peneventures is also having a thanksgiving week sale. all of their in-stock dresses are 25-80% and rack of dresses are $199, regardless of the original price! they are open 10 to 6 on friday and saturday and 12 to 5 on sunday.

i also saw black friday sales advertised by dora’s bridal and formal and treasured moments bridals for this friday and saturday.

have you seen other salon sales i haven’t? email me at heidi at heidzillas dot com!

three of the four of us bridesmaids had our nails done. i didn’t get the photos of myself from everyone else yet but here’s bridesmaids nicole and jenn getting purdy:

codi, bridesmaids nicole and jenni, and codi’s mom deena got their hair did, too. codi went for the lower chignon look:

jenni got some fun curly pinups:

nicole went with a simple pull back of her short ‘do:

and deena got this fun criss-cross up the back up-do with foofs on top (yes that’s my technical terminology…)

while we were all finishing up, codi had her makeup done allllll pretty.

then, we headed back to codi and joe’s house where codi’s cousin jessica, who is a stylist, finished up the hair and make up that needed tending to:

somewhere in the middle of all the primping, flower girl grace dressed like a fairy and announced to everyone that she wanted to wear THIS outfit instead of her polka dot flower girl dress. we were luckily able to talk her into the original dress although this is pretty darn cute

i think this is my favorite photo during the getting ready session: whose big day is it?

although i can’t talk much, look who did my make up! 

fiiiiiiiiiiiiinally we were allll ready and the time came to put on The Dress!!!!

i always have to get in photos of the photographers here’s corey ann catching a few shots of the dress hanging in the window.

i was a little busy helping codi get into the dress and tying her sash and such (so you’ll have to wait for corey ann’s photos…) to take photos of the putting on, but i got a couple of cute shots of codi allll ready to go. i was really excited i got to lend codi the pearls and earrings i wore on my wedding day for her “something borrowed.” they matched *perfectly* with her beautiful ivory gown.

quick photo opp of codi’s mom deena, brother eric and codi before we left!

then we got her into soon-to-be sister-in-law jenni’s suv…

as well as the entire girls-side of the bridal party – jenn and me, then gracie and nicole

…and by 2:45 pm we whisked her away to the church for our scheduled 3:00 pm formals at the church. plenty of time before the 4:30 pm ceremony.

by the way, if you were wondering, we jammed to o.a.r.’s crazy game of poker for the short ride from codi’s house to the church

coming up next: pre and post ceremony recaps!

previous posts:
mission moh recap
vendor preview
codi & joe – part 1: rehearsal

you can pick the kind of shoes, outside colors, rubber sole colors, racing stripe colors…

inside lining and tongue colors, the back flap color…

…AND even words stitched in the back or on the side!

after 10 quick steps (and 2 to 4 weeks delivery time) you’ve got custom sneakers.

here are the final pair that codi customized – in cactus, white and black!

and the word “brother” on the back

love love love this gift!

reminds me of the unbride’s groom who wore chuck taylors for their wedding: awesome. and these bride and bridal party shots i saw on wedding paper divas. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

here’s a few ideas that are in stores now:

laura ashley with pink tulle at macy’s – $19.99

bonnie baby polka dot dress at dillards – $30.00

issac mizrahi “igloo” satin dress at target – $17.49*
*available with a variety of sash colors including white, pink, magenta, black, aqua and lime

cinderella sequins dress at jcpenney was $59.99, now $34.99

also, kohl’s has a 40 to 50% off sale going on currently.

and… sears has a 40% sale going on through today!

easter is next sunday, april 12, so start shopping now as sales are already going on and will probably continue through the week of april 13.

happy shopping, let me know what you find!

i wore my semi-cathedral length veil with blusher through the whole ceremony, of course, and immediately following while we were doing the receiving line.

BUT i wish someone would have told me to take the veil OFF for the receiving line, or any other times where there would be consistent hugging going on. here’s why:

hugs tug.

and tug… and tug… and tug on your veil. and thus on your head. and thus on your hair style – especially if it’s an updo. whether your veil is secured in your hair with clips or combs or… heck glue… every hug can slowly pull your hair style out – especially if you have a tight updo like i did! see what i mean?:

don’t believe me? “that bride”, the beautiful jenna cole, had the same problem as i did. so, there: someone warned you. if you can, take your veil out pre-receiving line/hug time if you don’t want your hair to loosen up like mine did. of course the length of veil, the style of hairdo and the number of hugs you think you’ll get [# of hugs = (# of female guests x 3) + # of male guests] are also factors to consider.

also, while i’m at it: don’t forget to take your veil or a veil with similar combs/clips with you to your hair trials. my bridal salon had shorter-than-blusher trial veils that had the same comb as my semi-cathedral length veil so once i did my hair trial we could see how the veil would secure… and get an idea of how it would look with the hair style. oh and don’t forget this bobby pin tip i mentioned months ago!

all photos in this post are (c) corey ann photography

well, don’t forget pretty hangers!!! you’ve spent ALL that money on the beautiful attire, should it really be photographed hung on those crappy plastic hangers that david’s bridal gave you???

look at these beautiful photographs of these GORGEOUS dresses that all could have looked so much better with nicer hangers. 

the good news is, they aren’t that expensive.

head to your local bed bath and beyond to get a set of 10 satin lingerie-style hangers (in ivory or neutrals multi-color pack) for $12.99. oh and don’t forget your 20% off one item coupon!

do you have a container store near you? they carry white or pastel damask satin hangers in packs of 4 for $9.99 (including the kind with the clips for the two piece dresses!)

AND you can even get custom hanger covers from online etsy stores like brambleberryrow  for around $15.

for more of a splurge, check these sassy, sexy hangers out from glamour hanger (starting around $28)

the result: your gorgeous dress hung on a hanger for photos that are more bridal… and less garage sale!

(c) corey ann photography

(c) corey ann photography

and i’d have to guess that you and your bridesmaids will use them afterwards, too.

when you order your wedding dress from your bridal store, they will order the size that fits the largest part of your body. so say your bust and waist are a size 8 but your hips are a size 10, they’ll suggest you order the size 10. you’re thinking, yeah heidzilla, i know that. yes, i know you know that. i knew that when i ordered my dress. but here’s what you might not realize:

when your dress comes in and you rush to the store to go try it on because it’s brand new and crisp and clean and it’s your size and it’s yours and it’s your dress, YOUR WEDDING DRESS! and it’s fiiiiiiiiiiiiinally in after all those weeks of waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

it’s going to be way.too.big.

well yeah, it’ll be a little bigger in places you’re thinking? no. it’s going to hang like a sack on you and you might even need those industrial clippy thingies to keep it on – especially if it’s strapless.

that’s it? you’re thinking.

well, yes, that’s it. you might go into the store thinking you’re going to put on YOUR dress that you’ve paid hundreds (maybe thousands?) of dollars for and it’s going to fit you perfectly immediately. but it won’t. it will take you another few hundred of dollars and maybe three or four more trips to the bridal salon to get it to fit you as perfectly as you thought it was going to the day it came in.

i just wanted to warn you. i warned a few people and they didn’t believe me.  they went in, got pretty shocked… upset… scared… and then even angry at their bridal store… thinking they might have ordered the WRONG size. They were even concerned it would NEVER fit the way it was supposed to.  

But don’t worry. Post-alterations all that stress and fear and anxiety will subside!!! it will fit. (unless you have a really bad seamstress, but that’s a whole other blog post… or two.)

as my random thoughts tend to be from my personal experience, of course, i do a photo to sort of show you what i mean. here’s me in my wedding dress the day it came in- no alterations. and it hung… like.a.sack… i was swimming in it!

but three alterations later,  i had a perfectly-fitting wedding dress.

and now you can’t say that no one warned you!

welll….. i just heard about this event this event on the radio today. if you’re looking for a wedding dress, why not try to buy one at this event and benefit a VERY important charity, too!
 
 

brides against breast cancer

thursday, march 26
6:00 – 9:00 pm
vip event – $15/person: buy tickets now

friday, march 27
10 am – 8 pm 
free admission

saturday, march 28
10 am – 6 pm 
free admission 

radisson hotel & suites
35000 curtis blvd
eastlake, oh 44095
View Larger Map

some info copy/pasted from their site:

Getting Married?
Join us for a unique opportunity to find the gown of your dreams at a remarkable price while helping make wishes and memory-making events come true.  Attend our special VIP Night and Preview Sale.  Be among the first brides in the Cleveland area to browse through more than 1,000 exquisite name brand and designer wedding gowns.  When you purchase your special dress at a ‘Making Memories, Brides Against Breast Cancer™’ charity wedding gown sale, you not only save hundreds – even thousands of dollars — you help make a difference in the lives of stage IV breast patients. Most gown prices range between $99 and $799*, including hundreds of beautiful new name brand and designer gowns valued up to $8,000. 
 *A selection of exclusive designer and couture gowns valued up to $20,000 are also available at an incredible 25% to 75% savings.

We gladly accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and debit cards. 

Become a VIP Bride! (*thursday night’s event)

• Sample a delectable fare of culinary delights and cocktails

• Be the first to view gowns in the Cleveland area 
• Automatic entry into drawings for fabulous prizes

For more information contact Tammy Adams at tammy@makingmemories.org or Brenda Chovanak at brendachovanak@makingmemories.org

just yesterday the final purchase was made: vaught by caparros from zappos.

the winners!

these actually NEVER came up in search. they must not be in the zappos system in such a way that our keyword searches would pull it up… but my wonderful heidzilla bride to be/former guest blogger tara sent them to me. gold star lady, you’ve saved the day!

they should go great with our black, strapless, tea-length jim hjelm dresses!

thanks again all who contributed to our search! if you’re looking for shoes, here’s my favorite online places to search.

regardless, i love online shopping for shoes! i’ve recently been on a hunt for cute dressy polka dot heels for my bff codi’s wedding. (she’s planning on buying us four bridesmaids our shoes for our gifts.) we *really* want these jessica simpson shoes that codi has from like 4 years ago, but they’re no where to be found.

(c) corey ann photography

we’ve found these:
 
jessica simpson, brenda

betseyville, bernidette

 
lifestride channing

daniblack rosalind

but, they’re either really $$$, not that cute, or are only available is 6′s or 11′s… she’s still deciding, but if you come across any cute black with white polka dot pumps that we four love and buy, i will award you a very special prize. there you go readers, my first contest!

moving on. i’m also helping one of my brides-to-be find  < 3″ satin slingback peep toe fushia/magenta special occassion heels like these…

 kate spade, gali

…that are less than $100. of course first i had to find more really fabulous, really expensive kate spade shoes…

 
kate spade, clarice

 
kate spade, lovely

….and… then ive found some more affordable ones:

 
these martino valero candy from dsw

 
 chinese laundry – baldwin berry

 
newport news satin t-strap

 
anne klein neville

colored shoes are so fun as a little extra POP for brides!!! my wedding shoes were my “something blue”. : )
 

okay, now for what you’re looking for. here are my go-to web sites for shoe shopping.

zappos.com
like.com (the visual search is amazing!!!)
dsw.com
shoes.com
heels.com
nordstrom.com
macys.com
dillards.com  

 any good ones i’m missing?