I'm only going to speak about what I wore for now-
although I must say my bridesmaids, flower girls and guys rocked it out!
Wedding dress, wedding dress, wedding dress...
Let's talk wedding dress.
Okay so I'm a little bit of a non-traditional bride in a few ways.
1. I'm plus sized- not really as many options floating around pinterest for me as my fellow skinny mini friends
2. I did almost-actually no- ALL of my bridal shopping ONLINE!!
*gasp*
yeah-the dress, veil, shoes, wedding night outfit (wink wink), and flower crown were all bought online!
3. I had NO ALTERATIONS!! None! Zip! Zero! Everything looked great and fit right!
Maybe I lucked out?
Possibly!
But I also think it had a lot to do with shopping on some great websites!
I know, I know!
Some of you right now are thinking...
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
But let me explain!
What about that wedding dress shopping experience??
With the Mom and all the friends, gasping and awing and crying over how great you look?
WHAT ABOUT SAYING "YES!" TO THE DRESS??
Well, for me
(and probably a lot of other brides out there)
I live really far away from my family. And my Mom works,
so her flying in for however long it takes to help me find the perfect dress wasn't really an option.
So what I ended up doing is I found my dress and fell in love online!
So I ordered it!
And when it got here, I called together a viewing party!
A lot of my friends all gathered at a house, with food and The Dress!
I tried it on, came out to show them and there was gasps, awes and maybe a little bit of crying.
I strongly consider any bride buying a dress online to put together a "Viewing Party"!
Just a little food for thought.
What a beauty!
Where do I find such a great dress, for such a big girl?
Well welcome my friends to a place called
IGIGI!
Got a fancy date coming up? a Mardi Gras Ball? A Wedding?
IGIGI is your place girl!
The style of wedding dress I bought was called "Eugenia"
Here's what you will see on the site:
Me? I chose to go sash-less and added some sleeves.
=)
(If you are having trouble finding this style dress on the IGIGI website, type in "IGIGI Eugenia wedding dress for sale" in your google search engine- there are more websites out there that sell IGIGI dresses- and some do it for cheaper shhhhhh)
Price!
Let's talk about price!!
I don't know about you, but when I watch "Say Yes To The Dress" and I hear how much some brides plan on spending on their wedding dress- my gag reflex starts to act up.
Thousands and thousands of dollars on a dress you will only wear once??
I'm sure we can find the most important dress of our lives for a price we can afford?
(I'd rather spend the big bucks on the honeymoon *wink wink*)
My dress itself cost around $500
Maybe thats a little pricey for some- but the great thing about IGIG is I have found beautiful wedding dresses on there for as cheap as $230
And the quality?
Amazing!
Let's talk wedding shoes!
The picture above are the ones I wore
And I LOVEDDDD them!
They really matched my style and gave me a little non-traditional flare
;)
Let's give credit where credit's due
WANELO!!
(If you don't have this app already, do yourself a favor and download it now! side effects might include: losing your social life, never shopping in a regular store ever again, and spending WAYYY less time on pinterest!)
The shoes come in cream, and brown.
And both are super cute!
The only problem is the link led me to a a big fat "Sold Out" sign.
=(
The worst!
So I took the name of the ebay seller (listed in red on the pictures)
And found them on ebay.
=)
Okay so for the ceremony I wore this big, long wedding veil.
Simply beautiful.
But hard to dance-your-face-off in during a high energy wedding reception.
So for the reception,
I traded my veil for a crown!
A flower crown!
I LOVE this flower crown trend!
If I had my way I would wear one everyday, everywhere!
But I'm pretty sure the people I work with might start to talk ;)
So for my wedding day, I wanted the best!
And I think I found it!
Please, all you hippie flower childs and brides to be: Do yourself a favor and check out this gal's Etsy!
She has SO many beautiful things!
From flower clips, crowns, dress sashes, and veils.
(My husband believes there is nothing prettier than a girl with flowers in her hair)
=)
Okay so I never thought of myself as a veil girl- but one time I went wedding dress shopping with my cousin and the bridal consultant helping us shared with the meaning of the veil.
Ughhhh I cried so hard!
And right there I decided I'm gonna need ta get me one ;)
There are a few different meanings of the wedding veil, but this is what the bridal consultant shared with us.
The wedding veil covers the bride's head and face- representing the covering that she has had before marriage.
Whether that be the protection and provision of her family, or a girl who struggled to make it on her own- always taking care of herself.
She wears the veil covering her head and face down the aisle until she reaches her groom-
there, her father (or whoever) gives her away
but right before they give their little girl away- they lift the veil and kiss her face
Symbolizing their baby girl is all grown up- they did the best they could, they loved her dearly.
And the father presents her to her groom with her face uncovered, beaming with love
As if to say "Here is my most precious love, my daughter. Now it is your turn to protect her and love her the way I would for the rest of her life."
Oh my gosh!!! Beautiful right!??
Tears for days!!!
I'm not sure of the real, true meaning of the wedding veil- but this is the one I choose to believe.
Feel free to adopt it too if it touched your heart like it did mine!
It symbolizes the transition you make into your new life with your husband.
Your family becomes extended family, and your husband and kids become your own.
=)
I really lucked out that it matched the color of my dress- but you can always order a discounted veil online and take to a bridal or formal wear store and pay to get it dyed to match your dress
=)
For this wedding veil I shelled out about $46
Not too bad-, right?
There are a lot of discounted wedding accessories on this site!
"Mh I'm pretty sure you've covered everything!!" right?
WRONG!
Let's talk lingerie!
AHHH!
How embarrassing right?
TMI right?
Well get your mind out of the gutter!
lol
I'm going to share with you a great curvy girl website for the tights and garter that I wore under my dress- and even the slip I wore underneath my wedding dress that added the sleeves!
Welcome girls to
But this is like a victoria's secret for Plus Size girls!
(and that's all I'll say about that!)
;)
Check it out girls!
NOW I think we covered it all!
From head to toe!
day to night!
Everything you need for that big fat perfect wedding day!
Skinny Minies out there who have had a good experience with shopping for a wedding dress online on a trusted site? Go ahead and sound off below!
Whew!
Glad we got that covered!
This wont be the last wedding blog I post!
I will post one about DIY wedding projects like Party Favors, Cake Toppers , etc...
Tips and Tricks to cut down on your wedding cost
A shout out to all the wonderful vendors I worked with
My bridesmaids, flower girls and groomsmen styles
And much more!
Believe me, I understand. Those of you planning your dream wedding,
We can use all the help we can get!
;)
until next time!
-mh