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When a wedding gown fits just right there is a radiant energy that the bride gives off. This glow radiated from bride Carissa as she walked down the aisle to marry her love, Ric Cave, on November 18, 2016 at the Bella Collina in Mt. Verde, Florida.
Her journey to the perfect gown was not an easy one though. Starting off on the right track, Carissa traveled from Florida up to New York to visit the Pnina Tornai Boutique at Kleinfeld Bridal. Originally thinking that she would wear a gown with sleeves since her wedding would be in November, Carissa was surprised that she fell in love with a sexy Pnina Tornai sheath gown with sweetheart neckline, thin straps, and an illusion corset. Carissa then did something all bridal experts warn against – she left her dream gown at Kleinfeld and kept shopping around!
Promising herself that she wouldn't buy a gown at the first place she shopped, Carissa left the gown at Kleinfeld even though she couldn't get the gorgeous gown out of her mind. Comparing all other gowns she saw to the dress and feeling instant regret for buying a different gown, Carissa knew she had made the wrong choice!
“I started crying and just remember thinking this is not what I want to look like on my wedding day,” Carissa explains, “I was so covered up I was like 'what are you trying to hide?”
After immediately canceling the gown she ordered, Carissa made another trip back to Kleinfeld to see the dream gown she had left behind. While trying on another gown at Kleinfeld, one of the owners walked by and exclaimed that she looked dynamite! He ventured off to grab none other than Pnina Tornai herself so that she could see Carissa in the gown. Once Pnina Tornai arrived, Carissa's consultant explained to her that there was another gown that Carissa just couldn't keep her mind off of. Pnina urged Carissa to try on the gown she loved, so off she went to try on the alluring sheath gown her heart was pining for.
Before her second trip back to Kleinfeld, Carissa received some advice from a family friend that she needed to hear. The friend told her, “It's ok to be sexy on your wedding day! You have your whole life to be a princess, it's ok to want to be sexy on your wedding day!” This time when she slipped back into the alluring lace gown, Carissa was ready to accept that this was the gown for her. On top of that, Pnina Tornai, upon seeing Carissa in the gown, told her that if she was to design a gown just for the bride – it would be this one!
Carissa finally said yes to her dream gown – an enchanting lace sheath gown with sweetheart neckline, illusion corset, and nude lining in the skirt. Though she had never imagined herself in a gown that would compliment her frame so well, the dress ended up being exactly what she needed to feel like her best self on her special day.
“I felt on top of the world on my wedding day, “ Carissa recalls, “The dress made me feel so confident and happy!”
Perfectly fitting in with Tuscan vibe of Bella Collina, Carissa looked stunning and radiant as she prepared to begin her new life with her soul mate, Ric. Surrounded by florals of hunter green, merlot, and oxblood, and illuminated by the light of the Edison chandelier and canopy lights, Carissa was a radiant beauty and she celebrated the night away with family and friends.
She was a woman who truly looked and felt on top of the world!
Written By: Jazmine Keels
Photography By: Concept Photography
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