

My original plan for the BM dresses were damask b&w prints, and I haven’t really found anything I’ve liked so far. So these are my final choices for dresses. Here are two that are pretty decent. I have one word: pockets!


(think Christian from Project Runway when saying “fierce”)
To help you guys get a better idea of what we’re basing the tuxes/dresses around, here is the color palette we’re working with:

For the ladies, they will be wearing navy dresses with brown ribbons from Priscilla of Boston. It took me forever to find something that was somewhat vintage-inspired and something the girls could see themselves being able to wear more than once, but I think we did it! As far as shoes and accessories go (along with brooches), I told my bridesmaids they could all choose whatever they wanted to go with their dresses, since each of them has such a unique sense of style.
Unfortunately for my bridesmaids, I found the dress I wanted them to wear before I even got a chance to formally invite them. (Way back in December.) This was a bit distressing to me because I wanted to do things “the right way,” but I had to move to buy the dresses right away because they were in a color that was being phased out with the winter stock.
( Sophia silk dress in Vintage Burgundy )

Although I could whip up the most awesome purse in a matter of minutes, I’ve only half finished many-a-clothing-projects. But I’m happy to report that I successfully made a test dress. Becoming disillusioned with finding the perfect cocktail style BM dresses on macys.com, and fueled with a bit of frustration and rage, I went out and bought patterns even though I abhor patterns like I abhor sewing pins.
Most people are hesitant to order from an online bridal gown/bridesmaid gown website like HouseofBrides.com. I know I was…until I saw that the bridesmaids’ dresses that we wanted were $60 cheaper online than in-store and I said…why not?
Bill Levkoff #455, House of Brides.com
I have been on a more or less self-induced hiatus, however, I am back and hopefully will remain more of a presence around here until the big day rolls around. We also have really gotten a lot done. This week we even ordered our invitations (finally!).
I want to back up a little to the idea of bridesmaids dresses though. As far as our wedding party goes, we’re not having anything out of the ordinary. I know bridesmen and best women are becoming more and more popular these days, but we’re rather generic when it comes to this stuff. However, we have decided to forgo some of the common titles for our bridal party. I prefer to lump them all up as the Chickadees’ Circle of Love. Mr. Chickadee on the other hand refers to them as our “posse.” Either way, come June we’re going to stand at that aisle surrounded by some of our favorite people in the world. But what they’d be wearing? Well that was a whole other issue.
This coming September I’ll be one of seven lucky girls standing up next to my best friend from high school, Kate, as she ties the knot in Maine. While I chose to go traditional and dress all my bridesmaids the same, Kate is going to mix it up. She chose a fabric and color from Aria Bridesmaids, and we each got to choose the style that we liked best. This is such a great option, and one that I wish I had considered more.
Aria has locations in Boston, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. If you live near one of their boutiques, you can make an appointment to stop in and try on dresses. If not, they offer a “try-on” program where they’ll send you a few dresses to check out for a $15 credit card deposit per dress. Four of Kate’s bridesmaids headed to the Boston store, 2 out in Ohio used the try-on program, and the lonesome Miss Tiramisu headed to the Washington, DC store this past Sunday.
While in Boston, Kate and the girls had decided on terracotta silk shantung:
Last week, for ten blissfully “back to normal” days, my younger sister/best friend/ MOH visited Mr. Shortcake and I in Winnipeg (a.ka. Not My Home). It was so lovely to have her visit, not only because my homesickness temporarily abated somewhat, but because I finally had someone with whom I could to “do wedding-y stuff.”

(Sister Shortcake)

I’m so excited that I tricked a few of you with my last post (and thanks for the vote of good-style confidence from those who got it right away!)… I just couldn’t resist a little April Fool’s Day hideous bridesmaid dress trickery. My apologies if you or anyone you know sported that dress circa 1980-1990. I’m sure it was much more fashion-forward at the time?