As do many of us who began our mini-adult lives with nothing to our name but our grandma’s chipped fiestaware and much-loved box-sets of Sex and the City (I even have Seasons 1-3 on VHS, what-what!), I am firm in my belief that its the accessories that make the clothes that then make “the look.”

And once I had “the dress” in my hot little hands, the hunt for wedding day accessories that invoked an elegant, vintage vibe (bonus points if I could wear them again) was on like Donkey Kong!

My very first piece of ornamentation actually found me before I even found my dress!  I had purchased this silk floral and feather headpiece during the “First Dress Debacle,” and I remained absolutely obsessed with it even after realizing that my initial gown choice was not right for me.  For the life of me I cannot remember who designed this piece, but I purchased it at Warren Barron in Dallas.  This piece was so much fun to wear - I loved how it moved and how it made me feel like a “bride” even after the veil came off!

Next up came the shoes… oh the shoes!  I knew I wanted punchy, colorful shoes to add that like pop of fun as I walked and danced.  Initially, I had a lot of trouble finding exactly what I was looking for and actually purchased ivory satin shoes with the idea that I would dye them a deep pink color and maybe add a shoe clip for some pizazz.  Then I found these beauties - absolutely perfect in every way - at J. Crew.  I also ordered raspberry colored platform flip-flops to change into, but these were so comfy that I wore them all night!  And I’ve worn them several times since the wedding - I love these shoes!

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Have you seen this great DIY headband tutorial  over at Heart of Light!?

Rachel is the mastermind behind this amazingly feminine piece of art.

I love how wispy and raw it turned out.  It would go perfect with a less structured and more natural looking wedding dress.

Rachel does a brilliant job of explaining her step by step process of creating this masterpiece.  For a “how-to” just check out the photos below!

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Good morning, weekend warriors! I hope everyone is having a great (and grateful) Memorial Day weekend!

Planning has been going a bit more smoothly this week. We’re so excited to introduce our new photographers, Andrew and Jessica Schaeffer, later this week. We also figured out the order for our ceremony, and worked on the music for the reception. Finally, I picked up a bunch of scrap fabrics over the weekend and came up with a nice DIY fabric flower that’s simple and can be used for a variety of purposes! I’m using it as a hair flower here, but it could also serve as a corsage (with a pretty ribbon sewn on it and tied around the wrist), a boutonnière, a flower attached to a sash for your dress, bridesmaids gifts, or anything else you can imagine! Here’s the info:

Depending on the size of your flower, these sizes will vary. For a 5″ flower, you’ll need:
-fabric pen (to trace circles onto fabric–use a cardboard circle as your guide)
-16 4.25″ circles
-8 3.5″ circles
-one 3″ circle of thicker fabric for the base
-sewing needle and thread

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We’ve been full of beautiful DIY headpieces lately (everyone should check out Briana’s amazing creation from last week).  I’m also loving this beauty created by Jamie of A Desert Fete.

{Tutorial found here}

Sundays! Sigh. Such a lovely day of the week. I’m missing my hubby this week…he is studying for his board exams and wasn’t able to come with me to Colorado. A perfect Sunday would usually consist of a relaxing morning…waking up with the sunshine, and heading to the farmer’s market to pick up some fresh figs, goat cheese, and honey. How great does that sound?

Well, speaking of great weekends, today I was inspired to try making my own hairpiece. Due to the monetary constraints of our wedding, it’s just not in my budget to purchase a custom hairpiece…as much as I would love one! In the meantime, I thought I’d try a couple of my own. This is my first try…and while I’m no Myra Callan (AMAZING hair accessories…), I think it turned out pretty well! Here are the instructions:

You’ll need:
-A fake flower of your choice. Home decorating stores like Pottery Barn, Pier 1, and Crate and Barrel are usually great resources for realistic-looking ones.
-One or two small doilies from a craft store. If you can’t find small ones like these, you can trim a bigger one down to the size you would like.
-A feather clip, if you’d like one. I found this one at a craft store, and it came with a pre-attached hair clip.

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Before I tell you about my dress (which might not happen until I get to my re-caps as M might read this now) I thought I’d look at ideas for head wear, hair and make-up. I started to collect images which I like for head wear and veils and have collated some of them into the board below. As you can see, peacock feathers feature predominately, as does the bird cage veil. Which is why it might surprise you to know that I have decided not to wear anything like this at all in the church, rather be all white (except my shoes) and wear an elbow length traditional veil instead.

{Images top row L-R: Birdcage veil from Style Me Pretty;  photo by Leigh Miller, headpiece by Sweetsnlo, Kate Triano, headpiece by Unveiled Bridal Designs;
Images bottom row L-R:  Headpiece by Boring Sydney, photo by Jennifer Behr, hat by Emily-London, birdcage veil via Style Me Pretty;
Image centre: Portobello}

As I have said before, our general theme is that it has to be vintage, recycled, bought from a charity shop/e-bay/etsy or on sale. I think the veil might be one of the few exceptions to this. I was going to make my own using an ikea net curtain (much nicer than it sounds and a bargain at £1.50) but T, my bridesmaid, sister-in-law-to-be and fashion designer extraordinaire stepped in and said she would like to help me make the veil and would give me the silk tulle for my birthday. We have ordered the samples and looked at some ideas, so will share that with you when it is finished.

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A beautiful project from Nicole, an Amy Butler-inspired fabric flower wrist corsage. She made one of these for each of the grandmothers at her wedding!

Instructions for making this beautiful corsage:

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