Shopping for a wedding dress is often one of the most anticipated events in a women’s life. It can be exhilarating if you embrace “the hunt” for your perfect gown, and with some patience, you’ll find the dress you’ll never want to take off. Luckily for me, my dress search proved to be short and effortless. I purchased the fourth dress I tried on…
Last summer my bridesmaids and I traveled up to Minneapolis to shop for bridesmaid dresses at Monique Lhuillier. I decided to take advantage of our time up in Minnesota and try on wedding gowns at Priscilla of Boston which was right next door. When I came across my dress hanging in the store, I was immediately attracted to it’s Swarovski crystal bow belt. When I tried it on, I loved how the Silk and Cotton Faille was light and comfortable. When I turned around in the multi-way mirror, I noticed the elegant detail of fabric-covered buttons that ran all the way down the back of the dress, but once my hands found the disguised pockets on either side of the skirt, I knew I had a winner. And those pockets came in handy the day of the wedding – they provided just enough room for some touch-up makeup and a hanky to wipe away tears. I accessorized my dress with metallic pink shoes with a bow embellishment, crystal earrings from Bloomingdales and the Michael Kors lucite watch that Rich gave me last Christmas. I felt it was important to wear every piece of jewelry he had ever given me considering I was going to add the most important piece to my collection later that day.
Our wedding was too casual for black-tie, so tuxes weren’t an option for our groomsmen and ushers. We found matching gray Kenneth Cole suits at Younkers (for $100 each!), and somehow the store carried all of the various sizes we needed to fit Rich’s groomsmen that ranged from 5’5″ to 6’7″. Rich accessorized with the skeleton watch I gave to him three Christmases ago.
Shopping for true-red dresses for my bridesmaids proved to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. After searching for many months, we finally settled on red chiffon dresses from Priscilla of Boston. Lindsay and Brett wore the strapless style, and Maggie wore the one-shoulder strap to ensure her dress would stay up while she danced like a maniac. I purchased lavender crystal bracelets and gray shoes in the same style as mine as a gift for my wonderful friends. I let the girls pick out their additional accessories. I will never forget helping Maggie pick out which rings she wanted wear. She sat on the floor below me as I was having my makeup applied, and we went through endless combinations of rings and ring placements for about twenty minutes. Reason number 8,768 why I love Maggie Hansen.
The flower girls wore gray cotton dresses from Crew Cuts and studded bow headbands from H&M. Aren’t they just adorable?
I wanted the boys’ attire to be clean and simple. They wore white Egyptian cotton shirts from Nordstroms, red chambray ties from Jcrew, and patterned Happy Socks. I liked the idea of having our groomsmen wear pocket squares instead of boutonnieres, but I couldn’t find chambray pocket squares to match the fabric of the ties. I ended up buying lavender chambray pillow cases from Pottery Barn Kids and sewing four pocket squares from the fabric. I know I’m a little crazy, but if I have a vision, I find a way to execute it.
Rich proposed to me on March 7, 2010 with a ring from Brilliant Earth to ensure my diamonds were conflict-free. We purchased Rich’s rose gold and black wedding band from Etsy. I had found the most amazing jewelry designer in Australia, but when I lost contact with her, I decided to purchase a similar ring from Borsheims. I think the pink sapphires perfectly compliment the rose gold, and the band lines up flush with my engagement ring.
I changed into a short sequined dress from ASOS after the father-daughter dance. Rich and I love to dance, and I knew I needed to wear something lightweight and fun to show off our moves. I “accessorized” my dress with a Lionel Richie pin given to me by my dear friend and our cocktail-hour musician, John Hansen.
If you have any questions about what we wore on our wedding day, send me an email or leave a comment below!
