Who Said You Only Have To Wear It Once!
We know there is a lot going on in the world right now, and for a lot of brides it may seem like their love story has been put on hold. But guess what…LOVES ALWAYS FINDS A WAY!! So don’t give up hope, you control your love story and you choose HOW and WHEN you celebrate!!
We love Love and all the stories that celebrate love, so today we want to share Diane and Danny’s love story with you and the unique (and amazing) way that they celebrate their love…
“When Danny and I started dating in our mid-30s, he was a confirmed bachelor and I was a single mother with 3 children. Nobody pegged Danny as the kind of guy to settle down with a family and I had become comfortable with the idea that I would raise the children on my own. Our friends and family were just as surprised as we were by the depth of our love for each other. It is crazy to think of all the time we missed with one another; seventeen years and what seems like a lifetime between our last meeting and when we were re-introduced to one another. We are extremely appreciative of every opportunity to revel in the gift of finding each other so we have decided to celebrate every wedding anniversary in a big way. We love to travel, find adventures and make memories together and with our children, but anniversaries are just for us!
Our first anniversary was a short weekend getaway just a few hours from home, at National Harbor on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. Danny made dinner reservations at Bond 45 and Bobby McKey’s Dueling Piano Bar. Danny prefers to wear his formal kilt, which he was married in, and he planned to wear it for our anniversary dinner. He is absolutely stunning in his kilt and it makes such a statement! I purchased a sophisticated yet simple cocktail dress to compliment the kilt. Unfortunately, as I was packing on the morning of our trip, I noticed the dress was stained. It has been previously worn and returned to the department store with the sales tags still intact. After a quick check online, it became apparent that I would not be able to replace the dress without disrupting our weekend plans. I was not willing to give up a single minute of our anniversary trip for something so silly! The only item in my wardrobe that seemed to meet the fancy dress and kilt coordination requirements was my wedding gown. I asked Danny what he thought about me wearing it for our anniversary dinner and without hesitation, he told me to do it!
When it was time for dinner, we put on our wedding ensemble and walked down to the restaurant. We met so many people along the way! Many of them simply shouted out, “Congratulations!” but some people stopped to talk with us. When we explained that it was our anniversary, the reactions were priceless. It started conversations between couples and families about their own wedding day and bridal wear. We even met a couple in our hotel lobby who were married just hours before. They asked us to jump into one of their wedding photos! After our meal in a private dining room overlooking the water, we popped into an Irish pub and watched as jockey Mike Smith and Justify made Kentucky Derby history by breaking the “Apollo Curse”. From there we headed over to the piano bar where we sang the night away. Everywhere we went, we shared our love story and our favorite memories of our wedding day. It was such a meaningful experience that we decided to wear our wedding attire for each of our future wedding anniversaries.
For our second anniversary trip, we flew to Chicago in our wedding clothes, which was super fun and hilarious. (I’m incredibly grateful for the short flight because I cannot imagine dealing with my gown in an airplane restroom!) We snapped selfies next to the World Series trophy, became friends with a few of Chicago’s finest in blue, and made several appearances on the big screen during the 7th inning stretch. Some of the firemen in Wrigleyville’s Engine Company 78 saw us in wedding clothes and hollered out, “Don’t do it!”. Danny yelled back, “Too late & I’m glad I did!” As a special anniversary gift and surprise for Danny, I contacted a photographer in Chicago and made arrangements for a photo shoot at Wrigley Field. We felt like celebrities. Danny, who dislikes being photographed & only does it for me, agreed that it was a rock star experience.
So that brings us to anniversary #3…COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions are keeping us from making travel plans. We would love some help finding ideas to make this anniversary special. But even if we are just hanging out in the backyard with our kiddos, you can bet we will be doing it in style…wedding gown and kilt for the win!”
Wow. Whoever said you can only wear your wedding dress one time was soo wrong!!! We always tell our brides to find a dress that you never want to take off and Diane found just that!!!
So, with their third anniversary just around the corner, we want YOU to help Diane and Danny celebrate by heading over to our Instagram Stories and sharing your ideas on how they can make this anniversary special!!
Photography: Brian McConkey Photography