Rehearsal Dinner: A Solution?

Oh friends, the rehearsal dinner drama has continued for longer than I wish. It was so difficult to find shoes that matched my initial dress (Part I, Part II), and I realized that wearing a white dress wasn't all it's cracked up to be. Case in point- I only wear fancy dresses to our friends' weddings, but I clearly can't wear a white one. Enter- Nordstrom's amazing return policy. This leaves me with no sweat about being able to return the initial dress.
I've visited both Macy's and Dillard's at Green Hills, but they left much to be desired. So while ring shopping for Mr. SE @ Shane Co, we decided to stop at Cool Springs Galleria. Hello- somebody cue the angels. The Dillard's dress shop in Cool Springs is beyond amazing and exactly what I needed to see. It's not as if I have a lot of time to shop around now. Another cool fact- Dillard's will send a dress to your home (no additional cost) if they don't have your size in stock. I tried on both of these dresses below in a bigger size, and decided either one could be a winner.
The first is a Maggy London, and the second is by I CAN'T REMEMBER THE BRAND BUT I'LL POST IT LATER (but it's sort of like this, w/a vneck instead of one shoulder). At first I was concerned that the Maggy dress is basically the same color as my bridesmaids, and I didn't want to steal their thunder. But the nice saleslady at Dillard's informed me that #1: This was my party and #2: Many brides wear a color similar to their bridesmaids at the rehearsal. The first one doesn't settle with me, since I still want the girls' dresses to have a huge impact. But the 2nd one helps it go down a little easier.

What do you think of the bride NOT wearing white to the rehearsal? Did you do it to yours- or will you?

St. Patrick's Day

I'll jump on the claiming-to-be-Irish train. Here's why:

-Our Westie (Irish descent) is named after my FMIL's maiden name Duffey. We changed it to Duffie since she's a girl, though.

-My fiance's middle name is Cawley, another family name.

-I was born w/red hair (there's Irish blood in there somewhere)

-I'm drawn to greens and blues; and I love wearing them!

Okay, so it's more Mr. SE than myself. But we're getting married- so now we're one in the same. Today I'm wearing a green corduroy shift dress from Loft. It's from last season, otherwise I'd post a picture. Apparently it's not cool to wear colors for holidays when you're in the workplace, seeing as I'm the only person on my hall wearing green. But alas, I enjoy a theme whenever I can get my hands on it! Are you wearing green today?

Here's some of my favorite green goodies for spring!

Kate Spade Gladly

Sidra Dress Novelty

Vista Twist Paisley Bikinni

Terry Halter Cover-up

Cross-Front Knit Dress

Silk Flower Sash

{Etsy, of course}

That's hard to say fast. Sorry for my lack of posts this week. After staring at a computer for 8 hours a day, it's the last thing I want to do when I get home. Phone update: I love my Blackberry. Big time. At first I resisted it's lustful powers, but now we're fully in love. My gmail comes straight to my phone, and I'm able to handle all of the wedding plans on the go. Loves it!

Today I had some fun shopping for shoes, veils, and rings with Tami from Little Miss Southern. Love her. She's just as sweet as she is beautiful!

More on the shoes and rings later. But I did decide on a veil and another fun accessory. A silk flower sash! Now I'm not revealing my dress because Mr. SE is a super snoop! But I will tell you about the accessories...because chances are, if he does see them he'll forget in the next seven months (7 months!!!). I'm in love with the idea of a silk flower sash. Etsy has hundreds of options, and I've already got my eye on several contenders.

It's going to be ruffly and romantic, and stuck on a white silk ribbon. Elegant and classic, while giving my dress an edge of fun. What are your thoughts on adding a silk flower? Should I wear it for the ceremony and reception- or just the reception? Did you add any extra embellishments ( broach, silk flower, feathers, etc) to your dress?

Long vs. Short

Through my (seemingly ongoing) experience of selecting bridesmaid dresses, I found myself asking lots of questions related to etiquette and traditions. Do the girls need the same style? Will it be to "off" if I let them choose their own styles? Will mis-matched bridesmaids go the way of shoulder pads in the 80's? I'm no expert on fashion, but I want my girls to look fantastic.

I don't abide by the notion that I'm the queen, and my bridesmaids are my loyal subjects. Never. These girls are my closest, absolute best friends. I want them to feel just as happy and pretty as I hope to feel on our wedding day. It was important to me that their"look" had a somewhat cohesive feel, but was able to let each girl showcase their own style. So I chose the color and material, but let them choose the style. If you've read my earlier posts, you also know that they're wearing gold shoes of their own choosing.

All of this is to say, I'm still stumped about the division between long and short dresses. It seems that the older wedding-goers associate long dresses with a formal wedding. But here's my question: Is it only the dresses that dictate the formality?

{Long dresses. Clearly formal. But sometimes these look just like a casual summer maxi dress}

{Short dresses. But they definitely look formal to me. Is it the formal updo's that make this look?}

While I love the look of long dresses, I don't want to deal (or have my bridesmaids deal) with the following things: dresses hemmed to short, dresses dragging, potential trip on said long dress, TN heat in August, slim possibility of ever wearing a fancy long dress again. Here's the plusses I came up with for the short dresses: shows off their cute gold shoes, everybody will have tan legs!, they'll be cool during our 2hr photo session between the ceremony and the reception, they can have both hands free while dancing (there's no bustle on a BM dress). And if both of their hands are free, that leaves 1 for a bouquet, and another to help hold up MY dress from the heat! Just kidding. But seriously, that tulle will be a steamer!

Well this turned out to be quite a long-winded post. So give me the deets. Long or short? What are your thoughts? Do you think there can be a formal wedding with the bridesmaids in short dresses? Or do you think short automatically dictates casual?


all images from The Knot

Bridesmaid Dresses

I've spent time telling you a little bit about my bridesmaids, and now I'll showcase what they're going to wear! All of my girls are different, both physically and mentally. They have different styles and tastes, and they're all beautiful in my opinion. To showcase their personalities and individual beauty, I've decided to let each girl choose their own style. That's not to say I didn't have any bridal control over the situation: I chose the designer, length, and color. But other than that, the girls are on their own!

The designer is B2 by Jasmine Bridals, the color is cobalt, and the length is cocktail. Here's some of the styles they'll be wearing...What's your take on bridesmaids wearing different dresses? Are you a fan or do you think it's too trendy?

Next post I'll share the rest of their ensemble, including what's on their feet and what they're carrying!

Banana: The Love Affair Continues

Just when I think they've designed all the best clothes possible- they come out with this stunner. Tried it on, it's amazing. I love how they styled it with patterned tights here. The patterned tights trend is great, but I'm not sure how to incorporate it into my wardrobe. What are your thoughts on patterned tights? If you rock them, tell me how you work it into your day-to-day clothes.

THE Trench

You know I love mail. Like LOVE receiving real letters, cards, and especially packages. So imagine my delight when this little beauty showed up yesterday. Honestly, most gorgeous trench I have ever seen! Nina Garcia said all women must have a trench, so obviously I had to find the perfect one. I searched around and decided that BR had the best option (as usual). What's better? A 40% coupon landed in my inbox last week. I was able to get the jacket for 40% off and free shipping since I'm a BR cardmember. Cannot wait to wear this little beauty around town! I was thinking she'd make her debut tomorrow for work, but with a 80 degree forecast she might have to wait a couple days...

Dress Shopping: Success!

I’ve been fantasizing about my wedding dress as far as I can remember, so finally being able to try some on was a dream come true! As my readers know, Mama SE and I went to David’s Bridal back in August. It was great to narrow down the styles (not too big, not too tight) that looked best on me. After searching endlessly for dresses via The Knot, Brides.com, and Weddingbee, I came across what seemed to be the perfect dress. At the perfect price! I called around and found that The White Room II carried it, and I quickly made an appointment to try it on with FMIL SE.

Mr. SE surprised me last Friday with my parents coming to visit- no small feat, they drove 10 hours! I was thrilled at the idea of my mom and dad being there; what if I found the dress and they weren’t? That idea wasn’t okay for this only child.

We arrived at the White Room II and were warmly greeted by their sales associates, and taken to the bridal area (they also sell prom dresses). I have absolutely nothing but fantastic things to say about this store! Erika was my consultant, and she’s also the manager. Upon entering the room, I saw her- the gown I came for. Oh Lordy, she was perfect! Erika encouraged me to grab some others to try as well. “The” dress was the first one I tried on. Total awesomeness. She fit perfectly (the sample was a 4!), and it was the color I wanted. I came out of the dressing room and received great approval from Mama SE, Dad SE, and FMIL. The one by one they started crying. I was super excited, and I’m pretty sure I jumped up and down a little bit!

I tried on all the other dresses we selected, but none compared to the first. I tried on the “first” dress once I was done with the others, and we all decided that she was the one! How exciting! She’s everything I pictured when I dreamed about how I’d look on my wedding day. Better yet? So completely under budget. Success!!! Daddy SE paid for the dress and we were on our way!

If you are not done dress shopping, please visit The White Room II. I can’t speak for The White Room I because I’ve never been there, but the shop we visited was amazing! Erika was more than helpful. She was constructive and didn’t ooh and aah at every gown I tried on. All of the consultants were incredibly nice and the store itself was gorgeous. Just yesterday I received the sweetest card from Erika. A+ for this vendor! I would recommend this store to everyone!

ps- I'm sorry I can't show pictures of the dress. Mr. SE is a super snoop!

Wedding Whirlwind Weekend

We had a super fantastic weekend. I knew FMIL SE was coming to visit, but what I didn't know was Mr. SE had planned for my parents to come as well. They drove 11 hours! I'm lucky to have such great parents who will do amazing things!

On Friday we visited our venue (I promise I'll tell tomorrow), and then headed to dinner at the Melting Pot. Saturday morning we went dress shopping (recap later) and I FOUND MY DRESS! Sorry to disappoint, I can't post it on here because Mr. SE is a snooper! I'm going to write a revue of the shop, because I can't say enough things about our experience. It was perfect- everything I dreamed dress shopping would be.

After shopping on Saturday morning, we drove downtown to show my parents where I work, the Cathedral, lodging options, and some potential rehearsal dinner locations. Honest truth: Mr. SE and I have never been in the Cathedral before. But we've seen pictures and heard great reviews, so we booked our wedding there. Seriously- it is the most beautiful house of Worship I've ever been in (& I've traveled in Europe)! What an ethereal experience! We went during mass- there was someone singing and I can't even explain the way I felt. Needless to say, it wasn't long before all five of us were tearing up. I can't wait to get married there, you can truly feel God's presence in that church.

Sunday morning Papa SE and Mr. SE played golf, while Mom SE and FMIL SE hung around the apartment with me. Later in the afternoon we went to Opry Mills to find dyeable shoes (don't even get me started on this one) and grabbed some goodies from Bath & Body Works. I picked up two candles and some fall body wash. The sensual amber and raspberry vanilla were my favorite! And now my house smells like a real apple orchard- delicious!

And With The Monster Veil...

Comes the monster dress....I tried on the. biggest. dress. at David's on Saturday. The attendant kept trying to convince me that it'd be "perfect" for a Cathedral wedding, while I kept trying to convince her how hot Tennessee gets in August. For your viewing pleasure:

and this was all I could think of...Holy Moses it was a big dress! Honestly, I could've definitely hidden a person under there. Normally I'd be completely opposed to someone hiding under my dress, but I think it'd be necessary to have under-cover fan personnel under a garmet of that grandeur.

Onto more realistic dresses. Disclaimer: I wanted to sleep in, so I decided not to wash my hair. Don't judge me- it gets greasy really quick.
**Update** Mr SE saw these pictures on my computer and claimed that he does not care for either of the dresses. He doesn't know that they're my favorites and I almost wanted to buy one. Did anyone else encounter something like this?

Dress Shopping: Part I

I took advantage of our trip to DC and decided to go dress shopping with Mom SE. As you saw in my last post, we chose to visit David's Bridal first. I have to say that I was honestly pleasantly surprised by the quality of dresses. I hilighted a couple in the catalogue, but I didn't expect them to look so nice in person. There were two that I really liked, and one that I completely fell for. I'll upload pictures later. Along with learning what dress style suits me best, I also worked on discovering my veil "type". I knew I wanted a veil, but wasn't sure what style. Here's what I gathered: no mantilla, and no single layer. I want a BIG. POOFY. STINKING VEIL. Here's some inspiration...

{like this level of poof- but fingertip length}

{this is much too much}

What are your thoughts on veils? To poof or not too poof?