Franklin Park Conservatory Wedding | Real Bride Genevieve

What started as an office meet-cute for our beautiful #ljmrealbride Genevieve, an Accountant, grew into a loving relationship with her now-husband Melvin, an IT Tech Recruiter and Managing Partner. The two began dating not long after meeting, and in December of 2022, Melvin decided to pop the question! Our bride shares that they were headed to Charlotte, NC for the holidays, but the two of them decided to grab lunch downtown before catching their flights. As they headed downtown, Melvin told Genevieve he needed to stop along the Scioto Mile to grab a shirt he had left while on a run earlier that day.

Genevieve shares that she waited in the car shortly, until Melvin asked her to come help him find the shirt with him. She hopped out of the car to assist him, and when they got to the bridge overlooking the river and city skyline, he proposed! “We get to the bridge where we can see the view of downtown Columbus and he says ‘we’ve been together for so many years….’ I was like ‘why are you saying this? Where is your jacket’ and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He proposed at the spot where we would sit and talk for hours when we were dating. And the photographer who took the first ever photos of us together popped out from behind a tree and took our engagement photos that day!”

When we asked our bride if she was expecting the proposal, she shared that she absolutely was not, and that the shock is written all over her face in photos!

Now that the two were engaged, it came time for them to plan a wedding! Genevieve shares that she chose to shop with La Jeune Mariee because of our impressive reviews [thank you, #ljmrealbrides!]. At her bridal appointment, Genevieve worked with our expert stylist Tamara to bring her vision to life. She ended up saying yes to Lazaro Jasmine, a shimmering fit + flare gown with a classic yet sultry strapless neckline! Our bride shared that this was exactly what she pictured wearing on her big day, and at her Meet the Gown appointment, selected the Billie Holiday earrings from Paris by Debra Moreland!

As the two ventured further into wedding planning, Genevieve shares that her favorite part was viewing venue options, but truthfully didn’t love the process. ‘My husband planned most of everything because I was dragging my feet in getting started. So he gave me options and I would pick what I want.’ On the flip side, her least favorite part out of everything was creating the seating arrangements because of the time it took.

Although the process felt long, Genevieve shares that she used friends + family members’ weddings to take inspiration and learn about what she did and didn’t want at their wedding. Additionally, to help find vendors, she used her venue, Franklin Park Conservatory’s, suggestions on who to book and read reviews thoroughly to ensure it was what she wanted!

When the hard work of planning was finally over and the special day had finally arrived, Genevieve shares that she was surprised with a Rolls Royce as her transportation for the wedding day, “I felt like royalty”. Another one of her favorite details from their wedding day were all of the plants throughout their venue and the bridesmaids’ bouquets, noting how beautiful the colors looked together, and we couldn’t agree more!

Additionally, Genevieve shared that she valued all of her vendors, but specifically wanted to shout out Metro Cuisine & Wild Prairie Flower Farm, sharing that both of these vendors were very flexible to help with what she wanted at the price point she had hoped for. When sharing other great moments from her wedding day, our bride shared that she also loved seeing her mom’s makeup transformation.

“Growing up, she always told me the best way to help you not dwell on the unfortunate things in life is to take care of yourself and treat yourself. So to watch her get all done up, and she looked AMAZING, was so heartwarming. I couldn’t help but cry because she was so beautiful and she doesn’t really do that kind of thing often.”

As Genevieve reflects on her wedding day, she shared some advice for future brides: “Eat alone with your husband instead of eating with everyone. I got to talk my hubby’s head off and get his undivided attention for a couple of minutes and I’m so glad we carved out our dinner that way”.

We’re so honored to have been a part of Genevieve and Melvin’s gorgeous Franklin Park Conservatory wedding day! Keep scrolling to view more photos from their day as well as their full list of vendors.