I was definitely one of those girls growing up who dressed like a bride, wore fake wedding rings and had the imaginary husband. Playing wedding was fun but the real event happened like a flash before my eyes.
Evan and I had been dating for almost a year and a half when he asked me to marry him in front of our friends and family after playing a song at what was then my parent's brewery. The moment was so sweet but soon after Evan left for a year long "journey" for medical school where he would spend a month at a different location (often a different state) to learn from a hospital. During that year I saw Evan two or three times but most of that year was spent apart which gave me plenty of wedding planning time.
My main "musts" for my wedding included: affordable, simple, elegant and fun. I love weddings and think they are a very special moment in a person's life however, I did not want to blow everything on one night. Instead, I aimed to create a memorable evening for our celebration while also using the time I had apart from Evan to enjoy my family and work on preparing myself to become the best wife I could.
Back to what you are really here for, the details of the big day.
Let's start with a big one, the dress. It seemed oddly funny to me that for years I pinned wedding dresses and planned what I wanted to wear on my wedding day but when it came time to shop, all I could think about was how much money I was going to spend on a dress that I would wear a few hours and that my husband-to-be honestly probably couldn't tell the difference from another white dress anyway.
Visiting a few stores I ended up purchasing my dress from Bridal Traditions in Omaha, Nebraska. Surrounded by my closest female family members I decided to say "I do" in a Private Label/Kenneth Winston (style# 1729) gown. I fell in love with the shape. It was a mermaid silhouette with a sweetheart neckline and an open lace back. The train was elegant with the flowing crepe fabric that turned into a lace hem all the way around. The bodes included beading detail and the back, a long set of crystal-like buttons.
The accessories for the day were the deal of the century. I can't tell you how long I looked for earrings. I looked at almost every online and in person store I could find searching for earrings that were elegant, not over-the-top and not like every other bridal earring set I had seen so far. To be honest, I never did find the perfect pair but I was happy with my $26 Amazon find. I liked best that they were light and big enough to see but small enough where they weren't the focus.
Finding shoes was another ordeal. I wanted a pair of shoes that were either wedges or chunky heels because I was getting married outside and would be walking on grass but I didn't want a heel height over 3" and I wanted a nude color. Seems pretty simple, right? Wrong! After much searching I purchased a pair of open-toed nude chunky heels from Amazon and they ended up being exactly what I needed. I do recommend to future brides to purchase a second pair of sandals for the reception. I found mine on Amazon (surprise) and they were perfect! I was so thankful to kick off the heels after the ceremony and I also was able to wear the sandals on our honeymoon!
The other accessory I purchased was my veil. I am so happy that I purchased my veil online rather than in a bridal store. For practically the same veil that a bridal store wanted over $800 for I purchased online for $16 and received so many compliments on. I went with an extra wide, extra long plain cathedral length veil and it came with a comb attached so all I had to do was put it in my hair when it was time. Totally worth the savings.
Hair and makeup were done locally and both artists traveled to my wonderful sister-in-law's home where we got ready. I cannot thank Tasha and Abbey with Highland Center Parlor for the beautiful hair they did and Jamie Martinez with Kiss and Makeup for the wonderful makeup.
Going back to my original statement, Evan and I wanted our wedding to be affordable, simple and fun so we decided instead of having everyone rent a suit that they would spend almost $200 for a few hours on or spending hundreds of dollars on a bridesmaid dress that would never be worn again we told all the groomsmen to wear a navy blue suit and the bridesmaids to wear a light pink dress. I didn't care if there were different shades, patterns or anything, I just wanted everyone to focus on having fun and not worrying about how much they had to spend on an outfit. Take a look at how it turned out, I was extremely happy with it! Evan's suit was one he had already from Express and he looked AH-MAZING!
By the way, can we talk about those flowers?! Guys, I was so excited about these. A family friend of ours, Jeff Jirovec owns a farm where he grows his own flowers using aquaponics: Grow With the Flow and he literally grew and then put together our flowers! Locally sourced and grown with love, we truly could not have been happier with the floral arrangements. Thanks Jeff and Heather!
Lastly, we need to talk about these pictures that have left me absolutely speechless. If you haven't seen my blogpost about our engagement photos you need to check that out next and you'll understand how Katelyn Rowan Photography continues to amaze me. I can honestly say that I did not have a worry in the world about how my pictures were going to turn out because I knew Katelyn was taking them. She's fun, dependable, EXTREMELY talented and can corral your group together if needed (we needed it). I 11/10 recommend you book Katelyn for your next event.
xo,
Macy
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