African-American Bridal Session of War Veteran

Dane’le DuPree (nee Thomspon) is the very definition of a warrior! A (get this!) two-time war veteran, she is a fearless role model and a testament to courage! In October, Dane’le married the love of her life, Victor, in Texas – in style, of course! Here’s her gorgeous bridal session below, and some “bridal” details. :)

Bride: Dane’le La’Shunta DuPree

Groom: Victor L. DuPree II

Wedding Date: 10.11.12

Location: Noah’s in Irving, TX

Describe your wedding dress shopping experience to our readers. How many stores did you visit?

I visited a variety of bridal shops (David’s Bridal, Dress Up, Alfred Angelo, Terry Costa, and a few online websites) with my mom (Karen Davis), granny (Beatrice Davis), sister-in-law, my cousin, and my friends. I made a number of visits with the girls and it was very exhausting after a while.

How did you know this was THE dress for you?

Originally I said, “YES”, to another dress and I kept dress shopping and stumbled across THE dress. When I tried it on, it fit like a glove and complimented all my curves! I FELT ELEGANT & SEXY. It was at that time that I knew this was THE dress.

How did you decide on your wedding day style?

I always dreamed of having a big wedding with all kinds of fancy details, but once I started planning our wedding, I realized just how expensive a wedding can be. I actually planned my wedding primarily on my own, but with the assistance of my husband, Victor; a co-worker of mine helped us coordinate it. My original plan was to have a movie-themed wedding, but I soon came to the conclusion that it would be more work than I thought. Instead, we decided to do a movie-themed “Save the Date” magnet. After Victor popped the question on his birthday, the first date that popped in my head was 10-11-12 (I thought it was a fun date), and we stuck with it even though it fell on a Thursday. We decided on the colors of red, black, white with an accent of yellow, and it turned out absolutely beautiful! To keep the fun going right along with our fun date, my husband’s groom cake was a Retro IX Jordan shoe (we just love Jordan shoes), and we also wore them at the reception.

What did you do with your dress after the wedding?

I still have my wedding dress hanging up in our closet and I am now thinking about taking post-wedding pictures in it with my hubby soon to capture additional shots that we were not able to get on our actual wedding day due to time.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

My friend/co-worker Raven Moore suggested that I submit my bridal pictures and I am SO HAPPY that I did. To be honest, there have only been three times in my life that I have felt truly beautiful. The first time was after being crowned Prom Queen of the Law Magnet at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center back in 2003. While in High School I joined the Army, and after graduating in 2003, I deployed two times to Iraq (once at the end of 2003 and again in April of 2008); I am a two-time war veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom & Operation Enduring Freedom. The second time that I felt beautiful (and was speechless) was when I saw my bridal pictures which were taken by Jamie Denae Photos in collaboration with BBG Photography. The last time, was on my wedding day. To all future brides, make sure you follow some type of checklist and mark everything off. I want to thank our parents, grandparents, and aunts for making our day possible. HAPPY WEDDING PLANNING FROM MR. & MRS. DUPREE!!!