Hey Girls!!!

So I figured this week I’ll talk about the *one* aka my dress & some other things including the girls dresses, guys outfits and some of  our engagement pictures!!

The One!

When me & Matt got engaged, I literally couldn’t WAIT to try dresses on.. I had ants in my pants just thinking about it. I always thought about what it would be like to try on all these dresses and find the one that literally takes your breath away.  Even though I knew we were having a long engagement, I didn’t care…I wanted to try dresses on ASAP! At the end of January of 2010, I finally got the chance to try dresses on. The first thing the girl asked me was what I liked..I said, it’s a destination wedding so I want something flowy and not heavy…and I hate mermaid dresses. She said ok & told me to pick out what I’d like to try on. Within minutes I had a rack full of dresses (7 to be exact) – one of which was a mermaid. Now I know I said I hated mermaid, but this dress was fabulous on the mannequin. It was also the only dress I picked out that was ON a mannequin so I had to ask the girl to take it off…& of course, the first thing out of her mouth was “Shana, you know’s that a mermaid right?” & I said “Yea yea yea, just take it off!” Haha – Fast forward to me trying them on…I walked out in dress after dress and had something to critique about every single one. Then I tried on the 4th dress… the mermaid. I walked out and couldn’t stop smiling. This dress was absolutely perfect. I loved everything about it – I had zero complaints. All I kept saying was “Mom, I love it” ! I went back into the dressing room & tried on the rest of the dresses….at the end, I asked the girl if I can try the mermaid back on – walked back out & said “This is the one!” & it was final.

I didn’t buy it that day though… I told the girl from the beginning that if I found a dress I loved, I can’t buy it until my dad sees it. He was buying my dress & I wanted him to love it. She understood. I went back in April with my mom & dad, tried the dress on, walked out & when my dad turned around and saw me, he said “I love it!” I couldn’t have been happier!

I was told that it would take 10 months minimum to make so be prepared to wait. This clearly sucked but it was worth it. My dress came in 2 months early and I couldn’t wait to try it on & when I did, it was perfect Not snug, but it wasn’t falling off either! Haha.

It’s an Ivory colored Sweetheart Strapless Mermaid covered in Swarovski crystals and pearls! I always say it’s the most extravagant thing in the wedding (minus the fact that it’s in Aruba, I’m a pretty simple bride). My first fitting is next Friday, July 8th!!

The Bridesmaids & Flower Girl

I have two bridesmaids… these girls are my rock when it comes to this wedding. I’m definitely not a bridezilla – you can ask them! Seriously!! Haha… But when we started discussing the dresses, I said as long as it’s strapless & coral – I don’t care what you get as long as you love them! So one Saturday in January (2011), we all went to look at dresses.. we originally wanted short because it’s Aruba and it’s obviously hot but the girls surprised me! We really loved some Bill Levkoff dresses, but they didn’t come in the right color so we kept searching. They both found & LOVED this long, yes I said it.. long sweetheart strapless dress. They tried it on in this greyish purple color and fell in love. I did as well.. it was gorgeous. The material was so thin and it was so flowy that the girls agreed there was no way they could sweat in this dress. But before we could get it, we had to find the color! Lucky for us, we found the right color! After being measured, the girls bought them right away!! Janelle & Kelly are both wearing a long coral colored Amsale dress. They just recently came in, we picked the dresses up & fittings start at the end of July for both of them!!

My little sister Nikki is my flower girl. She’s the little love of my life and I couldn’t have picked a flower girl with more personality. She is the diva of 7 yr olds. I had a couple of dresses in mind when we went to pick out dresses for her (we got her dress at the same place, on the same day as the bm’s). The lady at the store pulled the dresses and Nikki tried them on & boy was she honest. The first one “I don’t like it!” the second one “This is itchy, take it off!” and then the third one “Ohh I like this one!” – thankfully, I liked it too so we bought it! We ordered the sash in white because it didn’t come in any color close to what I wanted so what we are doing is when Janelle gets her alterations done, she will need her dress shortened – this extra material will be made into a sash so Nikki matches the girls perfectly!!

The Boys!

This was super duper easy! Seriously. Probably the easiest thing in the entire world. A friend of mine, Tina was also married in Aruba a couple of years ago… I asked her & her husband where they got his suit (I was SHOCKED to see him in a suit especially because it was in Aruba) – They explained to me that they went to Jos A Bank & got the “Stays Cool” suit and that it really kept him cool and he didn’t sweat or anything! This was great advice. (Thank you both by the way!!) I went online a couple of weeks later to look at them & they looked great! I showed them to Matt & he liked them as well. This was so long ago that we didn’t bother going into the store until this past weekend. They are really nice. I love the fact that they are a very thin linen to keep Matt cool, but it’s still fancy enough that it looks sharp! Matt will be the only one in a “suit” (jacket/pants) – we agreed that David (Matt’s Best Man) will just wear the Stays Cool pants with a shirt of his choice. We think we are going to go with a “sand” color as well. We are not picky at all. Matt’s dad & my dad will be in the same (just the pants & whatever shirt) – we really want everyone to be comfortable, that’s our main focus.

As for my brother Tyler, the ring bearer. I have no idea. Honestly, I’m clueless. But I’m hoping to find pants that are the same as the guys so he is comfortable as well. When I figure that out…I’ll let you know! Haha

Our Engagement Pictures!!!

This was exciting. We took these last year & I was SO happy with the outcome. A good friend of my family took these pictures. They have known me since I was a baby.. & they have such a talented son, who I have known since he was born! His name is Brandon McNamara & he is only 18! (He’s turning 19 in July) Believe it or not. He is also our photographer for our wedding!! We are so excited that he is flying down and can’t wait!