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Matron of Honor: Dress, Hairstyle & Shoes

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Some of you know that I will be in my BFFs wedding next week. The wedding will be here in Dallas, outdoors, and by White Rock lake. I have no doubt that it will be elegant and gorgeous. I also have absolutely no doubt that it will be hot and humid as well. I'm hoping that we'll have a light breeze while we're standing there. After all, the ceremony will only be about 20 minutes and we'll probably spend another 20 minutes shooting photos outdoors. An hour outside in the 100+ degree heat in chiffon will be tough, but totally worth it on her big day. I just need to remember to bring my handkerchief to dab away the sweat without messing up my make-up.Anyway, I thought I'd share a few of the details from the day, mainly the dresses, hairstyle, and shoes.

First up, the dress! No, not her dress, although you can remember seeing a teaser of that dress here. Sidenote: I finally finished editing the bridals, so if you would like to see them, shoot me an email and I will gladly share a link (unless it's you Nick, but I doubt you are stalking to that degree), but just promise not to share with the groom-to-be. Anyway, the bridesmaid dresses are Bill Levkoff number 521 in cranberry. At first, I was hesitant about the color cranberry, but I still went along with it. Let me tell you, the color is GORGEOUS! It is a very pretty deep red, but not dark red, just lush with pigment! Also, the fit is extremely flattering. I started doing push-ups to firm up my shoulders for the day. Unfortunately, I should've stuck with doing them when I started back in April, but 'eh, it's ok. All eyes will be on the bride. We ordered them from Pearl's Place over the phone without any issue. They told us they would be delivered in 9 weeks and sure enough, 9 weeks exactly and I had them in my arms. I've seen it go for upwards of $209 (plus shipping and/or tax) and I'll say that we spent about $75 less than that price, which included shipping! This is a very flattering dress for ALL body types. The semi-sweetheart neckline accentuates what you have (or may not have or have too much of). The empire waist not only enhances tiny waistlines, but also gives shape to those of us who don't have much of one (yeah, I'm square in that area). Plus, you can't tell from the picture, but at the waist is a satin sash and it is gathered in tiny pleats, with the ties of the sash being very wide. Initially, none of us liked the sash, but after trying it on once we got them in, we decided they were nice. Also, the bottom half of the gown is long and flowy. It actually gives the illusion that you are much taller, plus, when we walk, we look we look like we're gliding or even floating!


This is Mari's dress. She will be the flowergirl along with Adaora & Nick's niece G. G is 9 years old and we were afraid that we weren't going to be able to find shoes and a dress in both of their sizes, but we were wrong! Here's the dress they will be wearing. Instead of a colored sash, they have an ivory sash. It is Jordan style L503 in light ivory. This dress is retailed at $243 and we paid less than half of that price. Again, ordered through Pearl's Place. Back in March, I measured Mari and she fit their size 2T. I ordered a 3T thinking she would grow. The dress fits perfectly. Part of me wishes I would have ordered the 4T to be on the safe side, so here's to hoping she doesn't grow too much over the next couple of weeks. It is a light and flowy dress, very elegant, and she doesn't mind wearing it. It is a very well made gown.

Ada allowed us to pick our own hairstyle for the wedding. I was so very happy for this! No requirements that we all match with similar updo's, half up/down, all down, or beehives. Again, July in Texas inspired me to want to wear mine up. I've been growing my hair out for this occasion and it is in DESPERATE need of a trim, but my hair always styles better when it is on that brink, so I'm making do. Anyway, during one of the final episodes of Ugly Betty, I was blown away by America Ferrera's hairstyle as Betty in her sister's wedding. It was pulled back, with some curls, a slight part, and slightly to the side. I scoured the internets and found some stills from the episode and immediately made a montage of the different angles. Sorry for the poor quality. While I was talking with the other gals, I was really surprised by how similar of a hairstyle we'd all picked. All of us wanted a pulled back look with romantic curls. We're all gonna look so nice!
As far as Mari's hair goes, I'm going to do four small twists at the crown and secure them with a clear hair tie. Instead of flowers in the hair like below, I will use some crystal twists. Hopefully, she'll wear her pearl necklace too.



Finally, the shoes! Again, we had total freedom to pick out our own shoes, they just had to be black shoes. Not even sandals. When her sister told me that she'd picked up a pair of black satin sandals, I knew I needed some black satin type shoes as well. Off I went in search of a pair. Lucky for me, DSW had EXACTLY what I was looking for and in my price range! (less than $40!!) Let me tell you, I'm in love with these babies. They are big, platform and EXTREMELY comfortable! I was skipping down the aisle, jumping, and walking in them. I liked them so much that I refused to take off the left shoe while I was browsing the clearance section. Sidenote: Mari is in love with shoes. I let her down while I was in the clearance section and immediately, she was pulling shoes out, trying them on, putting them back, and getting another pair. The little lady loves her some high heels, that's for sure! And bright purses too! She insisted we let her walk around with a yellow leather satchel. We didn't leave the store with it, but I could see the sadness in her eyes when she had to say goodbye to her new friend. ha ha! These are Katie & Kelly Take a Bow



For both Mari and G, we found these shoes at Payless. You can't go wrong with Payless when kids outgrow shoes so fast, right? Some of the other shoes they make, I'm not a fan of, but their smartfit shoes really do fit well and Mari can easily put them on and off. They were having a BOGO sale with the 2nd being half off. Of course, when we bought these, we walked out of there with a pair of black patent tap shoes for her. No, she's not enrolled in dance class, but man, she loves to wear those shoes tap-tap-tapping away.

So that's it. Whew! It's been a whirlwind for the past few months, planning a shower, bachelorette party, and helping out with invites, flowers, and other vendors. However, it's all been totally worth it and the group of us bridesmaids get along really well and we all work well together too! It's been fun and I'm reminded why I opted to scale back the number of weddings I coordinate. (None for the past couple of years, and helping out by offering suggestions for three this year.) It's tough to do while trying to juggle everything else. :)

Anyway, I'm excited and if I can find my point and shoot, I will take some photos of the day to share!

2 comments:

MakeupMandiTX said...

Bianca! I have no doubt you will be gorgeous! :)

MakeupMandiTX said...

Also, this might help with the sweaty makeup in the heat...

I use this to set stage makeup (it's hot under those lights as you can attest) as well as liquid and cream foundations for outside weddings.

:)

http://www.mehron.com/Setting_Powder_p/136.htm

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