< Previous20 COAST BRIDAL | 2022 Tatiana Verega, owner of DLS Studio in Galveston, and her dance partner, Brian Carriedo, demonstrate some of the ballroom-style dance moves she teaches couples before their wedding day. COAST BRIDAL | 2022 21 FEATURE THE WEDDING DANCER Island choreographer helps couples find all the right moves story by CHRIS GRAY | photo by JENNIFER REYNOLDS L ong before finding her niche as perhaps the island’s premier wedding choreographer, Tatiana Verega’s first few months in Galveston were nothing to write home about. Originally from the small eastern European country of Moldova, she came to the United States as a student with dreams of becoming a dancer. Her work- study program placed her in the kitchen of Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant. “All I knew was kitchen and seawall, because I used to walk home every day through the heat,” Verega said. But she kept going. “When you have dreams and goals, you work towards them, and it doesn’t matter how hard it was, you know?” she said. Verega opened her first dance studio on the island in 2013, but drumming up customers was tough. Most stores she asked wouldn’t let her post a flyer in their win- dows, so she put them on cars parked outside apartments when no one was looking. “No solicitation” signs meant nothing because she hadn’t mastered English yet, she said. “I kept knocking on doors,” Verega said. “They kept closing and I kept knocking. And then finally, slowly, I guess there were people that believed in me.” DLS Dance Studio at 1710 23rd St. is Verega’s fourth island location. She has known ballroom steps from toddlerhood, and schooled herself in hip-hop moves with a VHS copy of the 2004 movie “You Got Served.” She also offers ballet, salsa and merengue, among other styles; if getting in shape is more your speed, Verega is a personal trainer, as well. She got into the wedding-dance game almost by accident: A couple of years ago, a couple called her up and asked whether she did wedding choreography. She didn’t, at that time, but they didn’t need to know that. She told herself, “You haven’t danced ballroom since you were a teenager, so you better get to work,’” she said. After brushing up on YouTube, Verega gave them the lesson and “they were very happy with it — I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can totally do this.’” The pandemic caused Verega to shift to offering private lessons over holding classes, but she’ll happily take groups of any size, in any style. Wedding coaching has been boom- ing since last fall. Verega doesn’t mind when couples come in with zero dancing experience; it sounds like she rather prefers it. All they need to do is pick a song, and she’ll even edit the music. Last summer, Verega helped Frances Moody and attorney/ former Houston mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee learn a dance to Ellie Goulding’s “How Long Will I Love You.” Neither was an especially ex- perienced dancer, Moody said. “She does a really good job of coming up with dance moves that work for the in- dividual person, which I feel like takes a skill right there,” Moody said. “If you mess up, she’s not going to judge you,” Moody added. “She really fosters a nonjudgmental environment that allows you to let your guard down and follow the moves that she’s wanting us to do.” There’s no reason to stop dancing after the honeymoon is over, either. A few of Verega’s dance lessons, she promises, will work the same romantic magic as a night on the town. “Instead of taking your wife out for another dinner at some restaurant, you should take your wife to a dance les- son together, especially if you never dance together,” Verega said. “A lot of people say, ‘I don’t dance’ — well, maybe you should, because you have no idea how much that’s going to help you.” “A lot of people say, ‘I don’t dance’ – well, maybe you should, because you have no idea how much that’s going to help you.” TATIANA VEREGA24 COAST BRIDAL | 2022 PHOTOS: COURTESY BRITTANY CARNEY/TINY MUM PHOTOGRAPHY COAST BRIDAL | 2022 25 REAL WEDDING A VERY GALVESTON WEDDING Friends, family and island landmarks made these nuptials a homecoming story by KATHRYN EASTBURN W eddings can be homecomings of sorts. Friends and family gather to celebrate the union of their be- loveds, share stories and fortify con- nections. In Galveston last summer, the wedding of Grace Estakhri and Mac Presnal, in particular, was a homecoming kind of wedding. Mac, now 26, whose mother, Jill Presnal, was born on the island — or more commonly referred to as BOI — grew up in Galveston and left abruptly after Hurricane Ike in 2008. Mac left behind his seventh-grade buddies at Trinity Episco- pal School, moved with the family to Bryan-College Station and didn’t return to the island to live, although he main- tained those early friendships over the years. That fateful move to A&M country led him to Grace, to whom he was introduced in high school by a mutual friend, dated in college and proposed marriage in August 2020. The couple moved to Colorado together where Grace worked as a speech therapist and Mac pursued a master’s degree in supply chain management. Meanwhile, wedding planning led them back to Galves- ton, much to Jill Presnal’s delight. “Mac and I always had this longing and nostalgia for Galveston,” Jill Presnal said. “When we left Galveston, we’d come back to see our family, but we never got to see all the other people we left behind. It was a full circle of nostalgia and love getting to come back to Galveston and celebrate with family and friends we cared about.”26 COAST BRIDAL | 2022 REAL WEDDING Grace, 27, who grew up in Bryan, spent family vacations on the island as a child and rediscovered Galveston through Mac’s eyes when they were considering wedding venues. Architect Nicholas Clayton’s historic Trinity Episcopal Church became the setting for the large, formal wedding and the re- ception commenced at The Bryan Museum’s glass conservatory with toasts, a sit-down dinner and dancing into the night. June 26, 2021, was the date, just as Gal- veston was barely beginning to emerge from strict COVID restrictions. “It was really special and I felt like Cinder- ella,” Grace said. “I had an idea what I want- ed it to look like and it came true a thousand times and more. Because it was by the beach, I wanted it to be laid-back but formal. I want- PHOTOS: COURTESY JILL PRESNAL (Above) Grace Presnal wraps up her wedding celebra- tion with Whataburger. (Left) Galveston artist Suzanne Peterson painted a portrait of Grace and Mac Presnal from a photo taken at the couple’s wedding. ed subtle but elegant tropical vibes.” The wedding photo album shows just that. Lots of wicker and outdoor shots. Brides- maids in simple satin dresses. A sweeping shot of guest-packed pews from high above the center aisle at Trinity Episcopal Church. Mac and Grace, still in gown and tux, leaning back to relax on the front steps of The Bryan Museum, the bride wearing white sneakers. Jill Presnal rented a historic townhome near The Strand in downtown Galveston for relaxing, dressing and just hanging out before the wedding, a special touch that allowed Grace to spend quiet time with her 98-year-old grandmother and other family and friends. After the ceremony, the toasts, the dinner, the dancing and posing for photos, the joyful hellos and goodbyes and all the hugs and kisses, the exhausted wedding party stumbled back to The Tremont Hotel and collapsed in the lobby for another of Grace’s favorite moments. Jill Presnal had arranged one more sur- prise: meals and milkshakes catered by, you guessed it, Whataburger. It was a very Galveston wedding. COURTESY BRITTANY CARNEY/TINY MUM PHOTOGRAPHY COAST BRIDAL | 2022 27 Book Today 409-444-5802 Model: Valen Custer Wedding Venue: Adams League Historic Inn28 COAST BRIDAL | 2022 PHOTOS: COURTESY ASHLEY QUARLES THORNHILL/HEY PRETTY BABY PHOTOGRAPHY COAST BRIDAL | 2022 29 REAL WEDDING ‘WE’RE THE PERFECT MATCH’ The groom loved to fish, but soon realized she was the best catch of all story by SUE MAYFIELD GEIGER H unter and Gregory Verm both grew up in Santa Fe, went through 12 years of school together, and dated a bit in junior high, when they broke up over his fishing addic- tion, Hunter said. By the time 10th grade rolled around, Greg- ory realized Hunter was the best catch he’d ever land, so he wooed her back into his life and the rest is matrimonial history. After graduating from Santa Fe High School in 2017, the couple didn’t feel they were ready for college but did know they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. “We got engaged Sept. 2, 2019, but I had no idea it was going to happen,” Hunter said. “We took Gregory’s boat to TopWater Grill with another couple, had dinner and headed toward the causeway. Right as we were nearing the cause- way, Gregory started playing a song and asked me to dance and our friends were just chilling in the back, as they knew what was about to happen. He got down on one knee and proposed with an emerald-cut diamond ring just as the sun was setting. Our friends videoed the whole thing.” Because of COVID, the wedding was delayed, but on April 3, 2021, the high-school sweethearts walked down the aisle at Still Waters Ranch in Alvin with 350 guests in attendance. “One of the things to check off my list before planning the wedding was finding a venue,” Hunter said. “I knew I want- ed a lot of my family and friends there, but didn’t want it to be too far away, so found out that Still Waters Ranch was being built, and I booked it before it was even open.”Next >