in need of glass slippers

i visited my wedding dress yesterday. it’s currently at steve’s parents house in stafford, va where his super talented seamstress mom is holding it before she begins working her magic on its ivory taffeta goodness. momma-in-law audete has informed me, however, that she cannot touch it until i’ve committed to shoes. ladies and gents, it would be mild to say that i’m dreading the shoe search. since steve and i are exactamundo the same height sans shoes, i’m restricted to flats (both on 11/27 and forever. but this is way fine by me because i. hate. heels.). i don’t want to wear closed toe because i think they can look dowdy but a sandal in november? oy vey.

i found these beauties up above by loeffler randall. they could be perfect. if only they were slightly (okay WAY) less than $325. then i found these which could also work but i’m not fully convinced. so let it be known that i am on the hunt! and keep your eyes peeled for something fabulous on my behalf. i may just offer up a reward to anyone who finds my wedding shoes!

fit for a princess

the nice thing about a long engagement is the ability to spread out my decision-making and really prioritize some of the things i’ve deemed most important. for example, one of the first things we settled on was our photographer, kate headley (more on her fabulosity later. i haven’t yet dreamed up a post to do her justice!). another item that was high on my list was my wedding band since, next to our pictures, it’s really the only thing from the day that sticks around for eternity (ok, except the boy!). a couple of weeks ago steve and i were able to take advantage of a rare sale at the jewelry store where he purchased my engagement ring in fairfax and thanks to a deep discount, i got the ring of my dreams to coordinate with my beautiful engagement setting. i have to say it’s tough to pick something that you’ll wear everyday for the rest of your life. i am very glad steve did the choosing for my e-ring because the options are just overwhelming. so, cross another major decision off the list! (oh, and if you’re wondering as to where the ring will live for the next 11 months: steve has locked it away in a safe and hidden the key so that i stop threatening to wear it to work…)

a wise woman once said

i’ve been in a great little email exchange with my grandma this week (yes, she is hip to email!) and i just had to share this pearl of wisdom:

“remember when things become overwhelming,  it will all work out, even if it isn’t quite what you had planned. those things that seemed to be disasters at the time, become  the family stories of the future, and usually with much laughter and enjoyment.”

in proof, she shared a few notes from her mom’s (my great-grandmom’s) wedding:

“My Dad was not Catholic and a southerner to boot, so the wedding took place  in the parish rectory.  The pastor was a good friend of Mom’s and was seriously against the marriage.  The pastor allowed a BestMan and a Bridesmaid at the ceremony – and no pictures.  He made everything as difficult as possible. Following the ceremony family and friends survived a rather lively party with practical jokes played on the couple, especially the groom, by Mom’s 5 brothers.  It couldn’t have been too bad because the marriage lasted 64 years.”

and a note on her own, which just celebrated its 50th year in September! (see pic up above: that’s grandma & papa re-enacting their cake cutting ceremony at the big shindig we threw to celebrate. cake smashed in the face after 50 years!)

“All my plans for a February wedding had to be ditched because Papa told me in July that he wanted to be married before he turned 40 (which would take place the 12th of September).  You can imagine the mad scramble I had to plan a wedding in September.  It was much smaller than original plans, but it was a lovely wedding anyway and Papa and I celebrated 50 years of marriage with the most wonderful family anyone could possibly have.”

i so loved reading these little snippets! they remind me that steve and i have a long history of very successful marriages preceding us and we continue to have lots of support as we plan for the big day. love you, grandma!

cold shoulder

a late november wedding could cause some issues with keeping warm. i had originally thought it might be fun to sport a cozy (faux) fur like the one in this vermont wedding — also note the excellent use of the black sash trend as mentioned in last week’s post — but lately i’m starting to lean more towards a chic bolero like the uber fab teal ruffled dealie up above. it’s a bit more bold than i’d be in my typical day to day but i think one’s wedding is cause to up the style factor a bit like this bride and her gorgeous fantasy dress! stunning.

in other news, one of my absolute most favorite bloggers miss mae, just got engaged and is already teasing her bridal style. you can bet i’ll be stalking her as it all comes together!

playing dress up

what’s a girl to do with finals all wrapped up and wedding plans on hiatus until the new year? brainstorm ways to accessorize her daringly simple dress, of course! i’m really loving the belted dress trend, especially wearing a black sash or belt. so what do we think of this little gem up above? it caught my eye on a wander through anthropologie yesterday and i think it could be perfect (not that you’ve seen my dress, but if you email me i might share it).

a ring in the rain

six months ago today steve lured me down to fredericksburg, home of our alma mater mary washington, with the promise of dinner with friends. little did i know said friends were actually not in town and he had cooked up a surprise with bridesmaid/bestie/college roomie-who’s-been-there-since-night-one, lindsey! i was told we got down to f’burg too early for our (fake) dinner plans so steve suggested a walk on campus to kill some time. we were having a blast reminiscing about our days as undergrads and i was clueless as ever that anything out of the ordinary was about to happen. mid-stroll down campus walk in the pouring rain we ducked into the amphitheater you see up above where it was miraculously dry thanks to all of that tree cover.  wonderful things were said, steve got down on one knee, and the rest is history.

these first six months have absolutely flown and we are looking forward to taking our awesome photog, kate headley, back to mary wash and adorable downtown fredericksburg for engagement photos sometime in the next six months so stay tuned!

ps – kate is launching a beautiful new website which we can’t wait to see!