The wedding is over, enter the honeymoon phase! After the planning madness and the whirlwind of your best day ever, you get to  enjoy  ALONE time with your spouse.  What a Cloud 9 feeling to close your eyes and picture this!

Have you put thought into your honeymoon yet?

Do you need the advice of a travel agent, complete with tours and packages? Maybe you’re a do-it-yourselfer, just get somewhere and wing it.  There are so many things you can do that you must talk about how you want to spend your honeymoon.

Which one are you, calm and peaceful?

Or daring and extreme?

Or both? Tell your travel agent to find what activities you want (or don’t want).

What about food? Are you an American fare, steak and potato type?

Or have a more international palette?

Or both? Again, tell your travel agent and get your perfect trip booked!

Before we get to the current popular destinations, let’s list some other questions to answer and ideas to ponder.

• Do you want to stay domestic or travel abroad?
• Do you like all-inclusive packages with food and drink?
• Do you want to relax or pack in the activities?
• Do you want to be surrounded by people or more excluded?
• Are you stressed at the thought of travel, afraid to fly, etc?
• Would you consider a cruise?
• How much do you want to spend on your honeymoon?
• Do you want to get married at your destination location?

If you’re thinking of traveling abroad, there are some amazing places like Italy’s Amalfi Coast (pictured below), Santorini and Mykonos in Greece, Figi, Bali, Tahiti, and Bora Bora to name just a few.

While we are on the subject of traveling abroad, please take note of your passport! If you change your name but it doesn’t appear on your passport, you’re not leaving the country. It takes some time to change your passport and other documents over so make sure you have that in place well in advance of your trip.

Domestically, the top choice is always the Hawaiian Islands. Oahu, Maui, and Molokai are beautiful places to honeymoon. Also popular are places like California Wine Country (Sonoma Valley pictured above), Miami and Orlando in Florida, Jackson Hole, WY and Park City, UT (skiing, anyone?), or any of the incredible National Parks. Fall weddings can consider Vermont for breathtaking scenery.

Cruising is also a popular option and can take you to a number of great places for you to experience in one trip. Consider cruising the Greek Islands, Australia, the Mediterranean including Spain, France, and Italy, or perhaps Alaska.  There are always good packages and specials running for cruises and some offer special bonuses for honeymooners. Some cruise ships can hold over 5,000 guests so if you and your sweetheart are people-people, this could be ideal for you!

Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo is always vetting the best partners in the business, and we have recently added Helen Baxter-Amelsberg with Dream Vacations in Furlong, PA. She is a well-seasoned traveler, both domestically and internationally, and can lead you to the most perfect honeymoon to celebrate your new life together, or arrange the most perfect destination wedding and honeymoon in one. She’s also super friendly and fun and will make the process exciting for you.

Whether it’s peace and quiet or extreme action and adventure, anywhere on the globe, Helen can exceed expectations. Watch our social for the next in-store event with Helen coming in March! As a Darianna Bride herself just last year, she’ll have special presents for you!

In my opinion, there are no coincidences. Things happen that defy logic, like deja vu, karma, or even signs from beyond that make us profoundly sad, yet simultaneously grateful and connected.

In this blog, we tell some powerful stories from our brides in our store, that show when you are saying Yes, there may be divine intervention…

My favorite story happened about two years ago. A bride came to us after numerous shopping trips. Her mother told me privately that she was so disappointed that she wasn’t finding anything she liked. The process had become a chore and to add to it, her mother – the bride’s grandmother – had recently passed away and they were very very emotional. Grandmom was going to buy her dress and they spoke often of how much fun they would have when the time came to go dress shopping. The time arrived, but they were not having any fun at all.

The bride did not want to shop anymore, yet agreed – on Mom’s urging – to go to one more store.  We were well over an hour away, Mom “randomly” chose to come to us.

With that knowledge, I went about the appointment quite differently.

I told the bride I understood it hadn’t been fun and she wasn’t into it, but since she was here, let’s pick out a few dresses you think are “crazy”.  Ones you would never wear. Let’s start with ones you wouldn’t consider and see how you feel.  No pressure.

She agreed and said it is much easier to find ones she didn’t like. After looking through every dress, she chose three.  The first 2 we laughed and took pictures and she had a little fun.  The 3rd dress she said she purposely saved for last.  She said, “I don’t understand this one. I’d never pick this out otherwise, it’s totally not me, but I am drawn to it.”  I said, “Let’s put it on.”

“Mom, I like this one,” said bride. “It’s has nothing I want, but I really like it. I don’t want to take it off and I haven’t felt good in any dress but this.”

Mom said, “I’m glad you said that, because as soon as you came out I loved it on you!”

Bride was looking for a plain, simple dress, no “frills or bedazzle” she said. She said she wanted a dress that was “quiet” but pretty.

This dress she connected to was a fully beaded fit to flare with a beaded illusion back and cap sleeve – it was almost the exact opposite of what she was looking for.

“I actually really like this one.  How did this happen?” She laughed and the mood completely changed. “Mom, this is my dress, I can’t believe it, I absolutely love this dress and I have no idea why!”

“The dress is named ‘Aster’,” I said.

They both shot me the strangest look and trust me, it was awkward. Really awkward. Mom put her hands over her face and sobbed.  Bride stood there not moving.  All I could say was, “I’m so sorry” because I couldn’t imagine what just happened.

Turns out, Grandmom loved flowers but there was one flower in particular that was everywhere – in her yard, paintings in her house, painted on dishwear, needle-pointed pillows – everywhere.  Her favorite flower was Aster. It was Grandmom showing she was dress shopping with them after all. Lead them to a “random” store, lead Bride to pick a dress that she’d “never consider wearing” named after her favorite flower.  Talk about a strong connection.

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Another bride came in just a few months ago.  She was so on edge and was talking so fast about not wanting to try on and not wanting to be “in this position”.  I asked her if something had happened recently and how could I help make the experience easier for her.  She said, “My mother just passed. I am very scattered and emotional and I know I don’t look good so when people tell me I look beautiful in dresses I think they’re just trying to make a sale. I need a sign, Mom send me a sign…” and she closed her eyes.  Truth be told, I had to hold back tears.

I told her we would take very good care of her as her consultant – who had not heard any of this conversation – came to the front to introduce herself.  Our consultant gave her a big smile and said, “Hi, I’m Sharon and I’m so happy to meet you.”  The bride started crying and hugged ME.  She found her sign.  Her mother’s name was Sharon.

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One of our brides purchased a dress and it fit her perfectly at try on.  She then lost a lot of weight before the wedding. She went for her fitting and was told it was impossible to alter it down to her new size and her wedding was only 3 weeks away.  She came in the store and said, “I know the answer is no, but the girls at work told me to just ask.  Can I swap this dress for a smaller one or is there anything you can do?” One of our consultants said, “Isn’t that the misordered dress in the back?”  It was indeed the same dress.  We pulled it out – brand new and FOUR sizes smaller – it fit like a glove.  She said, “You’d do this for me?!”  I told her, “Of course. It was ordered last year by mistake and it’s not doing us any good hanging here,” and I showed her the ticket.  Her eyes got huge.  “Oh my gosh, it was ordered it on my birthday!”  Well, that was meant to be! 🙂

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We had a bride in several years ago whose sister passed away.  She brought in a large support group and it was emotional for them because her sister would have been Maid of Honor.  She found her perfect dress and was super excited, and we needed to find the perfect belt for it.  We tried and tried and found some that were really nice and looked great, but not quite right.  Remembering one on display on a mannequin, we took that one off and brought it over.  It was perfect!  It totally transformed the dress into perfection! When she looked closer, she said, “No way,” and got very still.  “It’s a butterfly.” The perfect belt was a crystal and pearl butterfly design. The butterfly was their symbol for her late sister.  We all stayed quiet for a few minutes to take in the emotions.  We went through over 30 belts to find the perfect one, and the perfect one turned out to be incredibly meaningful and truly a sign.

These are just some of our beyond Yes stories. Maybe you have a Beyond story that you want to share? We’d love to hear it!

Wondering where to find those romantic, lace dresses that you’ve been saving to your wedding board on Pinterest? Look no further. Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo is thrilled to announce that we are the exclusive retailers of Madi Lane Bridal in the entire Philadelphia region!

The Elora gown has been taking the internet by storm – so much so that we’ve been receiving phone calls from up and down the east coast searching for it – and beginning this August, Elora and a number of other breathtaking gowns will be in our store, like Haven shown here:

Madi Lane is an Australian-based bridal line that places a high emphasis on elegance and individuality. The intricate lace and sophisticated designs exude pure romance that speaks to every bride. These gowns are for the bride who has a sense of herself and wants her dress to reflect her personality. We’ll let the pictures speak for themselves!

TRUNK SHOW!

September 5-8, 2019, we will be hosting a Madi Lane Trunk Show!

In addition to the gorgeous dresses normally in store, we will be bringing even more of her dresses into the store for one weekend only. Appointments are required for the Trunk Show – availability is limited!

Come in and say “yes!” to your perfect Madi Lane dress! Fun specials and vendors TBA!  Click here to schedule your appointment or call/text us at 215-491-8500.

We are thrilled to be able to bring this designer to the Philly market.  With all of the unique and special venues in Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties as well as destination weddings, a bride deserves a perfectly matched dress for her choice.  Adding Madi Lane to our current designers of Morilee, Kitty Chen Couture & Ivoire, Casablanca Bridal, Beloved, Sincerity by Justin Alexander, Jessica Morgan, Blu by Morilee, and Moonlight assures that Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo has the most perfectly curated – and most affordable – designers in the entire region.

Our gorgeous dresses range new from $800-$3,000, with select off-the-rack dresses from $350-$999.

It’s always great time to be engaged at Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo!