A Wedding Dress Story by Lara Curtis
My husband and I met at a mutual friend’s pre-deployment backyard BBQ and our dogs (my 70lb German Shepherd and his 15lb rescued beagle mix) instantly fell in love so it was by God’s grace that we too fell in love. We are both military, so in between my fiancé deploying and my long TDY’s, planning a wedding was challenging at best. I was lucky enough to find my wedding dress at the first shop I went to. However, once it arrived it was several sizes too big and so began the drastic alterations. My gown went from an A-line to a trumpet skirt to accommodate the drastic reduction and I fell even more in love with my wedding dress.
The Perfect Wedding Dress at the Perfect Wedding
Lara’s husband was stunned when he saw his beautiful bride.
My husband refused to see my dress prior to the wedding being the southern, traditional man that he is but that moment my father walked me down the aisle (later hearing my husband had already cried 5 times) and seeing that look on his face – it is one moment I will never forget.
Our wedding occurred on a picture-perfect day in Pismo Beach, California and we of course had our doggies in the wedding along with our parents, family and friends. We had a local florist provide beautiful wild flowers, a local bakery produce some of the most amazing cake and cupcakes and yet another local photographer taking amazing photographs. Our outdoor wedding took place at the Ventana Grill in Pismo which overlooked some of California’s most beautiful beaches – our summer time Central California beach wedding was perfect!
Lara’s wedding overlooked a gorgeous beach.
My gown is a Maggie Sottero (highly modified all white Karena Royale with Alencon Lace) trumpet dress; purchased and altered by Heart’s Desire in San Luis Obispo. The original sash was removed and a hand beaded sash was added.