acireta

Groom Attire & Accessories My FI is NOT a dress-up/suit kind of guy. He would be miserable in a suit, even a comfy linen one. So we went the casual route. We got his pants from Old Navy and shirt from Kohl’s. We actually got him two shirts, one for the island ceremony and one for the shipboard dinner, so he can change back on the boat and feel fresh and clean for dinner! He also will wear some brown leather flip-flops he bought a few years ago that he loves. Bridesmaids Attire & Accessories During our dress shopping weekend road trip to Maryland, we found my dress, my mom’s dress (Macy’s) and dresses for my BMs. We ordered the BMs dresses from David’s Bridal in the color Malibu. I’m not sure what color dresses they tried on. We also bought these cute belts with flowers on them to jazz up the dresses a little bit. The girls will wear silver flip-flops, the starfish necklaces I bought them when I asked them to be my BMs, other silver jewelry that they own, blue hair flowers and white sunglasses. I got the hair flowers from Torrid at some ridiculous sale and they were $1/pair. I got the Chanel knockoff sunglasses from Focal Price. I didn’t even know they were Chanel knockoffs until they arrived, it wasn’t advertised on their site. Groomsmen Attire & Accessories We wanted Al’s brother, Buster, to be his best man, but he is a Marine and found out a few months ago that he would be deployed a month before the trip. Then his deployment was cancelled. Then it was reinstated. So he’s currently serving in Afghanistan, and we’ll be filming the ceremony so we can send him the video. Every time Buster is deployed, this cardboard cutout takes his place at family functions – Cardboard Buster/Daddy. He’s a little beat up after six tours LOL His wife gave us Cardboard Buster to take on the trip, and our groomsman will hold him during the ceremony and we’ll take pictures with him at the wedding and throughout the trip. For our other groomsman and my stepdad, we got shirts from Kohl’s and pants from Macy’s. We got our GM black sunglasses for the wedding day and asked him to wear brown flip-flops. Parents Attire My mom found her dress during our dress shopping road trip at Macy’s during an end-of-summer sale. My stepdad will wear the same thing as the groomsmen (teal shirt and linen pants), and he’ll be the one to walk me down the aisle. I have no idea what Al’s mom is going to wear. She does her own thing, and that is just fine with me! To be continued...

Bride Attire & Accessories I’m a plus size girl, and dress shopping scared the hell out of me from the beginning. My mom and I took a road-trip from Chicago to DC last year to do a whirlwind dress shopping weekend with my bridesmaids. Thanks to someone on here, I made an appointment at a place called Curvaceous Couture in Columbia, MD, a couture plus-size bridal shop. For the first time in my life, everything I tried on was too big! I ordered my dress through them, Fabi by Enzoani. A lot of drama came along with getting my dress. It’s a long story, but in the end, six weeks before my wedding, the salon sent me an unused sample they had set aside for me two months earlier just in case… good thing they did because my dress never showed up. They were incredibly generous and customer service oriented, and I would have been completely screwed if not for the wonderful owner of this shop. I couldn’t go back to Maryland for dress fittings, so they shipped me my dress, and I found a good tailor from a recommendation from a shop that sells Enzoani here in Chicago. She removed the hoop skirt, changed the neckline and reduced the train. This is the dress I originally tried on: I also found a short dress on Craigslist from the sweetest girl in NC, for dinner on the night before the wedding and for our AHR. I did try it on at David’s before buying it from her. I bought flip-flops for the ceremony from a BDW bride and heels for my short dress from David’s Bridal. One of the first things I bought when I started planning was my Happy clutch from David’s Bridal, and I still love it so much! It’s nice and roomy for sunglasses, make-up and other items. I got my jewelry from Etsy seller ElegantChicJewel. Great seller who changed the bracelet and necklace lengths for me with no problems. I knew I didn’t want to do a veil, so I bought a hair flower from Etsy seller EnchantedlyYours, and I added some Russian netting to it. I made my own garter using some tutorials I found online. Al doesn’t know about this – tee hee! Go White Sox! My stepdad cuts hair and had one of his coworkers help me set up some extensions and work out a style that I liked. The ship has agreed to open the salon early for me, my mom and my bridesmaids on the morning of the wedding, since we have to be ready by 9:30 AM. I’m taking them a ton of pictures of the trial to work from. I’ll have to do my own make-up on the ship so I got a ton of make-up advice from a girl who does my nails at Ulta and bought a bunch of products that were recommended by her and online. I did some practicing at home, and it was super fun J I also bought a bunch of bride shirts and accessories from other BDW brides over the past year. I added a name to the back of one using iron-on lettering. For my shower, my two bridesmaids bought me a little bedazzled Bride zip-up hoodie and yoga pants from David’s Bridal. It is the cutest thing ever, and I can’t wait to wear it! To be continued...