Miss Becomes a Mrs.: Getting Hitched: The Dress Makes an Appearance

Despite how low-key our first few hours of getting ready at the hotel were, when we arrived at the Piazza in the Village, the pace really started to pick up. My lovely bridesmaids had put on their red bridesmaids dresses at the hotel, and were looking absolutely stunning, if I do say so myself. Some of you might remember waaaay back when I was searching for the perfect dress for the girls. Believe it or not, the day of the wedding was actually my first time to see the dresses in person. Luckily they fit great, and the girls all looked beautiful!

After arriving at the Piazza and unloading the many decor items I was providing, we headed into the Bridal Suite where I had a quick chat with Tabitha, our coordinator. We went over a few last minute details, and then it was time for me to slip into my dress!

The amount of hands it took to get me into my dress is a little bit outrageous. I slipped into the dress with the help of Momma Coach, and she initially began to lace me up. After a minute or so, she decided she would rather let my bridesmaids take over, and came to stand with me. Megan then snapped the photo below, which is one of my all time favorites from the day. I remember so vividly my mom holding my hand and smiling and me while we both took in the moment.

Each of my bridesmaids took a turn at lacing and tightening the dress, and at one point I think there were about five people behind me making sure it was fitting exactly how I wanted. Now that is service! (For those of you with lace up wedding gowns, make sure you leave a significant amount of time to get into your dress. It will take longer than you think, especially if you have only ever put on your dress at the bridal salon where the girls are pros and can do it much faster than your mother/bridesmaids!)

All hands on ~~deck~~ dress!

Vanessa McKellar capturing the moment on video

The photos continued to be taken, and our videographer Vanessa was hard at work filming away. A few more minutes passed, and I was finally in! Now, onto the accessories.

First, my Something Old, my great-grandmothers pearls. My great grandmother was such a special lady - you might remember I talked a little about her here. My grandmother had been holding onto this necklace for me to wear for my wedding, and I was ecstatic about putting it on.

With the help of MOH L, I slipped on my garter, one of my Something New items, along with my dress. She got about half way up my thigh and said, "okay, that's as far as I'm going!" but it did eventually make it :)