If your initials are JHL and you are getting married to me....DO NOT go any further!
Just wanted to put that warning out there....I'm serious...and I know that you don't want to see the dress either, so don't scroll down!
Pre-Wedding Parties
West Coast Shower Dress
Bought this dress on the clearance rack at Banana Republic. Love the detail on the top and skirt and the pockets! I will be wearing this dress to the couples' shower FSIL is hosting for us in March. Below is a close up picture of the detail and the shoes I'll be wearing. I got the shoes off of another Knottie's for sale section. They are Hey Lady shoes and very comfortable. They are a great pair of shoes for a night out on the town too! Since it is going to be raining and cold the weekend of the shower, I'm going to wear a navy blue shrug and tights.
Here's a shot from the shower :) We each wore party hats that FMIL got us as well as Mardi Gras beads. Fun times! You can also see Linus, peaking out from behind my chair, he was just checking out the gifts.
Wisconsin 7 Sisters Shower Dress
My mom and me at the shower. She was glowing just as much as I was. Wore black tights and black patent leather pumps. Also, my pearl drop earrings and my great-great-grandmother's ring.
Rehearsal Dinner Dress
I found this dress at BCBG outlet in Napa, CA. I was out with my girlfriends from college, doing some wine tasting and shopping. I tried on the dress two sizes smaller than what I would typically wear, but it was the only one they had. It didn't fit, but luckily the had a size larger in the store room that fit perfectly. It was meant to be...only pure desire made me try the dress on in the first place. I will be wearing black patent leather Kenneth Cole shoes. They are pretty simple. If it is chilly I'm going to wear black tights as well. I am also going to wear a fascinator as well. Another item my brother is bringing back from London.
Post-Wedding Parties
SF Banquet Dress
For our banquet in San Francisco I wanted to find a red dress. In Chinese culture red is considered lucky. I've been religiously checking vintageous.com almost every day looking for a great vintage dress and I've found one. Ordered it on July 15th, and it is just perfect. I'm so happy that I found something that fits my style, it was exactly what I was looking for.
The Dress
Well this is it! This picture is with the owner of the bridal salon, Amanda, she is spectacular! I would highly recommend her to anyone, they take such good care of you throughout the process and despite it being couture dresses, they have options in a variety of price points.
Salon Information
L'atelier Couture Bridal
493 Selby Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55102
(651) 602-9492
lateliercouturebridal.com
Designer Description
Tatiana-Emphasazing the waist, Vera Wang once more creates a wedding dress of sheer elegance in this strapless full duchesse, tissue organza, and french tulle A-line gown with a criss-cross bodice, pleated tulle skirt and twinkling stars, with a cotton ribbon.
Salon Information
L'atelier Couture Bridal
493 Selby Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55102
(651) 602-9492
lateliercouturebridal.com
Designer Description
Tatiana-Emphasazing the waist, Vera Wang once more creates a wedding dress of sheer elegance in this strapless full duchesse, tissue organza, and french tulle A-line gown with a criss-cross bodice, pleated tulle skirt and twinkling stars, with a cotton ribbon.
Cardigan
I found this Cardi at Banana Republic with my mom. I wanted to get something to pull over the dress in the evening. Since we will be outdoors it may be a little cooler and I thought I may want to have something on hand just in case. It matches perfectly with my dress I couldn't believe it when we found it and it was on sale for $25!
Jewelry
The ring!
From Brilliant Earth, based out of San Francisco. They specialize in conflict-free diamonds and ethical mining. We had gone to look at rings in the fall of 2009, FI wanted to have an idea about what I liked, and honestly so did I. I've looked at rings before but have never tried them on. I went in to the appointment with some ideas, but really wasn't sure. I tried on several rings that had accent diamonds and vintage scrollwork, but ended up liking the trellis solitaire setting the best. It was interesting to go in and learn about the diamonds and their commitment to ethical mining practices. Even though we went shopping together I was still totally surprised by the proposal. I didn't know that he had taken time during lunch to go back and select the diamond and setting. The setting is platinum and the diamond is .97 carats. Not bad! My favorite thing about the ring though is the ethical mining, it was very important to me and I'm glad that FI respected that even though I know he probably could have gotten a better deal elsewhere.
Wedding Band
I got my wedding band at Zales. I went in just before Valentine's Day and walked out with it the same day. It took about 15 minutes. We had shopped around quite a bit so I knew what I was looking for. It's total weight is 1/4 carat, so it is not very big, but it fits nicely right alongside the engagement ring and provides just enough contrast to the platinum band. I actually think it makes my engagement ring look even better. I brought it back to my parents house to keep with the rest of the wedding day stuff so I wouldn't be tempted to wear it.
Necklace
I knew that I wanted to have pearls, I like the shine that they have and I also wanted to include a little bit of bling, since my dress is fairly simple. This necklace was exactly what I was looking for. It is a Penny Larsen design, she is a local jewelry artist and I'm glad to be supporting independent, small businesses. Her pieces are so beautiful and classic. The pearls will match my dress, in the photo they are a stark white. I can't wait to see how the finished product turns out, and hopefully I'll be able to meet Penny soon to talk about earring options!
Earrings
Purchased these today! I was going to wait until my fitting so I could try them on, but I'm in love with them and just decided to jump. I know they will match the necklace and were exactly what I had asked for. They should be in when I come back in April for my first fitting, very excited and can't wait to wear them after the wedding too!
Hair
Veil
I thought that my veil was going to be my white whale...I thought that it was going to take a lot of searching and research to find one that I liked, the veil that I tried on at the salon when I bought the dress was great, but a little bit out of my price range and when I bought the necklace, combined with the lace edge it was just to much happening around my neck. Luckily Peter Langner had another option up his sleeve and it was perfect. It is a cathedral length, ivory tulle with an organza and satin trim. I won't be wearing a blusher, when I tried those on with my dress I looked like a malaria poster child. The veil will be bustled with my dress for the dinner, cake cutting, and first dance. Then I will take it out. It looks great bustled together.
Flower Clips
I purchased these flower hair clips from VirginiaGeigerJewels on etsy.com. I was looking for some flower accents to tie in with my belt. Also, I wanted to have flowers in my hair because FI will sing "Lovely Linda" by Paul McCartney on occasion, except he'll replace Linda with my first name, it's totally sappy, but one of our special little things.
These pictures are from my hair trial and Smart and Chic Bride with Amber B. I have a TON of hair and it can be hard to manage but I am fairly please with the result. My veil was not in yet for the trial.
Face
This is the make-up from the trial, also at Smart & Chic with Amber. I wanted to see what the air brush make-up and fake eyelashes looked like all together. I loved them! As someone who is not generally happy with my skin, the airbrush covered it right up without looking like too much. I wanted my eyes to pop a little bit, so I added some extra length and volume to the eyelashes. This picture is from my friend's rehearsal dinner later that evening.
Feet
Shoes
These are the shoes. We just got them back from dyemyshoes.com. We needed a wedge heel as we are going to be on the grass all day and I didn't want to big of a heel so I would be a good height compared to FI, so the heel is 1 inch.
Shoe Clips
These came from Starzselection on etsy.com. All of the bridemaids and myself will have red shoes. I will add those photos later, but I also wanted to add a bit of flair to my shoes, so I got these fabulous shoe clips, they look perfect. The designer used pearl accents instead of the cheap looking rhinestone centerpiece. I may alter them a little and put the silver sixpence my brother is bringing from London at the center of them.
Arm
Flowers
I'm going to have a variety of red flowers, mixed with whites and greens, possibly some fiddlehead ferns and berries. I will have my grandfather's handkerchief wrapped around the base of the flowers. I love lilies of the valley and will probably have some of those mixed in as well. I have a few other inspiration pictures:
Clutch
Ordered a fabulous clutch today from NELLE. She was having a trunk show at L'Atelier so I got a little discount and purchased a black clutch with a soft white flower. I figured I can use it again. I'm pretty sure my "look" is complete...so ready for my first fitting!
