Wedding week: What they wore

For our wedding party, we wanted them to look similar but not the same. We really tried to let them do what they wanted and wear things they would wear again (I know everyone says that but I think we actually succeeded!) Sorry for the random alley photos but we took most of our photos inside since it was freezing, rained a bit, hailed a bit, and one of our groomsmen is unable to walk long distances but these outside ones show their full outfits better than the inside ones! 

For the bridesmaids, I told them to buy any navy dress they liked, as long as it wasn't floor length. I think they all did a great job and will actually be able to wear them again! They all wore whatever neutral-ish shoes they wanted. They also chose their own star-themed necklaces and earrings and I bought it for them as their bridesmaids gifts. I didn't tell them anything about hair, but funnily enough, they all wore it down!

For the groomsmen, we let them pick out their own navy cardigans and bought it for them as their groomsmen gifts. Then they all wore different neutral pants, whatever tie they wanted as long as it wasn't crazy bright, and brown shoes.

The most important thing to us was that they were all there with us, especially since three of them had to fly in for the occasion! One of Nate's groomsmen has a rare form of HLH and we were so happy he was healthy enough to fly in (he had to move away two years ago to be near this specialty hospital in Cincinnati and has since undergone lots of chemo, a bone marrow transplant, dozens of daily medications, and will soon need a kidney transplant.) He cannnnnnot get sick and we were so worried he would get sick after he left from being around so many people at the wedding and flying but he really wanted to be here and I'm happy to report our wedding did not kill him! That would have been a bummer.

I originally wasn't going to do any flowers since we don't have any involved in our centerpieces, but I decided I wanted them after all. I made the bouquets and boutonnieres myself from Million Star Baby's Breath and Craspedia. 

I ordered the flowers in bulk from Fifty Flowers and they arrived on Thurday (the wedding was on Saturday) and quickly took over my kitchen. I made the bouquets on Thursday since I knew these flowers held up well and basically don't look any different as they die/dry anyway. I used baker's twine to wrap the stems since it reminded me of the stitching on a baseball.

Sadly this is only half of the baby's breath, it really gets BIG once you start unpacking it from the tight bundles!

Oh hai, I'm getting married in two days and my kitchen is a flowerbomb. And they don't even smell good!

The morning of the wedding I made the six boutonnieres as well as two corsages for our moms. Doing the flowers wasn't difficult, but it was stressful! Looking back on it, it was a money saver and we were trying to do this whole thing on the cheap, but it also kinda made me crazy for a few days and especially the morning of the wedding! I didn't want to do the boutonnieres and corsages ahead of time because they had a live leaf off a random plant involved in them and I didn't think it would last too long without water! I'm happy with how they all looked, but it might have been worth it for my sanity to skip them or have them done by someone else!

All images (except my kitchen photos) DeBruyn Photography

Wedding week: What we wore

Well, my dress was vintage from the 1950s. I found it at an Arc's Value Village years ago for $14. I had planned to sell it in my etsy but once I tried it on, it fit like a glove! So I held on to it. Yes, I was that girl with no boyfriend and a wedding dress in the closet. Weird. Anyway, I got it restored by the vintage wedding dress restoration team at White Way Cleaners because while it was in great condition, it was looking a bit "Ms. Havisham."

 For shoes, I had two pairs. For the photos and ceremony, I wore these Pollini wedges:

For the reception, I changed into these vintage leather baseball Keds. They were only made in 1992 so tracking down a pair on ebay in good condition and in my size took me a while! I'm so glad I did this - while I'm pretty good in big shoes, after taking photos for so long, it was nice to dance in comfy shoes!

For jewelry, I wore this necklace I had custom made on etsy here. Nate's dad died 15 years ago and I wanted to find a way to include him in the wedding. His mom sent me a copy of his signature from their wedding certificate and I secretly had it turned into this necklace which I wore as a surprise for Nate.

Nate's ring is from a local independent jeweler and my wedding band is a carved ID ring which says "NATE" from etsy here.

I found two pairs of starry earrings on ebay and attached them together myself to make one pair. I struggled with what to do with my hair. I was maybe going to go get it done but I didn't want to wind up looking like I was going to prom and my hair (while based in laziness) has kinda become my signature look. So I fancied it up a bit with some rhinestone stars (and a birdcage veil). My hair accessories are from etsy here, which came with one big star comb...

and three small star combs... (also you can see what the back of the dress looks like here!)

Nate wore his tortoise shell Ray Ban glasses, a navy DKNY suit, a brown English Laundry tie with tiny skull and crossbones on it, a Michael Kors shirt, and To Boot New York shoes.

The only photo we have where you can really see his awesome shoes:

Okay! Tomorrow I'll post about the wedding party and their attire! 

All images DeBruyn Photography

Gone, gone, gone

Well kids, it's time for winter break! I don't have to work again until January 6th! (Well, after today and after I waitress tomorrow.)  So today I'm wearing my All-Time, #1, Most Favoritiest Shirt Ever. (Sorry for the terrible grammar and random capitalization, but it just seemed like a very High Fidelity moment.)

Shirt - thrifted vintage Army issue

Jeans - Target

Shoes - Target

I'll be running in and out of town a few times and hopefully wearing mostly pajamas, so over the next two weeks, I'll do a few wedding posts now that we have our photographer photos. In the meantime, happy holidays!

And a totally bodacious 2014!