Ashley & Alex: A Gilded Bride Story

blog-only, Gilded Brides, Wedding Inspiration

Ashley & Alex: A Gilded Bride Story

Aug 21 2022

We had the pleasure of meeting both Ashley and Alex when they came to Gilded to look for Ashley’s dress, and we immediately loved them. Their respect and love for each other was palpable, and they are true #relationshipgoals. We’re so excited to share the details of their wedding day with you. Congratulations to this happy couple!

Ashley & Alex | April 9, 2022 | at the Leslie-Alford Mims House in Holly Springs, NC

Photographer: Live View Studios

How did you and your spouse meet?

We met at work! We both work in the biotech/pharma industry and worked at the same company in Cambridge, MA for a few years. We were coworkers, then friends, and then after I left to go to another company, we became more than friends. The way we tell it is that Alex snuck up on me. I wasn’t looking for anything at the time, so he was incredibly patient and we took our time and he just kept “showing up” for me. That helped me understand what real partnership could look like.

What did you love most about your wedding celebration? What are some of your favorite details or special moments?

I don’t even know where to start because everything was more amazing than I even imagined it could be. We had an intimate wedding of 30 guests, because we really wanted our closest people there since all but 1 guest would be coming in from other states (Alex and I moved to NC from Boston in September 2020). Our small guest count was really one of my favorite parts because we got to spend time with everyone and also eat dinner and be on the dance floor. It also allowed for the most beautiful and intimate seating arrangement for dinner, created by our planning team, Mad Dash Weddings. Since I’m still obsessed with our tablescapes/seating arrangements, I want to give a little shout out to the planners because they made every little detail so personal and beautiful.

Mad Dash Weddings is an all-inclusive planning company owned by the two badass women (Brooke and Priscilla) who own the Mims House and the company specializes in all-inclusive micro weddings (even before they were all the rage when covid hit). It’s really cost-effective, partly because they choose the vendors (but you get a list of the vendors they work with and they’re all great – I did my research). As a type A person, that was a little nerve-wracking, but I had literally nothing to worry about. Going with Mad Dash was THE smartest decision Alex and I have made in a long time. We didn’t have to do ANYTHING but show up.

Other favorite things are our dessert swing(!) and our signature drink print. We also had a really special moment before the ceremony. We did a quick first look and then we were able to hug one another and talk for a minute before we got married and it was so nice to have that moment alone.

What made you fall in love with your dress?

My dress experience is actually a whole story. Gilded was the first place I tried on dresses at, early in my engagement. It was a dreamy experience but I was nervous to choose something at the first place so I went to other appointments I had made (for the next day). Throughout my first dress shopping experience, I kept looking at myself and worrying that I looked silly, because I was 38 and getting married for the second time. That led me to order a dress at another shop that was very plain. It was beautiful and classy and what I thought I had wanted but between the time I ordered it and when it came in, I had a lot of doubts and kept thinking about ones I’d tried on at Gilded. I brought the dress home and tried it on a couple more times and spoke with Alex and he was fully supportive of me reaching out to Gilded to potentially try on the dresses I loved one more time, with the thought that we could sell the dress I already bought online, if needed.

I set up an appointment and emailed Makenzie at Gilded to mention the dresses I loved before and one dress that I loved the bodice of but wanted as an a-line and as fate would have it, Gilded had just had the bodice switched to an a-line skirt (shout out to the Spruce gown by Tara LaTour/Rose & Williams!). When I went back to Gilded for the second time, I tried on the dresses I had loved and also grabbed a few more. When I tried on what became my dress (Rose & Williams – Lynnhurst bodice, Philips skirt), I saw the bodice on me, with the art deco beading and subtle sparkle, and was so surprised at how much I felt like myself in it. When I opened the curtain to show Alex, he saw my face and the dress and said “Wow. Now that looks like you.” I made a couple of tweaks because I was obsessed with the Phillips skirt (hi, enormous pockets and gorgeous train) and wanted a brighter white and that was that. I ordered the dress and had absolutely zero “dress regret”. I was able to sell my other dress online to a lovely bride-to-be and when I picked up my Gilded gown, it was everything I wanted and more.

Were there any traditions you bucked for your wedding? What did you do instead and how did it go?

We bucked quite a few traditions! I had my brother as my Man of Honor and Alex had his sister as his Best Woman and that was our entire wedding party. I also walked myself down the aisle! We didn’t do any parent dances or a first dance – we actually didn’t have any slow songs at all. We just really wanted to get down on the dance floor with all our guests to what Alex called “Millennial Nostalgia” songs in the preferences he put down for our DJ. If anyone is into pop and hip hop from the early aughts to around 2012 (also known as the glory days of T-Pain and Lil Jon), I highly suggest using that phrase with your DJ – DJ Josh loved it and everyone was on the dance floor all night!

What song got everyone on the dance floor?

Only 1 person that went to our wedding actually lives in North Carolina, but oddly enough, Petey Pablo’s Raise Up was a surprise hit. People also really got into Lil Jon’s Get Low, from our Millennial Nostalgia genre (that song still slaps in 2022).