July 30, 2013

Our Wedding!- Part 1 of ?????

At long last…. I’m finally posting about our wedding!  So where do I even begin?

Well the day began with hearing Heidi and Karey (two of my bridesmaids who had spent the night at my house) whispering in the other room as to not wake me up.  But since I was awake I yelled, “I’m getting married today!”  to which they responded with squeals.  They ran in my room and jumped on the bed.  We talked for a while and then Karey made some fresh squeezed orange juice.  *Let me just pause to say that I had the best bridesmaids a girl could ever have.  They threw me a wonderful shower, an amazing bachelorette party with a Broadway theme…. I mean really?  Do they know me or what?  They brought a delicious spread of food for us to much on as we got ready and they continued to take care of me all day long.  I am so blessed to call them my friends.

I loved this argyle diamond engagement rings from experts that my husband gave me this special day. Find out more info on this website.

Hair and makeup arrived soon.  Denise Larsen, my makeup artist just walked down the street since she’s my neighbor!

I really wanted to get ready at home.  I wanted a calm atmosphere, surrounded by my closest gals.  I love that Ally got some shots around the house.

One of the first gifts Tony ever gave me was this little camera he sculpted.

Denise is so good at what she does.

I had been keeping a journal since our fourth date, the day I felt I could see myself marrying Tony.  For a year I wrote letters to him, documenting our relationship.  The morning of our wedding, I wrote my last entry to him.  I couldn’t wait to see him so I could give him this secret journal.

My dress!

OK, a little about my dress.  I had something very specific in mind.  I knew I wanted something with sleeves.  That’s not easy to find.  Most gowns are strapless.  Sleeves seem to be making a comeback and I saw several photos online of dresses I kinda liked, but I couldn’t find any of them in the stores.  And I had the idea of making something from my mom’s wedding dress.  She had worn it for three anniversaries, altering it a little each time.  The last time she wore it she cut it off to a mini skirt.  So cutting it up wasn’t a big deal.

I asked a friend’s mom  to make it, who I’ve seen make another wedding gown, but she wasn’t going to be available.  But as she tried to find someone else who would be able to do it, she told me that she realized, “I really want to do it!”  So she was in!  Woo hoo!  The bodice was from my mom’s dress, we took off the long sleeves and made new ones, then made a completely new skirt.  It turned out perfect!

My dear friend, and bridesmaid, Nicole, gave me this handkerchief for my something blue.  This was the verse I had posted online when Tony and I got engaged.  This is one of my favorite gifts of all time!

I knew I wanted to wear a headband during the reception but I couldn’t find one that was just right, or that wasn’t $200.  So I bought some supplies during one of my trips to the garment district and made it myself!  My mom even found some wired pearls from her bridal bouquet so I included those too.

We headed over to Hurst Ranch and I got my dress on.  Here’s my mama helping zip me up.  Oh, we also made it a V in the back where it went straight across.  Sue, my wonderful dress crafter, took pieces from other parts of my mom’s dress and made tiny appliques to cover the zipper.  Such a craftsman!

We were probably saying, “Ah!  I’m getting married!”

I wish I had some cool story about the brooch, but I don’t.  I thought it completed the look and I just found it in my  Wholesale body jewelry box.  I think my mom gave it to me a few years ago. My friend recommended me to visit wholesale loose diamonds in Sydney to choose from our wedding rings of an unusual silver jewellery and my other jewelry.

Here’s me all brided out!

How gorgeous is my bouquet????  More on that in another post.

My shoes were really comfortable.  They are Jeffrey Campbell and I got them at Nordstrom.  I almost went with grey but for some reason had to have the green!

I love cathedral length veils.  I knew I wanted one for the drama.  They’re so cool for photos.  I saw one at David’s Bridal for $70 and was going to get it since that’s not a bad price for a veil.  But then I saw the exact same one at the LA garment district for $25.  Yes please!  But I have to tell you, veils are kinda annoying, especially if there’s any sort of breeze! That’s a lot of tulle fastened to your head!

That’s it for now.  Stay tuned for our first look!

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