Real Wedding Q&A: Natalie & John

Natalie and John's wedding will take your breath away...

Q. How did you meet your Fiance?

A. John and I met at work, but we didn’t actually speak for the first five months. I'm told that every time he would look at me my head would go in the opposite direction. A few months down the road I started in a new role and began needing to communicate with him regularly. Shortly after, I started talking to my mom about "the guy at work who is really great and I'm pretty sure interested in me" but said I would never go out with him because “it is just not smart to date co-workers, mom.” A month later he asked me out on our first date. Ten months after that we were engaged. There may have been some happy hour flirting thrown in the mix. Sometimes it's good to break your own rules.

Q. How did you choose the location for your wedding? What type of venue were you looking for?

A. John is form Pennsylvania, I am from Missouri and we live in New York. I always assumed that I would have a hometown wedding, but as I pictured our wedding in Missouri it felt like "my" wedding, not "ours." I grew up going to Palm Springs often with my family. In fact, my parents live half the year out there now. John had also spent some time in the desert before we met, then we shared our first New Years there before getting engaged. Palm Springs feels like a home to me, but it is very much "us." We knew we wanted to have our ceremony in a church and have the reception at a resort where our guests would enjoy staying. Our friends and family were coming from all over the country, so it was important to us that we make their weekend as fun and convenient as possible. La Quinta Resort and Club is picture book beautiful and a vacation within itself.

Q. What made you decide to do varied styles, colors, etc. for your bridesmaids dresses?

A. I had quite a few bridesmaids. Eleven to be exact. I wanted the girls to be comfortable and have a say in what they wore. Since it's basically impossible to find one dress that eleven girls feel good in, I thought it would be fun to have all the dresses be different. My Maid of Honor Annie, Jamie from Bella NYC and I had the challenge of figuring out combinations of dresses and colors so that no two girls where wearing the exact same thing. It was a lot of fun envisioning what it would look like and trying on a billion dresses in the store. Of course, I owe all the diagramming and math to the two of them!

Q. Who designed your bridal gown? Where did you get it?

A. My mom flew out to New York to help me search for my gown. We made an appointment at the Bergdorf Goodman bridal boutique, and I ended up only trying on about five dresses. Too many options seemed overwhelming and I loved the simplicity and silhouette of my dress.  And I doubt John was shocked that I chose lace…My only rule going in was no princess ball gowns. I'm a petite girl, so where would I put all that poof!

Q. What was your favorite part of the day?

A. I certainly can't pick a favorite part of the day. Getting ready in the morning with all my girlfriends, my mom and mother-in-law was of course a lot of fun. I remember being on the bus with all my bridesmaids heading to the church and feeling so happy and calm. I was wearing a wedding dress, my best friends were beside me and I was on my way to marry the man I knew was made for me. It was a very surreal moment. Walking down the isle with my dad, surrounded by all of my family and friends, looking at John in his tuxedo about to make me his wife is a feeling that will never be beat. The ceremony was beautiful, and I was giddy as could be. But in addition to all the love and all the gush, we had one heck of a party! If your wedding sets the tone for your marriage, ours is due to be fun, fairly traditional and a perhaps a bit rowdy.

Q. What inspired you when you were planning your big day?

A. I wanted the weekend to be classic and elegant, but most of all I wanted to plan a wedding that was fun and we would love attending if we were guests. Planning a wedding from the opposite coast can be a bit of a trick, but between my mother, our floral and design team, and wedding planner I was in good hands and able to enjoy the process. With the Southern California weather, gorgeous venue and killer band, there was really no worrying that is wasn’t going to be a great weekend for everyone.

Q. What advise do you have for other brides?

A. Relax and enjoy it. The engagement and wedding fly by, and it's an experience you only get to have once. There is a good chance that of all the million things you plan, something will go wrong, but when you are marrying the man you can't live without and are surrounded by the people you love the most, you aren't going to notice if the napkins are the wrong shade or the band plays a song you didn't request. And your guests won't either. Make an effort to take in every moment of the day. The cliché stands true. Your wedding day will go by in the blink of an eye. And the best part… If you’ve done it right, your life following the I Do’s only gets better.

Venue: La Quinta Resort and Club
Photographer: Jonathan Young Photography
Wedding Planner: Celebrations of Joy-Cathy O'Connell
Florist/Designer: :arrangementsdesign.com
Band: Side Effect
Bridesmaids Dresses: Joanna August from Bella Bridesmaid NYC