A wedding celebration that was “so them,” all the personal touches on real Essense of Australia bride Karly’s wedding to husband, Dan were simply wonderful! From the wedding gown, Karly wore to the food they served, this couple stuck to the things they liked — and we absolutely love that!
The proposal
From the bride: When we first started dating, before Netflix and Chill, it was Hulu and Chill. We spent many days/nights watching Hulu in bed and they always played this one ad featuring “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers. It wasn’t long before I considered Ho Hey our song since it reminded me of our low-key nights at home together. I quickly became a big fan of theirs and they became a staple of our relationship. We were heading down to Austin for Austin City Limits music festival and the Lumineers happened to be in town the night before the festival kicked off. Dan said he had plans for us that night and directed the Uber to an Austin concert venue. I thought the surprise was that we got to see the Lumineers in concert, but as soon as “Ho Hey” started playing he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards an open lawn area in the middle of the stadium crowd. I saw a bright light on my face and then noticed my parents, his family and our closest friends staring at me. The bright light was from my friend’s professional camera, capturing the moment. Dan had arranged for all these people to fly in and be there for our proposal to watch him get on one knee. It was incredibly special.
Finding the perfect wedding dress
I actually expected to see myself in an A-line gown with some sort of straps. I was terrified of the potential anxiety a form-fitting or strapless dress might bring, but low and behold, I fell in love with Essense of Australia style D2042 and just couldn’t leave without it! Whenever shopping, I always look for one unique feature — I didn’t want my wedding dress to be boring or expected, but also didn’t want anything over the top or too fashion-forward. I wanted to feel beautiful, but with a hint of sexy for my future husband. My dress checked ALL those boxes — the silhouette was just so stunning. While it was form-fitting, I could still bend and move. The sheer, lacy back was to die for. I just love that dress and I love seeing it in our wedding photos.
The wedding details
The one piece of feedback we continue to hear is that our wedding was so “us.” It was far from cookie cutter but also incorporated a few traditions with the speeches and first dances. We got to share our wedding day with two of our favorite things: pizza and a sloth. We somehow managed to pull off a chic/formal wedding in an industrial Brick warehouse with a pizza display buffet for dinner and an actual sloth visiting friends and family during cocktail hour. We also exchanged a “toast” at the altar — which was a tradition we used to have our first year of dating. Our wedding was held on 12/29, near New Years, so we went for lots of mixed metals (rose gold, copper, silver) and I decorated with lots of different clocks and metalwork (think Alice in Wonderland). We had giant marquee letters inviting people to “DANCE” and my mom’s craft popsicle business served up dessert alongside our cannoli bar.
The massive surprise balloon drop during our first kiss that my husband secretly planned with our coordinator. The balloons fell over all our friends and families as soon as our officiant declared us husband and wife! I was in total shock and it made for some beautiful photos.
