Wedding Wednesday. Getting Ready :: Part III - The Dress

Jack had no idea what to expect and I am so happy that I chose to keep my dress a secret. Although I wasn't raised in a house that preached tradition, I think it is little traditions like these that add to the specialness of the day.

It definitely helped that, rather than making my life easy and choosing a sure thing, I decided to have my dress - inspired by Vera wang's "Gabriella" - made by a local seamstress. This way even if Jack saw a photo of the inspiration [which he swears he didn't] he would still never truly know what the real thing looked like. The process itself was a tough one however, with the help of my sisters, my mom and myself the dress was finished in the nick of time and it was perfection. I honestly could not imagine a more beautiful gown (including the original dress!). It was the perfect balance of pouffy and poise, tradition and modern, fun and elegance.  

It was a relatively easy dress to get into, besides the unavoidable nakedness and need for others to help you into it - thank goodness for great friends and sisters. Since putting on the dress took under 15 minutes we spent most of our time between the stop-in at the house and the ceremony snacking and touching.

It's an odd thing not having bridesmaids. Technically it means nobody is required to do anything. Spending the morning before my wedding with my sisters and Jackie meant the world to me. The moments I got to share with them leading up to the ceremony are among my favorites of the day. 

*all photos by Chelle Wootten photography

Wedding Wednesday. Getting Ready :: Part II - Man Threads

I am a very lucky woman. There are many reasons I would state this however in this case I am referring to my stylish fella. He understands it. He doesn't always care about it, but he knows what he likes, why he likes it and can pull together a stylish ensemble without my help. 

Jack enlisted the help of a close friend, and together they tackled the daunting task of suit shopping. Obviously, I was pleased as pudding since that freed me up for completing more of my self-inflicted DIY tasks. Jack not only returned with a sharp Ted Baker suit, but he also managed to track down shoes to match, a tie clip, pocket squares and cuff links! 

Ted Baker kicks

I helped by finding a dress shirt that complimented the rest of his attire and convincing him to purchase an extra skinny tie. I say extra skinny since he already owned a couple American Apparel skinny ties but they just weren't quite right.
 

Jack and his sister got ready together on the big day and he even took the time to learn how to fold a pocket square properly. All the little details in all the right places. Lucky woman, I told you.

all photography by Chelle Wootten photography

Wedding Brunch Wear

We’ve made it! This is my last wedding-wear outfit! I actually have two casual go-tos that I relied on the ENTIRE month of August for my day-to-day but, by the end of it when I actually had time to snap the photos, both of them were a little worse for wear to be photographed. And now, now it’s too chilly to wear either. However, if an Indian summer hits I will throw them on – all clean and fresh – and snap away!

robbi & nikki dress | clutch c/o the birdcage | marc fisher gladiators [similar]

When . Sunday, August 19th [and multiple times since..]
What . post-wedding Brunch 
Weather . cloudy, sunny, raining, pouring, cloudy, sunny

This dress. Oh this dress. I first saw this dress during the first 10 minutes of that hour I had to shop for my perfect bacherlorette frock. I stopped into Foreign Affair on my way to the mall because of the GIANT 70% off signs – honestly, I should have known I was done for. I found the dress in my first 5 minutes in there and instantly fell in love. I should have put it down immediately since this was obviously not the dress for my bacherlorette party but I couldn’t. Instead, I tried it on and put it on hold. I decided that I could only get it if my party dress and it totalled the initial budget I had had for the party dress – kind of a funny guideline considering I really had NO money to spend on a party dress but I digress. The rest is history – I have both dresses, no regrets and a slightly bloated visa who is currently beginning a diet.

The day after the wedding my family hosted a little brunch for our families. We had amazing breads, meats and pastries, opened gifts and basically, had the opportunity to all get together one last time before ending the “wedding weekend”. It was nice, calm and made me want to do the whole thing over again! …seriously, can i?

Rehearsal Dinner Wear

Pink Martini dress | le Chateau wedges [similar] | vintage clutch c/o the Birdcage | necklace via Biscuit General Store [similar]

When . Friday, August 17th [...also, Saturday, August 25th]
What . Rehearsal Dinner / Pre-wedding BBQ [...and a friend's wedding]
Weather . Sunny, warm; gorgeous [...Sunny, warm; gorgeous]

Since the ceremony and reception of our wedding took place in my parents’ backyard the rehearsal dinner was less of a formal event and more of a post-decorating group BBQ. We spent the day decorating and throwing together the final details, had a run-through of the ceremony and then sat down for a well deserved meal. It was nice to get both our families and closest friends in one place to share a meal before the insanity struck. I think it was the only time that week, aside from the bachelorette party, that we fully relaxed and took a moment to breathe.

I’m sure the above seems a little dressy for a backyard BBQ but I assure you a) I was much sweatier b) had crazier eyes c) had messier hair and d) just really needed to put on a pretty dress after having spent the day/week makeup-less in a bikini top and shorts [I had tan lines to think about] stringing up lights and dealing with final details. So I threw this little ditty on and enjoyed a moment of feeling pulled-together.

On a side-note, in the crazyness of the pre-wedding activities, I have not had the opportunity to introduce you to my new blog sponsor, The Bird Cage. The Bird Cage, is amazing online store based in New Brunswick specializing in vintage finds like, my new clutch! I have been keeping my eye on the boutique over the past couple weeks and must admit I have a little crush. The stock changes frequently, the pieces are unique and the prices are completely reasonable. If you love vintage finds, definitely take a peek on the site – you will definitely fall in love!

Bachelorette-wear

lush dress | Steve Madden wedges | CheekyChops Butter London and Turquoise & Caicos polish  

When . Wednesday, August 15th 
What . My bachelorette party - I was lucky, it was fancy dress!
Weather . Gorgeous day and evening, warm night

Today we took a BIG step forward with our life here in Montreal. Today, we got out our internet installed. It's been pretty rough these past couple of days. Between cafe hoping and relying on my 3G, I've felt pretty hobo-esq. Yep, it's been completely mid-century in our neck of the woods but at least we're done with roughing it. Just in time too, running netflix on my iPhone has been killing my data plan. 

In the couple weeks leading up to the wedding, Jack and I were swamped - beyond belief. I couldn't even fit in an hour to shop for a bachelorette party dress. Honestly, I didn't think this was necessary until everyone started telling me about the new dresses they got for the big night and I got the bug. Luckily, on the day of my bachelorette, squeezed in the hour between Jack's haircut and my trial up-do, I got to shop. The minute I tried on this little ditty I knew I was done. It was flirty, fun, polka-dotted, on sale for $30 AND my hour was up - obviously it was fate. 

Since it's unfair to only capture my pre-party glory, below are a couple snap shots of the evening :)

Pinterest style jello shots + Party beginnings at the hotel + My speciality drink - the sparkling Sorren - at our first stop, a dessert bar! + friends
+ desserts + glasses + me after a tumble + snacks to prevent another tumble + great friends + something fishy[?] + my relentless sisters
= one. amazing. night.

Bridal Brunch Wear

Pink Martini dress | Matt&Nat clutch | le Chateau wedges

When . Sunday, August 12
What . My bridal shower! A lovely Sunday brunch-esq afternoon complete with games, finger foods [my favourite] and cake pops. Oh, and wonderful women who made me feel insanely loved.
Weather . Sunny, hot and sticky - perfect for curls... well, perfect for the beach but curls are a close second.

Hello all!!
Boy does it feel good to be back! I have missed everyone so much over these last few months of planning, and especially over the last couple weeks. I hope you all enjoyed the wonderful gals who guest posted for me and maybe even found a new daily read. Although I wasn't blogging during my wedding planning, post clean-up and pre-move packing - I did slip in a couple OOTD shots. Honestly though, how could I let the opportunity slip away with event after event giving me reason to dress up [something I've struggled with working from home these last couple months]. 

I got this dress back at the beginning of spring and it has been literally sitting in my closet waiting for my bridal shower! I know, right!? I don't know how I did it either. It did feel awesome to dress up in something I've never worn before that was perfect for the day so I suppose I'm not too sad about days missed.

Wedding Wear

Katrina Tuttle dress via Sweet Pea boutique [similar-ish] | nude pumps [similar] | belt [similar]
Matt & Nat purse as a clutch | mauve pashmina [similar]

When . Friday, July 27th
What . A friend's wedding reception
Weather . Ugh. Rain, mist, fog, humidity, breeze

Last Friday a couple friends of ours decided to get hitched and we decided to go watch. Even though my hair was taken care of [because of an AWESOME contest I won through Thumpers Salon] I had NO clue what to wear. The rain was on and off, the humidity high and my closet hasn't been updated since Spring. Luckily, my wonderful twitter & blog friend, Kristin came to the rescue and we decided on the dress above. I absolutely loved the entire outfit. If I could change something I would only only change my pumps to wedges [these nude wedges OR! these blush ones] but I don't have any and am on a shopping-ban until post-wedding so my pumps did just fine!

I must thank Nathan MacNeil at Thumpers Salon for my amazing tresses. He did such a fantastic job making my hair work with the insane weather and I absolutely LOVED the thick beachy waves!