Putting on a white dress.

I LOVED everything about my wedding attire. That is the way it should be, right? I see women all over the internet second guessing everything… and I did that as well, so I have no right to stand on a soapbox. But, I am here to say: LADIES, no regrets! Make all your choices with that in mind! It makes getting dressed on your wedding day a lot more fun.

The final four

I thought before I share the pictures of me getting all dolled up, I would talk about some important accessories. There’s usually four essential additional items that most brides want… something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

My something old:

Flower or no flower?

I was really pleased with my DIY projects! I had one more DIY fail, though, after the mercury glass situation. That would be my hair flower…

I had seen all these breathtaking photos of brides where their hair is adorned with beautiful hair flowers. I ordered some chiffon and organza fabric forever ago and thought I would try my hand at making one. I used this DIY tutorial that seem super easy and figured that it would turn out simply amazing. Here’s the final project:

My flimsy flower.

Pretend diaminds are a girl's best friend.

Sometimes I make a big deal out of nothing. Unfortunately, my wedding jewelry turned into one of those things.

I guess the real problem is that I was very torn about what kind of bride I wanted to be. I didn’t want to be all glitz and glamour. I also didn’t want to be boring. A friend of ours who got married in New Orleans wore a beautiful purple necklace and it was a very fun and refreshing part of her wedding attire. The problem with not doing something classic is that you run the risk of looking back at your wedding photos and saying “What was I thinking!” I was nervous that I would regret my decision later... as we've discussed before, I am not very brave. I found something that I thought was a perfect balance of glamour and simplicity at Ann Taylor.

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It seemed too soon to buy it and I wanted to wait until I had a coupon or something. Then, out of nowhere, Ann Taylor pulled it from their stores and website. 

Cue the bridal mania.

I looked everywhere to find a replacement. I looked over hundreds of pieces of jewelry on the internet and went to Bloomingdales and Nordstrom countless times… I found one (just ONE!) bracelet and one pair of earrings that I thought I liked. It turned out that Wes didn’t like them together. I know it shouldn’t matter what he thinks, but it does. So, I returned a bracelet and kept these earrings.

I really wanted a specific kind of bracelet and in my head I could imagine what I thought it should look like. I found similar things, but nothing was quite right. That would be the only time that Etsy sellers have ever failed me. So, I decided to make it myself. I bought beads from China which took a month to get here. Then, I taught myself jewelry making. But, all the effort was worth it because it came out beautiful. See?

I used 8mm and 10mm beads on Eightjewelry's shop on Etsy. I purchased the jewlery tools from Artbeads.com. I bought silver wire (half hard, 22 gage) with a coupon at Michaels. And finally, I used this tutorial from Artbead.

THEN, the original jewelry I loved came back to Ann Taylor. I was pretty aggravated about it. I had to order the jewelry because I had a 20% coupon and more importantly, I would never be able to relax if I didn’t see them in person. I got them in the mail and… they weren’t what I expected. They were much more glitzy than the website lets on. I returned them and the good news is that it made me feel that much more confident about my DIY bracelet.

I also found another pair of earrings to wear during the ceremony because I want something simpler with my veil. My veil will come off during the reception and I will change into my party earrings.

So, here it is all together.

I don’t know why, but the things you least expect to drive you crazy during the wedding planning process always end up being the “thing”. I care too much – that’s my problem. But, I guess I wouldn’t be Megan if I wasn’t like that.

If you need me to make you some jewelry, let me know! Because I have some crafty wire curling skills now. J

Fighting traditions

When I was first beginning to image what I would look like on my wedding day, I was very sure that I was NOT going to wear a veil. Veils bothered me. First of all, I have a hard time rationalizing spending the money for a piece of fabric glued to a hair comb. Also, I don’t like the idea of being portrayed as innocent, which maybe stems from working in a career where women aren’t always taken as seriously if they come off as too naïve or girly. I also don’t like the idea of being offered to the groom which historically is what the whole veil/blusher thing represented. And if we are being honest, I like going against the grain sometimes. Not wearing a veil was a good way for me to be nontraditional.

Yet, I find myself with a veil to wear on my wedding day! And, you want to know why? (Say yes.) Well, because wedding dress consultants at those fancy salons are VERY good at their job. My dress ended up being the first dress I tried on. I loved it, but I obviously wanted to compare it to others. After about ten dresses, I came back to the first one and the lady helping us snuck off to go grab wedding accessories to “jack” me up as they say on “Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta”.

Anyone else seen every episode of this show?

 When she planted that veil on my head, I just felt so right. I loved everything about it. I was sold. Obviously, the consultants do that to because it makes you go ga-ga over your dress and buy it immediately. Well, it worked too well on me because I bought the dress and the same veil she put on me.

I have to admit, I laughed at myself a bit for getting so caught up in the moment that I bought the veil right then and there. I can’t really blame myself – veils can be super romantic…

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 After taking some time to think about why I ended up with a veil, though, it occurred to me that I am wearing it because it makes me feel bridal. Veils don’t represent what they used to. They are used because it is a piece of fashion that can help highlight the bride. That is truly the most important part of selecting your wearing gear – whether those pieces make you feel special. I think a bride should wear whatever she wants to ensure she feels right. Whether it is traditional or not.

The good news is that I have had no dress or veil regrets even though I bought my dress two years ago. I have my first dressing fitting in early April so hooray for that!