There are some wedding videos that are just so emotional, so over-the-top or so absolutely stunning, we feel they deserve a bigger accolade on our site, like the title of Love Story of the Week! We love Briana and Tiahna’s sweet celebration, but our favorite moment has to be when Briana sees Tiahna for the first time. Her emotional reaction had us all tearing up!
Watch the video by Narlee Films and then scroll on for an inside look at Briana and Tiahna’s planning process, tips and vendors!
1. How did you two meet?
We have gone to school together since elementary, but never ran in the same circles. After I moved back home from college (Go Knights!), I got my high school job back at Starbucks. We met one day while I was working drive-thru and Bri was a customer. I actually ended up messing her drink up and that’s what started it all!
2. How did the proposal happen?
The proposal is actually kinda funny. I love Disney and hadn’t been a pass holder since college and so I had been begging for a Disney day with her. Bri has only been once as a child and so I wanted to experience it with her. At that time in our relationship I had started dropping ring hints and mentioning all the other couples we knew who were recently engaged and being like any other girl ready for that big step in the relationship. But on our way to Disney that morning I opened up to her and told her I didn’t know if I was ready for the pressures of wedding planning and all the jazz. She freaked out (internally of course). My friend actually helped us by getting us discounted tickets and met us there to spend the day together and by afternoon Bri was insistent on pictures in front of Cinderella’s Castle. Once positioned just right, she dropped to one knee and made me the happiest girl on earth!
3. What are each of your favorite things about your relationship?
Briana: My favorite thing is our communication, when I mention something bothers me, Tiahna actually takes the time and puts in the work to improve. I feel like she actually listens to me and hears me and cares about how I feel and what I have to say.
Tiahna: My favorite thing about our relationship is our ambition and the fact that we are constantly working to improve upon ourselves for each other. I also love that Bri continuously keeps me laughing and is always pushing and encouraging me.
4. What was the first thing you did as an engaged couple?
That’s a hard one. We actually contacted a photographer and got our engagement photos done. We couldn’t wait to get the ball rolling!
5. What was your budget and how did you decide on it?
Our budget was roughly $12-15,000. Bri and I decided that since we were paying for the wedding ourselves, with some help from my amazing MIL, that we needed to be smart and not get too over the top. We sat down and determined what meant most to us, which was the venue and photography and videography, and went from there!
6. What were your top three priorities when planning your wedding?
We wanted to ensure we created a day that included everyone we loved, we had to stick to a certain number and with it being Monday, it was difficult though. We also made sure that we had amazing photo, video and music teams. And that we each said “I do” haha.
7. What did you each think the first time you saw each other on your wedding day?
Tiahna: We spent the entire day together and stayed in a huge house with the bridal party and some extra friends. We actually saw each other first thing that day. But as far as all done up and ready to say \"I do\" goes, we didn’t have a first look, but we did a first touch and so I got to see Bri before she got to see me coming down the aisle. I remember feeling starstruck. She took my breath away and made me feel like I was in a dream, to be honest.
Briana: A wave of emotion. Knowing that was getting to spend the rest of my life with someone I loved and had grown so close to, made me feel everything imaginable.
8. Did you write your own vows? If so, what personalized details did you add? If not, how come?
Tiahna: We did write our own vows! That was very important to the two of us and our moment to make personalized promises to the other. I added in specific promises that will keep me growing as a wife and as a woman and also included a bit about speaking up for her when they mess up her drink at Starbucks, she never does.
Briana: I included how we met, how it felt being in the relationship and her past. How she came to be the woman she is and how proud I am of her.
9. Can you each talk about your wedding attire shopping experience and how you found THE outfits?
Tiahna: I must have tried on over 30 dresses. Yes….30. I wanted to see every single type of dress out there and adding that onto the fact that I’m the most indecisive woman on the planet, made for a truly drawn-out process. One of my last appointments I went with my bridal party and we found, what I had thought to be the dress. Well after some thought about the dress and letting doubts creep in and a mishap with Bri seeing a photo of me in said dress, I went back a final time by myself and found the dress that I wore on the day. It was a Vera Wang gown with a David’s Bridal skirt that I wore over the gown for the ceremony and activities! I did a dress “change” if you will right before the garter removal.
Briana: I honestly shopped a few stores for my jacket and pants, but mostly I got everything from Amazon. I’m not much of a shopper and it wasn’t something I felt I wanted to stress about.
10. Can you both also talk about how you decided on your wedding beauty—hair, makeup, anything else you feel would fall under this category?
Tiahna: I wanted a more natural look with a glow. I didn’t want anything to make me look unlike myself. I wore a mix of mine and Bri's favorite lip colors on myself and chose a pretty boho-inspired low updo for my hair. I chose to accessorize with pearls and a couple of rings from a Bri’s late grandmother.
Briana: I didn’t do much beauty-wise, I did have some airbrush foundation and my accessories were my suspenders.
11. It looks like you both read letters from each other while back to back, is that correct? Were these private vows or letters you wrote the day of? I'd love to know more!
Yes! We each wrote the other letters the morning of and read them during our first touch. They were different from our vows and just each touched on our feelings that day and how excited we were to be marrying each other.
12. Tiahna, I'm obsessed with your bouquet! It's so unique. Can you tell me how you worked with your florist to create it?
Fun fact: I made my own bouquet! In working with our budget, I quickly realized that the boho-chic look I wanted included some pretty expensive stems. So with some guidance from a friend who had previously done it, I ordered the florals from Sam’s Club and Etsy and made my bouquet of a mix of fresh roses and dried/preserved eucalyptus and silver baby’s breath. I decided since the party was staying together the night before that it would be a fun activity to do as a group and so each bouquet was handcrafted by each bridesmaid and myself!
13. I see you had a table of bourbon—what was the significance behind that?
The significance of our bourbon table comes from our mutual love of bourbon and old fashioneds. We didn’t want a run-of-the-mill unity ceremony and hadn’t seen that done very often. So we each picked a bottle we loved that would compliment the other and we joined them to signify our unity. We figured if bourbon gets better with age, so would our love.
14. Why would you suggest hiring a videographer?
We suggest hiring one for many reasons! The main one being that we are now four months down the road and I STILL can’t believe the day flew by as quickly as it did. It’s also great to know that for years to come we will be able to watch our video collection and relive the day that means so much to us. We highly recommend investing in your video and photo teams also. We chose to loosen up our budget to accommodate the professionals we did so that we knew we were getting the best quality possible!
15. What is your favorite memory from your wedding day?
Tiahna: My favorite memory is our last dance. We had our DJ play “Touching Heaven” by Johnnyswim and Bri and I ran (literally ran) hand in hand to the courtyard and danced together by ourselves, just the two of us.
Briana: Our first touch, my vows, the first dance and watching T walk down the aisle. Seeing her for the first time in her dress and her walking down the aisle was amazing. I also waited so long to be able to share my vows that I really worked hard on and it was also nice to be able to have a moment to ourselves before the festivities began during our first touch.
16. What's your top tip to all soonlyweds out there planning their weddings?
Your wedding is about you and your significant other. Family and friends can have their opinions, but ultimately it’s about what you want. Your wedding is a symbolization of your love and relationship and no one gets to dictate what that looks like other than you.
17. Who were your favorite wedding vendors and why?
Our favorite vendors were honestly all of them. We don’t have a negative thing to say about a single one of them. They all went above and beyond and were so kind and helpful from start to finish. Even if we had an unlimited budget, we would still make the same choices!
See all the vendors here
18. Anything else you'd like to share about your wedding or some details I didn't ask about?
Planning a wedding is stressful but we are glad we had each other throughout the process to keep each other grounded and sane. We wish we could relive it all over again!
To watch more wedding videos by Narlee Films, click below.