Hi belles! Our friend and former Southern Weddings intern Jessica Clinch is the newest gal to take you through her wedding process here on the blog! Jessica will be blogging for us once a month until her wedding this May. In case you missed her introductory post, be sure to check it out here! — Lisa
One of the first things most brides get excited about is their bridal style, and I am definitely one of those brides! I quickly realized that bridal style includes so much more than your wedding gown–it also includes your jewelry, shoes, accessories, rehearsal dinner outfit, potential reception or after party dress, and more. I’m excited to share my input with y’all about how I chose these elements!
There is such an abundance of inspiration in wedding magazines, on blogs, on Pinterest, and in shops and boutiques. It is easy to become overwhelmed with options, and it can be challenging to narrow down and choose a cohesive style for your wedding day look! My constant struggle in choosing my style elements was whether I wanted to look truly classic and timeless, or if I wanted to incorporate modern touches to my outfits. To help me make my decision, I decided to look at what pieces I naturally gravitate toward in my daily wardrobe. I personally adore an abundance of color and amazing statement jewelry. I was originally nervous about finding the perfect statement jewelry to coordinate with my wedding gown–I knew I wanted it to be crystal, potentially have hints of color, and be large enough to be considered a cocktail piece, but also delicate enough to be bridal. That’s a lot to consider! When looking for such bridal jewelry, I immediately went to my two favorite stores, J.Crew and Kate Spade. I found a few different options that I think would all be beautiful paired with my gown! Most importantly, I would love to keep any of these pieces as heirloom jewelry to pass down to my daughters and granddaughters one day!
Clockwise from top left: Kate Spade, Ashley Keleman via Style Me Pretty, Kate Spade, J. Crew, KT Merry via Style Me Pretty, J. Crew
While deciding on my bridal jewelry was a bit harder than I had anticipated, I had a lot of fun deciding on the two dresses that would complement and support my wedding gown: my rehearsal dinner dress and my after party dress! I knew I wanted the three dresses to all be a cohesive style, but also all stand on their own. There are very few times I am able to dress up in an elegant gown, and y’all, I love to dress up, so I knew I wanted my rehearsal dinner outfit to be a floor-length dress. I know it’ll make me feel beautiful practicing walking down the aisle, and it will be good to see how it feels walking in a full-length dress in the grass before I do so in my wedding gown. I have decided to rent my gown from Rent the Runway so that I can experience a gorgeous designer gown at an affordable price! Here are a few of the options I am considering–what do y’all think of the potential of wearing blush to a rehearsal dinner? I will likely choose a white gown, but how pretty is that high-low style?
Left to right: BCBGMAXAZRIA, Badgley Mischka, Nha Khanh, Cynthia Rowley
While I am renting my rehearsal dinner gown, the sentimental part of me wants to keep my after party dress, since it will be one I am wearing on our wedding day! I love my wedding gown so much, so I will not be changing into this until we have already exited from our reception and are on our way to our after party with friends. This dress will be a shorter dress, but will still be fun and fancy with lots of character! I searched through the dress options on BHLDN and am happy to report that I found the perfect cocktail dress–which of these would you choose?
Clockwise from top left: Lili Lace Dress, Renata Sheath, Shined Cocktail Dress, Gwendolyn Dress
Friends, I’d love to know: what did you consider when you were selecting pieces to create your bridal style? What was your favorite accessory or design element that truly completed your look? I can’t wait to show you mine!
Now that I’ve ordered my gown, I’m actually slowing paring down the jewelry and accessories! I am planning to wear my grandmother’s sapphire and pink diamond ring (old and blue), the diamond studs my fiancee gave me, and a comb in my hair after my full length veil with blusher comes off. Other than that I’m leaning away from a necklace, drop earrings or a belt. Which is funny since I love to wear a good statement necklace!
In terms of rehearsal dinner, I actually tried on the Renata dress at BHLDN with a tulle skirt over it. While I didn’t like it for my bridal gown, the whole group loved the sheath on it’s own and I’m leaning toward that for the rehearsal. If I get an after party dress, it will likely be rented as well :)