HaselBride

Green Shoe Love

I loved my wedding shoes. {The Nine West Jojus in apple green.} It seems other brides-to-be do, too–I've had half a dozen inquires about where to find them or to see if I still the extras I purchased for sale. Sadly, I sold both pairs and plan to hang onto mine. However, I'm always on the lookout for beautiful green heels.

I found my pair on Overstock.com after seeing them in a real wedding featured on The Brides' Cafe. They were so comfortable–for a heel–and were a close–but inexpensive–match to the feathered Christian Louboutins {shown below} I lusted for featured on Style Me Pretty. I honestly didn't take them off until we left the reception and went back to our hotel room.

If you loved either of those green shoes, prepare to fall in love. J. Crew recently introduced the La Plume Satin Peep Toes from J. Crew. These are a fabulous take on the Louboutins, but without the ankle strap, which to me is a welcome change. Ankle straps can be so uncomfortable!

They are smidge pricey at $385, but still a steal compared to the $700+ price tag of the Louboutins. I love colored shoes with wedding gowns. It is a trend I hope becomes a classic. Are you wearing colored shoes? If so, in what shade?

Top image © Turtle Pond Photography. Please do not repost without providing credit and a link back to Turtle Pond and HaselBride. Thanks!

Additional images {from top to bottom} photographed by Cheri Pearl from Style Me Pretty {event design by Oh How Charming!} and J.Crew.

The Secret Is Out

From our wedding recaps, some of you might have noticed my dirty little secret: I had nine bridesmaids. When we first got engaged, I thought six sounded like a good number, but after doing the math (two sisters–Nick's and mine + two "baby" cousins + one sorority sister + oldest friend + bff since middle school + bff since high school + bff since spring break 03) the number ended up being nine.

Yes, nine. I avoided mentioning it here on the blog because, well, people judge and most of the time in real life the response was "NINE! NINE!? Geesh, that's a lot." Honestly I was sick of hearing about how that might be a few too many. Who decides these rules? Looking back I wish I'd have stood up for myself a bit more. If there is one thing I do not regret it is asking those nine amazing women to stand up with me while I spoke my vows to Nick. Was it a little hectic gathering up nine women and eight men? Well, yes, but it was worth every minute! I'm the kind of person who makes only a few good friends in her life, but hangs onto them for life, so it was fitting to have all of them participate in our big day. I still speak at least monthly to my best friend since the third grade.

Luckily, Nick's group of guy friends from Purdue/ROTC is huge and really close so he didn't have trouble rounding up guys to be on his side (although we ended up a few short a due to deployment and/or relocation). Since we weren't including any of the Air Force traditions (sword arch, etc.) it made sense to have them all be groomsmen and not leave any of the guys out. The groomsmen doubled as ushers on the day of.

The point of this post is to say: have as big or as small of a wedding party as you want. Your wedding is a reflection of you and your partner, so if having a huge group of friends surrounding is your couple style go for it. If you are more of the intimate type, having one person for each might work.

How many bridesmaids or groomsmen (or bridesmen/groomswomen) did or do you have?

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Oh, hi, yes, I am back! Trying to post every day in November so I will actually finish up our wedding recaps before our first anniversary. The clock is ticking!

Our Fabulous Winter Wedding: Primping and Prepping

Following the rehearsal dinner, I rode back home with my mom, step-dad, dad and best friend/bridesmaid T. I stayed at my parent's home–the same one I grew up in. My mom, sister and I stayed up chit-chatting and double-checking the placecards. Nick and I had agreed to exchange cards on the day of the wedding and I set out to write his letter that night and copied it into a nice card the morning of.

My mom and I woke up around 6 a.m. to shower and headed to my Aunt B's house across town to get ready. She volunteered to make myself, my mom and my bridesmaids a light breakfast and let us use her spacious, gorgeous home as the backdrop for my hair and make-up. It was perfect and I got to share the morning with one of my favorite aunts {and surrogate grandmother}! One of our biggest splurges was hiring my long-time hairstylist {and friend} Courtney from Reeda Todd to drive down from Indianapolis to do my hair and make-up. My hair has always been my thing, and I knew I couldn't trust just anyone to do it for my wedding day. It was pricey, but worth every penny.

When I arrived at my aunt's, Courtney had already arranged all of her tools and make-up. She got right to work blowing my hair out and curling it {Courtney and I both despise the feeling of hair that hasn't been washed, so she used a lot of product to make it hold}. In June at my hair and make-up trial, I planned to wear my hair half up, but in the last few months realized I wanted to wear my hair completely down.

I forgot to wear a button down shirt for easy removal. Since I have 10,000 black t-shirts, Courtney just put a slit in this one so I could just rip it off when we got to the church to get dressed. Of course, in my rush to get dressed I totally forgot and pulled it over my head anyhow.

I love the photo below of my mom and aunt observing my make-up being applied. They insisted that there be no photographs of them, but I am so glad Amanda from Turtle Pond caught this one.

I had decided from the beginning to let my bridesmaids decide how involved they wanted to be in our wedding. The ladies live all over the country, but half of them grew up in my hometown. Some of the girls had their hair done, some didn't and all of them did their own make-up. Because of time and budget constraints, Courtney couldn't do everyone's hair and make-up. All of the bridesmaids were invited to hang out with me while I got ready at my aunt's, but most of them chose to get ready at their parents' homes or hotel rooms and meet up with me at the church to get dressed. Bridesmaids T & M hung out with me that morning which was wonderful, and bridesmaids/cousins B & K came after their hair appointments to visit with me and do their make-up.

While Courtney fixed my mom's hair and make-up {no photos of that, mother's orders!}, I transferred Nick's letter into the nice card.

Courtney put the finishing touches on my hair while bridesmaids T and M watched; and we prepared to head over to the church.

I have no idea what I'm cracking up about, but I love this photo. I miss Courtney! She is an amazing hairstylist!

I organized and reorganized my bag to be sure I had what I needed at the hotel for the next morning separate from what I needed at the church that morning. Of course, things still managed to get misplaced and I never located my purse {with lip gloss and camera} that night. After Nick and I left the reception to go up to our hotel room, my poor step-dad had to bring me my overnight bag so I could change. I also totally forgot to have Nate and Amanda photograph my something old, borrowed, blue and new AND our wedding invitations!

I was texting up a storm that morning with my other bridesmaids checking on where they were and how things were coming along. I was also texting up a storm with my lovely day of coordinator Stephanie.

 

Around the time we were getting ready to leave, my {boy} cousin C came by to pick up our "escort cards" (luggage tags) to deliver them to Stephanie at the hotel. After everyone was hair and make-up ready, we headed to the church to get dressed..

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LOOKING BACK

• I am so glad I splurged on hair and make-up with someone I trusted. My hair looked exactly as I had envisioned and my make-up looked incredible and was perfect in photographs.

• I am happy I let my bridesmaids decide if they want to be there for my hair and make-up on the morning of. I really took the attitude that they could be as involved as they want and it worked out great. No feelings were hurt.

• I wouldn't have stayed up so late the night before the wedding. Waking up at 6 a.m. was rough! I was exhausted. I am telling you if you do one thing for yourself – get plenty of sleep starting a few days before your wedding!

• I will say it again and again, but my cousins are like my brothers and sisters and were a HUGE help. Of course, Stephanie was the glue that held everything all together. She and I spoke just a few times prior to our wedding, but she was a godsend and to top it off – she is hilarious!

Hasel at EAD Living

Just a quick break from the wedding recaps (I'm aiming for two to three a week, by the way) to let you know that I am the newest blogger over at EAD Living!

Ami, the editor and publisher of Elizabeth Anne Designs, invited me to join the team of bloggers writing about life, travel, cooking, crafting, etc. at the suggestion of Erin from Blue-Eyed Bride. I am so excited to be able to share some of my experiences as a newlywed without the pressure of daily posts, creating a new blog, etc. Thanks, Ami, for asking me!

After the wedding recaps are complete, I hope to transition HaselBride into a source for fellow winter brides and eventually start my own blog where I can share more about my newlywed life, being a military spouse,  working in graphic design, etc. I am thrilled to have that outlet at EAD Living: head on over and check out my first post.

Our Fabulous Winter Wedding: Rehearsal Dinner

After the rehearsal, we were off to the dinner hosted by Nick's parents and step-parents. Just an FYI, most of the photos from the rehearsal dinner are posed, family ones, but I wanted to include them for my own memory.

Once everyone settled into their seats, Nick's mother welcomed everyone and led the group in prayer. We went table by table to eat, Nick and I leading at his mother's insistence. I was starving after the day's whirlwind of activities, but I was also nervous so I barely ate anything on my plate. After dinner wrapped up, Nick and I introduced the members of our wedding party. I could barely hold back tears introducing my bridesmaids, my absolutely nearest and dearest gal pals some of whom I hadn't seen for months.

All of the guests were invited to say a few words about Nick and myself or both of us since only the best man and matron of honor would be speaking at the reception.

Nick's dad took the time to make a few funny, and heartfelt remarks. Nick's sister had a speech prepared and used it as an opportunity to tease me about an inside joke that happened just a few months prior. My step-sister stood up to say a few things about Nick and me, including that she was so glad I had found someone who could put up with me. I wish I could remember more of what she said, but it was all hearfelt and in good fun. I do remember that she told Nick he could start paying her child support for "my kids." Everyone laughed because they all know I refer to my niece and nephews as my babies, confusing people who don't know me well!

Shortly after everyone was done speaking, Nick's mom and sister surprised us with a little game. I was to say the least, a bit shocked, but played along. The next thing I know, Nick and I are back to back holding one of our shoes in one hand and one of each others' shoes in the other hand. The questions were easy and we had pretty much the same answers down to both of us raising both shoes for "Who cooks dinner?" (I prep and cook the sides, etc. He runs the grills most nights.) The only one we disagreed on was  "Who is the better dancer?" Which, duh, is me, but of course he didn't agree!

After the game was over, we took some group photos and pretty soon it was getting late so things broke up. Before everyone headed out, Nick and I handed out our gifts to our wedding party. {Detailed post coming on this later.} I had really wanted Nick and I to exchange our gifts to each other that night, but it was already midnight and I had to go home to wrap up a few things and head to bed for my six a.m. wake up call!

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LOOKING BACK

• I wish Nick and I would have taken the time to write up a little speech thanking all of our friends and family, especially our parents for being there for us for not only our entire lives, but throughout the crazy wedding planning [and pilot training] experience. We thanked people, but I wish we'd have thanked them a bit more formally.

• I should have discussed a small timeline of events for the evening with our in-laws to include handing out gifts, etc. The gifts were handed out hurriedly as different groups of bridesmaids headed out. There were so many bridesmaids that by the time I had given my sister her tote bag she'd seen all the goodies eight other times. Planning a time into the "schedule to hand them out all at once would have been better.

• Because the rehearsal ran late, the dinner ran late, and therefore I was up way too late. If you are having a Catholic ceremony with a mass and have a large bridal party and/or the bridal party is inexperienced with weddings, specifically Catholic ones, plan for your rehearsal to last at least an hour. Ours began at 5:30 and lasted until 7. We had anticipated it would last an hour. By the time we reached dinner it was almost 8 p.m.

• I really, really, really wanted a moment alone with Nick in his hotel room after the rehearsal dinner to exchange gifts and be excited about the next day. However, I didn't communicate this to anyone and because of time constraints and the late evening, it didn't happen.

One Kings Lane: Graphic Image Sale

In the market for a beautiful, class leatherbound guest book, album or journal? If so, check out the sale on the classic Graphic Image products today at One Kings Lane, the members-only home decor sales site. Not a member? Shoot me an email at haselbride at gmail dot com and I will send you an invite. Hurry, the sale doesn't last forever. It ends on July 11 at 11 am EDT and of course, some items are already sold out!

 

I'm thinking about picking up some of these fantastic bright gold luggage tags. These (in any of the colors) make a great wedding party gift for a bridal party that travels frequently. Brightly colored luggage tags make it a lot easier to spot your luggage on the carousel. As all of our bridal party is on the go and travel was the theme of our wedding, I was delighted to find bright green leather luggage tags before Christmas at Crate and Barrel to include as part of their gifts.

Photos © One Kings Lane and Graphic Image.

Our Fabulous Winter Wedding: Day Before and Rehearsal

I am finally read to begin our winter wedding recaps. I have been away from the blog so long and I've really missed it! I thought I would be back much sooner, but I've been working really hard at getting our house put together and working full-time from home. Shortly after the wedding, my part-time freelance gig opened up to a full-time one and I've been trying to learn how to balance work and play again! I'm finally getting caught up from the move and living in a hotel {which I do not recommend}.

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The day of the rehearsal, I woke up early to head into the salon with my mom to mani-pedis. The weather in the days prior had been nasty: freezing rain, etc. It was a muddy, mucky mess outside, and I totally spaced and wore flats instead of flip-flops. So we waited around the salon for my toes to dry a bit longer and headed off.

My mom and I ran some last minute errands. I had totally forgotten the special undergarment I was planning to wear. The JCPenney in my hometown was lacking in that department, so we made a trip to WalMart and I found the exact one I'd left at my house in Mississippi {and paid nearly double for at a department store}. Then we headed back home to finish up two projects and get all of the out of town bags loaded into my cousin's SUV to take to the hotel. My cousin and his eight-months pregnant wife were instrumental in getting stuff to and from places. They were so much help over the weekend it was wonderful! I am incredibly lucky to have fabulous cousins who are just like siblings.

Most of my bridesmaids were arriving in town by now. One of them, T came out to my parents' house to help me finish up a very last minute guestbook. It had dawned on me the week before that I really really wanted a Polaroid guestbook {since Polaroid was on its deathbed at the time}, so T worked to put photo corners on the pages and make up some directions for a sign to make it easier for people to figure it out. {I promise to post photos and how-tos eventually.}

Before I knew it, it was time to shower and meet everyone at the church. I rushed around getting dressed and fixing my hair while my sister and her kids got ready downstairs. My mom and I drove separately and my step-dad headed into town to pick up my dad. At the last minute, I went upstairs to the bathroom to retrieve something I'd forgotten under the sink. I was in a hurry because we were running a bit late. As I closed the cabinet door it slipped out of my hand and smashed my finger.

{Skip this if you're squeamish.} The door cut a huge chunk of skin off my pointer finger on my left hand. I was flipping out, blood was gushing everywhere and for some reason my parents were completely out of bandaids. My sister, ever the mother, dug around and found a bandaid somewhere in a bag. The cut was small, but it was really throbbing. I was still really upset and convinced that this one little cut was going to ruin all of the wedding photos. Haha. Looking back, there aren't even any close ups of our hands! I didn't wear a bandaid during the ceremony, just at the reception, and there is only one photo that even shows it.

We arrived at the church and said hello to all of our family and friends. I hadn't seen bridesmaids S and C in over a year and S was pregnant again! I was so excited to see our friends. Courtesy of the Air Force, only one groomsman was at the rehearsal, the rest were due in late that night or early the morning of the wedding. Once everyone arrived, we all gathered around and Father ran through the ceremony, which took longer than we'd planned. Catholic masses are notoriously long, and the rehearsal itself ended up taking longer than the actual ceremony.

Bridesmaid T, it turns out, had only come to my house that afternoon under the guise of helping me–she really was there to pick up the bag of bows leftover from my showers from my mom and sister. Upon arrival at the rehearsal, she broke out a gorgeous ribbon bouquet. Dare I say, it looks almost as good as my real bouquet! I'll make T show us how she crafted it some day.

My nephew Dawson and niece Mady were really excited about their job.

I started the ugly cry just practicing the walk down the aisle with my dad and step-dad. After this first practice, it was suggested that I only link arms with my dad {on the left} and let my step-dad rest his hand on my other elbow.

We ran through the ceremony once, the processional and recessional a few times and then headed to dinner forty minutes away at the hotel. After much discussion, we decided to keep things simple and have the rehearsal dinner in the smaller side of the same hotel ballroom the reception would be in the next night. Most of our wedding party was coming from out of town, and it just worked well this way. After the rehearsal, I rode with my mom, step-dad, dad and T to the dinner.

Up next...the rehearsal dinner and a small surprise!

All photos on this post are non-pro photos, courtesy of my aunt. Photos © HaselBride.

Lovely Pleated Dresses

If I only had our wedding day to do over again. I found two lovely dresses today that just might have been the ones had I discovered them a year ago. The first, the Cachet Twist Front Chiffon Gown with Beaded Cap Sleeves is from Nordstrom and an absolute bargain in champagne for only $198.

This pale gown might not be the ideal color for all, but I personally love the unexpected hue. The dress is an obvious take on the Reem Acra worn by Olivia Wilde at the Emmys I posted about in 2008 here. Had I seen this while I was still planning, I might have jumped on it as a reception dress. How perfect would it be for dancing the night away? I wish I had an appropriate event in the near future, I would scoop it right up.

The second dress is an never worn, sample gown being sold by a Weddingbee reader {on the left below} via the classifieds. The Enzoani Cayla is absolutely beautiful! I know I've seen the photographs of the real bride featured wearing this somewhere, but it really caught my eye without the straps. This gown is gorgeous, almost a dressier version of the $198 version at Nordstrom.

Both of these gowns are gorgeous, and very much on trend. I love the pleated bodices and beading detail. What style of gown are you interested in? What trends are your favorite?

Top photos © Nordstrom via Olivet, bottom photos © respective photographers via Weddingbee.

Viva Las Vegas, continued

We have arrived! Nick and I made it safely after a three-day cross country drive. {Yes! Three! Ah! It. Was. So. Long.} We're currently shacked up at a hotel and up until a week ago or so, were house-hunting daily. Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know most of this: we are thisclose to being homeowners. Something I thought we wouldn't do for a long long time because of Nick's commitment to the Air Force. I will keep you all updated on our house buying journey. I am so ready to be living in a house, not a hotel.

The trip was insane. I personally love driving long-distances, but after the journey from Mississippi to Nevada, I've had my fill. The first day {February 12} we drove from Mississippi through Arkansas to Oklahoma. One of the couples we've know since college, is now living in Oklahoma City, so we stopped there to stay the night. The next morning {February 13} we met them for an early lunch at Panera. Then we headed off and drove through Texas into New Mexico, where our other friends from college have been living since after their wedding last year. Then on Saturday, aka Valentine's Day, we headed off through Arizona, which was by far the most exhausting day. The drive absolutely exhausted me, the mountains were beautiful, but oh the curves and the inclines. I was a ball of nerves by the time we arrived in Las Vegas late that night. Long story short, there was some confusion about our accommodations that night and the city was packed with people in for the holiday weekend AND Valentine's, so we ended up staying at not-so-fab motel and moving into a nicer hotel the next day.

That day, our first in Las Vegas, we met up with Nate from Turtle Pond Photography to pick up our dvd of hi-res images and proof book. He was here for the event of the year it seems: WPPI. Every one and their sister/brother was here, twittering away about my new city, including That Wife and some of the ladies from Southern Weddings Magazine. I would have loved to have bumped into them, but Nick and I were only on the "strip" for a few hours Sunday so I could take a peek around. {I had never actually been to Vegas before we moved here.}

I'm hoping to start recaps soon, but I'm honestly not sure where to begin! I feel like I have a whole lot more to share with you, but at the same time I am quickly moving on from our wedding and onto setting up our home. I still want to blog about weddings, but I am a little bit over ours. :)

What are your suggestions for handling recaps? How do you like recaps? What else would you like to know about our wedding? I am definitely looking forward to starting a second lifestyle {design, home, fashion, etc.} blog. As far as lifestyle/home blogs go, do you prefer those with one voice or two {ala the SCOOP}?

{Also, I owe a few readers emails. I promise to get to those soon.}

Viva Las Vegas

First off, I apologize for not posting lately. I am definitely in that post-wedding slump exacerbated by an impending cross-country move and Nick's month-long TDY (temporary duty assignment). Oh, how I love the Air Force. What's with the cross-country move you ask? You might have caught wind of it before now, as I mentioned it in passing a handful of times, but here's the official announcement: we're moving to Las Vegas next week.

Yep, Sin City is our new home. It was an unwelcome shock at first because this particular plane and assignment had not really been on our radar, but as we began to examine the pros, oh how they outweigh the cons! Nevada will probably be our homebase for the next three and a half years or so, and then hopefully Nick will officially enter the fighter world. I am delighted we will be stationed at another warm weather location and thrilled that the location is an actual city! So many Air Force bases are located in the middle of nowhere or in not so big towns. I am absolutely thrilled to be living in a place that has almost anything I can think of and flights to and from my home state are not through the roof.

As excited as I am for the five Targets, it is bittersweet to me to leave our wonderful home here. Although it was a rental, it was our first house together and is the style I would eventually like to own. We have built-in bookcases, white trim, etc. I'm sure we'll find another great home in Las Vegas, but I'm going to miss the place where Nick proposed, where we hosted our first party together, where we returned after our honeymoon, etc. etc. We have so many memories in these walls.

Anyhow, so what does this mean for the blog? I had hoped to have some recaps or posts up and scheduled before we begin our three-day road trip next week, but I've been working 12 hour days catching up on work and then at night I prepare our house for the move. I'm still hopeful I'll be able to get a few posts finished up and posted in my absence, but if I don't please peruse the archives and fill me in on what else you'd like to see on HaselBride. Advice? More real weddings? DIY projects from my wedding? What do you want to see?

After the recaps, I'm planning to keep HaselBride up and running as a resource for fellow winter brides as long as I remain interested in weddings {which will probably be a long time}, but I'm thinking about starting up a lifestyle {design, fashion, home, food} blog to share my adventures outside of the wedding. I mentioned something to one of my best friends/bridesmaid about blogging together, but we haven't yet decided what we want to do. What would you like to see as the next installment of Hasel?

As usual, follow along with my adventures in the sidebar or directly on Twitter.

Images © The Knot.