So do you remember? With your white dress on It was the end of December Count the days till dawn

So a couple weekends ago Luke and I had an amazing welcome reception to celebrate the wedding with those that could not make the long trip up to Delaware for the wedding. I'm sure you remember me talking about the preparations going into that and how I would be sharing the details soon... so here goes...

I honestly started to feel cliche when I went to buy a dress for the event... if you read my post about a complete wedding look for $1,000 you will know that I went a little J Crew crazy with the wedding. I waited to look for a dress for the reception until we went to Nashville for the mere fact that I wanted to do something different for the reception. Yet where did I find myself when I had been on the search for an entire weekend and had absolutely no luck? J Crew. 

The reception was a southern BBQ theme... so I had envisioned something free people 'ish with my favorite cowgirl boots.... and I had absolutely no luck! everything was either super see through, not white, or way too hot to be wearing outside in the heat of Summer. When I had almost given up I stumbled into J Crew tail between my legs thinking I was going to have to rummage for something I would be less than enthused to wear that day. This dress completely turned things around. The loose, flowy sleeves added that country chic element and the shift style was light weight and perfect for the overall feel of the reception.

I obviously wore it again in the above photos... but part of buying a new dress came with the promise to Luke that I would wear it more than once.... so above we see more of a typical look for me and below how I styled it with a little country flair for the reception.

Dress, Boots, Bracelet, Necklace (USE LFCODE20 for 20% off), 

Bag, old (loving this one), Sunnies, Flats, similar

I will be sharing more photos and details of the reception next week. After being on wedding overload for the greater part of the last year I really needed a little break from all things wedding, but I am back and excited to share all about it with you.

Is it Friday yet.... guess not! But here's to the next three days going by like lightning!

Thanks for reading! 

Xo-L

Wedding Wednesday: Brides who Budget

Today I'm coming at you with the nitty gritty details of creating a bridal look for less. To be honest... this was the easiest part of my planning process. I was extremely stressed at first because Luke and I had to use a lot of our own money to pay for the wedding... so the beginning process of looking at dresses was VERY overwhelming. So here goes my bridal look breakdown and how I stretched my budget to the limit... and still left room to splurge on shoes.

1. I bought my dress from the J Crew Warehouse Clearance store in Lynchburg, VA. If you are located within driving distance to this place... GO! The staff was so incredibly helpful and kept an eye out for dresses I was in search of. I could not have been more pleased! This also helped to calm my nerves about the feelings I would have about buying a dress without my mom. I was very lucky to catch a sale at the store and received an extra 25% off the price... my dress was $200+ tax! WHAT?? I know! Best score ever!

2. Shoes were a splurge item for me... and I know what some of you are thinking... no one sees them! I realize that, but shoes are my vice... so sans fancy shoes on my wedding day was not optional. I purchased these gems back in November and didn't look back. They were different, had a bow on them, served as my blue item, and were Tory Burch. Did I miss anything there... nope! These shoes are my obsession! 

3. Gems were a last minute decision for me. I was obviously a J Crew bride... so I decided to pop in the week of the wedding and see if they had any options that would work for the big day. The sales girl at Tyson's actually pulled the earrings out for me... she had been hiding them for herself and when I showed her my dress she said I had a better reason to buy them than her! What a gem! I adore them! I also went with the pearl hammock bracelet to match the necklace I've already had in my collection for a couple years. I knew I would wear it on the daily so it didn't seem like a splurge. 

4. My veil was special made for for me by my seamstress. She charged me a very minimal fee ($27)!!! That was a major steal!

5. I did my own makeup. I went to sephora about a week before the wedding to do a little product testing. I used some products I was already using, but if you added up the product list I invested about $200 total on all my makeup and brushes.

6. Hair was a no-go for DIY! I went to a salon for a trial earlier in the week and then the day of. Total for hair was $125.

Total investment for my Wedding Look: 

-Dress: $200

-Shoes:$325

-Jewelry:$125

-Veil: $27

-Makeup:$200

-Hair: $125

_____________

Total: $1,002.00!!!!!!!!!!

I really debated whether or not to share the entire breakdown of my wedding day look... to be honest it's a little personal... but I know that there are a million girls out there who are in the same boat I was in! Ladies, you can look like a million bucks on your wedding day and not break the bank!

Please let me know if you have any questions about where I found great deals and ways to cut corners! I would love to share! It is so much easier than you would think!

Thanks for stopping by!