GREG!!! STAY AWAY FROM THIS PAGE!!!!!!!! =) love you babe
My beautiful, amazing, perfect dress
I am so extremely excited to post the picture of my dress! I went to several wedding dress stores, tried on a few that I loved, but they were so far out of my price range that I was quickly discouraged. I wanted something beautiful, but wasn't willing to break my budget in order to get "the dress." I was about ready to settle for something when I came across a website called preownedweddingdresses.com. It has about half actually used wedding dresses, and about half dresses with tags on, never altered or worn. This was the case with my dress - tags are on it, never worn. The bride who sold it to me, Michele, lives in Virginia. She purchased this dress first, kept looking, found another (similar to the first, she showed me a picture), and couldn't return the first. So, she put it on this website at a great discount! I just happened to come across the site while searching for wedding dresses online, and fell in love with this one as soon as I saw it. Michele and I spoke several times via email and on the phone, and she let me know she had a matching veil and shoes as well (wrong size shoe unfortunately) that she'd be willing to send along. It was a dream come true! The best part: she agreed to wait to cash my check until I received the dress, tried it on, and decided I wanted to keep it. I received the dress on Thursday, Jul 22nd, tried it on with my bridesmaid Katie on Friday morning, and let Michele know to cash that check!! Katie and I both teared up as I looked in the mirror, wearing the dress that I would be marrying the man of my dreams in. It was such a great moment!! I truly cannot thank Michele enough for making this portion of my wedding dreams come true. If there is one big thing I have learned since getting engaged, it is that brides are amazingly willing to help out other brides!! Between Michele and all the girls on theKnot, I don't know how anyone can plan and pull off a wedding on their own!
My engagement ring
My beautiful ring! Greg had the setting switched from a 4- to a 6-prong and set slightly lower in the band so that it doesn't catch as much on my gloves at the hospital. The band is 5 channel set diamonds on each side, totaling 0.28 carats. The center stone is 1-carat, and it is a "Triple XXX" cut, which means that is has excellent ratings in all three categories of symmetry, brilliance, and proportion. My man has excellent taste! (And also a good friend who used to professionally buy and sell diamonds to tell him what to get)
Greg's ring
We bought Greg's ring from bluenile.com. He also purchased my diamond from there. They have great customer service, super fast shipping, and a warranty program. We have been very happy working with them for both purchases!
Wedding shoes!!
Found my shoes!!! Rachel Roy from Macy's - after all this searching online, preparing to spend hundreds of dollars on my dream shoes... and they were in my own backyard (okay, mall) the whole time :) Since we are getting married on grass, I also bought heel protectors to keep me from sinking in - check them out at www.thesolemates.com. They can be bought for $10 at Von Maur (or DB, but I prefer not to give them my business).
Backup wedding shoes!!
I love these. I have 3 pair of clear ones, and 4 pair of gray ones, and I wear them ALL the time. So comfy and cute!!! These will go on once I am done with the whole 4inch heel thing... probably sometime after the first dance!
Custom-made garters
It took me a few months of being engaged, but I am officially obsessed with etsy.com. The seller who made these for me, Jen at JLWeddings, was SOOOOO fabulous :) Super easy to work with, great and fast communication, and she literally made me exactly what I wanted. I have relatively sensitive skin, so she made these garters with satin instead of the usual grosgrain and lace. I highly recommend Jen for your garter needs, ladies!
Bridesmaid Attire
Bill Levkoff style #372 in navy blue (shown in black)
This was a more difficult decision for me than I anticipated. I told the BMs that I honestly didn't have a picture in my mind of what I wanted them to wear, so I wanted them to tell me what they were thinking. No one wanted strapless, and a few of the girls who have imaginary pooches wanted to make sure it wasn't too fitted at the belly. No problem! After looking at a ton of more unconventional places for a suitable BM dress, I finally gave up and took two of the girls to the Wedding Shoppe. Several hideous dresses later, we had found one that was acceptable, but not great. I just happened to be leafing through the rack across from the dressing room for the third time and came across this beauty that I had somehow missed! Katie tried it on, loved it; Kaleena tried it on, and loved it too. Both girls said it was very flattering, comfortable, and would definitely stay put while dancing the night away. AND, (drum roll please), both girls said it was something they would LOVE to wear again! Holy grail of bridesmaid dresses, woo-hoo!!!! I couldn't be happier, both that we found something we like, and that the search is finally over :)
This was a more difficult decision for me than I anticipated. I told the BMs that I honestly didn't have a picture in my mind of what I wanted them to wear, so I wanted them to tell me what they were thinking. No one wanted strapless, and a few of the girls who have imaginary pooches wanted to make sure it wasn't too fitted at the belly. No problem! After looking at a ton of more unconventional places for a suitable BM dress, I finally gave up and took two of the girls to the Wedding Shoppe. Several hideous dresses later, we had found one that was acceptable, but not great. I just happened to be leafing through the rack across from the dressing room for the third time and came across this beauty that I had somehow missed! Katie tried it on, loved it; Kaleena tried it on, and loved it too. Both girls said it was very flattering, comfortable, and would definitely stay put while dancing the night away. AND, (drum roll please), both girls said it was something they would LOVE to wear again! Holy grail of bridesmaid dresses, woo-hoo!!!! I couldn't be happier, both that we found something we like, and that the search is finally over :)
Bridesmaids' necklaces
I ordered these from an etsy seller, Fleurfaraway, and they are beautiful! Exactly what I wanted :) They'll be paired with a simple pearl stud earring.