Bridal Party Dress Inspiration

I've been doing some looking at bridesmaids/usherettes dresses as of late and I thought I would share my "visions" for the look I'm going for. I am so indecisive about the bridesmaids. I go back and forth with having mismatched bridesmaids with a common color palate to matching bridesmaids. I know I want my friends to feel very comfortable, and I want to find them a dress they will wear again--I don't want them to feel like they are blowing a big wad of cash on a dress they will wear once. I want it to be affordable!

I have been perusing the ModCloth website as of late, and I thought I'd share some of the dresses that caught my eye. This is half for your viewing pleasure, half for my own unorganized brain, and half for my bridesmaids to see what I'm thinking! (Excuse my math. I'm on spring break.)

Judging from this collection I put together, I'm going for a vintage-y look and a classic shaped dress. I want something that's flattering for everyone! Without further ado...

#1

#2

#3 

#4

#5

#6 

 #7

#8

I'm mostly kidding about this last one... I do love it but I know not everyone appreciates rainbows as much as I do.

#9

I guess I'm drawn to yellow as of late, but never really considered it as a wedding color. I think I am going to go with ALL colors rather than pick a couple, which makes picking dresses a little tricky. What do you think, ladies?? Which ones are your favorites? I want NEED your opinions!!

(These pictures are a little blurry...click the links below to see a clearer view of the dress and zoom in for the details)

#1. Mint Milkshake Dress in Banana (maybe a little too girly?)
#2. Peach Me I'm Dreaming (maybe a little casual?)
#3. Made In The Shades Dress In Floral Furry (I really love the print of this dress and the vintage vibe!)
#4. Pasture Perfection Dress (love the color, but maybe too casual as well?)
#5. Memories Of You Dress (when I picture all my girls standing together I think this dress would be cool)
#6. Lemon Lattice Dress (very vintage looking, but the neckline might not be for everyone)
#7. Banana Bubble Tea Dress (yes, a little too bright, but I like the details in this dress as well as the shape)
#8. Cabbage Rose Dress (I think this would be very flattering on everyone and I love the print and colors!)
#9. Too Much Fun Dress in Rainbow (in a world where I didn't care about anyone else's opinions...) :)

All of these dresses range in price from $47 to $107, which makes me very happy. Does it make you happy?

As I'm looking at these dresses, I am jealous I don't get one. Then I realize I will have a beautiful white wedding dress on, and I'm ok with it. But in all honestly, I'll probably order myself whatever dresses the ladies get. Is that terrible?

Macey, Heather, Lindsey, Maddy, Tonia, Erin, Andrea-- what do you think?
Rest of the world? What do you think?
I think we're getting somewhere!

New reader?! WELCOME!


Read our engagement story here.
Read how I "popped the question" here.
See other wedding details here.

Happy Weekend, Friends!

Thrifting Finds

 I took a trip to the antique Kevin and I went to a few weeks ago, this time solo (which means I spent more money than I should have.) BUT I found a lot of awesome things and most are for our wedding.

My favorite find is this vintage suitcase! I have been searching for the perfect one for FOREVER (ok, since we got engaged) for guests to place cards in at the reception. This one is a pretty blue/green and in excellent condition. I can't wait to put it to use! It was a little more than I wanted to spend ($20) but after comparing prices, this was a good deal.

I love this mustard colored shutter I picked up for $4. I don't think I will put it to use like I did our last shutter find, but I think it will be a good decoration on a tall skinny wall.

More vintage handkerchiefs! I have decided I will use these handkerchiefs I've been collecting as part of the centerpieces on the tables at our reception. I saw them in this wedding Andrea sent to me and I love the look.

I also found some more vintage brooches. I have had a hard time finding ones I like for a decent price, and started to doubt whether or not I really wanted to do a brooch bouquet for the wedding. But, I found a few good ones today and decided I'll keep collecting.

From left to right:

Ok, the first one is kind of a joke, but appropriate nonetheless. It's a carrot. Now I just need to find peas!

The second one didn't photograph as well, but it's a very sparkly silver with bright blue jewels. I needed to add a little sparkle to the bouquet.

I love the bow!! I will wear it often until I have to put it on my bouquet.

I also thought love birds were appropriate (though hard to see.)

I decided to lay out all my brooches I've collected so far to see how far I still need to go. I have more than I thought, but I still have a long way to go! I think I need some more color (not orange) in there!

I also decided to take a look at my handkerchief collection. They look so pretty all laid out. I'm excited to see how they will all come together at the reception.

I must admit, I'm watching Hoarders right now and feeling a little guilty. At least I have a wedding as my excuse, right??

P.S. I'm doing the "Photo An Hour" challenge today and will be back later tonight with a glimpse inside my day!

Thrifting!

Hey guys! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I had a relaxing yet productive and exciting weekend. I ate lunch with my dear friend Stephanie who was in town for a bit. It's always great catching up with friends you haven't seen in so long. I had nearly every class in college with Steph so it was nice to catch up with her. Thanks, Steph!! :)

This afternoon Kevin and I spent a couple hours perusing a new antique store. It was a GIANT antique store (for those in the area, it's called The Brass Armadillo) with lots of vendors and a wide assortment of goodies. I brought a few treasures home with me, and found many others that I would have LOVED to purchase if I had a bigger home.

Here are the items that didn't make it home with me...today:

A very cool feather hat that would have made awesome wall decor in a closet or bathroom

So many cool *overpriced* handkerchiefs in this basket

Words cannot describe how much I loved this lamp! However, I wasn't willing to pay what the price tag was asking.

I loved these colorful pastel dishes. Maybe someday.

I really loved this radio! It was bright teal and worked! I even had Kevin thinking it was cool. But the $28 price tag scared me away. I was on the hunt for some DEALS!

A very pretty serving plate!

I was looking all over for canisters for flour, sugar, etc. and this one ALMOST made the cut. I had plans on purchasing it but after walking around and coming back, I changed my mind. I still may go back and get it someday. Four sturdy canisters and matching salt and pepper shaker for $25. Did I make a mistake passing it up?

I really liked this coat but Kevin said it looked ridiculous on me. I couldn't find a mirror anywhere so I had to take his opinion.

Alright so I didn't really have intentions to buy this dresser but I did love the colors on the drawers!

If I had a house and a full-time guaranteed job, I really would have considered buying this one. It's a refurbished corner cabinet for about $200.

Now that I have tortured myself again showing you things I didn't buy but wanted to, here is what I actually did bring home:

A pretty peach towel with some lovely embroidery for $2

Some very well priced ($1.50) vintage handkerchiefs for our wedding (use still to be determined!). The photo is a little dark, but the purple is very pretty with crochetted edges. The yellow is see through with tiny white polka dots. And, the blue one is a very pretty bright blue with a floral design. Anyone have any ideas of what I should use these gems I've been collecting for??

This might have been my favorite purchase of the day! I can NEVER find vintage jewelry I like but I love this turquoise necklace. For $1.50!

This was another favorite. I have been wanting to start collecting kitchy salt and pepper shakers but have had trouble finding a good set to start with (there are always HUNDREDS of salt and pepper shakers at antique stores). How much more perfect does it get than MASON JAR salt and pepper shakers?!

They are smaller than they appear in this picture, about 3 inches tall.

Kevin found lots of goodies, too, but nothing he "had" to have. When we purchase a home antiquing will be much more fun, and dangerous, for us. His man-cave will be well stocked with old beer signs.

Do any of you go to many thrift/antique stores? Anyone in Iowa have any recommendations? I always love finding new places to go. I also was looking forward to this post so I could spread the love of thrifting! There are so many AWESOME things out there and it's a great way to spend a few hours on the weekends.

Thrift Store Finds

When Kevin and I were in the Amanas with my family back in November, we revisited our favorite antique store. This is where we found a bunch of mason jars. We also found an old shutter and small plates for our apartment that I haven't shared with you yet. 

Our shutter is hung by our kitchen. Right now it's holding engagement cards. :) I made the paper tree next to it. See how I did it here! (Aaand another collection of mine, wine corks. Hanging onto them until I come up with something awesome to do with them.) The shutter was $10. We didn't paint it or distress it or do anything to it. However, it could probably use some dusting.

These tin plates caught my eye amongst a bunch of junk and I fell in love with them. I love the mustached man and the colors. We're using them as a drip-catcher on our stove for placing spoons when cooking. Only $2 for the set!

This was another thing I bought at the thrift store in Des Moines with Andrea (where I bought this magazine holder and these vintage handkerchiefs). I don't know why but I have been wanting to buy a jar of buttons for awhile now. It's weird, I know. I found this one for $3. It's keeping my sewing machine company. 

There you have it! I love antiquing and thrifting. That's all there is to it.

Wedding Inspiration: Vintage Handkerchiefs

While Andrea was visiting last week, we visiting a thrift store where I found this vintage magazine holder. I also found another gem that I had been gravitating towards for awhile now: vintage handkerchiefs (handkerchiefs is a very strange word that I don't believe I've ever typed in my life before now). I think these would be a great addition to the vintage feel we're going for for our wedding. I love the colors and the details and the finishes around the edges. I'm just hoping they weren't used handkerchiefs. :)

It looks like I'm adding another vintage goody to my collection of mason jars and brooches. All you friends and relatives out there-- keep us in mind :)

Here are some ideas I've found on Pinterest. I don't imagine these handkerchiefs will play a large role in the decorations, but I do think they will be a nice touch.

Love that last one :) So sweet.

(I also took some pictures of some more vintage finds around our apartment. Check back later today!)