Weddingbee Blog

Around the same time I chose my dress, we confirmed our photographers. We got an engagement shoot with our photography package, and we’d decided to get the photos done and use them for save the dates. This posed its own problem, as we wanted the photos done before it got too gross and wintery here, plus we needed to get them done pretty quickly anyway to have any hope of sending them out before Christmas. We didn’t factor in our photographers’ other clients/jobs/life when coming up with this plan! They were very gracious though, and managed to squeeze us in early one October Sunday morning, before Cinnamon Buns had to rush off to work.

Beware: this post contains almost entirely self-timer photos taken in our dark bedroom, then edited into visible-ness.

I knew which dress I wanted to wear for the photos from the start:

“Amarena” from Anthropologie

I bought this dress in the very first Anthropologie I ever saw in person, and I love it so much! I figured I’d find a pair of shoes and be done with it. Well, the weather forecast got closer and closer, and colder and colder. I bought some awesome shoes that matched a pair of tights I already had. In hindsight, I could have saved money by going about this the other way: finding tights to match shoes I already owned. Oh well, these shoes are awesome.

Camper Ariadna

The weeks leading up to our session were balmy and unseasonably warm. Then, on the Friday before our pictures, it snowed! It was then I went into panic mode, and bought all sorts of things I didn’t need:

Sweater from Mexx

Sweater from Smart Set

Gloves that matched the tights that matched the shoes. Plus, an awesome belt.

I tried all these things on in every combination I could think of. I wasn’t happy with either of the sweaters—they hid the dress, which was what I wanted to show off! And the fluttery sleeves gave me weird shoulder lumps under any cardigan I tried on. I was worried about looking cold and miserable in the photos though, and if the snow stuck around I’d look pretty silly in short sleeves, frolicking in the snow! So, I started trying on all the dresses I already own that have sleeves.

Sweater dress from Superstore, of all places.

Got this on sale at BCBG a couple years ago

I wasn’t giving up on that tights/shoes combo! None of these dresses make me as happy at the Anthro dress, so on Saturday night, Cinnamon Buns talked me into just wearing the dress I wanted, and bringing my coat for between photos.

That morning dawned nice and sunny, and luckily Saturday had been warm enough to melt all the snow! I put on my Anthro dress*, purple tights, fierce purple shoes, amethyst earrings, nice winter coat (as opposed to my down-filled -30C coat) and went to go feel like a supermodel. A 5’3″ supermodel! I left all the cardis, the gloves, the scarves, even the belt at home. Later, I returned everything except the belt, which made me (and my Visa) feel much better.

Were there any weather mishaps/scares for your photos? Did you try on 300 outfits, then decide on the first one you tried on? It sounds a lot like wedding dress shopping…

*There is another Anthro dress in my life/closet that I may love a tiny bit more than the knit one:

Yes, those are BICYCLES! (photo from Anthro)

I wore this every chance I could get this summer, and if we’d gotten things together in time for a summer e-session, I probably would have worn it, photographer’s advice against patterns be damned!