A Foxy Fête: A Little Somthin' Somthin'

Let's take a super quick sidestep from recaps for a minute, mmkay? There's some details I'm dying to share with you all!

Now sure, I absolutely adored my wedding dress, but I also had a bit of a love affair with my wedding day accessories, too.  For organization's sake, I'm just going to lump them all into one of a bride's four favorite categories: old, new, borrowed, and blue!

I also want to write about them in categories because I realized that I never wrote much about about a few of them previously - probably because I wasn't sure I was actually going to have all of them (old, new, borrowed, and blue, that is) - but alas, it all happened to come together in the end!

Something Old:

I ended up having two "something old's". First, there was my grandmother's vintage clutch that I (aka, one of my bridesladies) carried around for the first part of the day for essentials like lip gloss and my sunglasses.

(personal photo, as I completely forgot to have Laura take a picture of it)

Second, I wore a right-hand ring that was also once owned by my grandmother, one that I also believe has been in the family for quite some time. This just so happened to be the ring that I previously used as my "replacement" when I was sans engagement ring while it was being molded for my wedding band.

(personal photo)

Something New:

Omigosh, so many things.

Aside from the dress, there was also my my hair piece and my garter, both of which I've previously posted about, and both of which I also forgot to get special detail shots of. (Yes, I forgot a lot.) Although, as I'm sure you noticed, it's kind of hard to miss my hair piece in 99% of the photos I'm in from our wedding day. Bling bling, yo.

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

As for the garter.. well.. not only did I forget to get any pictures of it, but I also forgot to wear it. So I wore it to the after party, and that was about it.

(personal photo)

One of my most favorite new things, though, were my earrings. Last I left off with you was my search for the perfect pair of long and dangly earrings - a search that lasted months. And then, a mere six weeks before the wedding, I finally, finally settled on a pair from Etsy shop Bridal Bling Jewelry that ended up being completely perfect!

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

You can also see my grandmother's ring at the top of the photo!

I totally loved these bad boys, and totally loved telling people they were actually rock candy. And having them believe it. Heheheh. (They were actually little Swarovski beads.)

Something Borrowed:

I'm not going to lie, I was so worried about not having anything in the borrowed category, but ultimately ended up having not one, not two, but three borrowed things! Two of which were incredibly last minute.

The first last minute "something borrowed" was from Officiant Em; en route to the venue on Friday, I realized that I didn't have any kind of acceptable studs to wear in my second holes in my ears. She came blazing to the rescue, letting me borrow her grandmother's vintage diamond studs, which I rocked all day long (and even managed to remember to give back to her)!

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

I spy with my little eye.. some studs!

The second last minute "something borrowed" was from MOH Copper. As I was getting into my dress on wedding morning and putting on all the finishing touches, someone asked if I had a bracelet that I would be wearing. I never really had any desire to wear one, so I never thought about it much. However, when I looked at myself all gussied up, I totally regretted my previous decision. I just needed.. something. A bracelet, to be specific. Lo and behold, out of nowhere, MOH Copper pulls out two fabulous ones - one coral and one turquoise - and gives me the option of wearing one or both. And you guys? That turquoise one nailed it.

(personal photo)

I think I got more compliments on that last minute addition than I did for anything else I was sporting that day.. and all thanks to my super stylish bestie and, evidently, one bangin' clearance rack at Banana Republic! I was so super sad to give it back to her at the end of the day, no lies.

Last but not least in the borrowed category was none other than those precious little bee charms you may have seen some other Bee's blog about - I got mine from the lovely Mrs. Hawk, and eventually passed them on to the fabulous Mrs. Scone! They made the most perfect addition amid my summery bouquet.

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

Something Blue:

My shoes. Duh. I mean.. turquoise is a shade of blue, right?

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

So the moral of the story is this: make a list of all your wedding day details. Give it to someone who won't forget about it, or just give it to the photographer. Have them take pictures of everything. Or don't and instead be like me and forget everything. Then take a bunch of weird photos with your dSLR and iPhone months after the wedding and pretend that you're just as good as a photographer. Except your not.

Can you tell I'm annoyed that I didn't get a professional artsy shot of my clutch, just my right-hand ring, my bracelet, my studs, my garter, and even my perfume? 'Cause I am.

I did, however, get a professional artsy one of our wedding rings!

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

Anyway, I loved all of my "somethings", and loved how each and every one truly completed my wedding day look (professional picture as proof or not). Did/Do you have a favorite accessory or "something" for your wedding day?

Miss a recap? Catch yourself up!

It's Wedding Week! - The week of the wedding started out pretty hectic, but we made it through (relatively) unscathed.

We're Cool People (who had to deal with a slight change of plans) - On Friday, we made our way to the venue, had a relatable moment on the radio, and learned about some last minute changes that we made an effort to take in stride.

Practice Makes Perfect.. And Crabs Don't Hurt, Either - After most everyone was settled in on Friday evening, we had our rehearsal followed by the best dinner ever - a Maryland crab feast!

Rise and Shine! - Wedding morning was soon upon us, and I woke up at the crack of dawn ready to get prettified.

Pretty Women - Over the course of the next several hours, myself and the girls hung out, got our hair and makeup done, had a photo shoot, and drank champagne.

Dressing Up - Soon enough, it was time for me to slip into my dress!

Dapper Dudes - At the same time, Foxy and his guys were ironing and getting into their suites - and Foxy was opening his wedding day gift!

The First of Many Looks - We had our first look, and both felt so much better after being able to see each other for the first time that day.

Don't Forget Your Dress! (And bra.)

One of the bajillion websites I oh-so-freely gave my email address to when I first got engaged was Project Wedding (and WeddingWire and The Knot and David's Bridal, blablabla). So, ever since "365 Days Until the Big Day", I've been getting their titled-as-such daily emails - 99% of which never applied to me, in large part because I already did them or they just weren't in my realm of thought. The earlier emails talked a lot about things like Wedding Boot Camp (aw hell no) and Top Wedding Tunes (none of the songs were really my cup of tea) and Unique Ideas for Your Engagement Party (which would have been helpful if we had an engagement party). Into the trash they went.

I can't knock it too much, though, because lately? Lately it's been lots of helpful and interesting things, like: Get Your Marriage License (check!), Do A Vendor Check In (check!), Top Ten 80's Songs (because the 80's were the best, obvi), Create Your Own Ceremony Programs (check!), Changing Your Name - Here's What to Expect (don't even want to think about it), and - ready for it? - Don't Forget Your Dress!

Alas, surprisingly enough, this isn't actually a post about Project Wedding and all of its email goodness. This is a post about the latter subject - the dress. The article mentioned above talks a lot about making sure you get your alterations done, bringing things to the wedding in case your dress needs an emergency fix of some kind, and remembering to accessorize. All of this is well and good, but I just thought it was extra awesome and appropriate at this moment in time because of what I just picked up the other day.

Oh, hello there!

Now, I've technically had my dress in my possession since last October, since it was cheaper to have it shipped to Maryland from New York and get alterations done down here than it was to purchase and have alterations done up there. Blame it on lovely New York state taxes and up-charges.

Once I initially had my dress, however, I had to wait (semi)patiently until April to start the alterations process. I eventually ended up taking it to a local seamstress by the name of Estee, thanks to some recommendations from both friends and the 'Bee. I have to boast and brag about her for just a hot minute, though, because the woman is simply amazing. She works out of her home, which in turn keeps prices low (we're talking under $200 for taking in the dress, significant hemming, creating a bustle, and adding what she dubs a "lingerie strap"). I saw her a total of three times, and was able to pick up my dress at the third fitting, just the past Monday. The dress went from somewhat of a hot mess that was too long and terribly unsupportive to one that fits me like a glove - thus, having me fall in love with it all over again. Now I just can't gain or lose an ounce for the next three weeks. #nopressure

I also have to give some credit as to how the dress fits to my undergarment selection. The process of finding a bra that would properly support me yet still dip low enough for both the very low sweetheart neckline and very low dipping back was a lengthy and anxiety-inducing one. I'll be honest with you, here: even though the top of my dress has some supportive boning, there was no way in Hades that I could get away without wearing some sort of bra. The tatas just.. need some support. Whatever, it's what I was born with. Sewn in cups won't do, those silly little sticky cutlet things are a joke, and a backless bra is almost just as laughable. My girls need some help and some oomph. My only real option was some sort of dippy longline bra.

I scoured almost every store and every website I could think of. A close contender was this little number from Victoria's Secret.

Victoria's Secret Back Off Baby Low-back Bustier

Would you believe me if I told you that it didn't dip low enough on either the front or the back? Because it didn't.

My last resort was Amazon - I didn't want to go this route because it's all a crapshoot - I could potentially spend a ton of money on several different bras, wait days to get them, only to have to return them all in the end.

However, this story does indeed have a happy ending! I eventually made myself go on Amazon, and wouldn't you know it: I saw, I bought, and I conquered. I got one of the few bras that looked like it not only dipped low enough, but had enough support for the girls.

Carnival Women's Invisible Plung Longline - 206

No, it's not the sexiest thing in the world, but I'm counting on the fact that Foxy will be too tipsy to really care. Especially since I also intend on taping and gluing the shiz out of myself to the both the bra and the dress. That thing isn't budging at all.

Yes, that is toupee tape on the left. It's the poo.

And yes, I will probably be trying on my dress every time Foxy leaves the house for the next few weeks until the wedding.

How far out from the wedding did you take your wedding dress home? What did you do about the undergarment situation?

Garter-iffic

Ah, yes. The quest for the garter.

I initially didn't even give the idea a second thought.. I'm personally not a fan of how your "typical" garter looks, and didn't think I would be sporting one on our wedding day.

Ehh.. not really my thang.

Image via Wonder Costumes

But somewhere along line, I found other types of garters (likely on one of my oh-so-frequent Etsy binges). There were lacey ones. Delicate ones. Vintagey looking ones. Beautiful garters galore!

Via Etsy shop Bella Sposa Couture

Via Etsy shop Garter Me Good

Via Etsy shop Brides Boutik

Via Etsy shop Polka Dots n Pixies

Via Etsy shop Woomi Pyo

Can you even deal?! I was swooning over that last one for a long time.. it's just so different and so classy-but-sassy. Love. All of a sudden, I didn't just want a garter.. I needed one. Never mind the fact that we aren't doing a garter toss. I decided that even if no one but myself (and Foxy..!) know about it, just having one of those beauties on my thigh will make me feel so.. sexy. Rawr. So, garter it is.

Trust me when I tell you that I battled with this decision making process for months. While I loved the look of the floral applique like in the last picture, I kept finding myself being drawn to the stretchy lace style with a large, sparkly applique, like in pictures 1, 3, and 4. Seeing as we are just weeks away from the wedding at this point, I knew I had to make my mind up, and fast. Which is why I was incredibly thankful for an extra slow work day last week; only having two clients meant I could devote literally hours to this decision.

What, it didn't take you hours and days and months to choose a garter? Psh.

Anyway, let's get down to it. The garter I ultimately chose was..

Image via Etsy seller Polka Dots n Pixies

..this one!! While this is not my exact garter (seeing as I just put the order in last week), Britt from the Etsy shop Polka Dots n Pixies was kind enough to send me an image of what it will ultimately look like. The lace is stretchy and ivory in color, and the gorgeous applique is sparkly, perfectly oversized, and just overall amazing. It's going to be the perfect little hidden accessory!

Are you wearing a garter, regardless of whether or not you'll be doing a garter toss at the wedding?

I like 'em long

Earrings, that is. I like long earrings. Don't be gross.

I've seen a lot of pictures and articles lately about big statement necklaces to go with wedding day ensembles (like Miss Opposum's!), but not so much about big statement earrings to go with your look. And I? I'm a total hussy for huge, big, statement earrings, a la Lady Duff here.

Image via Dina's Days

They're classy, fun, bold; the perfect accessory, if you ask me. And nine times out of ten, you'll find me sporting some version of big ear bling myself.

(Prepare for several gratuitous photos of yours truly, mostly because I don't feel like laying out my earrings and taking pictures of them. And because earrings look better, you know, in ears.)

I have a bunch more, of course, but I'm pretty sure you get the idea. I wear them so much that people associate me with my ear bling, which I'm totally ok with and absolutely love. So much so that I feel like I must represent my earring passion on our wedding day!

I'll admit that Foxy Mama isn't the biggest fan of this idea - I think she's more in the camp of a simple necklace and simple earrings. But where's the fun in that? I say, skip the necklace and bring on the big, long, hopefully sparkly earrings. Seeing as my dress is strapless with just a touch of bling on the front, I think a nice pair of shoulder duster earrings would go just perfectly. Now I just need to find them.. and that is presenting itself to be a challenge. So far, the following have stood out the most in my eyes:

Morgan Ashleigh Rose Goldplated Brown Crystal 6 inch Modern Fringe Earrings

Image via Overstock.com

Morgan Ashleigh Brown-plated Bronze Glass Bead Earrings

Image via Overstock.com

CZ by Kenneth Jay Lane, Style KE174

Image via Zappos

I feel like I really want a nice mix of all three of these - as in, classy but colorful - but alas, I have not been able to find that yet. While they all definitely have the length, I'm not sure they have the style I'm going for. I'm not even exactly sure what I want, but I'm hoping for that "I'll know it when I see it" moment. Le sigh.

Any other earring lovers out there with suggestions of where to look? If not earrings, what's your favorite wedding day accessory?

Rings & things

Back when Foxy and I first started talking about our respective ring bling, he was adamant about one thing.

Which was not actually wearing a ring.

He said he would be uncomfortable wearing one, since he's never really worn any kind of jewelry outside of a watch. Which makes a little bit of sense. But then again.. most guys don't wear much jewelry. Yet they still wear a wedding band. Touché, Mr. Future Husband.

So while he was against wearing a traditional band, he did say that he wanted to get a ring tattooed on his finger instead.

Image via Wedding Explore

I can't tell you why, exactly, but I wasn't too thrilled about this at first. I mean sure, it's flattering that he's willing to permanently ink himself with a representation of our love and marriage, but I think it's just that I don't like ring tattoos. I have nothing against them on other people, but I suppose I had it set in my head that Foxy would ultimately wear a "real" ring all the time, not just on special occasions (as he so said he would do). It was definitely a point of contention for us for a while - ring vs no ring? How important was it to me for him to have and regularly wear a physical ring in addition to or instead of the tattoo ring?

Lo and behold, ::spoiler alert!:: a few fortuitous things happened:

1. We spent some time with my FSIL's friend Tim who has had his ring tattoo since he was married almost 15 years ago.

And guys? It looked terrible. Really just a hot mess. Minus the hot. So.. a just a big ol'mess.

Now I know tattooed rings do indeed have the capacity to look good (see above)! This one just happened to fall in the other category, and I am SO FREAKING THANKFUL for that (sorry, Tim). The ring appeared to be tattooed slightly higher than a normal ring would sit on your finger, which made it look a bit awkward. I'm also pretty sure he never got the ring touched up at all, because it was insanely faded and honestly? Looked a bit like a bad magic marker sketch that wouldn't wash off all the way, a la the stamp from that club last Saturday night that I regret going to that is still on the back of my hand.

Anyway, one look at that bad boy and Scot was already debating his ring tattoo decision. Progress!

Moving on with the list..

2. Jared's

3. Titanium

4. Tungsten

So. Seeing as we got my e-ring at Jared's, it was only natural to go back and check out their wedding band selection for both myself and the man. All I really have to say here is thank sweet baby Jesus for whoever decided to make mens rings out of tungsten and titanium - the stuff is wicked durable and so freakishly light. Foxy decided to try on a couple of these little beauts while we were at the store:

Image via Jared Jewelers

Once he slipped them on, I swear to you it was like Cinderella had found her missing slipper. I could literally see the change of mind going on through his face and his eyes - a ring really could work! Especially since none of the rings he likes are over the $200 mark - stylish, cost effective, and sturdy? We might as well buy 10 of them while we're at it. (Kidding.) (Sort of.)

In the end, it looks like Foxy has decided to forego the tattoo ring route and still go with the "traditional" band.. just in time for me to have decided that I don't really mind either way. Hey, at least we have options now!

Does anyone have a ring tattoo or know someone who does? What are your thoughts on it?

Blingy thingy

When my mom and I bought my wedding dress back in November, Foxy Mama also decided to gift me with that blingtastic headband that my consultant adorned me in. (Isn't it nuts how they do that? You know, just happening to give you all the little accessories to make you look like a model bride just like those you see in the magazines, and then you're convinced you need everything?) The consultant said that the headband (headpiece? hair piece? blingy thingy?) was made of Swarovski crystals, which in my mind, justified the exorbitant price a bit more.

Drooling. I love it.

I mean, I know my dress wasn't terribly expensive, but the blingy thingy ended up being almost two thirds the price of the dress. Nutso. It did indeed compliment and accent the dress perfectly, and my mom was in love and adamant about getting it. I? Immediately told her I'd just go to Claire's and hot glue a sparkly thing to a ribbon. Wham bam thank you ma'am.

BUT IT'S SWAROVSKI!! insisted Foxy Mama.

Le sigh. Ok, mom. I suppoooose I can give in to a shnazzy sparkly hairpiece (again, you can never go wrong with sparkles. Ever.). It is amazingly gorgeous, and it's attached to a pinkish velvet ribbon with more crystals at each end that would peek below my hair if I kept it short or wore it up. And, if we bought it with the dress, they'd give us 10% off! So we'd fall well within the price range my mom offered to put towards the dress.

Done and done. Dress and blingy thingy: check!

Here's the possible issue (or possible realization that I just don't know my crystals): a while back, I was going through my wedding binder and inspiration photos that I keep on my computer, and realized I didn't have a picture of the hairpiece. I kind of forgot what it really looked like, so I tried to check out Swarovski's site, to no avail. I then honed in to my detective skills looked on the receipt from the bridal store, decoded the consultants handwriting, and found the designer online. The description her website gave of blingy thingy was this:

"A 6" floral rhinestone filigree side décor 3" wide on a 7/8" velvet ribbon."

My initial thought was that we paid that much money for RHINESTONES?!

And I was kind of upset. I mean, the part of me that thought I just should have just bought a sparkly thing at Claire's was really pissed - both myself and my mom were led to believe that it was indeed Swarovski.

But now I'm wondering if Swarovski is actually technically rhinestone? I feel like this is something I should know.. or Google.. but blogging about it is SO much more fun. And if the blingy thingy ends up not being Swarovski, I really don't know if I can justify the price for a hairpiece I'll probably only use once in my life. Albeit it's perfectness in every way and the fact that I have the image of me wearing that bling at the wedding cemented into my brain.

So. Between this possible ruse and the dress debacle, I may just show up to the wedding in my birthday suit and crazy person hair. Me-yow.

Does anyone know anything about this Swarovski nonsense? Or are you just as clueless as I am?

Hangin' out

Are you guys as hung up (heh, get it?) on the whole personalized wire hanger trend as I am?

via Etsy seller wisconmon

via Jamie's Precious Peas

via Lila Francis

After seeing multiple photos with wedding dresses hung from these too-perfect hangers, I decided that I absolutely must have one. And not just any one, but specifically, a Lila Francis one (above). I love Lila's design in particular because of its simplicity and the fact that it is all wire; while the wood hangers are equally as beautiful, I'm just incredibly drawn to the more minimalist look of the aforementioned.

I initially fell in love and bookmarked the site in my browser about 6 months ago. Why not just buy it right away, you lovely bees ask? Well apparently Anna, the genius crafter of Lila Francis, only takes a certain amount of orders per week (smart cookie), and they go on sale Sunday nights, 7pm CST.

Of course I never remembered to go online at just the right time. It also embarrassingly took me a hot minute to calculate what 7pm CST would be in EST. Hush. (It's 8pm, btw.) I always seemed to remember to order it on a Wednesday or Friday. Seeing as these things sell like hot cakes, I was never able to purchase.

Long, pointless story made short: I left the site up on my comper when I inevitably remembered it one particular Friday in July, and lo and behold, our showing of Harry Potter the following Sunday got us out and home by 7:55.

Purchase complete! A short 10 weeks later, I was the proud owner of a wire hanger reading "mrs foxyslastname" to hang my dress on on our wedding day!

That is, if they ever figure out what they're doing with my darn dress. =P


Anyone else jump on the hanger bandwagon?

Something Old

This past June, I got the heartbreaking news that my grammy had passed away. She was a wonderful woman who I got much closer with as I got older - she was witty, funny, sharp, full of life. I visited her and my grampy at least once a year since I was a kid, and have boatloads of memories that include her. Her health was not the best, but she could always put on a happy face when company was around or when it was necessary. While I knew that she wouldn't have been able to attend our wedding, I was at least hoping to show her some pictures and video from the day. While this is unfortunately no longer an option, I am forever so, so thankful that Mr. Foxy was able to meet her about two years ago when we went down for a quick weekend visit.

That being said, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend her memorial service down in Naples, Florida in early July, held at the church that her and my grampy have been a part of for almost 20 years.

Foxy and I stayed at my grandparent's condo with my my mom, stepdad, and uncle - definitely a full house for a 2 bedroom place! Everyone had been chipping in and helping my grampy sorting things out since grammy passed away, which included going through lots of old clothes, jewelry, books, and purses. Some were to be thrown out, some given away, some sold.. and some were "up for grabs".

In terms of purses/bags - my mom put two aside that she thought I might like for a certain special occasion (read: wedding).

I am so incredibly thrilled to say that I loved BOTH of the bags, but one definitely stood out and I just knew that I would be using this bag as a part of my wedding day ensemble. It's the perfect size, sparkly, unique, a bit vintage.. seriously perfect.

One side has a bit more pizazz..

While the other is a bit more subdued.

And it even has a little chain that easily slips out if you'd prefer a bag instead of a clutch!

So there's my wedding day purse - done aaaand done. I'm so very much in love with this little bag, especially since it will be a little piece of my grammy that I can carry with me.

What significant pieces did/will you use as a part of your wedding day ensemble?