Attire

I thought I would mix things up a little bit since my last couple of posts have been about my DIY projects. I just went last week for my final gown fitting, which was really exciting! Because my fiance occasionally reads this, I am not going to post any photos of me in the gown, but this is it on someone who I think is much taller than I am. The gown is gorgeous, but a little bigger and heavier than I originally thought I wanted. Fortunately, the seamstress was able to cut the bottom layer of the train so it is just a sweep length, and the only chapel length that will have to be bustled is the lace overlay. That makes it much lighter, and I don't have a huge bustle sticking off of my butt.

If you are considering Casablanca for your gown, I would definitely recommend them. I really wanted to go as inexpensive as possible on the gown (you know, the whole spending tons of money on a dress you will wear once business), and I think their gowns are a really good value for the money. I first looked at David's, but the only dress I really liked there was about $900, so I kept looking. I found the Casablanca gown at a fancy bridal store, and I really liked it, but it was about $1000. When I went home and looked online, I found it for $675! Despite the cost difference, I really preferred to buy in person, so I checked out a couple of other shops that carried Casablanca, and I ended up finding it locally for the same price (although they did charge me an extra $100 for the hollow to hem). Don't get me wrong, I am sure the quality of Casablanca is not like the quality of a $5000 Monique Lhuillier gown. But for a very budget-conscious bride, I thought the gown was beautiful and the quality was excellent.

I originally did not want a veil, but of course, after trying one on with the dress, I thought maybe I did want one after all. That's right, not only did I want one, I wanted a chapel length one. Yeesh. MOH was no help--she convinced me that I really just looked like a bride with the veil on. I saved a lot of money by ordering from Veilshop.com--about $50 for a single layer ivory chapel length cut edge with no details (compared with between $100-200 at the bridal store). I definitely plan to take the veil off for the reception, but I am happy with the decision to wear one for the ceremony.

Recent obsession--hairpins. My stylist was able to replicate this look with my hair, and now I am on the hunt for hairpins. I think I am sold on Pavoreal from Etsy--something like these champagne pins, but a little lighter in color. Yummy!

For bridesmaids gowns, we ended up getting an awesome deal at Ann Taylor. The girls (six) are all wearing Meadow Green with Honeydew sashes. Half are going strapless (Chloe style) and half are having straps (Averie). I guess they were discontinuing these particular styles, and the dresses ended up being $59 each with $6 sashes. I don't necessarily know whether the girls could ever wear these again after the wedding, but there might be a chance, which is more than what can be said for most BM's dresses.

The guys (including groom) are all wearing khaki suits (similar to these, but not exactly). They are actually tuxes, but they pretty much just look like suits--no vests, no bow ties, flap pockets instead of the little slit things. We are buying the groomsmen's ties as their gifts--Brooks Brothers via the outlet--a very good match to the Meadow Green, and they have ivory polka dots. The latest thing I have decided to add to my ever-growing to-do list--green argyle socks. We'll see if it pans out. Drop me a line if you know of any inexpensive sources for green argyle!

All in all, I am really pleased with how reasonable we were able to keep costs, and I am excited to see how everyone looks!