What is your name?
Leilani Rafter
Wedding date and location?
June 27, 2019 in Orlando, Fl.
How did he propose?
Dan and I, along with 4 of our best friends, were on a friend-ski trip in West Virginia for New Years. It was our second annual ski trip with this group of friends. The year prior we were in North Carolina and during our North Carolina trip, we spent one day exploring local cities and had an impromptu photoshoot taken by one of our friends, Adrienne, who is a wedding/professional photographer. Adrienne mentioned she needed 2 of us to “act like we were in a relationship” so “I can build my couples portfolio.” And somehow Dan and I randomly ended up being the two people used for her posed couple. It’s funny looking back at those photos and seeing that was the first time we had ever been that close to each other. Holding hands. “Posing” as if we were in love. At the time there were no feelings attached, but I believe it was the spark to the rest of our love story. Fast forward exactly one year, we were on our second annual ski trip with the same group of friends. Of course, we all talked about how we should do another day exploring West Virginia and taking photos like we did the year prior. When the day came, we were exploring, laughing, being silly, and goofy with each other. We were walking down this creek at the bottom of a mountain when Adrienne said, “Lei and Dan you guys go ahead of us and let me get pictures of ya’ll again like last year!” This time around however we had been dating for almost 1 year!! We walked for a couple minutes when Dan stopped me, looked at me, and created the most memorable, special moment. I remember thinking, “This is the sweetest man I’ve ever known. In the most dreamy place I’ve ever been. This is a dream.” … and then also thinking, “Our all our friends listening right now? haha”. In that moment I look to my left, wondering if my friends had disappeared or something, to notice them all with tears in their eyes, cameras out, and smiles bigger than I had ever seen. That’s when it hit me. What this moment was. It was there in the mountains of West Virginia that Dan got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife and spend forever with him <3
What was your goal for your wedding / what was the most important aspect to you?
I don’t know if I would say I had a particular goal in mind when it came to planning our wedding. One aspect that was most important to me however were the flowers. If you couldn’t tell from my name, I am Hawaiian, which is from my father’s side of the family. I knew I didn’t want a “tacky, luau” hawaiian theme to my wedding. But I wanted orchids and although the tropical flowers that I could get! And The Wild Thistle based out of Jacksonville, FL made all my floral dreams come true! I had the biggest, most beautiful white orchid bouquet and so much greenery!!
How did you choose Le Rose for your wedding robes?
To be honest, I found a girl on Instagram from across the country who had posted about how much she loved her LeRose robes for herself and her bridal party. And once I saw the website and the robes, I was hooked myself!
What did you like the most about your Le Rose Robes?
I think what I loved most about my LeRose robe was how different it was from any robes I had seen! Of course as a bride on my wedding day, I wanted to feel more beautiful then just any ordinary day. So the robe to me was that perfect combination of elegance + uniqueness + and beauty that I had to have!
Were there funny moments from the day?
So my bridesmaids arrived to the venue (with their hair and makeup already done) in their LeRose robes. And I’ll never forget hearing the story that two of the groomsmen (who were also at the venue already) came up to my bridesmaids, complimenting them on their attire (the robes they were still weraing) for the wedding day. They said in quote, “Yall look beautiful in your dresses!!” And the girls just giggled and let them be surprised when they walked down the aisle in a completely different outfit, a.k.a. their actual bridesmaid dress.
What was your favourite moment while getting ready in your Le Rose robes?
Honestly, I think it was putting it on for the first time the morning of my wedding and even shocking myself with how beautiful I felt in it. I seriously felt like a queen!!
What wisdom or advice can you share to other Le Rose Brides?
My planning advice is specifically tailored to how to choose your vendors and other people you end up working with. Choose people that will make your engagement season and wedding planning process a JOY. Choose people with hearts that are genuine and reflect selflessness. Hearts that truly want the best for you, the bride. Even if that means that their product/brand isn’t for you. Your wedding day will ultimately be a product of all your vendors, which include the people and hearts of those vendors. I was very picky on the vendors and people that played a role in my wedding day. If I ever felt even the slightest sense of pressure or manipulation for my money, I would run the opposite way haha. And I am so glad I was “picky” because throughout the whole wedding process and wedding day everyone, including myself, was so stress-free and calm and JOY-filled.
Credits:
Photographer: Emily Mathewson Photography: @emilymathewsonphoto