that day. I was nervous since we had only just met the day before but I had a work stretch coming up and didn't want to wait that long before seeing him again. I am a nurse, so we work 12-hour days and I was about to work five shifts in a row- two of which were out of town at another hospital. He agreed to a second date and after that we just never stopped hanging out. About a month later, he was helping me move out of my apartment and I realized I was in love with him. Then I got to meet his family and I really fell- they’re amazing. He is the only man I have ever called my boyfriend and is the only man I have ever been in love with. I did not think there were men like Bryan in this world anymore. He’s incredibly talented, smart, and quick witted; he shows me all the time how much he loves me, and he has supported me during my journey to get into a doctorate program. How I knew the dress was the dress: We knew we wanted to get married before I started school, assuming I would get in, so we got engaged in November and planned a wedding for April 10 and school was to start in May. Due to this time constraint I was a little unconventional in how I went dress shopping. In addition, being a nurse, we work long days and cannot do much before or after work so I had to use my time wisely. I decided to go dress shopping on my own at a shop called Silk Bridal Studio that my photographer, Poise Photography, recommended. I really wanted a dress that had pockets, sleeves, and lace and knew that in my price range and in the short period of time I had to find a dress it would be hard- to be honest, I did not think I would find one I loved- I figured I would just find one that I liked. Amy, my consultant at Silk, pulled a few dresses that were very pretty and got excited about this one dress by Moonlight. It had gorgeous lace detailing on the back, pockets, and fit my body type perfectly. It was stunning and I felt what I did not think I would feel. I felt like a gorgeous bride. I was not planning on finding a dress at the very first place I went, so I had made appointments at other stores with my “entourage” to come and help the very next day. Of course the girls fell in love with a dress at a different store but I had to take them back to Silk to see the Moonlight dress because I knew that was the right one and kept comparing all other dresses to it. At the time, I did not know that my entourage had discussed that they could not tell how I was feeling because I was not showing much emotion towards the dresses or the whole process- but that was about to change. I called Silk Bridal and just like that I was standing in front of the mirror in this gorgeous gown, showing off all the features that I loved about it- the pockets especially, and the lace on the back, and then Amy asked if we wanted to see it with the veil. OF COURSE we did!! She put the veil on and wow. I am not usually a very emotional person, as my friends had apparently been discussing, and I certainly did not think I would cry over a wedding dress, but seeing myself standing there in that gorgeous dress looking like a bride, and fully realizing I was about to marry the man of my dreams made me cry. Right then and there we all knew that that was my dress. Amy had reached out to Moonlight to see if they could add sleeves to the dress for me and they could! They sent some pictures of other dresses they had with sleeves to give an idea of what it would look like and I was shocked- they were so pretty! Of course I was apprehensive to see the final product but luckily did not have to wait very long. The process went incredibly fast and smooth and in just a matter of a few weeks I got to try my dress on. It was perfect. It fit like a glove. The added sleeves were better than I had imagined. The lace was strategically placed on the arms of the dress and flowed perfectly into the lace on the back of the dress. Our wedding: COVID-19 was just starting to really impact the States when we had our bachelor/bachelorette party planned. Sadly, we had to cancel the whole thing. However, we were determined that we would not cancel our wedding and that we would get married COVID or shine on April 10, 2020. And that's exactly what we did. Though our wedding was not what we had originally planned, we got to spend the day with our family (and we kept the group less than 10 people). We used Facebook Live to share our wedding with family and friends who would have been in attendance. Our photographer, Poise Photography, was still able to come and helped capture our unique and special day on camera. I’m sure most people think they'll never forget their wedding and how special it was, but I truly believe I will remember how each person helped make us feel so loved on our big day. We changed our plans so many times to try to stay within the CDC guidelines. Every single one of our vendors was so supportive and flexible during all of those changes and we are so grateful that we had such a team rallying behind us to pull the wedding off. Everyone was willing to make it work and follow the guidelines to ensure we kept ourselves and others safe. We ended up getting married in the house I grew up in. My family worked tirelessly with some help from neighbors and friends to surprise Bryan and me and made the house looks like a wedding venue. Due to all of those changes, my dress came in handy more than I anticipated. I knew I would keep my vows and Bryan’s ring in my pocket, but I did not imagine I would be my own DJ on our wedding day. I connected my phone to Bluetooth speakers and kept it in my pocket to play all of the music we had so carefully picked out. I am so glad Moonlight designed this gorgeous gown and helped make it exactly what I wanted and needed. Photo by Poise Photography