Strolling down the beach in Punta Cana of the Dominican Republic on February 26, 2016, Kristina was ready to marry the love of her life, Jake Slemker in the gown of her dreams. It was a beautiful sunny day, the wind was blowing, and like the sun Kristina was absolutely radiant on her wedding day.
Kristina knew from the beginning that she wanted to have an outdoor wedding in a warm and sunny location. Therefore, whichever gown she chose would need to be perfect for her dream destination wedding. She kept this in mind as she, her mother, and one of her bridesmaids ventured off to Kleinfeld Bridal in search of the ideal wedding dress. Never having watched the show that Pnina Tornai stars on, Kristina had no prior knowledge of the designer or her wonderful gowns. She simply went into the bridal boutique with an ideal gown in mind and described it to her consultant.
Wanting to stay within her price range, Kristina's consultant began pulling gowns that fit Kristina's description and budget. However, nothing was clicking yet for the bride – to – be. Having a feeling that she could help in spotting her ideal dress, Kristina went out onto the shop floor with the consultant. It was then that Kristina saw the Pnina Tornai Boutique full of stunning and mesmerizing gowns. One of them immediately caught her eye and Kristina knew that she had to try it on no matter what.
The gown was a strapless lace embroidered sheath gown with sheer corset and a nude slip underneath the skirt. The dress had everything that Kristina was looking for in a gown. For starters, it had the boning in the corset that she wanted which gave her an amazing shape in the dress. It also gave her the support that she needed up top since the gown was strapless, which is exactly what Kristina desired. In addition, the corset had the sheer component that may have intimidated other brides, but was right up Kristina's alley. She loved the nontraditional feel that the gown had. To top it all off the nude underskirt of the gown matched Kristina's skin tone splendidly and was an excellent finishing touch to the gown.
Kristina put on the exquisite dress and was in love!
Kristina fondly remembers, “I didn’t think I would have that cliché moment of crying, but as soon as I put it on and they put the cathedral veil on I was like oh my gosh this is the one!”
After deciding that this gown was the one it was all about the finishing touches for Kristina. Since the wedding would be on the beach, she knew that she would go barefoot for her special day. Initially thinking that she wanted the shorter veil, Kristina was thrilled on her wedding day that she went with her consultant's recommendation to get the cathedral length Pnina Tornai veil. The veil flowed beautifully behind her as she walked down the aisle to wed her soulmate.
With the gown, the wedding venue, and the wedding photographer picked out, Kristina didn't have a single worry about her wedding day. In fact, those were the only parts of her wedding that Kristina had planned out! Crazy fun fact – Kristina's whole wedding besides those major details weredecided on and put together in two hours a mere two days before her wedding when she arrived in Punta Cana! This bride was truly embracing the bohemian way in staying calm and relaxed, trusting in love and that all would turn out how it should be! “How can anything not be right though,” Kristina recalls thinking and from the way she looked
in the gown and the way her now husband look at her - she was right!
Photography by: Connection Photography
Written by: Jazmine Keels