When we were getting ready for our engagement photo shoot (which was included in our wedding photography package), I spent a long time thinking about what outfits we were going to wear. Sparky was more than happy to let me pick (and tell him what to wear), so I was not only thinking about myself but him as well. I wanted our outfits to be cohesive, but not matching, and I was hoping to wear things we already owned. (I mean, don’t get me wrong, I would have been perfectly happy going shopping for new outfits but that seemed…irresponsible? Or maybe I was just lazy.)
We planned to shoot at three different locations around Seattle, so I wanted to change it up at each location. Before I made any final decisions, I put together inspiration boards and sent it over to our photographer for approval. Her response back was “I don’t think you can go wrong with these and also I want to go shopping.” Then she suggested we finish our session with a snack or a cocktail somewhere since she knows we’re foodies. Krista, in case you are wondering, is a woman after my own heart.
One of the locations is a park, with lots of cool areas and water views. That is our casual portion.
Gap jeans, Toms, Tilly’s cardigan, Banana Republic tank top / Lacoste shirt via Lyst, Diesel shoes via Zappos (sold out), Lucky jeans via Macy’s
Want to guess how obsessed I was with buying white dresses after we got engaged? Here’s a hint: I already have my dresses for both of my showers AND the rehearsal dinner. Boom.
I really didn’t mean to shop for white dresses. But as soon as I got engaged, all I wanted to do was wear white. Coincidence? Answer: no.
The first dress I found on clearance at Loft. Confession, I wore this to dinner on my birthday last year. I think I can reuse it without too much shame. What, you only wear outfits once? Well…I’m jealous.
Dress: Loft / Photo: Personal
Alternatively titled: “My Irrational Fear of Having Kids in the Wedding Party”
Sooooo, basically I never, ever, EVER thought I would include flower girls or ring bearers in my wedding day.
Although kids are, in fact, absolutely adorable, I just never really envisioned them being involved in my wedding. This probably stems from the fact that as a guest at weddings in the past, every time the bride and groom had flower girls or ring bearers, inevitably I’d be distracted by whatever the kids were doing instead of paying attention to the happy couple’s vows. They’d start crying, or sit down at the front of the church, lift up their dresses, and show their undergarments to everyone in attendance, wouldn’t stand still, would start talking right in the middle of the ceremony, would pick their nose, play with the basket or pillow or whatever they were holding…you get the picture; it goes on and on. And I don’t expect little kids to be able to handle the flower girl/ring bearer job flawlessly. When you’re five years old, standing in front of a huge group of people for 20 minutes probably is the last thing you’d want to be doing, and I don’t fault them for it. In fact, I’ve come to expect ceremony shenanigans when kids are part of the wedding party. It just comes with the territory, basically. And I knew I didn’t really want those shenanigans at my wedding.
Although my mom is unquestionably beautiful, has flawless skin and a rockin body, she’ll be the first to call herself a tomboy.
She grew up with three brothers, races motocross with my brothers, got her black belt a year or two after I did (at age 35), is an excellent shot with a handgun, prefers a stick shift and regularly hounds me to go skydiving with her. Case in point, she’s awesome. She also raised three children, did all of the above, and went back to school to graduate with a business degree all at the same time. She’s my role model in all that I do. She does not, however, wear many dresses! She jokes that the only real dresses she’s ever worn were for prom and on her wedding day, and my grandma jokes she would’ve shown up in slacks to those too if she could’ve!
I think she’s plain silly, because as you can tell, she sure did enjoy trying on these!
My mom was 21 when she had me, her first child, so she’ll only be a youthful 43 at the wedding. She was quick to demand that she not be put in any old “grandma dress.” You know the type!
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| Cameron Blake by Mon Cheri |
So off we went to the mall. The funny thing is, my mom was cursed almost immediately by the wedding faux-paux of white dresses. Pretty much everything she liked was some variation of white or cream! I kept my cool, obviously, and it became more of a joke than anything else. Besides, she insisted that people still dye clothing these days, which remains unconfirmed.
I love organization. If my closet space allowed it, I would hang everything (in order of length and color within length, of course). Unfortunately, this particular closet doesn’t allow me my fair share of hanging space, so instead I’ve had to *shudder* fold some of my stuff. I’ll come clean—not having to fold things is the main priority in hanging clothes. It’s much more difficult to color coordinate when things are folded…sigh.
Image via I Can Haz Cheeseburger / Text added by yours truly
Anyway, when it came time to think about a hanger for one of the most significant pieces of clothing I’ll ever wear, it was obvious I was going to get something special. (OK, so wire hangers have been done a lot, but that doesn’t make them any less special to me!)
There were so many options…
I’ve been drawing out my dress posts because…well, it’s my favorite part of wedding planning. I could probably have an entire blog dedicated entirely to wedding dresses. And as much as I’ve talked about how I could try on wedding dresses for eternity, even I will admit that eventually you’ve got to pull the trigger.
I made five dress-shopping trips over the course of three months. This was not because I was indecisive. Mostly, it was because I really wanted both my mom and my aunt to be a part of the process, and she couldn’t be there until the very last trip. And I’m so grateful that the very last shop we visited was where I found the perfect dress. But before we get there, I’d like to recap the dresses that were almost “the one.”
First, there was a gorgeous Vera Wang dress from David’s Bridal. It wasn’t until I put on this dress that I truly felt like a bride.
There were also two dress that I knew I would never buy, because they’re not my style AT ALL (the skirts aren’t big enough!!!). But they were so gorgeous that I had to post them. (Pardon any weird poses. I’m not going to be America’s Next Top Model anytime soon.)
Hive, aren’t surprises the best? One Wednesday in September my mom surprised me by booking a last-minute ticket to Houston. I hadn’t seen her in a couple months, and she hadn’t been here since our engagement party in February, so it was about time that she paid us a visit! Just kidding! But really, she’s been traveling a lot for work this year, and with her crazy workload, she hadn’t had much time to stay abreast of wedding planning details. So you can imagine how happy I was to pick her up from the airport!
My mom works 75% of the time in Anchorage, Alaska and 25% in Seattle. There’s not much shopping in Alaska, and she works fairly long hours, so she didn’t have any opportunities to search for a mother of the bride dress. Shopping is a major pastime in Houston, so Mama Wallaby knew she could find something pretty here.
That Saturday afternoon, Mama Wallaby and I set out for the Houston Galleria, a local shopping mecca. We hit Nordstrom first—it’s a department store based out of Seattle, so she and I both play big-time favoritism with Nordstrom compared to other department stores. It was also the closest store to the parking garage, so hey, what’s a girl to do? I am so happy we started at Nordstrom, because soon after we started browsing dresses on the racks, the most amazing stylist began assisting us, and she turned out to be a total lifesaver. (We also had plenty of laughs—at one point I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard. That’s always a plus when you can have so much fun with a total stranger.)
My mom hadn’t thought much about what she wanted to wear, so she and I started by aimlessly looking for dresses in her favorite colors (which conveniently complement the wedding colors) in all kinds of different lengths and styles. My mom even grabbed a lime green floor-length jersey gown. When the stylist, Auriana, approached us, she began to quiz my mom about her favorite celebrity looks to get an idea of my mom’s taste. When my mom mentioned that she admires Michelle Obama’s style, Auriana pulled a number of understated, contemporary dresses in an array of colors.
One of our favorite dresses was a floor-length brocade dress with a beige underlay:
Mama Wallaby in a gorgeous navy brocade dress. Personal photo.
She also loved a teal satin dress with a v-neck cut and half-length sleeves. This dress did wonders for her figure, and is very wearable for other events like company Christmas parties:
OK, so I left off with Derek telling me that my dress would be in a month later, and me being BEYOND excited, even though I’d have to wait a whole MONTH to try it on. (I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that I’m not exactly a PATIENT person.) Despite my impatience, I knew waiting the month would be worth it!
But the good news was…I didn’t even have to wait a month! Later that day, my office phone rang; the number looked familiar, but I have a tendency to screen ( I know, I know). So when I checked the voicemail I was so excited to hear it was Derek! Apparently after we had hung up, he had checked the inventory at the other store (near Fresno), which is much larger than their small boutique. And they had it!! It was a size smaller than what I needed, but I could at least try it on and see if I liked the design, and if I wanted he could have it within the WEEK. On the voicemail he mentioned that he hoped I was the person who had called since he hadn’t taken down my info. I was so impressed that he had not only taken the time to check into whether the other store had it, but also tracked me down to let me know! Originally I had planned to try it on and then order online, but after that service, it was worth spending a little extra money to make sure he got credit. And can you believe it actually ended up being cheaper?!
Previously, on Miss Potion’s blog:
There’s one more white dress I need for The Big Day.
Well, technically, it’s for the night before.
Our rehearsal dinner is going to be in the parish social hall so we can get to the eating pretty much immediately after the rehearsal. It’s going to be very laid back—Mr. Potion will be in jeans—but I just can’t pass up another chance to wear a cute dress. Enter: ModCloth.
The engagement pictures dress, that is.
You guys, I had SUCH a TERRIBLE time trying to find something to wear for engagement pictures. Now, I don’t consider myself difficult to please, but for some reason I became unexpectedly picky about my engagement photo attire. I initially set out to find a dress a) with some kind of sleeve, b) with an A-line skirt, and c) in a shade of purple. That shouldn’t be too difficult…right…?
WRONG!
Finding a dress in a shade of purple was ridiculous. Everything at the brink of summertime was either turquoise, yellow, or a tangerine/coral color. I know, I know…those colors were “in”—but I mean, COME ON!!! Is it too hard to ask for a little variety, fashion chains? Do I have to pick from eight different versions of the same sleeveless orange dress? Could we divert a little from maxi dresses or dresses with pencil skirts for those of us with a little more junk in the trunk who don’t want to look like we’ve been swallowed in a mumu or packed in like a sausage? *Insert eye-roll here.*
There was a cute little dress from J.Crew that I had been lusting over for quite a while. It was white, sleeveless, and had little blue anchors all over it. (Miss Treasure even blogged about it when describing what to wear while vacationing on the Cape.) Do you know which dress I’m describing? If you’re a fan of the Crew, then I know you do! If not, I’ll tell you…it was the Dizzy Anchors dress!
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Dizzy Anchors dress via J. Crew
Only problem, it was just under $200. I totally would have bought it if: a) money were no object and b) I knew I wouldn’t have a guilty conscience afterward. But of course, it is and I would…so I held back. Plus, as cute as the dress was, where would I wear it? Yes, it would be adorable for work with a blazer or cardi, and yes, I could take it on the honeymoon! But even with all of that as justification, I still couldn’t take the plunge. (I’m a girl who loves a great bargain, remember?) Weeks passed and I forgot about the dress, but not completely.
I swear I couldn’t think of a more clever title than that. Fortunately, it does make sense because this post is partly about a woman’s top half, or more specifically my top half.
Heading out with my girls on a return trip to my college campus—not my best face…
See, Mr. Sword had opinions regarding what I wear, or more specifically the dresses I wear, and I’m not sure what is more abnormal: that fact that he’s a guy and cares about my style of dress, or that he prefers me to show off my cleavage as opposed to hiding it from the rest of the world. Before I go any further I should note that I do solicit the opinions, but instead of the more common male response of, “Yeah, looks good. I can’t tell a difference from the last thing you wore,” Mr. Swords says things like, “I don’t really care for that one.”
I must backtrack for a minute. There are three reasons Mr. Sword’s clothing opinions make me laugh.
Previously, on Miss Potion’s Blog:
First, let me apologize for a lack of posting on Wednesday; we’re deep in the middle of invitation assembling and envelope addressing, and let me tell you—it’s taking FOR-FREAKING-EVER. But I did have time to squeeze out this post!
I’ll just get right to it: I think I’m going to be a two-dress bride. Not necessarily in the traditional sense—I won’t be doing a costume change for the reception because I LOVE my dress and want to wear it as long as possible. Besides, one of the many plus sides of my amazing dress is that it’s going to be great for dancing! However, it’s not going to be too fun to stuff it into a car and drive in it.
tl;dr I’m looking for a getaway dress!
I haven’t put too much thought into “requirements” yet (don’t you love how this whole wedding is like one big engineering project???) but I have a basic idea of what I’m looking for: short, and also, white.
Specific, neh?
I haven’t done a lot of shopping yet, but I have hit up my favorite place to online window shop: ModCloth! Here are some cute little things popping out at me right now:
Read more…
I posted recently about needing to find something to wear to the open house that Mr. C’s mom is throwing for us. As it’s my first time meeting a lot of the folks who will be there, I’m feeling the need to look pretty, fresh, and put together.
I finally made it over to Anthropologie last week to check out this dress:
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Mona Dress from Anthropologie
Sadly, I wasn’t as much of a fan of this dress in person—the fabric was thick and stretchy. Plus, they didn’t have it in my size. I also read in the online reviews that the front neckline was realllly low, and I’m a small-chested girl, so I have a feeling it wouldn’t have worked out.
What I did find instead, however, was this dress! I’m not sure what the name of it is, as I can’t find it on the Anthropologie website.
Mr. C’s mom is throwing an “open house” for us back in his hometown in Michigan in July so that friends and family who won’t be able to make it down to Texas can celebrate with us in town. Many of them have never met me since we live out in NYC, so it will be a fun afternoon of food and celebration.
Mr. C says I have to bring my “NYC style,” as they will all be expecting me to be fabulous. No pressure or anything. So I’ve been trying to find something fun to wear that won’t be too fancy or too casual, but just right. And kind of bride-ish, maybe?
I got this cute Lilly Pulitzer dress on sale recently—seems to be a good mix of fun and bridal, and good for a summer-afternoon party. Can you see it with a bright necklace or bracelets and some fun sandals?
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Lilly “Blossom” dress in white lace
