Today’s featured wedding goes out to the dreamers…to all the brides who have dreamt of a fairytale wedding day since they were little, Lauren + Anthony’s traditional cathedral wedding ceremony and black tie reception is a dream come true. Complete with winding staircases, a massive chandelier, six-tier wedding cake, snowfall and CO2 blasting on the floor for a full floating on a cloud effect. WOW!! How perfect that Lauren had the opportunity to meet with Ines Di Santo in person to design a custom couture wedding gown for her dream day!
Lauren + Anthony | June 28, 2014 | Newark, New Jersey | Dress Listing: Ines Di Santo, Custom
The Ceremony
We got married on June 28, 2014 at Newark Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ. It is an absolutely stunning cathedral that is even bigger than St. Patrick’s in Manhattan. It was a traditional Catholic ceremony with a mass celebration.
The Reception
Our reception followed at The Venetian in Garfield, NJ. It was a black tie affair with about 310 guests. The Palazzo Room in the Venetian, which is the room we had our reception in, is spectacular. There are no other words to describe it – the venue is completely over the top. The room has a double staircase with a huge chandelier. For our first dance we even had snowfall and CO2 blasting on the floor so it looked like we were floating on a cloud. I have plenty of pictures!
Lauren’s Dress Search
Knowing that my wedding was going to be an over the top black tie event, the dress had to be too. I always wanted a big full dress. Since I was a little girl I knew I would get married in a huge dress. It took me 6 months to find my dress. I had a vision in mind and could not find it anywhere. I can’t give you an exact number of exactly how many dresses I tried on, but I tried on over 30 just at Kleinfelds alone! I went everywhere to find my dream dress. There were a lot of tears and a lot of feelings of disappointment along the way because to me my dress was everything and the most important part of my wedding. Finally I ended up at Bergdorfs, where I tried my first Ines Di Santo gown on. The lady at BG told me that Ines can create anything and she’s willing to do custom. It just so happened I had an appointment right after that at Bridal Reflections, where they were having an Ines Di Santo trunk show that exact day! It was meant to be. The whole Bridal Reflections team was amazing. If it weren’t for them I would have never met with Ines one on one to create my dream dress. Ines is the kindest sweetest lady. She designed for me the most beautiful wedding dress. It was exactly what I wanted and I could not thank Ines enough. I even mailed her a hand written letter after thanking her for everything. She was nothing short of amazing and for that I am eternally grateful. Whoever buys my dress should know how truly special it is. It’s a one of a kind completely custom gown. I also did a custom headpiece, earrings, and bracelet by Thomas Knoell, which were purchased at Bridal Reflections as well.
How Lauren Felt in Her Wedding Dress
I felt beautiful and on top of the world in my wedding dress. It was the greatest day of my life and I got to spend it in a gown that was breathtakingly beautiful!
Why Lauren Decided to Sell Her Wedding Dress
The decision to sell my wedding dress was hard, but I knew I would never be able to wear it again and seeing it hanging in my closet taking up space would just make me sad. Someone else deserves to feel as special and as beautiful as I did on my wedding day.
