Wedding Wednesday: finishing the bridal look pt. II

Happy Wednesday!
I almost hate to admit this but I am totally that bride that is super indecisive and changes her mind at the last minute about things. Now I'm not talking about anything huge (like the dress or venues) but I did recently decide to explore some other options with my bridal look, specifically my hair and veil. I still love the ideas from this post (bridal look pt. I) but when I actually went in for my wedding hair practice (is that what you call these things?) I just wasn't sure if it really worked on me. And last weekend when I was home for my final dress fitting and I put all my accessories together with my dress I became even more sure of my not-so-sure about this feeling. I still have pretty strong opinions about veils--I do not want a blusher or something that covers my face. But when I tried on the birdcage veil I had ordered with my dress it felt fussy and I realized that what I wanted was something both effortless and beautifully bridal. I did some searching on Etsy and fell in love with this Swiss-Dot veil. And the seller, Tessa Kim was amazing to work with! Super sweet and willing to do a rush order, hopefully my new veil should be here soon!

I just really love the idea of a Swiss-Dot veil.
Classic yet unexpected. 

I plan on placing the veil at the nape of my neck so that it flows gracefully behind me as I walk (or at least that's how I imagine it in my head...) Which brings me to the second big dilemma of this post, the hair. 

 As a fairly young bride I sort of have this irrational worry of looking too young, when I look back on pictures of my wedding I don't really want to think 'oh I look so 22 there,' but instead want to look timeless and elegant. With that in mind, I think I should try out an updo. I still have a tiny fear of the updo but I think doing a second wedding hair practice should put me at ease and help me be confident in my styling decision. I find myself really gravitating towards the modern french twist in an updo. I love the idea of keeping my part and adding some volume then having the classic twist in the back. I can't help but imagine it as a perfect addition to my teardrop earrings and polka-dotted veil. I love these two looks below:

a classic french twist with some volume. 

I recently started reading the blog Kaylee Daily and I love her! Kaylee's style is so fresh and bright and always inspires me to try new things. She just recently did a Christmas card shoot with her hubby and showed us their shoots from past years. I had no idea it was her but I've seen these images all over Pinterest! What really drew me in this time was her hair in this photo shoot. It's the classic french twist with some mod volume, the perfect sophisticated updo and not overdone. I love it. 

you can see more of her style from this shoot here.

What do you guys think? 

Am I crazy for wanting to switch my look less than a month before the big day?

Wedding Wednesday: finishing the bridal look pt 1.

Happy Wedding Wednesday everyone!

The wedding is (as of Monday) less than two months away (eek!)! and while the mister and I are definitely excited and ready to be married, we are really getting down to the wire with making our last minute wedding decisions and finishing touches. And while I picked out my dress almost a year ago (my last fitting is coming up and the end of the month!), there are still quite a few bridal look details that need to be finalized! 

Let's start with hair. Bridal hair. There are so many beautiful and fantastic looks out there but I found myself really question how I would feel prettiest and what would work best with my type of hair (curly) and my current length (short/bob). I'm not really one who wants to grow my hair out just so I can have an updo, and I also wasn't really sure that I would feel my prettiest with my hair up. I started thinking about looks that would be full of volume and work with my shorter do, I fell in LOVE with January Jones hair at the Academy Awards, and once I started looking I realized that the woman has FANTASTIC hair. Really. I am leaning toward doing either a big voluminous curl or doing a more relaxed curl, but really I love both options. 

What do you guys think? Would you go with the more relaxed curl? or more volume?

Next up after hair is the headpiece. I say headpiece because I don't really want to wear a veil. Not that they can't be beautiful, but let's just say that my independent streak doesn't seem to go with the gentleness of veils (I'm also not a huge fan of the fairly patriarchal history behind the veil...). That being said I do think having some kind of headpiece really completes a bridal look. I find myself being drawn to more quirky birdcage veils, facinators or even just little poofs.  I love love love what the bride below has done with her headpiece--the contrast of the black and white, the slight birdcage, the headband, even her hairstyle LOVE IT.

I also love the slight polka dot detailing on this blusher number below.

What do you think about taking more of a risky, nontraditional route with such a bridal staple?

And last but not least on the bridal-look to do list is: Jewelry. 

This one is a lot harder than I though it would be, I have to admit. 

There is just SO much out there that could work for bridal these days--such a wide range of quality, style and personality. I had planned on wearing a statement necklace of older pearls with my dress but when we tried them out at my first fitting it just didn't really work. It wasn't a bad look, but my dress just needed something bolder. Since then I've been scouring every department store jewelry case and Bauble Bar new arrival, looking for something that I loved--but nothing really spoke to me. I wanted something that made a statement but that also didn't compete with my ring (the real jewelry star of the day), I also wanted something that was really me--not just something bridal. When I first saw this Anthropologie necklace online I literally gasped, aloud, in my cubical. Is it traditionally bridal? Not so much. Could it really work? YES. Yes, I think it might. Needless to say, I ordered it. I'm really excited to see it with my dress at my next fitting. (and if it doesn't work, then back to the drawing board!). What do you guys think? Would you go bold with your bridal look?

Benefactress Bib Necklace at Anthro

In an effort to keep this blog post from being years long I've split it into two parts! Be sure to check back next Wedding Wednesday to see my ideas about a winter bride's warmer accessories--coats, sweaters, capes and fur! Be sure to check out my Wedding Pretties Pinterest board for more of my likes and ideas! 

Thanks for reading!

Wedding Wednesday: Glitter Blast

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Like, I said earlier this week, my fiance and I are realizing that the wedding is actually scary close. Not scary because we don't want to get married but scary because we have so many things left to do! We just got our invitations in the mail this week, and we are finalizing our meeting schedules with our pastor and wedding coordinator at our venue but the list just keeps growing! This past weekend my friend/bridesmaid/awesome, Katherine came and helped me DIY some hand-me-down jars that we are going to use for candles as part of our center pieces. Now if you've ever watched David Tutera or even Four Weddings you might be aware that DIY weddings do not always go well and not everyone likes them. Regardless I was up for the challenge. Since our wedding has a gold/cream/evergreen color scheme I wanted to add a little new year's sparkle to our decor. I found a lot of really good DIY inspiration on pinterest, and was hoping to create something that looked like these pictures:

I wasn't sure when I started the process if it would be better to use a spray adhesive or to use an all in one glitter spray so I tested out both options. I was a little surprised that I really liked the outcome of the Glitter Blast spray.Disclaimer: there is no way to do this project without getting glitter all over yourself, your furniture and your dog, even when you go outside. 

We taped off the top part of the jars so that we could spray evenly and come out with a clean, straight line. 

Then we sprayed the jars with two coats of Glitter Blast so that the glitter part of the jar would be more opaque, though if you wanted a lighter glitter coating with just one coat I think that Glitter Blast would also work. 

And here is the (upside-down) finished product! I am really happy with how they turned out, I'm not sure that anyone could really see my vision for the jars before we started (ahhhmm) but I think the finished product will work perfectly to help build the kind of reception environment we are going for. 

We only ended up having about 30 of the jars total and I was hoping to have about two to three clustered at each table so I may go on a hunt for another type of jar to DIY and add to the mix. 

Check back next week for another wedding post, we are in full get-ready-wedding mode here now!

Wedding Wednesday: Sparkling Finish

So even though it's been a while since we've talked about it, the wedding is still quickly approaching and it seems like each time we get something checked off the wedding to do list, there is another thing that needs to be done ASAP. We finally got our save the dates sent out this week! [HOORAY!!!] So now it's time to think about invitations and decorations and flowers and gifts for the bridesmaids and ...

Luckily, these are exactly the kinds of things and details that I really love getting to pick out. I think when you pay attention to the details your day overall seems more personal and intentional. Recently I stumbled upon a few really lovely, not-too-expensive, gold incorporating details that I would love to use for our reception from Waiting on Martha--a super cute and stylish blog/online boutique combo that's sure to become one of your favs. Check 'em out!

I absolutely ADORE these gold confetti paper placemats.
They would be a perfect way to combine subtle sparkle with the casual nature of our BBQ dinner.

I also LOVE these three gift tags. They go flawlessly with the gold confetti paper placemats and would be adorable attached to guests party favors. You can find all the above gift tags and the placemats here at the Waiting on Martha party shop!

Never fear! My obsession with foil, letter shaped balloons has not wavered in the wake of my windy engagement picture experience. I just think, what says "party" better than some gigantic balloons?  Add the ability to monogram or spell out something sweet and I'm permanently hooked. 

Check back next week for a look into flower choices for a wintery soireee like mine, and later on we will be looking at my bridesmaids style and invitations!

Wedding Wednesday: Teal and Gold Inspiration

So it's no secret that I've been a little indecisive about what colors to officially pick for our wedding (it's in January, we've got time?) 

Though I did settle on gold as an element a long time ago.

With the bridesmaids dress shopping appointment made for Saturday I've been giving the topic some much needed more thought. Even though I think teal can be the kind of color that is commonly done wrong, or overdone within weddings I always find myself drawn to photos of bridesmaids dressed in teal. The deeper mix of blue and green seems so regal when done the right way. I especially love how it looks when paired with metallic gold and simple creams and whites. 

I'll keep you updated on what we end up deciding after Saturday! 

Wedding Wednesday: the hunt for bridesmaids dresses and a monogram addiction.

So, every time someone asks me how wedding planning is going I pretty much always say 

"it's not."

Surprisingly, having a blog (and a wedding feature) and several overly active pinterest boards does not make wedding planning that much easier. If anything it gives me all kinds of unrealistic (aka unaffordable) ideas for the wedding. But something I do always love to see is all the different looks and styles brides have chosen for their bridesmaids. While I've had quite a few ideas myself I always seem to go back to simple, flattering, short dresses. We are planning on going shopping for them this month (finally!) and I'm hopeful that we can find something flattering and not too expensive. 

Here are two dresses that I really love!

this pink number is so chic and classic. 

I think the natural waist and pleats in this dress would be universally flattering,
while the natural color and lace texture keep it modern and not too boring. 

Next up, Monogram fun!

It's no secret that I love a good monogram. And all this wedding fun has made me even more of a monogram enthusiast. I recently stumbled onto Shop Dandy a super cute blogger and boutique owner who definitely shares my love for monograms. She sells everything from monogrammed tanks to clipboards, here are a few of my favorites.

I feel like you can never find a good canvas bag with a cross body strap.
Plus the color block and monogram are a chic bonus!

I love this bangle so much I'm tempted to get one now and one for after the wedding.

everyone needs a good baseball hat for summer activities right?

Wedding Wednesday: Statements.

Brace yourselves, folks! This post is a long one! 

Now that I have the dress all figured out my brain has started to move onto figuring out accessories.

For a bridal look I think it's important to be classic and stylish in your look, I want to use the current trends that I love but I don't want to look think I look ridiculous 15 years down the road.

I really love the idea of a statement necklace to balance out a fuller-ish wedding gown, it just seems like a fun, youthful way to add a little bit of bling!

of course, J Crew does it all flawlessly. 

Here are some of my favorite statement necklaces right now that I think would make great additions to a bridal look. (Without being tooo expensive).

I love the sparkle and the gold on this necklace from Loren Hope designs

I'm falling in love with everything blush and bridal lately, including this piece also from Loren Hope.

but I also can't resist Mint! I love the mix of mint and crystals in this necklace from t+j designs.

Pearls! I love this modern twist on a bridal classic. Pearls and Gold, from t+j designs

And I also love the major sparkle from this Silver Luxe Cluster necklace from t+j designs

I also love the simplicity in the sparkly of the Ice Seurat Collar from Bauble Bar

and last but certainly not least is this stunning cluster bib necklace from Nordstroms. I love  the mix of sparkly and pearls and not only does it come in this fabulous blush combo but it also comes in silver/ivory pearl. I'm seriously in love. 

What do you think? Is a statement necklace the way to go? 

Which look is your favorite?

(Almost) Wedding Wednesday.

Wedding things. Wedding things. I can't decide if it's too early for me to start buying random things for the wedding when I stumble upon a sale or something that might be cool. Like either it will end up being perfect and I'm super thrifty or it doesn't work at all and I end up with a collection of strange gold things that have no purpose or seven of something that didn't end up working. This is what I think about when I should be doing my homework or applying for jobs. shoot. 

Anywho the question of colors remains! Just as soon as I think I am in love with this emerald concept I stumble upon these dresses from David's Bridal (of all places) that fit almost perfectly with my initial vision for the bridesmaids and the wedding. 

Pale pink, flattering and totally wearable. LINK.

Gold/Champagne or black and again very wearable. LINK.

But! It's still great because both of these dresses fit into the black, cream, gold color scheme super well. I think that really the next step is getting all seven bridesmaids (clear your schedules people!) and going to try things on! Woot. 

On to the other fun wedding things! Check out all the gold, glittery DIY fun I found!

Let's just add glitter to all the things!

You can find the DIY instructions for this glitzy star at Style Me Pretty

And last but not least, the topic of confetti. 

For quite some time now I've been wondering if confetti was a wedding appropriate decoration.

This picture tells me yes. 

Now imagine a classy ballroom with round tables in black tablecloths with gold confetti at he center. What fun! you say, what classy, shiny fun! Agreed, my friend, agreed. 

Wedding Wednesday.

You guys, wedding planning is hard.
But really, just because I have Pinterest boards and blogged about weddings before I was engaged does not mean I have this all figured out. I mean there is a big, BIG difference between thinking something is pretty, or a cool idea and then actually having to make those decisions yourself, and spend your own money on those decisions.
Like whoa. such a financial commitment.
Anyways, all this money talk aside, here are some of my favorite wedding thoughts lately!

Ok, okay I know I blogged this picture yesterday (whoops!) but I just really love it.
I want someone to try this hairstyle on me so I know if I would even be able to pull it off.
I think it would be fun and classic and it seems like one of those hairstyles that look better throughout the day, and wouldn't get droopy. LOVE it. 

Emerald Green. I'm pretty sure it's what's happening. 

Like I said, it's what's happening.
Just picture this: a color scheme of black, gold and ivory with emerald green  bridesmaid's dresses and a few other accents. Perfect understated glam. Perfect. 

Speaking of color schemes, I love the berries in this bouquet.
Replace that wrap with a gold sparkly one and I'm sold.  

Wedding Wednesday: Jessica Alba Inspired.

What's that you say? How could Jessica Alba possibly inspire wedding things? 

Well, there are so many ways! 

I'm willing to admit that I think I have a definite girl crush on Jessica Alba but its only because of her fabulous hair, perfect style and all the super solid causes she works for. 

But, back to the wedding. Wedding wise I find two of my bff Jessica's looks super inspiring,

The first is her look from the 2012 Golden Globes, specifically her hair. It is the perfect mix of natural and loose while still being put together. 

The second look that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE is her Golden Globes look from this year! 

That's right that stunning peach, super glam perfection.

I'm in love with the shape of her dress and the way it's styled. Wedding wise, I'm loving the statement necklace but also the timelessness of the sparkle. Is that a thing? Timeless sparkle. I'm saying yes. And I'm also pretty serious about at least  exploring less expensive options for a possible wedding accessory. 

Wedding (Wednesday): shades of Plum, Sangria & Gold.

So last week I posted about some Wedding Color Inspiration with Emerald, Gold & Blush. But I have to admit, I have abother color inspiration crush. I'm pretty sure that I've narrowed the options for our wedding down to these two combos but now I'm feeling very torn.

This combo of Golds, Blush and Ivory Florals, and shades of Plum and Sangria is more reflective of my orginal idea for our Winter Wedding. I love the idea of having all the bridesmaids wear the same dress (long chiffon anyone?) but have them wear a few similar shades.

I think this works really well with shades of purples and blues as well as in pastels for spring.

For my own wedding I would love to take this idea and use it with shades of plum, sangria and cranberry.

What are your thoughts? Would you do different shades of bridesmaids dresses?

Wedding (Wednesday): Color Inspiration.

As you guys already know I've been really loving the idea of using metallics (gold, silver, copper) and soft pinks as a part of a winter wedding color scheme. And I also really loved the idea of throwing a rich burgundy or wine color into the mix as well. But lately I've been falling for the Color of the Year, Emerald. 

Sometimes I think green can be really awkward in weddings, too much isn't always good. But I really love the idea of pairing a bold emerald hue with soft pinks and a little bit of glitter gold. 

What do you think? 

Wedding Wednesday.

Here are some of my Winter Wedding thoughts for the week! 

What do you think? are you loving or shivering at the thought of a winter wonderland wedding?

every time I see a photo like this I think that a
non-traditional wedding dress actually sounds perfect.

I love love love the pale pink/blush roses with the berries. so classic. 

once again, loving the pale pink roses. 

because a firefighter wedding just has to have a sparkler exit, right?