Real Brides: Claraivel

We met in the same cooking class 2012-2013 but didn't actually meet until later in the school year when we met through a mutual friend. My husband was a senior at the time and I was a junior. We were both really shy and never actually talked much in high school but he would look at me during class and eventually started crushing on me. Flash forward to almost the end of the school year Prom was approaching. He wanted to ask me to Prom but he was too shy to ask. I had one of his friends in a history class where he one day asked me if I would go to Prom with him if he asked me and I said "Yes". Then expecting the unexpected I waited days and weeks for him to ask me to Prom, but that day never came. He had decided to go with a friend instead since he was too shy to ask me. He also had no idea his friend had even told me about him wanting to ask me to Prom. Eventually he graduated and we both went about with our lives.

2014 came around and he was working at Rite Aid in our small town and I had just graduated high school. Throughout 2014-2016 I would occasionally shop around the store but not very often, but when I did he would always smile and say "Hi" or "Hello" very nervously every time he spotted me even when I was in the middle of the aisles hiding from him. But he was always too shy to start a conversation with me. One summer day towards the end of July 2016 I went with my friend to buy ice cream to make root beer floats. He of course was working and spotted us, smiled and said "Hi" to me as he always did. He then asked my friend what we were up to just to make small talk while he rang us up. My friends responded with "Clara just made us enchiladas for dinner and they're so good you should come have some". He jokingly said "I'll stop by". Later that week he sent a message to my friend asking her about me and if I was seeing anyone my friend responded to him with "hit her up she's single!". He wasted no time and later on messaged me and since has never stopped. The rest is history. 

After he proposed I had no idea where to even begin planning for a wedding. So I went on Google and searched "How to plan a wedding?" I clicked on a link and on that link was this Gorgeous dress. I instantly fell in love and knew that I wanted this dress to be my dress. I had no idea how I was going to find this dress but I was determined. I would constantly look everywhere and had no luck. One day I decided to look more into detail at my screenshot and saw some tiny little word that said "@moonlightbridal". I went on to Google and searched for my nearest bridal shop that carried this specific designer and to my shock it was 2 hours away from where I live. But I didn't let that stop me. I emailed the bridal shop and asked if they had this specific dress in store and was told no but they could get it in a couple weeks through the borrowing program. Once the dress arrived I went in to try it on and when I saw the dress on me I was even more sure than before that this was my dress, this was going to be the dress I married my best friend in. My stylist at the shop even said she usually recommends brides try on different styles but she could tell that there was no need for that with me since you can see it in my face that this was the one.

Photo Credits: Dana Rene