We love featuring our brides! Read Brittney and Ryan’s love story here:
The Meeting- Ryan and I met at his family lake house at Lake Wallenpaupack, PA on 4th of July weekend, 2016. We went to school together, and were in the same grade, but never were friends. He knew who I was and always liked me, but I don’t recall him back then. After I was out of a very long relationship, my sister (who knew him through a mutual friend) invited me down with her to his family lake house and Ryan didn’t pass on the opportunity of asking for my number. The rest is history!
The Proposal- Ryan proposed at the lake on 04/28/18. It was “Dock day” which is the day that everyone helps put the docks back in for the summer season. It takes many hours and lots of help. I was helping around the clubhouse and little did I know that everyone there had known what was going to happen. Once the docks were done, Ryan asked to go down on our dock to relax for a minute. I hesitated and said, “We’ve been down there all day!” Thankfully I proceeded to leave the lake house and head down on the golf cart with him. Once we were on the docks we took a seat at the edge and just looked out on the water. I felt something on the dock and turned around and saw our friend Elaine who was taking a photo. I still had no clue he was going to propose because she is known for always taking beautiful photos. I said to Ryan, “Elaine is creepin’ on us.” He preceded to say she was there for a reason.. followed by a speech that I can’t even remember because I was so shocked! On our golf cart ride back, above on one of our friends deck, everyone started cheering as they had watched it happen and I had no clue. We got back to the house and it was decorated and the family was waiting. It was a beautiful moment.
The Pre-Planning Details- We already knew, before we even got engaged, that we wanted to get married at a venue on the lake called Silver Birches. Once we actually got engaged there was no other looking around, as we met at the lake and got engaged at the lake, it was such a special place for us, we knew there was no other option. We also wanted it to be in the summer, as that is the season we spend the majority of the time there. 07/26/19 was the date we had chosen. Bridal party colors were a serious of blush, darker pink and a tan for the girls. The guys wore light grey linen pants and white tops with grey and floral ties to match the girls. I wanted it to be light, cool and pretty. We had our family & friends as our bridal party and wouldn’t have had it any other way.
The Dress- I knew I wanted a vintage looking and very basic dress. I had dreamed of having some sort of sleeve, but after trying a few on, I did not like the feel. I went to one bridal store and didn’t have the greatest experience. I found Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo online after I was looking at a certain dress. I had the most pleasurable experience on my appointment day! It was such a warm and welcoming place and I was so happy. I ended up finding a dress that actually had 3/4 sleeves but I had my seamstress remove them. The final product was beautiful.
The Pre-Wedding Parties- I love to decorate and plan things, so needless to say, I had a handful of ideas for my own bridal shower.
My sisters, sister in laws and close friends did an amazing job pulling together the “I Do BBQ” that I was looking for! I wanted a casual rustic outdoor shower and that’s exactly what I got. Also, the weather was perfect!
My bachelorette party was in Charleston, South Carolina in June and it was the most beautiful place. The town is so pretty and we had so much fun!!
The Day of- The day of, all the girls came to Ryan’s parents house and we got ready there. We were able to relax and get pampered. My close friend did our makeup and my cousin did my hair. We rented a house on the lake for our friends and that Is where Ryan and the groomsmen got ready.
For my something blue & old, I had my seamstress sew part of my deceased father’s bandana in a heart shape, under my dress. That was a special thing for me.
The Ceremony and then Reception- The ceremony was outdoors at the venue, on the grass with the lake right beside us. We were a little nervous of how the weather would turn out but we were so lucky to have a beautiful sunny day.
I did realize I forgot my veil a few minutes after we left the house, but luckily we had time to turn back around! Phew! We had a simple quick ceremony and at the end we released butterflies for our family members who could not be there that day.
We had a lovely first dance. I had a recording of Ryan’s grandmother (who had passed last year) from when we called her to tell her we had just got engaged. I had my DJ add certain parts to the end of our first dance song as a surprise to Ryan, and it was so special.
Little did I know, he had a surprise for me too. As my dad has been deceased since I was 6, I knew we were just going to skip the father daughter dance and go right to the dance with Ryan and his mom. But, Ryan has something else in mind. He made the most heartfelt speech and then I got to dance with 4 special men in my life I was so shocked, emotional and thankful for that moment. It was a day we both will never forget.
To top it off, we had a huge lake party the following day with close family and friends. It was the most perfect weekend of celebration!!!
Brittney said yes to Sloan by Beloved and removed the sleeves:
Are you a Darianna bride and want to be featured on our blog? Email Daria@DariannaBridal.com!