Photos: @marissamurdy
June is finally here - and with it comes Pride Month! We here at Luxe Bridal are firm believers that all love is worth celebrating. So let’s all celebrate together by taking a closer look at Luxe Bride Bri and her partner Claire’s love story!
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Tell us about your proposal!
Bri: I proposed first, in the Fall of 2021. I popped the question at our favorite apple orchard (I had been envisioning this for months) and I was overly prepared. I procured custom flannels with our new married name, had a tiny speaker in my fanny pack playing Noah Reid's "Simply the Best" (from Schitt's Creek), and had coordinated a photographer to capture the moment. It was perfect. Claire proposed the following weekend enlisting the help of our feline roommates, each cat equipped with a collar tag. One said "Will you" and the other "Marry Me?". I said yes, of course! Immediately after Claire's proposal, we met up with our families at a local winery for a surprise engagement party.
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Bri, describe your bridal style and tell us about your dress shopping experience! Did you leave with the gown you envisioned yourself in, or something different?
Bri: Luxe was the one and only bridal shop I went to! My wife and I were both mid-plus size and Claire had done tons of online research. She was really dismayed to find that many shops were not as accommodating, but discovered Luxe and because she had such a wonderful experience, that's where I started. Clothes shopping has always been difficult, so going somewhere that had so many options was such a welcoming experience. It's funny, I could not have described my style before the experience, only what I knew I didn't want: no mermaid, no ball gown, nothing slim fit, etc. But when I found "my dress" I just fell in love and was pleasantly surprised. I did NOT know I'd be wearing a strapless dress at my wedding. I wound up picking this gorgeous, sophisticated classic gown with elements of boho. It was intricate but not distracting, with floral lacework and a touch of glitter. I am not a girly girl, but I felt like a princess. It was perfect for me.
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Claire, how was your experience shopping at other stores? Did you feel listened to and taken care of?
Claire: Although I didn't find my dream dress at Luxe, Luxe definitely had the best service of anywhere I went, which is why I suggested Bri start there. I am incredibly particular, and went to 10 dress shops to find what I was looking for! While my body type is best described as midsize, most sample size gowns at other shops wouldn't zip up fully on me. It made for a less comfortable experience elsewhere.
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Tell us more about your wedding. What was your theme and color scheme? What were your flowers? How did you make your wedding personal to your love story?
We knew we wanted an outdoor wedding with lush greenery in the beautiful Minnesota autumn, with many florals, so getting married at an old flower farm was a natural choice! Roses, hydrangeas, dahlias, and marigolds appeared in our bouquets and were woven into our ceremony arch to complement our core colors of terracotta and desert rose. Guests were seated at tables named after our own pets and previous foster kittens, some of which had been adopted by people in attendance! Our guests' favorite part of the wedding was a surprise game of drag queen bingo, hosted by our dear friend who is a drag performer. (She wore a wedding gown, too - she scored hers at a thrift shop!)
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What was the most special memory from the day?
Bri: I had this distinct wave of peace wash over me when I was standing at the start of the aisle and could see Claire at the very end waiting, while the string quartet played "Simply the Best". It was magical and I teared up.
Claire: We had our friends and family participate in a community vow during our ceremony. They got to say "I do," too! Looking out at all of our loved ones as they pledged to support our union was a uniquely powerful moment of connectedness. In that moment, I felt so much gratitude towards the LGBTQ+ changemakers who came before us.
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Vendors:
Photographer: @marissamurdy
Venue: @camrosehill
Catering: @donatellisrestaurant
Hair + Makeup: @warpaintbeautyagency
Videographer: @monroefilmandphoto
Quartet: @loring_string_quartet
Drag Performer: @iamblouise