Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Featured Bride: Christie

Meet our featured bride and her groom
Christie and Dustin Lindberg
Married August 2, 2013
What was it like working with Charlotte's?

Working with Charlotte's Bridal was so amazing. Charlotte's Bridal was the first (and only!) place I went to find my wedding dress, so I had no idea what to expect going into it. I was so impressed with how passionate everyone was. Emily did such an amazing job helping me find the perfect wedding dress! She made my experience one that I will never forget! After having such a wonderful experience with Emily, I decided I wanted to get bridesmaid dresses and tuxes from Charlotte's as well. Jessica did such an awesome job with my bridesmaid dresses. She made the appointment so much fun and gave us such great insight into what dress would look perfect on the ladies. Summer was so incredibly helpful with our tuxes. We went back and forth on a few things and she was SO patient with us the entire time. Not only did we have such a great experience working with Emily, Jessica, and Summer, but Nancy was so amazing as well. I cannot thank everyone at Charlotte's enough for being a part of our special day!

 
 
 
 


How did you and your husband meet?

Dustin and I met five years ago. He was working for FedEx at the time, while I was working in an office setting. One of his daily stops was at my work where he would come in at the same time everyday in such a good mood, smiling ear to ear. I was too shy to start up conversation with him, so I would make eye contact with him, smile.. and that's about it! He would go on the other side of the divider in the office and talk to my co-workers about "setting him up." They of course never told me any of this until after the fact, so I had no idea! A year or so later when I was no longer working at one of his daily stops, we began seeing each other out occasionally. We both couldn't help but smile every time we saw each other. FINALLY we started talking and getting to know each other. After the first night we finally spent time together, we were inseparable.



 
 
 


What was your favorite part of your wedding day?

My favorite part of the day was definitely the "First Look" with Dustin. Dustin and I decided to see each other before the ceremony; just the two of us and our photographer. It was the most intimate and special time we've ever shared together. The pictures captured during our first look tell such a beautiful story. Everything was so perfect in that moment.  There was a little bench behind where our first look took place, so our photographer allowed us ten minutes, just the two of us, to sit and talk. Those ten minutes were the only minutes of the day that we were able to just talk to one another; it was so special.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



How did he propose?

Dustin and I were vacationing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where my Mom, sisters and I meet our Canadian family every May for a week. It was May 17, 2012 and our vacation was quickly coming to an end. The sun was setting, so Dustin asked me to take a walk along the ocean with him. He was holding my hand and saying such sweet things to me, but I was just so determined to find a shark's tooth. (Ever since I've been a little girl, My Aunt Sandy and I would spend hours scorching our backs in the sun, bent over looking for shark's teeth while in Myrtle Beach. Every year up until last May, I had always found so many. Last May I couldn't find anything, so Dustin had to listen to me complain all week about how I was having no luck.. :) ) While on our walk, I kept wandering off, searching through piles of sea shells to find a shark's tooth. Finally giving up, and not paying attention to what Dustin was doing whatsoever, I started walking towards the ocean to rinse my hands off. As I'm about to rinse my hands off, I see the biggest shark's tooth I've ever seen just lying there. I scooped it up and turned to see Dustin standing back a ways in the sand. I ran up to him, so excited and jumped into his arms freaking out about this shark's tooth I had just found. While I'm showing it to him, he just had this smirk on his face, so I realized he had probably just bought this shark's tooth while we were out earlier in the night and put it there for me to find. So, while I'm still in his arms, he's trying to explain to me that he didn't buy the shark's tooth and there was a different reason for the smirk on his face. He finally glanced down towards the sand, so I did the same. In the ground he had drawn a heart, with a sea shell in the middle of it. When I picked up the sea shell, there was a ring underneath and that's when Dustin got down on one knee. This was when I realized the reasoning behind the smirk on his face when I jumped into his arms so excited over the shark's tooth.. he was trying to propose! Everyone that knows me, knows that this is so typical of me, so it makes the story that much better to tell! The shark's tooth is now in a special place in our home.

 
 
 
 

What is one piece of advice you would give brides that are just beginning their search for the perfect wedding gown?

I would definitely say be open-minded! Going into an appointment, it's not a bad idea to have some ideas of what you like, but make sure not to rule anything out before trying it on! You never know what you'll end up falling in love with!


 
 


Is there anything special or unique about your wedding that you would like to highlight?

I would definitely suggest to brides to consider doing a "First Look." I went back and forth with it during the planning, I think just because it's against tradition, but I am so happy we did it! It was definitely the most special part of our day. I am also so happy we decided to have an outdoor ceremony. It was so extremely beautiful!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Photos courtesy of Jared Lee Photography
 

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Featured Bride: Jessie

Congratulations to the happy couple!!

What was it like working with Charlotte's?

It was a pleasure working with the ladies at Charlotte's. I was always greeted with a smile, and everyone was extremely helpful when it came to picking out my dress, and then coming back for alterations. I felt like I mattered as a customer and a bride, and I really appreciate that.


 
 
 

How did you and your fiancé meet?

I met my husband in college at UW-Green Bay. We had both recently gotten out of long term relationships, and had sworn off dating anyone for a while. But when we locked eyes at a party, he claims time stood still when he saw me smile.

 
 
 
 
 
 
What was your favorite part of your wedding day?
 
My favorite part of my wedding day was the moment my new husband and I walked into our wedding reception, and all of our family and friends started to clapping and cheering -- it's hard to describe, but it was a seriously emotional moment to know they were all there for us.
  
 
 
How did he propose?

I came home from work one night to a note on the floor that said "follow the string". From there, a red string was strung all across our living room with different points for me to stop at and "remember when..." something significant to us happened. Then the string led me to our bedroom door, where it said "and remember how amazing it was when..." and I opened the door to him on one knee with a ring. It was so intimate and so us.
 


 





What is one piece of advice you would give brides that are just beginning their search for the perfect wedding gown?

The advice I would give would be to have an open mind. You might be surprised that the dress you thought you would never wanted, would be the dress that you end up following in love with. Don't be afraid to try on something that you never pictured yourself in before (that's how I found mine!)


 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Photos courtesy of Jenna Leigh
 
 
 



Friday, July 12, 2013

Featured Bride Friday: Melissa

Congratulations to the beautiful couple!!





What was it like working with Charlotte’s?
Awesome! My consultant Sara was AMAZING! She was there for me every step of the way! From finding my perfect wedding dress, to the frantic, stressful search for the hottest bridesmaids dresses! She was there for every phone call, appointment, & late night e-mail. Also, Summer made the dreaded tuxedo shopping very simple. Jeremy and I pretty much disagreed on everything dealing with tuxedos. Summer helped us find a tuxedo that he liked, and, well, I LOVED! My groom and his groomsmen were absolutely handsome! I had Cheryl do custom alterations on my gown, to make into the perfect dress that I envisioned. She was able to create a handmade ivory bow tie, and add 40 yards of hot pink tulle to my dress. Every part of working with Charlotte’s was fun! They listened to my crazy ideas and they never told me no. Instead they worked with me and made me feel like I was truly their only bride!



Melissa's beautiful Gown



The wedding party



How did you and your fiancé meet?
We met at our place of work, KWIK TRIP! He transferred to my store from another store because we needed some extra help! I remember the first day he came to work at our store. He walked in like he owned the place. Little did he know that this was my store. What started out as a fun, yet flirty two year friendship, turned into late night joy rides, long chats about life, and a crazy love story!





What was your favorite part of your wedding day?

Our carriage ride! This was gifted to us, from my Mom & Dad. Our horse and carriage picked us up at our church on King Street, & just like a fairy-tale we galloped to Riverside Park, where our wedding party greeted us. At first Jeremy wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. He said his friends were going make fun of him for riding a "Cinderella Carriage" (Which, YES they did!) But honestly, it was the only 15 minutes of our entire wedding day we got to spend together alone. And waving at the hundreds of honking cars!!





How did he propose?

We went to the Twin Cities to celebrate our two year Anniversary. Jeremy got us a hotel room for the night because the next day we were going to hang out at the Minneapolis ZOO. Our room was amazing and it even included a huge Jacuzzi. We decided it would be fun to take a bubble bath. We didn’t have real soap to make bubbles so we improvised with shampoo. Before we knew it, we were laughing hysterically, bubbles were everywhere! There were so many bubbles that they overflowed onto the floor. We couldn’t even see each other! Jeremy was swimming around looking for something, which confused me. He looked as if he was looking for something. Come to find out, he had the ring on the Jacuzzi ledge, and he thought it was going to get lost in our Bubble filled hotel room. Jeremy finally swam his way to the ring, and then made his way back to me. He held a little black box in front of me, looked at me with his crazy big blue eyes, opened it, and said "HERE”. As we both held each other, hugged and cried I knew that he probably had been rehearsing a "Will you marry speech," in his mind all day long, over, and over again, but in the moment all he could say was "here." It was the cutest moment ever and this was our absolute perfect proposal!





What is one piece of advice you would give brides that are just beginning their search for the perfect wedding gown?

Even though you think you know what you want in a wedding dress, don't be afraid to try on the complete opposite! Take risks, and don't be afraid to stand out! It's your day, so be loud! When you finally get that crazy feeling in your stomach, and you think to yourself, this is the dress. Guess what, it is, so STOP SHOPPING! Nothing compares to the dress that gives you that special feeling.




 Photos courtesy of Emily Schmidt



Friday, July 5, 2013

Featured Bride Friday: Alison

Married June 8, 2013
Alison and Dustin Cunningham
What was it like working with Charlotte’s?  The customer service there was top notch.  They were prompt, very helpful, and made me feel like a million bucks from finding the dress to my final fitting.
 
How did you meet?  We met several years ago through a former co-worker of Duke's. When we met, we became friends, but then we went our separate ways for some time. It wasn't until late December, in 2010, when we met up again for some drinks with friends and that is when sparks began to fly.

Florist:  Flowers by Cindy (Cindy Krueger - La Crescent)
 
Make-up: Darcy Grulkowski (Mary Kay) did my make-up consultation prior to the wedding but I did my own make-up on the Wedding Day

What was your ceremony site? Lewis Valley Lutheran Church in Holmen
 
What was your reception site?  Omni Center in Onalaska and catering by Blue Moon in Onalaska
 
 
How did he propose?  Duke was very clever with his proposal, from setting up plans for dinner and taking me to a special spot where we like to sit and talk. It was there, when he pulled out a special, early Christmas present that the butterflies began to float. The gift was a Shutterfly photobook with pages of photos from New Year's Eve 2011 up to a party bus trip only a couple weekends before. Finally, towards the end of the photo book, there was a page that said "Will you" in which I looked up at Duke for him to say "marry me" while holding the ring that I had my heart set on months ago.
 

 
What is one piece of advice you would give brides that are just beginning their search for the perfect wedding gown?:  My advice would be to take along a good girlfriend and try on anything and everything. You never know which one will be "the one!"
 
 
 
What was your favorite part of the day?:  My favorite part of our wedding day was the "first look". The photographer and Duke's best man took each of us to a meeting place for the first look. Duke's look was priceless when he saw me for the first time - it truly was a moment I will not forget. It was so nice to have a couple minutes alone together before the busy day continued. A close second would be having all of our family and friends together to help celebrate our marriage. It felt so good!
 


Is there anything special or unique about your wedding that you would like to highlight?:  A special treat for our wedding ceremony had to be Duke's dog, Gunnar, as our honorary ring bearer. Andre, my Godson, was also a ring bearer. He walked down a ivory colored retriever decorated with ribbon and rings. When Andre was about 3/4 of the way down the aisle, he then set the retriever down for Gunnar to do the rest. Meanwhile, Gunnar was on heal until Duke gave him the command to fetch the retriever and bring it to him. At that time, Duke had Gunnar sit, give the retriever, and give him a high five. The whole thing was a big hit with the crowd! Another highlight was the time spent with the wedding party and their guests in between the ceremony and the reception. We all loaded on the Redneck Express for refreshments, pictures, and great times. It was a blast having everyone together with us!
 Photos courtesy of Amber Abts
 
 
 

Friday, November 30, 2012

Featured Bride Friday: Alyssa

Our GORGEOUS bride this week is Alyssa Britson!


Alyssa and Stuart were married July 7, 2012.




Alyssa and Stuart have amazing photos, so we are going to show you everything they sent over!!




What was it like working with Charlotte's?  Charlotte's Bridal made it very easy for me to find my dream dress because they took the time to get to know me and my style, which was very specific.  I wasn't sure I would find the perfect, formal, conservative dress, but they made it possible.  And when I found it, they really helped me get the "wow" factor by convincing me to try on a bubble veil.  It completed the look.




Wedding Gown Designer:  Essense of Australia

Florist:  Sunset Gardens in Galesville, WI

Hair and Make-up:  Sue Kolve's Salon & Day Spa




What is one piece of advice you would give brides that are just beginning their search for the perfect wedding gown?  There are so many styles, shapes, colors, and fits of wedding dresses these days, and it can be extremely overwhelming choosing just one, so when it comes down to making the final decision, always go with the one that you know your husband-to-be and your guests will look at and say, "That's totally her."  It is totally possible to find the perfect balance between being bridal and still being you.



What a BEAUTIFUL couple!




What was your favorite part of the day?  It is really hard to pick just one favorite part about our day because there are several moments that stick out in my mind.  One of them was finally coming out of the Country Club with my dress on, my mom holding my train, and seeing Stuart waiting for me down at the end of the golf cart path down the hill.  When he turned around and we got to see each other for the first time, we felt like the world had somehow stopped for a moment, and it was just us.  Another favorite part was the reception from start to finish.  Our maid of honor and best man both gave such creative, memorable speeches, and the dance party was a total blast!  No one left the dance floor.  But my dad's speech definitely was another favorite moment - It was really special to me, and it really couldn't have been more perfect. 










A special thanks to Diane Knothe of Apropos Photography for these AMAZING photos!



To view Alyssa's full profile please visit our website.