Dressing the maids

So, I had to introduce the maids because we are going to talk FASHION.

Next week, I will be going with two of my lovely maids, Colby and Rachel, plus the moms to look at some dresses for them. Thus, I have to get a more concrete idea of what I would like them to wear. And Josh, no, you will not be wearing a dress.

Since our wedding isn’t going to be super formal (cocktail attire) I would like the ladies to have knee length dresses. I honestly don’t want them to look stupid although it is tempting to make them wear something like this:

Ha! I have looked through 1,000 bridesmaid dress pics. And, it seems we could go a few different ways. First, I could pick one dress and make all of them wear it because I am a bridezilla.;;">

After Six, From Dessy.com

But, that seems unappealing because all my ladies are different. I love them for their differences so why not play that up? They could all wear a similar dress in the same color and fabric. I would then let them pick the style and whatever shoes and jewelry they wanted.

Alfred Sung, all from Dessy.com

Or, I could give them some rules and then send them out to pick out their own dress so it would hopefully end up something like this:

From greenweddingshoes.com

I like, but I have heard from other brides that their bridesmaids hated this third option. It seemed that it puts a lot of pressure on the girls to go hunting for a dress that fit the style and color scheme of the wedding… and who has the time to do that when it isn’t your own wedding. So, I am leaning toward option 2. I would like it if the dresses were gray/pewter so that their purple flowers would pop against their dresses. But I am open to purple dresses, too. We’ll see what happens!

What do you think I should do? What did you do for your wedding?

Representin' the bride, yo.

I would like to introduce you to my maids plus an usher!

Colby and I have been friends since high school when we were in color guard together. We happened to apply to the same college, Albion College, so I approached her one day and asked if she would like to room together. Ever since, she has been one of my best buds. Most of the summer before starting college I was at her house or we were going on 3am Meijer runs shopping for nothing in particular. She has always been someone I can lean on. She is the Yin to my Yang. I love how spontaneous she is… whether it was rearranging out dorm furniture in the middle of the night or playing pranks on our neighbors. She picked me up from a lot of low times and we have shared some of the happiest times in my life. It only made sense to ask her to be my maid of honor!

Josh will also be representin' that day! Yes, he’s male. Josh and I have been friends since middle school. He knows more about me than anyone because we have been through so much together. I know it is a bit unconventional to have a male stand up on the bride’s side, but it wouldn’t be the same without him. He can always make me laugh and he is the most loyal person I know. If I needed him, he would fly across the world just because I asked. No joke. It mattered to me the most what Josh thought of Wes when Wes and I first started dating because I value Josh’s opinion so much.

My big sister, Nicole, is also one of my maids. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that she agreed to be in my bridal party. We didn’t always get along, but I love her so much. As sisters sometimes do, we tease each other…but I will tell you what, she will never let anyone else say anything bad about me. I looked up to her quite a bit growing up. She is incredibly beautiful and creative and I am lucky that I get to bug her to help out with some of my wedding crafts. Seriously, you give her some yarn, a stick and some glue and she can work wonders!

Lisa is a friend from college. She has graciously agreed to be a maid even though she is super busy in med school and taking care of her baby, Lucy. Isn’t Lucy freakin’ cute? Lisa and I lived together most of college as well and are in the same sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. Her nurturing personality meant that she always was the one to take care of me when I was sick in college! She is a true friend. She is so good about keeping in touch with me and all her other friends and I admire that about her. Lisa always gives good advice. Having already planned her own wedding and married for a few years, I count on her for lots of planning and newlywed relationship tips.

Rachel... I love this girl so freakin’ much! Rachel and I also lived together for most of college and are sorority sisters. Rachel is always fun to be around. She will definitely be one of the people having a ball at my wedding. In college, when life got a bit too dramatic, I went to her for a no-fluff opinion. She was always there for me when things were tough and I know that 30 years from now she will still be there for me. Side note: She also has impeccable taste. In college, I often went into her closet for clothes and shoes! So, I know she won’t let me make the female bridesmaids look stupid. J We were in the same pledge class in our sorority so I feel like I share a special bond with her. She has such a big heart and I am so lucky have her as a friend.

Last but not least, is my baby brother, Andrew/Andy. He will be an usher on my wedding day. I am pretty sure that anything wedding related very much bores my brother, but he is such a softy deep down that he agreed to be in my wedding. He is by far the funniest person I know. I think he developed his sense of humor to balance out how crazy his sisters were/are. I know I annoyed him a lot while we were growing up but I am very proud to have such a down-to-earth and caring brother. He sat through every single one of my dance recitals with minimal complaint. He was even my “date” to one of my sorority parties when a stupid guy backed out of going with me. Wes and my brother get along so well it is scary…mostly because they both know every quote in the show Family Guy. Ladies, he is single and you would be lucky to date such a nice guy!

These are a few of the people who helped make me the person I am today. I guess this means I will have to introduce the groomsmen and the two other ushers soon!

A shoe obsession.

I have a bad shoe addiction. I could spend hours looking at shoes. Can anyone relate? So, I was super excited to buy wedding shoes. After my wedding dress came in, all I could think was that I needed to buy shoes so we could get this baby hemmed! I found a great deal on some bright purple beauties and bought them immediately.

6pm.com

Cute, right? They fit the 3 inch heel limit that my mom and maid of honor, Colby, suggested for me when I bought my dress. They are PURPLE. But when I got them, they looked less than awesome. A little cheap.

Buying these shoes itched my wedding shoe scratch for about a month… then I was back to looking at more shoes. I was reading other brides buying super stylish fancy shoes. I was sooo jealous that they were using their wedding as an opportunity to get those dream shoes that they would never normally buy because they are expensive. Then, I came across these babies:

Shoes.com

In 4 inch glory, they encompass everything sexy and romantic. *Swoon*

I searched the internet for a week to find a way to bring down the price. One sale, one coupon and a free shipping promo code later, these pretty ladies were on their way to my front door.

The soles are made out of real leather so the longer you wear them, the better they feel. And, I am not lying to you in order to justify this purchase! I wore them for 5 hours cleaning my house one day just to prove to myself that I would wear these heels for the majority of the wedding day.

I feel that I won’t change my mind about these shoes. But, that doesn’t mean I won't look at investing in a late night wedding party shoe with a shorter heel.

Zappos.com

Or a pretty wedding shower flat.

Zappos.com

I know Wes is rolling his eye about this. But, I would like to say….how Wes feels about buying fish and corals for his fish tank is how I feel about shoes. It is a good thing that even though we share finances that we have made sure each person can still indulge in their personal interests once in awhile.

His fish tank is a nice touch in the living room, though!