Dress #18 Part 2

On Wednesday evening (6/18), Joe and I met up with our two friends that were also vacationing in Paris and went on a Seine River dinner cruise.  I wanted to have a nice dinner after the wedding and figured a nighttime river cruise would be perfect.  I booked La Marina de Paris through Viator Tours.  Originally, I wanted to wear my wedding dress to get some extra use out of it but realized that would be pretty impractical.  I left my hair up but changed into my purple Enfocus Studio halter dress.  This time I wore it with the halter straps instead of strapless.

The cruise departed from the Musee d'Orsay.  Our table was ready with a glass of rose champagne already waiting for us.  Our dinner included two bottles of red wine and a bottle of champagne.  We were served an assortment of starters.  For dinner we had steak.  The flavors were good but the cut of meat was tough which was a little disappointing.  Dessert was another assortment so there was a large variety of French dishes to the meal.  We ate everything.  The sun set while we were eating.  We passed by the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower just as the light show went off for the evening.  On the way back to the port after passing the Eiffel Tower the speaker announced that the dance floor was now open, but we were literally only three songs away from port.  We danced to the first song.  Our friends started singing "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston at the top of their lungs which was pretty funny.  And then it was over.  It was a two hour cruise but it went by very quickly and we weren't ready to stop partying just yet.

We were all pretty drunk when we left the cruise.  As we were walking back along the Seine River we stopped at another bar which was closing.  Across from it was a docked party boat that was like a club inside.  We went in for more drinking and dancing.  It was really fun.  Two girls got into a serious fist fight on the dance floor and got thrown out which was odd to witness.  Otherwise, everything was laid back and fun.  We ended up getting a taxi back to our hotel at one or two in the morning.  We all partied hard and had a really great time.  It really was a perfect way to end the day.

Bonus Dress #3

On Wednesday (6/18), Joe and I got married…again.  It's funny how we ended up with two weddings. When we first started talking about getting married, I really wanted to elope in Paris and Joe loved the idea.  I told him I wouldn't get married in a church unless it was in Europe.  He said he loved all the churches in Europe and felt very spiritual there.  I did some research to find an easy and affordable elopement package in Paris.  I ended up going with Celebrants in France.  They specialize in European weddings and elopements.  They didn't have a church in Paris that was available to rent but they did have a package that included a 2 hour rental of a national monument called Chapelle Expiatoire.  Apparently, it was the original burial site of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette.  The package included the officiant to perform the ceremony and they would handle all the booking details for 1799 Euros.  Apparently the elopement industry in Paris is all inter-connected as all the different vendors know and work with each other quite often.  Chateau & Villa Weddings did the actual Chapelle booking but I only dealt directly with my officiant from Celebrants in France.  I asked about them putting a bouquet together for me which they did for an additional 50 Euros.  They also referred me to a bunch of photography and hair and make up vendors.  I got my hair done by Ciara Costenoble and my make up by Charles Gillman.  For a photographer, I went with Lindsey kent of Pictours Paris.  I really liked her portfolio and she was great to work with.

The drawback was that because Joe and I were not Parisians, we couldn't legally be married there.  We had to have a legal wedding in the US first.  This is actually how we ended up with two weddings.  Originally, I thought we could have a simple legal ceremony at City Hall or in a chapel in LA with our friends and his immediate family present (only 20 people).  We actually looked at a chapel together but Joe felt that it was too much like a cheap and tacky Vegas wedding.  He suggested we get married on the beach or in a park.  As long as you don't put any chairs or equipment down, it's free to get married in a public place.  I did some research for local gardens and found the Los Angeles Arboretum which was only $500 to rent as long as we didn't put any chairs or equipment down.  I really wanted to include my friends in my wedding so even though there was only going to be 20 people, I still wanted a bridal party.  Joe wanted to invite several family members so the guest list ended up being 30.  Of course we had to feed everyone so we decided to have a dinner reception.  I wanted a place with a nice view for the guest and was thinking of a downtown LA rooftop restaurant but they were all way too expensive and required a roof buy out for a private event.  We found The Castaway Restaurant which had a small outdoor patio with a beautiful view of Burbank and had decent prices (I was prepared to pay $100 per person and it ended up being a little less).  Everything was so perfect for our legal US wedding we contemplated actually canceling our Paris ceremony.

I'm glad we didn't though because it was really nice in a different more intimate way.  We arrived in Paris for our honeymoon on Sunday and our wedding was on Wednesday.  We spent the first few days enjoying the sites and taking in Paris.  My best friend and her boyfriend were also in Paris.  She wanted to come to our ceremony and neither she nor her boyfriend had ever been to Paris so they decided to come for our wedding/their vacation.  On the day of our ceremony, Joe left our hotel with her boyfriend so she and I could get ready.  We decided to make this ceremony more traditional so he wasn't going to see me beforehand.  We would meet them both at the Chapelle for the ceremony.  Ciara and Charles came to the hotel room.  She and I were both getting our hair done but only I was having my make up professionally done.  The front desk lady threw a fit about having too many people in the room.  Though centrally located, it was a tiny closet hotel room (expected for the price it cost) and I guess it was a fire hazard to have more than three people in the room at a time.  Charles and Ciara were so funny and personable.  I felt very comfortable with them and they did my hair and make up exactly as I wanted.

Once we were ready, we took a taxi over.  Lindsey was already there so we took a few pictures outside pre-ceremony and then started.  Our US ceremony was a very to the point, one page, 2 minute ordeal.  This was more traditional so it did involve an actual reading and vows that were symbolic to us.  Afterward out celebrant gave us a love lock to put on the Pont des Arts bridge next to the Louvre.  Then Lindsey took our wedding pictures around the Chapelle grounds, by the Eiffel Tower, on the Love Bridge, at the Louvre and ended at a park.  She was so nice and fun to work with.  She had a lot of fun ideas and we enjoyed shooting with her.  Joe thought it would be great to have wedding pictures taken in Paris even if we didn't have a second ceremony.  Paris was always my favorite city and we always wanted to go back.  The first trip Joe and I ever took together was to Paris in May/June of 2009, so having a second wedding in Paris was fun and memorable.

As far as buying a new dress goes, I wasn't sure if I was actually going to buy another one or not.  At first I figured I'd just bring my dress from our US wedding but as I thought more about it, I really wanted to surprise Joe.  He'd already seen my lace dress and we decided to be more traditional (him not seeing me before the wedding) for this ceremony so I wanted to wear something different and do my hair differently to make it a true surprise.  I had only spent $300 on my lace dress when I'd budgeted 1K so I figured if the price was right, I could splurge on a second dress.  Might as well since we were going ahead with two weddings anyway.  This was actually my second choice dress from David's Bridal.  It's called Organza Trumpet Gown With Embellished Lace.  Style #WG3121.  Size 4 in Ivory. It has a zip up back (no corset).  The front has a silver beaded design right below the bust and a layered organza bust line.  There's white beading in a design around the bodice.  Shell and lining are 100% Polyester.  Netting is 100% nylon.  Made in Sri Lanka.  I ordered it online for $550 which included a $100 off coupon code.  It fit perfectly so I didn't have to have it altered at all.  I love the organza material.  It's light and flowing.  Plus, it doesn't puff out as much as my lace dress so it fit in my luggage easily.  I really felt this dress embodied Paris in a way and was perfect for our Parisian ceremony.  When I saw the look on Joe's face, I knew it was totally worth it.  My friend was surprised when I pulled out my second dress (I'd mentioned to her I was thinking about it) but I told her, "You know what they say, you only get married twice!"

*Photos by Pictours Paris.

Bonus Dress #2

I actually did end up buying another dress this year but this dress was not for me.  I bought one of my bridesmaids her dress for the wedding.  Originally, I told all my bridesmaids that they could pick any style of dress they wanted and I would just pick the color.  I wanted them to wear a darker/plum purple.  When we went dress shopping I realized they were all going to end up in different shades of purple and it would look really weird.  I didn't want to dictate which dress they picked but I honestly did want them in the same color.  We decided that it would have to be the same designer and fabric but they could pick their own style of dress.

We started at David's Bridal.  After I was finished trying on wedding dresses, they all tried on bridesmaids dresses but none of them found anything they really liked.  They all decided a shorter dress was the way to go since we'd be outside in a garden in the summer.  After David's Bridal didn't work out, we all went over to Nordstrom's Bridal Suite to try on dresses there.  We only found one option that looked really good but it only came in one style and cost $250.  I think that if you dictate what dress you want your bridesmaids to wear, then you should pay for their dresses.  If you are just going to pick the color and they can pick their own style then it's okay for them to buy it.  That's just how I feel people should go about it.  To me, it doesn't make sense to ask someone to be in your wedding but then force them to shell out a ton of money on a dress you pick.  Plus, everyone has different body types and what looks good on one person isn't going to look good on everyone.

One of my bridesmaids suggested a Target dress.  Apparently Target started a bridesmaids dress line called Tevolio that's similar to J Crew bridesmaids dresses but only 1/5 of the cost.  They had a few basic styles and a dozen or so colors for $55.  They're only sold online but can be returned to any Target store within 90 days.  She ordered the Chiffon Strapless in Shiny Plum.  The material definitely looks cheaper than the Silk Chiffon J Crew dresses but the color was pretty and I figured that it would photograph really well.  It fit what I was looking for and would save them all a ton of money.  So, we decided to go with that.  I told everyone to pick a Chiffon dress in the Shiny Plum in whatever style they wanted.  The options were Strapless, Halter Neck, Illusion (which had a mesh top), V-Neck and Cap Sleeve.  They had other styles in Satin and Taffeta but those materials are cheap and awful looking.  Plus, they all had to be the same material in order to look cohesive.  Everyone was able to order a dress they liked.  The only problem was that Target would run out of everything very quickly.  It was difficult for everyone to get the dress they wanted in their size.  All but one of my bridesmaids had to get a size down or a size up (one even had to go two sizes up) because they just didn't have anything in stock.  The Target dresses didn't restock for over a month but eventually when they finally did, my bridesmaids were able to get the correct sizes though it was still kind of a hassle.  Plus, the prices on the dresses were raised to $69.99 by the time everything was re-stocked (though still cheaper than J Crew).

My wedding was very short notice, only about six months to plan and tell everyone.  We only wanted to have a small intimate ceremony with our closest friends and relatives.  One of my more recent friends who I'd met in pole class and had grown close to over the past two years was invited to the wedding but I didn't ask her to be in my bridal party because I thought it was too short notice.  I mentioned that I would like her to be in it, however I wasn't sure if I was giving her enough time.  She was very happy to be asked and excited to be a part of it but she only had a month to get her dress.  At that time Target was out of absolutely every size and style of dress in the Shiny Plum color except the V-Neck.  She didn't like the V-Neck style and I hated to make her spend money on a dress she didn't want but it was the only option.  She bought it but decided to have it altered because she said it looked really bad on her.  I diligently checked Target online every day to see if one of the other dresses she liked came back in stock.  The alterations were going to be pricey so she wanted to wait until a week before to have them done.  Literally a week before the wedding (the day she dropped off her dress for alterations), Target restocked the Strapless.  It was cutting it very close and I wasn't sure if it was going to be shipped in time so I ordered it for her and shipped it directly to my house.  She still had the V-Neck she could wear if it didn't make it in time.  It arrived three days before the wedding.  The size was perfect and everything worked out perfectly.

The night before the wedding, all my bridesmaids except the one that lived a few blocks away, slept over at my apartment.  I hired hair and make up professionals to come to my apartment and get us ready early in the morning.  Joe came to pick me up after I was ready and we left to meet the photographer while all my bridesmaids went out for lunch and met back up with us at the garden later for party pictures and the ceremony.  I love all my friends so much and they're so important to me, I couldn't imagine getting married without them being there and it felt really special to have them be a part of my wedding.  They were all so supportive and helpful all day and I feel truly blessed to have friends like them.  Everything really was perfect and it was the happiest day of my life.

*Photo by Judy and Gavin Photography.

Bonus Dress #1

On Friday (6/13), Joe and I got married!  Of course I needed to buy a wedding dress for the wedding and I did buy it this year but I'm not counting it as part of the original 50 dresses challenge.  I got it at David's Bridal.  It was actually my favorite dress that my friend had tried on when she was shopping for her wedding dress last year.  I remembered it and loved it when I tried it on.  I never thought I'd wear a lace dress but I actually ended up loving the look and detail of it.  As far as wedding and bridesmaid dresses go, satin and taffeta are the worst materials to choose from in my opinion.  They look shiny and cheap and I don't think they photograph well.  I wanted a dress that was going to be sophisticated, slimming and elegant.  I always loved wedding dresses that had splits in the side or up the center of them and I wanted a corset back and something that had some beadwork style to it.  Originally I didn't want a strapless dress but strapless was actually the most flattering style on me.  It ended up being perfect.  As an added bonus, this dress had some ruching on the bodice that's very slimming and stylistic.  It's an A line dress and had two layers of tulle inside of it but I wanted it to look slimmer, more like a mermaid gown, and not so puffed out so I actually took a pair of scissors and cut out one of the tulle layers.  I think it looked much better and exactly what I wanted.

We had our wedding ceremony at the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Pasadena.  It has several different areas including a waterfall, bamboo forest, a barn and cottage, and a few different garden areas.  Plus peacocks roam around freely there.  We had our wedding ceremony in the Rose Garden.  It had a gazebo at both ends and several archways in the middle that we were able to walk out of.  There's a little walkway area behind the rose bushes and archways that the bridal party waited in out of sight from the guests.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We took wedding photos in different parts of the garden and most of our wedding party photos in front of the waterfall.  Since we weren't putting down chairs or equipment and we had a very small ceremony it only cost $500 and it included a golf cart and driver to shuttle our guests in.  Everything was perfect!

We had our wedding reception at The Castaway Restaurant in Burbank.  Joe surprised me by renting us a limo to drive us over there from the ceremony.  It was actually a pretty short drive.  I thought it would take a while to get there on a Friday during rush hour but we got there so quickly we had to ask the limo driver to circle around for 15 minutes so we wouldn't get there too early.  We enjoyed a bottle of champagne during the ride.  We had our reception outside on the patio which had an amazing view.  We didn't have very many guests (only 30) so we only needed a small area.  It ended up being three guests tables of 10 and a sweetheart table.  The weather was perfect and it was a beautiful view and really good food.  The sun set and the full moon came out.  We didn't have any dancing, just a plated dinner and open bar but our package included two bottles of wine on each table, a glass of champagne for the toast and our wedding cake.  Joe's best man and my maid of honor gave very touching speeches.  The wedding cake was delicious!  It was a white cake with buttercream frosting.  There were two fillings, bavarian cream and strawberry.  I really loved the strawberry and wish I had had a chance to have more than just a few bites of it.  It was by Diamond Bakery, one of The Castaway's contracted cake vendors.  Later in the night all my bridesmaids sang karaoke to a Disney Little Mermaid song.  It went by so quickly and I feel like I barely got to eat anything but it was so wonderful.  I think everyone had a really great time and it really was perfect.  Joe said it was the best day of his life and I think that's true for me too.

The dress is called Strapless Lace A-Line Gown with Side Split.  Style #YP3344.  It's a size 4 but I had to have it altered and taken in at the waist.  I didn't need to have it hemmed and the top fit perfectly but my waist is closer to a size 2.  They sell it online but I bought it at the store.  Originally they ordered a size 6 but it was way too big so they had to send it back and re-order in a 4.  It cost $799 but the store was having a $100 off sale so I basically just saved tax on it.  I used a $500 gift card I received as a Christmas bonus from my work so my out of pocket cost ended up being only $300 though I had budgeted 1k for my wedding dress.  It has a corset back and ruching in the bodice.  There is silver and white beading at the top bust that continues down the sides of the corset in the back and a patch of beading on the side where the split starts.  It's made of lace that's 55% nylon and 45% rayon.  The shell, tulle and lining are all 100% polyester.  And the netting is 100% nylon.  Made in China.  I got the Ivory color even though it looks white to me.  The color they consider white is a really bright stark white that has a bluish hue to it.  I guess the Ivory has more of a yellowish hue so it's not as blindingly bright.  Most of the David's Bridal dresses come in Ivory because it's a more traditional wedding dress white.

*Lower 5 pictures by Judy and Gavin Photography.

Dress #21

On Thursday (7/12), I went out to dinner with my uncle and his wife at Morton's Steakhouse.  They flew in for the wedding and had just arrived earlier that day.  I wanted to spend some one on one time with them before the wedding because I knew the day of would be hectic and we'd be rushing all around.  They were staying in Downtown LA and Morton's was nearby.  I know how much my uncle loves steak so I figured it'd be a nice place to have dinner.  Joe and I decided to dress a bit on the nicer side but nothing too fancy.  We met them at their hotel and drove them down the street to the restaurant.  None of us had ever been there.  It was on the pricier side but it sure was a delicious meal!  Defintietly worth it for a special occasion.  Everything was delicious!  I had a pepper crusted steak, Joe had a sirloin, my uncle had veal and my aunt had lamb.  I think the veal was actually my favorite.  We had sides of potatoes au gratin and asparagus to share.  It was very filling and very good.

I wore my black dress with the rhinestone pin.  Two years ago when I was searching for a semi-formal black dress to wear to my company Christmas party, I found this one and another (Dress #6) at Ross.  This was the one I wanted to wear to the Christmas party because it's more conservative than the other one.  It actually has a kind of wrap design to it where the front has a layer of fabric that hangs longer than the skirt.  I didn't really like having a longer piece in the front so I actually ended up using the silver pin to pin up the wrapped piece that drapes to be the same length as the skirt.  I like it better that way.  I didn't end up wearing this dress to the Christmas party after I bought it because I got sick and couldn't go.  I did however, end up wearing it to the company Christmas party the following year.  So it's served its purpose.  The Christmas party was really fun.  I wish I could have stayed longer but I had to leave before dinner was served because I was asked to do a Lyra performance at my pole studio for their Holiday show.  They wanted me to open the show.  It was my first actual hoop performance and I didn't really have much time to rehearse anything so I just did a simple/basic beginner routine but everyone seemed to like it.  Afterward, my friends and I went to Santa Monica for an Ugly Christmas Sweater bar crawl.  We ended up at Barney's Beanery until close. We had a lot of fun and we met a guy dressed up like Buddy the Elf from the Will Ferrell movie, Elf.  He stayed in character all night which was really funny.

I got the dress at Ross for $14.  It's made by Enfocus Studio.  Size 6.  95% polyester.  5% spandex.   Made in Indonesia.  I wore it with my black pair of Alexa heels by M. Patrick.

Dress #11 Part 2

Last night (6/11), I went out drinking in Hollywood with my friends.  My best friend from high school flew out to LA from the east coast for the wedding and I wanted to take her out drinking in Hollywood.  She'd been out a couple of times before but we mostly did sight seeing then.  This time I just wanted to hang out and have fun.  Two of my other friends met up with us and shenanigans ensued.  They wanted to treat it as my bachelorette party.  We had so much fun!  I hadn't seen my friend from the east coast since 2010 when she came out for a few days before we left for our girl's trip to Japan.  It was so great to catch up and hang out.  It was just like old times.

We started off at Pig N' Whistle (British pub) for drinks/food.  I wanted to go to Supperclub (dance club with aerial showgirls) afterward but it was closed so we went to Harvard and Stone (bar) instead and then Jumbo's Clown Room (strip club).  I like Jumbo's because it's more performance and tricks based instead of just stripping.  There's usually a theme to each dance and sometimes the dancers use props.  The four of us all take pole dancing classes so it was a good time to watch and appreciate the performances.  We realistically wanted to find a pole to dance on and do some tricks but we didn't really know of any place like that.  We ended the night at Pour Vous.  It's a bar but my friend who suggested it said they sometimes have aerial performers there.  Of course, it was a Wednesday night so there were no performances and hardly anyone even there.  They had a trolly car in the back outside so we hung out in it.  We decided we could do a bunch of tricks using the straps in the trolly car so we started inverting on it.  I did a single elbow hang which was actually really stupid of me.  We were all really drunk and having a good time but afterward I realized that I was going to have bruises on my arm that were not going to clear up before the wedding.  Elbow hangs and elbow holds always leave red bruises that look like track marks.  We stayed until close.  It was 2am, we were all really drunk and decided to take a picture of ourselves being cute while we waited outside for Joe to come pick us up.  At least in our minds we were still looking cute.  Realistically we probably just looked drunk and tired.  I posed with my friend and she uploaded it to Facebook.  She asked me what we should call it and I suggested #HotOClock.  Everyone started laughing.  It was a really good time and definitely memorable.  I love having a fun girl's night out!

I wore my black criss cross dress again with my Rachel Roy heels.  It was the perfect outfit.

 

Dress #19 Part 2

On Friday (6/6), I did another photoshoot with Pussycat Pinups.  I wanted to do a beach shoot and they ran another special I couldn't resist.  I wore my two custom bathings suits from Pamela G Swimwear  and my flowing Hailey Logan hi-low chiffon dress by Adrianna Papell.  I really love that dress and want to get as much use out of it as possible, plus I felt like the way it flows would be perfect for the beach.  I wanted to do the beach shoot before I left for my honeymoon/vacation since I'd probably be coming back with weight gain and funky tan lines.  What can I say?  I really love doing photo shoots with Pussycat Pinups.  It's a wonderful experience that makes me feel so beautiful and sexy.  Also, I'm not really sure how much longer I want to be child-free so this might be the last year to really pamper myself and document my youth.  I'm not embarrassed to say I think it's important that my pre-baby body is well documented.  As always, working with Pussycat Pinups was easy and fun.  They did my hair and make up, told me how to pose and I absolutely love how my pictures turned out.  They even featured me on their Facebook page!  Having a Pinup, Boudoir or Glamour photography session is seriously something every woman should do at least once in her lifetime.

I got a pair of rhinestone gold heels to wear for the shoot.  I thought it would look good since there are gold sequins on the top and shorter inner skirt of the dress.  I got the shoes off of amazon.com for $30.  They're platform sandals called Stephanie.  Made by Touch Ups by Benjamin Walk.  They also come in silver.

*Photos by Pussycat Pinups.