- Tell us about your love story! Is there a fun story about how you met, or about the proposal? My husband, Jannik, and I met while he was visiting some family in FL! He is originally from Germany, and when we met, he only had a few days left before he was flying back home. We had 2 whirlwind days and kept trying to convince ourselves that there was no way this was actually happening! No one spontaneously meets and falls head over heels in two days in REAL LIFE!! After he went back to Germany, we kept talking over WhatsApp and Skype, and within a few weeks he had applied to several internships in FL so that he could come back and stay for a while so we could get to know each other better in person. Also, about a month in, he flew all the way back to FL and drove across the state all in one day to surprise me. With him, it has NEVER been boring!
- In your own words, tell us more about your wedding. What was your theme or inspiration? How did you make your wedding personal to your love story? There wasn’t necessarily a theme, but a feeling. I wanted it to feel homey and family oriented, and like us. We had the ceremony in this little white chapel with open banister ceilings, and the reception was held in a barn with fairy lights, chandeliers, with flowers and candles everywhere! We also had a big decorative chest with our parents and grandparents wedding photos on display, my fried from Kobe hand bound the pages of our guestbook and cut and stained wood and leather to be the cover and spine. One thing we knew we wanted was to make sure that, even though the wedding was being held in FL where I’m from, that Jannik’s German culture get represented as well. One of my favorite things we did was a German tradition for after the ceremony. The bridal party, before the ceremony, draws a large heart on a sheet. Afterwards, the bride and groom are each given a pair of scissors, and whoever cuts their half of the heart out first gets carried by the other through the heart-shaped hole in the sheet. The bride scissors are nice and sharp, and the groom scissors, in our case, were nail cutting scissors. Needless to say, I won, and Jannik carried me through the heart with our friends and family cheering all around us.
- Describe your bridal style. How did you want to look on your wedding day? I wanted it to feel romantic and effortless. I wanted to look like me, but elevated. I didn’t want people to see me in something where they looked at me and thought, “oh, I never would have thought she would where that.” My dress needed to embody me and make me feel confident and beautiful. My best friend and bridesmaid, Morgan, said “All that matters about the dress are two things. 1, does it make you feel absolutely beautiful? And 2, will it make Jannik want to rip it off you?” 😂
- Describe the moment you fell in love with your dream dress! Was it exactly what you were looking for, or completely unexpected? How did you know it was “the one”? The moment I put on my dress, before even seeing it, I felt different, somehow. And when I turned around and saw it I thought “oh yeah, this is really pretty! But I still think the first one was better”, but I told Allison we could show my family, so she turned me around and opened the curtain. For the first time, the 6 of my favorite ladies were practically silent. Then I looked at my cousin Maggie’s face, and she looked at me in a way that told me I needed to look again, and I turned and looked in the mirror and sort of had this melting feeling. I started asking them what they thought because I loved it and how could I be in love with a dress at the first store I go shopping at?! Then, I looked at my MOH, Rachel, and she told me to listen, and the speakers in the store were playing Jannik and I’s song, I’m Still Here from the Treasure Planet soundtrack. This put me over the edge, and then I was sobbing. Thankfully, Allison, aka, my superhero of the day, swooped in with tissues and a veil in tow. My mom asked me if I wanted to try the first one on again, since I had been judging all dresses against it from the beginning, and I couldn’t even speak, I just shook my head no and continued to cry. I also called my other two bridesmaids who were unable to be there, and showed them the dress as well. It was absolutely wonderful, and is a moment I wish I could relive over and over again! It was honestly really unexpected, but I would choose it all over again if I could!
- What was your favorite part about shopping for your bridal gown with us? I never felt judged or “too big” for a single moment. The first time I tried dresses was probably 3 months into being engaged in NYC with my cousin, who is a bridal consultant at RK Bridal. I had looked at dresses online and they had a bunch in store that I had marked down. At this time, I was around 20-25 pounds heavier than I was at my White Closet appointment, and all of the sample sizes were so small we couldn’t even get the back closed enough to even imagine what it would look like. My cousin made me feel comfortable as best she could, but my self esteem was so low that any dress so small would break me down. At White Closet, I had no fear. Sample sizes came in a larger range so even when clips were used it didn’t feel like the dresses were holding on for dear life and straining my self confidence. We looked at dresses together, Allison threw in some surprise styles since I said I was comfortable with that, and she never made me feel like I had to try on or show anything I was uncomfortable with. White Closet made me feel like I belonged there at a size 14 just as much as a bride who is a size 2, and that is a rare and beautiful accomplishment.
- What was your favorite memory from your wedding day? I don’t know if I have a FAVORITE memory, per say, but probably a tie between the Best Man, Jannik’s best friend, Patrick, dropping the ring when giving it to me during the vows and the officiant giving it to me after picking it up off the floor, and Jannik and I both mentioning my inability to pick up my socks in our vows, which we both included without the other knowing. He did his vows first, and when he mentioned the infamous socks I nearly burst into laughter knowing that I, too, would bring up all the socks I leave around our apartment in my vows. When I read my vows and got to the sock part, the church practically erupted into laughter! My mom’s best friend, following the ceremony, told her it was her favorite wedding she has ever been to, and that it was “so, perfectly, Mary Kate”, which is honestly the best compliment I could have gotten!
- What advice would you give future brides? Whether it’s about planning, dressing shopping, or the wedding day itself! THIS IS YOUR DAY! Do not let others pressure you into doing things THEIR WAY. Make decisions that make YOU and your fiancé happy, above all else. Also, call your mom and thank her. If she is anything like my mom, she will keep you alive during this. On the day, it is stressful, and you might feel like things are moving a million miles a minute, but try to breathe and take it all in. While walking down the aisle, my dad pulled my arm a little and whispered, “slow down, and take it in” and when I did, I saw the faces of the people I love most in this world, and it was breathtaking. Enjoy it. Oh! And make sure you eat!
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