No, I’m still not even *considering* having a moment like this at our reception:

{ image via praxxis }

But I’m having a hard time saying no to this one from Bleu:

{ image via Bleu Garters }

Totally not what I think of when I hear the word garter. Love it.

Are you considering a garter?

Does anyone ever really wear a bridesmaid dress again? {Crickets chirp}

I thought so. Please feel free to prove me wrong in the comments. :)

I hope that even if my sisters don’t wear their dresses again, that their photos don’t end up in a book like You Can Wear It Again by Meg Mateo Ilasco. (Despite how loud these dresses are, you really can’t deny that there’s something incredibly festive about them all! I think this book would make a great addition to a thank you gift for the maids.)

{Read the rest of this entry…}

I know, I know…cart, horse, whichever isn’t supposed to come first, whatever. I just couldn’t help but post about the dresses that I’ve been looking at so far as contenders. Really, it’s more the look of these dresses and the colors that stick out to me.

I like the multi-colored look, but do you think it’ll have the same effect with only 3 girls with me? I LOVE the colors of the dresses in the bottom photo, unfortunately they are way out of budget.

{ photos by Olivia Leigh }

{ photo by Lisa Franchot via Style Me Pretty }

Here’s what I’m thinking: I choose colors for the bridesmaids and then have them choose a dress that they like in that color. I’ve also been thinking of going the Etsy route…still having the bridesmaids choose a color and then they can work with the designer to create a dress that will be most flattering to them. Either way, I want the girls to be as comfortable as possible and (don’t we all wish this?) that they can wear it again in the future.

Anyone go the Etsy route before for bridesmaids dresses?

Alright…we had the beautiful plum v-neck dresses from Nordstrom that didn’t make the cut… and then came the super cute purple and violet dresses from Amanda Archer that won my heart at first sight.

But then…then came Jcrew.

pic from Jcrew via Green Wedding Shoes

Tried and true, gorgeous and simple…BM dresses from Jcrew.  I remember when I first ran across the Spring 2009 line (yes way back in February 09) I fell in love…IN LOVE!… with the halter dress in the above image!  So stinkin’ cute no?!  I remember thinking 2 things… it is way too early to be looking at BM dresses…and oh wait…the price…yeah not so in love with that.  I realize Jcrew dresses are pretty darn reasonable but I know my ladies and I really didn’t want them to break the bank just to look fab at my wedding.  So…I just sorta “forgot” about this cute number.

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Thank you to everyone for the time you took to make suggestions about where we should go on our honeymoon! There were many places I had not even thought of (Croatia, Buenos Aires) and I am glad I threw the question out there to get some feedback I would not have gotten otherwise. We still have not made much progress because we keep wanting different things, but we’ll get there eventually.

This weekend I picked up my dress, and now it’s sitting in my closet hanging off of our suitcases on the top shelf. And it will remain there for the next 6 months until I have my first alterations appointment! It’s a heavy white dress in a thin garment bag, and paranoid little me worries that something will happen to it over half a year. Like the cat will find it one day and decide to yank it off the rack. Or I will trip while holding it, ripping off some of the tulle or lace. Or aliens will come and decide they need an artifact from Earth and will decide that my wedding dress is too pretty to pass up. Totally possible.

A lot of alterations have to be done, including bringing up the shoulders so that I don’t *cough* expose myself in front of 200 people. The associate showed me a photo of a bride who had ties sewn in the back so the dress would stay up, but I immediately cried “Noooo! The back is the best part!”

[Buying a new gown from a bridal salon? They aren't joking when they say order 6 months in advance--it took 5 months for my dress to arrive in the store.]

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Before I continue the BM dress saga…I wanted to say thanks for all the comments on my last post!  I was truly overwhelmed by the response…I literally sat down with intentions of continuing the BM dress story…but instead that is what came out.  I guess it was just on my mind.  I appreciate hearing all your comments and I actually related to each one in some way or another!  So thanks for sharing your thoughts and stick around…we’ve got 8 more months together!

OK…so where were we…OH YES…I had just decided against the lovely plum dresses from Nordstrom and started the hunt for the perfect BM dresses…again.  That’s when fellow bride blogger Abbie emailed me the cutest dress on Etsy!

Behold…the Amanda Archer Pleated Collar Dress:

oh and what’s that I see…it comes in violet??

source

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Mr. had a hard time with the fact that I did NOT want a diamond. He thought I was only trying to be nice and “settling” for an aquamarine since a diamond was too expensive. Not at all. I completely trusted his judgment on what he wanted to spend. Even if I could have any ring in the world, regardless of price, I would *still* choose an aqua. Aside from the fact that I love the color, I love having something a little bit different, and it means a lot to me that my aunt has an aqua engagement ring as well. Finally I was able to convince him and I’m so happy with the final product!

{ photo by me }

It’s certainly not traditional, but it seems like it’s not as unusual as I had originally thought. Ever since we got engaged, I have noticed blue engagement rings all over the place!

Liz Taylor and Princess Diana had one? According to Issue 10 of Wedding Style Guide…

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Hello lovelies. Hope you’re all having wonderfully calm, inspired days.

I’m so excited to kick off the first of my official wedding recaps here on EAD. Just last week we got our pictures back from our amazing wedding photographers, Dave and Jo of Allegro Photography, and as I said on my own blog, they. are. phenomenal. And the slideshow movie they made is making our guests tear up left and right. I love it!

Our wedding day. How to describe it? Three words that come to mind: serene, opulent, and joyful. And special. So, so special.

Since Allegro did such a beautiful job of documenting our day, I’m going to let their pictures do most of the recapping of our “getting ready” moments. First up, my handsome groom, getting ready in our hotel room.

My pretty dress, quietly waiting for me.

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Oh hello. Could you get any cuter?

I require a few of these delicious creations from Old Soul New Heart. My mom thoughtfully forwarded me this Daily Candy featuring these sweeties, which is extra nice when you consider that the duo behind Old Soul New Heart is a mother-daughter team, who keep it real by mixing vintage notions with modern twists, and make a bad hair day into something fun. Headbands, necklaces, and belts - oh my, I just love them!

I also love the prices - everything is less than $65.  Wouldn’t a row of badass bridesmaids absolutely kill it in a sampling of these?  Maybe they’d dress up your rehearsal look with just the right amount of jazz?  I know my day would be greatly improved with a little headband action….

What about using one of these belts as a wedding dress sash?  I DIE!!!!

The trouble is, of course, deciding between them all!  Which one should I get?  Which is your favorite?

I realize I have yet to tell the story of my own dress-finding adventure…but you’ll have to wait a little bit longer because right now I’m ALL about making my ladies look fabulous!

Finding the bridesmaid dresses was not exactly something I was looking forward too.  That’s not to say I don’t LIKE BM dresses…I just have never been a BM myself and have no idea what it is like on that end!  The whole act of forcing my friends to spend their hard earned $$ on a dress they might hate and in a color they would never otherwise wear just didn’t sound fun to me.  Thus I avoided searching for BM dresses like the plague.

Sure I had some “ideas” if you will…I envisioned cute purple dresses on each of my girls carrying bright green flowers…smiling and dancing the night away all the while telling me how FABULOUS their dress is and how they CAN’T WAIT to wear it again and again and again….  ok so maybe my “ideas” were more like bride-fantasies.

Anyways…one of my go-to BMs assured me that it is up to me ultimately…and I should pick something I like.  I agreed and thought…actually yes there is one dress in particular that I keep seeing and really really like…

from Nordstroms

It is cute…affordable…the perfect deep purple color I was hoping for…oh and has been all over the wedding world…

via Jonathan Canlas

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I thought I would share with you what the bridesmaids and groomsmen will be wearing on the big day.  It took us a while to figure it all out, but I think it’s going to look great on the big day!

First the bridesmaids:

I knew I wanted something in navy and something simple, but it took me a while to pick out *the* dress for the bridesmaids.  I toyed with the idea of giving them a color and letting them pick out their own dress because I wanted them to be comfortable in what they were wearing and to be able to maybe (possibly!) wear the dress again… but navy can be tricky in terms of matching shades, so I ultimately decided to just pick a dress that would look good on all of them (that’s the hard part!) and ask them all to wear that one.

I dragged one of my bridesmaids to our local Bella Bridesmaid and made her try on just about every dress I kind of liked and we ultimately decided on the Magnolia by Simple Silhouettes.  I loved the sweetheart neckline, which I think is flattering on just about anyone, and we both thought the length would be good (not too short, but not too long for a cocktail dress).  It’s going to be all navy (even the sash/belt), which I think will be lovely and allow them to be more wearable in the future(hopefully!).  Here are some pictures of Mer T., my patient bridesmaid, modeling the dress after picking it up and taking it to the alteration place to get it cinched in a bit:

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I kinda wish I had seen this before I started this whole escapade of a dress hunt:

“You get to a point where there’s not much you can do but put on your fancy party dress, a pair of fabulous shoes and grab a bottle of cheap champagne to swig with your girls on the way to meet your groom.” - Cyd…via A Practical Wedding who adds on, “Once you start thinking of it as your party dress, the whole thing gets so much simpler. And better.”

{ dresses by etsy seller ILuvUTutuMuch }

Cause isn’t that really what it is, a party dress? That’s what I wanted at least.

I went to a total of 10 dress shops and probably tried on around 60ish dresses until finally I found THE dress! I’m not posting a picture of what it looks like because a) I still have a fear that somehow Mr. might find it, and b) no pictures exist of my dress (wasn’t allowed to take any there and there are no pictures online yet.)

{Read the rest of this entry…}