Chop Shop!

We interrupt this recap of how to get a wedding dress made, to bring you the PWC(post wedding chop). Like countless Bees (and non-blogging brides alike) I made short work of my long hair. 

I had grown it out for about a year before the wedding. By the time the wedding rolled around I was thankful for the ability to rock my up-do, and so ready to chop it off!!

I joked that I was brining scissors on the honeymoon. In real life I made it about a week. Here is the before shot the day of the cut.

First I cut bangs... and then lopped off the ponytail!

Too bad it was all color treated and a bit too short to donate!

A little more work on the back and I had this:

Then it was time to add some extra sass... Always bleach first when doing bright hair colors.

And the final product:

Married ladies, did you do a PWC? Anyone else antsy to snip off your locks?

It's So Nice to Meet You, Dress of My Dreams!

After the muslin fitting, I ordered the fabric, had it shipped to Kathy and waited. I tried not to stress out about if the not quite matched colors would matter. I was worried that the veil wouldn't match. I tried not to worry about it being to boring and I waited.

Needless to say, there was a lot riding on that next fitting.When I arrived at her house with Bridesmaid OT, I was a bundle of nerves.

The dress was amazing. It needed to be hemmed, pressed and covered buttons added, but that was about it. It was light and soft and beautiful to wear. It was SO comfortable. I had started to worry after looking at all the amazing dresses here and on the rest of the web that I had made a mistake by not shopping at least once, but really it was perfect. I did not burst into tears, but I came close. Seeing the whole thing together was magic. I did not want to take any of it off. AND Step-mama Aardvark's butt bow was a perfect match! :)

The fabric seemed to glow. And as I said before was SO light. It was totally worth the extra money to get the real silk.

The over skirt was like a dream come true. Just the right amount of poof and bride-y-ness with a little sweep train. To.Die.For.

Kathy was the SWEETEST lady. Telling me how well I carried it off and how I was clearly made for vintage clothes. SO nice. For anyone in Wisconsin, I would completely recommend her.

Oh, you want to see it and not just hear me go on and on and on? Ok here you go!

 

I would 110% recomend natural fiber fabric if you can swing the cost. I danced my booty off at the wedding and that dance floor was HOT (not just because of my sweet moves either). I would have melted it I had ended up with a synthetic fabric.

Did you have a lot riding on a fitting? Did everything work out for you? Were you nervous going in to see YOUR dress for the first time?

Muslin Fitting

It is time for the big reveal! Well actually, you all saw a picture of the dress yesterday, but now for more!  The first step in getting my dream dress was finding a pattern* I liked. That was pretty easy, but then there were a few twists I wanted on my wedding look. I did not want to be a two dress bride (mostly because I didn't have  the money for it), but I for sure wanted to be a two look bride! So stay tuned and find out how I went from this:

Image from Vogue Patterns

To this:

By the time you read this, I will be married! I can't believe I even get to type that now.  At this point it seems so far away but approaching so quickly. I can't believe it!

For those who know what a muslin is, feel free to skip this paragraph. For those who don't, it is basically a fabric version of a sewing pattern that can be tried on, cut, pinned and altered. Once it is perfect the seamstress uses it to make the actual dress. 

Any way, The first fitting went really well.   I must have managed not to gain or lose too much weight from when she measured me.  Now for some pictures!

I was a little nervous, but so far so good!

Fit like a dream. and was comfy to boot!

The waist needed to come up just a bit.

Am I a bride yet?

The leggings and orange socks are not part of the plan for day-of but they kept me warm!

I am had her change the sleeves a bit to make them "tulip" sleeves.  I thought this would make me look less like a linebacker.

No, It will not be a mullet dress, It will be short!
(with a long over skirt!)

Talking about fabric choices (before everything was out of stock)

I left the muslin fitting feeling really good about my choice not to dress shop. And SO excited to order that fabric!

*I could write a whole blog about my love of vintage patterns. I purchased this one a good year and a half before we were engaged. I really loved everything about it for a wedding dress. I liked that it was flat in the front, but full in the back (great for dancing) and that it was modest without being stuffy.

Are you having a dress made? Did you use a pattern or have something designed just for you?

MARRIED!!

We did it!

The Aardvarks are wed!

Guest Photo

The whole day was amazing. There was so much love and happiness everywhere. I cannot wait to get into every little detail with you, but we will have to wait for pro-pictures.

In the mean time, I have a dress making saga to share! I was a big meany and didn't show you my dress before the wedding, but I promise I will make it up to you with lots of in process pictures in the coming weeks! (Anyone thinking about a convertible dress, I would highly recommend it!)

 Everything they say about the wedding day is true. It goes by so fast, the little things that go awry are never problems, and it is truly magical.

Being married rocks too! I did not know if there would be much change since we lived together for over a year, but there certainly is. It may be a bit intangible, but we are cemented now as a couple in a way we were not before.

Thank you hive for all of your help and support along the way! It wouldn't have been the same without you!

Love,
MRS. Aardvark

This is It!

I am in a king sized bed with MOH MD in a hotel trying to sleep. Clearly, I am writing this, and not sleeping.... Oh well.

There are so many things swirling in my head. I am excited and nervous and happy and thankful and filled with Love. There are so many people who have come together for this wedding. So much love and so many wonderful people.

Hive,  you have been so helpful and supportive and amazing. I am so grateful to have shared my journey with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Mr. Aardvark, I know you will not be reading this, but I am so looking forward to having you as my partner. You bring such balance and joy to my life. I love you. And I look forward to loving you all the rest  of my days.

Signing off as a Miss,

Miss Aardvark

A Perfect Pre-Wedding Day

Bees,

I don't know if it's just because I've had a few days off work, or maybe I am in a bridal-bubble, but this week just keeps getting better and better. Last night bridesmaid sis and I had a sleep-over at Mama-Aardvark's and worked on crafts and bonded. I took her to school this morning, ran errands, took a nap and  made a few practice bouquets.

Yes, in a fit of insanity, I decided, since it was spring and all, the bridesmaids should have real flower. I also came to this decision because I could not pick an alternative... There were just too many! Of course, I didn't decide this until, Ohhhhh, a week ago. Too late to find a florist. So I decided I would try to put some flowers together the week before the wedding. If I could do it in a timely manner, not get frustrated, and liked the out-come, I would make some bouquets the morning of the wedding. Like all DIY tasks, my secret to feeling good while working on them, and liking the finished product, is low expectations.

After a bit of fiddling around, I came up with this:

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at how it all came together. I think they are a bit small yet so I will "bulk them up" a bit for Saturday. What do you think?

I do see how flowers could be cause for a lot of stress, especially if you like things uniform or neatly arranged. But for me, I think DIY will be the way to go! (Good thing too otherwise the bridesmaids would really be in a pickle!)

Are you DIYing flowers? Am I crazy for doing it? (Please only answer that last question if the answer is no( just kidding (Kinda)))

Keeping It Real

We are into the thick of wedding week and things are really rolling along. We picked up our marriage license (after a couple trips to and from the car (no cameras or cell phones in the justice center)). We met with our priest .We met the photographers (great couple). I got my hair cut/dyed and my eyebrows waxed. AND we met with our reception venue. Phweehoo! Are you tired yet? Because I am and it's only Tuesday! 

The rest of the week should be smooth sailing though (knock on wood). We got all the big stuff out of the way and now it's smooth sailing until family starts arriving on Thursday! 

One major headache that we avoided (mostly) was a seating chart. If you recall we were going to do one, but after meeting with the venue manager he suggested we just do two or three long tables for everyone. And no seating chart! YAY!

Lucky for us, we had only done the "write everyone's name on a post-it note" step and had not started arranging yet.

Here we go bees! Only three more days and all the jobs left to do are fun "bonus" tasks!

Yay for being crazy early in the planning phase!

How was your final week as a miss? Did you get lots done early or wait until the last minute?

Blown Away

Earlier this week I receive a meeting notification on my calendar at work. It was something about time lines and I really wasn't sure if I had the info needed but it was at the end of the day. As I gathered my things and headed for the conference room. When we were nearly there I noticed streamers on the door and thought, "Oh no someone over booked the room as is having a birthday party!" But, then I noticed that the lights were off so maybe the part was over but they just didn't clean up? How rude!

Needless to say, I was wrong.

As I opened the door, the lights came on, a cry of "Surprise!" went out from the people who had been gathered in the dark. It was not a birthday party, it was a "You're getting married" party and it was for me! One of my co-worker quickly rushed a pink sparkle veil onto my head. as I looked around I noticed all of the ladies had co-ordinating pink sparkle bows in their hair! How fancy!



"You mean, no timeline meeting!?"



Not to be out done, the gentle men all had dapper, polka-dot, bow ties on! (Due to the mixed feeling on the dapper-ness of the bow ties I have kept the guy anonymous.) They were all good sports though and kept them on the whole time!

 Even my boss got in on the fun!



Creative use of bow tie...And I am clearly stoked.


Oh and see that box in the background? That is a cake. But not just any cake, a REALLY good cake! There was lots left over and I may have eaten some for breakfast today.

There was also beer (of course, a staple at social gatherings here) and champaign in little toasting glasses with bows!  And cheesy wedding music and a sign that said " (almost)JUST MARRIED!" And bubbles!

I even dressed to match the pink and black and white theme without knowing it!

To top it all off, I got a really sweet card and gifts! I was TOTALLY blown away. Completely surprised. It was so sweet! I mean, I like the people I work with, but we rarely hang out outside of work. The effort they went to for this was humbling and filled me with warm fuzzies that are still going on strong.

Have you been blown away by unexpected kindness as you approached your wedding?

Craft-a-palooza

So the last week has been a bit of a blitz. We are leaving today for Michigan for the wedding and wanted to get as many crafts as possible done. Luckily I had the help of bridesmaid OT, Mama Aardvark and Grandma Aardvark.

First Bridesmaid OT and I made Lolly-pop cones for the candy buffet. Her pup kip helped! Lets just say this i a little trickier than I imagined but we managed to make it work. 

A little blue to jazz it up!

All done! Those jumbo glasses of wine you see in the background helped too!

Up next were tutus for the flower girls. We have three darling flower girls and they will be rocking these with navy blue turtlenecks and tights and little pink shoes. I can't wait to see them! These tutus were are real labor of love.  Hand cramps and blisters but totally worth it.

Lots of cutting but not many straight lines.

Bridesmaid OT cut each strip in half.

Piles of organza were made. Then the whole process was repeated with tulle.

I may have ordered a tad more than I needed for 3 little girls.

Then I measured out the elastic for each girl. Since it was elastic, I took their measurements and reduced it by 20% to account for the stretch.

Then I got to making loops (sorry for the poor quality picture, but you saw those piles there was a lot of loops to make!)

When Mama Aardvark came to visit, she showed how after they were done being used as tutus, they could double as wigs! (love you mama!)

When the tutus were done and packed away, we turned our sights to making a sash for my dress. I promise I will tell you about the dress soon!

I knew I wanted some color and I had extra fabric from having my dress made. Simple solution: dye it!
First we did some test strips....

We decided #2 was our favorite test strip and then we dyed the larger swatch.

After we had the sash done we added the crowning touch! The bow off of my mom's veil. I was a really special touch and I look froward to rocking it in a little over a week!

Once everything was done, Mama and Grandma Aardvark headed back to Michigan with a car full of stuff! (Including my dress!)

Wednesday, I painted a couple signs....

Why did I slam all of these projects into one post? Because they were slammed together in my life. I wanted you to know that even if you prepare ahead of time, there may be a blitz at the end.

Did you have a craft-fest in the last days of planning? Did it feel good to get them done?