Southern hospitality

I came home today to find a beautiful floral arrangement from the owners of the store where I bought my wedding dress ( Warren Barron Bridal in Highland park)!  What a sweet gesture.  Not only do they carry the most beautiful designer dresses in Dallas, and have the best customer service but now they also send me flowers to say thank you? Amazing. There is no better place to buy a wedding dress in Dallas, period! See picture below, and came with the sweetest card!

Card reads "Thank you so much for allowing us to be a part of such an exciting time in your life. We are thrilled that you found such a fabulous dress. You're going to beautiful on your wedding day! Love Cecilia & Haley

Bridesmaid Luncheon

God has blessed me with amazing family and dear friends so I wanted to do something special to show them how much I love and appreciate them.  I decided to host a bridesmaid luncheon over memorial day weekend in Dallas. I know what your thinking, wait.. isn't the bridesmaid luncheon supposed to be the week of the wedding?  Yes, it is. I know what all the books say.. but I honestly don't care.  It is my wedding so I can do whatever I want.  I decided I wanted to host an event where I could formally ask my bridesmaids to be in my wedding.  I decided to take them to Bonnie Ruth's a great french place in Frisco.  They have an amazing brunch with unlimited mimosas (perfect for my group of friends).

My mom, Nancy and bridesmaids!

Here are the invites I sent each girl...
Inside it says..
"In honor of you who will stand by my side
You are helping to make me a happy bride
I would like to thank you in my own way
Please join me for lunch on this special day"

I wanted to give my bridesmaids something formal asking them to be my bridesmaids. After months of reading and planning, I decided to take then to lunch and give them a small gift with a personalized card formally asking them to be in my wedding. Below are some pictures!

Made by ExQuisiteInvitation on etsy.com


For the little ones in the wedding...

After our lunch we all went dress shopping..  It was a great weekend and I am so blessed to have such amazing girls by my side.  Here are a few of my favorite pics..

Bride with her bridesmaids

My flowergirl, loving my bridal shoes

XOXO,
 The Bride

An afternoon with Vera..

The last few months have flown by.. I honestly don't know where the time has gone.  I have been really busy working on my dissertation and finishing up my final classes for my doctorate, which has left little to no time for wedding planning.

 However, I did accomplish one BIG check of my checklist and that is MY WEDDING DRESS.  Let's be clear, I have been searching for the perfect dress for years ( way before I was actually engaged).  I tore out hundreds of dress and thought I had found "the one" about five times.  After becoming engaged, I waited a while before I went dress shopping.  There were a few reasons for this.. First, I wanted specific people to be able to come with me. It was really important to have my closest friends there to help me pick out the perfect dress.  Next, I was overwhelmed with emotions.  I felt really excited about the process, but started to feel nervous that I wouldn't find anything that came close to my expectations ( I mean I have been dreaming of "the dress" since I was like 3 years old).  As the whole process became real to me, I started to feel really worried and had a ton of anxiety about the whole process. What if I don't find anything I like? I am not sure how normal that is, I think most brides are just really excited.  In fact, the first time I went dress shopping I required a few mimosas to calm down. Lucky for me, I had my dearest friends by my side and they were awesome at calming me down!

Two of my bridesmaids and my little flowergirl

Once I arrived at Warren Barron Bridal in Highland Park, my entire attitude changed. The dresses in that store are amazing ( if you are getting married go there, they are so awesome) and they are so friendly.  I had a very specific idea of what I wanted and actually thought I knew which Vera Wang dress was "my dress."  To my amazement, when I tried on that dress, I hated it.  I think I almost cried at that point because I remember thinking "great, now what" ( remember I had spent years looking at dresses).  Next thing I knew the consultant pulled a fabulous dress that she said was going to my dress.  I was doubtful, until I put it on.  The moment I saw it, I knew it was "the one."  I walked out of the fitting room to get my girls approval, and my matron of honor had tears in her eyes. I was very practical about the whole thing, at that point I knew the search was over! I didn't cry, like I thought I would.. which is odd considering I cry watching "say yes to the dress" when they girls find their dress. It was a perfect day, followed by a perfect bridesmaid weekend!!!

Celebrating finding "the dress"