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Home · Weddings

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
By · Updated October 29, 2020
01
Dream Come True

Dana and Matt Ware tied the knot at the Biltmore in a fairy tale wedding at the Millennium Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif. on April 7, 2007

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
All photos by: Jay Lawrence Goldman
02
Familiar Feeling

Dana asked a family friend to give her a classic hairstyle that would work well under her long veil and hold up once the headpiece came off.

“I’ve known her since I was five and she’s always done my hair. I just knew right off the bat that she was going to do it.”

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
03
Crystal Clear

“At first I wanted to wear a tiara in my hair. I ended up using a gorgeous Swarovski crystals broach instead.”

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
04
Belle of the Ball

Dana scored her Reem Acra wedding dress early on in the game, when she visited the designer’s bridal shop in New York City. When she saw the bows and detailing in the back, she knew it was the one.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
05
Timeless Tales

“I knew I wanted an a-line gown and I knew I wanted a ball gown, I really wanted something a little more ‘fairy tale’ and something that would last the test of time. Something I could pass on to my daughter or my niece.”

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
06
Parental Consent

A traditional guy, Matt asked Dana’s mother if he could marry her daughter before proposing. He purchased the ring from Dana’s family’s jeweler, Nuggets and Karats.

“I loved it because it wasn’t just a stone in the plain band. It has detail in the stand and detail in the prongs that hold the diamond,” the bride explained.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
07
The Tuxedo

Matt tried a few different styles before deciding to rent a tux from a tiny bridal store in Tustin, Calif.

“That was probably the easiest thing to do,” says Dana. “Nothing looks sexier than a man in a suit.”

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
08
Front and Center

Dana wanted Matt to stand out at their wedding, so while the groom’s party wore red vests and bow ties, with white rose boutiniers. Matt’s suit was all black highlighted with a red rose.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
09
Written in the Hands of Time

Dana’s wedding ring is engraved with an acronym for a phrase Matt used to write in letters that he gave her: “my heart, my soul, my dreams, my love, my everything.”

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
10
Just One Look

Dana said “It was love at first sight” when she met her husband. The then-college football player wooed his lady by taking her to breakfast and walking her to class at UCLA, where they both attended. “He’s a real gentleman,” Dana added.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
11
The Perfect Arrangement

Dana did not use a wedding planner for her wedding with nearly 400 guests. She and her mother relied a lot on her stellar florist who accented the Millennium Biltmore with black magic roses and rose petals, and also brought decorations for the chairs and suggested an L arch instead of a traditional one.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
12
Spread the Love

Scattered deep red rose petals accentuated the couple’s fairy-tale-romance style wedding.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
13
Light My Fire

“The lighting with the candles and the votives and everything was beautiful. It was everytihng I wanted and more,” Dana gushed.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
14
Sentimental

On the day of their wedding, Dana wrote Matt a letter and gave it along with custom-made diamond cufflinks to her little sister to hand off to him before their nuptials. Baby sis videotaped an emotional Matt as he read the letter from his life partner.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
15
Roses are Red

Dana’s favorite color is red. So when the time came for her to choose a color for her bridesmaids’ dresses, she didn’t even have to think about it. Her ladies wore floor-length deep red Vera Wang dresses that “flattered every body” and held white calla lilies to contrast.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
16
The Perfect Match

The red in the groomsmens’ suits match the bridesmaids’ deep red gowns.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
17
Kiss of Life

“I never thought I’d meet my soulmate and the man I was going to marry in my first week of college. A lot of people doubted that it would work, but Matt and I were pretty serious from the beginning.”

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
18
Just Married

Wedding guests threw rose petals at the newlyweds as they walked arm in arm down the aisle.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
19
Vision of Love

The newlyweds are a portrait of perfection.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
20
The Price of Petals

Dana saved money when she re-used the flowers on the stairway during the ceremony as centerpieces for the tables during the reception.

“Flowers alone are one of your biggest expenses,” the bride warns.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
21
Love for Sport

Matt’s lemon grooms cake featured a helmet from his team, the Arizona Cardinals, in the design.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
22
The Tower of Love

Dana’s mother found a picture of her wedding cake in a magazine and gave it to their baker, Hansens Cakes, who furthered Dana’s romantic fairy tale theme with dark red roses around the towering treat.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
23
This Dance Is For You

The couple’s first dance was to Brian McKnight’s “Still in Love with You.” The singer has a close place in their hearts as Matt used to make mix CD’s with R&B songs for Dana while he was away training over the summers.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
24
Cheers

The couple toasts to lasting love.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
25
A Strong Bond

Both athletes in college, Matt and Dana have always been disciplined about their love for each other.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
26
Still The One

Dana and Matt have been together for eight years. They dated for six years before making their love official on August 7, 2007.

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
27
Just Hitched

“I wasn’t nervous on my wedding day because I knew this was the right choice.”

Bridal Bliss: Dana and Matt Ware
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