Real Brides: Shayla

Photographer: @marasco.phtography

I was sitting in a coffee shop taking another go at a huge data visualization project I had. I was having trouble focusing. I kept finding myself getting distracted by this guy sitting at the table next to mine. After a few minutes passed the person he was waiting for walked in. I recognized the person as a pastor of a local church. I felt a word for this person drop into my heart. At this point I knew if I was going to get anything done on this project I needed to leave. I began to gather my things and write down the word I received for the pastor. Before I left I went to the table of the distracting guy and the pastor. I set the note on the table and told the pastor it was for him. As I left the pastor asked Daniel (my now husband) if he knew me. He replied, “No, but I wish I did”. Fast forward a few months and I’m bartending at a pub in the same town. A group of guys keeps crowding the corner of the bar I’m working. One of them calls me over and tells me he wants to introduce me to one of his friends, who by this time was so embarrassed that he fled the table. Eventually, his friend returned and I was introduced for the first time to Daniel. Even though it was incredibly awkward with all of his friends there, I instantly felt a peace with Daniel that I had never felt before. We only talked briefly, but he left his phone number on a piece of receipt paper. The next day we began messaging. A true connection formed very quickly. We went on our first date within a week of meeting each other and the rest is history. 

My family and I went wedding dress shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Hello food baby! I was so nervous about how a wedding dress would look on me. I selected around 10 dresses to try on. To my surprise they all fit perfectly. Each dress I tried on I liked more than the last. I felt pretty in them. They looked exactly like dresses I had pinned on Pinterest and saved on Instagram. However, the first time I tried my dress on, I was overwhelmed with a sense of elegance that I did not feel with the other dresses. The design of the dress brought out a rare and exquisite beauty I had never seen in myself before. I was instantly reminded of my grandmother’s wedding dress. Mine and hers look almost identical. Throughout her life she was the embodiment of beauty and class to me. This dress was the perfect tribute to her and added a little touch from heaven to our wedding.