Call or Text: 215-491-8500
Call or Text: 215-491-8500

Real Bride Blog: Jenna Cusack-Gentert

The Meeting

My husband and I met at work in Delaware. I had only been working there for a few months, but he had been pursuing me ever since he met me during my first interview. Our first date was a “non-date date”, he convinced me to hang out with him so I could meet his dog. After that, we pretty much spent every single day together. 

The Proposal 

Ken and I planned a trip to visit Laguna Beach, CA for a quick weekend getaway to be a part of a friend’s engagement. I had no idea that the engagement was going to be for us, so I went along throughout the weekend thinking I was helping to surprise someone else! Ken proposed on a cliff overlooking the ocean and shortly after that revealed to me he had flown in my parents, his parents, and our best friends. After the surprise of the proposal, our friends had a party for us at their house. I was extremely thankful that Ken spared no detail in making sure I had on a new dress, my nails done, and a photographer to catch our proposal in action!

The Pre-Planning Details 

We both wanted to have a springtime wedding with indoor options for the ceremony and the reception. Ken and I both wanted to have a unique venue and share our love of travel with our guests. We decided to get married in Nashville, TN since it is almost a halfway point in the U.S. for California (where Ken is from) and Pennsylvania (where I am from). I chose French Blue for the bridesmaids dresses and picked pale pink and peach for the flowers for a nice spring feel. I had five bridesmaids and Ken had four groomsmen.  

The Venue

We both liked the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville because they had multiple space options and great architectural features. We decided the venue was a perfect compromise for Ken’s love of country music and my love for museums. We also loved that the venue was one block from Broadway so our guests could check out the best bars in Nashville before or after the wedding! 

The Dress

I had my mom, my future mother-in-law, both grandmothers, my sister, younger cousin, and two of my bridesmaids attend my first appointment. I was extremely lucky that Darianna’s was able to handle such a large party and keep everyone’s opinions in line! I was pretty sure of what I did not want in a dress since I worked at a bridal store in college. After trying on over twenty dresses, I realized my previous opinions were wrong! I wound up picking a dress with everything I did not want; it was strapless, more of a ball gown shape, and had a lot of tulle!

I only went to Darianna’s and had only one appointment to find my dress and everyone agreed on the dress in less than two hours! We were extremely lucky to get the dress picked out on the first appointment because two weeks later I moved across the country to Arizona! 

The Pre-Wedding Parties

Eleven months before the wedding, Ken and I had moved to Arizona. We wanted our bridal parties to see our new house and visit Arizona since many of them had never even been here! Both of us had very low-key bachelor/bachelorette parties and spent our weekends showing off our new city Phoenix to all our friends! For the Bridal Shower, my mom and bridesmaids were wonderful and planned everything for me in Pennsylvania. I flew home for a weekend and they surprised me with the Bridal shower at a country club! 

The Day Of 

The day of the wedding was extremely relaxing, we stayed at a hotel attached to our venue and we had a wonderful hairstylist and makeup artist. For my something old, I had the pearl necklace my grandmother gave to me repurposed into a bracelet, my something new was the hair pins my mother-in-law bought for me, my something borrowed was my mom’s earrings, and my something blue were my undergarments. 

The Ceremony

We were very happy to have chosen an indoor venue since it rained the day of our wedding. For our pictures, we were very excited to be able to take pictures in any part of the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum and our first look was in the Ford Theater. We had so much fun taking pictures with our entertaining bridal party and they calmed our nerves for the ceremony! We had a quick ceremony in the Rotunda of the Country Music Hall of Fame which is an extremely unique space. We also were fortunate to have one of Ken’s best friends officiate our wedding, which put us both at ease during our vows. 

 

The Reception

The Reception was so fun but seemed to go by so fast! Our guests loved the photo booth we had, the cupcakes we had instead of cake, and the popcorn and candy bar at the end! Our favorite moments were dancing with our friends and seeing all of our guests hangingout together! We loved that our friends were able to meet each other (we had guests come from eleven different states!) and go out to the bars on Broadway after the wedding! 

Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo is a multi award-winning bridal & tuxedo store located in Warrington, Bucks County, PA.  Call or go online to make an appointment with us!