Veils by Occansey Designs

With the recommendations from a post a bit back for ways to get both my schoolwork and wedding stuff done, I took up the main suggestion to delegate.

First thing to delegate- my veil. I'd originally not wanted a veil, and then thought about a long veil, and then a shorter veil, then a longer veil, then a really short veil. Obviously, this indecisiveness needed to stop. I'd planned to make my own veil (why pay $200 for a veil when Joann Fabrics sells tulle for $1.99/yard?), but decided to scrap that.

After a quick google search, I came across Occansey Designs. Basically, they make veils completely custom- length, width, embellishments- everything. And after a quick price comparison of other online veil shops, I noticed that their prices are extremely competitive.

So what did I do? I thought about the types of veils I'd tried on that I liked.


"angel" cut veils

"cascading" cut veils

And of course, I thought about the length of the veil. At my last dress fitting, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really liked short veils. So I went ahead and ordered my short, angel cut veil.

It has arrived, and is absolutely perfect. (No pictures, since Calvin reads the blog.)

Where did you get your veil?

DIY gone wrong

It turns out that no matter how careful you are, there are some things that just don't turn out as you imagined. Like my headpiece.


I had been planning to cover it with silk to match my dress, and had thought that I would pleat it, so it would look like the waistband.

Now, I'm not the world's best seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm pretty good at figuring out how to do what I want. I got to work, measuring, cutting, pleating, and then came time to pin the fabric to the cap to make sure I was positioning it properly. I then tried it on, and it ended up looking like the illegitimate child of the two caps below:

banded nurse cap

round eastern covering

Whoops. Not exactly the look I was going for. After talking with my mom, I decided to scrap the headpiece altogether, and figure out something else for my head.

What DIY projects have gone wrong for you?

To have and to hold...

my lipgloss, cell phone and other important necessities for the wedding day.

I had, for the longest time, been lusting over a red clutch bag to use on our wedding day. Not just any red bag, no, this one only existed in my head. Sleek red gathered silk, it was absolutely gorgeous.

And then I saw it. Not just any bag, but the bag.

Image from Macy's.

No, I did not decide to trade in silk for snakeskin, as the above bag is the closest picture of my bag online that I could find. The design and style is identical, the only difference is the fabric is a deep crimson silk.

Receiving the bag itself was quite an endeavor; I saw it on clearance at my local Macy's, and had them hold it for me overnight. As luck would have it, I didn't have a chance to get back there to pick it up. Unbeknown to me at the time, my mom went back to the store to get it. But they didn't have it. Calvin and my mom spent the next 2 months or so trying to track down this bag, and Calvin managed to do it, just in time to give it to me as a Christmas present.

What are you using to hold your small necessities on your wedding day?

With a little help from my friend

I was a little nervous last week as my final dress fitting was quickly approaching, and while I love my dress, at the previous fitting in March, it had been snug. (Snug enough that I decided to have the seams let out just a little bit.)

So Friday morning, I actually went out and bought every pair of Spanx that might work under my dress at my favorite local department store. Power panties, Higher Power, Slim Cognito- I tried them all. And I also tried similar ones made by Wacoal and Bali. I'm talking about 9 or so pairs of these slimming sausage makers, coming in at the astounding price of nearly $500. Fear not, lest you think I'm spending almost as much on foundation garments as my dress- all are returnable with a receipt and the tags still on them.

I did a quick try on of all of the pairs just before leaving for my fitting, which led to the quick rejection of about 4 pairs, and one clear front-runner in the "slim my middle" contest.

At the salon, I tried on my dress, and it fit. Perfectly. Now, I'd like to attribute it to the fact that I've tried to watch what I eat, exercise a bit, and had the seams let out just a smidge, but that would be giving myself too much credit. No, the front-runner pulled through in an big way:

Spanx Hide and Sleek Strapless Full Slip

Slimming, smoothing, and actually pretty comfortable. With the added bonus that the slip design (as opposed to a bike short design) makes it fairly easy to utilize the facilities when nature calls.

What is your secret slimming undergarment?

more shoes!

Because I just can't get enough of them.

You may recall that I am wearing these Nine West Jojus shoes:

From Endless

The only problem with the shoes, really, is that I don't think that I can really spend a whole evening dancing in them. I mean, they are wonderful shoes- especially after putting in Foot Petals Killer Kushionz (found on clearance at Bath and Body Works, of all places) - but still- I've been concerned about my ability to actually dance in them.

So I decided to get a pair of ballroom dance shoes to wear to the reception. (We are, after all, taking ballroom dancing lessons, so I'll have plenty of time to break them in.) Check them out:

Jodi dance shoes in Bronze from USA Ballroom Dance Shoes

Not as utterly fabulous as the red shoes, but they are ridiculously comfortable. Like, almost rivaling my beloved Birkenstocks comfortable. Service from USA Dance Shoes was excellent, and when I asked about sizing, I was given a quick response (containing advice I should have heeded initially. Note to self: You have narrow feet. This means that you should get the narrow width from the beginning. That's a lot of the reason for going with USA Dance Shoes- because they actually carry narrow shoes.) I opted for bronze because I don't really have any shoes that are that color, and it's actually quite pretty. (And the choices for narrow were bronze leather, tan satin, and black leather.)

Are you switching shoes for the reception?

Dresses for the moms

Over the past couple of months, both my mom and Calvin's mom had looked for dresses, with no luck. During this time, probably every major department store in Cleveland was visited by one or both of them- but the selection of dresses was just awful. They wanted similar things- silk shantung or dupioni cocktail length dresses. My mom was looking for blue, and Calvin's mom was looking for green. Now, this doesn't seem like it should be a difficult thing to find, but it was proving extremely frustrating.

On a whim, I scoped out the bridesmaid and occasion dresses at Watters, with the thought that maybe they would be able to order dresses that would suit them- and both found dresses they liked.

Cue The Perfect Bride, a salon in Rocky River (a suburb of Cleveland). Tipped off on the Watters website that they carried most of the Watters line, I set out with Calvin's mom to scope it out and help her find a dress. And she did:

Watters style 9973; her dress will be a paler green (cilantro) than the midori green shown.

My mom went a couple of days later, and loved this dress:

Watters style 7321 in navy blue (as shown). It will be shortened to cocktail length.

Service at the salon was excellent (if I was still in the market for a dress, I would have tried some on!); the women helping both my mom and Calvin's mom were extremely friendly and helpful.

The one thing that I wish I'd known ahead of time is the amount of time it actually takes to get in theses dresses. (My bridesmaids are wearing dresses from J. Crew, so I had no experience actually ordering non-wedding dresses through a bridal salon.) Our wedding is now less than three months away, which is pushing it for the dresses to arrive on time. So those of you with moms who are still looking for dresses- if you go the "order a dress from a bridal salon" route, I'd order well in advance of 3 months.

What is your mom wearing to your wedding?

Veiled?

Dear readers,

I need your help.

I'm getting married in t-4 months, and I figured out this week that I haven't given any thought to my veil.

That's not entirely true. I've given a little thought, but not much.

Here's what I know:
I will be wearing a veil for the ceremony, but will not wear it for the reception.
It will be attached to something like this:

I hope my makeup doesn't look like this. Or my hair, for that matter.

Vintage wedding cap available for auction here.

Yes, I know that wedding caps are not at the height of fashion- and I must confess, originally I had not planned to wear a veil. But as my mom is showing me her wedding mementos, she pulls out her (ivory) veil, which is attached to a headpiece very similar to the one above.

It was my mother's. And my grandmother's. And my great-grandmother's.

I have to wear it.

My mom had replaced the lace to match her wedding dress, and I am free to do the same- I'm looking at covering with silk shantung, to match my dress.

My dress.

The question is, though, what to do with the veil part? It looks like I should replace it, since it is quite a bit more ivory than my dress is. I just have no idea how long it should be, or what type. I spent some time looking at Veilshop.com, and was thoroughly mystified by the sheer types of veils. Extra fullness? Cascade? Oval cut? Angel cut? I thought the only variables were length and fabric.

To make things even more challenging, the only picture of my dress on an actual bride that I've been able to dig up is found through Etsy seller beadifulthings (who has some really beautiful things in her shop!).


I'm not sure what length the veil is, but it is definitely on the longer side. The ceremony will be in a cathedral, so I could go for the cathedral length veil. I just don't have any real sense of what I want, or what would work with my dress.

What sort of veil are you wearing? What would you recommend for me?

"Red Carpet" inspiration

I don't know about you, but I really like awards shows. The glamour, the glitz, the cattiness- all of it. Especially since I'm still trying to figure out an updo for my hair at the wedding, and the red carpet seems to be one of the best sources of inspiration.

But the Golden Globes, sadly, were not to be. The Fug Girls, in this post, pretend that the show really did go on, and that Rachel Bilson wore this:

Now, wouldn't this make an absolutely fabulous wedding dress? I'm imagining something along the lines of a more casual, backyard affair. I have no idea who made her dress, but I did a little bit of digging and found some similar dresses:

Silk Charmeuse dress By Watters

Long-sleeved David Meister at Nordstrom's for $368

Calvin Klein at Nordstrom's for $178(!)

Have you found inspiration from your wedding by celebrities? (And anyone else bummed about the Golden Globes?)

shoes humor

Note: I've got a slightly sarcastic (and definitely quirky) sense of humor. This post is not intended to offend at all.

I'm amazed at the amount of things that I'm supposed to care about for the wedding. Food, makes sense to care about it. Entertainment and locale as well. Even the invitations to some extent.

The latest issue to surface: bridesmaid shoes. I just don't care about it. They're not my feet, they're not my shoes, and they'll only appear in a small number of pictures. So I sent an email to my (3) bridesmaids. My maid of honor thought it was hilarious, and I thought it was pretty funny too, so I thought I'd share it with all of you.

"I've now gotten questions from two of you regarding what shoes to wear for the wedding in May, and I thought it would be a good idea to make sure that everyone is on the same page. There's also some things towards the bottom that you should know; I know that I've mentioned some of it to some of you, but I don't remember who knows what.

So shoes.

Given that the dress is burgundy, hot fuschia shoes, like these,

(from here.)

are probably not a good idea. Holographic Doc Martens are also probably not a good idea. And I'm not really feeling the Chuck Taylors.

(image found here.)

Additionally, I hate to be a bitch, but Ugg boots are just not really appropriate when there isn't snow on the ground.

(image found here.)

If we were getting married outside in February, fine. As the wedding is in May, that pretty much rules them out.

That said, I'm thinking along the lines of something that meets this criteria:
1- some sort of dressier sandal/shoe. I don't care about color at all- black, silver, striped, leopard print- whatever color floats your boat, so long as it isn't hot pink patent leather. Heels or flats- your choice.
2- you should like them.
3- you should be able to wear them again for something else."

The email went on from there, but I've got a question for you. No, it's not what shoes recommendations you are giving to your attendants. It's better than that.

How are you keeping wedding planning humorous?

Fabulous Dresses

I want to share with you one of my favorite places to get dresses: Trashy Diva. Most of the dresses are silk, and are made in vintage styling and vintage inspired prints. The quality is excellent. Plus, it's based in New Orleans, which can still use any bit of help that it gets. But not to worry- if you aren't near NOLA, you can also order the dresses online. Some of my favorites:

Alexa Dress

Sweetheart Dress

1940s Dress- I tried on this one in the store, and it is amazing. If I'd had an excuse to by the dress at the time, I would have.

There are even some wedding dresses in the sale section (all are $200 or less!)

Amanda Dress

Obi 3 Dress

Where are some of your favorite places to get dresses?

The shoe search...

Is done!

Yes, after all of my trials and tribulations about shoes, it seems that my search is just about over. After my wonderful success at returning a whole bunch of shoes to Endless, I made a trip to Target to see about the Hollywould shoes. Actually, it was a trip to two different Target stores. One didn't have any of the Hollywould shoes, and the second store only carried the red color up to a size 9. I did manage to try on a size 9.5 and 10 in black, and determined that the 9.5 pinched a bit, and the 10 was a bit too big. And the bow on the back of the shoe did look a little cheap. And the red was a bit too bright. Basically, they were not the right shoes for me.

So, I went back to Endless and ordered the Nine West Jojus shoes. I thought about ordering both a 9.5 and a 10, but figured that it would be actually cheaper to order them separately, if the 10 didn't fit, since Endless is offering shipping for -$5. So I ordered the size 10, and they arrived. And are (almost) perfect, I think.


(No stockings this time, because I'm think I'm keeping these!)

The color is exactly what I have been envisioning, and while I was a bit wary of the heel height, I can actually walk around them just fine. The fabric in the front is extremely soft and doesn't pinch or rub at all. There is one problem which you can see from the pictures- the shoe doesn't fit very well in the heel. Now, it may not look like it, but my heel is actually all the way at the back of the shoe. (I really do have narrow feet. And just like my mom, ridiculously small ankles. Seriously. I have no need to worry about eventually getting the puffy, swollen ankles so many older women have to deal with. It's just not a possibility for me.) Since the shoe fits fine, length-wise- I'm not slipping out of the shoe, there's just some space there- I was thinking about getting something to better secure my heels/ankles.

Awhile back, a several readers suggested that I check out Foot Petals Heavenly Heelz. Now, I hate spending money on something that won't solve my problem, but do you think that this would work? Is there another product that works better?

And finally, how do you like my shoes? Fug or Fab?

The soul search continues...

I want to thank all of you who offered up opinions in my last shoe post. After much deliberation, and asking the opinions of my mom and Calvin's mom, I decided to return all of the shoes. The pair that most people liked (myself included), was the Charles David with a big bow on the front. Unfortunately for me, not only was the heel too high, but they were a half size too small. While the box said 10, the shoes said 9.5. I will say that endless has been an awesome- returns are free, I mailed the gigantic box of shoes on Saturday, and received an email today saying that my return has been processed.

So. I went back to scouring the internet, and came up with some more possibilities. First, Mrs. Bee alerted me to the fact that Holly Dunlap, the designer famous for her sexy Hollywould line of shoes, has just launched a line at Target. And that collection includes the following shoe:

Hollywould Peep Toe Pumps in Red. $30. Which looks pretty similar to these, right?

Luichiny Pretty, $72.95. Or compare the $30 Hollywould for Target shoes to the Hollywould Gertrud which sells for $395.

The other red shoe possibilities I found are:

Nine West Jojus, $78.95


rsvp Katelyn, $64.95


rsvp Nelly, $64.95

Kenneth Cole Reaction Get Rich, $82.95

I'd love to know which of the above shoes you like the best. :-)

(Also, as you may have noticed, most of them have a closed heel, which can be problematic for my narrow feet. So I'm still open for suggestions of gorgeous silk or satin red shoes that are $100 or less, with a heel that is 3.5" or less and are available in size 10.)

Attire for him

While we still haven't figured out out exactly what Calvin and the groomsmen will wear, Calvin knows that he will be looking ridiculously handsome in a tux. A classic tux, along the lines of this:

Picture found here.

Or, if you are thinking more along the lines of how it looks in a wedding, something like this:

No hint of prom in this picture.

Check out the pocket square!
Both pictures are by Jessica Claire, from MrsHoya's knot bio.

I don't know about you, but I love the look of a classic tux- and I'm really feeling the pocket square in place of a traditional boutonniere. A little internet digging came up with several good possibilities.


Custom pocket square from Beau Ties Ltd. at a pricey $28.


Silk pocket squares available in a whole rainbow of colors at a much easier to stomach $6.25.

Given that pocket squares really are just a square of fabric finished at the edges, it would be really easy to do is to make pocket squares myself.

Picture above and good directions are available here.

And, of course, if you are concerned about the pocket square remaining nicely folded in the pocket, you can always go this route:

Silk hanky card for all of the look with none of the hassle. ;-)

Are you doing anything to dress up the men's attire? Boutonnieres? Pocket squares? Please share what your plans are. :-)

You got me in trouble.

Yes, you, readers, I'm talking to you. Why on earth did you have to suggest to me so many fabulous red shoes?

And with all that talk of free shipping, before I could come to my senses, shoes from endless were on their way.

Uh-oh...

trouble..

has...

ARRIVED!
(l to r: Vaneli "Larinda", Unlisted "New Love", Exchange by Charles David "Camisole", Charles David "Baci", Chinese Laundry "Bowie")

Since it is too hard to tell what fancy shoes look like while wearing khakis, naturally, I had to put on a favorite little black dress to really get a sense of what the shoes really look like. Since the wedding really is an excuse to buy amazing red shoes, I have to be able to wear those shoes the next time a fancy occasion comes up.

Warning: Pictures of feet are below.

The first pair by Vaneli were a very bright red color. Overall they looked fine, but nothing to write home about, and I'm really going for fabulous.

Second pair by Unlisted was nice, but the positioning of the straps seemed to make my toes look really long. Comfortable enough, but missing a bit of pizazz.

Third pair but Exchange by Charles David were suggested to me by several people- and they are really pretty shoes. Excellent arch support. Sadly, though, at a heel height of 3.5", they were a bit too tall for me- and didn't have enough red to them.

Fourth pair by Charles David are arguably the most beautiful shoes I have ever worn. Ever. But they pinched my feet some, and at 3.5" high, were again too tall.

And the final pair, by Chinese Laundry. Of all of the shoes, these were absolutely the most comfortable. I liked the fact that the shoes really seemed to hold in my feet. (No duh, Meg. It's because they are more like regular shoes and not the sandals that you have been trying on.) And not to get all matchy matchy, but the color does happen to be the exact same shade as the bridesmaid dresses, only shinier. They are absolutely not as gorgeous as the Charles David shoes. But the more I walked around in them, the more I really liked them.

Only thing is, part of me is still not sure about the criss-crossing in the front. There is a (small) nagging part of me that things that the shoes are more fugly than fabulous.

So, your thoughts. Are the Chinese Laundry shoes fab or fug?