Real Brides: Amanda

We met, Sunday, March 29, 2015 during a charity fundraiser at Acme Feed & Seed in downtown Nashville. As the event was concluding, guests were invited up to the rooftop for a surprise fireworks show. As fate would have it, our story officially took off as we exchanged playful banter during the fireworks show. Jes asked if he could text me a picture of the fireworks, a smooth and welcomed way to exchange numbers. Not ready for the night to end, we chatted with friends downstairs after the event and it has been fireworks ever since. We went on our first date the following week and have been together ever since. I still have the pictures of the fireworks and a screenshot of the text Jes sent me that night. I went into wedding dress shopping knowing more about how I wanted to feel in my dress and less of what that would translate into for fabric or shape. I wanted to feel timeless, elegant and comfortable. Being able to easily dance with my soon to be husband was a must. My dress was only the third wedding dress I ever tried on, and at my very first salon, so my moment was more like a series of minutes. At first I thought I would be crazy to pick the third dress I ever tried on. After all, there are so many gorgeous gowns and I had been patiently waiting for this all my life. But as the minutes passed, I did not want to take it off. I kept floating around the salon, that’s really how I felt. I felt the timeless elegance I was looking for and all I wanted to do dance and twirl, which was what I couldn't wait to do on my wedding day. That’s how I knew my dress was “the one”! I tried one more on afterwards, just for good measure and that helped seal the deal, because I could not wait to put the other gown back on. I’m so grateful for the team at Arzelle’s who helped me to see that it was OK to feel great and fall for the third dress - every bride’s experience is different. Photo: Matt Andrews Photography