David's Bridal

A darling couple took their pre-wedding photo shoot to the streets of London, and the bride looked fantastic in her White by Vera Wang gown style VW351010.  To see the photos from the shoot, click here!

Mallory, one of the brides in the audience of our nationally televised talk show debut of the White by Vera Wang® collection, visits today to share her stress-free wedding planning strategy.

Say “I Don’t” To Wedding Stress
by Mallory

Fellow brides and wedding planners, my wedding countdown has officially begun. It’s 93 whole days until our outdoor wedding on my fiancé’s family farm! Everyone’s been telling me that wedding planning is super stressful, but I must say – I don’t agree! And I think I know why. It’s because, when planning to for the day when I say, “I do,” I have learned how to say, “I don’t!”

I Don’t:

- Do logistical things that I can delegate to my other wonderful family members.
Aunt Cathy’s using her magnificent flower garden for my floral arrangements, relatives are taking care of all my wedding shower details…I’ve even got all the key family members gathering addresses for my save the dates and invites!

- Over decorate when the space I’m using is FILLED with natural beauty.
Instead, I’m just getting creative with unique lighting. Mason jars strung from trees to accentuate that “country” feel, light-up lily pads floating the pond, paper lanterns dangling above the dance floor. Done!

- Forget to ask for a discount when I pay vendors in full.
I saved at least $500 just by asking! And by paying in full, I won’t be wondering who I owe money to on the day of my wedding. I’ll be celebrating with a happy heart and a balanced checkbook!

Sure, things might get a little more stressful the closer we get to the big day, but I plan on sticking to my “I Don’t” strategy so the days leading up to my wedding day will as fun as the day itself.

Love hearing from Mallory? See a clip of the moment she knew her White by Vera Wang gown was “the one” by clicking here.

You might remember Lashia from her appearance on a nationally televised talk show in mid-September where the White by Vera Wang® collection, available exclusively at David’s Bridal, debuted. With her fiancé Chris serving in Afghanistan, her wedding planning process has been particularly challenging. Today, she shares her David’s Bridal shopping experience with us.

Shopping for My White by Vera Wang Gown
by Lashia

My appointment at the Northridge, CA store was awesome! The David’s Bridal employees were very knowledgeable and friendly, and made the process so easy! I actually went to the store by myself, and they treated me as if I were a family member.

After a follow-up visit with friends and family at the Kennesaw, GA store, I finally chose my bridal gown! The White by Vera Wang Ball Gown with Asymmetrically Draped Bodice (Style 351007) is my dream dress! I plan to wear it with the White by Vera Wang Crystal Horsehair Sash in Ebony (Style VW370001) tied with a huge bow in the front, an idea I came up with myself, if I may humbly say so. Other brides should try the look, too! The accessories were very reasonably priced, and the bridal shoes are incredibly comfortable.

Another big plus is that my dress is so light! One of the consultants asked me if I could dance in it. To prove that I could, I showed her some of my dance moves…in the dress! She cracked up laughing and said, “Yes, that’s how you’re supposed to do it!” She really knew how to keep the atmosphere light and fun. I can’t wait to be on the dance floor in my gorgeous ball gown at my wedding reception!

xo,
LL

If you like hearing from Lashia, make sure to check out the story of how she met her fiancé, Chris, by clicking here.

Heather, one of the brides in the audience of our nationally televised talk show debut of the White by Vera Wang® collection, visits today to tell us about her bridal gown shopping experience at David’s Bridal:

Finding the Perfect Gown
by Heather

On January 8th, I committed a major bridal no-no: I brought an entourage with me to find my perfect gown at David’s Bridal. My mom, three sisters, stepmom, cousin, friend, future mother-in-law, and future sister-in-law all joined me for my appointment.

I showed up for the day with a long wish list and was excited to try them all on. The first two gowns I tried on were both beautiful, but neither blew me away. When I came out of the dressing room in the third dress, I immediately knew it was special. I still wasn’t ready to quit, so Lisa, my consultant, patiently continued as I worked through my gigantic list.

After trying 13 dresses, I went back to my favorites. When I came out of the room in that third dress of the day, the look on everyone’s faces confirmed what I already knew. This was the one.

I will never forget finally ringing the bell and seeing everyone in my group cry. While my entourage had a lot to say about the dresses, it was well worth having them – and their tears – there in the end. From my gown consultant, Lisa, to my personal favorite helper Geri, the David’s Bridal staff was AMAZING and never stopped smiling.

Mallory, one of the brides in the audience of our nationally televised talk show debut of the White by Vera Wang® collection, visits today to share the moment when she found her dream gown.

Finding My Dream Gown
by Mallory

The weekend of February 11th marked the launch of White by Vera Wang Collection at David’s Bridal, which meant it was finally time to try on the amazing dresses that I got to see debut live on The Oprah Winfrey Show! I brought 11 people with me to help me find my dream dress, including three of my bridesmaids and my flower girl. I think my family was more excited than I was!

The funny thing is that I started the day with a vision of the kind of dress I wanted, and I ended up choosing the complete opposite. I couldn’t believe that I fell in love with the first dress I tried on! White by Vera Wang Style VW351011 was THE one! It is fitted to mid-thigh with a dropped waist and has a hand-cut bias flange skirt that looks like dozens of ruffles cascading to the floor. I chose a rich lapis sash to match the color of my bridesmaids’ dresses. You can check out my bridal style in this video of me ringing the bell:

I would have been happy with any of the White by Vera Wang gowns; they were all different and amazing in their own way. In the end, I chose the one that not only I loved, but that all of my family and friends loved, too.

JoAnn, the consultant who worked with us was patient, friendly, and a huge help. It was a wonderful experience, and it makes me that much more excited for our wedding day!

Read more from Mallory by clicking here to see how her love story started!

Heather, one of the brides in the audience of our nationally televised talk show debut of the White by Vera Wang® collection, visits today to share her surprise proposal story:

Our Engagement
by Heather

During the summer of 2009, Corey and I were sitting in a pizza parlor having drinks when the topic of marriage came up. I asked him when he thought we would be engaged. His immediate response was, “Within 6 months.” A few seconds later, he grinned and said, “Okay…within a year.” I laughed – and then we dropped the subject.

Needless to say, by the end of the next summer, I was growing restless. There had been many perfect moments for him to pop the question that summer: watching fireworks at my grandparents’ lake house, fishing during sunset, and dining out at romantic restaurants. I kept thinking, “What is he waiting for?”

On August 17th, 2010, exactly a year after our pizza parlor conversation, he came home after playing golf and walked up behind me with a jewelry box in the shape of a bucket of golf balls. He said, “Look what I found on the golf course.” I was instantly confused because I had seen the same exact jewelry box when we were shopping on vacation and for the life of me couldn’t figure out what you could put in one.

As I was opening the box, he laughed and said, “Just kidding, but will you marry me?” I was in shock! It was a complete surprise: Tuesday night, just me and Corey and our wonderful life together, and me finally figuring out what you can put in a golf ball jewelry box.

Six days after he proposed, a friend mentioned that The Oprah Winfrey Show was looking for newly engaged brides to appear on her show. With the deadline for submissions being that day, I quickly submitted our story, not thinking in a million years that I would be selected to be on the show! Here I am, three months later, with a certificate for what I’m sure will be an amazing White by Vera Wang® gown, a free honeymoon and the perfect person to share this dream with. I truly am the luckiest girl in the world.

Mallory, one of the brides in the audience of our nationally televised talk show debut of the White by Vera Wang® collection, joins us today to tell us how she and her fiancé met.

HOW IT ALL STARTED
By Mallory

As a college student, I worked as an aide at a physical therapy clinic. Many of my colleagues wanted to fix me up with their sons, who were close to my age.

One woman in particular introduced me to her very good looking son, Matthew, and we developed a friendship. A few weeks later, we went to his friend Jeff Grau’s farmhouse. That was the start of our summer weekends at The Grau Farm.

Although Matt and I never hit it off romantically, he was fun, and his friends got along with my friends fabulously. Toward the end of the summer, it became clear to everyone that Matt’s friend Jeff and I were interested in each other.

As the summer ended, Jeff and I became inseparable; it was the first time I had been in such an easy relationship. We decided to keep things casual when Jeff left for Ohio University, two and a half hours away from my school. Three weeks into our “open relationship”, Jeff came home for a weekend, and we decided that we wanted to be exclusive. So, I began making regular weekend trips to Athens, Ohio. (I should have received an honorary degree, I was there so often!)

We traveled back and forth every weekend for two years while we finished our degrees, and I started my first job. Fast-forward three years and we are now engaged! We are planning our wedding and were lucky enough to have been chosen to be in the audience of The Oprah Winfrey Show, where I was gifted a wedding gown from Vera Wang’s newest collection, exclusively for David’s Bridal, White by Vera Wang®. Now, I have seven months to plan a beautiful outdoor wedding at the pond where it all started – on The Grau Farm.

You might remember Lashia from her appearance on a nationally televised talk show in mid-September where the White by Vera Wang® collection, available exclusively at David’s Bridal, debuted. With her fiancé Chris serving in Afghanistan, her wedding planning process has been particularly challenging. She will be sharing her story with us as she prepares for her July 2011 wedding and shops for her White by Vera Wang® gown.

Today she tells us about the moment she first knew Chris was “the one”:

HOW WE MET
by Lashia

Chris and I were introduced by his mother, my co-worker, who had wanted to fix us up for weeks. I’ll never forget the day she brought Chris up to my desk with no warning; I was stuffing my face with a cheeseburger! I was thinking, oh no she didn’t, because she had said she was going to give me a heads up before his visit. Of course, I had burger all over my face and sauce on my fingers. I was so dirty that I couldn’t shake his hand!

With my mouth full, I said, “Nice to meet you. Let’s just bump elbows.” He laughed and agreed. His mother walked off and called over her shoulder for me to walk him out. I’m thinking, oh no she didn’t (again!).

I walked Chris out to his car, even though it was very cold. Being the hardcore chick that I am, I went outside with no coat. Chris took off his hoodie, revealing his muscular arms (I was thinking OMG!). I took the jacket and we laughed and joked as we walked to the car, and then – awkward silence. He was too shy to ask for my number! He slowly took his phone out, and I snatched it and said “Give me this phone boy.”

That weekend, New Year’s Eve, we went to the Chick-fil-A Bowl together and had a great time at the GA Dome. When we were leaving the game, I reluctantly asked him, “Would you like to go to church with me?” When he agreed, I wanted to faint or shout, “Yes, Lord! Thank you, Jesus!”

We walked to the church, sat down, and prayed together. We held hands. I felt in my heart that this was the beginning of a new start and the rest of my life; it happened that fast. That evening in church with Chris, my prayers were answered.

xo,
LL