When considering florals for her Palm Beach wedding ceremony at The Breakers, Anna-Kay Thomas quickly decided that she would be the flower, selecting a Monique Lhuillier gown adorned with red rose appliqués. “I’m a contrarian Aquarian,” the entertainment executive tells Vogue. “I just wanted something bridal that didn’t scream bridal.” Anna-Kay and her fiancé, mental health advocate Ross Szabo, decided to strip the celebration down to the most “essential, precious, and sentimental” elements they could. That meant that their ceremony against the breathtaking ocean backdrop of Palm Beach would have no flowers at all—save for those on the bride’s dress and a singular calla lily in her hand.

Those flower choices held special significance to the Los Angeles-based couple. “The rose is really special to Ross, because he lost his dad and he planted a rose bush in the backyard, which has bloomed prolifically ever since,” shares the bride, who grew up in Palm Beach. “The calla lily is one of my favorite flowers since I was a kid. They actually grow wild in Ross’s backyard, so when we were dating, he would cut them for me.” She adds, “He still does it to this day.”

Anna-Kay first came across the unique dress when looking at a catalog for Monique Lhuillier. “There was something about it,” she says. “It sounded amazing, but I’m not usually a red person.” So, she went to Oscar De La Renta in search of a ceremony gown. While she didn’t find her main dress, she did find a sparkling, scalloped mini for dancing at her wedding reception.

Still in need of a ceremony dress, the bride decided to book a solo appointment at Monique Lhuillier to try her designs, including the style she was originally drawn to. While she found some beautiful gowns there, the rose dress was not at the store. “At the end of the appointment, I was like, ‘I really think I need to try this gown on.’” At the time, there was only one sample made, so the team flew it to California for Anna-Kay to try. “Literally, two days later, I was in the gown and cried,” she shares. “Never thought I would be that person, right, but it just felt right.”

“Putting on the gown and the veil, and I felt that uniqueness and like myself—creative, independent, and all the things that I am,” she reflects. “It was really exciting to feel like this gown represented my future, my marriage, and commitment; but also my individuality and that I'm not going to give up who I am.”

Another thing Anna-Kay wasn’t going to give up was the appointment she had booked at Vera Wang. While she knew that the Monique Lhuillier dress was a winner, she wanted to give the iconic designer’s selection a try. There, she found a dress from the spring 2020 collection that was the last in stock in the entire company. Anna-Kay discovered it was about to be discontinued. “I put it on and I was like, ‘We can’t let her die. We can’t let her be broken down for parts,’” says the bride. She decided to choose the gown to wear at her reception, creating custom floral elements and extending the train with the Vera Wang team. “I was so happy she got to live on,” says Anna-Kay. “She was such an ethereal statement.”

“The fashion was a really important part for me to express myself, be a little bit different, have gowns that didn't feel so bridal. I have plans to separate the Monique gown into a two-piece, and the Vera Wang gown will live on.” She adds, “Maybe she’ll have a third life or fourth life.”

And while there were no flowers at their ceremony, Anna-Kay and Ross were appropriately showered with rose petals after they said “I do” and began the next journey of their life together.