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When Lauren, a Georgia native, set out to Oahu to attend Brigham Young University, she didn't exactly plan on falling in love. But, as she put it, "it's difficult not to in such a stunning place!"
While tagging along on a weekend camping trip with friends, Lauren, her eventual groom-to-be Kenneth, and the rest of the gang swam about a mile offshore to a secluded, Jurassic-looking island. It was there that the pair connected, and two weeks later, they were on their first date. After years of surfing à deux in Kenneth's hometown, he proposed at sunset.
But, soon after the engagement, Lauren spent six weeks volunteering at an orphanage in Tanzania, and put all wedding planning on hold. Once she returned, Lauren scrambled to find the perfect gown, but was disappointed with her search: “It turns out, wedding-dress shopping was not as fun as I thought it would be!”
After months of no luck — she couldn’t seem to find a dress that fit her style or her price range — Lauren decided to take matters into her own hands. With a newfound appreciation for the DIY route, she went to the fabric store with her mom, picked out material, designed her dress, and found someone in her home state to sew it together quickly.
Take a look at how Lauren and Kenneth’s day came together — and marvel at the handcrafted gown.
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