Bride of the Month Mary - The White Dress - Ann Arbor Bridal Boutique

Welcome to another edition of TWD’s Bride of the Month! We are proud to introduce you to Mary, who was married on a lovely Fall day last year. She picked out a stunning Lis Simon gown at our Ann Arbor Bridal Boutique – it was simple, shimmery, and beautiful! Her wedding reception was held at Waldenwoods and the love between the couple is apparent in the lovely photos you are about to see! Which, by the way, were taken by Sabreena Konsdorf. So, let’s get started!

{Meet Mary.}

How did you meet your husband?

Mark and I were introduced to each other by a friend of mine from work. Lauren and I had only known each other for a month or so, but we enjoyed our many conversations about fitness, health, family, friends, faith, and joys of life every now and again, so she decided to take a chance and arranged for the two of us to meet for dinner. Today, Mark and I joke about it because when Lauren asked me if I would like to meet him, I didn’t want to call it a date, so I called it a “meeting”. So 16 months after our first “meeting”, Mark proposed to me in Traverse City, where we now have a lovely vacation home.

{The groom.}

{The happy couple…take one!}

{…take two!}

{…take three!}

{…take four!}

{…and…take five!}

What was your favorite part of wedding planning?

This is actually a hard question, because all of it was enjoyable, but I especially enjoyed having my mom, Dorothy, and my mother-in-law, Fran, spend their time with me making all of the wedding charms for our reception. I also treasured the time I got to spend with my maid-of-honor, Lauren, my sisters and my mom as they helped me to pick out my wedding dress.

{The bride and the moms!}

{Getting ready!}

{The bride and her maid of honor.}

How did you know that your “white dress” was the one?

I chose a dress named Elisha which, funnily enough, was one that I had put back on the rack after my first day of trying on dresses. At the second visit, I had it narrowed down to four, but after trying those four on again, I remembered Elisha and my mom helped me to put it back in the running. Everyone in my group loved the gown. It was simple, but elegant, comfortable and fit me perfectly!

{The dresses.}

{A lovely bridal portrait.}

What was the most difficult part of wedding planning?

The most difficult part of the wedding planning was figuring out timing – what time we wanted to start the ceremony, how long pictures would take and then what time to start dinner. We didn’t want to have our guests waiting around too long for us, so we wanted to be sure they were taken care of. We definitely wanted to ensure that everyone had a good time!

{Part of the wedding ceremony.}

{Beautiful flowers and rings!}

{Here comes the bride!}

{Moments from the ceremony.}

{They are official!}

{The bride and groom with family and friends!}

{Lovely little details from the reception!}

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding day?

The moment when Mark and I were dancing to our song “Commitment” and he whispered to me, “Can you believe that just two years ago we had our first date and now, here we are, husband and wife… You’ve made me so happy.”

{The first dance!}

If you could relive your day again, what would you do differently?

The day truly was perfect, but had I been able to do it all over again I would have taken a moment to say a few meaningful words to our guests. I would have thanked them and expressed our appreciation for their constant love and support. I had a speech saved on my phone, but never said what was in my heart.

{The head table.}

{The kids had fun at the reception!}

What advice would you give to future brides?

Please don’t sweat the details, and focus on the true meaning of your wedding. It’s about the marriage. The love and care you are committing to is forever and your guests won’t remember your linens, but they will remember how your day allowed them to reflect on their own relationships with their significant others… and the food… they will definitely remember the food!

{Love is sweet!}

{We love the love captured here!}

{Love the dance moves!}

Why do you want to be a TWD Bride of the Month?

I just feel like it was the perfect day, and Mark and I are truly blessed to have found each other. We’ve both been married before, no kids… yet (God willing). If we can be blessed with a second chance, anyone can, you just have to have faith.