Emily and Andrew Cecin have known each other almost their whole lives.
Emily and Andrew’s fathers have been best friends since they were in high school, so the pair were brought together throughout their lives for summer vacations.
Emily, 28, told Insider that she “always had a crush” on Andrew, 32. But because he’s four years older than her, he didn’t feel the same spark until after she graduated college.
They reconnected at Andrew’s brother’s wedding in the summer of 2017, where Emily made her move, as she told Insider.
“That’s when he realized that maybe there could be something there,” she said of her now-husband.
By September 2017, they were an item, and Andrew proposed to Emily in 2021.
Today, the Cecins live in Maryland, where Emily works in digital marketing and Andrew is a designer at Under Armour.
The Cecins got married in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 16, 2023.
“The wedding was in Charleston, and we got engaged in Charleston too since I went to college there,” Emily told Insider. “He knew it was really special to me.”
As they started planning their nuptials, Emily knew she wanted a simple wedding dress, potentially with a ball-gown silhouette, particularly because she saw form-fitting, lace gowns trending.
“I knew that that wasn’t me, so I wanted something a little bit more classic,” Emily said.
While visiting her family in Long Island, New York, Emily went to Kleinfeld Bridal of “Say Yes to the Dress” fame during an Anne Barge trunk show, as she loved the designer.
Emily ended up falling in love with an Anne Barge ball gown, just as she thought she would.
Unlike a traditional ball gown, the Tucker dress from Anne Barge, which retails for around $3,000, had a sleeker skirt.
A more-form fitting underlayer with a slit made up the base of the dress, while a second layer circled her hips and provided volume.
It gave the look of a removable skirt, though it didn’t actually detach.
The ruched bodice had off-the-shoulder sleeves that swooped downward, balancing the train.
The outer skirt flowed into a dramatic train.
The fabric flowed out at the hip and pooled into a train, adding a sense of drama to the gown.
Emily told Insider the skirt was pretty heavy, but it bustled for her reception, which made dancing easier.
The slit ended up being one of Emily’s favorite aspects of the dress.
“I love that it had a slit,” she told Insider. “That was a huge thing for me because the wedding was outside, and I knew in Charleston it would probably be hot.”
“That was a game changer,” Emily went on to say. “I needed the slit.”
Subtle detailing made the back of the dress stand out.
The ruched bodice formed a point in the back, and button detailing flowed down the center.
Emily wore her hair in a low bun styled by Kacie of Lashes and Lace for the wedding, drawing the eye to the buttons and train.
Emily said she wasn’t immediately sure the gown was the one when she tried it on — but her mom was.
“Actually my mom picked it, and it’s funny because I’m always so hesitant whenever my mom picked something,” Emily said of how she found her dress. “I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know how that will look.'”
But she tried it on with her mom’s encouragement, and it ended up being exactly what she wanted.
“My mom’s face said it all,” she said, adding that she thought it was “perfect” when she saw herself in the dress.
“The material was perfect. I thought that it was unique enough,” Emily went on to say. “I thought I wanted something more poofy, but I tried it on a second time and then I was like, ‘OK, I’m not gonna do better than this.'”
And she wasn’t the only bride to pick the stunning gown the day she found her dress.
After Emily fell in love with her dress, two other brides who were looking for gowns at Kleinfeld that day tried on the same gown.
“It was one behind me and then one who was sitting in front of me,” she said. “They tried it on right after I did, and then we saw as we were leaving that day, they ended up saying yes to the dress as well.”
She shared a video of the moment she tried on her dress on TikTok, noting that the other brides chose it as well.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m gonna be seeing this dress everywhere in the spring,’ but I haven’t seen it on any other videos of it,” she added.
Emily paired the designer gown with an affordable veil.
Emily told Insider she bought her floor-length veil from Amazon for just $20, as investing in an expensive veil wasn’t a priority for her wedding look.
“You don’t need a $500 veil,” she said. “Honestly, it looks just as good in photos.”
She also said she isn’t sure where the veil is today.
“I have no idea where the veil went after I took it off,” Emily added. “It did the job and then it was done.”
Vanessa from Lashes and Lace did Emily’s makeup for the wedding.
Emily felt even more beautiful than she expected on her wedding day.
“I wanted to have a Hailey Bieber slash Princess Diana vibe to my dress,” Emily said of what she wanted her wedding gown to look like, and she felt like her look fit her vision.
“When I put it on that day with my makeup and hair all done, I really felt special, which I knew I would feel on my wedding day. But I didn’t realize the level,” she said.