putting on "the dress" and other bridal details

Finding a modest wedding dress is NOT easy!!  There are many more choices online than there are in the stores. . . but after just a few hours of trying on dresses, I realized how VERY important it is to actually try on the dress.  Especially when the wedding day is less than 60 days away. :D

So, what I ended up with is perhaps not one I would have picked had I had more time to be selective (picky), but I learned to love it and am happy with this choice.  And, I was also very grateful that it fit without alterations; the only alterations needed were to add the bustle to the train.  Oh, yes, and we added cap sleeves that I taped with body tape to my shoulders to keep in place and give just a little more coverage.

Lawrance was totally unfamiliar with the "can't see the dress before the wedding" tradition in America . . . and not very happy about it either. He kept begging to see the dress.  The dress hung in a bag on my bedroom door for a week before the wedding . . . he was very tempted to unzip the bag and take a peak. 

But somethings are worth waiting for. Later, he told me that he thought the wedding dress is like wrapping paper on a present.

The Dress:

Mom and Sarah helping me get dressed:

Mom reassuring me (I love the look on her face here):

Everyone helping out:

I also took a few bridal shots before the wedding since I hadn't done that earlier:

Some of the bridal details . . .
The pearl earrings I wore were the same ones one my mother wore on her wedding day.  My paternal grandmother had given them to her upon my parents' engagement. 

The necklace, was my "something borrowed," it also belongs to my mom.  My dad gave it to her this past Christmas.  I liked that it was simple and elegant. Just a single drop pearl on a 

The strand of tiny pearls around my wrist was my "something old."  My mom had a broken pearl necklace that had belonged to her paternal grandmother (my great grandmother).  Lawrance and I restranded the smallest of the pearls into a bracelet. I was so afraid it might break (they holes were very tiny so we had to use really skinny string) and that 60 precious little pearls would spill everywhere.  But, it didn't.

And, my shoes . . . cuz I wanted to go barefoot but that didn't please the groom . . . I compromised and wore sandals that I found at walmart for next to nothing . . . and that Lawrance absolutely loved. :)  So, all was good there.

And the lace on the dress . . . that was probably my favorite part of the whole dress . . . the train was lace!!

Yay!!  all ready . . . now let's get this party started!!   Bring on the groom . . .