Real Essense of Australia Bride

Real Essense of Australia Bride Julia + Andrew

Gorgeous bride Julia married handsome groom Andrew at a chilly fall wedding – but these two lovebirds were too enthralled with the magic of their big day to notice! Blush and berry tones lent a beautiful color scheme while Julia’s Essense of Australia wedding dress was the star of the show.

Real Essense Bride

The Proposal

Our proposal was so us. We started dating on October 7, 2012, and around that weekend every year, Andrew and I would go to Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) Halloweekends to celebrate our anniversary. This time we went to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. When we got there at the beginning of the day, there was a ton of people. They always have photographers at the front of the park and they always ask to take your picture, and every year I grab Andrew and tell him we NEED to take one. So, we take our picture, per usual. The photographer gives us the ticket to looking up the pictures and I start to walk away. Andrew turns to the photographer and says, “Wait, I want to take one more picture”, and when I turn around to look him, he was on one knee! I immediately started crying (happy tears, of course). And now we have these fun, candid photos of the proposal!

Real Essense Bride

Finding the dress

Going into dress shopping, I kept an open mind. I knew a couple of things I didn’t want, but as far as style, material, sleeves, no sleeves, etc, I was willing to try everything on and pick what felt right. I brought a lot of people with me when I went dress shopping. My mom, my grandmother, my two sisters, my aunt, and my maid of honor all came with me to this adorable little shop, The Radiant Bride, in Rocky River, OH. Our stylist was so nice an accommodating to such a crowd, but we had so much fun! I told everyone to pick a dress out for me, and I picked out a couple myself.

As I tried each dress on, I critiqued what I liked and didn’t like about it. I was out of dresses, but the stylist pulled one for me to try on which fell into all the things I was saying I liked about each of the other dresses. I literally had this dress halfway on and told myself it was the one. When I walked out, my mom and grandma started tearing up. I felt so beautiful in it and each time I tried it on for fittings I loved it even more. It was so “me” and I felt awesome in it! See more of Style D2327.

Real Essense Bride

The wedding details

Our wedding was perfect. I wanted a fall wedding. Something about a little chill in the air that brings people together. It rained a bit in the morning but stopped well before we needed to be outside for pictures. One of my bridesmaids took a picture from her hotel of a rainbow above the Presque Isle Bay. How lucky right? I did a berry and blush color scheme with touches of gold which looked beautiful.

One of my friends I went to undergrad with married us. She was hilarious and she made the ceremony fun. When people laughed the whole room would just vibrate with happiness. Andrew and I did our own vows, which left me filled with so much love and promise for the future. Our reception was an absolute blast. I always told my vendors that I wanted our reception to be a fun party filled with the people that we loved. We had so many friends and family and family friends that everyone was just happy to be with each other an celebrate. 

Real Essense Bride

Our dinner music was acoustic versions of our favorite rock bands and our DJ rocked it and kept the dance floor full the entire time. We also ended the day with Taco Bell, which was not a surprise to anyone we knew. It was perfect.

Right before I walked down the aisle, I was with my dad. He was so happy for me. He told me I looked beautiful and put out his arm for me to grab on to. We entered the church and it was FILLED with people. Just seeing so many people in the church, supporting this next step that Andrew and I were taking together. As I walked down the aisle, towards my soon-to-be husband, he had the biggest smile on his face. At that moment, I just felt so happy and literally surrounded by so much love. It was the best.

Real Essense Bride

Photos by April Smith Photography