Bride Name: Kate de Luca
Wedding date: September 1st 2024
Place: Forte da Cruz, Estoril
Dress: Serena
Accessories: matching gloves & plain cathedral length veil
Store: Lovely Bride New York City
How did you hear about OUMA and where did you find your dress?
Kate: I love telling people the story of how I found my dress! I was looking at dresses on Instagram for the longest time before I actually started dress shopping. My instagram discover page eventually became filled with wedding dresses thanks to the algorithm and I would spend a lot of time trying to figure out what styles I like and dislike. In the winter/spring of 2023 I stumbled upon a bride wearing the Serena gown and I was immediately obsessed. I searched your website trying to find more information on the dress and see where I could try it on. Unfortunately, at the time, the dress wasn't stocked in the US. I decided I could just find something similar and began my search. I showed every dress shop pictures of Serena and asked if they had anything similar. I found a lot of beautiful gowns, some kind of similar and some very different, but I couldn't get Serena out of my mind. I decided to check your website again and saw that a bridal shop in Chicago started carrying your dresses. I actually started looking into flights to Chicago, but decided that it logistically didn't make sense. After visiting 7 bridal shops in Los Angeles, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, I decided to make some appointments in New York since I had a work trip coming up. I made two appointments and then decided to check your website again in the hopes that something changed. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw that you were going to have a trunk show at LovelyBride NYC the week that I was going to be there. I scheduled my 10th appointment at LovelyBride NYC... and obviously we know what happened next!
How did you know that Serena was the ONE?
Kate: I subconsciously knew the second I saw the dress online. I made a rule that I would always sleep on it before saying yes to the dress. I broke that rule the second I tried on Serena because I had been dreaming about that dress for months and had already tried on 40+ dresses. Serena was just so different... soft and feminine, sexy but elegant, and fashionable yet timeless. I'm so glad everything happened the way it did though because I never experienced any "dress regret". I had tried on so many dresses before trying on the first dress I had fallen in love with.
How did you feel when you put it on?
Kate: I felt like me when I put on Serena. A lot of the other dresses I tried on made me feel like I was playing dress up, but with Serena I felt like myself. I felt beautiful and confident. I felt like I had just put on the most beautiful dress in the world.
What was your experience shopping for your gown and any tips for other brides?
Kate: I went to 8 out of my 10 appointments by myself. I honestly didn't want any other opinions to sway me. I knew what I liked and disliked and didn't want to fall in love with a dress and not have everyone else love it too. If there were pictures I wanted to share or if I wanted to facetime a friend or my mom I did, but I really loved going alone to my appointments. I would suggest that you shouldn't feel pressure to bring a group of people with you because if anything, you will feel more inclined to say yes to something while you're with them. I would always "sleep on it" before saying yes and if you want to bring a group to a follow up appointment to say yes then do that!
Pick one of the most memorable moments on your wedding day and share it with us.
Kate: Oh gosh, there were so many incredible moments. Getting married on the coast in Portugal, a place that is so special to my family, was truly a fairytale. I guess I got lucky and chose a date when the city of Cascais had fireworks for a celebration. So thirty minutes past midnight, my husband and I stood at the edge of the lower terrace just the two of us while our friends and families watched the fireworks from the terrace above. We could hear the DJ playing "Gimme Gimme Gimme" the ABBA remix inside along with the sounds of our loved ones laughing and celebrating. We just stood there embracing each other and watching the beautiful fireworks over the water. It felt like a movie. I feel so grateful to have had such a beautiful wedding and that so many of our friends and family flew so far to celebrate our love. I'm still on cloud 9.
