Our Wedding: Getting Ready

Excited to share more details from our wedding day! We were so lucky to have space at our venue to get ready for the day. It made it a breeze to be in one place and not have to worry about transportation. When we first arrived, I remember it feeling so surreal that the day had finally come!

I got ready with my mom, Grant’s mom and my five bridesmaids. Once I decided on my getting ready dress, I had everyone else wear white tops + denim, which is basically my summer uniform, ha. We spent the morning getting excited for the day while having our hair and makeup done by Janet & the team at Be. NYLA. They did such an amazing job making everyone look beautiful and natural.

I had the hardest time figuring out what I wanted to wear while getting ready! I didn’t want to go the robe/pajama route and every dress I came across wouldn’t be easy to get off after having my hair and makeup done. Eventually I found this dress (ironically from the maternity line HATCH) that was a breeze to get on and off! I love that it’s a dress I can wear in my everyday life and be reminded of our special day.

I gifted my bridesmaids earrings for them to wear and some Glossier Balm Dot Calm in Rose (it’s my fave!). I also had custom bags made for each of them on Etsy. I also found vintage handkerchiefs on Etsy, which I gave to my mom, Grant’s mom and my stepmom.

The dress! I kept going back and forth about what I wanted — I was drawn to both super simple silk dresses and overly textured dresses. I think everyone expected me to go with a silk dress à la Carolyn Bessette, but I ultimately wanted something more special. I originally found my dress on Moda Operandi, sent it to my mom and said “This is what I’m looking for! But picture it without long sleeves…and without the mini skirt...” I had completely forgotten about the dress when we had an appointment at Saks Bridal and Elizabeth Fillmore happened to be having a trunkshow of her dresses. Lo and behold, the mannequin was wearing the dress I had sent my mom! I tried it on, along with a few others, but instantly knew it was the one.

I was fortunate enough to meet Elizabeth herself, and she invited me to finish all of my alterations and do my fittings at her personal studio. It was a dream come true to get to fully customize my dress and have it made exactly as I envisioned. It was such a special process that I will never forget!

I had been looking for a few pins to wear in my hair and my mom surprised me at one of my dress fittings with my grandmother’s veil. Her veil was not in great condition to be worn, but she had these amazing flowers that formed a headband and coincidentally were very similar to the flowers on my dress. I took the veil apart and used the loose flower pieces in my hair. I loved being able to incorporate part of her wedding day into my look and have something so unique and special.

For my jewelry, I wore simple stud earrings and was incredibly fortunate that my dad gave me one of my other grandmother’s bracelets to wear. She loved opals and I have so many memories of her wearing them. It is a piece I will always treasure.

Grant and I did a first look so we could take all of our family portraits beforehand our ceremony. We exchanged cards with one another and it was so special to have that time alone, before all of the festivities began. If you are comfortable with it, I highly recommend doing a first look. Doing portraits pre-ceremony allowed us to actually be a part of our cocktail hour and spend more time with our guests. It also helped get all of the jitters out!

I opted to wear a veil for our ceremony and loved how simple mine was. I wanted to make sure you could still see the back of my dress through it so I opted for a sheerer style from Twigs & Honey. They send you swatches of their tulle, which made it super easy to coordinate with my dress.

I had all of my bridesmaids wear the same dress — the High Neck Cinch Gown in Sand from Natalie Deayala. Her dresses are so beautiful and simple and come in so many colors and styles. Sorry to see that she has closed her business — she filled such a void in the marketplace!

Last but certainly not least, our adorable flower girls! I found their dresses at Pink Chicken and am so obsessed I wish I could have bought it for myself. I got them swiss dot bows by Coco and Manu for their hair and they wore Saltwater sandals in gold.

All images by Shannen Natasha