Meshewa House Wedding | Real Bride Natalie

On a sunny July day, our gorgeous #ljmrealbride Natalie married her now-husband, Joshua, at The Meshewa House in Cincinnati. Natalie and Joshua first crossed paths years ago while working as nurses on the transplant floor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Their professional connection soon blossomed into a relationship, leading to their engagement.

Natalie shares that going into the weekend that Joshua proposed, she knew it was going to happen because of how he was acting. “Joshua is not the best liar. I was just not sure which day”, shared the bride about this exciting time.

When the day of the proposal arrived, Joshua suggested a walk through a park. Natalie, however, believed they were heading to a concert where Joshua’s mom was performing. They stopped on their way to grab flowers “for Joshua’s mom,” which would soon be Natalie’s bouquet once they were engaged. They continued their stroll through Eden Park, where Joshua eventually proposed in a gazebo. Natalie shares that he really made her work for it, though, because it came after a two mile walk!

The surprises for Natalie didn’t end there! That night, she was surprised with a dinner including her whole family, followed by all of her friends meeting them at a winery afterwards… all of which brought her to tears!

Following this surprise proposal, it was time to find the perfect wedding dress! Natalie shares that she always knew she wanted to find her gown at LJM because of the designers we carry, and she also received recommendations from her friends to come to us!

At her appointment, Natalie worked with our expert stylist Maddy to bring her Pinterest board to life, which was filled with inspiration from European weddings she had been saving from social media. During her appointment, Natalie shared that the styles she was loving matched her vision completely! She said yes to Jenny Yoo Briar, a modern, chic gown with a fitted silhouette and off-the-shoulder sleeves.

After finding the dress of her dreams, Natalie began planning the rest of her wedding. She shared that her favorite part of organizing their Meshewa House wedding was seeing her Pinterest board come to life and discovering new details that perfectly reflected their personalities as a couple.

Amongst wedding planning, Natalie was also working nights at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which lead to her least favorite part of wedding planning. “My least favorite part of wedding planning was the back and forth communication between vendors when I was working night shift at the hospital and couldn’t find a good schedule to talk to people.”

Although it was hard for Natalie to make time for wedding planning with her work schedule, she shared that she found her vendors through social media, scrolling through pages of their work to ensure they were what she needed to bring her vision to life! Two vendors in particular that Natalie loved were her wedding day content creator and photographer – The Brunette Chick and Katie Gracen Weddings. Natalie shared that hiring a content creator for their big day was a last-minute decision that she’s so glad they opted for! Her photographer, on the other hand, Natalie had known about since before getting engaged and always knew she wanted her work to showcase their Meshewa House wedding.

After a year of planning, the big day had finally arrived. Natalie shared that her favorite moment was spending time with her fiancé before the ceremony, exchanging private vows and enjoying a quiet, intimate moment together before the day’s celebrations began.

After ‘I do’s’, Natalie and Joshua were ready to execute their perfectly-curated summer wedding day. Natalie shared that among all of her gorgeous details, her favorite were the sailcloth tents with crystal chandeliers inside, where the reception was held. As for any unexpected greats of the day, our bride shared that they had forgotten the hurricane vases for the candles on the tables. Originally, they were not able to put the candles out without vases, but the venue ended up allowing it. “I was so thankful because the tables would have looked pretty bare without the candles.”

As Natalie reflects back on her wedding day and the preparation, she notes that while there were times that planning became stressful, she knew it would all be worth it in the end.