Real Brides: Olivia
I met my husband in June of 2022 at Mavericks Dance Hall in Buda, TX. He asked me to dance and didn’t say another word that night. We danced several times, and each time I became more and more intrigued; I had only been socially dancing for a few months, and he was much better than I was.
We spent the summer dancing every night. Eventually, in the fall, I moved from Austin, Texas, to Colorado Springs, Colorado. He helped me move, and we spent our last week together in the mountains.
After a month, I was so desperate to get back to Texas that I came to visit—and realized I didn’t want to leave him there. We began a long-distance relationship and fell in love. The next spring, I moved back to Texas, and the rest is history.
It’s a true friendship-to-relationship story. I couldn’t ask for a better man to call my best friend and husband.
This is a long story of heartbreak and true wedding heroes. I got engaged in March of 2024. My girlfriend and I just happened to get engaged around the same time, and we went dress shopping together for fun in early April. I was not anticipating finding my dress on my first outing, so it was just the two of us.
I picked out about eight dresses and knew one of them would be my favorite, so I saved it for last. After feeling disappointed with my first few tries, I finally put on my last dress—Val Stefani Style "Sara"—and fell immediately in love. I could see my entire wedding day in it, as if the dress had been made for me.
Knowing I didn’t have the money at the moment, I decided to bring my mother back to try it on again and make sure it was "the one." We went back a week later, and I let her pick out a few dresses. I wanted to see if she would choose mine and have the same reaction I did. To my shock, she picked my dress out of the lineup. I tried on all of her picks, and she loved them all, of course. Finally, I tried on my original pick. She began to cry and agreed it was the most beautiful dress and perfect for me.
We bought the dress and were told we would be notified in 6–8 weeks when it arrived. In August of 2024, I realized it was well past the expected delivery date. After spending countless hours sending emails, making calls, and leaving voicemails, I was notified by the building owner that the bridal shop owner had stopped paying rent and was no longer in the area. She had left her entire store and inventory behind and fled the state—leaving me dressless and taking my payment with her. To say I was distraught is an understatement.
When I began searching for my dress, I discovered that no other stores in my area carried the designer. After extensive online searching and phone calls, I found a bridal shop over an hour and a half away in San Antonio, TX, called Brides by Elizabeth. They confirmed they carried part of the collection but couldn’t guarantee they had my dress, Style "Sara." I decided to give it a try and had my maid of honor fly in from Colorado to be there with me.
In January of 2025, we drove down and were informed they did not have the dress I was hoping for, but they did have other options from the collection. Hesitantly, I tried them on, and while they were all beautiful, none of them were my dress. Seeing how upset I was, the seamstress called her sister store in Oklahoma and found my gown. She had it FedExed to their shop, and I was finally able to try on my dress again.
In January 2025, I was able to officially order my dress. When it arrived, it brought me to tears. I was beyond excited to finally have my dream dress and am absolutely thrilled with how beautiful it made me feel on my big day.
Photo Credits: Tiffany Christina Photography
Bridal Store: Brides by Elizabeth
Dress: SARA
