Real Weddings

Normans Bridal Shoppe has celebrated with thousands of brides since opening in 1980.

44432230-E37D-49F3-83DA-ADB910EEB2C9 - Emilie Dodge

Emilie and Zac’s Blind Date and Long Walks Turned Into Forever~12-28-19

How and or where did you meet?
College on a blind date that was a bet. Seriously. He volunteered to help me when the bet even though we had never met. A mutual friend had informed him of my plight. It was the best date I had ever been on. He was so sweet and perfectly awkward. He actually got so nervous at one point that he accidentally hit the windshield wipers and couldnโ€™t get them off. When we finally figured out the awkwardness of who should call who (days later, I finally broke down. I had no idea the rules for this.), we became very close friends and eventually best friends. We went on ridiculously long walks every night. Oddly enough we didnโ€™t start dating until 2.5 years after the blind date. There was a lot of ups and downs but no matter what happened, whether we were in contact during those times or not, we remained very close friends.

How did you get proposed to?
It was the day of our 4 year anniversary from our first date (the blind one), so we drove down to our college town. We waited until nightfall and walked down to the corner we had met every night. (We used to take daily four hour nightly walks and just talk. It was amazing.) Anyways, we went on a walk to the place he had first told me he liked me (again 2.5 years before we even dated!). I had this feeling it was going to happen there. When we got there, we heard these noises. So we walked up to the gazebo. Again, we heard more noises. So he looks around with his phone light, leans in and in a barely audible whispers says, โ€œSomeone is in here.โ€ We decided to get up and walk out. I was SO disappointed. There was no where else I could think of that he would propose. I tried to hide it because it was just nice going on a walk on our college walking path that I could actually hold his hand. We made a pit stop at McDonaldโ€™s and I went into the bathroom. My friends had been texting wondering if it had happened yet. I told them that there was a person sleeping in the spot he was going to propose at and so there was no way it was happening tonight. They were surprised. Surely, they stated, it could still happen! Alas, I just for the life of me could not think of where he would propose. So I gave up hope for the evening. I walked out of the bathroom and we got ice cream. As we walked back to the car we just chatted away like we always do. When we reached the car, he walked past it. I asked him why, and his response was that we had to finish the walk right. Not even thinking about it, I agreed. He started digging in the pack โ€œfor water.โ€ He asked if I wanted to share or if I wanted my own, I said share. He decided he wanted his own. Again, I thought nothing of it. When we made it to the corner he squatted down to put things back in our walking bag. Suddenly, he had pulled out this little box he had made for me for Valentineโ€™s Day and usually sat on my dresser, โ€œI know I said this was only going to be used for Valentineโ€™s Day… but itโ€™s our four year from our first date and I just wanted to make it special.โ€ My head was spinning. All I could think was ,โ€When did he get that?!โ€ He unlatched the box and took out a smaller box. A ring box. I was so surprised! โ€œWill you marry me? We always started walks here, so I thought we could start our life together here too.โ€ I was really worried that I would say something along the lines of โ€œyou betchaโ€ or โ€œsure thing deanโ€ because the first time he told me he loved me I said โ€œdittoโ€ and the first time we almost kissed I got so nervous I licked his nose. But I said โ€œYes! Absolutely yes!โ€ And it was more perfect than anything I could have dreamed up.

What was your favorite memory from your wedding day?
Dancing with him to his favorite song and seeing how happy he looked when I first called him โ€œhusband.โ€ His eyes lit up and his smile was so radiant. Everything was amazing and gorgeous but that little moment is my absolute favorite. I also loved both our dads got to be part of the ceremony.

What vendors did you use at your wedding?
Cantrell photography Table of 5 catering The Fox theatre was our reception and First Baptist Church of Sedalia was our Ceremony location

Normans Bridal Experience:
Oh my gosh! It was the best! I had 3 months to my wedding and they found me a dress that already fit like a dream and made me feel like an absolute princess. We tried on a few dresses but there was just one that blew me away. I saw myself in the mirror and I couldnโ€™t believe it was me standing there!