Wedding wear

Wedding attire was a huge deal for me when planning the wedding.  I loved researching the trends, colour pallets and styles.  Once we decided on our New Year's Eve date and confirmed our venue, I knew that a combination of metallic tones and formal holiday style would be perfect.

With 5 bridesmaids, living in cities near and far, I decided that having the girls choose their own dresses would be best.  I gave them creative reign with a few specifics to work with:

• cocktail length
• any metallic tone (gold, silver, bronze...) or a festive holiday colour

I wanted the girls look like they were dressed for a festive, New Year's Eve, cocktail party.  I also wanted a combination of colours, so basically first come, first served with colour/tone selection.  All of my bridesmaids are beautiful women who each have their own unique and personalized style.  They always look gorgeous and I had no doubt they would look their best the day of their wedding.

And what is one of the most important aspects to looking good?  Feeling comfortable in what you are wearing, I say.  It made me happy that everyone wore a dress she loved and felt amazing in.

The end result, and the process of dress buying, went very smoothly.  Lisa decided to wear black dress she already owned and splurge on shoes instead.  Ashley and Jenny scored amazing consignment store deals, and Danielle and Sacha went the classic department store route, finding their dresses at The Bay and Nordstrom.

Check them out in order from left to right: Sacha, Jenny, Lisa, Danielle and Ashley.

It was a perfect combination.  And I love that Ashley's stood out with the brightest colour as Maid of Honour.

Aren't they amazing!?  Eeeek!  It makes me excited just looking at these pictures!  

And here are the girls....such beauties.

A little shoe shot.

All the dresses complimented each other and matched with mine perfectly.

I love how our matching red lips and classic hairstyles pulled all of our looks together.

The boys and Derek looked smashing.  We decided to go with black suits (everyone just wore their own) and as a gift we purchased a tie for each groomsmen to wear at the wedding.  We provided their last names to my dad's kilt maker, and she got back to us with all their family tartans, so they each wore a unique tie which added to to Scottish theme.  I also think combining tartans is so Christmas-y!

We also included a little bit of Derek's personality and his obsession with socks...or maybe it's my obsession since I'm the one buying them....  Each of the groomsmen wore some funky Moxy Maus socks that we purchased from Stroked Ego, a favourite men's store of mine. 

Derek looked great in his three-piece suit from Indochino which we ordered online for a great price.  

And here's everyone together now!

Our families fit right in with their sparkle and tartan.  They all looked fabulous!

Derek and I spent some time downtown and on Parliament Hill for about an hour before the wedding.  It was one of my favourite times of the whole day.  We were giddy with excitement, and I definitely had butterflies knowing that we would be officially married in a couple hours.  

It was busy downtown - a Monday during rush hour - everyone leaving work and the tourists visiting the Parliament Buildings were congratulating us and wishing us well.  It was a really surreal experience and just such a happy moment.  I loved that Derek and I were able to share this time together, just the two of us, during our busy day. This is one of the main reasons I am fully on board with the First Look. 

As for our outdoor outfits, I switched from my Kate Spades into my Sorrels and added a faux-fur stole (rented for $40 from Rag Time, a vintage clothing store in Ottawa) with long leather gloves.  So fun!

I am very happy with how all of the wedding ensembles turned out.  Everyone looked great, and the clothing really fit the party.  I may be biased and still have honeymoon coloured glasses, but I think we all look very classic and timeless.  

Here's hoping I don't cringe in 20 years when showing our children our wedding photos!

*all photos are courtesy of amazing photographers, Steph and Neil from Stem Photography.