Wedding Recap: Part 1

It is hard to know where to begin when it comes to wedding recaps. Do I post chronologically starting from our drive to Michigan? Do I do all the wedding week recaps first and the honeymoon recaps second? What about all the other pre-wedding things that I still haven’t posted, do I just forget about those altogether? This was a tough decision that I had to make, but I am confident that you all will be happy with my decision of where to begin. I give you the DRESS…..ES!

That’s right! I am bringing out the big guns.

It is amazing how different a dress feels on your wedding day. At my final (and only) fitting that took place just 4 weeks before my wedding day, I felt the same way I have felt every time my brother let’s me try on one of his runway masterpieces. I feel like a super model and can’t believe that he created this amazing gown. But I wouldn’t say that I felt bridal. The dress fit perfectly and didn’t need any alterations, so I just tried it on, walked a few steps and then the fitting was over. At that time in the NYC studio, it didn’t really feel like my dress. I left excited to be wearing it at my wedding, but didn’t necessarily feel a connection to the dress itself. All of that changed when the huge box arrived at the Marriott in Detroit. While I was checking in to our room, the head of the concierge desk approached me and said, “I have your dress.” Butterflies. They wheeled it up to the room and I unpacked it carefully in the spare closet, making sure Evan could not to see it. I stood in the closet and thought to myself, “This is the most amazing dress I have ever seen and it’s mine”.

At that moment I felt that if a wedding dress could be a person’s soul mate, this was mine (other than my husband, of course). The white satin and tulle masterpiece created by my little brother was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams. On my wedding day, my brother held it open while I stepped into it in a room full of my best friends in the world. It was a stop-and-remember-this-moment moment that I had been advised to relish in. I felt like I was wearing a cloud.

After I was dressed, my brother helped me walk through the hotel to meet Evan on the bottom level. Taking that dress down 3 escalators was truly a laughable task. I was asked several times if I was a Bride which I responded to, “No, I’m not.” which really threw some people for a loop. Evan and I spent the afternoon traipsing around Detroit City with our photographers of Inspired Art, taking the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. I mastered the art of holding the dress up, so it wouldn’t drag on the ground. And then it was time to get married to my best friend, in my dress, my beautiful wedding dress that my little brother made for me.

After the ceremony Evan and I rushed upstairs to have a moment to relax and realize what just happened. It was another stop-and-remember-this-moment moment that was captured by our photographers in my favorite picture of the day.

Then everything went in a whirl, cake cutting, toasts, first dance, and the first two hours were gone. After a few dances and a few drinks I decided it was time to get busy and changed into the party dress. The party dress was what I had been keeping as a surprise, but when it came down to it, I didn’t have time to make another entrance. I just casually walked in the room and hit the dance floor. The short flirty dress still felt bridal, but bridal in a fun, let’s dance all night, kind of way, and dance I did, all night with a few short breaks to mingle with guests.

Photo by Uncle Terry

The dresses played a big part in my day as a bride and I can’t imagine the day in any other outfit.

More on the attire of the day coming soon. Wait till you hear about those bridesmaids.

**All photos provided by Inspired Art Photography unless noted otherwise