Eco-Vintage Weddings

Our Wedding: Wedding Shoes!

Good morning, readers! Exciting news: I was notified over the weekend that my beautiful Alfred Angelo gown has officially arrived at Happily Ever After, a bridal salon in Sioux City where I purchased my dress! I cannot WAIT to go try it on; I’m anxious to see it! It’s absolutely crazy to know that MY wedding dress is waiting for me … what a reality check – I cannot wait to be married!

But, my wedding dress has me thinking about another part of my wedding day attire … my shoes!

I am absolutely loving the trend that’s currently making brides everywhere swoon – colored shoes under your white/ivory gown!

Here’s a few examples, for you brides looking for a splash of color under your dress (all via Google images):

Aren’t those shoes absolutely adorable!?

Well, with my lovely fiance being just a tad shorter than me, I don’t think I’d feel comfortable standing like a skyscraper beside him in these sky-high heels. So, I’ve been looking for alternative options, including kitten heels, flats and gladiator-type sandals!

However, I came across these lovely Seychelles shoes last week, and my heart pitter-pattered … shoes in our color scheme? I never would’ve thought I’d be able to find shoes like this! But, since the heels on these cuties are 3.5 inches … it may be a better idea for me to purchase lower-height, peep-toe dyeable shoes from a local bridal salon and have them dyed yellow or grey. Hmm … so many options!

What style of shoes will you be wearing on your wedding day? What do you think of the colored shoes trend?

Our Wedding: Big Purchases!

Good Tuesday afternoon to you all! I apologize for the late posting, but today has been a crazy day at the office.

This past week has been quite significant in terms of our wedding. On Wednesday, my Mom and I drove to Sioux City to the Happily Ever After bridal salon to take advantage of a pre-Thanksgiving special they were running on bridal gowns. As I mentioned to you in a previous post, I had chosen my wedding gown many weeks ago and was simply waiting for the right time to purchase it.

Upon arriving in Sioux City, I decided to walk through the store again and look at the racks of gowns, just to make sure that I indeed wanted the dress I had dreamt about for the past few weeks. I selected four new dresses to try on, in addition to the Alfred Angelo gown I had originally fallen in love with a few weeks prior.

The first few gowns were sample dresses of styles that had been discontinued, and I am confident in telling you that all were hideous! The fourth dress, however, was BEAUTIFUL. It was a slimmer fit taffeta gown, more of a trumpet style, and it had some ribbon detailing around the bust. It was a very pretty dress, and I had a lot of fun trying it on. It looked PERFECT with the birdcage veil, and it made me feel very pretty. I was excited after I tried on this gown, but I still had my “first love” gown to go.

As soon as I zipped up my “first love” Alfred Angelo gown, I didn’t even have to see myself in the mirror – I knew I was wearing MY gown. While the “new” dress was beautiful in a classy, lighthearted, fun way, this gown has a sweetness, a rustic elegance to it that just couldn’t compare. I was BEAMING the second my Mom saw me again in the gown, and she said, “That’s your dress, it’s just so obvious.” We then chatted with the alterations specialist about bustling the gown, sizing, etc.

I am SO excited that we ordered my gown!

Another exciting development – J and I purchased our wedding bands on Black Friday! Mine is more of a channel set to showcase my solitare engagement ring, while J’s is made of cobalt metal (a new style!). We found some wonderfully competitive deals, and feel SO excited to have purchased our rings!

Have a great rest of your day!

Readers, This Gown’s The One!

Photo Credit:  The Chicago Bridal Salon

Readers, I think I found my wedding gown.

Last weekend, I traveled to Sioux City, IA, with my Mom and Dad to a bridal salon called Happily Ever After. The morning began with me pinning blue clothespins on the gowns I wanted to try on. Jessica, the owner of the salon, was helping me with the gowns; she was wonderful! The salon’s seamstress also was a huge help.

I don’t remember many of the other gowns I tried on (I tried on about 10), but of all of the gowns I wore that day, I spent the majority of my three-hour-long appointment switching between two completely different gowns, both designed by Alfred Angelo.

The first Alfred Angelo gown is a classic gown full of elegance and grace. The portrait neckline (think V-neck) and the hug-the-shoulder straps were very flattering. The back of the gown is so gorgeous:

Photo Credit: Alfred Angelo Style #1148

While I love, love, LOVE how skinny this gown makes me feel, and how simple and elegant it is, I felt like this gown represents more of a refined vintage theme, an interpretation I’m not including in our wedding. I picture this gown being worn with a fur wrap, chandelier earrings and a feather fascinator. I picture the bride in this gown to have an art deco bridal ring set, to carry calla lilies, and to wear very expensive high-heeled shoes. I picture this bride’s husband-to-be wearing a tuxedo with tails and a bow tie.

Instead, my vision for the gown I’ve chosen is something entirely different. While the bridal gown above almost demands fur and feathers, the gown I’m choosing instead demands a rustic flower fascinator to be placed in the bride’s curly nest of hair. The gown I’m choosing will have the tiniest veil, if any at all, so as not to distract from the beauty and unexpectedness of the gown. The gown I’m choosing warrants a bride who wears simple but beautiful jewelry, each piece representing a great story or tradition. The gown I’m choosing demands a bouquet as inspired and unexpected as the gown itself. The gown I’m choosing is the perfect marriage of something old and something new, which I’ve taken on as the motto for our wedding theme.

The gown I’m choosing is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, yet it feels like something I’ve known my whole life.

As you can probably guess, I’m not planning to share the details of the wedding gown I’ve chosen. It’s Alfred Angelo, and it’s ivory, and that’s all I will tell you. My bridesmaids, my parents, and my future parents-in-law have seen photos of the gown, but outside of them, I’d love to keep my choice under wraps until the moment the chapel doors open on our wedding day. Maybe I’ll offer tiny peeks at parts of the gown throughout the rest of our wedding planning, or maybe I won’t. But I promise this:  the wait will be worthwhile, because this gown is what I’ve been searching for since I was a little girl who married Barbie and Ken for fun.