The Dress and the best place to get it!

I imagined for a long time what it would be like to finally pick out that beautiful white dress I’d wear down the aisle to meet my love. I did NOT imagine the way that I would find it turning out like it did!

Several years ago, I’d decided that I wanted my dress to have some blue in it. I found a picture in a magazine of a dress that I loved before I’d even met my hubby (yes, I know I’m one of *those* girls!), and I had even seen it in a store while looking for dresses with my sis-in-law, Lindsey. But that was a few years back, and it was on a discontinued rack, so I figured I’d be starting all over again.

My mom was on the hunt for the perfect dress for me not long after I got engaged and had me draw a sketch to get a better idea of what I wanted. She mentioned that visiting a nearby consignment store in Hermitage might be a good idea- just to look. I kind of brushed off the idea thinking I’d never get my dress there, but thought it couldn’t hurt to send her to look. She went off to that store, and my bridesmaid Kelley and I set off to visit several of the “elite” boutiques around the Nashville area,  where we ended up having  no luck! I was never helped by anyone, never able to try on a dress, and once we were even run out of a store for taking pictures (apparently it was posted that you couldn’t take pictures, we honestly never saw it, even after being told it was there!).

Dissapointed and getting nowhere, we heard from my mom that the consignment store had found my “perfect” dress. Still not believing it, I decided to go anyways, because if someone there had already picked out a dress for me, it had to be better than what I’d already experienced!

So we headed for Hermitage and Memories Consignment store.

The store, owned by Diane   Allmon, has been around for a long time. In fact, I remember visiting it in highschool looking for prom dresses, which was well over 10 years ago now! Some of my friends even sold their old dresses there later on. I never bought anything there, and my own memories of it were that, although there were some nice things, most of it was a bit older and outdated.  Last May, due to arson, the entire shop burnt to the ground leaving only the few dresses that Diane had in her car at the time. The man who set the shop on fire was eventually caught, but nothing survived the fire and Diane had to start it all over again. And she has with great success!!

Former site of Memories. The foundation and sign are still there, although the store itself moved a block or so down the road!

The store is FILLED with wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, mother’s dresses, and flower dresses. Even if you don’t BUY your dress here, it’s a great place to make some money SELLING it, and a great way to help a fantastic woman rebuild her store.

During busy times, any store gets a little chaotic, but things were still lookin good the day I returned to take photos, despite what Diane said about it being a mess!!

 

Working hard to provide for her children and grandchildren, Diane has done a great job rebuilding her store and making it a success! From the moment you walk in the door, you feel right at home and welcomed in by her southern charm. And when she says she has just the dress for you- believe it! She really just might! She is an amazing, encouraging, and down to earth woman. The kind of person that you can tell is willing to do whatever she can to help you. She doesn’t advertise, so she relies heavily on word-of-mouth to get her business out there!

As soon as I walked in that first time, I told her who I was, and she immediately went and pulled out the dress she had been holding just for me. I thought it looked nice, but still wasn’t convinced.  So I looked through all the dresses she had, picked out a few more, and headed in the back to try on a few dresses with Kelley’s help. I tried on her suggestion first- and loved it! But still thought I should try on a few more. Who buys the first wedding dress they’ve ever tried on??!

But, the first one, was THE one! I was sooooo thrilled to have something HUGE already taken care of, after only weeks of being engaged! Diane even showed me some veils and tiaras, and even her selection of tuxs that she rents! She just about has it all!

Although Diane offers alterations at a GREAT price- I got mine for free through a family friend (and mom of the cute jr. bm below!) who was also making some dresses and altering my bridesmaid’s dresses. If I didn’t have her, I probably would’ve gone with their alteration service.

Here is my dress….it is a David’s Bridal dress, but I never had to set a foot in David’s to get it (haha!!)

With my lovely Jr. BM, Olivia- modeling our dresses together! (I made it big so you can see details!)

Want to guess how much my dress cost?? Just take a guess!! Unfortunately, the dress was only available for rent, since it’s hard for Diane to keep dresses without trains on hand (I had never wanted a train on my dress), and they are often used for homecoming and occasions other than weddings. But really….will any of my future daughters want to wear my dress?? Probably not!  Plus, I could do literally anything I wanted to it! Shorten, add straps, add embelishments, whatever! Did you take a guess yet?? Was your guess under $100?? ) Who gets a wedding dress for $90?? Me! Who thought I would? Not me!!

I love being frugal and saving money wherever I can, and this was a GREAT place to do it! I got the dress of my dreams, and didn’t have to fork over half my wedding budget to do so! That really helped us have a much more elaborate reception that we originally thought we could have! If I’d kept the dress, it would’ve gone straight to a box  to be preserved after being drycleaned (which probably would’ve cost close to or more than what the dress cost me!), to be taken out someday by my daughter, only to have her say “Ehhh….not really my style…” (I did this with my mom’s!!), and then go back to the box unused and taking up space!

I loved that the dress was strapless, and thought it looked good- when I was standing still! (in the above picture its still too loose so it’s not up where it should be and you can kinda tell it doesn’t fit quite right!!) But I knew that I would be pulling at it all day, and be self consious if I ever bent over!  So I had straps made from material where the hem was taken up, had it taken in several inches (it was a big size-which was good for my chest area!!Hehe!), and had blue tulle added to where it V-ed in the front and already had white tulle.

 
In between alterations…it was done just enough to take it to the beach for “bridal portraits!” It was still a tad too big and the tulle blew away with the wind!

So after I got back from the beach, we took it in more and sewed the tulle down better for perfect results! Here are a few final pics the day of! I surprisingly couldn’t find a photo of just me in the dress, head on! But  I’m not very much a “take a picture of just me”- type person!

 
Love how you can see the blue in this one!

And I was thrilled with the results!! I was adamant about a dress with no train, because I didn’t want to be the bride who you have to back off from to be careful not to step on my dress! I wanted to be able to move around freely, dance freely, hug freely, and not have to worry about carrying it! Adding the straps to it definitely helped too!

I also rented a tiara from Diane, as I couldn’t find any in other stores that I liked for a decent price. They either looked too cheap, too elaborate or too expensive! It cost me around $10 to rent the tiara, which I loved a whole lot more than any other’s I’d seen, even in bridal boutiques!

And to complete the outfit…here are my shoes (and my toes with little flowers!) They are from New York & Company, one of my favorite stores! I also had a bright aqua blue pair I changed into for the reception! My feet didn’t hurt all day long!!

 

I couldn’t have done it without the help of Diane and Memories! If you are on the search for your perfect dress. Definitely check her store out! And if you’ve already found yours, keep it in mind for selling your dress after the big day! If you do go, tell her that Stacey sent you! See if she ever remembered to look for this entry I told her I’d be writing! )

 

Memories Consignment Shop
Diane Allmon
4983 Lebanon Pike
Old Hickory, TN 37138
391-4931

 

(all photos from my personal collection or Bledsoe Photography)

Junior Bridesmaids!!

Awhile ago, Chaundra, my good friend, seamstress, and mother of my fave kids in the world (other than my nieces/nephews!) helped me pick out material for the junior bridesmaids and flower girls. Two of her girls-Lauren and Olivia, and my niece Brittany are junior bridesmaids, and her youngest Gabriella and my niece Caylie and Ray’s niece Kaylee (yep, same name!) are flower girls. That’s a lot of kids to say in one sentence!! Yes, that means 3 jr. bridesmaids and 3 flower girls. It’s a lot, but there is no way I’d leave a single one of them out!!

On Sunday, two of my bridesmaids and I went over to Chaundra’s to get their dresses altered. Yes, not only is Chaundra making the 6 little girls dresses, she’s also altering 3 of my BM’s dresses and my dress- she is that fabulous!!  Obviously, because that morning she whipped up this dress for Olivia!

Doesn’t Olivia look like a little princess!! It will be a little shorter, so the girls can dance the night away without tripping all over themselves, and it will have a sash around it- a little thinner than this one that Chaundra just threw around Olivia to get the effect!

It will be exact opposite colors of the BM dresses!

The flower girls will have the same dresses in white with navy sashes!

I can’t wait to see all my beautiful ladies all dressed up!! ;o) 

My handsome men!

Last week, my mom and I did lots of searching for suits for the guys in the wedding! We decided to go with buying them, since renting can get close to the cost of buying them! Especially since we are going with navy!

The best deals that my mom found were at J.C. Penney’s. I rarely shop there, but I have heard other people say that they’ve found good deals on suits. She found a manager that is working with us, to get us the best, discounted price! And because we’re buying at least 8, he’s giving us a really good deal!

Here’s some pics of myself and my good looking men! Please excuse the fact that I didn’t fix my hair or put on make-up! I knew I was going to be a bridesmaid “stand-in”, but didn’t think about fixing myself up! ) And Ray was complaining that he didn’t fix his hair either, and you’ll notice his brown flip flops in a few pics- don’t worry, he’s not wearing those!! And the BM’s aren’t going barefoot like I am! ) They will look much prettier!

 Here’s myself with my handsome fiance- who reverted to his old picture taking ways with a goofy face! But hey, remember, these pics are about the clothes!! )

I absolutely love the tie that we picked out for him– from Dillard’s. It cost a bit, but the stripes in it match the dress and the groomsmen ties perfectly (see groomsman tie below on my dad!), and we’re going to keep looking for it to go on sale!

Here’s the Father of the Bride joining us…. He’s wearing one of the ties we got for the groomsmen and possibly for him too, from Ross. It is a light teal blue with some faint paisley outlines.

Tie up close on Father of the Bride…..

We had the guys in black shoes, but tried them out with brown as well…..ummmmm….we’ll go with black!!

And the three of us go for a stroll in the sun………..

We’re pretty set on these suits, just need to gather up the groomsmen and his dad’s sizes then off we’ll go to purchase them all! We might change his dad and my dad’s ties, but the groom is set and so are the groomsmen!  They also go lovely with my flowers as well, which I forgot to bring to the “photo-shoot” but here’s a pic to remind you!

 

I can’t wait to see it all put together in the end!!!

 

Weekend of fun and gettin stuff done!!

I’ll be writing more later this week about the details of my fabulous weekend, but here’s the highlights!

Trying on wedding gear with my handsome men! (of course, I’ll be wearing something a little different on that day!!)

SATC party with Ashley and Kelley! (best party ever!!)

 

Checkin out my beautiful Jr. Bridesmaid, Olivia, in the dress her mom whipped up that morning! (Also gettin my BM’s fitted in their dresses- the one you saw me in above with the guys!)

My first bridal shower- with my lovely ladies in red! The world’s greatest “bosses” and friends!

I also shopped for and ordered more flowers, ordered my wedding band, found someone to do my wedding programs, and not to mention- got to try out some of the new dresses I bought last week! )

I’m off to open up all the boxes my presents came in and set them up in my fiance’s (and our!) new place!

Tonight, I have a cake tasting for these beautiful babies with Cakes by Shara!!! (I’m quickly becoming addicted to her yummy goodies!!) More on all of the above later this week!!

 

 

Shoes, shoes, shoes!!

Myself and my girls have been searching for shoes to go with the bridesmaid dresses for awhile now! And it was my mom who came to the rescue!!

This isn’t the best pic, so get look at the ones below to get a better idea! They just about perfectly match the navy in the sashes the girls are wearing!

She found these shoes at Kohl’s- on sale for $19.99 – 50% off!! Plus for the last few days (and until Tues 5/20) if you use your credit card you get a scratch off card for a chance at another 15%, 20%, or 30% off!  (online they are only in gold and silver. In store, I didn’t even see gold and silver!!)

So during the yard sale, I tried them on, tested them out with the dress, and called/sent texts to all my girls to find out shoe sizes! Then my mom even called a couple different stores to check on who has what sizes!

Then after the yard sale, it was off to buy the shoes! Of course, in my crazy shopping past, I had a Kohl’s credit card! ) So once we got there, I reactivated it and used it to purchase the 3 more pairs we bought (my cuz is buying her own up in OH because her mom has a card!). So I don’t get myself in trouble again, we paid it off immediately with a check from my wedding account and I’ll need to destroy the new card as soon as it comes- for my own future sanity!

They also had these super cute styles, colors….

Love the red/white polka-dot ones!

These shoes were made for walking!

I’ve written before about needing comfy shoes or flip flops for my wedding! Now, I’m not so sure about the shoes I’ve picked out….

They are very comfy…pretty cute…..but are they wedding dress cute?? I’m not so sure!

I’ve mentioned this before, but I have feet issues!! After dealing with 2 injuries to the same foot last year, I’m not back into the groove of wearing heels yet! Until yesterday that is!! I decided it was time to bite the bullet and start wearing some of the shoes I love so much!! 

I wore these Mossimo shoes from Target the ENTIRE day yesterday! Through chapel, teaching 4 classes,  grocery store during lunch break, shopping at Target, a meeting, AND going out to dinner!! They were on my feet from 8am until 9pm! I have to say…..I was impressed with my little feet!! (I know! Some of you women are thinking- That’s NOTHING! The heels on my fave shoes are 5 in. high!! Well, for me, this is a big deal!! ) )

The odd thing is, that my injured foot seems to have gotten bigger! So the shoes were a little tighter on that foot, but not unbearable and not uncomfortable! That’s just a weird fact I’ve notices lately!!

So while this isn’t making  me think I want to wear a small heel for the wedding…it is making me think my shoes I’ve picked out are now too practical!! So the search is still on….

Fun Bride/Bridesmaid Gear!

 Team Bride

I’ve written before about how much I adore all of the cute tanks, tees, and bags out there for bridesmaids and brides! I’m excited to have come across some new stuff and even created some of my own!!

My cousin and bridesmaid Ashley directed me to this great site to design shirts, etc,  and they have some really cute ideas!

Customized Girl

Almost anything you could think of to put on a tank or t-shirt, someone has already done it! If you search for Bride or Bridesmaid, there are some great ideas, or you can create your own! I’d show ya if I could but they’re all in flash for editing purposes, so go look at these!!

You can add your own graphics or ones provided, change fonts, sizes, etc. I played around with it for awhile, and it’s a lot of fun! It’s not too expensive if you design something from the Sale section! (*note*- it’s $10 more to design the back of the shirt too!)

I’ve also been working on making my own stuff!! I went to Walmart and found these iron-ons.

The Future Mrs. one is actually a pale pink- hard to tell in the picture!

I also got some plain tanks – gray for Future Mrs. to have one that was a little more subtle! – Navy for Bride to Be!

They turned out pretty good, and the instructions on the iron-ons were very simple to follow! The only problem I had was with one little stone on the Future Mrs.  not sticking- I think it had already lost its stick before I put it on because no matter how much I tried to put it back on, it wouldn’t stay!! Now, I’m going to look for an “H” to put “Future Mrs. H” We’ll see if I find one! I’ll still be happy if I don’t!

There are lots more great ideas out there for DIYing your own gear, or for buying some custom made! Happy Shopping! )

Sore feet at my wedding?? No thank you!!

 

I’m a big believer in the flip-flop!! I used to absolutely HATE the feeling of anything in between my toes, so I’d refuse to wear them, instead opting for sandals and shoes that were strappy with NOTHING between the toes!!

Then, summer after summer I would see all these ADORABLE and CHEAP shoes calling out to me everywhere I went!! So I finally sucked it up, and decided to try it out with a pair of flops from Old Navy!

 

Now, I know their cheap, cute-in-every-color flip flops are old news, but I only started wearing them about 3 or 4 years ago! I know, silly!! It took awhile and lots of blisters in between my virgin toes to get used to them, but now I own them in every color!! I’m a complete convert!! )

I’ve been planning for awhile to even wear flip-flops down the aisle!! I’ll probably try to find a cute white pair with maybe a little bit of a heel and maybe some sparkle! Since I have a beach theme, I think it’ll work!!

The last thing I want or need to happen is me tripping in heels or twisting an already bum ankle! After 2 trips to emergency rooms last year (once in Mexico!!) I want my feet to be as cozy as possible on that big day!  

I also plan on having my bridesmaids wear VERY comfortable shoes– probably not flip-flops- their dresses are a little too formal for that! I absolutely ADORE “unlisted” brand shoes. I first discovered them through Linda, one of my bridesmaids, when I was a bridesmaid at her wedding! I wore out those cream colored heels she had Kerri and I wear! (I still have them and wear them 6 years later!!) They are so cute, and so comfortable at the same time!! They have a heel, are strappy and sassy, but my delicate feet never hurt in them! I now have them in every shade I could get my hands on- mostly from Shoe Carnivalwhere I’ve often gotten them on clearance, or a good sale! (They aren’t listed on their website and you can only buy in store, so do a store locator search on the site!)

Here’s an idea of what they look like…

I’m hoping to find them in Navy for my maids, but I’m not sure if they make them in that color! I’ve seen lots of amazing shades though…..I have some adorable bright purple ones, that I’ve actually never worn, but I just LOVE them and they were so cheap! One of those pairs of shoes that you have to buy a new outfit just to wear them! But what an excuse to shop!!

While browsing around on The Knot today, I saw this adorable idea to help out your poor guest’s feet too when it’s time to hit the dance floor!

How adorable!!

So here’s to feet that are happy, comfy, and having just as much fun as the rest of you is having!!!! )

Snow day!! = Extra wedding planning time!!

Don’t laugh if you’re from up north! This is a big deal here! Along with all the ice that comes with it!!

The view from my fiance’s truck is much more impressive!!

I thought today would just be another one of those days where no matter how hard I hope and pray that my school (where I teach Spanish!) would be out today….it just won’t happen!! In FIVE years of teaching, we’ve had ONE snow day……until today!!! )  No matter how much I know that we most likely won’t get out of school- a girl can still dream!! It’s like being a kid all over again!! And today, this girl’s dream came true!! Haha!! I didn’t believe it at first….and neither did my friend Jen who I sent a text message to when I saw she was out of school too (and good thing because she doesn’t have a TV in her new house!!). We know it’s a BIG deal when our two schools get out!! A HUGE deal!! It almost NEVER happens!!

So, I’m excited to have a day to do nothing at all….but of course, I’ll actually do lots!! Now that I have a place for the wedding, I can start searching for more details!!

Like these which I need to order….

And holy crap!! Just realized they discounted them even more!! These are $29.88- final sale from Ann Taylor Celebration’s Collection…They don’t have many sizes left, but I’ve already ordered one, along with sashes (which are $5.44 clearance!) and this color actually looks closer to this (navy sash, separate!).

They do have several sizes in this color……

Ann Taylor currently has some cute dresses in store….but I wasn’t a big fan of how the weird silk kind of made you look a little frumpy when you actually put it on! The designs are adorable though! In this pic, the material looks like the same silk as the ones above, but it isn’t! It’s actually made of silk dupioni- if that means anything to you!! It wouldn’t to me if I hadn’t seen it!

They also have tons of other dresses on clearance that you can see here.

Ok….time to step away and do some school work (so thankful for the snow day because I don’t know when I was going to find time to prepare lessons for March this week!!), and then maybe relax a bit….after I order the dresses, of course!! ) If they happen to not work out…..I can always cut them up to use another way!! ) You could make dresses this cheap!!

You might even see another post from me today!! )

More fun finds at Kohl’s!

So, I wrote the other day about how I found these adorable lanterns at Kohl’s…..

Well, my mom scooped up the last 4 in the Hermitage Kohl’s while I bought out the Cool Spring’s Kohl’s, and she went back to look the next day and noticed they were 50% off!! They’re totally out of them at both Kohl’s- but if they had them, they’d be 50% off! So even though we got them at about $25…down from $35….we were both able to take our receipts back and get them for $17.50 each!!! Hopefully, they’ll get more in, but if you like them….just make sure you go to a different one!!

When I went today to get my refund, I walked past the place I’d found them just to check if they had any more…they didn’t, but I did see these adorable things that are also centerpiece possibilities!! I think they are too dark/not really the look I’m going for…however they are adorable! Here’s some pics I snagged with my phone! Sorry they aren’t clearer!

And then I saw these totally adorable picture frames….and matching bride/bridesmaid bags! (which I was surprised to find in the photo section!) The collection is called “Always & Forever” and they have totally sweet photo albums, picture frames, luggage tags, and make-up bags in brown and pink or brown and cream.  They say things like “We said yes”, “Me and my maids”, “Honeymooners”, “Girl’s night out” and on the make-up bags- Bride and Bridesmaid, of course! Totally cute!! I had to refrain from snagging them all….especially since I had to hurry to go meet my mom to pick up a bridesmaid dress I’d ordered (to try out!!).

Here’s some more pics from my lovely camera phone!!

Bride/Bridesmaid bags, and Honeymooner luggage tags

Photo frames and albums

I think the Honeymooner luggage tags are my faves!! I’m already planning to make bags for myself and bridesmaids, or I’d scoop these up!! ) You never know what you can find when you are browsing through your favorite stores!! )

**ALL of the things in this post are currently 50% off at Kohl’s as of 2/26/08….and hopefully will be for awhile longer!!**