September Style : Saira

Saira and Brian had a fall wedding in Vancouver.  I have known Brian since the fifth grade and I am so happy that my friend married such a cool girl.  It was just like in the wedding speech, you are not losing a son but gaining a daughter.  That kind of excitement is what I felt about Saira offiicially joining the crew.   Their wedding lasted three days and was full of awesome.  Here are some of the gowns that Saira, I thought that she looked like magic.  

I didn’t want anything fuu-fuu or over-the-top and definitely no sparkles.   One Saturday afternoon I went to Frontier Bridal in Vancouver, Canada with my mom, aunt, sister and cousins. When I first walked in, I was instantly overwhelmed.  You see I needed 3 bridal dresses for the 3 wedding events - engagement, wedding, and reception! There were too many choices. I didn’t even know where to start nor what I really wanted. Deep breath. Let’s start with the big one… the wedding dress. The owner told me not to worry, he would show me different styles in different colours and said that I should try on different dresses just to see how they fit. He pulled out what seemed like a 100 dresses.  Honestly, they all looked kind of the same. I thought I was doomed and started getting a sick feeling in my stomach. This was going to be a long process. Until, one particular dress caught my eye. I don’t know what it was that exactly caught my eye, maybe it was the way the light was hitting it? Or maybe it was that everyone went silent when he pulled it out. As you can imagine with mom, aunt, sister and 2 cousins, there was a lot of chatter…a lot. It was the first dress I tried on. It fit like it was made for me. It didn’t even need a single alteration. I didn’t want to take it off. I knew this was my dress and I didn't need to try on anymore. And yes, it was super sparkly.xoxo Saira

September Style : Kelly

Real Bride Kelly tells us her dress story today.  Kelly had a beautiful spring wedding at the Darlington House in La Jolla.  You can see some more images from Kelly and Jeff's feature on the Wedding Chicks.

Finding the one can be quite an adventure. And by “the one,” I mean the white dress you wear on your wedding day. If you’re like me, you’ll want to see all the wedding dresses – and I mean all of them - and then narrow them down to a few contenders. Then, by a less than scientific process of elimination, you pick the best gown for your wedding dress. I booked quite a few appointments at local bridal salons and boutiques to make sure I could see as many options as possible. After trying on a lot of dresses, I felt lost. I didn’t have a few contenders like I thought I would and nothing seemed to be quite right.

When trying on wedding dresses, you and/or the consultant picks out dozens of dresses from a sea of white and ivory. It can be very overwhelming (especially if you’re not exactly sure what you want – and who is?). The tides of my search turned when I tried on an all-lace gown at Priscilla of Boston in San Francisco. Although I had doubts about all of the lace, all doubt left me as soon as I was zipped up and clipped in. It felt like someone waved a magic wand and poof! The feeling was very surreal, especially after trying on a large number of dresses. I couldn’t stop smiling and looking at it in the mirror. Seriously, the smile wouldn’t leave my face. After gazing at the dress for quite some time, my consultant asked if I wanted to try on another dress. I reluctantly took off the beautiful gown. I tried on a few more dresses but quickly decided that they belonged in the sea of white and ivory, instead of my wedding pictures. I went immediately back to the all-lace dress and kept it on for the rest of my appointment. After feeling so comfortable and very much relieved, I finally verbalized my decision. I found the one. Lots of love!! Kelly

Kiss and Tell : Bridal Advice with Jordan

Unfortunately SheWanders Photography was booked the day of Jordan and Taylor's Wedding but Suzanne and Mike had the lucky opportunity to shoot their engagement shoot. During their engagement shoot they were rediculously stylish, crafty and  fun. They have known each other for a really long time and it is apparent that they are very comfortable around each other; safe and loved by the other. Jordan and Taylor are Awesome! Suzanne knew that they would have a lot of great advice for anyone! So we contacted Jordan and this is what she had to say!  Suzanne also had the chance to photograph the beautiful couple in their wedding clothes for an inspiration shoot.  Gorgeous!Dos Besos,

Katie from the Wanderers

1) How did you mentally prepare for the big day?

-By being on time. Seriously, I am terrible at leaving on time but I made sure to wake up early and spent some time alone relaxing in a steam sauna. I even had time to eat a light breakfast before the hair and make-up craziness began.

2) Did you have any events surrounding the wedding. I.E baseball game, rehearsal dinner, brunch, bachelorette party? Tell us about it.

-One of my favorite pre-wedding events was our rehearsal. Our wedding was in my parent’s backyard and tables, tents, and ceremony seating were set up several days in advance. The weather was beautiful and took advantage of it all by having a rehearsal brunch. We were able to invite close friends and family that had traveled from out of town. The rehearsal was quick and afterwards we enjoyed mimosas, brunch and some bocce ball and the party continued on into the evening. It was a really relaxing way to spend extra time with family that we might not have had the chance to talk as much with at the wedding. It also set the tone for the next day.

3) What is something that makes for a great wedding day?

-Planning! Have an (accurate) schedule prepared in advance and make sure you have someone on the day of to coordinate it all. Even more important was the support of my family (especially mom and aunts and cousins). They put in so much time and effort to help organize details, purchase diy items, and make me feel special. I think it’s also helpful to pick an overall feeling you want your event to have and make decisions based on that. For example, we wanted to make sure ours was a light-hearted celebration. So we open the cocktail hour to include time before and after the ceremony which allowed our guests to mingle and enjoying the party as soon as they arrived. Knowing that our guests were enjoying themselves made the evening even better.

4) Did you see your spouse for the first time before the ceremony or during the ceremony? How did you feel?

-We had a “first look” and it was a great decision. We were able to get the nerves out of the way (although we both still cried at the ceremony!). I think I was able to enjoy the ceremony more since we had the chance to spend time together prior. We also had more time to enjoy the reception since we were able to get many of our portraits and bridal party photos out of the way early.

5) What is one of your favorite memories?

-Standing across the yard in the dusk and watching a dance floor packed with our families and best friends--everyone was happy and celebrating. It was a great feeling.

6) What song do you most remember on the dance floor?

-There were so many memorable moments on the dance floor but of course the three major dances were memorable—first dance (Poison Cup by M. Ward), father-daughter (Oh Very Young by Cat Stevens) and mother-son (Family Tree by Ben Kweller). I made a playlist on my computer of some of the more memorable songs from dinner and dancing that I love to go back to.

7) What is a piece of advice you wish you had known before the big day?

-Just because an idea looks cute and easy online does not mean it’s going to be easy for you! Like the collage of cute stamps (5 on each postcard, each with a different value and images) I decided to place on our save the date postcards – it took me weeks! I could have skipped on that detail and nothing major would have changed, except a little less frustration and a lot more free time.

8 ) Weddings are wonderful, but share some marriage tips please!

-Have fun and spend time together.