Jessica + Brad

How did you meet?

We met online! I had been in Detroit about a year after moving from Atlanta for my residency (I’m a veterinarian, my residency was in Internal Medicine) and Brad had moved from Ann Arbor about the same time after leaving his job with NOAA. We met on Coffee Meets Bagel, a smaller dating app, and I’m so glad we did. The best thing about online dating is that it gives you a chance to meet people you never would otherwise – even though we were both in Detroit, our circles were very different and we never would have overlapped without the dating app! Our first date was for dinner and then since we hit it off we headed down to a nearby brewery. Our second date was to go see Jurassic World; we ran into friends of mine who were surprised to find out we were officially dating a few months later – apparently I hadn’t seemed “that into him” when really I was in max flirt mode – guess I must not be good at giving off big signals!

When did you know they were the one?

We never really had a time where we ever really considered breaking up. Brad had to unexpectedly move to Rhode Island for a job about 3 years into dating, a year after we had moved into together, and I was staying behind in Detroit. The job took him to Florida and then New Zealand – it was really tough to be apart but we figured it out, and then I followed him to New Zealand and we’re still here!

What are your three favourite attributes of your partner?

– His confidence – in me, in our relationship, in our ability to tackle anything if we put our minds to it
– His curiosity – he loves learning new skills, new sports, podcasts, even hearing weird medical stuff I tell him about!
– His warmth – he lights up a room, he loves engaging in great conversations with myself and others and he genuinely cares about people. Plus he physically keeps me warm as I’m always cold!

Who proposed and how?

Brad proposed when we were in Costa Rica around Christmas 2019. He had sort of suggested proposing a few times before but I had told him I wanted to wait until we were totally sure we were going to survive long distance, and after a sort-of-stressful work trip to St. Bart’s, I knew we were going to be together forever and told him so. He was going to propose the first night but things kept getting in the way – a storm, then turtle hatching happening at night instead of the day (very cool, but hard to propose under red light when you’re trying to be quiet and not disturb sea turtles), then no place to stop during a canoe trip….he finally dropped to one knee in the middle of a big empty beach just after we had stuffed our faces with tacos from a beachside taco stand, I turned around and he choked up and I said “Are you proposing right now?!” and he nodded and I said Yes and we hugged and kissed!

Where did you fall in love with your dress and why?

I was supposed to try on dresses in August 2021, and a big COVID lockdown hit New Zealand literally 2 days before my appointment, so I was stuck perusing endlessly online until October as the reopen date for close-contact like wedding dress shopping kept getting pushed back. I knew I wanted something form-fitting and that I didn’t want lace – lace is beautiful but not my style and we were getting married in a WWII torpedo factory turned into art studios, so wasn’t the vibe either. Those requirements knocked out about 3/4 of dresses, but MWL had several I was interested in.

I tried on Ryder, Mila, Archie, and a few others at Felicity’s in Auckland, and Zoomed with my Made of Honor in the US where we both teared up. I knew Mila Crepe was my favorite going in, and it felt the most “right” – I also loved how I looked in the Ryder Crepe and actually initially left picking that one, but that evening I knew I would feel most myself in Mila Crepe so I called and put down the deposit!

What was the best moment for you at your wedding?

I’m torn – listening to my mother give her blessing to us during the ceremony was incredibly special because she was very ill with cancer and actually passed 5 weeks after the wedding. She was hanging on for the day and was really happy she could make it – even wearing a wig and having to get a new dress because the tumor in her abdomen grew and her first dress didn’t fit, she was go glad to be there and I’ll be forever grateful to have that memory.

But I also loved dancing with the amazing band with all our friends and family belting out the lyrics “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” as our last song, sweaty and grinning ear to ear. We then took the party to the Irish bar up the street (the band even came and hung out with us!) and then closed out the night with Taco Bell, handily open until 2am and right across from the hotel everyone was staying at!

What were your favourite details?

– Obviously, I LOVED my dress – incredibly comfortable, easy to dance in, and exactly my style
– I loved the setting, all the cool artists studios everyone could wander around and look at during cocktail hour
– I loved the live band, it completely set the best tone and they had everyone dancing all night long

What advice would you tell other brides?

Any standout vendors?

– BeFitted Tailors in Alexandria VA did some heroic last-minute tailoring when the adjustments made in New Zealand didn’t quite work. Literally in just a few days they remedied bunching at my hips and I am so grateful my dress looked great and moved great on the night of
– Bachelor Boys, the band we hired, were SPECTACULAR. Everyone said they had never heard/seen such a great wedding band
– Birch Event, our planners, particularly Jessica who spearheaded our day, did a great job helping us plan from New Zealand and also accommodate my mother throughout the day