Some brides know exactly how they want to wear their hair on their wedding day. I am not one of them. So, I will be searching for lots of styles to play around with in the months ahead and searching for a hairdresser on Vancouver island - if John Palmieri of Scizzors fame does not zoom in on his motorcycle to rescue me from a hairy situation. ( I know, it’s bad…but I couldn’t resist…)
The half-up do - a nice compromise
Jessica Alba’s Hair always looks fab.
Pulled back but down
Years ago, I read an article about a seaside wedding in one of my favorite mags, Coastal Living(CL). The bridal palette featured in the article was black and white and the bridesmaids could choose their own dress to wear. I bookmarked that idea in my brain for whenever my day would come.
Fast forward 5 years and I will be using that same black/white bridesmaid idea featured in CL for my wedding. My bridesmaids can pick their own dress (all black or black/white) in any style or fabric they choose, knee to tee length. I love that they have the chance to find something that suits their body shape. Hopefully, the dress they choose won’t wind up in the purgatory section of their closets. You know, that section in the back of the closet, reserved for those items that are somewhat special but you will most likely never wear again. I guess that is what storage or eBay is for…
Here are few dress styles that I have come across that I love. I’ll post more as I find them.
Maggy London available at Nordstrom.
Vera Wang @ Bluefly. Shown in navy but I love the cut, the ruffle sleeves and ruffle on the bottom.
Elie Tahari, @ Bluefly
a playful Betsey Johnson number
My very good friend, soul sista and bridesmaid, Jamie has picked a date for her wedding. Hooray. I’m so excited for J & C and can’t wait to share in their special day.
They chose to tie the knot in a big red cedar shake barn in Maudsley State Park, Newburyport, MA. Her fiance, Charlie grew up across the street and has many fond memories of this beautiful, 500 acre park. I have never been but I am really looking forward to their June nuptials.
If you come across any photos of the big barn, please comment and share a link. Thanks!
I have been told that I need one. Aside from witnessing us sign *the* papers, do I really though?? I have been a bridesmaid before, organized bachelorette parties and shared the list of responsibilities that seem to fall under this job description. I never even realized those “duties” belonged to someone else, until now. In the past, I just wanted to do what I could to help the bride and give her what I knew (and yes, I knew…there were emails, calls) she really wanted.
Let’s face it - not all MOH’s are the most organized individuals or best party planners. Some bridesmaids are better suited to different tasks and others may know the brides true tastes. That sister you feel obligated to ask, for instance, may not know that you are a closet pole dancer and can hang upside down, suspended in mid air by only one incredibly strong calf (and core!) wrapped tightly around a pole and would prefer to show off your talents and hit the town then get a stripper and stay at home for your bachelorette. Or perhaps, you prefer a more subtle celebration at the spa to hitting the clubs in a white tee, with “A Buck for A Suck” written in permanent black marker across the chest, adorned with hard candies.
Some brides may feel more comfortable sharing what they truly want with certain bridesmaids. From the caterers and venue, to invitations and flowers (and of course, the dress), we all know the bride has a lot of decisions to make. You may trust one bridesmaid’s opinion, who just happens to be a florist, about flowers or prefer to take one or two bridesmaids dress shopping b/c you know they will not mince words. As a whole, all of your bridesmaids know the real you and can come up with ideas and plans to make all the mini-days leading up to your big day as stress-free and fun as possible.
With all these things in mind, it seems like all 10 of my bridesmaids will fill the MOH role in some way or at some time. I am honored to have these women as part of my wedding, so I just don’t think I will be making this distinction. I just want it to be happy and enjoyable for everyone involved.
That’s how I would describe the gardenia. I never knew that the gardenia was the “perennial favorite of brides” when I stumbled upon this photo in a magazine. I just thought, “this is it.” So, I tore out the ad, snapped an iphoto and snail mailed the original to my Mom in Boston (who doesn’t have email!!) to see what she thought. A few days later, the phone rang. It was Mom. Crying. She said, “The gardenia was the first flower that Dutchy (her one true love) ever gave to me.” Until that moment, the gardenia did not have any special significance in my life. Now, it does…
What flowers did you choose for your wedding day and did they have any special meaning to you?
January. This is my month. The month to find my dress, that is. But there is no way I am spending thousands on a dress I will wear once. Several of my friends have done it and they all wished they didn’t now. What about you? Any recommendations???
My Mom is still in town, so before she hopped on a plane to head back to Boston, MA - I wanted her help in finding the perfect dress. On Saturday am, my Mom, Robin and I started the hunt. Our first stop: Milestones for some fuel and to make a game plan. Over coffee and some pretty tasty scrambled eggs, we decided to begin our day on Main Street.
I made an appt at Bello for 12pm. When I arrived - both change rooms were being used and I had to wait. We perused the limited selection and chose a few dresses we thought might work but nothing really grabbed me. Some of their stock was at the Wedding Fair, which I had been to in the fall 07. Because the change rooms were in use, they offered me their hair/dressing room as an alternative to get me started. I didn’t mind b/c I knew I would know in just a few minutes what I liked. Out of the three dresses I tried, one was okay but definitely not the one. We were in/out in about 30 minutes. To sum up, at Bello:
WED
A few blocks north of Bello on Main, you will find WED on the East side of the street. It is a beautiful boutique with an incredibly limited selection of high priced designer gowns. I scanned what they had on hangers and the attached price tags, which hovered around $4k+. Knowing my time was limited and my budget is no where near that neighborhood, I said “thank you,” hopped in my car and headed east. To be fair, I didn’t talk to the staff so there may have been more dresses behind closed doors somewhere but I didn’t have time to waste.
When I was building my house, I never noticed all of the bridal shops on East Hastings. I was pressed to find bath and lighting fixtures at that time and my head was not in the bridal world. As a bride-to-be, the 3600 block of East Hastings looks more like bridal row than reno street to me now. On my way to my 1pm appt at Chantilly, I noticed Tiffany NY bridal, Samsung bridal, and Charm. Norburn Lighting never even caught my eye.
When I reached Chantilly, I could tell that it was the nicest boutique out of the other shops I passed. Chantilly had a great selection, huge, private changing rooms, big surrounding mirrors and very helpful staff.
4 of the dresses I tried on were from the same designer: Paloma Blanca. All of PB dresses were simple, sophisticated, and beautiful. The fabric was silk and light, which is exactly why I kept choosing the designer over and over again without realizing it. I won’t tell you the dress numbers of the designs I loved b/c you will just have to wait until my wedding day. And the prices were reasonable.
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