Bride Of The Week: Sydney Hafen

#GLBride

Written By Kaileah Christine

December 23, 2019

Sydney Hafen's Wedding Day

Our #GLBride of the week is the beautiful Sydney Hafen, who wore our Gia gown as she wed her fiancé Dexter. Surrounded by cascading orchids and dreamy details, the couple tied-the-knot at a special lakefront home filled with sentimental memories in Napa California. In the following interview, Sydney shares with us how she made our Gia gown her own and the wedding day moments she will never forget.

"... I got that “this is the one” feeling."

Sydney

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

Dexter and I met at a college bar, with a mechanical bull and all, in Dallas, Texas. I was in school, and he had moved there from Louisiana for work. As cheesy as it sounds, we were crazy for each other from the first moment we locked eyes. We talked for 5 hours that night, and never really stopped.

Two months later we adopted a dog together, out sweet Sadie-Mae, and six months later Dex got my name tattooed on his chest. My friends thought we were crazy and my parents almost killed him, but when you know, you know.

How did you find your perfect dress?

I went into the process thinking it would be easy, but quickly realized that I am picker than I thought, and an atypical bride in the sense that I don’t like to be catered to too much, and can’t stand the “princess” and “your special day” talk. So as kind and attentive everyone in the wedding industry is, it was surprisingly hard to find what I was looking for. When I tried on the Gia dress though, I got that “this is the one” feeling. I loved the corset detail, and the cascading skirt that moved in the wind. But I wanted a more minimal style where the structure of the dress could be appreciated, so I asked for the dress to be sent with the embellishment sent separately (in case I changed my mind) but ended up loving it stripped down.

"I loved the corset detail, and the cascading skirt."

Sydney

How was your experience with the Galia Lahav brand?

It was fantastic, they were extremely accommodating and open to my (albeit strange) request for a totally stripped down version of an already perfect and beautiful dress.

What moment from your wedding will you never forget?

I’ll never forget the feeling of unconditional love on that day. I remember sitting at dinner and looking at Dex, at my little sister, at my aunts and uncles, my grandparents, my parents in law, friends from all over the world, and seeing how happy they looked. It meant so much to me, and I wish I could do it all over again.

"It meant so much to me, and I wish I could do it all over again."

Sydney

Photographer : @annigraham