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Posts Tagged ‘attire’
Pro Pics: Getting Ready
Sunday, November 15th, 2009Attire Details
Monday, October 26th, 2009For Sale
Thursday, October 8th, 2009Here are some items I have for sale. Please contact me if you’re interested!
The Little White Dress [SOLD]

Designer: Melissa Sweet
Style: Mari
Description: Short Silk Shantung dress with braided straps, back bustle detail, and flounce hem.
Color: Ivory
Size: was a 10, but I had it altered to fit ~34-27-36
Other: It was also shortened to be knee length on me (I am 5’3"). There are cups sewn into the dress as well.
Full Price: $1400
Purchased Price: $1292.64 plus $85 in alterations
Asking Price: $900 obo inc. shipping
I wore this gorgeous Melissa Sweet Mari dress (by Priscilla of Boston) for approximately 2-3 hours during the reception. It is even better in person! I received many compliments and was perfect for dancing all night. I loved this dress so much, it was purchased immediately after we got engaged (nearly a year and a half before the wedding) and it did NOT disappoint!
It has been professionally cleaned and I am willing to sell it for $900 obo. Interested? Contact me. It will come in a box with a copy of the receipt. More pictures:
The Gown

Designer: Sottero & Midgley
Style: JSM1042
Description: Rhapsody taffeta is enchanting in this gown featuring a caught up skirt. The sweetheart neckline is set off by the lace accenting the bodice. The gown boasts a figure flattering asymmetrical wrap waist. Embellished lace motifs accent the caught up skirt. One-piece, strapless, sweetheart neckline, A-line gown with corset back.
Color: Diamond White
Size: 6 Petite, no alterations to bodice
Other: It has a bustle
Full Price: $1100
Purchased Price: $763.20 plus $85 for the bustle and another $100 for cleaning
Asking Price: $650 obo plus shipping
This dress was worn for 2 hours on the day of the wedding and has been professionally cleaned. It is gorgeous and very flattering. I am willing to part with it for $650 and it will come in a box with a copy of the receipt. Interested? Contact me. More pictures:



Purple Crinoline

I purchased this crinoline and dyed it purple. I only wore it for 2 hours before I changed into the short reception dress. It has a zipper and fits a 26-27″ waist. There were some splotchy parts on some of the layers, but it’s not where you can see it while on underneath the dress (see below).
I am selling it for $30 plus shipping. Contact me. Here is a picture of it underneath my dress.

Origami Paper
I have yellow 80 sheet pack of 8" x 8" available for sale. Purchased for $3.19. Contact me.
Chocolate Brown RSVP A4 Envelopes
I have approximately 38 chocolate brown A4 envelopes from paperandmore.com that needs another bride’s love. Contact me.
Victoria’s Secret Diamanté Hoodie


Designer: Victoria’s Secret
Style: Diamanté Hoodie
Description: Ruched front, short sleeves, wedding ring zipper detail, white bows on sleeves, two pockets on front, ruffle edged hood, "Sexy Little Bride" embroidered on back. 88% cotton, 12% spandex
Size: S
Purchased Price: $98
Asking Price: $55 plus shipping
I wore this hoodie for an hour getting ready the morning of the wedding and it has been cleaned and never worn since. Contact me






Bridal Party Pictures
Monday, September 21st, 2009Our bridal party was awesome. They put up with wearing the traditional outfits, which, I’m sure was fun for the guys. Everyone wore traditional Vietnamese Ao Dai for the tea ceremonies and then changed into chocolate tuxes and cocktail dresses for the reception. (The girls all chose their knee-length dresses in shades from purple to pink.)
On top of that, each groomemen’s boutonniére matched each girl’s respective dress (it’s hard to see here). The girls all picked their own silver shoes and the guys rocked out in white shoes. Props included sunglasses (mainly aviators), fans, and a couple bouquets. It took forever for everyone to get dressed so I made a quick decision to be the only person changing at the reception. Because of the slow dressers, we also had limited time for group photos in downtown Lansing.
These photos were taken by Mitch Ranger.
In the traditional attire…







He bought argyle socks for the guys to wear with their chocolate tuxes, but they also wore them for the traditional dresses.


We told him we wanted shots that didn’t make sense – urban setting with graffiti and trash. I LOVED the location that Mitch chose!
The Men
This photo is badass… I love how he included the wiring above. There is a lot more to look at than just the typical guys staggered in a photo)

The Ladies
(I absolutely loved how the girls’ dress colors ended up in the pictures.)



The Group






I love them! Mitch did a wonderful job.
Guys’ Tuxedos
Monday, September 14th, 2009The guys had their own flavor too.

They wore chocolate brown tuxes from After Six. The tuxes came paired with these brown fugly shoes that didn’t quite match the brown in the tuxes. In fact, they were reddish, so we nixxed the brown shoes and had the guys rockin’ it out in the white shoes.
I LOVED how they popped in the pictures. Their bouttonieres also matched the girl’s dress color of whom they were paired.


And what a bonus. They could also show off the NKOTB moves in them!
See this video on flickr
We also bought them chocolate argyle socks, but unfortunately never got them pictured in the tuxes. They did, however, get them pictured underneath the traditional Vietnamese Ao Dai:

Bridesmaid Dresses
Sunday, September 13th, 2009Who says they need to be the same exact dress?

During the planning stage, I asked the girls to find a dress in a specific color. The only requirement was that the dress be approximately knee-length. They did a fabulous job finding a dress they each liked! I ended up making dangly earrings to match each of the dress colors too. Here is what they came up with [click to enlarge]:

Hot Pink . Fuchsia . Purple/Plum . Lavender . Lilac
The did a great job! Each of the girls went with the following designers (from left to right):
Bill Levkoff . Style 874
Eden’s Bridal . Style 7171
Jasmine B2 . Style 992
David’s Bridal . Style ???
Jim Hjelm . Style 5661
I apologize if the links are broken too. The designers sometimes move stuff around on their websites.
Here are some more detailed photos or check out their entrances to see more of the dresses.






Getting Ready… Again
Saturday, September 12th, 2009After the ceremonies, we got ready again at his parents’ home. This time, we got out of the traditional clothing to wear the American outfits for our photoshoot downtown. Guests stayed at the house for another helping of food.









The boys need their boutonnieres. I had each of the boutonnieres to match the respective girl’s dress color and Sebesta Design these beautiful orchid bouts! (Orchids are my favorite)





Silly boys

After the girls were finally done, we headed downstairs to see the guys.
I was cracking up because the guys were singing a cappela as I came down the stairs.


Now, off to downtown Lansing for some urban group shots.
Hair & Makeup
Thursday, August 20th, 2009I didn’t have inspiration for makeup. I just wanted to wear my makeup the way I do for any other "fancy" occassion and that means dramatic eyes and everything else subdued.
After having a miserable, FAILED attempt of getting my makeup done for b-pics at Mirabella Salon in Okemos by Autumn and seeing this woman at Macy’s BUTCHER my mom’s makeup one day… I decided NOT to hire a makeup artist. For lack of better terms/description… white makeup is not the same as Asian makeup. There, I said it. It is more than just matching skin tone. There are things to avoid when putting makeup on Asian women, so if you’re a makeup artist, you need to understand the differences before working on a minority. I digressed with this, but all in all, I made the right choice…
My sister, who is very talented, was my makeup artist for the day. She did two previous trials (each were a little different) and ended up perfecting what I wanted. There was a second trial because I had gotten more tan since the first trial and had to test out another foundation.
This image is from the second trial (my mom and I were testin out a modern birdcage veil we made too). Now THIS is a good makeup trial!

Here’s just how the eyes looked. Ignore the fact that I look cross-eyed.

DIY in Action
This is how it looked on the day of the wedding. I am in my traditional dress.

Recommended Products
If you’re worried about crying and smudging, worry no more. She applied She-Laq by Benefit on my shadow and all around my eyes after the makeup was the way we wanted it. It kept my makeup flawless the entire day. I had to keep my eyes closed for a little bit after she applied it. It goes on shiny and then dries completely. You can’t even see it.

I have thin eyelashes so for several months before the wedding, we played with falsies to perfect the look in pictures. I ended up using Andrea #33 in black. They looked great in the pictures and now I am addicted to wearing them.

I used MAC primer and foundation on my face and plain ol’ Maybelline eye shadow on the lids. A light MAC lipgloss was also applied with a LIGHT touch of Vincent Longo cream blush.
Dress from Blaga’s Bridal
Wednesday, July 29th, 200913444 15 Mile Rd
Sterling Heights, MI 48312
Score Card
Main Contact: Julie or Blaga
Grade: B-
Cost: A-
Words: Not the most elegant looking shop, but they carry Sottero & Midgley. Rude to customers if they think you’re not going to buy.
Would you use them again? Sure
Site: No Site.
Description
It is a small store, but I wanted to check out dresses on the East Side where my mom lives. It was the only store I went to (only a couple stores carried Sottero & Midgley). They didn’t have the dress I wanted in stock, but I ordered it.
At first, Blaga was rude when I wanted to try dresses on. I showed her my book of internet printed pictures so she must’ve assumed that I was trying dresses on to order online or something because she did not want to be helpful. She wouldn’t let me take pictures of the dresses I tried on.
Only when I ordered my dress was she nice and allowed me to take pictures. Ridiculous. When the dress came in though, she was nice. I paid in cash. I didn’t need alterations done, just a bustle, so I do not know the quality of tailor work.
Wedding Gown Fittings
Monday, July 6th, 2009Three times is a charm.
01.23.09 fitting 1
04.25.09 fitting 2
06.06.09 fitting 3
The Dress Plan
We got engaged in August 2007 with the wedding set to be in June 2009. I did not want to choose a dress right away because I knew I’d look at the newer seasons and want something else. So I browsed wedding dresses in magazines and online for MONTHS. I fell in love with a Soterro dress and could not look back after I found it. I don’t care what anyone says, I love pickups and all things girly. I went to a bridal salon on the east side of the state so that my mom would be able to be present with me at all fittings.
During Memorial Day Weekend 2008, we planned our family engagement party and I scheduled time for my mom, sister, and me to hit up some boutiques. The first boutique carried Maggie, but did not have my style on hand so I tried on several dresses that were similar. The first one I tried on was the same shape and neckline–I was in LOVE. I tried on several more dresses to be certain and I took the chance and ordered the dress right there. It is style JSM1042 in diamond white.
I teased the girls and photoshopped myself into an image of the dress:
I had a little fun changing the backgrounds.
For one of the dresses that I will be changing into, I chose a Priscilla of Boston, Melissa Sweet dress called Mari.

I LOVE the mini-bustle in the back. It looks like a short wedding dress, well, it is! This dress did need alterations, because I failed to order the right size. Boo. I don’t have pictures wearing it – it is currently being altered at the shop!
Anyway, I am excited to slip into something a little more fun and flirty for the dance portion of the reception. It will be worn with the DIY hair comb and the shoes from Aldo (both pictured below).

First Fitting
The dress arrived towards the end of the year and I went to try it on for the first time on 1.23.09.

The BEST part? NO ALTERATIONS NECESSARY! WOOOOHOOOOOOOO! Because I am a shorty, they ordered a petite and it was perfect with shoes. The only thing they have to do now is get the bustle together. I have another fitting on 04.25.09 to try it on with my dyed crinoline and undergarments.
Second Fitting
On April 25, I traveled back home for the bustle mock-up. Mom, Lexi, Karen, and Donny’s mom all came with me. This time, I had my dyed crinoline with me and we had a very QUICK hair and makeup trial before going. I also did not have my shoes in time so I just grabbed a pair of heels that were the same height as the shoes I ordered. Here I am in the little dressing room with my hair done and in my underwear, lol.

It takes her, the professional, five full minutes to get the corset together. Ignore the grabbing my chest thing… she told me to do that to hold up the dress.

And here is a peek at the purple crinoline underneath the dress! (wrong shoes).

Next time, the girls will tie up the finished bustle and I’ll have my real shoes and jewelry to wear.
Final Fitting
Now, it was time for the girls to learn how to bustle up the dress.
Lexi also finalized my hair and makeup. I LOVE IT. I cannot wait to rock it out at the wedding. She did such a great job. Karen, Lexi, and mom came with me for the last fitting and the bustle was perfect.

I will wear the DIY birdcage veil with this dress.

















































































