All Things Wedding From Wedding Stationery to Bridal Wear

Where veils are concerned, I don’t have a clear vision at all. The only veil I’ve ever worn was my communion veil, which I will admit was pretty exciting as a third grader. Still, having no veil ideas, I gathered up my options.

dropped veil

At first I was really enamored of the look of dropped veils; they’re so romantic. But since I’ll be wearing my bangs down, I don’t want a smooshed-bang situation caused by a veil laying on my face. Pretty, but no dice.

chapel length

Then I ever-so-briefly considered a chapel length veil. It had drama, but more easily contained drama than a cathedral, which is such out of control drama I’d totally fall on my face. Drama. However, because I’m getting married in a garden ceremony and the guest list is pretty small, I was a little worried a chapel veil would be too LOOK AT ME, MARVEL AT MY GRANDEUR.

I have some self-confidence issues pertaining to veils to work through.

Finally, I settled on waltz length. The reason? They’re sometimes called ballet veils, which obviously meant I was supposed to buy one.

One thing I’ll note is I decided all of this over the internet. I didn’t buy my dress from a bridal store, which sort of precludes me from waltzing into one and trying on different veils with my dress. I’m sure they’d let me try on veils sans dress, but I really like the safety of shopping from my desk.

So of course I turned to the internet for purchasing. First of all, Googling “wedding veil” nets you surprisingly crappy results. The few online retailers that appeared had such unsavory-looking sites, I nearly gave up there.

A couple of weeks ago, though, I was browsing through wedding links and came across Tigerlilly Jewelry. I knew they made sassy birdcage veils, but I didn’t know they made traditional ones, too. Their ordering process is pretty nifty and hassle-free. You choose the length, color, edging, and one or two layers. My ivory waltz veil arrived about 1.5 weeks after ordering, at a total of $60 with shipping.

I really like it… but I don’t think this is waltz length! It hits right at my butt/fingertips, when I was expecting it to hit at about my knees. I’m perplexed.

What’s your ideal veil length? More importantly, is there a consensus on how long a waltz veil should be?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

So the 80s came and went, and then the nineties, and then I thought we were going to be pretty much done with big things: Big shoulders, big dresses, big stack heels, big hair, big veils. Call me a picky ‘zilla, but I like the sleek, pretty, modern look of millennium brides.

Image of 80s wedding found here. Beautiful wedding image found here.

And then came along a little lady called Carrie Bradshaw, who threw the biggest wedding the 2008 silver screen could have hoped for. Sleek and pretty? Yes…and no.

Don’t get me wrong: there is a huge part of the bridezilla inside of me that gets a kick out of the fact that ol’Carrie is sporting the better part of a peacock on the side of her head. If anyone can pull it off, Carrie can.

But no on can deny that since that epic fail of a wedding, bridal headpieces have gone from mild to wild. We love when fellow bridezillas make a fashion statement  – but a warning to the wise: you might want to make sure your fashion statement isn’t consuming your hair. Or your whole head.

Where’s Your Head At?

I love that, even so large, this Jennifer Behr headpiece is still delicate and feminine. I just hope the groom is always standing on the bride’s right. It’s like a one-sided blinder.

She looks happy, which is a good thing. But this fly-away feather hair-fringe from Eith Designs should have this bridezilla flying over the cuckoo’s nest.

Despite some dispute over whether or not Season 5 Project Runway finalist Kenley ripped her wedding dress design from Alexander McQueen, I like it. Flirty and feathery? Yummy. But why the crazy hat? Perhaps this is fine for the runway, but imagine this rather tall headpiece at your wedding. Unless your groom is sporting an equally ridiculous top hat on, she is going to look like the Mad-Hatter had a baby with a bird, who then became a bride.
 

I found this image at RocknRoll Bride and said to myself, “Rock ‘n’ roll? Or chain mail?” She’s so vintage she’s medieval!

Oh me. Oh my.

This article was originally posted onBridezilla.

Yes, I may have ripped that title right from Sex and the City. (Or on second thought, was it Choos? As in Jimmy? Hmmmm.)

Anyways, a more accurate (albeit longer) title of this post could have been this: Miss Trail Mix vs J.Crew in a battle of the wedding shoes.

Witness my shoe evolution (ridiculous me bought 4 different pairs of shoes for the wedding over the course of 7 months, shhhhhh! And YES, they were all from J.Crew. I have a problem, I know.

First, way back in July, I scored the Caribe Espadrilles on sale for only $40! This was when I was envisioning yellow shoes a la Mrs Joey and more casual feel for our wedding…

(Personal Photo)

They came, arrived, fit, and looked beautiful, BUT… the mule style had the back flipping and flapping a bit, which made me nervous. I decided to keep ‘em for the rehearsal dinner and move on with my search.

A quick PSA regarding J.Crew sale items and returns: I’ve found that even though their website states that all final sale items cannot be returned, I’ve had no trouble calling customer service, playing the wedding card and having them make a note of the item on my account, allowing me to return it to a store for a refund. And if that doesn’t work, take the tag off the item, play dumb in the store and at least return it for a credit. It’s better than nothin’!

Alright, we now return to our regularly-scheduled programming…

Next up, the Joley pearlized-patent peep toes (these are still available in a number of sizes and colors for between $70-$80, plus 30% off!):

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Super-pretty but missing the “snazz” factor. I considered shoe clips but still wasn’t convinced. Next!

Then I found these lovely, gold Joley patent-pumps:

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Ah hah, getting closer. I loved these and was set on them until a month later, when J.Crew came out with a peep-toe version and it was game over. I exchanged the pump for these:

(Personal Photo)

(Personal Photo)

Ahhhhhh, me likes sparkly things!!!

In a series of mis-communications with J.Crew, I somehow ended up with two pairs of these babies but was able to return one pair easily (which technically brings my total number of bought shoes to five…ack!).

I’ve managed to not buy any more shoes since then, although I confess that I was seriously tempted by these gold, strappy ones but managed to restrain myself. Oh, fine, just because we all like to look at shoes, I’ll show a picture of those, too…

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FYI, these are also still available in a number of colors and sizes for $100 + %30 off!

I do love my beautiful crackly, gold peep-toe shoes though, and my bridesmaids are going to wear gold shoes, too. They are definitely worth lifting up the hem of my dress to show off. Game, set, match,

And so, dear friends, at the end of this drawn out saga, I think we can safely say that in the battle of Miss Trail Mix versus J.Crew’s shoe sale section, the score is Miss Trail Mix- 1, J.Crew- 0. Success!

Did you have a long, drawn-out shoe saga or was it a quick and dirty decision?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

This has been one of the harder decisions for me to make so far. It’s not that I can’t find anything; quite the opposite! I’m finding waaaay too many gorgeous dresses for my ladies to wear!

I’m a firm believer that my bridesmaids should feel beautiful (or at least comfortable!) in their dresses like I will in mine! So my search has led me to dresses that are wearable again. Most of the dresses I’ve singled out are ones that I would love for myself!! LOL

This search has been going on for well over 4 months now, on many different websites and in several different stores. I knew from the get-go that I didn’t want anything blatantly “bridesmaid-y”. And one stipulation was that the dress had to look cute with brown cowboy boots! Sound funky?? Trust me! Look for yourself…

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SEE?! I told you so. Anywhatsits…

I also set a price point (for myself) while shopping. I want to be able to accommodate EVERY girl, no matter their financial situation. AAANNNNNNDDDDD I really don’t like intruding by asking how much they can afford. SO the limit is $100 (+ or – a few dollars). And seriously?! Why are BM dresses so expensive?! Some of the ones I really liked from Jenny Yoo and Watters cost more than MY dress! Sheesh.

I looked through all the dresses at stores like Forever21, Anthropologie, and J.Crew. Since nothing there really struck my fancy, I started searching lesser known stores, mostly online. In the midst of this, I read a blog post about a store called Ruche. They have the CUTEST clothes! Seriously. And they are super affordable! Here’s what I found that could work:

The top two are really my inner hippie coming out… I absolutely adore them and would wear them on any given occasion. But I’m not sure any of my friends would like them. My sister says I have a “weird fashion sense”. Whatev.

The last dress would be totally perfect! But, there are one or two snags. First off, it’s sold out!! I could probably wait for it to come back. The second one may just be me overthinking (my favorite new pastime), but I really don’t want the brown in the dress to “clash” with the brown boots… Since everyone is picking their own, I really have no idea what shades they will be. What if it looks funky with two shades of brown??? I don’t know if anyone would even notice this other than me, but it would bug the CRAP out of me… ALL DAY.

So, what did I do? I kept looking…

Am I over-analyzing the brown-on-brown thing? Was it this hard for anyone else to find the right bridesmaid’s dress?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

I would give my left arm (really, left and right arms) to own these shoes in red (Thank you to the wonderful photographer, Clary Pfeiffer for the photo):

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I was on the hunt for the perfect red shoe to wear with my gown. I found a few contenders, but I wasn’t loving them:

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I just could not find anything that really fit what I was looking for. BUT, if I knew that if I could own those blue shoes in red, the search would be over.

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

If you weren’t already itching for spring to arrive, then this gorgeous green shoot from Ariella and Meg will probably do the trick. This understated palette of mostly green – with some accents of pale blue and cream – allows for a variety of mixed patterns, which work well together rather than overwhelm. I’m hoping that when it stops raining here, maybe it will look something like this outside my door…

The model wears a silk chiffon dress from J.Crew. Parasol from Cultural Intrigue.

The bouquet includes annabelle hydrangea, cup-and-saucer vine, ferns and hydrangea foliage.

Cocktail umbrellas and manila tags make for sweet – and very easy – seating cards.

Green bittersweet berries adorn the bistro chairs.

The centerpiece includes annabelle hydrangea, cup-and-saucer vine, clematis tangutica, green bittersweet, nicotiana, ferns, jasmine and quince. Ariella wrapped mint colored ribbon around the glass vase.

So there you are, a touch of spring for your dreary winter day (and if you’re not experiencing a dreary winter day right now, well, I’m jealous). We have one more beautiful shoot from Ariella Chezar and Meg Smith lined up for next week, and in case you’ve missed their previous visits here on Snippet & Ink, you can catch up on all of those lovely shoots here.

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.

When these stunning images from Lindsay Fleming hit our inbox today let’s say we were speechless. Art-deco-delicious, the perfect way to brighten a dreary January day.

The company is soon to be visiting London to extend their services to those outside of Scotland so get in touch if you’re interested in getting your hands on one of these beauties yourself.

Photo credit: Archibald Photography

This article was originally posted onWeddings by Zoe Lingard.

The “thing” is that I won’t have any hair trials or hair inspiration posts for you. Why is this? Well, it’s because I’m (gasp!) doing my own hair for the wedding. Mostly because I am just THAT psycho about my hair and don’t trust anyone else to do it properly! Fortunately for me, one of my bridesmaids was practically raised in her mother’s posh salon in Boston which specializes in curly hair. She’s got curly hair, she knows curly hair and she’s going to help me do my (sort-of, mostly, almost) curly hair for W-day. I’m confident in this decision and happy to save some cash-money what what by doing this.

I know I want to wear it mostly down, as curly as it can get, with a few front pieces pinned back (almost a half-up, half-down style). I also know that I want to wear a wreath of flowers. I don’t really know where this desire came from but it’s been stuck in my mind from day one, so I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m going to do.

It’s definitely gotta be on the small and delicate side to avoid looking like a flower girl circa 1985:

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Holy flower wreath, batgirl!

No, that’s not the look I am going for, mmmmmkay? But traversing the internets for inspiration proved a bit difficult…

Side note: When I first Google-image searched “hair wreath”, I received a wealth of pictures involving antique, framed decorative wreaths of actual human hair. EWWWWWW!!! I definitely had to add the word “wedding” to avoid looking at pictures of old hairs… that’s a tip, kids, write it down.

Anyways, surprisingly, small, delicate flower (not human) hair wreaths are either out of vogue right now or just simply hard to find pictures of because the majority were either huge (like, seriously big), fake (involving lots of polyester and fake pearls…non!) or for a flower girl. But I persevered through all the fun wedding blogs (Style Me Pretty, Once Wed, Snippet and Ink, etc., etc. You know them all, don’t deny it!) and eventually managed to find a few that were along the lines of what I was looking for…

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I like this one. A lot. I want the flowers to be smaller and a bit more organic but other than that, wouldn’t change a thing…

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I love this one too, only I want mine to wrap all the way around my head and possibly have a few ribbons hanging off the back. But I think the look is so beautiful (and remember, my hair will be down so the wreath will have to be a bit higher on my head…).

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This is the picture that stopped me in my tracks. Soft, simple and understated with a dash of hippie-chic thrown in for good measure. Isn’t her dress a dream? The flower wreath suits her perfectly. I love this picture because it’s exactly the look and theme I want to convey. Le gorgeous…

So that’s my hair-spiration for you, what do you think? Is the wreath of flowers hippie-overkill? Will the ribbons hanging down be too flower-girlish? Anyone else wearing a flower wreath?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

I didn’t feel much of a need to splurge on accessories—they were either going to be gifts from family members (a South Asian custom), or bought on the cheap.

I wasn’t sure what Papa Spaniel would come back home with from his trip to Pakistan (if anything), so I made sure to have some back-ups on hand. First were the earrings. I knew I wanted something big, gold, and kind of over the top, so I picked up these from Bluefly.

Ben-Amun chandelier earrings (source)

Cost to me: FREE, with a gift certificate I won to Bluefly from Weddingbee over the summer!

I didn’t want to wear a necklace with my strapless, straight-across dress, but I definitely wanted some bangles, and I happened to find these on sale at Gilt a few months ago.

Armita Singh bangles (source)

Cost to me: $36, and I’ve already got a ton of use out of them.

Since I’m not buying any other pieces, my total jewelry cost is $36. I wasn’t expecting to spend much, but that’s even better than I’d hoped.

I might as well tell you about my shoes, while I’m at it. I found these on sale at Nine West before I’d actually bought my dress, but I waited on them until after the purchase was made… and then they were no longer available in the store. But I knew I had to have them, because they were the most comfortable heels I’ve tried on in a long time! Luckily I could still find them on the website for a little while longer!

Expressor by Nine West (source)

Cost to me: approximately $40, and I will definitely wear these again after the wedding.

So if we’re counting, that means that all of my accessories (the ones above, plus my veil which is borrowed, my purse which was $78, and my hair comb which was $72) cost me a grand total of $226. I could definitely have skipped the clutch and spent less, but I think it wasn’t too bad… it leaves me with $750 for alterations, hair and makeup before I hit my budget. So unless I gain or lose a lot of weight quickly, I think I’m good!

Did you find any great deals on your accessories?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Eight of my favorite accessories pulled from 2009 inspiration boards…

Originally posted in Board #328: Gardenia and Coral, 1/6.

Originally posted in Board #354: White Picket Fence, 2/26.

Originally posted in Board #355: Apricot and Rose Gold, 3/9.

Originally posted in Board #368: A Desert Fête, 4/7.

Originally posted in Board #370: Vegas Baby!, 4/9.

Originally posted in Board #401: Lemon and Sugar, 7/7.

Originally posted in Board #420: Good Green Fun, 8/19.

Originally posted in Board #445: Baby It’s Cold Outside, 12/7.

Favorites 2008: Accessories
Favories 2007: Accessories

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.