Weew! It has been a long haul but finally I am all done with my wedding! After months of planning it all came together beautifully and I thought I would take this time to post some pictures, talk a bit about the process, and acknowledge my amazing vendors. First Installment:
Bridal Attire
The Dress- Ok, so I did try on some 'regular' wedding dresses at Alfred Angelo. I knew we were going to have a beach wedding and they had no shortage of pictures showing bride on the beach in huge $7,000 dresses, but it just didn't seem right to me. On the other hand, I didn't want this occasion to be too casual either. Finally after weeks of searching I found Wai-Ching. Chrissy is an extremely talented designer in Seattle and I just fell in love with her look, particularly 'Eucalyptus'. Her dresses feel elegant and youthful but without looking too hippy (at least to me).
It was definitely a bit scary to just send my money and email her my measurements without trying anything on first, but I was so in love I had to have faith. When it arrived 3 months later it fit perfectly (I opted for a lace up back) but it had a boo boo. There was a brown dye spot on the dress that I thought looked too much like a stain. Since its hand dyed thats bound to happen. I contacted Chrissy and she was super helpful. I was able to send it back and have the dye removed without any problems.
My only complaint was that while Chrissy is an amazing designer, I get the feeling that she may need a personal assistant or at least more 'office type' help. When I sent the dress back with the dye issue I also asked for it to be hemmed. When the dress came back the spot was gone but no new hem. I'm sure she just forgot but thats what production people are for, so the artist is free to make art and not worry about details.
Overall I can't thank her enough! I got my perfect wedding dress and I simply adore it :)
Shoes - I didn't actually wear shoes on the beach, but I did have the lovely Tommy Bahama sandals for the reception. They were both elegant and comfortable.
Necklace and Earrings - All I can say is Thank God I have a
sister who is good at this stuff! She helped me narrow down what I should be looking for in a jewlery/hair/dress combination. The dress has a shear halter top which I decided to wear on the beach, but wanted a nice necklace for the reception. Once I had a direction I went straight to etsy and found Deb Pattyn.
She makes stunning sea glass necklaces and since sea glass was sort of a theme for the wedding it fit perfectly. I was able to work with her by sending picture of my dress so she could find just the right shade. The necklace and earrings are is so beautiful and I know I will treasure them always.
Anklets - I also wanted sea glass anklets for myself and my bridesmaids, so once again I went online and found Sarah of Camano Creations. I was actually able to send her some sea glass that I found, in addition to her own, to incorporate into the pieces. She made them specifically for each dress and she was super fast! They turned out great.
Hair - Last but certainly not least, Mariela Hellewell did all the hair for the wedding party (thats her in the picture) and she did an amazing job! She works at Carlton Hair Salon in West LA, so if you live on the Westside hit her up. I made the flowers by just gluing fake ones from Joann Fabrics onto the ends of bobby pins. It was a simple and inexpensive accent.
