Family was the key to the perfect wedding for bride Nikki and groom John. Wearing a beautiful Stella York wedding dress, the lovely bride included some sentimental moments at her wedding, that made the day feel personal and unexpected. Cheers to this happy couple!
The proposal
My Mom takes our family (6 kids + spouses and grandchildren) to Disney World every year as a Christmas present. Boyfriends and girlfriends aren’t invited on the trip, so John went back to Oklahoma for military training when we left for Florida from Indiana after Christmas in 2016. My brother started a new job and told my Mom that he couldn’t make it on the trip. Little did she know, he planned to show up a few days late to surprise her and asked for my help navigating the trip. While I was helping my brother surprise my mom, my mom was helping John surprise me. It was late one evening when my brother was ready to knock on the door, and when he knocked, I asked my mom to answer it. Because she knew John was coming, she told me to answer the door. I didn’t want to be suspicious so I answered the door and to my surprise, John and Jake were both there! Everyone was excited and within a minute, John got on one knee in front of my whole family to ask me to marry him. It was truly amazing.
Finding the perfect Stella York wedding dress
My bridal style was simple. I thought I didn’t want any lace before I went shopping for my wedding dress. In fact, I told my consultant that I didn’t like lace! However, everyone knew that I liked form-fitting, and I wanted some sort of strap. When I tried on style 6610, I wasn’t expecting to like it. It had lace! To my surprise, it was the most beautiful I have ever felt. I knew right away that it was the dress I wanted to walk down the aisle in. It was subtlety sparkly, yet elegant and form-fitting. It was perfect. I was in and out of the wedding dress boutique in 50 minutes! It was the first and only time I went shopping.
The wedding details
Our wedding was full of life. My Dad passed away from a work accident in 2015, and although John didn’t truly get to know him, we were good friends in high school and he had the opportunity to meet him on several occasions. It meant so much to me to have that connection at our wedding and to feel my Dad’s presence. Our colors were navy and gold to showcase John’s service in the U.S. Military. He is an Officer in the Army but didn’t want the attention by wearing his uniform. We shared the same close friends in high school, and all they were all in attendance! Between that and our families, our wedding was meant to celebrate us and our friends and family. We wanted everyone to have a great time to share in our special moment!
The most special memory of the day was walking down the aisle at Church to my handsome Groom. Seeing John there was unlike anything I’ve ever felt, and I was so excited for him to see me in my dress.
