Meet our GL Bride of the Week, Ellexis, who looked absolutely stunning in our Renee gown! She and her fiance celebrated their nuptials surrounded by the enchanting natural beauty of Hawaii. In the following interview, Ellexis shares her favorite moments and how she knew our Renee gown was The One! As told by Ellexis:
A moment of your wedding day will you never forget?
My wedding was a day that I started planning the day after the engagement, while we were still in Budapest! It all came together better than I could have ever imagined. My sister, who is one of my best friends, did my hair and makeup. We got ready together, just the two of us, and it was such a special and sweet moment to be able to share the morning of the biggest day of my life with someone so special to me.
One thing you wish you knew as a new bride? What advice would you give to future brides?
As a new bride, there is so much information that can be overwhelming. I had a whole vision for the tables with custom signs, custom boarding passes as seat assignments etc. that initially did not get placed as planned. I wish I knew to be extremely clear with the coordinator on my vision so that she could make it come to life. Luckily, one of my bridesmaids is also a wedding coordinator and went down prior to pictures to make sure everything was out and in order.
To all future brides, pick your top three non-negotiable things you want at the wedding and make those happen first. This makes it easier when things are not available for booking because you have already locked in 3 three things you couldn’t imagine your wedding not having. For example, my three non-negotiables were having the ceremony “toes in the sand,” Josh Tatofi singing for our first dance (our song is one of his original songs!), and a clear sail tent. Once those were booked, I sailed through the planning/booking phase!
My grandmother, whom I was extremely close with, passed away in September 2022. We were actually at my friend’s wedding in Brazil when we got the news she was going into the hospital. At that moment, we canceled the rest of our 1.5 weeks vacation to come back to say bye before she passed. I was lucky enough to fit into her wedding dress and wore it during the dinner hour to perform a Hula dance (something she loved to watch me do!). One of my talented coworkers helped rework the dress so that I could dance in it, my grandmother was tiny!! It was so special to have a piece of her at my wedding.
I went to the dress shop in Corona del Mar because they were having a sample sale. I had tried on about 8 dresses from the samples and did not feel like a Bride yet. My mom and sister, who know me better than anyone, went to the restroom when the Galia Lahav gown caught their eye. My sister attempted to take the dress off the rack when an employee immediately ran over and offered to take it off her hands and help. At that moment, we knew it was a special gown. Getting married in Hawaii, I wanted something to bring out the natural beauty of the island. Once I put on the Rene gown I felt like I was being showered in the most beautiful hibiscus and plumeria flowers which are all over the island. It complimented all the best parts of my body, it was the first time I felt like a bride! There were a few things I wanted in the dress, like straps and having it lined. The staff reached out to the Galia Lahav team who quickly responded that the custom changes would be possible. I gave the design team free range on the straps which turned out better than I could have ever imagined! Once I left the shop, I couldn’t stop looking at the photos of me in the dress, in my hidden folder so my fiance’ couldn’t find them of course. This was the best confirmation that I choose the right dress!
How did it feel when you put on your dress the day of the wedding? What was everyone's reaction to the dress?
Stepping into my wedding dress on the big day was such a surreal moment. It was like Cinderella meets Princess Diaries/Taylor Swift glowing on stage moment. Every Bride’s biggest fear is that the dress doesn’t fit as they remember, however, it fit like a glove making me feel so confident and ready to say yes to the man of my dreams. I don’t think I have ever made so many people cry seeing me all dressed up like a Hawaiian Princess. This reaction didn’t get old, I relished in all the compliments and oooo’s and ahhhh’s from all my family and friends. I will cherish these moments the dress afforded me forever!
My day was pretty close to perfect once everything started. We didn’t do a first look which limited the amount of photos we were able to take as a group and just the bride and groom. I loved that everyone got to experience Eric’s unfiltered reaction with me, it felt so genuine. There is a part of me that wishes the Ceremony would have been able to start a little earlier to give slightly more time for photos. The dress and setting were so stunning, however, that we got amazing shots in a very short amount of time.
What was your favourite part of the wedding to plan/you were most looking forward to?
Wedding planning was so much fun. I really loved every minute of it. I have been a planner since I could remember and this was the ultimate display of my planning abilities. I built in quite a few surprises throughout the afternoon/evening that everyone loved. I loved seeing how much fun the guests were having and their faces when all the surprises would take place. One surprise was we entered the reception during the grand entrance like a basketball team run-in. Everyone in the wedding party had local North Shore
Hawaii T-shirts that they gracefully threw into the crowd getting all the guests on their feet and setting the tone for the reception. Another, at the end of the reception the music cut off abruptly, drums started at one end of the tent where a Samoan Fire Knife Dancer came out of nowhere and started a show that involved Eric and the whole crowd. It was the cherry on top of the amazing night and sent everyone home with so many things to talk about.
One other very important thing I was looking forward to was the floral decoration. My mom owns a small floral shop near our hometown in Northern California. She has done the wedding flowers for many of my friends’ weddings. I was initially nervous when she naturally wanted to do the flowers and I didn’t want her to be overworked and not enjoy the whole wedding week. My mom, being the rockstar that she is, made it happen and still enjoyed and looked gorgeous throughout the whole event. I gave her very few things that I liked and she took charge of the entire design. It was so fun to see her vision better than anything I could have ever imagined. I also gave her free range with no direction on my bouquet. She personally made my wedding bouquet which tied the entire look together complimenting my Galia Lahav dress effortlessly.
How did you meet your husband? How did he propose?
My husband and I met on a dating app for our Church. He initially flew out to southern California to meet me for the first time. My sister and I were living in Newport Beach on the peninsula at the time. After picking him up at the airport we went on an electric scooter ride and of course, mine died! We had to share his scooter to attempt to get home, which also died. Luckily we weren’t too far and were able to pick up the dead scooters quickly. He will tell you he knew after that first weekend he was going to marry me. Naturally, it took me just a little, but not much, longer to catch up.
After Thanksgiving 2022, I planned a surprise trip to Budapest for both of us. He
knew generally what to pack but did not find out where we were going until we were at LAX in line to check our bags. He is a pilot and sometimes annoyingly obsessed with airplanes. He was excited to go to Budapest but even more excited to be flying on a 747 which apparently is considered the “Queen” of airplanes. On our second night in Budapest, we walked the Christmas market and then went to a local restaurant. We were planning to go spend more time at the market after dinner, however, it closed. I was more than happy to go back to the hotel as we were both experiencing pretty bad jet lag. He swiftly redirected our path to the Budapest Eye or Ferris wheel.
He was acting a little awkward until we started talking to the group of young people behind us about…you guess… airplanes. We got into our cabin on the Ferris wheel and made one full circle. I had my camera out to try to catch all the beautiful city lights when I turned around to take a selfie of us he was on one knee. I don’t remember much of what he said but remember being speechless staring at the ring that he custom-made with a family friend’s jeweler. After that, we went back to the Ritz Carlton, where we were staying, which had the most beautiful Christmas tree up and Facetimed our friends and family.
How did you find working with the team at Galia Lahav?
The team at Galia Lahav made my dreams come true. Most of the communication was done through the staff at The White Dress in Corona Del Mar, however, I was there during it all. They responded promptly with all our customizations and delivered more than I could have ever imagined.
