HaselBride

{Help!} Black or ivory?

When I first started this blog, I posted my inspiration for our winter wedding and how I became a reluctant winter bride. There were a few specific things that really swayed me into thinking a winter wedding would be just as beautiful as any other season {an inspiration board from Style Me Pretty, a crystal tree from Enjoy: The Blog, and a gorgeous fur coat from Knottie TarHeels&Rebels}. It has come time to make some decisions regarding the coat.

When we first started looking at gowns, I was sold on the idea of wearing a vintage fur coat in a brown or sable color. My mom and aunt didn't hold back and neither did the sales girls saying that they didn't like the brown at all. The seamstress who is altering my wedding gown, also creates faux-fur coats and stoles. I tried on one of those and liked it. So I decided I would go with ivory.

That is until I saw this fabulous black faux-fur jacket on photographer Anne Ruthmann's blog.

AHH! This is pretty much the exact design I had in mind, but in black. And I LOVE IT in black. I think it would be the perfect tie-in to the bridesmaids dresses and tuxes. Plus, there would be a possibility I would wear it again. However, my mom still doesn't love it which has me second guessing myself. What do you think? Black or ivory?

 

Images in square {clockwise}: © Brides.com, Brides.com, The Knot, New York Magazine.
Bottom photos: © Anne Ruthmann Photography.

Oh J.Crew....continued

Loving this clutch from J.Crew. Wishing it came in an apple green to coordinate with my shoes, but either way I want something to keep my lipstick and gloss handy. This could be perfect. {The price maybe not so much...what else is new with J.Crew?}

Did you carry a purse on your wedding day? If so, what was it like?

Oh J.Crew....

My favorite store I can barely afford has done it again...this morning I stumbled upon the most gorgeous flower girl dress about two weeks too late. Oh well, it is out of my budget anyhow.

I can still admire it from afar. Fabulous, unique. Exactly what I was looking for. My favorite part is the layer or crinoline underneath the dress. It adds an extra something that just makes the dress pop.

If you're still on the lookout for unique flower girl attire, keep your eye on J.Crew. You never know when something will come up.

All images © J.Crew.

Emmy Red Carpet 2008: Wedding Inspired?

Looking through the InStyle and MSN Emmy red carpet photo galleries this morning, I noticed a striking trend. It was like a white out. So many actresses arrived on the red carpet donning gorgeous wedding-inspired dresses in the very bridal colors of white, ivory, champagne and gold. So refreshing! These gowns were a lovely break from previous years' very colorful palettes {although there were still some–Teri Hatcher and Mariska Hargitay wore yellow quite well}.

Evangeline Lilly from Lost looked absolutely fabulous {top, middle}. One of my favorites, although I might be biased because her show is awesome. Felicity Hoffman from Desperate Housewives rocked her short hair* and a glittery gown. {Click all photos to view them large.}

Already this morning, Erin from Blue-Eyed Bride and other bloggers posted about Olivia Wilde's Reem Acra gown {far left above, and also below}. I love love love this dress. It is so reminiscent of the Pronovias wedding dresses I adored and posted about here in March when I first started looking. This kind of Grecian tailoring was exactly what I wanted in a gown, but the cut didn't flatter my figure. Either way, I can just imagine graceful floating on the dance floor all night in a dress like this. The pleating! The ruching! The beaded sleeves! Ahhh, I could go on and on...

Some more bridal-inspired looks complete with handsome dates. I do love Mad Men's Don Draper aka actor Jon Hamm.

Some actresses embraced the white trend, but went short. I love a great cocktail dress. These would make fun second/reception dresses. You could definitely party all night long in these!

It is wonderful when designers find inspiration from the bridal world. I especially love it when brides {myself included} can find inspiration from fashion designers and celebrities! Now I'm wishing I would have actually watched the red carpet arrivals to see these dresses in action, but I was busy catching up on work. I won't make that mistake again, after all I do have TiVo!

Now I want to know, what was your favorite Emmys 2008 red carpet look? Would you wear any of these for your wedding? Feeling inspired by any of these looks?

*I'm ready to go back to my short hair and join other newlyweds in the traditional chopping of the hair right after the wedding.

All photos © respective photographers and MSN.

{Help!} Flower Girl Dress Dilemma

Dilemma is a bit strong, but I'm definitely in a bind. The time has come for me to chose a flower girl dress/outfit for my four-year-old niece. I've blogged about other flower girls dresses before: here and here. I have {kind of} given up on the fabulous tutu idea because I don't think an ivory tutu will look as great as the multi-colored ones floating around. {I'm scared to go with green because it might clash with the flowers and look a little too Tinkerbell.}

Left image © Forever Yours, right image © Watters.

I like the idea of the two dresses above; they seem slightly tutu inspired. The one on the left from Forever Yours {imagine it in ivory} seems a smidge dowdy. I'm not a huge fan of the long skirt and boring neckline. I particularly like the shorter one on the right from Watters' flower girl line WaWa, but maybe in ivory with a black or green ribbon. Or would the green work? I'm worried it might be too Eastery and not wintry enough. It will be COLD during December in Indiana.

Image © Forever Yours.

While at my first dress fitting last week, my mom and I leafed through a few of the catalogs of flower girls dresses available through the salon. The dress above was the only one that really leaped out at me. I love love love the bodice...BUT is it might be a little too miniature bride and I am not in love with the skirt. I would almost want it to be shortened and both layers the same length.

All images © J.Crew/crewcuts.

This last outfit is pretty traditional, but still very cute. The patent shoes, I'm guessing an ivory stocking. I would take any of the tops, but would love love the sequin one {but it is pretty expensive, unfortunately}.

So what do you think? Which would you choose that compliments my dress, shoes, and the bridesmaids dresses?

{Help!} Possible Wedding Day Jewelry

My dress is in, I found my shoes, so naturally I've started thinking about what jewelry I plan to wear. I love love bracelets. I wear the same two bracelets {one Nick gave me for our first Christmas, the other is a bracelet made from a necklace that belonged to my deceased godfather} every day with my engagement ring and grandmother's ring with a mix of other bangles.

On our wedding day, I'm planning to wear my engagement ring, my grandmother's ring, and the diamond studs my Dad bought me for Christmas my freshman year of college. I don't wear necklaces that often. I guess it is because I don't have a long neck and upper body, but I'm not really a necklace person. Since my dress is strapless and I'm not wearing dangly earrings, I think I'm going to need a necklace.

I've looked and looked at various websites {Bag, Borrow or Steal, I'm Over It, Sonya Renée} and have seen many beautiful necklaces, but nothing that really screamed out wear me! I really had no idea what I wanted to wear until the August issue of Vogue found its way into my mailbox. The necklace Kate Moss wears on the cover and in the corresponding feature story is PERFECT. Of course I love it, it is super expensive! It is a Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière strass necklace for only $795.

I found hope in a real wedding featured on Brooklyn Bride. The necklace worn by one of the brides was beautiful and pretty similar to the one featured in Vogue. However after I inquired, Lauren explained that it was her grandmother's, an antique necklace from the 1930s.

So, I'm back to the drawing board hoping to find something similar for not a ton of money. I've been  scouring ebay in the hopes of finding the perfect vintage necklace. I found this great necklace yesterday in an auction on ebay and told myself I would only bid up to $100. The auction ended tonight and the necklace sold for $273! I'm pretty disappointed, because this necklace was PERFECT, not expensive and almost exactly like the one above.

Where did you look for and/or purchase your wedding jewelry? Do you have any other great jewelry sites to share? Any ideas for other places to look for vintage costume jewelry?

Top image © Vogue/Condè Nast, photography by Mario Testino. Middle photo © Daniel Kreiger via Brooklyn Bride. Bottom photo from ebay listing.

{Help!} Possible bridesmaids gift and accessory

I'm wedding planning away today. {If you're one of my bridesmaids, please skip this post! That means you, Cat! I think you're the only one who might be reading.} If not, click continue to read more.

SOLD! {Shoes for Sale} Green Nine West Jojus

Edited to add: SOLD! I wish I had twelve pairs to sell to all of you, but I only had the two {and the one was sold before I even started this post; these babies are popular!}. They might not be a perfect fit for these brides, so I will let you know if they become available again.

I normally wouldn't post stuff like this, but I've had a surprising number of inquiries about the extra shoes I purchased. I was just going to return them, but I would love to help out a fellow green-loving bride. If you're a size 9 this one's for you: I'm selling one of my extra pairs of the infamous, green Nine West Jojus. I posted about them here. They've been featured on half a dozen blogs and our shoeru Molly is wearing them to her wedding in red. They are brand new, still in the box with all the original packaging. Interested or have a question? Shoot me an email.

Check!–oh wait, uncheck.

I'm working my way down the never-ending to-do list of wedding chores. {That sounds awful, as though this is stuff I don't want to do–like make the bed.} Next on my list is to seriously start thinking about the flower girl outfit.

I called my sister to double check my niece's size and tell her my ideas for Mady's outfit. She thought they were all great, so I set out to order the tutu from Cake + Milk Paperie. I was so confused because there were only four options available in their drop-down menu. Then I realized, Cake + Milk Paperie has stopped creating these fabulous and inexpensive tutus. I emailed to double check and those are the last ones. {If you're in the market, they still have a few in great colors, just not what I need.}

I was mildly upset, but I figured it was for the better because I wasn't sure what she would wear on top. I decided to check out Monsoon again. The beautiful sequined skirt {above, right} was available again. So I started to order it even though the exchange rate from pounds to dollars isn't so fabulous right now. As I'm starting to checkout, I look over and the shipping column doesn't mention international. Two seconds later I realize, they don't ship internationally! I am so disappointed. I love their clothes for little girls' special occasions. {I don't have a friend I can have it shipped to either.}

I'm back to square one. After reading Emily's recent post about J.Crew, I headed back for another look. I liked some of their stuff in the beginning, but tried not to get too attached because of the price. I decided to check out the sale and found this:

I love the subtle metallic sheen of the fabric, but it might be too boring. What if I added a velvet green or grey sash and one of the Sex and the City flowers/poofs I'm in love with? I'm still so hung up on the Monsoon outfits. They had such great detailing and were so different. This has very little detail aside from the pleat.

I also like this other number, but of course the yellow flowers would have to go. $138 is a pretty steep price if I'm going to have to add or remove some stuff. Plus, Mady would definitely need a cardigan for this one.

I guess I need to keep looking, but I'm tempted to buy that first J.Crew dress as a back up. I just wish they allowed returns for sale items. What do you think? Have you seen any fabulous, unique flower girl outfits at any stores or in a real wedding? Do you know of a place that is similar to Monsoon?

PS: I think part of the reason I'm so hung up on Mady's outfit is because I though my dress would bea bit more unusual. I feel like this is a place to let Mady and I's fabulously fashionable flag fly. Stupid but true.

Top images {from left to right} © Cake + Milk Paperie, right © Monsoon. All other dress images © J.Crew. Ribbon images © M&J Trimming. Poof images © Tinsel Trading.

These Shoes Were Made for Walkin'

Another chapter in the HaselBride shoe saga...

When I was in Indiana, I begged my mom to make a quick pit stop on the way home from the airport. She begrudgingly* drove me to Saks Fifth Avenue, where I tried on the wonderful Manolo Blahnik silver Sedaraby that I've been obsessed with since, well, forever. It was heaven. Made of leather, it is so supple and soft and fabulous. I pranced around the store in it as my mom rolled her eyes. I love it, I really do BUT. Here goes...it is such a beautiful shoe and I would wear it again for a million other things after the wedding, BUT I just don't think it compliments my dress. The buckle and the silver might be too blinged out with my very beaded dress. So, I am back to the shoe drawing board and thinking maybe this time some color. {One day, I will own those shoes...I promise.}

We've all been eyeballing the lovely green feathered Christian Louboutins {also available in blue and red} that were featured in a real wedding post on Style Me Pretty. They are gorgeous and so unique, but at $760 are a bit too much of a splurge for me. Plus, where do you wear a feathered shoe after your wedding? Not too practical. {So so hard for me to admit, but it is true.}

Then Janie at The Bride's Cafe showcased a real wedding where the bride wore the Nine West Jojus in green. I had been admiring the light gray version for months on Piperlime, but I had never seen the green. So I Googled and searched every online department store and shoe shop {and a few brick and mortar stores}, until one day I finally found the green ones on Overstock.com. For $30. {Other colors were $80-90.}

In a crazy mad rush, I ordered three sizes to be sure I had my choice. They came in this week and I love them! They are so comfortable. Because they aren't super strappy and the front knotted straps are made of fabric with a soft leather underneath, they won't rub my feet raw after a long day of standing and dancing. However, I am not 100% sold on the green. Seems like everyone is wearing green shoes. Although I'd be in great company, I want to see what the light grey looks like in person. They were now on sale also {$50!}. I ordered those a few days ago, so they should be here next week. Then I think I'll try them both with my dress and see which I like best.

How did you chose your wedding shoes? Or if you haven't yet, what shoes are you daydreaming about now?

{*I did not inherit the love-to-shop gene from my mother, we think it came from my aunt or my father's love to shop for cars, guns and watches...you know guy things.}

Top images © Cheri Pearl via Style Me Pretty {event design by Oh How Charming!}, bottom images © Amy Squires via The Bride's Cafe.