What to Wear: Getting Ready

We chose to keep our bridal party small, with both Mr. Coach and I choosing three of our closest friends to stand next to us on our wedding day. I was pleased with the decision when we made it, because I think I will really enjoy having just a few of my favorite ladies with me on the big day. Now that I'm thinking about gifts for them, I'm even more pleased, because it allows me to do something special for each of them without having to worry about breaking the bank over a huge bridal party!

I have plans to find a special gift for each of these ladies, possibly a unique necklace for each of them to wear with their dresses, or maybe just a fun care package. I've even thought about taking them for a spa day, since there's only a few of us and I could probably make it fit with the budget. The only problem with this is location - we will all be in different cities up until the day before the wedding. So, I think having a personalized gift to give to each of them is going to be the best option.

Along with the gift I choose for each of them (which is still to be determined), I want to have something for all of us to wear while we're getting ready on the big day.

I've seen a lot of people choose robes for their getting ready attire, but I just wasn't feeling them. If I was going to go with robes, some of the printed ones are gorgeous, but I really want to wear white the entire day of the wedding, including getting ready - I plan on milking this bride title for all it's worth!

Image via ShopMomento on Etsy

This shop has tons of prints to choose from! / Image via UnderWrapzRobes on Etsy

Another option is personalized tanks or t-shirts. Although, the idea of wearing a regular shirt really didn't sit well with me because of getting our hair done then having to remove it. I would rather something with buttons or can easily be taken off when we want to put our dresses on.

 Image via PerfectLittleDetails on Etsy

Image via TheLittleBridalShop on Etsy

Then, I came across the option of personalized men's Oxford shirts, and fell. in. love. I've only recently seen pictures of girls doing this, but I thought it was a great idea. 

I love the crisp look of the all white shirts, possibly with red monograms to match the girls dresses? I also really like the idea of giving the girls a shirt thats a little different, like the blue stripes below, or maybe even a solid red with white writing, and have theirs be opposite of mine. 

*All monogrammed shirt photos found here!

Either way I LOVE this idea, and FMIL Coach said she could help me out and monogram them on her sewing machine which should save a lot of money since they're going for about $40 a shirt on Etsy! The shirts will be perfect for getting ready since they can easily be unbuttoned with no worry of messing up our hair! 

My only problem with the shirts is that unlike the robe, I don't think the girls would get much use of it after the wedding. This is the main reason that I'm planning to not only have the shirt for them, but another gift as well that they can wear or use. Such a nice perk of a small bridal party! 

Any suggestions on colors for the monogrammed shirts? Has anyone gone this route with the shirts, or done something else really unique for getting ready attire?

What to Wear: Bridesmaids Edition

As you’ve probably already figured out, it typically doesn’t take too terribly long for me to make a decision with many wedding related items. Of course there are exceptions – sometimes my decision is really just a lack of one, as we saw with the floral decorations. But so far, it has really just been a matter of doing some research online, meeting with the vendor in person to make sure we like them, and then putting down a deposit. This was the case with the DJ, Harpist, and the person who will do my makeup (more on that coming soon!).  Following suit, choosing the dresses for the bridesmaids was a fairly simple process, which I am very thankful for!

It seems as if finding a dress for your ladies to wear can sometimes be one of the more stressful choices during the planning process, which I completely understand. The process is filled with difficult questions like whether or not to have the entire group of ladies match, or to allow them to each choose a unique dress style or color. And if you do choose the route of matching dresses, it can be difficult to find a style that is flattering for each bridesmaid or find a style that everyone can agree on. 

I did my best to have most of these factors decided before we started visiting stores and trying on dresses. I wanted the girls to wear red, so I was hoping to find a dress we all liked in a shade of red that looked good as well.

Because I’m in love with pictures like this:

image via Continuum Photography

And this:

image via Southern Weddings, photo by Virgil Bunao

..I chose to go the matching dress route. I do love bridal parties with different dresses in a coordinating color scheme, especially in light, neutral colors like so:

Photo by: Edyta Szyszlo Photography on Grey Likes Weddings via Lover.ly

...But I was honestly afraid that with a small bridal party of just three bridesmaids it wouldn’t have the same effect if I let them choose individual dresses. My lovely bridesmaids are also very similar in height and size, so I felt that the streamline matching look could work really well with this group.

My next choice was whether or not I wanted the dresses to be floor length, at the knee, or somewhere in between. If our wedding was during the summer I would’ve chosen a short dress, no questions asked. Likewise, if it were a winter affair I would’ve chosen a floor length gown with a heavier fabric. However, we chose to have the wedding in October because of the pleasant weather (among other reasons) that is so rare in the Lone Star State. With the wedding at this time of the year, either style of dress could really be appropriate, so it was just up to all of us to decide what we liked more. 

Personally, I liked the idea of a long dress. I thought they would look very elegant and fit the style of the venue really well. I just wanted to check with the bridesmaids to be sure before I made a decision. When I asked the girls for their opinion, I suspected each of them would prefer a short dress. I was extremely surprised that each of them was not only okay with the idea of a long gown, but actually thought it would look really nice. So, it was settled, and the search began for a red, floor length, elegant bridesmaid dress that would satisfy each of our tastes!

How did you decide what style you wanted for your bridesmaids? Did you come up with an idea before you started shopping, or did you wait until the girls were trying on dresses to decide you liked a didn't like?

What to Wear: Engagement Session

Before I share our engagement photos, I want to cover something that was a pretty difficult decision for me: choosing what to wear for the engagement session!

I know it is becoming more popular to do “themes” for engagement shoots now. I am in love with photos of those types of sessions, but it really just didn’t fit Mr. Coach and I. We had already decided that we wanted to have our photos taken at the Shops at Legacy. We have spent many date nights there – either having a glass of wine, eating dinner, or seeing a movie, and I really wanted to tie that date night “feel” into some of our photos. So, although we didn't have any type of theme, our location had special meaning, and we really wanted to play up the kind of evening we typically have there.

Side note: I found multiple photographers that had information on their websites about what looks good and not-so-good on camera. This can be extremely helpful when you’re thinking about color & patterns and whether or not you want to be all matchy matchy. I just Google'd "engagement photos what to wear"!

I started out looking for “formal” or “date night” engagement photos on the internet. Some of my favorite inspiration was images like these.

Image via www.34studio.com

Photo Credit:www.alantephotographyblog.com

I knew I wanted to wear a fun dress like those in the pictures – this is typically what I wear out anyway. I tried to stick with bold colors and/or patterns that would really *pop* on camera, as well as items that weren't skin tight, but also weren't too flowy and would look shapeless in the photos. 

Found here

Found here

Found here

Along with the nicer outfit for date night, we also wanted to do some casual shots around the lake and beautiful garden area that the Shops at Legacy have. For these, I was planning on something like so:

  

Found here

A bright blouse to pair with jeans:

Found here

And possibly another dress – something fun and flowy:

Photo Credit: Target.com

After I had my inspiration, I set out to put together some outfits. I ended up doing a little shopping before the session (any excuse for new clothes!) and found a few things I liked, but I also pulled out a favorite or two that I already had in the closet. I found that it was very helpful to have an idea – one nicer outfit, one casual dress, one casual top/jeans combo, etc. – of what I wanted to put together, rather than just trying to pick out 3 outfits that I "liked". Of course, it wasn’t just me in the photos, we also had to coordinate clothes for Mr. Coach, but he was very helpful and I think we did a pretty good job overall! Coming up next, I’ll share what we decided to wear, and reveal some of our wonderful photos!

How did you choose what to wear for your engagement shoot? Am I the only one who has an extremely difficult time with this sort of task? :)