CHOOSING YOUR REFLECTION TITLE: Vegas and the Bride DURATION: 34:38 Getting married is an event that holds a different meaning for everyone. For some, itÕs based on religious traditions, and for others itÕs a validation of an earlier choice they made to live with that special someone they love.Ê Hi, IÕm Lauren, and welcome to Choosing Your Reflection; a series of discussions that reflect upon the reasons we have for choosing our wedding day outfits.Ê Our guests are diverse, but they all share a common journey.Ê As they share their stories, theyÕll help us unravel the mystique that exists around choosing that special outfit, and what they learned about themselves along the way. Lauren: Today we have Cherrese with us. She's from New Jersey, and she's going to tell us a little bit about her destination wedding in Las Vegas, and all the things that happened to her along the way. So Cherrese, welcome. Cherrese: Hi! How are you? IÕm Cherrese and I've been married for almost five years. I actually work for the State of New Jersey. I planned this crazy destination wedding with my family and friends and I can't wait for you to hear my story. Lauren: So when you think about your wedding, what is the first thing that pops to mind when you think about that time almost five years ago. Cherrese: Choosing where we were going to get married. So I think that was like the one thing that I was like, we should go away to Vegas É and get married. Lauren: And what prompted that? Cherrese: You know how you go to so many weddings and they're just all the same. And, you know, it's just the same. And I'm like, I wanted something different. Like, I didn't want to be the same. I wanted something to be different. I wanted people be excited. I mean, not that they're not excited to go to people's weddings, but sometimes it's kind of like É weÕre going to a wedding. I wanted it to be different. I wanted it to be memorable. Not just memorable for us, but bring everybody who we really love and care about to come out to Las Vegas with us and enjoy it. So it wasn't like we eloped. We did have family come out with us so that was the kind of starting point for us. Lauren: How large of a group did you have since, you know, if you're working for the State of New Jersey, that's a destination wedding to Las Vegas. Cherrese: Yes, it was about forty people. It would seem like a small wedding. But when we went to Vegas, and we had all these things planned for people to do with us, and then like for them to do on their own, it seems like it was a lot bigger than it actually was. It seemed like it was way more people than just forty people. Lauren: When everyone thinks of a Vegas wedding they think of Elvis and a small white little chapel. Could you describe the actual venue in Vegas? Cherrese: OK, so É we didn't have Elvis. Elvis didn't attend. It was a cute little chapel at Planet Hollywood. And it was nice. It's so busy. It's so much going on. So it really didn't seem like a chapel. But it was kind of set off in this little corner on like, the third floor. Lauren: It's unique because it's not the Vegas wedding that everyone imagines. ItÕs É Cherrese: Um hmm. Lauren: É your Vegas wedding, which is taking a new meaning for it, I think. Cherrese: Yup. Lauren: And so, was this your idea or was this a joint idea between you and your husband? Cherrese: I feel bad, but I feel like it was mine and then I persuaded him. I don't think it was his. I think he just was like, ÒOkay, I'll do it.Ó Lauren: Was he excited about it once you got there and did the wedding? Cherrese: Yes, I think the initial plan É he was kind of like skeptical, but I'll do it. But I think as we got closer and kind of the plans came together, he could see that it was a big but small thing. I think he got excited about it. Vegas was the theme. And then when we got there we gave everybody gift bags for coming. You just felt like you had to thank everybody a thousand times for getting on a plane and flying all the way across the United States for you. Lauren: And did you decide to follow that theme with the dress or was that a completely different route that you took? Cherrese: I wish I would have but I didn't. I felt like I went with my heart instead of actually thinking like ÒDoes this dress makes sense in Las Vegas?Ó So my dress did not make sense for Las Vegas -- no. Lauren: So can you describe what the dress looked like? Cherrese: Kind of like a É like, very slim and then it gets big at the bottom. So kind of like a É not as much a trumpet but sort of that way. But it had a really, really long train. My sister was actually getting married the year before. So, um, I have a lot of sisters. I have six sisters. Oh, wow. Five É IÕm six. So we all got together to go try on these dresses. So we're in there. And obviously everybody knows I'm getting married next year. So we're in the dress shop and like it's so many of us. They have to do measurements for everybody. So we're just kind of sitting around and chatting and everybody's like, ÒOh, look at this dress, look at this dress.Ó So they pull out this one dress and my sister's like, ÒYou should try this dress on.Ó And I'm like, ÒWe're here for my other sister. Why would I try this dress on?Ó So then sheÕs like, ÒWell, we're just waiting anyway.Ó So I said ÒOkay.Ó And just for fun. I asked the lady I'm like, ÒCan I try this dress on?Ó and my sister's like ÒShe's getting married next year. She's sort of started looking for dresses. Let her try this dress on.Ó So they're all excited. My sisters are excited. The ladies in the dress shop, theyÕre excited. They're like, ÒOh, no problem!Ó They get it out and I put the dress on and I'm like, ÒThis is a nice dress.Ó Like ÒI really like this dress.Ó So my sister's like, ÒYou should get it.Ó I'm like, ÒNo, like, this is the first dress I've ever tried on. Why would I get the first dress that I ever tried on?Ó But I was standing there and I'm like, ÒI really like this dress. This is a nice dress.Ó So then I say ÒOkay, well how much is the dress?Ó And so she tells me the price and I'm like, ÒNo, this is like out of my price range. But it's a nice dress.Ó So I take the dress off. And I continue on with the measurements for our bridesmaids dresses. And that was kind of like my first time trying on a wedding dress. Lauren: First off, you have five sisters. ThatÕs a lot of sisters. Did you bring them to all of your É or some of them at least to all of your try-ons for looking for your dress. Cherrese: I did not. Lauren: Wow! Cherrese: My best friend went with me and my daughter. Lauren: What kind of feeling were you looking for in a dress? Because a lot of the times, we're not just looking for what a dress looks like, but how it makes us feel. Cherrese: So I was trying to look for the style of the first dress I tried on. So I tried to just keep that kind of like slim trumpet type of dress. And that was like, what was stuck in my head. And I felt like, you know, I had tunnel vision looking for that dress. That's all that I was searching for because I was like this dress was really nice. So maybe I can find something similar in a price range that I liked. So that was kind of what I was searching for. Lauren: How many shops did you go to and how many dresses do you think you tried on? Cherrese: I only went to three. But I probably tried on maybe fifteen? So maybe fifteen dresses. Lauren: And can you tell me about when you tried on the one that you ended up choosing? Cherrese: Okay, so it's funny. I went out with all my sisters and we did the fitting for the bridesmaids dresses for my sister's wedding. And I believe that was like April of 2014. And she was getting married in September of 2014. So you know, it takes a long time for I guess them to make the bridesmaids dresses. So I get a call from the bridal shop to come pick up the dress. Maybe it was the end of August. So I go in É I run after work. So I'm like, ÒOkay, let me just run after work and go pick up this dress.Ó So when I get there, I'm thinking, I'm just gonna grab the dress and they're like, ÒNo, no, no. You have to try it on.Ó IÕm like ÒOh man, I have to on this bridesmaid's dress. I just wanted to run here and pick it up,Ó So as I'm in the dressing room trying on the bridesmaids dress. I'm like, maybe I should ask about the other dress. And at that time, I had been searching throughout that time, looking for dresses, and I couldn't find anything. And I'm like, ÒOkay, let me just ask to try on this dress.Ó And then other part of me was like, ÒBut it was too expensive.Ó I'm like, ÒNo, I'm just gonna ask her.Ó So she's in the room. She's helping me put on the bridesmaids dress and I'm like, ÒWhen I was here a few months ago I tried on a dress.Ó I said ÒI just wanted to know would I be able to try it on again.Ò So she asked me ÒWell, what dress was it?Ó And you know, I knew the name of the dress because I really liked it. So I tell her the name and she's like, ÒOh.Ó So she looks at my size and she's like, ÒI don't think we have your size. But let me go check.Ó So I'm like, ÒOh, it wasn't meant for me to try to dress on.Ó So she comes back and she's like, ÒThe size you tried on was bigger. But I have one size down that we just got in. And it was still in the box. And she's like, ÒSo we sold the other one that you tried on but we reordered it so we can have something in stock. But we didn't get a chance to put it out on the floor yet.Ó So I said ÒOkay, I'll try it on.Ó So I put the dress on É and then I think I had that Say Yes to the Dress moment. Like I walk out in front of the mirror and you know they put everything on you. They put your veil on. You know they just dress it up really nice. And I stood there and I'm like, ÒOh my gosh!Ó Like this É itÕs a real thing. Like the Say Yes to the Dress moment É like itÕs a real thing. I thought it was made up. So I'm standing there all by myself and I was like, kinda sad. I was like, I had this moment with nobody there. And then I snapped back into reality and said, ÒWait, but itÕs still out of my price range?Ó So I just had this Say Yes to the Dress moment. I'm like, all teary eyed. I'm like standing there. So I'm like, ÒOkay.Ó So all the ladies are all excited. And I'm like, ÒYeah, I'm just gonna take it off.Ó And so she's like, ÒWhy?Ó I'm like, so I'm telling her like, you know, ÒI tried the dress on before and it was just kind of out of my price range.Ó And she's like, ÒBut you look so beautiful and you love it. So I'm gonna see what I can do.Ó So I say ÒOkay.Ó And I'm thinking the dress was so expensive, like she's not gonna come back with a price that I am like, super excited about. So she comes back and she tells me the price and I'm like, ÒIs she for real?Ó And I got it that day. And she told me ÒYou can take it home, because it's new out of the box. It's your size.Ó Like I saw her take it out of the box, take it out of the plastic. So I said, ÒOkay.Ó And that's how I got my dress. So I actually bought the first dress I tried on. Lauren: That's incredible for so many reasons. I mean not only was it the first dress you tried it on and you loved, but it was like hand delivered! Cherrese: Yes! In a box hand delivered. Like that never happens. And that's what she said at the bridal shop she's like, ÒNormally you order and then it comes eight months later.Ó And at this time it was August of 2014. And I was getting married in July so she's like ÒYou're kind of cutting it close to order a dress.Ó Everything just kind of happened perfectly. I had this brand new dress, perfect price, perfect dress É like you said it was like kind of hand delivered to me. So everything all came together. Lauren: That is fantastic. IÕve never heard that. And that's so incredible! Because you chose your first dress and because you tried other things and you always sort of had that, as you put it, tunnel vision for this dress and you ended up with it, I'm curious about what you think is sort of like the psychology behind picking out a dress. Cherrese: I think a lot of it is emotional. I think like, it sounds weird, but you have like this emotional attachment to how you feel like you should look on that day. You want to feel perfect. And I felt like that was kind of driving me where I felt like, ÒNo, I need to fit perfectly in this dress. It needs to be exactly how I envisioned myself on that day.Ó And like I said, I feel like a lot of it is emotional because my dress was just not the right dress for Las Vegas. But I couldn't walk away from it. Like I knew that it was not logical. I knew that it wasn't functional for 125¡ weather. But I did it anyway. Lauren: Even though the dress wasn't perfect for Las Vegas, it was perfect for you. How would you define perfect for you? And I know and I know that's a sort of a packed question. Cherrese: It is. Huh. I don't know. I feel bad that I can't É that it's like so difficult for me to answer that question. What makes it perfect for me? I guess it's, like I said, it's just that feeling you get. Just like that Say Yes to the Dress feeling is like a real thing. Lauren: Do you think that your dress said something about your personality as well, because sometimes dresses tend to match the person's personality. I'm curious if you think it did for you. Cherrese: I think it matched my personality. I think it was É over the top, but not too crazy. So it was like É if you saw the dress youÕd be like, ÒThatÕs Cherrese. That looks like her.Ó Like, ÒThat looks like her É to wear that dress in 125¡ weather. ThatÕs her personality.Ó Lauren: You wanted to be yourself on your wedding day, no matter the weather. Cherrese: Um hmm. Yup. Lauren: Do you think there are adjectives that you would describe the dress and yourself with at the same time É that you think would define both your personality and the dress? Cherrese: I would say É like, fun. I feel like it was a fun dress. It was too big to have fun in, I guess. But it was É it was fun. I feel like I have that like fun personality. I feel like it was a little bit over the top, which is kind of a Vegas thing. Everything's kind of big. And over the top in Vegas, so I felt like it was kind of fun and over the top and like, BOOM É in your face. Lauren: And when you say it's too big to have fun in, and what do you mean? Did you have a little difficulty on the day in the dress? Cherrese: I did. So É I had a really, really long train. And it was just a lot of dress. Like it was so long. And we did a strip tour with pictures. So we went to like Paris and the Venetian and we had to walk around to all these places. And I'm like, but I never thought this through É that I have to carry this seventy-pound dress in 125¡ weather, and weÕre walking everywhere. Because once you get to the hotel, wherever we wanted to take the picture, you still have to walk through the hotel. And those hotels are huge. So, I mean, we could have been walking for eight to ten minutes just to get to a spot. Then we had to walk back É then go to another hotel. So, I couldn't have fun in it. We did the strip tour pictures and then we went to the reception. I was tired. I was exhausted. Lauren: I bet. You must have been not only physically exhausted but just mentally exhausted as well. Cherrese: I was. I was like, what was I thinking? I was sweating all over the place. My photographer had to retouch a lot of pictures because I was just so shiny. I just couldn't even smile. I'm like [heavy breathing] É I've been carrying this huge dress. My husband he's trying to help me carry the dress around. He's like, ÒWhat the heck? What were you thinking?Ó And then trying to get it to Las Vegas was just a mess in itself. So I didn't think that through. Lauren: Were you happy you still chose to dress despite all of the problems? Cherrese: I am because on the touched-up non-sweaty pictures É theyÕre amazing! Lauren: All worth it. Lauren: And since you were walking around Vegas so much and especially in this dress, what kind of shoes were you wearing? Cherrese: So the photographer was he's É he's like I do this all the time. And he's like, ÒMake sure you pack some flat sandals under your dress, because we're going to do a lot of walking. There's just no way you can walk around in your heelsÓ. So I actually packed those. So I actually walked around in flat sandals. Lauren: That's good. Then you had heels I guess for the other events or did you wear sandals the whole time? Cherrese: I was exhausted. They stayed on. I was like ÒI cannot. I cannot ÉÓ Just trying to put on a shoe with a wedding dress on. You know, it was I was like ÒNo, I'm not changing.Ó So I actually kept my sandals on the whole time. So I do have some pictures where my feet are showing and I'm like ÒI should have changed.Ó But É I didnÕt. I was tired. Lauren: You mentioned that you had difficulty getting the dress to Las Vegas? Can you tell me how you ended up doing that? Cherrese: I had it in my double triple bag. And you know my husband at this point had never seen it. He's just É it's this huge thing. And it's giant because it has like this long train. So it's just, it's huge. So when we get to the airport, IÕm like ÒI'm not checking my dress.Ó Lauren: No. Cherrese: Like, ÒI'm not doing that.Ò So the flight attendant, she's like, ÒYeah, you can put it at the top. Like in the bin.Ó But she's like, ÒWe can't close off a whole bin for you. So can we kind of like fold it?Ó Going there I'm being like super delicate. I'm like, ÒYou can't wrinkle it Ôcause how am I gonna get the wrinkles out?Ó So we're being like very careful with it. And it's this huge thing we're all carrying. I'm making my husband carry it. He's like, ÒThis thing weighs like É it's like a body bag!Ó So we É we get it on the plane, they put it in the bin, and then we kind of fold it up the best we can and we put it in with just our bags. So by the time we get off the plane, the bags have like tumbled all on top of it. And then we had to wait for everybody to get off the plane before we could pull the huge dress down. So we get to Las Vegas and I had to use a whole cart just to lay the dress across it and like trying to get it through and be super careful. So it was huge, but it's hilarious because on the way back, I had already worn it. I was like dragging it through the airport! I was dragging it through the airport. We were there a little early, so I kind of like laid it across a chair and laid on top of it like a pillow! Well, I used it already so É I mean, it's important, but I'm not going to be as careful as I was. So you should have saw us. We were just like throwing it over our shoulder walking with this huge dress. We didn't care that much about it after. Lauren: Well you'd already used it. Cherrese: Yeah. Lauren: Especially for the photos. I guess that's the most important thing. Cheerese: Um hmm. That's the most important part. Lauren: You spoke a little bit about your husband, so I'm curious. Some people do a reveal, some people wait until the ceremony. Could you tell me about when he saw it for the first time? Cherrese: When I walked down the aisle. We didn't do a reveal. We had like É it's a story in itself. That morning É it was a fire at one of the hotels. Lauren: Oh boy. Cherrese: Yeah. The Cosmopolitan sits directly across the street from Planet Hollywood. So I went to go get my makeup done. And my maid of honor, she calls me and she's like, ÒI'm not trying to get you all upset but somebody called and told me that Planet Hollywood is on fire.Ó And I'm like, ÒWhat? What do you mean? Planet Hollywood is on fire?Ó So like, I'm so É I'm like, freaking out. I'm like, ÒMy dress is in there.Ó Because we had a hotel room at Planet Hollywood where I was getting dressed and getting ready. So my dress was there! So IÕm like ÓUuh!Ó I can get married anywhere else in Las Vegas. Like it can happen, but I can't get married without my dress! I'm like freaking out. I'm calling the wedding coordinator at Planet Hollywood. And I'm like, leaving her this hysterical message like ÒThis is Cherrese. I'm calling because like, people are telling me that like the Planet Hollywood is on fire.Ó I'm online, I'm telling my daughter like ÒSearch! Go to the news in Las Vegas and see if it's on fire!Ó So she calls me back and she's like ÒPlanet Hollywood is not on fire. There is a fire but it's across the street.Ó So I'm like É ÒI was already stressed in the morning.Ó So I'm like, ÒWe can't do a reveal. Like I'm just É I'm too stressed.Ó Lauren: Understandably. Cherrese: When I think back at it, the only thing that I was like concerned about was my dress. I was like ÒMy dress is in there! It canÕt É it cannot be on fire with my dress in there.Ó I was like, ÒHow am I gonna get married?Ó My mom's like, ÒYou're in Vegas. You can get married anywhere. I'm like, ÒBut I have to get married in my dress.Ó She's like, ÒWhat are you talking about? You can get married anywhere. We're all here. Everybody will go anywhere.Ó I'm like, ÒNo, I need to have my dress.Ó So that was funny. Lauren: Extremely funny and extremely upsetting for you at the moment! I mean, now looking back itÕs probably a lot easier. Cherrese: I was like, ÒThis is like, the craziest thing that can happen.Ó So the first time he saw me was me walking down the aisle. And he was a little teary eyed. He's not a crier, per se, but I saw a little teardrop coming down. I saw him trying to hold back tears. Lauren: Did he tell you anything after the ceremony or during the ceremony of what he thought of the dress? Cherrese: This is a big dress. Cherrese: Because he's helping me carry it around while we walk around Las Vegas. And he's like, ÒIt's a really nice dress, but it's big.Ó I was like ÒI know. YouÕre not wearing it, so you really don't understand.Ó Lauren: That's fantastic. I'm so, so curious now that I've thought about it, and you said that you needed the dress to get married. What would have happened if you hadn't gotten the dress? What do you think you would have done? Cherrese: I would have cried. And then I would have gotten married in another dress, I guess. All these people flew out here. I would have had to do it but I don't think I would have been happy. And that sounds bad. I feel bad saying that. Lauren: Don't feel bad, don't feel bad. It's not a bad thing. I É it's, it speaks a lot to like, what you find important about, you know, that day and I think that speaks to you as a person. Cherrese: You envision yourself. You just see yourself in it. I think because I had mine that day É like most people order it and then they wait like, a year. I was like I was like peeking at my dress. I was like, ÒOh, I can't wait to wear it!Ó And then IÕd zip it up in the three zippers and the three bags. And then, you know, whenever I'm planning, I could just go and peek at it. So I kind of like ÉI don't know, maybe I had this unhealthy obsession. Lauren: And you have every right to be obsessed with something that is so important. It's a pivotal day in your life. I mean, obviously you love your family É you know, they know that already. They get the rest of your life; the dress gets one day. Cherrese: Yes! Exactly. So I should be able to feel you know, just that fairy tale and just super beautiful and just how you imagine it in your head. And like you said, you do all this planning, so you've been planning for what, two years? And then for all that planning to culminate in me getting married in this random dress I bought and Las Vegas? It would have been a sad É it would have been a happy sad day. Lauren: Absolutely. I think that speaks a lot to like the mental state that a lot of people are in during such a not only important and happy time, but such a stressful time. Cherrrese: Right. Lauren: That's why I think wedding outfits, whether it be a dress or a suit or somewhere in between, are so É they speak a lot to that day. Cherrese: Right. Lauren: And it clearly spoke a lot to you because, you know, I find that fascinating. And honestly, I É if, if my dress set on fire, I might have just postponed the wedding. Cherrese: See? But the pressure of ÒAll these people are here. What are you doing? Like you have to É you have to get married.Ó So you just have to do it. So É but I know what you mean. If I could have I would have. Lauren: Mm hmm. And I'm curious, what did your husband wear? Cherrese: So we didn't do full suit jackets because it was too hot, huh? I thought about them, but I don't think about me. So they just kind of had the vest and the pants. And then to kind of show his personality he had on É he wore sneakers. All the guys were sneakers so they had like Adidas sneakers on. They wanted to be comfortable. I wasn't comfortable. So I shouldn't even went along with it huh!. They should have had on dress shoes and jackets. Lauren: Since you sort of let them have a comfort, per se, do you think it's equally important to talk about what your partner's also going to be wearing? Cherrese: I think so. I kind of let him go with what he thought. I had input in it but I really wanted him to, like you said, show his personality. I didn't want to be the person to say well, because I look like this I think you should definitely wear this. When he said he wanted to wear sneakers, at first I was like É sneakers? But it's É itÕs his wedding too. Maybe he sees like É he doesn't see himself in dress shoes. Lauren: I'm now going to like slightly move forward in time. Where is your dress now? Do you keep it anywhere special? You said that you kind of just threw it over on the way back. Do you sort of treat it the same way right now? Cherrese: Sometimes I forget about it. Like until I go in the back of my closet. I'm like ÒMan, takes up a lot of room back here!Ó And I feel bad because I used to always look at it and be so excited before the wedding and now I'm like, whatever. ItÕs just thrown in the back of the closet. So now I guess I don't even have any attachment to it now. ThatÕs a shame. Lauren: If your daughter got married and she wanted to wear it or if someone else in your family wanted to utilize it would you want them to you to use it? Or would you want to keep it to yourself? Cherrese: Only my daughter. No other family member. I will have to tell them no. But if my daughter wanted to wear it I think it would come back. Like that feeling would come back again. Because if she wants to wear it IÕd probably fall in love with it again. But um, until then probably not. Lauren: It's served its purpose. Cherrese: Yeah. It's a shame. It does. It serves its purpose. And so it's kind of É like you kind of forget about it. I don't know if other people do. I haven't really asked anybody. Lauren: There's only one person I think I've interviewed that has preserved their dress. Everyone else has them in their closet and they're like, I didn't do anything with it. It's just there. Cherrese: Well, I feel normal now. Lauren: Yes, you're very normal. Do you think É it's sort of like pivoting to a slightly related topic É but do you think that everyone who does find a dress that they love, do you think that they find a perfect dress? Cherrese: I feel like it's rare É because I feel like the process of just dress buying -- like when you go to bridal shops, it's like all a rush. Like, ÒYou need to get it now. You're running out of time. It takes eight months to a year. You should be ordering eight months to a year before your wedding day.Ó Like you always feel kind of rushed. And like you're up against a clock. And I feel like at some point, people are just, you just have to buy something that I É I feel like that they all É that they like a lot. But not that like they truly love. I think that's kind of hard to find. Lauren: I already asked about your shoes but did you have any other special accessories for your wedding day and did any of them sort of follow tradition or did you have like blue, borrowed, new? Any of those things? Cherrese: What did I have that was blue? I know what I had that was blue. It was my underwear that was blue. I was like, ÒI can't think of this!Ó And I'm just like, ÒI don't have time to think about blue stuff.Ó I was like, ÒOh, that's blue. Let me just put it in my bag.Ó So that was my blue. Um, something borrowed. I can't even remember. Isn't that terrible? I don't know. Lauren: It's all good. Cherrese: I guess my dress was new. But I don't know what I borrowed from somebody and I feel bad. I want to tell my family to listen to this podcast and they're like, ÒYou're all dumb.Ó TheyÕre like, ÒYou donÕt remember what I gave you?Ó I'm like, ÒNo.Ó Lauren: It wasnÕt the important part of your wedding and that's okay. Wedding itself was the important part. Cherrese: Leading up to that, like I said, so much was going on. So like in the moment of getting ready. I don't remember what I borrowed. Lauren: There's also the tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding in her dress. Why was it important for you to follow that tradition? Cherrese: You just want that excitement. The night before we did stay separately. My husband and I had been together for a long time before we got married. So our one year anniversary was 10 years of us being together. In all those years you never really spend a night apart. Like you don't have that many nights apart. It was just me alone in the hotel room. The kids stayed with my husband so it built up that kind of like ÒI'm excited to see you.Ó We talked that day, like in the morning because we were getting É Ôcause HE had to get the kids ready. So we talked, but just the excitement of like, we didn't see each other all night. We woke up in the morning we didn't see each other and we just get to see each other at this like super special moment. So I think that's what made it like really, really nice. Lauren: All the things that happened for your wedding -- from having to carry the dress through the airport, and the fire that didn't actually happen at Planet Hollywood, and sweating, and walking around the boulevard taking those photos in this gorgeous yet very heavy dress É do you think you would do it all exactly the same way again? Or if you could go back do you think you would change anything? Or tell yourself anything? Cherrese: Exactly the same. I would do it exactly the same way. I would tell myself ÒDon't take it so serious.Ó I felt like I took a lot of stuff serious that I shouldn't have taken seriously. Like, that's not all that important. And I feel like now that I look back, I'm like, donÕt even matter. Lauren: Now, that's really good advice for not only yourself, but also for anyone who's going to go through this themselves to not take things too seriously. What's one word, other than dream or perfect that you would use to describe your dress? Cherrese: Mine. It's mine. It's me. It's how I felt. It's just it like encompassed me. So like it's mine. It tells the story of Cherrese.