the Dress and the Suit (4/14)

From what I hear, lots of women dream of their wedding dress since they are knee high.  I was not one of those girls.  The thought of a dress haunted me.  I did not want a huge gown.  Nor did I want to spend a fortune on a dress I would wear once.  Finally, I did not want to be hot, heavy and uncomfortable on my wedding day.

Luckily, the dress (and accessories) came together pretty organically.  I was shopping with my friend Lindsay after work at the huge 34th street Macy's.  She was getting married that March and was looking for a dress for her honeymoon.  She convinced me to try on some dresses too.  I tried on about six dresses and bought one that I kept putting back on and thinking about.  It had beautiful pleats throughout the dress, a detailed swirly pattern sewn into the bottom and a fitted waist.  It was tea length, which I had been attracted to, unique, and in my eyes had many possibilities.

I still went to different places and tried on different dresses with my mom, but none that really felt as right as this first dress from Macy's.  And even though I knew I didn't want a big gown, there were some moments I felt like I was doing something wrong for not following the "gown" crowd.  I needed to remind myself, this was my wedding, and whatever dress I chose was the right one for me.

I brought the dress to a tailor who helped bring my vision to life. She took it in to be fitted to my body, added a lovely pearl detail around the waist, some tulle to fluff up the bottom, and a few other details to make the dress extra special.  Because of the pearl elements, the accessories became pretty clear.

I wore his grandmother's pearls as a bracelet, pearl bobby pins from anthropology for my hair, and cluster pearl earrings I randomly found at Kohls.











As for the shoes, I had a pair of gold flats with flowers on the toe from Target until about a week before.  That's when a pair of peachy flats with a cluster of pearls at the top showed up on my doorstep.

The only other question was, what if it was cold?  The wedding was in early September, it could go either way.  I needed to have some kind of shawl.  I bought a simple cream cardigan from H&M just in case.  Then by chance, a week before the wedding, as I was leaving the mall, I was drawn into this totally random store.  In the back there was this absolutely beautiful, delicate scarf with swirls, flowers and hints of light blue. (something blue!) The only one like it..just hanging there..and it was perfect!  Honestly, it brought the whole thing together!  I wore it almost the entire time after the ceremony, and I also wore that H&M cardigan to the bon-fire with a pair of leggings under my dress. 


I think my soon to be had it a bit easier.  We went into Hugo Boss and he found a hot three-piece suit.  Sold!  He had his black cowboy hat that he always wore..and in DSW he found an amazing pair of boots he still rocks all the time!

After all was said and done, all our gear came together.  We didn't break the bank, we were totally comfortable the entire time and stayed true to who we are!