Real Bride Spotlight: Chesley

We always encourage brides to try on a variety of styles and shapes – even if they think they know exactly what they want from pictures they've seen online. Seeing different gowns on your body can you help identify what you love and don’t love about specific shapes and often times, brides are surprised to fall in love with a style they didn’t expect!

Chesley came in with no plan to try on ballgowns but fell in love with a ball gown bodice she couldn’t resist. Read her wedding story below!

Tell us about your love story. Where did you meet and when did you get engaged? 

Justin and I met at Little River Elementary School where we are both teachers. Justin teaches special ed and I teach 2nd grade.  When Justin first came to Little River, I thought he was cute but didn’t want to date someone I worked with. A mutual friend at work was sure we were a perfect fit and kind of pushed us into getting to know one another. Her husband, a firefighter, ended up marrying us.  We got engaged on October 22nd, two days after our anniversary, in Helen under a gazebo overlooking downtown. Justin surprised me by having my family walk up just as I said yes!

When and where did you get married? 

We got married at Cold Creek Farm on 9/17/17, which happens to be Justin’s parents’ anniversary. 

What is your favorite memory of your wedding day? 

My favorite memory from the wedding day was my first dance with my husband. We had put so much time and effort into the weekend it was as nice to have a moment where all eyes were on us. I wasn’t even nervous. I was just so happy we had made it to that point. Seeing our friends and family so happy for us was just wonderful. 

What drew you to your dress? 

When I came into the store, I firmly told Ellen I would NOT be trying on any ball gowns. She sweetly encouraged me to try on dresses of all shapes and reminded me that essentially any ball gown could be turned into an A-line dress with alterations. I fell in love with the bodice of this dress. I ended up losing 15 pounds before the wedding, but I wasn’t in my best shape going into dress shopping. This dress made me feel beautiful. I loved the way it accentuated my collar bones. It was just so feminine and pretty.  It was actually the first dress I put on and while every dress was beautiful, none compared to this! 

Photographer – Cait Carr Photography 

Bride’s Dress and Bridesmaids’ dresses – Wedding Angels

Venue – Cold Creek Farm – Dawsonville, GA

Florist – Dawsonville Florist 

DJ – Spin Sister DJ

Cake – Cakehouse on Main

Food – Events by Dezine 

Coordinator – Lauren Woody