{SBB Bride of the Week} Karina

K A R I N A

+

D A N

{October 27th, 2023}

{Photos by: Abbey Grim Photography}

Gorgeous!!

Introducing our bride, Karina!

For her fall wedding, Karina looked so gorgeous in a flowing, classic A-line gown by Wilderly!

{Photos by: Abbey Grim Photography}

Instead of using traditional florals, Karina used Sola Wood Flowers for all of her bouquets and boutonnieres!

{Photos by: Abbey Grim Photography}

Karina and her fiance, Dan, wanted to share a first look together before the start of the ceremony…

{Photos by: Abbey Grim Photography}

Karina and Dan were marred in the ceremony room at Allure on the Lake in Chesterton!

”My favorite moment of the wedding was our ceremony. Dan and I are very family oriented and wanted this day to feel like a true unity of two families becoming one. When the ceremony began there was standing room only, a clear indicator that all of our family and friends were there and ready to support us on our special day! There were a few things that were essential during our ceremony that we wanted to make intentional for all to see and for our future to be established. First, we wanted our faith and spirituality to be recognized as we are both catholic, but believe in a more modern look, our reverend was the perfect fit bringing all the pieces we most cherished into the ceremony. Second was culture, I am Mexican and it was important to us that we incorporate El Lasso and Las Arras Matrimoniales as it is traditional in a Mexican wedding. Lastly, truth and honesty, we decided early on that we were going to write our own vows. This moment felt as if the rest of the room faded away and just Dan and I were standing in front of each other. It was a moment to speak from the heart, make a lasting promise and truly show how much we love one another. The ceremony was what made my heart race when I woke up in the morning and filled me with so much love after to enjoy the rest of the day!”

{Photos by: Abbey Grim Photography}

After the couple said “I do”, it was time to celebrate the newlyweds!

{Photos by: Abbey Grim Photography}

How did Karina and Dan first meet? 

“We met in college at Valparaiso University. He was studying computer engineering and I was across campus studying healthcare leadership. In all honesty our paths would have never crossed had it not been for our involvement in the fraternity and sorority community. At VU, there truly is community everywhere you turn and here we became connected through mutual friends. In the beginning we would run into each other at events and that progressed to a true friendship where we hung out all of the time. When we graduated Dan moved to Indy and I stayed at VU to finish grad school. In those few months apart we quickly realized how much we wanted to grow our friendship into a relationship and the rest is history.”

How did Dan pop the question?

“During COVID disc golf became a passion of ours! We were always out traveling to different cities and states in search of a beautiful course and a fun round or two. On what seemed like a normal round with friends at  Valparaiso University's campus, he popped the question! We were heading to the final hole in the round and as we began to cross the kissing bridge he signaled my attention by saying I dropped something. When I turned around he was on one knee with a beautiful ring staring right back at me!” 

Was it a surprise or did she know it was coming?

“Surprise! In the first set of pictures from the proposal my face reads full of confusion. When I think back to that day I still cannot recall what he was saying, I swear I blacked out and woke up when he asked if I would marry him. The surprises continued when we returned to his parents home and all of our immediate family was there waiting to shower us with love! It was such a special day because family is so important to me and mine are spread pretty far. He managed to take my love for VU and family and turn it into everything and more!”

Let’s talk dress shopping!

“When I was searching for a place to buy a dress I kept two things in mind, close to NWI and Small Business. I stumbled upon Something Blue Bridal through a quick google search and an instagram follow. The daily posts of dresses, previous brides and incredible vendors made it incredibly easy to not just find a place to buy a dress, but everything else we needed for the wedding. I seamlessly booked an appointment and began creating a pinterest board with anticipation. On shopping day I was incredibly nervous and excited. I only booked at this location, so I was hopeful that my perfect dress was somewhere inside. We were quickly met by the stylist and she made every moment feel so meaningful and did a great job involving my group. When we began trying on dresses, she was able to quickly pick up on how I was feeling. She was encouraging when I didn't want to admit I liked something and was supportive in my decisions to not show the group because a dress just wasn't me. From the moment I walked in to the moment I got married SBB really made me feel special!”

How did Karina know her dress was "the one"?

“I knew my dress was the one when I couldn't admit it in front of my group for fear of crying. I feel like I tried on at least 15 dresses and had a solid 3 I was happy about. When I tried on "the one" I was just speechless. It was lacey, simplistic, made me feel confident and just felt like ME. When I walked out to the group they were silent, my mom began to cry and my mother in law and sister in law quickly followed. My maid of honor broke the silence with a simple " I think you found it '' and she was right! I stood in the mirror picturing myself walking down the aisle to meet my husband and I knew THIS was the dress I was going to be wearing.” 

What was her favorite {and not-so-favorite} part of wedding planning?

“My favorite part of the planning process was talking with vendors and bringing our vision to life. We had a modern, simplistic theme with a splash of star wars in mind and every vendor was 100% behind us. Communication with all of our vendors made us feel at ease and excited about what our day was going to look and feel like. Truly we have only great things to say about everyone we worked with and it showed 100% when the day went on perfectly!

In all honesty I don't think I had a least favorite part while planning. We were engaged for 19 months and in that time we were intentional about our timeline and made a plan so we could enjoy the planning and go through it with ease. One of the best decisions the women the family made was to purchase the Miss to Mrs box for me. Along with the exciting bridal items I received each month there were planning tools and timelines to help guide me through what needed to be done and when. Most of the time we were ahead of the planning and were able to feel at ease as we got close to the big day. Of course the last week was a bit chaotic, but it all worked out and when we look back on that time period we have nothing but positive memories and maybe a few we should have done this.” 

What is the best piece of advice Karina can give brides-to-be who are currently planning their own big day?

“The best piece of advice I can give is to give yourself grace and trust yourself. When you are planning a wedding it is filled with opinions and suggestions everywhere you turn and it is easy to feel lost and as if what you are doing is not good enough. In this time it is important to lean on yourself and your spouse and ground yourselves in what your vision is and why you are doing this in the first place. At the end of it all, this day is for the two of you and while everyone may be trying to help, the only opinion that matters is that of you two. Take a deep breath, beautiful, the day will be perfect as long as you two are happy!”

Congratulations, Karina and Dan!!

Check out more of their beautiful wedding photos by Abbey Grim Photography in the gallery below!