Sneak Peek: The Bridesmaids' Dress

Back in June when my mom, grandma, a couple bridesmaids and myself went to look for my wedding dress, we ended up stumbling upon a perfect bridesmaids dress! I had really been struggling finding dresses that I liked that fit the vision of what my wedding party would look like. While I was trying on all of the different options for myself, this dress caught all of our eyes and I just knew it would be perfect! Amy, Kristin and even (a very pregnant) Liz tried it on and I think we were all surprised how the fit and color looked amazing on each of them and complimented their best features. 

It is a strapless, floor length, chiffon, Amsale gown with a fitted top and empire waist. There are flowers at the bust and for a couple of the girls we will be adding cap sleeve and straps to differentiate them a little and make everyone comfortable. The sample dress that One Fine Day had in the store was blush, one of our wedding colors, so we got to see exactly how the dress would look without having to play guessing games with the color. I absolutely love it and it is the dress that I had been picturing but could never find. We really lucked out!

Even though two of my lovely ladies were not able to go dress shopping on that day I couldn't pass up giving the OK for the bridesmaid dress. It was everything I had hoped (plus they threw in a little discount since I was also getting my wedding dress!), and I really didn't want to go through a painful process of looking at dress after dress. Luckily I think all five of my bridesmaids like it and I know all of them will look beautiful in the dress!

Next we need to decide on shoes and the rest of their "look". But, I'm not nitpicky and I want them to each show off their own styles. As far as the whole bridal party goes, next up will be picking tuxes for the groomsmen and what the ring bearers and flower girl will be wearing. 

I Said Yes to the Dress!

Yesterday, with my mom, grandma and three of my bridesmaids; Liz, Amy and Kristin in tow, I found my wedding dress. I didn't expect to find the dress of my dreams on my very first outing, but I am very pleasantly surprised that I did!

Some of the amazing dresses I got to try on.

We started the day off at my first appointment at One Fine Day. The owner, Autumn, and her mother sat us down and got some information about the wedding and what I thought I might be looking for. She let us all loose and helped us all pull dresses. Since it was my first time looking, I said yes to almost everything anyone pulled and ended up with probably close to 15 dresses to choose from to start with. I went back into the dressing room with Autumn and my mom, slipped into a robe, and started trying on gowns. The first time I saw myself in a wedding dress was an indescribable feeling. It made everything seem so real! Walking out to show the others and stand on the pedestal in front of the mirror was something I had only dreamed about while watching marathons of Say Yes to the Dress. 

As the appointment went on I was surprised how easily I was saying "yes" or "no" to the different dresses. For someone that is an extremely indecisive person, I wasn't having that hard of a time feeling like something wasn't right for me and when to add something to my "favorites". By the time I had worked my way through all of the dresses we had collected I had a group of 5 left in my favorites. Although I loved all 5, there were two that I just KNEW it was going to be between. I tried each back on and felt amazing in both. Autumn added jewelry and a veil and I was surprised to find myself tearing up. By the end of my appointment I had one dress that I absolutely, positively loved and was ready to take. But, we had lunch and a second appointment planned, and to make a day of it I left the store empty handed.

The gang out at lunch.

We had a great lunch together at a very nice restaurant and it was so wonderful to have some of my very best friends by my side along with my mom and grandma to share in such a special day. All through lunch I kept thinking about the dress I had fallen in love with and was really debating whether I even wanted to go to my second appointment. After some convincing, we all headed down the road to appointment number two. After walking in and looking through the dresses on their floor, I just couldn't find a dress that came close to the dress from One Fine Day. When someone finally came to start the appointment I changed it to a bridesmaid appointment, hoping that we could find a dress for the girls while Amy was home. After not coming across anything we liked, we left the appointment early, called Autumn at One Fine Day, and headed back to my dress. The rest is history. I put back on the dress I had loved so much and just knew it was MY dress. I couldn't stop smiling and was getting a little emotional thinking about walking down the aisle to Joe in it.

To be honest, my dress is definitely not what I thought I would have chosen. I knew that it was important to try on something that may not completely be what you want, but I didn't know that that would end up being the dress that I, and everyone else, would fall in love with. They say you just know when you've found your dress, and I can definitely agree with that. The second I put it on I felt a different kind of calm and excitement. I wanted to jump up and down and never take the dress off! Even as I sit here I am thinking about my dress and wishing I could try it on again! The whole day was great. From having a great experience at One Fine Day, to trying on dresses, to being around three of my best friends, I don't think it could have been better. I was only missing two of my other lovely girls Meredith and Emily, but was able to update them and send them pictures of the dress! I can't wait to see the finished dress in five months (SO FAR AWAY!) and try on the dress I will wear on my wedding day!

Wedding Inspiration: Bridesmaid Dresses

I can't say enough how I excited I am to have a great group of girls, whom I love dearly, by my side through the whole wedding process. Even though the day is about Joseph and I, I want my bridesmaids, and the whole wedding party, to feel special too! When it comes to the way the bridal party will look with their hair, makeup, shoes, dresses, suits, etc... I have a general idea of what I want, but nothing specific or set in stone. I don't want to be one of those crazy brides that has one image in her head of what the bridal party needs to be wearing and no one else's opinion matters. I want everyone to feel like they can help make decisions and have some input! When it comes to my bridesmaids I just want them to feel as pretty as can be, so picking dresses that look perfect on each of them and make them feel beautiful is important to me. I've kind of struggled finding bridesmaids dresses that I really like so far, so thank goodness for Pinterest and fashion savvy friends who offer up some wonderful ideas!

This is actually ONE dress that can be worn multiple ways! It's a really great concept and would let each girl personalize their look and wear the dress in a way that is the most comfortable for them!

I actually really like this dress for myself for a bridal shower or the rehearsal dinner. But the more I look at it the more I think it could be a chic, pretty, option for the girls. 

1. Jubilee Events (dress via The White Dress by the Shore)
2. Belle the Wedding Blog
3. Etsy via harsuccthing
4. Twigs and Honey (not actual dress)
5. Discount Dress
6. For Him and For Her
7. Alfred Angelo

The Wedding Party

I am so excited about our wedding party! It is filled with our very closest friends and family, and I can already tell it's going to be so great having them all with us for the next year and couple of months! We will be having 5 bridesmaids, 6 groomsmen, 1 flower girl and 2 ring bearers.

Bridesmaids:

Liz - maid of honor

Amy

Meredith

Emily

Kristin

Groomsmen:

Wes - Best Man

Paul - Joe's brother

Tye

Andy

Sean - My brother

Alex - My brother

Olive - flower girl/Joe's niece

Cash - ring bearer #1/Joe's nephew

Ezra - ring bearer #2

It was really important to Joe and I both to include our families. Joe was a groomsmen in his brother's wedding so he wanted to make sure Paul was included in the wedding party. I thought it would be nice to include my brothers as well since we are so close. When it came to the little ones I didn't even hesitate to have 2 ring bearers. Cash is Joe's nephew, so it was obvious that he would be in the wedding. How could we not put the cutest soon-to-be 4 year old in our wedding? I also really wanted Amy's son, Ezra, to be a ring bearer too. Their family is very special to me, plus Ezra and Olive are only a few months apart, so it will be super cute to see them going down the aisle together!

Now that we have the wedding party in place I feel like I can cross something off of my to-do list! It's already been fun bouncing off ideas for bridesmaids dresses, and other wedding things, with my bridesmaids. I know the groomsmen will all get along really well too.

It feels really nice to have people we can share this experience with who are also excited about it. I plan on doing a little "introduction" of sorts for each of them, so prepare to get to know our wedding party really well in the coming months!

Asking the Bridemaids

Last week after months of working on putting everything together and coordinating schedules, I finally asked all of my bridesmaids to be in the wedding! It's a huge weight lifted and I am thrilled that they all said yes. I am having five bridesmaids; Amy, Liz, Meredith, Kristin and Emily. I love each and every one of them so much and consider them to be my very best friends. Having them around me throughout this whole wedding planning process will make everything so much more fun!

In this post I mentioned that I wanted to ask all of the girls in a way that was more than just a "Hey, be in my wedding?" kind of way. I decided to do a box painted in the colors we're thinking for the wedding and filled with information and wedding inspiration. The main idea started with some influence from a "Will you be my bridesmaid?" box I found on Wedding Chicks. Hers is a lot more lovely and cleaner than mine, but I think I gave it a valiant effort!

Obviously painting isn't my forte, but I was pretty proud of the finished product. Each girl's box is painted differently but with the same colors. The boxed were all purchased from JoAnn Fabric with the exception of the very first one I made, which I bought at Hobby Lobby. I used acrylic paint for the box and mixed white, bubble gum, and petal pink to try and get the blush I was looking for, and black, white and light gray to get the dark gray. I used scrapbooking stickers for the letters and the heart and other rhinestones were also in the scrapbooking section.

I'm really mad I didn't take a single picture of the final product, but I filled the box with photos I printed that I have saved on Pinterest and my computer, three different info cards: "The 4 W's", "The Girls" and "Your Role", plus photos of me and each girl and I sprinkled pick and silver ribbon throughout.

I honestly didn't anticipate how time consuming this project would be, but I'm glad I did it. I hope that these boxes are something that each girl will keep, or at least be able to look at and know that I made it with lots of love. I'm so glad that I've finally asked them all and that we can now start doing lots and lots of dreaming and planning.

On Choosing My Bridesmaids

I am not someone that has "throw-away friends". Anyone that is in my life is in my life for a reason and because I care about them. Even though I may not have a big group of friends, I have been lucky enough to surround myself with a few really wonderful people. So, needless to say, when I started to decide what girls I wanted to be in my bridal party it took me awhile to decide how many bridesmaids I wanted, just what girls I would ask, and how to avoid potentially hurting feelings.

When Joe and I sat down and talked about the bridal party we decided that 5 bridesmaids and groomsmen would be the number for us. Then we tried to narrow down who of our friends would be a part of our big day. For Joe it was pretty quick and simple. He is pretty decisive when it comes to the people that matter the most to him. I on the other hand, had a little harder of a time deciding on my girls and my maid of honor. If I could have my way I would just have all of my girlfriends be in my wedding and we would all live happily ever after, but in reality I had to make some decisions.

I think that a lot of the reason that I had such a hard time with narrowing it down is that I hate hurting people's feelings, making people feel left out, having people upset with me, and so on. To be honest, I love all of my friends and feel like each and every one of them could and should be a bridesmaid. Different ones have been there for me at different stages in my life when I needed them the most. Some of us may not talk all the time, be at the same places in our lives, or like all of the same things, but, at least on my end, I still feel so much love for them. In the end I ended up with girls I have known for over a decade and girls I have just gotten close to in the last year or two. It's a nice mix and people that I love with all my heart and then some.

When I made my final decision on my fab-5 I felt both relief and a whole new wave of anxiety. I had finally made a decision (something that if you know me, does not come easily). But, I was also going to 1. have to ask people and 2. potentially make some people upset. I'm actually the most anxious about my maid of honor pick. Not about the person, but the other girls feelings. While I feel like everyone could have been in the bridal party, I also feel that any of my 5 bridesmaids could really be my maid of honor!

I don't think I was made to make decisions like this. I get anxious just deciding which restaurant to go to! But, I know that the girls I'm asking to be in my wedding are going to make my day and the whole wedding process so special. And as for my other wonderful friends who I was not able to put in the wedding party, I hope that they know how special they are to me and how excited I am for them to share in my wedding day when it rolls around! I also want them all to feel included and am so glad that so many of them don't roll their eyes at me when I bring up wedding stuff!

I still have 3 girls left to ask, thus why I am keeping mum on their identities (so secretive, right?!). That's the problem you face when you don't currently live in the same city, or even state, as some of them! The process has also taken longer because I decided that I wanted to ask each girl in person and in a "cute" way. Hopefully everyone will be "officially" asked within the next couple of weeks and then I can share who they are! Which, really, may be some of the worst kept secrets around.

Wedding Inspiration: Real Wedding

One of my favorite things about wedding planning is looking at other people's weddings. There are so many different types of weddings and ideas out there! Even if a particular wedding isn't what I want as a whole, there are still things I can pick out that I may want to look back at and incorporate into my own wedding. I found this Florida wedding on Style Me Pretty. I love the blush and the look of the reception. So pretty!

All photos were taken by Divine Light Photography

This and That

Disclaimer: This is entirely random and after re-reading the whole post a little scatter brained. But Since I already finished it, here you go.

• We found out that The Women's Club, one of the venues we checked out last month, is completely off the table effective in early 2013. The Chamber of Commerce building where it's located has been sold to the University of Saint Francis and will be turned into their business college. We've been smitten with this place for years and had put it down as a place we wanted to take our families to when it was time to do some real decision making. So, needless to say we're pretty bummed out. The funniest thing is that while I really liked it, I wasn't 100% positive it was the perfect spot for us. But as soon as Joe told me the news I almost went ballistic. Suddenly I felt like that was our only place and no other venues were going to work. It's weird how disappointing news really does seem a million times worse when you're a bride-to-be. (Something I was warned of but didn't really believe.) This really isn't a huge deal, it's one venue on our list of many and I'm sure we'll find the best place for us even though it was a place we really liked. But until then I'll probably continue to be hopelessly attached to the thought of our ceremony in the quaint, beautifully lit, impeccably white, ceremony hall. And our reception in the the historic, hard wood floored, window filled, beautiful view of downtown, banquet room. See, I'm still wallowing in the disappointment.

• I started asking my bridesmaids to, well, be my bridesmaids! I knew that I wanted to ask the girls in a really cute way and after doing some poking around Pinterest and some wedding blogs I finally decided on the perfect idea. I'm so excited about it I wish I could share it right now! But, I have only asked one out of five, so I'll hold off on spilling the beans. Before I asked the first girl I got surprisingly nervous. The only feeling I could compare it to was asking someone you have a crush on to hang out with you, which I know sounds really weird. But like, what if she said no and turned me down?! That would be awkward. But, lucky for me she said yes! Now I just have four more little gifts to put together and four more girls to ask. Then I'll have my side of the bridal party assembled and ready to tackle all of this wedding business with me!

• Next weekend I'm going to my first bridal show! I don't really know what to expect other than to be ready for wedding overload. There are actually two in Fort Wayne on the same day; one at the Grand Wayne Center and the other at the Coliseum. I haven't decided which one I want to go to yet, but both look like they have a lot of great vendors and things to look at. 

Other than all of that we're starting to look at different photographers. Even though there still seems like there is so much time before the big day, we would like to get our engagement pictures taken sometime between February and May. So it's time to kind of get the ball rolling. We are also probably going to make a few appointments to look at venues when I'm home for a few days for my fall break in October. Hopefully we can start narrowing our list down and will be ready to take people back to our favorites around my christmas break! 

But for now in completely non-wedding related activities Joseph and I are going to Cincinnati this weekend. We're going to stay overnight, explore the city, eat good food and go to a Reds game which was his birthday present from me. We're both really excited to get away even for just a couple of days. It's actually our first overnight trip somewhere alone, so it will be fun to finally have a little bit of an adult trip without having to check-in or be tagging along with family.

Also, I am really tired and ready for this week to be over, thus the long random post. I should probably just go to sleep now.

Wedding Inspiration: Asking My Bridesmaids

I know I want to ask the girls I want to be in my wedding in a special way. I don't want to just say "Hey, do you want to be in my wedding or what?". So, I've been browsing the internet and brainstorming some cute, fun, and personal ways to ask the girls that will be by my side through all of this.

1. iDoArtsyWeddings
2. Project Wedding
3. Once Wed
4. Wedding Chicks