Archive for the ‘Wedding Attire’ Category
All my lovely ladies now have their dresses (woohoo!). Mrs. Sewing my Hot Mama of Honor will be wearing this strapless dress.
David's Bridal Style 83707
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Bridesmaid A and L have chosen this halter stunner for their duds.
David's Bridal Style 84177
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Now it’s time to build a cohesive and creative look for these ladies that will reflect their own style. Also known as I will give them so guidelines and let them pick their own accessories. I think some gorgeous gold shoes will do the trick, in whatever heel height style makes them comfortable. Here are some totally cute ones for under $50 (if your searching for some Mrs. Sewing, L, and A).
Katie and Kelly Grace Metallic Sandal
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Capparos Band Sandal
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Katie and Kelly Michelle T-Strap
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I decided I would get the girls jewelry for the day of, so they would have one less expense. Originally I picked these earrings from Kate Spade.
Kate Spade Gum Drop Earrings in Blue
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Mama Austen thinks they’re cute, but thinks the girl needs something more substantial, like a small chandelier earring. I didn’t really like the idea of a chandelier, but I found a gorgeous, dangley earring on Etsy from seller Belle Fleur Jewelry.
Gold Orchid and Freshwater Pearl Earrings
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(I am totally ordering myself my own pair).
What do you think? Did you let your bridesmaids choose their own looks, give them guidelines, or did you totally dictate the look?
Since Mrs. Sewing asked, I thought I would post sooner than later about what a smell test is. This my own technical term. Basically Mr. Darcy and I decided a while back (maybe me more than Mr. Darcy) that we would select each other’s scents for the big day. My personal tastes for perfume tend to be more floral and romantic and Mr. Darcy favors musky or spicy colognes. So with this in mind we are going to go shopping for each other’s scents. This particular accessory is important to me, because I am a bit of a perfume whore. My current faves, Marc Jacobs, BVLGARI Omni Amethyste, Juicy Couture, Coach Poppy, and Estee Lauder Beautiful Sheer. (I told you I am a perfume whore). So the plan to hit up Macy’s fragrance counter and strips, pretty perfume bottles, and coffee beans. Once we find our potentials, we will test them out to see if they stand the test of time. Here are my current picks for the big day, but we will see.
Polo Double Black
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BVLGARI Pour Femme Eau de Parfum
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How did you pick out your wedding day scent?
So I have this gorgeous dress and beautiful accessories for the day of, but I want to be in better shape for the wedding day. I have pretty decent eating habits, since Mr.Darcy feeds me. (Mr. Darcy is an awesome cook and usually makes the entree for dinner and I make the sides, plus he packs my lunch for me every day. Yes, I know. It is super sweet.) Except, that Mr. Sewing brought me this lovely thing, called a brand new Kitchen Aid mixer (AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!), and I can’t stop baking. I have made three cakes in two weeks (don’t worry Mrs. Sewing I plan on baking one for all of you this weekend.) So that hasn’t exactly helped, but I am working on it. I am babbling now, so I will get back to my point. I need to call and make my appointment for my first fitting, but I don’t want to until I lose 15 pounds. Let me just put this in perspective by saying I need to lose these 15 pounds anyways, so I feel like the wedding is a good motivation to get back on track with a healthy lifestyle. I have decided to bribe myself into exercising. I would really like a new craft machine, a paper cutter/embosser, especially since it would make several of my projects, so much easier. I have given myself permission to buy this new machine if I work out a total of 15 hours for the whole month of June. That is an average of 30 minutes a day. So I am going to record all work outs. The goal is to average 30 minutes of cardio 5x a week and do 1 hour of strength training a week. So you want to see what I get if I succeed?
Sizzix Big Shot Cutting and Embossing Roller Style Machine
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This particular part of wedding planning wasn’t to far up on my list, OMG this has to be perfect. Mr. Darcy is by no means any kind of fashionista. He prefers to wear shorts and a Bass Pro Shop t-shirt on all occasions. I sometimes ask him to switch to jeans and a button-up, but not often. I figured I worry about it when the time came to order such things. Then Mrs. Sewing offered to send Mr. Sewing with Mr. Darcy on his shopping adventure and all was forgotten, ’til now. I received a coupon/mailing from Men’s Wearhouse offering their standard special of $40 off all tux rentals and free tux rental/ suit for the groom for every five that are rented. This got me thinking about the duds that the Darcy party will be donning the day of some more. We had a few options.
The ever more popular (plastered across the wedding blogs) three piece suit.
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As presented here by some of Hollywood’s leading men. This option was never really an option, because Mr. Darcy is a big and tall kind of guy and this dapper suit would look kind of small and tight on him.
The next option was a tux.
Joseph and Feiss One Button Notch Lapel
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This is a perfectly acceptable option and I think Mr. Darcy would look pretty sweet in a tux, maybe a little bit less formal (i.e. without the vest).
The next option (my personal favorite) is a suit.
Calvin Klein Shadow Stripe Two Button Super 100s Notch Lapel
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I personally think a suit would be a great investment for Mr. Darcy. He will have numerous occasions to wear it in his life and we could have it tailored to fit him, giving him the best look possible.
In the end it will be up to Mr. Darcy and he will choose what he likes best and I am sure when I see him in it I will fall in love with him all over again. (On a different note I love that Men’s Wearhouse commercial, “When everyone is looking at her, she will be looking at you.”)
Were you overly concerned by your partner’s attire for the wedding day? Did you give any input? What did s/he ultimately end up choosing?
As I watched all the guests arrive for the royal wedding, I was very much impressed with most guests attire. The typical outfits were morning suits for the men, knee length dresses/suits and hats/fascinators for the women.
The Beckhams Source: Styleite
This had me thinking about my own guest’s attire for the wedding. I don’t know if brides really think about the attire of their guests’ outside of their wedding party, but their attire will also be captured in photos. Here are some of the things I hope not to see our guests wearing at our wedding.
Source: Chictopia
I really wish that the men do not show up with jeans and t-shirt on. I would really like the men to be in a button-up, tie, and slacks, but not necessarily a jacket. I want them to be comfortable, but not that comfortable.
Source: The Gloss
I really hope I will not have any female guests, sporting the hoochie mama dress. We are having a cocktail party and I hope the ladies will lovely cocktail dress, just not this short.
Ramona and Alex from the Real Housewives of New York City Source: Brass Stacks and Silver Charms
(Yes I watch the Real Housewives.) Wearing white is something I don’t wish my guest would do, but Mama Austen absolutely detests the idea that guests would wear white to wedding. She insists that if anybody wears white to the wedding, they will not be allowed in the photos. I love Mama Austen. She is a fierce mama.
Have you put any thought in to what your guests might wear to your wedding? Are you giving them guidelines?
I have earrings. Check. Headpiece and Veil. Check. Check. Necklace. Check. Brooch. Check. (May need two more, but more on this later). Shoes. Check. Flats for reception. NO! (Need to check DSW to see if they got any new designs in and use my $10 off coupon). Garter. Not sure about this yet need to look on Etsy. Bracelets. Not so much until I was wandering around on 100 Layer Cake and found this gorgeous picture from Aimee and Trevor’s Wedding.
Source: 100 Layer Cake
Can you see the bold gold and ruby bracelet in the second pic? If not you check it out here. This got me thinking about bracelets and then I saw Mrs. Knitting’s post today over on Wedding Bee and I fell in love again.
Did you have an accessory that was an after thought? Or you didn’t originally plan on wearing?
So, I have shown you what Mama Austen and I are both wearing, but not what my lovely ladies will be wearing. I didn’t really have a particular design in my mind when I went shopping. At first I was thinking I would just go the whole black dress route, but Mama Austen wasn’t thrilled about the idea. I knew I wanted the dresses to be low on cost, because my girls were already traveling to Vegas. MOH, Mrs. Sewing, and I decided we would head over to David’s Bridal one Sunday after having breakfast. Mrs. Sewing asked me if I wanted long or short? Um, I don’t know. Color? I think Gold. I always wanted to find more than one style, so all the girls had choices. I also wanted to find one dress style that would cover lovely BM A’s chest tatoo. It’s not that I don’t like the tatoo – it’s rather cool, in fact. It’s just that it’s a quote and if the whole thing isn’t visable, everyone will be staring at her chest trying to figure it out the entire time. So we found a strapless style we both liked that came in gold. Mrs. Sewing tried it on and loved it, perfect. We found a coordinating style with a halter top and, viola(!), we were done. Easy-peasy, right?! Not quite. We go to the counter to have the sales lady add the dresses into my online profile. Oooops, the second style we picked out doesn’t come in gold, but it comes in champagne. This didn’t work for me, so I looked at the colors and decided upon Apple. Apple as in a red apple, since apples do come in a plethora of colors (including brown-think “road apples”- aka: horsy droppings). But, there we had it, bridesmaid dresses done; check. So, here they are, the two lovely dress styles we picked out:
David's Bridal Style 84177
David's Bridal 83707
Both styles have the convenience of pockets; some wear-it-again potential; and at $129 and $99 respectively, they are affordable. I will be getting the ladies jewelry for the day of, and I am asking them to wear gold shoes in whatever style they like.
How was your bridesmaid dress shopping experience? Did you have any style expectations for the bridesmaid dresses before going shopping? Did it just come together or was it a challenge?
A few days ago, I posted about Mama Austen and I’s search for her dress. Well it was a fun experience. When we first went in Mama Austen and I split up and scoured the racks of David’s Bridal. Mama Austen and I had no set design or style in mind, when we went shopping. The only requirement was that she looked and felt fabulous in her dress. So Mama Austen pulled a few dresses and so did I. Mama Austen tried on her choices first and they were quickly discarded, they were too frumpy or ill fitting. My picks Mama Austen and I both loved (What can I say? I know what looks good on Mama Austen). First up the two runner-ups:
David's Bridal Short Iridescent Taffetta Jacket Dress
Strapless Satin Dress with Hi Low Hemline
The last dress Mama Austen tried on, ended up being the one. When I pulled this dress off the rack and showed it to Mama Austen it was the only dress that she had a strong reaction to. “Oooohhh, that’s gorgeous.” We decided to have Mama Austen try on this one last. Here it is.
Mama Austen in Hammered Shimmer One-Piece Tiered Dress Style
Doesn’t she look gorgeous? Mama Austen has her mother-of-the-bride dress and she looks and feels fabulous. Mission accomplished!!!
Warning: Mr. Darcy Stay Far, Far Away!!!!!
After my last traumatizing post. I thought I would post about something more fun: accessories. The other day, Mama Austen and I decided to go shopping for her mother of the bride dress. We didn’t make any appointments because I never know how Mama Austen is going to feel and didn’t want to put the pressure of time constraints on her. So we headed off to David’s Bridal. Well after finding her a dress there (you will have to wait to find out about that in another post) we found our way over to the accessories section. I have spent a lot of time researching different accessories for my wedding, but hadn’t picked out anything specific. I had ideas, yes, along with vague input from Mr. Darcy. This is the one area I felt really adamant about Mr. Darcy giving his opinion. (I sometimes feel like Mr. Darcy would rather have a root canal than to help me plan the wedding.) One thing I felt strongly about was that Mr. Darcy giving input on how I looked for the wedding. I want to look like everything Mr.Darcy imagines for our wedding day. I know it may sound silly, but I want Mr. Darcy to have everything he wants for this wedding. He has only made a few requests, a groom’s cake, our first dance song, and that he be marrying me. So I scoured wedding websites and wedding magazines for pictures of beautiful brides for Mr. Darcy to look at. In the end, I got that Mr. Darcy wanted my hair down and liked makeup that played my eyes up. So with that in mind, I began to look for accessories that fit into Mr. Darcy’s vision and my personality. Here are some of my favorites:
Badgley Mischka Randall Shoes in Blue
Source: Zappos.com
Occansey Designs Sheer One Tier Veil with Bugle Bead Edge
Source: Occansey Designs
I wanted a simple and elegant look, no princessy accessories for me. My dress is simple and elegant, also. I wanted a vintage feel to my look. So when Mama Austen and I found ourselves in the accessories section of David’s Bridal. Never did I imagine I would be trying on big, foofy veils and tiaras. Bu,t when I stood there in jeans and t-shirt wearing just that and Mama Austen began to cry, what was I to do? I ended up with a foofy veil and a pearl and crystal headband. Am I unhappy with my accessories? No. How could I be when they made Mama Austen so incredibly happy? Is it all what I expected to wear? No, but that’s okay. So without further ado here are my accessories in full including veil, headpiece, jewelry, brooch, and shoes.
Jewelry:
- Sonya Renee Pearl Cluster Earrings
These babies are from favorite jewelry designer
Sonya Renee. The goal of these was to incorporate the pearls and crystals into my look because I wanted to wear my grandman’s pearl necklace. My mom wasn’t sure if the pearl necklace would work with the neckline of my dress (since its all beaded), but this was a non-negotiable for me. Here are the results.
- Personal Picture
The corset on the dress is not all the way tied up and the dress needs to shortened, majorly. You can kind of see my grandma’s pearl necklace and this the veil.
Headband from David's Bridal
Personal Picture of Headpiece
Shoes:
Katie and Kelly Lily Shoes
These babies I picked up at DSW for $40. Aren’t they cute? They’re not blue, but the price and design were right. I think I am going to pick up a pair of sparkly, ballet flats for the reception, also. Maybe these:
- Nine West Facinate Flats
Source: Piperlime
Brooch:
David's Bridal Crystal Flower and Pearl Pin
Doesn’t it match my earrings perfectly?
Sometimes I feel like an accessory at my own wedding. MOH Mrs. Sewing and her husband both told me that Mr. Darcy and I were just accessories at our wedding. At the time we were just joking around, but sometimes I feel this way. Not in a bad way, but in the way that in the Austen-Darcy wedding is a community one. It takes a village to plan a wedding and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
So I had an easy time picking the dress and the ring. The dress I found when I wasn’t even looking for it. Some of the girls and I had gone to look for bridesmaid dresses. After trying on a few bridesmaid dresses and finding a few styles we like, we decided to look at a few wedding gowns. Well I decided to try on a couple. After about four I was done. The sales person convinced me to try on one more and it was strapless, none the less. Let me tell you I had no intention of buying a strapless dress. I did not want to be one of those brides, who was pulling up her dress all night long. Despite my better judgement, I tried the dress on. Well, that sales lady knew what she was talking about. I was in love and my mom cried. Just like that I had a wedding dress. It was simple, elegant, and extremely flattering to my body. Now this was way back when I first got engaged, like I mentioned in my
Journey to the Wedding post. So fast forward to today, when I dragged Mr. Darcy to the mall. I have a very unique engagement ring, which was custom designed. It has my great, great grandma’s solitaire diamond and diamonds from my mom’s wedding band. Well, having a beautiful custom designed engagement ring posed a bit of an issue when shopping for a wedding band. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted: milgrain edge, pave set diamonds, and slight curve in band, so it would it sit flush. Here are some of the rings I found:
- Source: Jared the Galleria of Jewelry
Source: Jared the Galleria of Jewelry
Well, fast forward to today when we’re strolling through the mall, I convince Mr. Darcy to go into Kay Jewelers with me to look at wedding bands. After all, they are having a sale. I take my engagement ring and showed it to the lady and before I could even tell her what I was looking for she placed into a enhancer and handed it back to me to try on. I put it on my finger and it fit perfectly. It was gorgeous. I was instantly in love. The band is actually an enhancer in which my ring inserts into. Her is a pic of what it looks like all together.
So, as you can see, this is not what I originally had in mind. But I love the bling, bling, and I love that it shows off my engagement ring so well. I am in love with my wedding band, almost as much as the man who is going to give it to me on our wedding day.
Moral of the Story:
1. Listen to the experts. They know what they’re talking about.
2. Have an open mind. Neither my dress nor my wedding band are I would have originally picked for myself, but they’re perfect and I love them.
austendarcywedding 