The Wedding--Part One--Apparel

So I've decided to do my wedding in different parts, kind of how Megan of Feathers and Freckles did.  Today, we are going to go over the apparel at my wedding because, to the style blogging world, this is a very essential part of the wedding.

The moment that I tried on my dress at The Altar, I just knew it was the one.  The lace, the beading, the length of the train, the back, the shear top--it was just the perfect vintage, simple elegance vibe I was looking for.  Aaaaand, it just so happened to already fit me perfectly.  The only thing I needed altered on it was putting a bustle in.

Typically, I'm not a fan of the lace up backs.  I find them fairly conservative.  Funny enough, the fact that this one laces up the back almost turned me away from the dress in the first place.  Luckily, my mom and sister talked me into trying it on.

The shoooooooes.  Look familiar?  SATC fans will recogNIZE!  These are the Manolo Blahnik's that Carrie wore to her wedding in the movie.  They also worked as my "something blue".  Don't worry.  I didn't drop $800 on these.  They are what I lovingly called them FauxNolos.

My garders were from an etsy shop.  I loved their pretty, simple feel.  And the birdcage, pearl and lace detail went with my dress and wedding theme.

Vanessa from The Spot Salon did my hair.  You may remember when I went in for my trial (scroll toward the end of the post to see the trial hair).  She did an absolutely AMAZING job copying the original inspiration.  And you know what?  Even after dancing the night away and hopping on a drunken international flight to Aruba several hours after the fact, that shit was in.  tact. 

And, she also did my makeup.  Which I also loved.

 Sooooo . . . I really wanted to find a decent picture of my reception dress, but this was the best that I came up with.   You can see the top with me clearly used to having a camera on me at all times and the bottom of the dress below dancing with my daughter and Patrick.

Greatest story about this dress ever.  Remember waaaay back when I found my rehearsal dress at Dillards?  And I said I found my reception dress there too?  Well this dress was hanging in the clearance rack, but it had no tags on it.  I carried it around, falling more and more in love with it.  I decided to try it on and then, I knew it was perfect.  So I brought it to the register to ask about a price.  The cashier hunted it down and told me "oh, sorry, it's actually not on clearance and it's $90."  Bummer.  So I walked around a little more.  As I was shopping in the lingerie section a few moments later, the same cashier walked over to me with the dress.  "I'm so glad you're here!  I just had to find you!  I found out that this dress is actually $15!!!"  Um, yes please!  In short, she saved the day.

I wanted my bridesmaids to chose their own dresses in a similar color.  Some people were skeptical of this decision, saying the pictures wouldn't turn out right or that it would look too tacky.  I, on the other hand, wanted my bridesmaids to have something they a) felt and looked great in, b) wanted to wear again, c) fit their body type and comfort zone and d) matched their personalities.  From left to right: My cousin, Tina.  We got her dress in a thrift store, believe it or not and originally was floor length and very formal looking.  A trip to the tailor later and she had a very cute above the knee cocktail dress.  Patrick's sister Jessica.  Her dress took the longest to find.  She was nervous about dress shopping in general and weary about everyone looking unified.  She ended up with this lacy fishtail hem dress from American Eagle, I believe.  I think she looked fabulous!  My sister, Samantha, bought her bridesmaid dress the same day I bought my dress.  It was the perfect champagne color and had this adorable scallop hem (too bad you can't see it).  Me.  Matty, we'll get to him in a minute when we talk about groomsmen wear.  My brother's girlfriend, Ginestra.  We found her dress at Dress Barn of all places.  She was also nervous, not being much of a dress girl, but the second she stepped out in this shimmery golden tiered cocktail dress, we knew it was perfect for her.  Even a woman walking by walked up to her and said "whatever you're buying this dress for, you need to get it."

My lovely sister in law took the liberty of scheduling the hair appointments for the bridesmaids at Hair Dynamics, which is actually a hair school up in Fort Collins.  They have great prices and, as you can see on Tina, they do a phenomenal job.

As soon as I saw these orange and purple suede pumps at Rue21 while shopping for Ginestra's dress, I knew they were perfect for my bridesmaids.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any in Tina's size though, but not to worry because Charlotte Russe a few stores later did!  The girls were nervous.  Tina was the only one that was experienced in any realm walking in heels, let alone high ass platform stilettos!  But they did great!

Because my bridesmaids were in separate but equal dresses, I wanted my flower girls to bet the same, but instead of   taupe/beige/champagne/whathaveyou, I wanted them to be in the fun purple and orange.  And I found them all in gingham print, which went perfectly with the old Victorian garden wedding locale we went married in!  Left to right: My niece Anya and my daughter Brielle wear dresses from Macy's and Patrick's niece (and my niece too now!) wears a dress that I altered off of eBay.

Hair Dynamics also did the flower girls' hair.  Brielle and Brynn's hair was the same and it was gorgeous!  Don't you love Brynn's pretty red hair?

Top Left to Right--My brother, Kyle, Patrick's best man, Grant, Dustin, Lee
Bottom Left to Right-Adam, Patrick, Jimmie 

For the boys, I wanted something casual, vintage and timeless.  So what better way than with braces, a purple striped tie (and orange for Patrick) and slacks.  Patrick wore a vest and jacket as well.  I have to say something here.  The hands down easiest interaction of the wedding planning was my interaction with Men's Wearhouse.   We went on a whim late on a Sunday night to check it out and were greeted by manager of the Boulder store, Danny.  This was similar to what he was wearing actually.  He knew just what I was talking about and hooked.  us.  uuuuuup.  Not only were we blessed to come in to BOGO pants and shirts, but Danny was able to ship them out to our groomsmen free of charge and make sure they all got tailored correctly.  At one point, we had misplaced my brother's shirt.  I called up Danny.  Solved.  Replaced.  No worries.  Will NEVER go anywhere else for men's formal wear.  Ever.

 The guys picked out their own shoes.  Not too shabby guys!

My boys' suits were a pain in the ass.  Taupe suits with vests are much harder to come by then you might think.  But, as usual, I lucked out on K & G Fashion Superstore  with literally one left in Kaden's size (by Steve Harvey) and one left in Conner's size (by Sean Combs).  And I found the orange gingham button downs at Kohl's.  Conner added the tie on his own accord, which was purple and orange paisley print.  That's my boy!  And though I told Kaden he didn't have to wear the coat, he insisted.

Believe it or not, I got both my mother's (above) and my mother in law's (below) dresses both from some store credit I had with eShakti.  They both looked ravishing.

Pam stepped it up with a matching scarf and jewelry.

So, the overall thoughts on the apparel was perfect, perfect, perfect.  It was personal, it was different, but equal and unified, though a lot of alterations, exhausting hunting down and a few mishaps here and there.  Peeeeerfect.

**All photo credits to Krista Watzel Photography!