Etsy Love: Gift Giving

I know...I've been a bad blogger. Truthfully, I didn't have much motivation to do wedding blogging after the wedding was over, but a couple of things happened in the last couple of weeks to make me break out the Blogger pages:

1. A very lovely couple contacted me to find out if I was interested in selling the many jars I had collected from our centerpieces because they, too, would like to do something similar. It was awesome both to get rid of the jars that had been taking up space in my house and hear that local brides were actually reading my blog and even finding it helpful.

2. Not too long after that, we discovered that a slow water leak under our house had been basically turning our house into a sauna, which led to extensive mold damage to a lot of items we were storing in our guest room, and a lot of those were wedding items. By wedding shoes (which I did plan to wear again) were totally ruined. Our cute little card tree went in the trash. But the most upsetting? My gown has mold damage. Yup, you heard me. I am going to take it to a preservation/cleaner for a consult to see if they can save it.

So, with so many of our little momentos thrown out in the trash this weekend, I wanted to revisit some of the things that made our wedding, in our opinions, awesome.

Let's start by wrapping up the Etsy Love category with attendant gifts.

We had a really hard time deciding what to get our attendants. They were all brothers and sisters, and we wanted to get something that would not only be a nice gesture but also appreciated and, dare I say it, actually used.

For my sister and sister-in-law, I went with jewelry. Seems like an obvious choice, I know, but I spent hours shopping (both on and offline) trying to find just the right items that would be beautiful and personal. For my sister-in-law, I picked out this silver necklace from madebysam:

I had it personalized with a citrine stone, which was doubly significant because yellow was one of our wedding colors and happened to be my sister-in-law's birthstone. For my sister, I picked out this owl-riffic number from LittleGreenRoom:

In case you haven't noticed, owls are kind of a thing with me, and that all started with my niece and a pair of owl pajamas I gave to her before she was born. Continuing the owl theme seemed extra important when I saw that this necklace featured and owl that the designer called "Hedwig, the protector." Given everything that has happened to my sister, she needs any extra protection she can get.

For the men, we gave them all the same thing: silver guitar picks with their initials engraved on them from bellabuttondesigns. Sounds kinda silly, but all the men involved each play some form of stringed instrument, and music has been a big role in all of our collective lives. I think they were well received.

Etsy Love, Part 2: Accessories

Back in the planning stages, I told you about my intentions to purchase ties for the groom and best men from Cyberoptix TieLab and my hair accessory from Portobello. Well, purchase we did, and they were awesome.

I think these photos speak for themselves, but if not, I'll tell you that we got compliments all day on both the ties and my hair clip. And, with the hair clip, the day that I went to get my hair and makeup trials, I wore it from appointment to appointment, and people were stopping me about every 15 minutes to freak out over how cute it was. I loved it. In fact, I still do, and am planning to break it out whenever the occasion might suit.

Photos by Aaron Thompson

Etsy Love: Holly Stalder

Etsy is just about the greatest thing to ever happen to brides. Ever. Have you found yourself browsing the traditional bridal vendors, only to find nothing that strikes your fancy? Or worse yet, finding out that the thing that strikes your fancy is three times what you can afford to pay? Etsy has your answers! Seriously, whether it's fashion accessories, gifts for the wedding party, or decorations for your reception, you can probably find it on Etsy. Or at least find someone to make it for you. Though I love promoting San Diego vendors that are doing a great job, I found some Etsy vendors that positively made my wedding what it was. I plan to spend the next few posts telling you about the many Etsy vendors that I used.

First up: Holly Stalder. I first discovered her designs on Style Me Pretty when I saw this wedding featured (you'll notice that the bride is wearing a Nicole Miller gown -- I also wore Nicole Miller). After browsing her shop online, I knew that I had to have Holly design something for me. I sent her a convo, and we got started. I told her what I liked, what sort of style I was going for, and sent her pictures of me in my gown. She responded with suggestions, sent me some fabric swatches, and the designing began. She checked in along the way, letting me know how the process was going and sending pictures. When the finished product arrived, I was blown away. I couldn't believe how seamlessly it tied my whole outfit together.

Unfortunately, I don't have a great head-to-toe photo of my in the shrug. I started out wearing it at the reception, but got super hot from dancing and ended up having it off for longer than I anticipated. But people raved about how adorable it was.

Photos by Aaron Thompson

Dress You Up in My Love

Alright, after falling off the blogging bandwagon in November and December due to the wedding, honeymoon, and holidays, I'm back and ready to share more details with you. But rather than tell you about the details, I'll show you. Let's start with some fashion nuggets.

The dress is Nicole Miller, a wonderful designer for brides that are not interested in spending $3,000 on a gown, but still want to look fashion forward.
The shoes are Belle by Sigerson Morrison, amazingly found on sale at Piperlime.
The purse? That's a fantastic find that my sister picked up at a church yard sale! I couldn't believe the luck at how well it matched the shoes. The little broach and ribbon were additions courtesy of Holly Stalder, who made the broach to match the custom shrug I ordered from her, shown below.

The bridesmaids dresses were the ever popular J. Crew. I thought the ladies looked gorgeous! The men wore their own suits with ties from Toybreaker. The flower girls from JT's side of the family wore their own dresses with green sashes made by JT's mom. My niece wore a dress from SweetPlume, and my sister made her own fabulous feather hairband.

The feather hairpiece was made by Portobello -- I got so many compliments on it! And the earrings? Another great random find at Macy's for only $30!

All images by Aaron Thompson.

Readers Choice, Part Two

Earlier today, I got a fantastic comment from blog reader Lysa who wrote on the post Hair Raising Accessories, "post pic of rehearsal dress if you have time (which you won't, but post anyway!)" She's right on the money -- with tomorrow marking 10-days-to-go, I'm not going to have much time, but I am going to try to keep posting, as much as I can, in those 10 days. My posts probably won't consist of those planning/vendor-related stories that I've tried to populate this blog with in order to make it the most helpful to other San Diego brides. Instead, my posts between now and the wedding will probably consist of quick snapshots (sometimes literally) of how I've been spending my time. And the good news is that I'll have LOTS of great material for post-wedding posting after we get back from the honeymoon, since there will be plenty of pictures to share along with stories and vendor recaps.

In my post Wigging Out, I asked readers to weigh in on my sister's hair (or rather lack of hair) fashion dilemma. Now it's my turn. No, not for the wedding itself, but for the rehearsal dinner. You saw my previous post about trying to incorporate some sort of veil-inspired hair accessory. Well, here's the dress I purchased over the weekend (sort of):

I couldn't find a picture online of the exact dress, but this one is from the same line and is very similar. The one I got is a brighter blue (more blue-green, less blue-gray) and doesn't have spaghetti straps (it's more of a high scoop neck tank), which I think makes it look a little less casual. But you get the general idea. Something else important to keep in mind is that I'll be wearing black shoes, because that's pretty much all I own. Most likely a pair of wedge heels with ankle straps. Very cute together, but will a little veil work with this ensemble? Will it be overkill? Or will it be just elaborate enough? I've only got a couple of days to decide, so revisit the previous post and share your fashion input!

Hair Raising Accessories

Yes, it has indeed been almost a week since my last post. We're just shy of two weeks away from the wedding. My job has gone from relatively calm to pure insanity for the remaining two weeks, so between that and the last minute wedding tasks and the first family members arriving on the 30th, I suspect I won't have much time for blogging. I can also feel pretty good saying that there's not really that much left to blog about, because everything's pretty much settled. Now it's just a matter of implementation.

What hasn't been settled? My rehearsal dinner ensemble! JT and I went shopping last weekend, and I didn't find any dresses that struck my fancy. I'm still hoping to find something that will go with a veil-inspired hair accessory, too. In the meantime, here are some more awesome Etsy finds, with just a hint of "bride."

Hems & Bustles has several headbands with small veils attached.

And check out this dainty little headband from Quirky Beauty!

This headband from Brenda's Bridal Veils makes much more of a statement, but it's so darn cute.

I'll try shopping for a dress again this weekend. Wish me better luck.

Wigging Out

My sister is having a wedding fashion crisis. A cancer-related wedding fashion crisis.

When JT and I first got engaged and set our wedding date, my sister was enjoying a wonderful cancer-free period, even sporting a pretty good head of regrown hair. It was early this summer that we learned her cancer had returned and it was back to chemo she went. No one anticipated that she would be attending the wedding bald.

Frankly, I'm simply happy to have her at the wedding, regardless of the condition of her hair. She can walk down the aisle in all her bald glory as far as I'm concerned. Few people make bald look as good as my sister can. But not wanting her baldness to be the center of attention, we dicussed some options. Perhaps a cool scarf, with a flower pinned to it. Wigs, after all, are uncomfortable, itchy and hot.

But as the day draws closer, she thinks maybe a wig is the way to go after all. A wig provides more possibilities for hair accessories, since it's pretty hard to attach a feathery fascinator without any hair.

Here's where you come in! Help my sister figure out which way to go. Here's a picture of her at another wedding, fully wigged:

And here she is sporting the scarf look:

What do you think? I was partial to the scarf idea, and I think I know why -- to me, my sister wearing a wig looks like a different person. But my sister wearing a scarf still looks like my sister. Of course, I can totally understand feeling like a scarf won't quite cut it on the wedding day and wanting to do something more formal, more elaborate. No matter what, I want her to pick something that makes her feel comfortable.

What do you think?

Dress Rehearsal

The one thing that's a little sad about choosing your wedding attire is knowing that that's it -- you only get one outfit, one "look" for your wedding day. I know some women are jumping on the bandwagon of having two dresses, one for the ceremony and one for the reception, but unless you are loaded or your second dress was super cheap, it's just not practical.

Don't get me wrong -- I LOVE my ensemble and my look. Trust me, when you see the photos after the event, you will too. But I can't help but be smitten by all the other cute fashion statements I could be making, especially when it comes to the little things like hair accessories. When searching for wedding makeup tips, I read a feature on Martha Stewart Weddings some time back that said something to the effect of "you want to look like yourself on your wedding day, but why not try out a new or bold look at your rehearsal dinner?" Sounds like fun, right?

Check out these cute hair options. The other day I asked JT if it would be weird to wear a veil on the day of the rehearsal. I mean, how many opportunities in your life do you have to wear a veil anyway?

The clip above from Baroque and Roll has a hint of veil, and this headband below from Be Something New has even more veil, without actually being a veil. I think it'd be perfect for a rehearsal dinner!

Or, this other cute headband from Be Something New would be a fun choice. No veil, but it still has a hint of bride to it, yet it's understated enough to be worn on a non-wedding occasion. Maybe I'll need two: one for the rehearsal and one for the shower. I'm basically using all wedding week activities as an excuse to purchase fabulous accessories.

Basket Case

With some big financial issues springing up this week (man, I wish I didn't own a car!), we've been looking at ways to trim the wedding budget. Not that I think our budget is heavy on splurges, but there are a couple, so anything we can trim, we will.

One thing that came to mind was flower girl baskets. We've got three flower girls, and rather than having the florist do them, it would save us a bit of cash to buy and fill them ourselves.

In case you haven't picked up on it yet from my other blog posts, I seriously think that Etsy is the greatest thing to ever happen to wedding planning. Check out these adorable baskets, all handmade and all at reasonable prices to boot.

I'm loving this birch one from NHWoodscreations. I love how natural it looks. Nothing like those white shellacked ones that are the standard wedding fare.

This one from Yandebridal is adorable too! I'm a complete sucker for cute woodland creatures.

Shoes = Done!

Sometimes it just all works out...

After my many shoe posts, I've found the perfect pair! I've spent a good amount of time trolling Zappos and Piperlime for yellow flats. I didn't want patent leather, because there's just something about patent yellow that feels like rain boots. And I didn't think satin would be the best choice, because I'd probably never wear them again.

Then, I stumbled across a pair of Belle by Sigerson Morrison yellow leather flats. On sale. With only two sizes left in stock, one of which was actual mine.

They are a tiny bit big but super comfortable and look great with the dress. And the clutch? My sister found it at a church yard sale! Can you believe the luck? It's almost like it was meant to be...

Now I just need to find some earrings.

Hats Off To You

The past few days have been a little unnerving. Not because the wedding is quickly approaching (which it is, and there are still many details to sew up) but because I'm starting to once again feel like my wedding is the source of pain or conflict for my family. That is, of course, the absolute last thing that I would want. But with my sister's recurring cancer and her checking back into the hospital, I can't help but feel like my wedding is a giant inconvenience for everyone.

I try to remind myself that with so much turmoil in our lives, that our wedding is a much needed bright spot. And I truly, truly hope that is how my family sees it...because that is what I want it to be. Sure, travel can be taxing, but I hope everyone takes it as an opportunity to relax. No need to fret about the details -- just spend a couple of days soaking up the beauty of San Diego and come to our party while your here. I hope that's how everyone else is feeling.

That was a really long, drawn out way of introducing today's post: hats! I just recently started browsing for hats that my sister could wear at the event that might compliment her dress. The bridesmaid/maid-of-honor dresses will be from J Crew. I'm asking the ladies to select whatever style they prefer, so long as it is in the "Bright Alpine" silk taffeta. Here's an example, from the recently launched Fall collection:

Finding cute hats is a challenging task for many reasons, one of which is the reminder that my sister is experiencing my wedding in the worst context possible. She's been so positive about the whole thing, so I'm trying to be that way too and enjoy the cute hats for what they are -- cute hats! Here's one from Anthropologie that incorporates the others colors from our wedding scheme:

This one from Etsy seller NadineNewYork is darn cute too.

Got any good hat tips for us?

In the Bag

Holy cow, how amazing are these purses by Eclu? And at such great prices, I would totally buy some of these just for "everyday" special occasions. Like dinner on a Wednesday.

I Am a New Tie Wearing

San Diego is not a necktie-friendly city. When JT started working at an office that required wearing a tie every day, we had to go shopping. And we found...nothing. Seriously. Well, I guess that's not entirely true -- we did find a few ties, but they looked like they should be worn by 45-year-old real estate brokers. Not indie rock, 20-something journalists with good fashion sense.

So where do you turn when you need cool accessories you can't find in your hometown? Etsy, of course.

I bought JT a tie from Cyberoptix TieLab a few Christmases ago, and it became his one (and only) "special occasion" tie. Then he supplemented it with a couple more for the office. I'm loving this one for JT and our two best men on the big day.

Cyberoptix does custom group orders for weddings, too. How perfect!

Trendspotting

Once again, my originality has totally been called into question. Here I am thinking I'm so unique for coming up with all these cool details, only to see this awesome wedding as shot by Beulah Anne featured on Once Wed:

The crespedia, the mason jars, the hair accessory by Portobello...apparently I'm totally on trend! Or way behind, considering this wedding already occurred and ours is in November.

Feathers Win

In the great flowers v. feathers debate, feathers have won.

I have ordered a semi-custom made hair piece from Portobello on Etsy. I say "semi" custom because I'm basically asking her to replicate this item that was previously sold in her store but isn't currently:

Because each one is handmade, I'm sure it won't look exactly like this. But that's part of the beauty of it. I'm also very excited about another custom designed accessory that I'm ordering through an Etsy designer...but I'm not going to tell you about it. Like my dress, I'm trying to keep some secrets about my ensemble for the big day!

A Different Kind of Bridal Show

Wedding industry shows happen pretty regularly in San Diego. I've never really had much interest in going, because I try to stay away from "typical" vendors. I prefer finding hidden gems. This weekend, San Diego is having yet another installment of the Thread designer trunk showcase. It's basically a giant warehouse set up with trunk shows from lots of indie designers (clothes, jewelry, other accessories). They hipster-up the event with DJs, a bar, and a couple of art installations too.

I'd been once before and remember seeing lots of great, unique accessories, mostly jewelry and handbags, so I thought I'd check it out again specifically looking for wedding hair pieces and jewelry.

I didn't find a whole lot that excited me in the way of jewelry, but I did find a couple of noteworthy designers for hair accessories. The first is Fine Line Accessories.

Her designs incorporate a lot of feathers, so that's always a plus in my book. I saw a few of her designs at Be Beauty in Little Italy as well, and they were pretty darn cute on me.

The next cool designer I found was Rachel Larraine.

Rachel has a lot of funky designs that incorporate tulle for that hint of veil. You can find her designs at a few boutiques in San Diego (including the very chic M Bride in La Jolla), but you can also find her on Etsy.

Unique Hair Accessories from Be Something New

I am addicted to searching out cool hair accessories on Etsy. I could spend days on there...in fact, I have.

Today's find is Be Something New. Their collection of headbands is absolutely gorgeous. They would be perfect for completing a wedding ensemble, but could also be worked into your everyday wardrobe.

I love the messy structure of the ribbon headband. And marigold colored feathers? You know I'm all over that one.

With many of their items falling in the $25-40 dollar range, the prices can't be beat!

Internet Find: YOOX for Shoes

We all know about Zappos. Yes, you gotta love that when you order from them, you get your shoes pretty immediately, and you can ship them back for free if they don't work out. But searching for marigold-colored ballet flats on Zappos left me relatively unimpressed. YOOX, however, turned up pages and pages of awesome results, including some by truly noteworthy designers.

Top to bottom: Obeline, RAS, Chloe and Blowfish.

And just to show you how much of a range you can find, the Chloes sell for $230 while the Blowfish pair comes in at a whopping $35.

Flowers vs. Feathers

Truthfully, I haven't had any super specific ideas for how I want to do my hair...just sort of vague notions. This is partly because I have enlisted the amazingly talented stylist who cuts my hair to do my hair for the wedding, and I plan on letting her guide me in my hairstyle choices (yes, this is how much I trust her).

So I've been thinking something along the lines of a low, side swept bun. With a super cool accessory of course. At first, I thought for sure I'd just pick a simple but dramatic flower. Like this one from Brenda's Bridal Veils.

But lately, I've been drawn in by all the gorgeous feather hair accessories to be discovered on Etsy. Like this one from Portobello.

And really, when else will I be able to pull off a feathered hair accessory?

But, perhaps my problems have been solved with Velvet Owl! A flower with feathered accents! The yellow matches our color palette wonderfully too, but I'd have to see about swapping out the blue flower for perhaps something green (or more yellow).

Shrug It Off

Searching for fun, interesting ways to accessorize my wedding gown has been one of the most fun aspects of planning. Birdcage veils, colorful shoes, fascinators, unique jewelry and cute shrugs...the possibilities are endless!

When I was checking out the Nicole Miller gowns, many friends and family commented that it was difficult to get a sense of how the v-neck gown was "supposed" to fit since the one I was wearing in the photo was 3 sizes too big. Fortunately, this featured wedding on Style Me Pretty came to the rescue, as the bride, Katie, totally rocks the Nicole Miller.

But the best discovery was the fab Holly Stalder shrug that the bride is sporting at the reception! A+ accessorizing.

A custom made Holly shrug dyed to match your wedding colors would be a great touch for any sassy bride, like myself.