Congratulations Real Bride, Shawna, on your beautiful wedding!

Congratulations to The Bridal Finery real bride, Shawna and husband AJ! Shawna + AJ celebrated their wedding at the Royal Crest Room in St. Cloud, Florida. Their wedding was a romantic and fun winter wedding with featured colors of deep red, green, and white. It was important for this couple to have a fun wedding reception. They wanted to relax and dance and just enjoy the moment. Shawna shared with us in our blog interview, “My favorite memory from my event is the reception. I loved just getting the chance to hang out and see friends and family was the best. We had a great time with them and also loved seeing how well the vendor team put together my visions for the perfect reception look.” Continue to read as we share all the details on Shawna’s Ines Di Santo wedding dress and our exclusive interview with Shawna.

Real bride Shawna wore an Ines Di Santo wedding dress:

Shawna wore ‘Spicy’ by Ines Di Santo for her wedding day. Bridal Finery owner and stylist, Tali helped Shawna find this perfect dress. Shawna’s bridal style is perfect for a winter wedding in Florida. Slightly sexy with a hint of glam. The Spicy dress features a plunging neckline, open mesh back with pearl details buttons, and beaded lace applique details. This dress was perfect for a Florida winter wedding. Shawna completed this look with a custom veil that we helped her design in our Winter Park, Florida bridal shop. Shawna describes her bridal shopping experience with us “just didn't find any dresses that had that “wow this is it” feeling until I came to The Bridal Finery. When Tali pulled out the dress I just had a feeling and knew it was the one!” Congratulations, Shawna! We loved being apart of your special day!

Event Type & Location (wedding, rehearsal dinner, bridal shower, bachelorette party, or honeymoon): Wedding was located at The Royal Crest Room in Saint Cloud, FL.

Event Date : 11-9-2019

Vendors & Their Instagram Handles: Venue/Catering: @theroyalcrestroom
Planner: Jaclyn Fraser w/ @atlastweddings
Photo: Josh & Rachel Best @joshandrachel
Video: @thelemonsphoto
Hair/Make Up: @moonstone.artistry
Florist: Danielle w/ @dreamdesignsflorist
DJ/Lighting: DJ Danny w/ Soundwave Entertainment @soundwave_dj_lighting
Draping: Al Dee w/ @aldeeproductions
Photobooth & Dancing in a Cloud: @ourdjrocks
Cake: @sweetbyholly

How did you & your partner meet? : We met in high school through mutual friends.

Where was your first date? : Our first date was to a Halloween church event called Judgement House. We had been attending the same church with our families for years without even knowing!

How did your partner propose? : He proposed to me on the 4th of July in Crystal River during the firework show over the water. It was beautiful and so romantic.

What was your dress shopping experience like? : It was quite a long experience. I had gone to a ton of stores and just didn't find any dresses that had that “wow this is it” feeling until I came to The Bridal Finery. When Tali pulled out the dress I just had a feeling, and knew it was the one!

What did you wish you knew before you started wedding planning?: I wish I knew that having your team behind you is so important. A support system is everything.

Where was your wedding? What did you decide on that space?:  Our wedding was held at, The Royal Crest Room. We chose this venue because we loved that there was a lot included in the package. We did not have to hire a lot of the vendors that most venues require because The Royal Crest Room provides a lot of them for you.

What's your favorite memory from your event? : My favorite memory from my event is the reception. I loved just getting the chance to hang out and see friends and family was the best. We had a great time with them and also loved seeing how well the vendor team put together my visions for the perfect reception look.

What is a 'must have' for brides on wedding day?: You absolutely need bobby pins, safety pins, a mini sewing kit, make up & lipstick for touching up, curling wand (if hair is down and curled for touch ups throughout the night), Tylenol, deodorant, baby wipes, tide to go stick, your favorite perfume, Kleenex, mints & Visine. There are wedding day kits sold on Amazon and Etsy that have most of these in them, I highly recommend. I did not have a lot of these things on my day and wish I did!

How would you describe the overall feel of your event? : The overall feel of my event was romantic but once the dance floor and bar was opened, it was just a lot of dancing and fun.

What wedding planning advice do you have for other brides? : My advice is to have fun with it! Don't stress. I stressed a lot during the planning process and once it was all over I looked back and realized wow there really was nothing to stress about. Have your vendors picked out as early as possible and don't procrastinate, staying on top of everything will keep the stress to a minimum. If you have a busy lifestyle and don't have a lot of extra time, I highly recommend hiring a planner, I hired a month of coordinator and as soon as she took over I was in shock how smoothly everything went the month going into the big day.

Where was your honeymoon? : My honeymoon was in Oahu & Maui, Hawaii.

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