Mo+Boy Tie the Knot: We're So Vain

Ok, I guess the boy's not vain. But I am admittedly vain, and if you need more proof, you can browse through all my old posts about makeup, hair, dresses, alterations, being thin, not being thin. It's tiring (and expensive!) caring so much about your appearance.

This is the result of my amateur styling of the two of us, along with links to the people that helped us be sparklier versions of ourselves.

[Our outfits!: my dress by Kitty Chen Couture, the boy's suit by Thick as Thieves.]

[My beautiful bouquet of peonies by Rae Florae]

[The boy's boutonniere by Rae Florae]

[A fun shot with the lemonade]

[I love the light in this photo.]

[A shot in front of our photo station fabric backdrop]

[Earrings from Regina B.]

[Hair by Uyen Tran, fabric flowers from Handle and Spout]

[Bracelet from Regina B. and ring by Sarah Perlis]

[Photos by Jessamyn Harris and Sheri Tennison Berg for Jessamyn Harris Photography]

Bridesmaid Dresses from Saja

[All images from Saja Wedding]

I got an email from Saja today informing  me that they launched their new weddings website!

I visited Saja last year on our trip to New York. It was the first place I went to try on dresses.  I wasn't even engaged yet, but they were so nice and helpful. Plus, I loved all of the dresses!  

When I opened the website today, I became super excited that they have these kelly green bridesmaid dresses! Sister 2 is also a Saja fan, so these dresses are likely candidates! You can see them "in action" in the last photo. 

If you're looking for your wedding dress and want to stay below the $1,000 mark, I highly suggest giving Saja a try. You can view all their beautiful wedding gowns here.

To see real live people wearing them, go here. 

My Dress Arrived + Updates

+Thank you so much to everyone and your suggestions on where to go on our honeymoon. There were many places mentioned that I had not even thought of, so I really appreciate the time everyone took to lend me some advice. We're still debating, one of these days we'll make a decision and then I can go crazy planning all of the fun sites we'll see and good food we'll eat.  

+Thank you also to everyone who gave me advice regarding my mom. I told her that we have a cat and that basically clinched it. "Ooooh yeah. I forgot you had a pet. Never mind!" Now I'm looking for an apartment/condo to rent close to us the week of our wedding. Anyone willing to give up their La Jolla apartment for my parents?

+If you notice on the sidebar, that vendor list is getting pretty full. We have cake left, and music. I'm looking for a good bakery/baker in San Diego County. Thank you to reader Larissa who has already given me three places to try out in the next month!

As for music, we're going to talk to our venue about a sound system for an ipod/laptop set-up. For ceremony music, we want live music, just haven't figured out who will be playing!

+I picked up my dress this weekend. (!!!!) Thank you to my friend Jenny, who was kind enough to accompany me, help me put my shoes on, and take pictures. 

It is sitting in my closet, taunting me, and won't be altered until May. The shoulders have to be taken up a lot, and I really hope keeping the dress up won't be a problem. They showed me a photo of a bride who had ties added to the back so that it would stay up, and I immediately cried "nooooo! The back is the best part!"

It also felt really tight, and when I mentioned it at the store, the associate told me "don't worry, this is how it's supposed to fit--pain is beauty!" 

Oh yay.

[PS: I brought the shoes with me!]

Temperley London Trunk Show

Ah New Yorkers. I like to skip around taunting all of you about San Diego's steady, dry 75 degree weather, but really, deep down inside I'm crying because of all of your fashion resources. So while I make fun of you for all the effort you go through to go grocery shopping, you can go to the Temperley Trunk Show and admire these GORGEOUS dresses. I'm pretty much in love with the first two.

Temperley Fall Trunk Show

Temperley London Boutique, NYC

453 Broome Street, 2nd Floor

New York City

November 7th & 8th

12 PM-5 PM

Other vendors will also be in attendance (in case you are planning a New York wedding,) and you can also enter your name into a raffle for a whole bucket full of bridal treats:

• $400 Temperley London Gift Card valid towards wedding gown purchase
• $250 Ceci Gift Card valid towards wedding invitation design
• $750 Christian Oth engagement photoshoot
• $250 Visions Floral Design Bridal Bouquet
• Full set of MAC Make-up brushes

See the Temperley London Bridal Collection here.

My Mother's Retro Cheongsam

[I managed to squeeze myself into this one. Sorry, I don't have a floor lenth mirror.]

[A view of the dress as full lenth]

[This white cheongsam has a great pattern. Unfortunately I can't even put it on it's so tight.]

I visited my family this weekend, and my mother sent me home with two beautiful cheongsams she had worn at her wedding. I knew my Mom was 105 lbs. and a size 0 when they got married, but I was going to give it a shot anyway.

So, surprise surprise, they don't fit.

I managed to squeeze myself into one of them, like a sausage into a casing when the sausage is wearing spanx, but the other? It wouldn't go past my thighs. I don't know if it's worth it to try to alter one of them, and I really don't want to lose 10 lbs. just to squeeze myself into one.

Was anyone else planning to wear your mother's wedding dress? How does one even move in a cheongsam, wearing one is SO uncomfortable!

A Dress for the Engagement Party

During fourth of July weekend, we are having an engagement party. It's nothing fancy, more of a big family get-together. There were no formal invitations, and we're basically just going to show up and eat with our immediate families. But it will be the first time our families meet, and I will be seeing 30 or so relatives of the boy.

So I thought I'd spruce myself up a bit. Y'know, something that says, hi, I'm going to be related to you soon, you can rest assured that I can dress myself properly and modestly.

I went to BCBG, J. Crew, H&M, and Anthropologie.
I didn't find anything at J. Crew (it looked like they were switching seasons) and nothing at H&M. My best stop was at Anthro.

I worked at Anthropologie last summer as a second job to make some extra spending money, but it turned out I basically worked for clothes! It kills me a little buying things there post employee discount, but what's a girl to do?

Here we go...

Dresses at Anthropologie:

1.

[I love yellow, but don't have anything in this color. I also really liked the detail--sorry, that eyes sore is the camera chord]

2.
[Red is a lucky color and will most likely please our more traditional relatives.]

3.
[This dress is by Corey Lynn Calter, a designer I love! The dress I wore for our engagement session was by her.]

4.
[50's inspired polka dot number! It's fun, but I can see my new relatives doing a double-take when they meet me. This is a sales rack item.]

5.
[This is a fun bohemian dress! Not sure if the halter is the most appropriate, I might have to wear a cardigan. This is on the sales rack.]

Dress at BCBG:

6.

[This fit well, and it had pockets--score!]

Which one(s) should I buy for the party?

Trudy's Annual Sample Sale

For those of you in the SF Bay Area, Trudy's in Campbell, CA is having a sample sale!
I had a great time at Trudy's, and despite not finding my dress there, my consultant was incredibly patient and really took the time to listen to what I was looking for.

Trudy's is not paying me to say this, I promise. (Actually no one I feature on this blog pays me to say any kind words, so you can be guaranteed that this is really what I think!)

If you're in the area, go visit! They have an incredible selection to begin with so I can imagine there being many gowns at sample prices.

Done Playing Dress Up: The Wedding Dress

I bought it. (!!!!!!)
I always pictured myself like those brides on Say Yes to the Dress where they cry and wipe away tears while their bridal entourage also dabs away tears, and then there's hugging involved and lots of sighing and twirling in front of the mirror.

But that didn't happen. When I put it on all I could really say was "Yup. This is it. Do you take VISA?" So, no tears, but I'm very happy with the purchase!

It was also a very lovely day because my co-worker Melissa came with me (thank you Melissa!) and we made a date out of it and went back to the venue to take a quick tour of the winery and bask in the sun.

They said it should take approximately 7 months (!!!) and that alterations will take about 1.5 months. So I guess shopping early was a good idea!

Ok I've typed enough text, ready for some shots of someone other than the model in the dress?

***Trumpets***

Ta-da! I'm getting married and I have something to wear to the occasion!


[The middle beading is crooked because they pinned it tighter since I have no boobs. I also look like I'm practicing my vows in this picture. "I, Mo, take you, very adorable boy, to be..."]

[I'm standing on a stool--it was the only way not to trip over the dress while I was in front of the mirror. The tailor is going to be my best friend. This is also an idea of what my hair would look like up. What do you think, hair up or down?]

[The back--scandalous! Instead of the silicone cups they suggested I sew some fabric cups into the dress, so I may just do that.]

[The detail on the bottom]

[Miss a beat? Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV]

PS: This is my 200th post! Woohoo!

Cute and Casual.

[Suzi Chin Maggy Boutique Sleeveless Rosette Hem Dress]

I think this dress is super cute and would also make a great wedding dress. Short, breezy, no fuss, easy to accessorize, and the best part is that it's $118!

If Kitty Chen falls through...

...hello Marc Bouwer gown! Le sigh.

Hello Kitty: Finding The One

If you're new to the blog (hi!) these are my previous posts on finding a dress:
Three Days in New York - Saja Boutique
Playing Dress Up: Part I - Bliss Bride
Playing Dress Up: Part II - Trudy's Bridal
Playing Dress Up: Part III - Nicole Miller

I would have named this post "Playing Dress Up: Part IV", but I have no pictures! As luck would have it, the one place in which I think I've found the perfect dress, and they won't let me take pictures!

Do you remember the post when I said I was done trying on dresses? That I just wanted to choose from the 40 some odd dresses I've ducked and dived into? Yeah, remember that? Well, it all changed when I saw this dress via Style Me Pretty last Friday. It was exactly what I had been looking for.

After tracking it down in a store that was [oddly] close to our venue, I went to try it on. Alone! And it was totally fine. It was like any other shopping day, so I'm not sure why I was so weirded out with going alone at all.

And I LOVED the dress. LOVED IT. I loved it so much, I started calling other bridal salons to ask how much it retailed for once I got home. I found another store that was selling it for $300 less, so I asked the shop to match their price, and they did! Woohoo!

I have to wait to take pictures until I put a deposit down, but in the meantime, do you want to see the pretty pictures from the website??


*


*


*


*


*


*


*


*



*



*



*

Hi Kitty
Brier Rose by Kitty Chen Couture

I'll let you all know when I actually put down the deposit--but I'm 98% sure this is the one!

I Officially Love This

[Amy and Craig, All images by Heather Wendlings photography, via Style Me Pretty]

Have you seen this wedding on SMP? Have you seen the dress?? I'm not sure I've been this excited about seeing a wedding dress. I must know where it's from! If you look in the comments, I'm the second comment demanding to know where it's from (obsessed? I think not.)

Amy, you look great. Please tell me where you bought your dress. If you made it, I will bow down to you.

UPDATE: A kind soul named Cacey has identified it as Brier Rose from Kitty Chen. And, LOL, Kitty Chen is located in San Diego! Hm...time to type another email...

Jenny Yoo - Sample Sale

Calling all brides to be in the NY area--Jenny Yoo is having a sample sale, May 18-19th! Check it out on her website.
*Brandy was rockin' this dress here.

I Joined the Sarah Seven Fan Club

[Beautiful dress for a wedding.]

[I love this dress's mustard color and big fun bow! The glasses give it a librarian chic look.]

[Raspberry Perfection indeed.]

[All images from Sarah Seven's Etsy shop]

I know Sarah Seven has been news around the blogosphere, but I just can't stop looking at the photos on her blog and website to not give her a shout out! I'm a big fan of anything with ruffles and color, plus she uses recycled materials in her designs and donates 5% of her profits to charity. Sweet. Could Portland maybe move closer to San Diego?

In less exciting news, I will be in Dallas all weekend and won't be attached to my computer as usual.

Hope everyone has a very happy weekend, and I'll see y'all back online Monday!

Playing Dress Up: Part III

Today I went to Nicole Miller La Jolla in search of the dress again. It was such a nice day, my friend Tiffany accompanied me and we had really yummy sweet crepes before going. Mmmm...crepes!

Let's see what I tried on, shall we?
{I'm wearing ginormously high heels in these photos--wouldn't it be great if I were actually this tall??}

[The train was so pretty on this dress. I thought for the quality of the lace and fit it was a good deal at $1150. Yay for cheaper bridal gowns!!!]

[I felt sassy in this dress, can you tell by my hand on my hip? It was nice, but wasn't for me]

[I almost didn't get to try this on. I went in specifically asking for it, and then the consultant told me that it had been discontinued. Nooooooo! But then I assured her that it was still on the website, so she looked it up, and voila! They in fact had a size 8 sample in the back room! Because it's the last one, instead of $1400, she reduced it to $980. I have until tomorrow to decide. I'm not sure what to do yet, but I'm pretty excited that it was reduced!]

[Image from brides.com -- kinda funky photo direction, no? It just kinda makes me laugh to look at the topiary bunnies. Do you see the bunnies? Do you see 'em?!!]

[Details of the pretty embellished fabric. Unfortunately you can't really see it from far away.]

[My friend Tiffany was so awesome and patient today. She helped me in and out of the dresses AND took pictures AND bought me Ben and Jerry's later. Seriously grateful, thank you Tiffany!]

Out of all of the dresses I tried on, I can honestly see myself wearing the daisy embroidered dress and another I tried on (I didn't take pictures, sorry) a long time ago on my trip to New York. Now I just have to make a decision, because I think at this point I've tried on...30-40 dresses? That's a lot of dresses.

I just feel like I'm done trying things on. I'm getting bridal research fatigue, even though I have so much time until the party. I'm sort of tired of searching and want to have it crossed off the list. What I really don't want to do is be a 2-dress bride, so once I make the decision, no other dresses!

But maybe I could spend money on those bunnies. They'd be good accessories in our portraits. We'd just have to make the collars red, cause y'know, that shade of pink---totally not in our wedding colors.

...kidding!