It was awe-inspiring.

It was more than I ever could imagine.

We gather here today to celebrate the wedding of Laurel Denison and Justin Hammond. Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships.

The title is part of our wedding ceremony.

 

 My wedding dress - I found this with my mom. We had just spent the day at the beach and we still had sand in our toes. I just love that. I STILL need to get it altered (just shortened!) Yikes! ($200)

Custom recepetion dress I purchase from a designer in Portland. ($200)

Aldo Shoes from zappos $60.00



Justin's outfit - phone picture ( I really need a 
better phone...)
I really like this because he looks like him. We purchased everything with the help of this amazing sales lady at Macy's. We even took her picture too! He seriously tried on two pairs of pants and one shirt. I love the tie it is blue and silver.
(sorry for the poor photo quality)




The dress.

Thank you for all your nice comments on my last post. It took me a while to come to those realizations and I am glad you could all relate and you understood where I was coming from. So, without further adieu... the dress... I love this photo because you can see my mom in the back ground. Yes, we went wedding dress shopping in shorts! We just got off the beach! :)
I like how low it goes in the back.

This will fit a mountain morning wedding don't you think?

"bigger than us." : The story of my new wedding dress.

It is about the universe... your family..... and you.

I have some big news!...

I have an NEW WEDDING DRESS!!!

(yes I will post pictures soon)

This is how it happened.

My mother took this crazy road trip from CO to spend the 4th of July with us. On almost her last day here, after lunch in Canada and walking on the beach, she turned to me and said, "Could we go look at wedding dresses? I know you have yours but I just want to have that experience with you." (I almost started crying I was so touched and why had I not thought of that?!)

So with sand still on our toes, we went into the only bridal shop I have not visited in town and I tried on a few totally different types of dresses. Toward the end of our visit I said" Do you want to see what I would pick from this store?" I pulled this dress from the back and put it on.

It was stunning. Simple. Lovely. But it was more then that... it was the EXPERIENCE. It was my mom and me ... just like it should have been all along. We looked at each other and said,

"This is the one."

And this is what I learned...

Weddings...

They aren't about just you.

It is not really "your" day... it is a day about family. It is a day about all the people and pieces and work that went into making this relationship, this family , this event possible.

So don't let the blog world and the wedding industry lead you to believe that it is "your" day, because it is SO MUCH MORE THEN THAT!

Mothers...

They want to be a part of the planning

They want to be there when you pick your wedding dress. They want to say with you that " This is the one."

They want to be part of the secret of the new wedding dress.

They want to be part of the story...

because they have always been and they will continue to be a huge part of your life.

Me...

I was afraid that the wedding was getting"bigger than us."

Now I know that this wedding always was bigger than us. It is SO MUCH BIGGER than I could have ever imagined. Not just in size but in meaning. It is about joining two families and that alone is monumental.

All I wanted to do was wear my Winter Kate dress anyway.. SO I am going to rock it for my birthday and for our honeymoon!

Say hello to my WEDDING DRESS!!!

found at The Trend Boutique

Look at how this all turned out!!!!>....

(Entire discussion on facebook. PS they have great give aways!)
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Laurel Chappell Denison I just bought my wedding dress from you site. I have been searching for the Winter Kate Damien Dress in Ivory for forever and I just found it on your site today. I bought it on the spot! Now I just have to wait .... :) Thank you for your great selection!See it here:http://www.shopthetrendboutique.com/wikadadriniv.html
43 minutes ago · Comment ·LikeUnlike · Flag

The Trend Boutique
That is amazing! I remember you asking about it a while back and we said it was not being made in that hue. One of our buyers saw your post and tried to order the dress! Woo Hoo! It is a beautiful dress. And the best part is that you will be able to wear it AFTER your wedding too as it's so versatile. So it's a great choice. You MUST post pics of your special day in this dress we would love to see them. We're sure you'll be gorgeous.
10 minutes ago · Flag

Laurel Chappell Denison
(wow- you remembered that?) That is so great- I had no idea it would all work out so well! Thank you so much for your great customer service! I have never seen a shop with such wonderful PR staff. Thank you so much for finding and buying this dress!
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OMG I love the Internet/ facebook right now. I would have never got this dress if I had not commented. This totally makes my day.
PS Dear blogger world ,
Y'all are the first to know... I have not told anyone yet. I am waiting to get it!

do you know...

via http://olsensanonymous.blogspot.com/2010/04/reader-request-mka.html

Do you know who made her white dress?

Wedding Wednesday: I met Holly!

As you know, I traveled to Portland this past week and I was able to meet Holly, who is designing my reception dress!
She was the sweetest girl ever and she works in this amazing creative space in the E Burnside district.


I loved her inspiration board!

I brought her flowers... She even had a vase all ready for them!

Super talented! This was part of a wedding dress she was working on . the detail in her work is stunning. Seriously. Amazing work. You should see that shrug up close!

She had just received the fabric for my reception dress that I special ordered in white, instead of Ivory. She said it will likely be done the end of this month! I can't wait to see it! I may also have her design my wedding dress... wouldn't that be cool?

well I am going to David's Bridal on Friday... why you ask?

because I am currently lusting after this dress...

and it is from Davids. So save your horror stories. No worries- I will not make any rash decisions. Just wish me luck!

* Justin might come with me. I need his opinion.

Just bought my wedding reception dress!

I am IN LOVE!!! I found it on etsy. She is a Portland designer and I have talked to other customers that bought this dress and they raved about it! Now I just have to wait... that is the hard part.

I really wanted my reception dress to be fun and a little sexy. The back is very low and very beautiful.

Still looking for the wedding dress but seriously I can wait on that. I AM IN LOVE.

I did it... I tried on wedding dresses.

Notes from the event:
*wedding dress shopping is OVERWHELMING.
*Wedding dresses are heavy and HUGE. PS the clips do not really help me get the idea of how it would fit after I order the right size. The clips basically made me feel like I was 12 again and I was tying knots in the back of my shirt. (It was the early 90's.)
*My good friend Jessica (not even my maid of honor) is kick-ass and totally made the experience fun. (My best friend / maid of honor is several states away and I miss her terribly.)
* I did love one dress. (But I truthfully am not looking to spend $1500 for my dress.I am looking more to spend about $500 to $700)

Here is the top pick from the day!

*It fit perfectly.

PS my wedding is over a year away. I didnt wat to buy the dress and then hate it in a couple months.

So my wonderful readers if you know of a dress similar to this one please send it my way!

Playing dress up this weekend...

I am going wedding dress shopping in Seattle! I can not wait! Advice?

Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination. ~Oscar Wilde


I like my money right where I can see it - hanging in my closet. ~ Sex and the City

I'll take two.

Bella 185

Sheer clothing is right now at the top of my list. Too bad my entire closet is currently full of BLACK winter clothes.

My whole heart for my whole life.

UPDATE: found via oh joy

photos by MangoRed... {via Seven Eight}

Still don't know who made the dress... If anyone knows please email me! Thanks!

UPDATE: A Filipino designer Cary Santiago made this wedding dress