The Style

Dresses, feathers, rhinestones--oh my!

I would have really, really loved a vintage dress. However, I do not have a vintage body! Women back then were either freakishly small, or I am just an amazon. I got curves, and I love it, but it does not make for easy vintage dress shopping! I just went with simple enough (a little sparkle) and flattering to my shape.

I found several that I liked in trumpet style, but couldn't find any shops that carried them!
So this is what I ended up with..

The winner is...

Cosmobella 7342

So I went to Demetrios, and tried on a bunch of dresses. They didn't have the exact ones I wanted, but they did give me several other ones to try similar to the styles that I liked. I went to other stores to try some Maggie Sottero's, but again, lots of those didn't have the one I wanted either. Whatever, I'm tired and hungry and I'm wearing the dress once, so why get all worked up? If I did what I'm 'supposed' to do, which is go all over creation finding 'the dress' I'd never get one! So I decided to go with a)one that looked good on me and b) got an enthusiastic grin from my mom, my fmil, and my sister/moh. And this is what I ended up with.

Now don't get me wrong, it looks stunning, and with a birdcage veil and my vintage hair I'll be the no. 1 stunna! But...I just can't get overly excited about a dress I'll wear once. I AM, however, excited at converting the dress after the wedding into something I can wear for shows, so that's cool! It's good...it hugs the curves well. More ammo for me to get my bad-ass in shape! =)

Hair, etc.

Vintage is the name of the game! I want either soft finger waves or some sort of victory curl or pin curl style. I would like to work feather elements into it and I'm not into long veils, so I think either a feather barrette, birdcage veil, or a fascinator or some sort of snood/hairnet would look fab.

And the winner is...

from etsy seller brendasbridalveils!
It's perfect because it has an ostrich feather, which will be worked into my overall decor!
I would like to get something similar to the essence photo piece for my ladies. I'll be working with Agnes from Love, Lulu Mae to make some custom hair pieces! Squee!

The beading

love. the. top!

Hair/Make up Trial

I met with Cortne at Tigerlilie Salon in Chicago. They specialize in vintage hairstyles. Cortne is super cool, and right away she understood what I was going for after showing her pictures. We tried it with the veil in different positions, too, so we could get a good idea of what would look best

No Veil...

Front view, no make up yet

side view-l

Veil position #1--'hair net'

left side

Veil position #2--"Classic"

I'm digging it

With makeup

I was going for a more nude look, but that looked odd. We decided to add more eyeshadow pigment (eggplant) and deeper lips, so imagine that if you will. We were running long, so this is where we left off for the day. I'm not crazy about it, but I'll be sure to have her tone it down on the big day. She's also going to shape my eyebrows for me the day before, and then come down to the hotel the day of to do my hair and one my ladies' hair.

Side view-r

back view

right side

back view

Shoes, glorious shoes!

I'm so damn excited about these shoes. I should give them their own page, but I'll try to do them justice here.
I got these at Chicago Dance Supply. They're pretty standard ballroom shoes that ordinarily are black velvet with a black satin banding. I decided to give them a bad ass makeover and ordered custom fabric in sparkling, irridescent purple (looks blue in some spots/light) and black glitter. I want to be buried in these puppies.

Hairpiece! ZOMG!

The verdict is in! I have my hairpiece! Thanks lulumae!
Please ignore the fact that I'm in a starbucks, my hair is messy and I have zero makeup on. Though this is a daily occurrence, so...

I have similar pics of the hairpieces for my 'maids, but I can't put them up here because they might see them! I'll post them after the wedding! =)