{dress}ed to impress

i may be jumping back and forth between past and present since there was so much that I did during our wedding that I couldn't talk about, for fear of spoiling the suprise. of course, I couldn't talk about my wedding gown because it was to be surprise and I didn't want to spoil that. as I talk about my current and future projects, I can't forget some of the ones that I'm most proud of, so I must gush a little :)

as I posted in one of my first posts back this year, i had a few pictures of our wedding, and the dress. since this post is going to be about the transformation, i will begin with the finished look.

the wedding dress for every girl is the biggest deal. it is probably, depending on who you are, the most expensive single item of clothing you will purchase in your life. every girl dreams of what her's will look like, and the quest to find that dress is one that will consume your time and energy until it is yours. shows like Say Yes to the Dress promote the importance of that moment when you look in the mirror, and tears well up in your eyes. The moment you have found the one (dress).

I started my dress journey with my mom and sister. I was so excited to try on a dress and see what I was going to look like as a bride. It's a very special moment in any girl's life. I wasn't successful on my first trip out, nothing seemed to be the one. I was disappointed but knew I would find it, eventually. To make a long story short, I went to almost every bridal store within a 30 mile radius. Weekend after weekend I spent my days searching, and coming up empty handed. I was so discouraged and was not sure if I would ever find what I was looking for. One Saturday I stumbled into Bella Bridal, in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and my journey ended. There was a Essense of Australia trunk show. I tried on a couple of dresses and still wasn't feeling anything. Why couldn't I find something that seemed timeless, classy, romantic, and had an interesting neckling? I was again frustrated. I then tried on this number:

I should mention that this didn't make sense at first. I had been looking for a bateau neckline, and definitely not strapless. Sonia, the owner took a piece from another dress, and showed me how we could customize the dress. She added the piece, and then added a beautiful beaded belt, and then it happened. .I teared up, and finally had my moment. This dress had the most beautiful lace and was so romantic. I knew that this was the dress. At that point my budget was out the window, and I was moving on to the make it happen for the dress that made my heart feel full. If I couldn't find my dress, I was going to make my dress.

Six months later the dress came in and lacey piece by lacey piece, literally, we started to transform and create the look that I wanted. every month or two I would go in a see what we wanted to do next. little my little, my dream was becoming a reality. Sonia would get so excited to see the progress, and would tell me how beautiful it was. I picked a beautiful beaded belt from Etsy shop, Luxe Bridal Couture and my grandmother's earrings and broach to complete the look. Since my dress was so detailed, I chose a simple veil from David's bridal.

my dress through the year of making -
also shows the transformation that my trainer was making to my weight & back fat :)

I went to all of my appointments alone, until my final fitting, and so this project was all of me, and no one else. It made it that much more special when my mom and sister were able to come to my final fitting, and see the process come full circle. this dress still holds such a special place in my heart. I hope that in years to come I still look back at the pictures and feel that this was the dress of my dreams. I fantasize that my daughter would want to wear it, and that it doesn't seem like something from 2013, whatever that will mean in the future.

{shoe}ly possessed

since my dress came in a few weeks ago, I have had the task of finding the shoes to wear with this dress. one of my first posts was about these amazing Sergio Rossi shoes that I had wanted, but were $1600! I loved the uniqueness of the shoe, and was hoping to find something similar.
on my lunch hour today, I decided to step into my local DSW to see what deals I could find for cute shoes on the clearance racks. sadly, nothing sparked my interest so I headed for the door. I decided to head up the aisle where the special occasion shoes are located, just to browse and see if there was anything that caught my eye.

and there they were...



lulu townsend - vada 
$69.95

while these shoes are not the Sergio Rossi's, the scaling is quite similar, and 96% off the price! these pictures don't actually do the rhinestone justice for how sparkly they are in real like. the front of the show hardly looks like it has color, and looks like it's made out of glorious diamonds! if you can't tell, I was very please with my find!

i'm not certain these shoes are the ones, but they are the ones for right now! I cannot wait to get home, and try them on to see how they look!

{outfit}ting our love

while I have many of the main items checked off on my list, the next item to take care of is the engagement pictures. I simply cannot wait. my fiance and I are not ones to love having our picture taken, but I am looking forward to capturing us as a couple, and to have those pictures to show our kids and grandkids!

as with any upcoming event, I've been thinking non-stop about the outfits, style, and overall feel I want these pictures to have. I know our photographer Amy, from Pure Amour Photography will do an amazing job, and I probably don't need to fret about these details.. but it's me!

as I have been preparing for many other things summer, I have been on the look out for the perfect pieces to wear during the engagement session. so far, I have only picked up one item:

this fancy little number was only $19.80!

this dress is so romantic, and I think that is the vibe I want to go for: soft & romantic. while I am not worried about finding the perfect outfit for me, I am concerned about what I'm going to be able to get my fiance, Nick, into. there are many cute ideas out there, but most of them he would not go for.

as always, I head to the internet, and my favorite blogs to find some inspiration for what I'm looking for:

I found several amazing pictures that I wanted to share with everyone.



i love the casual feel of these pictures. I would definitely love to be comfortable and cute



this romantic setting, and outfits grabbed my attention right away





these letters are so cute! i'm thinking about recreating these with our initials or wedding date.



this is the closest to my little pink dress I could find. I definitely love the blue printed button up with the feminine dress.





i love the preppy outfits on these two



this is simple, cute, and so romantic!

I adore this dress, and his suit. I think my fiance would love to wear this outfit, and I know I would loove a dress like this!

I really think my fiance could handle a simple button-up to feel casual, but yet still look quite put together.

these little letters are so adorable. this could easily be done to match the wedding colors, season, and just about anything!

I cannot wait to show these to my fiance, and get his opinion. I think that we could pull something like this off, without making him feel too much like a Ken doll.

{LBD} Lovely, Beautiful, Detailed

I'm off to Chicago for a bachelorette party for my friend Stephanie! the weekend should be beautiful, 85 and sunny all weekend. We have quite a list of events, and it should sure be a lot of fun. All of the girls going have decided to wear black all weekend so that the bride stands out. i LOVE black! I often find myself buying black shirts, dresses, sweaters, and it's not like I really need anymore. however, since this is a bachelorette party, I felt I wanted to spice things up. I'm still a conservative/classic girl at heart, so I needed something a little sexy, but still classic. I loved the pieces I chose, and loved accenting with colored jewelry(turquoise, coral, gold) from my giant jewelry box.

I decided to go to another fave site, Polyvore, to check out what was out there and to get a little more inspiration. All the items I looked at were under $50!! here are a few of my favorite things:

I looove animal prints when wearing black!

a little edgy, but definitely something fun & sexy.

simple. classic. done!

big, costume jewelry is something I cannot live without. perfect accent to any solid-colored dress!