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I saw this dress, below, in person yesterday at Anthropologie, and I think this dress is very promising. We can swap out the sash for any fabulous fabric option.

This turquoise dress is super cute but I don’t know if it would be a bit much to have three matching girls…..

So enter the striped option - either 3 striped dresses, or a combination of the striped and the turquoise one. Both dresses have fabulous skirts on them.

Which is your favorite?
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One of the very first decisions I made about our wedding was concerning the bridesmaid’s dresses. Since I have long distance relationships with all but one of my bridesmaids I knew it would be a nightmare trying to get them together to get the perfect dress for everyone. I also want my bridesmaids and best friends to feel pretty and comfortable in what they are wearing, who doesn’t?

So, I decided on letting each girl pick out any black dress they wanted. My only request was that it be tea-length. Here is the “vision,” these dresses are from J.Crew:

Black is not very exciting or unique, but I am so relieved I went this route. It is one less decision I have to make and no one has to pretend they love the dress I have picked out, if they don’t.

As far as shoes, accessories and hair? Eh. Whatever they want.

Anyone else going this route?

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We found the Cadbury Brown Calvin Klein tux we love at Carlino of Roxborough Flowers & Tuxedos, which is right down the street from our apartment (super convenient!). The tux rentals are $100, not including shoes (which is perfect since we’re ordering brown Converse shoes for the men as part of their gifts). Plus the groom’s tux is free with 5 or more groomsmen rentals. The men will be wearing ivory shirts instead of white, since my dress is ivory. Mr. CC will be wearing an ivory tie too, to make him different from the other menfolk.

When I called one of the tux rental places in the area, the manager literally CACKLED at me when I asked if they carried chocolate brown tuxes. My immediate reaction was “Do you assume all brown tuxes have to be ugly 70’s knockoffs?” and he responded by saying that they do carry brown dress socks.

It’s not like I want to be greeted by this at the end of the aisle (although his luscious blond locks are kind of irresistible):

Has anyone spent days obsessing over color coordinating their bridesmaids and groomsmen?  If so, what is your color scheme and how are you translating it with the guys’ and girls’ attire?
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I ended up having to tell them about the dresses and put their sizes on hold before I put their wedding party invite in the mail. How gauche, right? Well, it wasn’t really as big a deal as I’m making it… they all knew they’d be in the wedding party anyway.

Even before I started looking, I knew that my first choice for bridesmaids dresses would be in silk tricotine from JCrew. As a bridesmaid at my best friend’s wedding in 2005, I wore the Sophia long silk dress in black. It was a wonderful dress, both beautiful and practical. In my experience, JCrew’s “occasions” dresses are not only very high quality, they’re also something that deserves wearing repeatedly. I have no stomach (outside of purchasing my wedding dress) for one-night stands with dresses and I can’t stand the shiny, gauzy, poorly made dresses that flood the bridal market and scream “HAY GUYS, I’M A BRIDESMAID TEEHEE!!”

I definitely wasn’t intending to create a rush on the bridesmaids’ dresses but when I saw the lovely “Vintage Burgundy” color online and emailed their consultant about it, they told me it was already in very limited stock and on its way to being discontinued. I had planned to offer my bridesmaids a choice of dress styles in one uniform color, which is usually possible with JCrew’s dresses, but the only style that had any sizes in left in burgundy was the Sophia short silk dress, so Sophia it was. ( I’m not complaining, the Sophia is my favorite style anyway.)

I made sure to explore my options and asked the consultant what colors were offered as constants and what colors they were introducing for the next season. She told me that in February, they were replacing the Burgundy with one VERY orange-red called “Flame” and a magenta “Crisp Beet.” The JCrew consultant was kind enough to send me a fabric swatch of the burgundy to compare with next season’s colors even before they came out!

( Yes, the burgundy looks a bit redder in person than in the photo above )
My second choice for color was the “Espresso” brown, which is available year-round. But I was definitely more excited about the burgundy because it was a nice, bright autumn color and everyone loved it, so I set to the task of snapping up what seemed to be all the rest of the burgundy Sophia short silk dresses on the face of the planet.

This took a bit of work on all of our parts. Three of the dresses came in at once, but two weren’t available in the proper sizes or in petite versus regular. There was some wailing and gnashing of teeth but JCrew and their “wish list” (read: “waiting list”) came through eventually and everyone ended up with a dress in the size that fit best… even though my MOH just got her petite size in the mail a few weeks ago!

It felt somewhat backwards to have my bridesmaids clothed before I had found a dress for myself. But it was a relief that I had taken care of something so early that is usually put off toward the later half of planning.Now I have to figure out shoes and accessories for my maids. I’m lost when it comes to this stuff! I would like to let them choose their own jewelry and shoes (unless I decide to gift them something), but I also want to provide direction.

I’m probably going to wear pearls, and I’d like to find some pearl earrings or necklaces I can recommend and possibly give as a gift. We’re all on shoestring budgets here, but I’ve seen some lovely handcrafted jewelry on Etsy that won’t break the bank. Can you recommend anything that might look nice?

For shoes, I’m thinking cream (like the color in the dress model photos) so I think I’ll look for something similar online and recommend a few pairs to them. Gold and cream is also a nice combination. But the toughest part is finding something nice WITHOUT an aggressive heel– we’ll be outside on varied terrain and I don’t want anyone breaking an ankle!

So please, help me outfit my ladies. We’ll all appreciate your advice!
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Measure twice, cut once is a mantra my dad taught me. It applies to everything from sewing, to metal work, to wood work, to restoring cars. He’s an upholstery mechanic by trade, but I do about 99% more sewing than he does. He’s probably part of the reason why his only daughter can happily sew through anything 3/8 of an inch thick but when it comes to lighter fabrics I’m done for. I was tempted to get some great, heavy, upholstery fabrics that I imagine the dress at left in this image would be made of, in my sewing world, but I made sure to steer clear of delicate fabrics and bought some cute cotton to work with.

So I basically did this as a test run. 5 hours later I learned the value of:

a) The measure twice cut once rule….however, even though I saved myself from cutting the pieces along the wrong run of the grain, this rule didn’t manage to save me from picking the wrong pattern! I didn’t want the halter top option! oops! So here’s what it would look like without straps that tie up around your neck.

b) Pinning. I managed to pull off a dress, made to fit me without the use of any pins, because I abhor using pins in my sewing, but I do admit they would have come in handy. Three random needles sufficed.

c) Even though I chose the smallest possible pattern size, which allowed for a 24″ waist, it did nothing to decrease the cup size from a double d. I had been tempted just to sew all my pieces together in one go, but that would have been disastrous…see second half of d)

d) Press open the seams with an iron. No really, it’s important. And if I try on the outfit and realize I made the skirt portion too big for my waist, don’t just sew it smaller! Unpick the bodice, sew it, then press open the new seams.

Although I usually like my images to match the width of my text blocks, I couldn’t stomach the thought of showcasing myself 410 pixels wide several times over. Damn, I think I’d better start practicing my look-casual-and-candid-but-still-look-pretty poses….I’ve got a wedding coming up! So without further ado, me with a fire-poker and other pictures that show off my love for cute shoes:

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We scoured the net for a dress we liked and found this style, Bill Levkoff #455, and my bridesmaid tracked it down at her nearest bridal shop, tried it on, and loved it. She inquired about the particular color we wanted, Euro Grey, and was able to see the COLOR of the dress in person, which was really really important, just for peace of mind. Both the dress and the color were both lovely, so we went for it.

The Dress

The Color

Ordering from HouseofBrides.com is pretty straightforward. Using the measuring guide they provide you (guides vary based on the designer you choose) you can send your bridesmaids out to get measured by a local tailor or a seamstress in the family. Everyone reported back their sizes and I sent off the order. HouseofBrides.com advises that dresses take 12-16 weeks for standard delivery of shipment. Due to poor planning, I ordered dresses at the 17 week mark before our wedding, meaning, at the latest, the dresses would arrive only 1 week before the wedding. Eep!

The dresses arrived in only 8 weeks, which was a lifesaver. It’s probably best to plan much further ahead than I did, but I did luck out on that one. Miss Cherryblossom also ordered her dresses from them and they arrived around the 8 week mark as well. My experience was fabulous. Smooth sailing all the way from order to delivery! And at a 30% savings from retail price!

I took a picture of one of the dresses (my FSIL’s) and its no fun just staring at a dress on a hanger…

So I quickly tried it on myself. Did I shower today? Maybe not. But Ann, we’re almost family now. You smell that? Thats the smell of hard work. And Asians. Get used to it.

Once again, Peng stands on the toilet to take pictures for you. The investment in a full length mirror has yet to be made.

Now….what color shoes should the girls wear? Hmm…

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See the thing is, my half of the circle of love range in age from 24 (my big sis) to 12 (my youngest cousin). And there’s that little issue of there being seven of them. Yes, seven. So, the big trick was to find one dress for seven very different, but equally, lovely people. I had considered putting my younger cousins in a different dress (a la junior bridesmaids), but I first just wanted to see if there was anything out there that would work for all the girls.

Early on in the planning process I had gathered a few inspiration photos of what I’d ideally like to see on my girls.

First were the fun, yet sophisticated dresses of Knottie springchic, who basically inspired my whole wedding.

I loved the pop of the yellow flowers against the summery white & black dresses. These dresses were from White House | Black Market, but were no longer available when I started my dress shopping.

However, I did find something similar from David’s Bridal:

[I photoshopped those flowers in myself, so they look a little funny, sorry!]

I was still a little concerned about how busy something like this might look, with the all-over pattern. For a more simple look, I absolutely adored the dresses from LJ-user 1999’s wedding:

1999 got these dresses from a local department store and made the yellow sashes herself.

So, armed with a few inspiration images, I gathered my entourage and headed out to the stores. The goal of the day was to have fun, which I think really helped everyone get through the arduous process of climbing in and out of dresses, and in the end I think it meant we ended up with a really fun dress. It’s not at all what my mom or my sister would have picked, but I absolutely LOVE what my girls are wearing. And I think they even like it!

We ended up going with style 1343 from Impression bridal. Here it is on the grouchy looking model:

Here’s my older sister in the dress (Imagine it in black!):

[Ignore the somewhat stunned look on her face, it’s hard to get good pictures!]

I think it will be absolutely perfect for the wedding - the perfect combination of young and fun and flirty. I know that shopping for my girls’ dresses could have been a total nightmare, but instead it was actually a really great time. The girls were all enthusiastic and willing to try anything. I know this just means they’ll be amazing to have around the day of our wedding

Now if only we could figure out what the boys are going to wear…
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Here’s a real bridal party rockin’ the terracotta:
This color is going to go so well with her “summer sunset” color scheme- think sunflower yellow, burnt orange, terracotta and a few touches of brighter pinks.

Here are a few of the styles I tried on:

#104

#170

And the winner…

#107

Pretty cute right? There will be one other bridesmaid in the same style, with the other five girls choosing 3 different styles. So far we’ve had a great experience with this company (although if you’re visiting the DC location make sure to leave extra time to search for parking!). Kate is placing the order for us today, so I’ll let you know how they look when they arrive! Anyone else going with differently styled bridesmaids? How about different colors?

All images from www.ariadress.com

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One such item on our to-do list was to end the seemingly-unending search for the bridesmaids’ dresses. Sister Shortcake and I visited Stella’s Bridal Galleria (where I ordered my gown), because it really is the best (if not only) place in the prairies to find a large and decent selection of bridesmaid attire.

Without further ado, the results of our search:

THE DEFINITELY NOTS:

The dress on the left is a Watters gown that came up too high and shortened Sister Shortcake’s torso. The B2 gown on the right was similarly unflattering, and gave the impression of a thick mid-section. No thank you!

I don’t remember who made this dress, but I did remember the style name:

“MC Hammer’s Formal Jumpsuit, Brooch Optional”

THE MAYBES:

We loved the crumb-catcher bodice on this Watters gown, but feared the taffeta and ruching might look a little dated in the wedding pictures.

This B2 gown was a definite contender - sweetheart necklines make our hearts thump - but the fabric overlay was too shiny next to my wedding gown, and just didn’t “go.”

Another B2 possibility. Halter necks are so flattering on bigger busts, but we wanted something strapless to echo my gown’s neckline.

I think this one was a Belsoie dress. Beautiful ice blue colour, lovely draping, certain bust-enhancing qualities - lovely dress overall, but again, failed to jive with the wedding dress.

THE DRESS:

We finally found it - Alfred Angelo D326 in organdy! It has the retro silhouette we were looking so hard for, with light boning for support, and built in-petticoats! We’ll be altering it to have a sweetheart neckline as well.

Unfortunately, it didn’t come in that medium pink we were counting on. Several swatch discussions later, we decided on Sung’s ‘ice pink,’ which will look like this next to my dress:

(Sister Shortcake wearing an ice pink prom dress for comparison)

But will look more like this in application:

(Fong Wedding from Aria bridesmaids)

The best part? Because it’s an older season’s style, the dress was half off - and because I already ordered my gown from the Galleria, I got an additional discount. So, our lovely $300 Alfred Sung dresses became….

*drumroll please*

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO DOLLARS!

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Truth be told though, choosing the bridesmaids’ dresses was a pretty easy task. Blue can be a tricky color, and I knew the exact shade that I wanted going into the search. I was lucky to find them right away at Ann Taylor. You’ve probably seen them before, but that’s ok, I love them anyways. And- seriously this time- so do all seven of my gorgeous friends and sisters who will be standing up with me in them in July!

Choosing dresses from Ann Taylor was great for a number of reasons. They were fairly inexpensive to start off, and I found a buy-one get-one half off sale, with 15% off on top of that for opening an Ann Taylor credit card to make the deal sweeter for my girls. Secondly, most of them knew what size they’d be at Ann Taylor, and with locations all over (my bridesmaids are spread out along the east coast from Richmond, Virginia to Bethel, Maine), trying them on was easy enough.

As bridezilla as it may be, I did want everyone to have the same shoes. I know it doesn’t really matter, but I just think that with tea length dresses, the shoes are a big part of the overall look. Nobody put up too much of a fight, so I don’t think the girls hate me too much for choosing these:

Matchy matchy bridesmaids may be a trend on its way out, but I chose to go traditional on this one. I have to say I also love the look of a mixed up group. Will your bridesmaids be mirror images of each other?

*By the way, my future sisters-in-law actually are identical twins! I think my wedding day will be the first time they’re dressed alike in about twenty years- hehe I can’t wait « Hide it