{Plus Size Real Wedding} Champagne and Blue Wedding at University of Illinois | Mark Romine Photography | Pretty Pear Bride

{Plus Size Real Wedding} Champagne and Navy Wedding at University of Illinois | Mark Romine Photography

We can finally celebrate the beauty of winter now that it’s over, am I right? In all seriousness, we have such an elegant and gorgeous winter wedding on tap today. Bride Mary read us throughout her wedding preparations. We love her dynamite dress, sexy confidence and amazing details surrounding her reception. Congratulations Mary!

Mary & Mitch

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Love Story

How did the two of you meet? We met through an online dating website. Mitch was actually the very first person I met. Sometimes you just get lucky! Describe your engagement: We got engaged on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. We sat down on a bench overlooking St. Joseph’s lake and Mitch dropped to one knee and proposed. My sister was there to secretly photograph the whole thing! Personal or handmade details: Most of the details of our wedding were personal or handmade. I couldn’t find invitations that matched the vision I had, so I downloaded Adobe Creative Cloud and taught myself how to design invitations. The programs, table numbers, place cards and favors were DIY. The branches that we used for décor were from Mitch’s parents’ yard. We spray painted them gold and arranged them in vases. Our cake stand was built by my dad and the cake was topped with the king and queen from Mitch’s chess set. Describe your Flowers: When I went to my florist, I asked for a garden bouquet of pink, peach and burgundy. The very first flower she showed me was a beautiful pink rose called a Geraldine rose. What the florist didn’t know was that my grandmother, Geraldine, had recently fallen ill and could no longer make it to our wedding. It brought tears to my eyes that day in the flower shop and was a special nod to my grandmother on my wedding day. Memories and Stories about the Day: The biggest story of our wedding day was the weather. We planned a beautiful autumn November wedding and ended up having a huge snowstorm that day! It was not at all what I had imagined but it turned out beautifully. Your first dance song: Our first dance was to Let’s Stay Together by Al Green. The thing that we would have done differently is? The only thing I would change is to wait a day before leaving for our honeymoon. We left the morning after the wedding, so we had to pack everything up and get on the road ASAP. If I could change one thing, it would be to spend that day in the hotel hot tub and not worry about getting to our destination for another 24 hours. If we could have spend our wedding dollars differently, we would have: We ended up completely happy with how we spent our money. I can’t think of anything I would do differently! Your advice for other plus size brides: I checked out dress shops online before I ever made an appointment. If they only carried a handful of plus sized samples or the online reviews from plus sized brides were negative, I didn’t waste my time. I ended up having a blast dress shopping each and every time I went! What has surprised you most during the first few months of marriage? Everyone told us that our wedding day would fly by so fast (and they were right). What surprised us most is not just how fast that day went, but how quickly the weeks after the wedding went. I still don’t think time has slowed back down to a normal speed and it has been almost three months since the wedding.
 
Vendor Love ~ Photographer: Mark Romine Photography | Invitations & Calligraphy: Designed by the bride, printed by Boxcar Press | Jewelry: Engagement ring - Designed by bride, her band: MoissaniteCo, his band: MFC | Bride’s Attire: Allure W284, modified to add straps from  at Bridal Elegance in Ottawa, IL | Bridesmaids Attire: Belsoie L164057 in Navy | Groom's and Groomsmen: Men's Warehouse | Ceremony Location: University of Illinois Illini Union | Reception Location: University of Illinois Illini Union Ballroom | Music/Entertainment: Party On Productions | Officiate/ Minister: Joy Cody, friend of bride and groom

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Shafonne Myers is a certified wedding and event planner who longed for bridal inspiration that looked like her. She has created a website and magazine that brings bridal inspiration to plus size brides. She does speaking engagements educating the world about plus size brides and self confidence.
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