A last minute dress mix-up one month before her wedding didn’t phase Jennifer. When her salon told her her gown wouldn’t be ready, she calmly went to PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com to look for alternate. Her Vera Wang Ghillian fit like a glove and was the perfect dress for her intimate and fun New Orleans wedding. The dress was so perfect it’s hard to believe it wasn’t her first choice!
Jennifer + Jeffrey | New Orleans | April 2017
The Ceremony
While many people rush through their ceremony to get to the party, to us, the ceremony was the highlight of the evening. My husband and I are both spiritual people who value sacred rituals, poetry, and meaningful gatherings. We had 100 close friends and family gathered in a candlelit circle together in Latrobe’s antique-style space. As each of our 6 bridesmaids and groomsmen entered, they lit a large candle at the center altar. Both of my parents gave me away to the song “Higher Love” by James Vincent McMorrow. We exchanged personalized vows, read Neruda poetry, and shed tears of joy with readings and blessings from around the world. For the culmination of the ceremony, we had asked every attendant to bring a small stone from a place that represented “home” to them. After my husband and exchanged our first meal of bread and wine together at the altar, the guests stepped forward and laid their stone around us, to physically build an small fortress of support around our union. As the Ed Sheeran song “I See Fire” played, we all sang together before sharing our first kiss as man and wife.
The Reception
Our reception was New Orleans style cocktail reception with a throwback to the days of love letters. We served Southern-style hors d’oeuvres all night long, as people meandered through the historic building and Spanish canary yellow room. We decorated with antique books, candelabras,and vintage photographs. We also hired improv typewriter poets, where guests could have their own love poem written and sealed with a wax seal. From a jazz band start to a DJ progression, we ended the evening with a New Orleans tradition — a Second Line parade with a 6 piece brass band. We took all 100 people to the streets where we sang and danced our hearts out in procession to Hotel Monteleone.
Jennifer’s Wedding Dress Search
After ravaging every bridal boutique in LA, I returned back home to NYC for a weekend where I thought I found “the one.” I ordered my dress from this well-established New York store, however, it arrived incorrectly made a month before my wedding. The store refunded my money but I was without a dress with only a month to go til our destination wedding. Thankfully there are sites like Preowned Wedding Dresses that could help me. In fact, I likely should have gone here first since their selection was just as elaborate but their prices were much more reasonable. I found the Vera Wang Ghillian dress listed on here but two different sellers. With only weeks to spare, I chose the dress that required the least number of alterations, ordered it, and voila – I was set to go to New Orleans.
How She Felt In Her Vera Wang
Most importantly, I felt like myself. This dress is a mixture of tradition, uniqueness, and artistic flare, and it photographs amazingly. As a hobby photographer, photos were of huge importance to me and this dress did that trick!
Why She’s Selling Her Wedding Dress
While I feel attached to my husband and the spirit of our wedding day, I do not need to preserve my dress to keep that memory alive. Since I found my dress on this website, I want to offer it back to any other bride who could benefit from it’s beauty. I’d be elated to have another woman benefit it. I’m also a big believer in recycling clothing. You can often find me at resale or vintage stores, because fashion should not have to break the bank. Reusing clothes is a sustainable way to care for each other and the Earth, plus it saves money. What’s not to love about that?
