Wedding Shower Wears

My bridal shower is this weekend! I know that seems crazy because I'm not getting married until April. But in Seattle, when you really only get 2 months of solid sunshine, you want to take advantage of it. This will likely be my only outdoor wedding event, so we figured why not have it early and just prolong the celebrating. My girls have put together what I'm sure will be an amazing afternoon - I can't wait to share. Since they haven't let me lift a finger, the main thing I've been focused on is finding a cute dress to wear for the occasion. Originally I was leaning toward finding a pretty white or ivory dress, because I figure this is the one time in your life you can unabashedly wear white. After sifting through a few options, though, i just wasn't thrilled with anything. I went back to the drawing board and noticed that there are a ton of styles right now to choose from in our colors. So, instead of traditional bridal white I'm looking to pick up a summer frock that mimics the motifs in the pattern we had designed.

Here are a few of the favorite affordable options I've found and loved:

Sources (Clockwise from top left): One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Whats your shower style? Does it have to be formal bridal white, or can you get into the theme of the big day a bit?

Art Deco Brings the Sparkle

Like a magpie in a Zales store, or Honey Boo Boo at a pageant, I'm attracted to sparkle (I apologize that this post has become a statement of the obvious). Lately, the trailers for The Great Gatsby have me oohing and aahing over Art Deco jewels especially. I'd love to wear a statement bracelet, and while a belt wouldn't pair well with my dress, I've been obsessing over some architectural beauties. Here are a few things I've been admiring lately. *Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any distraction caused by this sparkly sparkly post.

Bling for the Boys

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In my post last week I delved into the world of menswear, so this week I'm going to stay on-topic and talk rings....for our men. My fiancé and I are going to our jeweler this afternoon to check them out. We already have my wedding band - he gave me his grandmother's ring and then we designed my 'engagement' ring together when we first got engaged - so this trip to the jeweler will be all about him!

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I'm picturing something simple and masculine, maybe a mix of brushed and shiny silver (like the one with the oval ring above). I love picking things out, so I think the hardest part for me will be keeping my mouth shut and letting him pick the one he likes the best.  :-)

How opinionated were you in your man's ring shopping?

The Well-Suited Gentleman

While wedding dress shopping was quite the undertaking (hi Mom! hi sister! hi future MIL! hi BFF!), my fiance basically tried on one jacket at Nordstrom, and bought a wedding suit in under 30 minutes. Really doesn't seem fair, does it? That won't stop me from spending endless internet time finding him the perfect accessories to match his stunning suit. You're welcome, honey! Here are some of my favorites.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Groom Fashion {navy suits}

This past week my fiancé sent the suit we picked out to the groomsmen to order. We had been looking for a nice navy suit for a while with no luck. It was not the easiest color to find at rental companies, so we thought if we could find it for under $200 (not too much more than a rental), we would ask the guys to buy them. We were super excited when our friend had the idea of J.Crew's Factory store and the suits were nice and affordable. My post on the full color scheme can be found here.

Now that we have the suits picked out, it's time to think about how to pair it with shirts, ties, and shoes...

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This groom kept it classic and simple, but added some fun with the gingham shirt.

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Here we see some other colors used - purple and grey.

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This guy paired his suit with a white shirt and light blue tie. I like.

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I'm loving the brown shoes on this groom and how he added some personality with the socks!  I also love how the bride tied in the deep blue color with her earrings and heels.

I'm not really sure how to coordinate it so that my groom and his guys all go together. I also don't want the guys to have to buy any more items, so I'm thinking we could have them wear white shirts and then get different ties - they could all be similar colors and shapes, but with different patterns. Or we could have everyone wear their own different-patterned or plain blue shirts and do a simple navy tie. Option #3 would be to keep it more simple with white shirts and the same ties. For the shoes, we'll ask them all to wear their own brown leather shoes.

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What do you think? How are your men coordinating?

On another note, we are about to order the proofs for the invitations. I can't wait to see them in-person!

Veiling It

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My lovely future mother-in-law has offered to make my veil for me. She made her daughter's veil last year and it turned out great, so I trust that I'm in good hands.

Last week I went to Britex Fabrics and got some swatches so I could match them to my dress color. I can't wait to see how it turns out and get everything on!

Source: left, right

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I want my veil to be simple and on the longer side. I'm getting married in a potentially-windy location and I've been told longer veils are actually better because they have more weight to them so they won't blow around as much. The one thing I'm concerned about is there being too much volume. My dress is somewhere between an A-line and a ballgown silhouette and I don't want it to be over-the-top. I think the last image, above, is a good example of a fuller skirt with a long veil that looks natural and tasteful.

Should I go Waltz, Floor-length, or Chapel?

Bachelorette Accessorizing

This week I have to admit I was slacking big time with my own wedding planning. This past weekend we celebrated my future in-laws Bachelor/Bachelorette party in Palm Springs. I decided to finally make one of those Pinterest DIY projects I have been contemplating. These t-shirts are super adorable and easy to make so I wanted to share my fun find with all of you!

Source: Something Turquoise

SUPPLIES NEEDED:  Clorox Bleach Pen, wax paper, piece of cardboard and your choice of t-shirt.

Source: Something Turquoise

For the full directions, click here.

Mine did not turn out quite as cute as these (so I'm not showing my finished product ). I left the bleach on for over 20 minutes, but for some reason my "Bride" was still a light pink color instead of a crisp white.

I will definitely try making these again with thinner material! What's your favorite bachelorette DIY project?

Polish Perfection

All I can think about are pretty, polished, shiny nails this week! I love when brides go bold and pick a bright shade. It makes me think the bride is fun and laid back. And, then again, there's nothing like the perfect, classic nude to let your dress take center stage.

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While I plan to go neutral for my own nails, I'm thinking it would be really fun for my bridesmaids to do bright colors - best of both worlds!

Will you be going for a bold or nude hue for you big day?

Little White Dress

With the Oscars last night I got to thinking about the other dresses I will  "need" for wedding celebrations. With showers, parties and our rehearsal dinner approaching there our lots of excuses to buy more than one white dress.

Source: Alice & Olivia

Source: 1 & 2

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Sources: 1 & 2

Did you wear a white dress to your other wedding festivities? Where did you shop?

Finding My Glass Slippers

It dawned on me this week that because of the schedule of my dress fitting, I actually need my bridal shoes in May, which feels incredibly soon. Because of that little realization, I've spent this week looking at and thinking about different shoe options.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one that thinks of Cinderella's glass slippers as the shoes that set the bar for all bridal shoes until the end of time.

Source: 1

Of course, the problem with Cinderella's shoes is that a real bride can't exactly traipse around taking photos, gracefully walk down the aisle, greet her guests at cocktail hour, and dance the night away in glass.

Pinterest has no shortage of "real life" glass slippers, either:

Source: 2, 3 

While I'm all about sparkle, which I have made abundantly clear in past blog posts, I am also all about dancing and all about pretty while still being practical. Here are a few more down-to-earth, and less fairy tale shoes that I'm considering:

Source: 4, 5, 6, 7