Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue...

I know some brides don't bother with this old tradition, but I think it's cute!  So, I actually put some thought into these.  

Something New:

This one is easy.  Most everything I wore on our wedding day was new.  So, take your pick: my dress, my veil, my shoes, my jewelry, etc.!

Pictured: Lots of new!

Something Blue:

My shoes!  I searched long and hard for these.  In the end, I kind of gave up and settled for these.  I'm happy I did though.  They were comfortable (I wore them all day AND all night!) and the wedges prevented me from getting stuck in the grass (or breaking an ankle).  

They served their purpose... plus I have worn them several times after the wedding.  :)

Something Old and Borrowed:

These two ended up combined for me.  My aunt brought me rings that belonged to my grandmother and grandfather.  My grandmother's ring fit on my right ring finger so I wore it.  My grandfather's ring didn't fit so it was placed on the stems of my bouquet (after it was wrapped in ribbon).  It served this purpose, plus it let me have some part of my grandparents there with me since they both passed away years ago. 

Grandma's Ring

Grandpa's Ring

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the rings specifically.  I wish I would have.  Oh well.  What's done is done!  And, I can still see them in some of the pictures anyway.  

So, there you have it.  My something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.  I'm not sure that I believe in the "luck" it's supposed to bring, but I still enjoyed being a part of the tradition.  :)

The Girls Get Glamorous!

I quickly took a shower and grabbed the only piece of clothing that wasn't buried under a bunch of other suitcases and boxes -- the dress I wore to the rehearsal dinner.  Then I started getting ready.  And, away we go!

Tonya, my sister and MOH, putting on the pearl necklace that I got my girls.

Tonya helping me with my hair.

Tonya helping me with my hair as our mom looks on.  :)

Brooke, the flower girl, getting her hair done by her mom.

Doing our own make-up [Tonya, me, Aileen]

Me putting on my mom's pearl bracelet.

Tonya helping me put on my dress. 

Almost on!

My shoes. 

Mom helping me put on my pearl necklace. 

Mom helping me put on my pearl bracelet. 

Putting on my earrings.

Filing my nails.

Putting on my tiara/headband. 

When Howie left to do Philip's photos, we broke out the steamer and de-wrinkled my veil and our dresses.  When that was done, it was time to head to Bube's Brewery for the bridal portraits.  Up next, Philip gets ready.  

Photos courtesy of Howie Hartman of Double H Media.

Miss something?  Catch up here:
We arrive in Pennsylvania

We begin setting up

We stock the bar (and skip a rehearsal)

We have dinner and play games at our "Rehearsal" Dinner

We eat R2D2 and open presents at our "Rehearsal" Dinner

We bask in the glow of our paper lantern triumph

We finish setting up the tent
Wedding Day Details: The Favors
Wedding Day Details: The Set-Up 
Wedding Day Details: The Rings

Wedding Day Details: The Chair Signs

Wedding Day Details: Odds & Ends

The Official Shoe Decision

It is official.  I bought the shoes that I will wear on my wedding day.  If you remember, I wanted to wear navy blue shoes (match the wedding colors and be my "something blue").  I wanted something in a wedge since it is an outdoor wedding and wedges are less likely to get stuck in the grass/dirt.  Besides that, I'm less likely to fall on my face if I'm wearing wedges!  Hopefully I won't have to worry about that anyway, since I will have my mom on one side and my dad on the other as I walk down the aisle!

However, I couldn't find any wedges that I thought were cute.  Well, Philip and I stopped into Payless on Saturday.  I saw these shoes:

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I thought they were kind of ugly at first.  But, when I tried them on, I kinda liked them.  They're cute.  

So, I (obviously) bought them.  I think I might try to add some snazz to them.  I don't know what yet, but I'll figure that out.  Even if I leave them as they are, I'm still pretty pleased with them.  

The weird thing about these shoes is the sizing.  I am normally a size 7.5 (or an 8 if I can't fit my wide foot into a 7.5!), but the 7.5 was too big.  So, I tried the 7.  It was a little too loose, too.  So, I tried on the 6.5.  And, weirdly enough, it fit.  Sort of. 

My right foot is just a tiny bit bigger than my left foot.  The right shoe was a little snug around my toes.  However, I bought them anyway.  I think that if I wear them a time or two just around the house, I should be able to loosen them up around my toes a bit.  And then they'll be perfect.  

So, what do you think of my shoes?

Bridesmaid Dresses Update!

After much consideration, the decision has been made.  We are going with these:

They are Alfred Angelo 7056.  They will (of course) be in navy with ivory trim.  I might be biased, but I think my sister looks better in this dress than the model does: 

My ladies are going to be smokin' hot.  ;)  I'm waiting to hear back about their sizes and then we'll be placing the order in the next week (hopefully).

I want them to be in matching shoes, but I told them I don't really care what they are.  I was thinking probably ivory or silver shoes, but I've mostly left it up to them.  I think that wedges will probably be the best option since they will be standing on grass for at least part of the time.  

After just a quick search, these are what I've got in mind:

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They are Volatile Ibiza in Natural color.  I love the ankle-wrap.  They're really cute -- not too casual, but not too formal.  Plus, the girls could wear them after the wedding, too. 

There's still plenty of time to decide on the shoes.  I'm just happy that we're making headway on the bridesmaids' attire! 

Shoes, Revisited

I've done some more searching for shoes.  I think I'm closer to deciding what I want than I was a few months ago.  I am certain that I will order from Amazon.  I'm a Prime member, so I get free 2-day shipping.  Also, I get free returns.  

That's a big deal for me.  I can't seem to find any shoes in stores that I like but I'm terrified of buying shoes online (it's difficult for me to find shoes that fit!).  So, since I can return things to Amazon for free if they don't fit, it eases my mind.  Especially since I know that Amazon returns are super easy.

Anyway, that certainly narrowed my search (thankfully!).  I limited my Amazon search to prime eligible, navy colored shoes made of man-made materials (no leather -- they have to be animal friendly).  That still left a whole lot of options!  Here are a few of my favorites:

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 These are probably my least favorite.  They are cute, but I think I want something a little more feminine.  The rivets might be a little too much for me.  However, they are only $21.99 -- great deal!  

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These are super cute and fun looking.  However, they have a 5 inch heel.  That almost surely spells disaster for my walk down the aisle.  ;)  These are a fantastic deal at $16.00 a pair (wow!) but I'm thinking they're probably not right for me.  

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These are a lot like what I pictured.  However, I'm concerned about the color.  They say that they're navy, but if they are true to the color on my computer screen, they seem to be more royal blue... not what I want.  These are a little more expensive, but still very reasonable at $34.50 a pair.  These are definitely in the running.

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These shoes are a little plain, but if I got these, I would jazz them up a bit with a pearl brooch (I plan to wear pearls, have a pearl tiara, and also have my BMs wear pearls!) on each shoe.  These shoes are a little more expensive at $34.99.  The brooches I found are on eBay for $2.85 a piece.  So, the shoes still wouldn't be that expensive.  These are also in the running!  

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 These are really cute.  These are something that I would normally wear (when I actually wear heels).  I'm trying to decide if that is a good thing or not.  I'm not sure if it's a good thing because I would be comfortable or if it's a bad thing because I should step outside the box for my wedding shoes.  These shoes are great at $27.60 a pair.  

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I really like these shoes.  Again, they're similar to something I would normally wear, but they've also got some cute, feminine touches (the bow!).  They've also got just a little bit of bling.  The heels are only 2 1/2 inches, too, so they shouldn't be too uncomfortable!  And, these puppies are a steal at $21.38. 

*Sigh*  So many options.  And all so cute.  Thoughts?

Shoes

I am not a shoe-holic. I don't have dozens of pairs of shoes. In fact, Philip has more shoes than me... by a lot. haha

However, that doesn't mean that I don't like shoes. I really do like cute shoes. I just have a lot of trouble finding shoes that fit me right. And, I also have a lot of trouble justifying spending money on shoes when I already have shoes.

I'm gradually getting better about being okay with buying shoes. I've even started my search for wedding shoes. :)

Originally, I was looking for white or ivory shoes. You know, typical wedding shoes. Then I decided that was too boring. I want my shoes to be a little more wild than that. Especially since my dress will be more traditional.

Since our colors are navy and ivory, I thought it would be cute to have navy colored pumps. And, that takes care of the "something blue" part of the tradition!

Here are a few of my favorites so far:

I'm not set on any of these. They're just the styles that I like right now. Of course, if I get something like this, I'm most likely going to need to by some reception shoes, too... I don't think I'll be able to dance all night long in pumps like these!