*At his sister, Ashley, & Tyler's wedding (March 14th, 2009). Yup! The same Tyler that happens to be my long time friend who unexpectedly brought us all together.*

*Prom 2004*

*Our 1 year aniversary (March 19th, 2005)*

:: RANDOMS OVER THE YEARS :: 

We got our Engagements done on Sept. 12th, with our amazing photographer Amanda Fales. Here's some of our favorites...

Ever since I found Maggie Sottero's website and began browsing her gowns, I knew I would be buying one of her designs. About 6 months ago I fell head over heels with "Freesia". I had tried on at least 50 gowns at a local bridal salon, though, I knew I would never be able to make a decision until I tried that gown on. So, I tracked the it down at a bridal Salon (2 1/2 hours from where I live) that carried it in a sample for me to try on. After I made the trip, I thought I knew I had "The One". Though, time went by, and the more and more I looked at the photos of me in it, I felt the itch to go and see if it were possible to find a gown that was better. So, I made ONE last appointment at a local bridal salon. I made a bargain with my girls to convince them to come along (because as far as they were concerned, "Freesia" was made for me). The bargain was "You go with me this one last time. If I don't find anything better than the other gown, then I'll order it and be done." I had been to this bridal salon a few times, so I basically already knew the inventory. I chose 3 gowns when we arrived, 2 of which were only chosen for color reference, the other I saw on a maniquin and thought "eh...why not? I haven't tried that one yet!" The first gown the consultant put me in was the gown I chose out of curiosity. As she laced me up, I kept shaking my head repeating "Oh my gosh!". Not in a MILLION YEARS did I expect to love this gown as much as I did! I walked out of the room to reveal the gown to my girls. The Moms started crying, then I started crying, which made all my girls cry. That was it! I knew that was my gown. I finally had "The Feeling" they say a girl gets when she knows. It's been a while since then and still no doubts that anything is better. I can't wait until it arrives!

:: Pictures ::

My gown is Maggie Sottero's, "Victoriana".

Me in the sample at the bridal salon, right after I said "Yes To The Dress" (Love that show, by the way). The sample was in light gold. Even though the color is gorgeous, I felt that it would clash with the rest of the wedding, so I ordered it in ivory. It's going to be so beautiful.

More Pics of me in it :)

 I have no idea what direction I want to go with my shoes. Trendy or Traditional?

Here's some shoes I'm either considering or sadly just drooling over.

Benjamin Adams - Lana :: Seriously considered purchasing until I saw the price tag. I just can't see myself paying that much for something no one will even see.

Paris Hilton - Charmed :: OMG OMG OMG do I love these shoes or what!?!?! I went bonkers when I found these! Though they're sadly 4 1/4 in. I'd feel like Godzilla stomping tokyo in these babies...or should I say Bridezilla. Ha ha!

Caparros - Adriana :: More on the traditional side. I like the knot because of the "Tying the Knot" saying. They're also shoes that I could easily wear after the wedding day.

Coloriffics - Sierra :: Adorable. The height and touch of sparkle are perfect!

UPDATE!!!

I purchased "Sierra" by Coloriffics, for the big day! I got them in Ivory, yet I am still unsure of whether or not I am going to dye them. I figure if the color matches well with my gown to where no one will notice a differenece, I will probably just keep them ivory and avoid the hassle. Although, if the color is WAY off, I'll get them dyed a soft pink.

I also wanted to let all of you ladies know, if you haven't already heard of 6pm.com, you should check it out! I purchased my shoes from there for only $37.00!!! The MSRP is $70.00, so I was pretty ecstatic when I found them :) That site has some pretty amazing deals.

It's not much, but I wanted to make something to match our invites. I also wanted it to be simple enough so that there wouldn't be any complications with the lighting tech to have it lit up on our dancefloor :)

I actually have 3 versions of our monogram for 3 different purposes...

*For the invites

*The Dancefloor

*Possible Favor Tags

The Dress

I have 1 MOH, 2 BM, and 1 JBM. They will all be wearing the dress below, except all in black. We are also contemplating removing the cluster of crystals in the middle of the band. It looks nice in the pictures on the website, but in person it looks too gaudy :P

The dress is by Alexia: style #4018

We didn't think to take any pictures of the girls when they were trying the dress on...durrr. Though, their dresses come in mid-end of March. I'll post more pics when we get them :)

Hair

My girls all agree that the uniform look is definately the way to go. So, we've decided that they will all have the same hair do for the big day...down with long wavy curls. I'll also be purchasing a clip or comb with crystals or something on it to sweep one side of their hair back, out of their faces. Cute? I think it'll work pretty well because they all have long hair, except for my MOH (who JUST cut hers). Though, I figure it's okay because she's allowed to be a little different :) We'll probably do her hair the same it just won't look the same cause her hair is so much shorter than the other girls's.

Shoes

We haven't made a final decision on shoes yet, though like the hair, they've all agreed that they want to wear the same shoes. I know I would like them to be black satin, peep toe/sandal, small/medium heel (1in - 2.5in), and have a little touch of bling.

Here's a few we like, so far...

Jewelry

I've always made my own jewelry to match a certain outfit for a specific event. I love it! So, I decided a long time ago to make my BM jewelry myself. They'll consist of Swarovski pearls and crystals. I've purchased everything I need to make them, though I'm still trying to decide EXACTLY how I want them to look. Once they're finished, I'll post pics :)

I recieved an EMail from Weddingish.com with a 30% off entire purchase coupon and found this super awesome set for only $85! Including personalization on both items! I paid a total of about $66 with shipping.

Here they are...