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there, and my own memories of it were that, although there were some nice things, most of it was a bit older and outdated.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)

Beach cupcakes!

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you already know how in love I am with these!

If you haven’t seen this before, this is one of the cupcakes from Cakes by Shara, which won a Martha Stewart cupcake contest!!

Anyways, I’ve tasted her cupcakes at a few wedding events and parties (including one DIVINE chocolate cupcake from the SATC party!), but still wanted to set up a tasting to choose the three flavors for my cupcakes at my dinner reception. I already knew for SURE that chocolate would be one guaranteed! )

These are the cuties that she made up for me!

And a close up of the big one so you can see the details of the adorable (and yummy!) shells!

All of the shells and the blue “waves” are made from fondant, and there is icing below the waves too. I’ve never been a huge fan of fondant, but apparently that was because I’d never tasted fondant done right. This…was amazing…and sparkly! Very yummy!!

The big one is chocolate, the white one front/left is strawberry, white one back/left is orange, and the back blue one is vanilla cake with amaretto icing….YUM!!!

I decided on the chocolate, strawberry and amaretto. I was going to do them all medium size and all with the blue, but after seeing how cute the other ones were (and maybe not everyone would like fondant), I decided to do some of the white too!

And we thought since all the little ones at the wedding might be snagging cupcakes left and right, we’d make minis like these she made for the Relish party. They’ll have blue icing with a smaller version of the shell on them.

I’m also getting a cupcake tree similar to this one! But with the center columns in navy!

So we’ll have about 60 mini’s and 60 medium cupcakes!! I can’t wait to see how cute they will look all together!!

If you are at ALL interested in getting cupcakes for your wedding in place of or even along with a cake (I’m having a cake too earlier in the day at a larger cake reception- made by Cake by Dake.)

Here’s some other adorable/beautiful cupcakes that Shara has made- all pics from her blog Cakes by Shara Lunn…

These monkeys are too super cute!!

 

Beautiful flowers and pearls!

Valentine’s Day!

 

 

And my fave, other than the one I’m getting! (hmmm, I wonder why I like it??!) If I’d done pink and aqua….guaranteed I’d want this beauty!!!

And a more close-up pic of the custom cupcake stands she makes!

Visit Cakes by Shara now and check out all her amazing cakes too!!

Relish Party Recap!

Ok, so I’m not as fast as other ladies at posting my recap of the party…..but here goes!!

This past Sunday, I attended the launch party for the new, Nashville based, online and interactive invitation company- Relish! It was a blast! The girls of Relish- Stephanie and Rebecca- pictured above are just too cute! They gave out adorable goodie bags, which matched their cute aprons and adorable yellow wedge shoes!

 

The party was held at the Green Hills Hampton Inn in the Atrium. It was a great location at the top of the hotel overlooking Green Hills! It was attended by lots of wedding coordinators and others in the biz, but it was really nice to be able to be a bride attending something like this as well! It was much more informal than walking around booth to booth making forced small talk with lots of different people- not that those formats aren’t helpful too– this was just more fun!!

I was thrilled that Shara of Cakes by Shara was there sharing her yummy goodies!! My mom has been talking to her lately about these yummy cupcakes I’m getting for my reception! If you didn’t read my post about them before, Shara entered these in a Martha Stewart contest and won as one of the top 10 cupcakes!! Soooo cute!!

These were the adorable little ones she had at the Relish party!

I was super happy about her fondant actually being yummy!! And the icing too!! I’d tasted her stuff at a show before, but had so much cake that day that I couldn’t remember anything but the sugar high afterwards!! ) So I was quite pleased that the only one there was one I’ll be using!! It also gave us a great chance to discuss details in person!

I’m having my cake for my cake reception made by my close friend Jeniffer of Cake by Dake, but when I saw Shara’s cupcakes, had to have them too! They’ll be at my family/wedding party reception, and not everyone there will be at the cake reception so will still have a chance for yummy cake!

But back to the party……it was super fun to get to hang out with Ashley and talk about upcoming party plans!! And back to the point of the party…..the Relish girls are fantastic! So sweet, fun and innovative! They’ve come up with a great product! Their line of invitations is so cute and has so many possibilities! I’ve played around with their website some already, and it is SOOO easy to use! You pick out all the details online for your invitations and you can create all kinds of combinations, even adding punch-outs, ribbons, and rhinestones.

Their motto-”Enjoy the journey” really encompasses who they are! You can totally tell how much they love what they do and how they are helping brides to enjoy it as well! I couldn’t believe when Rebecca told me their turn-around is 7-10 business days after you turn in your order!! What?? Is there any other invitation company that does it that quickly??  And the prices aren’t bad at all either!

They gave away great prizes (which seemed to keep going to guys??!!), and it was fun even though I didn’t win a thing! I was just happy to be there!! Thanks, Relish gals for a fun time, and Ashley thanks for the invite and letting me “borrow” some of your pics!! And Kelley, thanks for letting me drag you to another wedding event!! Can’t wait for more fun times!! )

Yummy goodness!!! :o)

I love cupcakes….they make me think happy childhood thoughts, of birthday parties, and less stressful times!! One of the great things about being a teacher (great for the spirit, not for the waistline), is that almost any time a kid has a birthday- they bring cupcakes or other goodies for their class AND the teachers! ) Even ones other than their homeroom teachers. I’m ever so happy to get a yummy homemade goodie- like the one I got on Wednesday- that had some of the best homemade chocolate icing I’ve ever had!!

For some reason, this has been the week of the cupcake for me!

Last week was my maid of honor, Bridget’s birthday. We went out to lunch on Saturday along with Kelley, and I made our fave cupcakes from when B and I used to live together….I had a bit of a Martha Stewart moment and got creative with an icing tip and a Ziploc baggie! The strawberry cake with cream cheese icing was quite yummy!

These were ones I finished up after lunch, and I was running low on icing- hence the gaps! The others were better looking- except of course I smushed the one for the b-day girl on the way there. I also branded them with our initials….BSK, which stands for the name of our “band”- the Bull S*** Kittens! Hehe!

When I brought these leftover ones to my parents later that night….my mom said I should’ve been the one to make the cupcakes for my sis-in-law’s baby shower the next day!! Oh well, they’d been ordered before I ever had a chance to try my hand at it myself! )

The one’s for Lindsey’s shower were quite cute too with the lifesaver/jelley belly pacifier’s that my mom made on top! These were from Publix and were really good, we just wished we could’ve gotten a wrapper color other than yellow!

I’d wanted to get one of my friends to make the cupcakes, but she was out of town and we were too down to the last minute to special order them…..too bad I didn’t read these next ideas from Ashley’s Bride Guide until later in the week!!

I’d seen this cupcake place last Monday (also after the shower! gr!) and thought it looked really cute and was very tempted to stop….however at the beginning of the week I was keeping my diet- not so the rest of the week! I’ll get back on track this coming week! A girl needs a break…oh about once a month!! Haha!

Ashley always finds the best stuff, and I wasn’t surprised to see she’d found Gigi’s!!

This kicks my cupcakes’ rear ends! And those from Publix!! ) Anyone up for heading to Gigi’s Cupcakes with me?? )

As I’m finishing reading Ashley’s post on Gigi’s, I noticed the most beeeaaauuuttttiiiifffuuuulll cupcake I’ve ever seen to the side of the page (right under the blurb about myself- The Fabuless Bride, and Anna- Belle Bride)

Ok….my heart is fluttering with how in love I am with this cupcake as I’m about to post it!!
It’s from Cake’s by Shara- a local, whose stuff I’ve seen and tasted at a bridal show! Super yummy and cute!! This cupcake def should’ve been on display! It was one of the winner’s of a Martha Stewart cupcake contest! And it’s a beach themed cupcake!! I didn’t know you could DO beach themed cupcakes!! How many more things that I love can you get into one small cupcake…..ta da!!!
(ok…thank GOODNESS for WordPress having such a great auto save!! I’m not kidding….the moment I typed “ta da!!” my computer screen went dark…I thought the lights went out, turns out my laptop cord fell out- and of course my battery hasn’t worked for months!! WHOOPS! But it was ALL here when I turned it back on!)
Sooooo…ta da here’s my all time fave cupcake!!! (oh please don’t turn off again!!)

I will be contacting Shara soon to get these babies! Not sure what for….I already have my cake, but somehow I HAVE to have them!!! )

 

Did you know that I LOVE BLUE?!!! :o)

Confession- blue started off as my favorite color because of a boy I once liked. I won’t say why or some people reading this will know who I’m talking about!! Haha! My current obsession with blue has absolutely NOTHING to do with said boy- who I later learned was a huge dork and am very glad that nothing came of that- except my love for a certain wonderful color! To me– blue is happy and soothing at the same time. Even though it is used sometimes in sad ways- as in the blues or I’m feeling blue– to me, if I’m wearing blue, it means I’m happy! Or trying to perk myself up! Tons of things in my apartment are decorated in blue and they make me happy too- especially because blue is beach/ocean related, of course!

So, no surprise that many blue details will be involved in my wedding! My lovely friend Jessica sent me this link today to Blue Bio’s on the knot….and I had to quickly get out of it or I’d spend all day looking at it!! (Which I can’t do right now because I’m about to have a faculty meeting!)

I did, however, skim over it and found a few adorable things!! Here’s some cute cakes!! Several of my girl students and moms just gathered around behind me oooohhhing and ahhhing over them!! ) So fun!!

I’m sure I’ll be posting more from this site later on! LOVE IT!! Thanks Jess!!! )

Off to facutly meeting!!

More cakes!!

I’ve spent the last two days….laying in bed with the flu! ( So in between sleeping and eating soup…..and not talking at all with my voice totally gone…I’ve tried to be slightly productive!! I’ve been researching photographers as  my first choice wasn’t available and have come up with some promising options! I’m going to write at another time to share suggestions for more budget friendly photographers- which is definitely what I’m looking for!!

And in case you are commenting and they aren’t showing up- I’m not denying them, they just might be flagged as spam somehow and it can take awhile for it to show up for me to approve. Stinks, I know!! I want those comments!! I keep seeing that I’m getting them, but their not being shown!!

I’ve been checking out Martha Stewart cakes today……I know she’s one of those people you love, or you hate!! I happen to love her!! I’d love to be her (minus the whole investment scandal/jail time thing!!)!

I’m in love with this cake….and in love with this pattern on blue!

 

From:

“This opulent five-tier cake is a graphic interpretation of damask; it plays up the pattern, which is traditionally tone-on-tone. The intricate scrollwork is best suited to a square cake because the flat surfaces display the repeating motif to greatest advantage. To create this magnificent design, the pattern is placed under waxed paper, then piped over and filled in with royal icing. After it dries, the hardened frosting is removed from the waxed paper and affixed to the cake. The Wedgwood-blue fondant and dark-brown decorations look elegant with a chocolate cake.”

And I love Daisies!! ) And the falling daises on this cake are so adorable!

This cake made with white chocolate cigarette and powdered sugar-topped golden raspberries looks almost beachy with it’s boardwalk fence look and the sugary “sand”!

 

Wedding cake search!!

So, I have the church, reception site, most likely nailed down a videographer, have my dress, bridesmaid dresses, and my cake designer!! I still have lots to do, and many final details to figure out of things I do have done!! Deciding who would make my cake was the easy part…..deciding on the actual cake will be a bit harder!! ) 

I’m having my great friend Jeniffer, who I worked with for 3 years and still continue to be fabulous friends with, make my wedding cake….she’s AMAZING!! She’s so freakin talented at sooo many things- cakes are just a small part of who she is and what she does!! You can check out her cakes here.  I pretty much trust her completely, that whatever cake I decide on, she’ll be able to tackle it!!

Of course, my cake with have some blue elements, and will probably be beach related to go along with my beach theme!! I do, however, want it to be simple and understated- not overwhelming!

I’ve been doing a little bit of searching and haven’t figured it out yet….but I have come across some cute stuff!!

Ocean Waves

This is just toooooo cute!!

I wouldn’t personally want it this beachy but holy crap! Can you believe that is a cake?!! From Mike’s Amazing Cakes

Hmmmm….Ray does love lighthouses!!

These are just some I’ve recently run across….nothing that really has grabbed me yet! I’ve been looking lots in magazines too and have folded down many pages in those bridal magazines!! )

I’m so looking forward to that special, romantic moment……where I can shove cake in my fiance’s face!! Hehe!!