The Wedding {Part One}

First, let me say a big thank you for all your kind words about my grandma's passing... 
and about our wedding.

I thought I would write a post about our day.  I'm going to go chronologically here.

The day started at 7:30AM in our hotel suite.  I did not want to get out of bed because I went to sleep at 2:30AM.  Yeah 5 hours of sleep!  My hair stylist, who graciously agreed to drive the hour and a half to our wedding destination, arrived around 7:45 and started on my bridesmaid, Melissa's hair.  I jumped in the shower.  By the time I was out of the shower my makeup artist was there. 

Soon all of my bridesmaids were in the suite getting their hair and makeup done.  My Maid of Honor gave me an amazing gift-- a photo album from my bachelorette weekend in Chicago and a tear-jerking card.

The plan was to be done with my hair and makeup by 12:30 so I could get in my dress, take some bridal shots, and then get in the limo at 1:00 to go to our First Look location.  {Brad's dad drove him separately.}  I was a little late getting into the makeup chair.  Then, when I got the call about my grandma, I got delayed another half an hour.  My hair ended up taking two and half hours, but it was worth it in the end.  I ended up not getting done with my hair until 1:30.  My legs were shaking as I sat there getting my hair done, knowing we were not on schedule and the limo was waiting.  

As I was getting my hair done, I gave my bridesmaids their gifts-- a pearl necklace with matching earrings, personalized makeup bag, pink pashmina, and green and pink flip flops that I made.

I didn't get to take any bridal shots in our hotel room {something I regret}.  I hurried into my dress and put on my earrings, bracelet, and shoes.  As I was about to head out the door, Brad's mom showed up with my gift from him.  It was a beautiful heart-shaped jewelry box with "Mrs. Chelsea NewLastName" engraved on top.  There was a pearl bracelet inside.  I put it on with the pearl bracelet I was borrowing from my mom. 

Brad got ready in his best man's suite with the rest of the groomsmen, his dad, brother, and some other friends.  Brad was on schedule.  He actually took a nap after leaving our suite that morning.  Lucky.  While getting ready, he opened my gift-- IU cufflinks {our alma mater and where we met}.

Silhouette Matters

Ball Gown. A-Line. Empire. Mermaid. Sheath. Fit-and-Flare. Trumpet.

I'm a true believer that every girl looks best in a certain silhouette. My belief was sealed when I began searching for my dress. In my quest for the perfect dress I ventured into 5 bridal salons, traveling across state lines to go to 2 of them and tried on 40+ dresses.

I'm going to show you how I look in certain silhouettes to demonstrate how some are not for everyone. (NOTE: I will not be posting a pic of my dress. I know, I'm no fun.) I lopped my head off most of the photos because I'm not making the best faces. :)

Alright, let's get this party started!

The very first dress I tried on! Here I am in the biggest ball gown type dress I tried on. I felt like I took up too much volume, and I look like it too. No ball gown dresses for me!

Moving on to empire. Oh empire and I are not friends. I look large and frumpy-- not the words I'd like to describe myself as on my wedding day.

A-line. I think that everyone looks good in A-line... including myself.

However, I don't like the look of pick-ups, as shown with this A-line dress. I think I look squatty. I also don't like how it looks like I'm wearing a down comforter.

Fit-and-flare. I liked the look of fit-and-flare dresses or sometimes called modified A-line. When comparing this photo to the photos of myself in the empire waist dresses it looks like a completely different person to me.

I wasn't about to try on a mermaid or trumpet style dress because I don't need to overly emphasize my hips, thighs, and booty. :)

What silhouette do you think I went with?