The story behind my most favorite dress I’ll ever wear…
I’m back today with one last wedding post! I’ve covered all about our wedding – from the details to the sharing our video, you’ve just about seen it all! I wanted to put together one last post about one of my favorite aspects of the day.. our outfits! I’ll start with my look and work my way around to our wedding parties to go over all the details of our ensemble that day.
Also, I’ll be housing all of our wedding posts and content on this brand new Wedding Edit page. I gave our old one a face lift, and added in all of our vendors and any possible helpful information for any of you out there planning a wedding. It has a Q&A section, shopping section, inspiration, and all of my posts leading up to and about our wedding. Let me know what you think!
My Dress & Look
I had only tried on wedding dresses a couple of times before finding my winner. I tried BHLDN (which were beautiful, but none felt quite right), and then Modern Trousseau in New York, where I first discovered the style of dress I loved. I tried onthis dress on a whim and fell completely in love with the high neckline and classic feel. It was still a little too much dress for me, but it gave me a good idea of what I was looking for.
My next stop was at a local bridal shop in Raleigh called Gilded Bridal. This is actually where I met Lauren, who became my wedding planner! They were having a trunk show for one of my absolute favorite designers, Alexandra Grecco. I stalked the dresses online before my appointment, and had my sights set on one particular dress. It was the first one I tried on, and I knew it was the one. After every other dress I tried on that day, I still kept going back to that one. And that’s how I found the wedding dress of my dreams – the Miri Gown by Alexandra Grecco. It was simple and elegant and everything I could have ever wanted.
For accessories, I paired the dress with a pair if brown suede Marc Fisher lace up boots. We were getting married in the fall and next to a lake, so it felt appropriate. Plus, I loved the Chloé vibes of these. I also wore a Vincent Pradier sweater wrap from BHLDN (it was about forty degrees on our wedding day) and a headpiece by Untamed Petals in my hair (I added my own ribbon to the headband). For jewelry, I kept things simple and wore a necklace handed down to me from my mom, and a pearl necklace, which was the first piece of jewelry Ryan gave me when we started dating six years ago.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I ended up opting to do my own hair and makeup for my wedding. I’m no expert, but I felt much more comfortable being in control of how I looked that day, and felt like it would keep my stress level way down. It made getting ready that morning so low-key, and I’m so happy it’s the direction I chose to go. I did a post here highlighting a bunch of products I used. Not mentioned in that post, but a few of my favorites from the day, are Giorgio Armani Power Fabric Foundation, Stila Stay All Day Eyeliner (in waterproof), Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara (in waterproof), and Aerin’s Evening Rose Eau de Parfum. I did my no-fuss, basic everyday curls and wore my hair down… just like I would any old Tuesday. To be totally honest, did I look my most beautiful ever? Probably not. But, I was so happy, not focused on what I looked like at all, and ended up getting rained on and (happy tears) cried all my makeup off anyways. Looking back, my stringy, rain soaked hair matches the carefree and whimsical feeling of the day.
Ryan’s Outfit
Ryan wore a Prince of Wales suit from J.Crew that I had actually given him on his first birthday we spent together. We celebrated up at the cabin (where we spent our wedding) when I gave him this suit, so it felt fitting for everything to come full circle for him to wear it on our wedding day. He accessorized with a burgundy tie to pull in his groomsmen’s suits, and wore his favorite dress shoes from Banana Republic. It wasn’t your “typical” groom’s outfit, but it was exactly the way I love to see him, and I think that’s what is most important when deciding looks for the day.
Our Wedding Party
To be honest, we are lucky to have some amazingly stylish friends. Ryan picked out a suit from ASOS for his guys and gave them scarves in a Prince of Wales print, and I gave my bridesmaids the color scheme and told them to find a maxi dress that they liked. It couldn’t have turned out more beautifully! I loved having all different shades and styles, and pulling the look together with matching blankets for them to cozy up in during the ceremony. If you like that mismatched feel, I suggest going the route of letting your girls picked their own dresses. Each dress matched their personalities, and I loved it! If you need a starting point, some of my favorite places to look for reasonably-priced bridesmaid’s dresses are BHLDN, Nordstrom (in particular those by Wayf), and some of the girls had good luck with Lulu’s.
