Our Wedding Day: What I Wore

 

 

 

Something Old:  Great-Grandmother’s Gold Bracelet

Something New:  Vera Wang Wedding Dress and René Caovilla Heels

Something Borrowed, Something Blue:  Mother’s Sapphire Ring

You can find my first post about our actual wedding day here.  In that post, I talk about how I prepped for the wedding and the details of our hair and makeup.  I also included lots of photos from the bridal suite, getting ready with my best friends.

Now… For the most important #OOTD I’ll ever do.

You can read about my dress shopping adventures in NYC here and here.

This design was brought into the Vera Wang flagship boutique just days before I arrived for my appointment… The designer wanted to see if brides had any interest in that particular design.  As soon as I described what I was looking for (lace, romantic, dreamy) my stylist Talia pulled this dress.  It was meant to be, since the dress was taken back to the studio only days later.

I had specific ideas about the changes I wanted to make to the dress’s original design and as a girl who loves fashion, working with Vera Wang was a dream come true.  We discussed every detail of my dress, it was made to fit my body, and Vera’s seamstresses and stylists brought all my ideas to life.

The dress begins with layers of champagne tulle under layers and layers of ivory tulle to give it a soft, romantic glow from within.  Chantilly lace applied by hand accents the bodice and the top layers of the skirt.  The back lowers to a small ‘v’ and is followed by buttons down to the bottom of the bodice.  We created these delicate straps to mimic the flattering straps of my bridesmaids’ dresses.  Tiny crystal beads were hand-applied all over the bodice and cascading down onto the skirt.  We added a sheer mesh ribbon to accent the waist and tie in a bow at the back.

The veil is long, but simple with hand-applied Chantilly lace to match the dress.

The dress was surprisingly light for the amount of layers and detail it possessed.  I chose to forgo any corsets or undergarments since it fit like a glove and I wanted to feel comfortable in order to move around and dance (and eat – hello!!)  Bless the Dress and our Breakers attendant bustled the back of the dress for me before our first dance at our reception.

I’m often very picky and specific about the clothing or accessories I purchase and my wedding dress was no exception.  I never buy anything I don’t love, so I analyzed and customized every detail before falling head over heels in love with it!!  After all the customizations were complete it was truly the dress of my dreams.  It made me feel so feminine and timeless on our wedding day… I visit it often in the guest closet and just feel the fabric and admire it for a while.  I will cherish it always.

J’s favorite dress was my dancing dress by Liancarlo my mom and I found at Mark Ingram Atelier.  It is perfect for hourglass, curvy shapes and featured a beautiful embroidered blush tulle under a dramatic ivory French Alençon lace overlay.  I’ll show you photos of the dress when I post about our reception.  I’m thinking of having some professional photos taken of the dress because I just don’t think it was given an opportunity to shine.

Lidia was my stylist at Mark Ingram and added a light, cropped bustier to the inside of this dress for support.  She is a genius and will make any woman feel fabulous in her gown.  I’m so thankful I had her help because I couldn’t have felt better to dance and move around our reception.

I wore Bond No. 9’s Saks Fifth Avenue En Rose fragrance and Saks Fifth Avenue For Her body cream for my wedding.  Saks Fifth Avenue En Rose is beautiful, feminine fragrance with notes of lantana leaves, dry dates, orange rose, tuberose, amber, musk, and sandalwood.  It pairs beautifully with the Saks Fifth Avenue For Her body cream with its notes of gardenia and jasmine.  Combined, the fragrances will last over 24 hours on my skin.

My beautiful pearl and crystal hairpiece from Bacio Bacio Bridal was placed just under my veil.  I wore gold and crystal earrings, necklace, and bracelet from Nadri jewelry that matched the teardrop design of the necklace and earrings I gave my bridesmaids.

My mother lent me the beautiful sapphire ring my father gave her long ago for my “something blue”.  It was designed after the ring Prince Charles gave Princess Diana and now has even more meaning since that ring is now worn by Duchess Catherine, one of my favorite style icons.

Another important piece I wore was the engraved gold bracelet from my great-grandmother (a gift from my great-grandfather before they were married).  The bracelet has become a superstitious tradition in our family.  Each bride who has worn the bracelet on her wedding day has remained married and each who hasn’t has gotten divorced.  I love the vintage feel of the bracelet and of course, I couldn’t forgo wearing it with a track record like that.

I wore René Caovilla strappy heels… Lace-like blush suede with pink, gold, and iridescent Swarovski crystals covering the fronts.  They were so comfortable I wore them for photos, throughout the ceremony, and then continued dancing in them all night.

For the second half of our reception, I let the sexiness of my dancing dress shine by adding only statement Nina earrings and nothing else.

Search #TCGWedding on Instagram for more wedding-related posts.