How did you meet your husband? Tell us a little bit about your relationship.

Everyone’s heard the story, “Guy sees the tall girl across the room, walks over, and they live happily ever after.” But this NOT that story.

Although our love story did start that way, a casual party with some friends, it was a full 3 years before I’d decide to go on a second date with my husband. But by that time, he’d have to travel 3000 miles to California where I’d recently moved, in order for me to say ‘Yes’.

That ‘Yes’ evolved into an almost 3 years long-distance relationship with frequent trips between NY and LA and a beautiful wedding surrounded by our close family and friends.
I stand by that choice.

How did you find your perfect dress?

I never subscribed to the old notion that “when you know you know”. But that is EXACTLY what happened. Years ago, probably long before Goke and I reconnected, I’d saved a gown as “my wedding gown” on Instagram and sent it to my friend Aisha to help me track down the designer. That designer just so happened to be Galia Lahav.

Years later, when Aisha and I started shopping for my wedding dress as an afternoon activity, we were simply going to try on different styles to get a feel for what I wanted and what looked best on my body. I had no intention of picking out my dress that day.

But when I walked into Manhattan’s Bridal Reflections and they had several designs from Galia Lahav, I figured I might as well try it on and see…

Once I tried on my dress, I did not want to take it off. In fact, I took the dress off, tried on several other dresses, and asked to try on my dress again. Same reaction. I knew it was the one — it was even a two-piece which completely blew my mind — and the way the embroidery made my eyes sparkle was a dream. My dress was light as a feather and never weighed me down. It was everything I’d asked for in a dress and I liked the way it looked on me.