THE POWER OF MANIFESTING
This gorgeous Bride manifested that she wanted a Galia Lahav dress for her wedding long before meeting her now husband. All her statements came true: a forever love, her wished wedding photographer, a dreamy, luxurious wedding in the most secluded area of the Mexican Pacific coast, all her friends and family by their side during a weekend of celebrations and of course, dressed by her favourite bridal brand.
THE LOVE STORY
“Lucas and I met on Hinge in May of 2017 in San Francisco. Lucas was my first Hinge date, and clearly my last. If you don’t know about San Francisco dating, my father always said “the odds are good, but the goods are odd”. I’m not one for gambling, but I was lucky enough to get a Royal Flush with Lucas. After our first date I had a dream we got married, but because I was 22 and afraid of commitment I pushed off the feeling I had that this was it. Instead, Lucas and I went on a string of dates until October, ranging from:
- A Giants game where I accidentally laughed so hard I projectile spit my beer on the person in front of us and he didn’t notice
- A “rom-com” movie with his friends. Rom-com is in quotations because we actually went to go see Mother, a horror/psychological thriller that his friends convinced me was a rom-com
- Picnics at the park
- Dinner and drinks on a rooftop. This date was particularly memorable for 2 reasons. For one, I showed up with a fake lip ring my roommate had bought to try and gauge his reaction. He completely ignored it but when I took it off to eat he sighed the biggest sigh of relief, almost as if he was holding his breath. The second reason is Lucas forgot his ID, so margarita night pivoted to movie night at a local eater that served snacks and drinks, where I snuck Lucas drinks all night. We got there early and missed the movie because we were so busy enjoying each other’s company.
- Trips to Napa
- The list goes on
“In October we finally started dating officially. Lucas picked me up after work and drove us to a pumpkin patch I had been wanting to go to. The pumpkin patch had a corn maze that we raced each other in to see who would get to the finish line first. This was a tradition we would continue for years to come. In fact, this is where he would propose in 2022, with a custom maze filled with pictures of us, and then him and our dog Noodle waiting in the center of the maze with a giant ring. Today, the 3 of us live in an apartment in West Village, New York”
FINDING THE GALIA LAHAV DREAM DRESS
“Before I even had a boyfriend I knew 2 things:
- I wanted my dress to be from Galia Lahav
- I wanted Tali to be my photographer.
“Luckily both of these came true! After Lucas and I got engaged, I started looking at wedding dresses. I took to my Instagram and Pinterest saved wedding gowns from over the years and started planning. The first time I went to Galia was in July of 2021 with my two best friends. Jackie was such a pleasure and helped me figure out what style of wedding dress style I liked. Originally, I fell in love with the Gale dress, but since I was still over a year out from my wedding didn’t make a decision then. Over the course of the next 7 months, I tried on over 100-200 dresses from different designers, which were promptly input into a spreadsheet and ranked. Then I did a PowerPoint presentation with my friends and had them give me their favorites. The initial goal was to narrow in on style, shade, fit, etc. One thing I noticed as time went on, is that some of the original dresses I loved were no longer fitting my vision for what I wanted. I realized my perspective on the dresses had changed and I wasn’t sure if those would be the right gowns anymore”.
“In February of 2022, I was finally ready to pick a dress. I had my mom, grandma, and sister fly out, and along with my 2 best friends, I was ready to make a final decision with the help of Jackie, of course. Our first store was Galia Lahav’s and I remember picking out a handful of dresses, including previous favorites. I also let my mom pick out a dress as more of a gesture, since she hadn’t been to any of dress try-ons before. The dress she picked happened to be the first one I tried on. We all instantly fell in love with it, but since it was the first dress of the day and we still had a few other places to go, I wasn’t ready to make a decision yet. I do remember that when we tried the dress on with a veil, my maid of honour Taylor started tearing up, and I was right there with her”.
“The next morning I just knew the Fabiana dress was it. I remember texting Jackie Sunday morning and even though Galia Lahav’s store was closed, she opened up the shop for my mom and I. There was something about the lace, detailing, corset, and material that made the dress stand out. It was magical. We made a few modifications, like making the dress staples, adding a slit, and creating a custom veil sewn with flowers from the applique of the dress”.
“The dress was the most perfect piece of clothing I have ever worn, and I teared up during all of my fittings”.
ABOUT GALIA LAHAV’S ‘FABIANA’ GOWN
The couture craftsmanship of ‘Fabiana‘ delivers unmatched regal elegance. This hand-embroidered masterpiece sets a new standard in bridal fashion with its stunning ball gown silhouette and sensational detailing. Her sheer corset top with delicate spaguetti straps and flattering scoop neckline pairs perfectly with the full skirt made in embroidered tulle and decorated with intricate three-dimensional floral embellishments. Every details, from its graceful movement and voluminous presence to its precise customization ensures a flawless fit. Wearing the famous Fabiana gown promises a magical moment to cherish forever.
A LUXURY DESTINATION WEDDING IN MEXICO
- Our wedding was at Imanta Resort in Punta Mita, Mexico. We picked Mexico because my family is Swiss and Mexican, and some of my relatives don’t have visas to come to the US. Lucas’s family is from Kentucky (his great-grandfather helped found the Kentucky Derby) and Oklahoma. While not all of them had passports, my uncle and godfather who was like a second father to me was very sick and without a Visa, and we wanted to ensure he would be at the wedding, so we picked Mexico (sadly he passed away from cancer before our wedding).
- Our wedding had an informal taco night, a post-ceremony celebration that lasted until 5 am, and a beach party at the same venue the next day with different decor
- Some of my favorite details from the weekend:
- Our younger siblings (my sister and Lucas’s brother) co-officiated the wedding. It was so special having them up at the alter with us
- An electric violinist that played throughout dinner and then again at 1:30 in the morning on the dance floor
- Napkins at the beach party that had scanned handwritten notes we had written to each other over the years
- My something blue was originally my manicure, but the day before the wedding Lucas’s mom gifted me a family heirloom that had the birthstones of 2 of her sons
- Giving our 10 lbs dog the title of “little best man” – my sister embroidered his tux with these details
- Extremely comfy slippers for everyone to change into after dinner
- Sippy cups that were always being refilled by staff to minimize spills on the dancefloor
- Exchanging wedding day gifts with Lucas the morning of, before going to get ready (he got me these beautiful rose gold diamond earrings he had custom made, and I got him a pocket square made from material from my Galia dress and personalized cufflinks)
- Photos from generations of past family member’s weddings at each dinner table that our moms had put together
- Flower crowns for my bridesmaids, and selecting a dress for the bridesmaid dress I already owned, so it would hopefully be re-wearable
- Sparklers before our entrance, and then a smoke and fire machine going off during our first dance
- A beach party the second day, which turned into a beach club where every guy at the wedding had their shirt off by 8 pm
- Our good friend sabouring a bottle of champagne after the ceremony in our honour
- My parents staying up with me until 5 a.m. on the night of our wedding
- We had 6 wedding cocktails – each after a place that we have lived together / meant something special for us
- A cigar cart on our wedding night
- The custom veil that had the applique of my wedding dress sewn onto it
- The first look with my bridesmaids, the first look with Lucas, and the first look with his groomsmen
- We had a semi-joint bach party (same weekend and location, separate Airbnbs, a few joint activities) so it felt like everyone knew each other at the time of the wedding
- Before the wedding, we had all our friends add their favorite songs to a playlist and sent that to our DJ (DJ Manny) to play throughout the weekend
- Lucas’s wedding ring has two tiny gemstones on the inside: a ruby and diamond, representing our birth stones
- Booking out the entire resort and having our closest friends and family stay with us over the weekend
- My getting ready robe was made from materials of my 3 wedding outfits
- Some funny details from the weekend:
- Our wedding planner has done hundreds and thousands of weddings before, but this was the first wedding where they ran out of tequila. Normally they calculate based on your guest count how much to bring plus some extra, but our guests ran through the tequila drinks before 10 pm which they had never seen before
- The beach party turned into a beach club at sunset with all our guests taking their shirts off and dancing to our DJs EDM x reggaton remixes
VIEW MORE INSPIRING IMAGES IN THE GALLERY BELOW (click left or right)
VENDORS
Dress @galialahav
Wedding Design @peterdeanda
Venue @imantaresorts
Photography @tali_photograhpy
Video @Tan_weddings
Music @djmanny_music
Electric Violinist @gerardpointierr
Catering @ilatinabanquets
Drinks @mulatta.mixology
Wedding Planner @danicalderont
Makeup @sanraruenesmakeup
Wedding Invitations @kathryngreen_illustrations
Nails @ohmynailsnyc
