Our beautiful real bride Taya, an Anesthesiology Resident Physician, and her now-husband Danny, a Chemical Engineer, met back in 2018 while attending a wedding. The two were seated next to each other and ended up spending the entire night talking and dancing, and the rest is history! After dating for a few years, and after Taya had finished her third year of medical school, the two were preparing to head out on a trip to California and then to Hawaii.
When the two arrived on Catalina Island, Danny told Taya that he had dinner with a view prepared for them that night. As they arrived at their destination, Taya told Danny they couldn’t go to the spot he wanted to take her, because someone had set up a surprise picnic. Little did she know the picnic was the surprise for her! Danny also flew in one of her friends, a wedding photographer, to capture the moment, and Taya shares that she was completely caught off guard by the proposal!
“I had no idea!! People ask me this all the time because we were both wearing white outfits, but I truly had no idea and Danny and I always plan to match on vacation so I made it easy for him. He is really good at surprises and I had a lot going on with studying so it was a perfect surprise.”
Following the engagement, it was time to start planning a wedding! After landing on a venue and wedding planner, Taya’s planning team, A Charming Fete, recommended La Jeune Mariee to her. Taya arrived to her bridal appointment with an open mind, and worked with one of our expert stylists Maddy to bring her vision to life. She ended up saying YES to the iconic Netta BenShabu Diana – a fitted, lace wedding dress with pearls scattered throughout the design and off-the-shoulder full length sleeves. When she returned to LJM [La Jeune Mariee] for her Meet the Gown appointment, she chose a lace-trimmed, cathedral length veil by Toni Federici to finish her bridal look.
Taya shares that heading into her bridal appointment with LJM, she truly had no idea what kind of wedding dress she would choose. Our bride told us that she loved going into the appointment openminded about what kind of styles she’d love, and shared that our team of stylists helped make the process easy and fun!
Once the dress was secured, it was time to continue planning the wedding of their dreams! Taya tells us that her favorite part of planning the big day was seeing her fiancé get excited about things she didn’t think he’d care about, which we love! She also shared that she loved working one-on-one with her vendors to come up with a unique and fun wedding day. Taya strove to not source inspiration from other weddings, and to simply go with what she and Danny loved!
“I loved seeing my husband get excited about things I thought he wouldn’t care about! He wanted to be involved with every decision, and we had so much fun with the planning process.”
After months of planning to bring their vision to life, the wedding weekend had finally arrived! Before the big day, Taya shares that the couple held a Something Blue / Gotham City themed welcome party, as her new last name was Gotham. “Everyone loved the theme & had so much fun! It was so cute to see our guests follow the theme and dress up with us!”
Finally, the wedding day had arrived! Taya spent the morning-of singing and dancing with her mom, mother-in-law, and besties, sharing that it was fun to relax and let loose and not stress about the day ahead. Once the bride and groom and their bridal parties were ready, Taya was able to step away with Danny for a moment to exchange private vows. “It was nice to step away from our bridal party and do that together. It was so sweet to reflect on our 6 years together.”
As the day went on, Taya shares that she was continually so grateful for the family and friends that had traveled from all over the world to be with them during their big day – “We were just really grateful to have all of our family and friends fly from all over the US, Colombia, Paris, Lebanon, etc. to celebrate with us! We know having a destination wedding isn’t always the most convenient, but so many people showed up for us and we are forever thankful for that! Sarasota/Siesta Key is very special to Danny and I, and we have been vacationing to my family’s place there for 6 years. We couldn’t have imagined getting married anywhere else!”
Among Taya’s favorite details of the day, she shares that she loved the pink hues of their florals, sharing that since the architecture of the venue was pink, she at first wanted to stay away from adding any more. As she planned, she shares that she found the combination of the pinks to be fun and playful, and leaned into the color scheme! Their personalized ice sculpture and details paying homage to their pup back home were among other details Taya loved.
“I really loved our ice sculpture with our initials! We had our signature drinks poured through them into glasses and all our guests loved it!”
As Taya reflects on her wedding day, she tells us that her group of amazing vendors were sourced from either her planning team or research that she and Danny did leading up to the day, and they couldn’t be happier with who they chose! Our gorgeous bride also shared some advice for brides-to-be: to have fun with your significant other and don’t take things too seriously. “It goes by so fast, and I am so grateful to have had a supportive and involved partner. Obviously, there will be some bumps in the road but the priority is you and your partner and what you both want so focus on that!”
We’re so honored to have been a part of Taya and Danny’s gorgeous Ringling Museum wedding! Keep scrolling to view more photos from their day and to view their full list of vendors.
Vendors:
bridal gown: La Jeune Mariee | Netta BenShabu
veil: La Jeune Mariee | Toni Federici
planning: A Charming Fete
photography: Niki Marie Photography
venue: The Ringling Art Museum
florals: Bows and Arrows Flowers
catering: Culinary Creations by Metz
entertainment: Xentric Entertainment
cake: Julie Deffense Artistry
rentals: Nuage Designs | So Staged | Palacios Events | Different Look Rentals | Matteo Woodworking
hair + makeup: Rania’s Hair Salon
invitations: Cartalia Studio
day-of stationary: Plume and Paper Weddings
Ready to find your dream wedding dress and join the LJM Real Bride Club? Tap the button below to view upcoming availability and secure your appointment! We can’t wait to meet you!