Playing Dress Up

I've just about finished shopping for outfits for all my remaining wedding events and wanted to give you ladies a preview! Some purchases were steals while others were splurges (luckily, FMIL gave Mr. Lab and I $300 just for wedding outfits as a gift last time we visited her). I even plan on reselling at least one of the dresses after the wedding, so if you see something you like, let me know to call dibs! ;)

First up, my bridesmaids' brunch outfit. I'm throwing my girls a tea party at Savannah Tea Room. I've instructed all the girls to wear frilly dresses and floppy hats so we can channel our inner Southern Belles for the brunch! And of course, since I'm the bride I'll be wearing white:

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I scored this cute ruffly dress at Forever 21 for only $27! Definitely one of my "steals". To spruce up the dress a bit I bought the following accessories:

The same J. Crew belt Mrs. Cowboy Boot wore on her wedding dress. I've been eyeing it ever since this post and finally decided to snatch it up when it went on sale. I'll be able to wear it often as it matches a million things in my closet!

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A pretty, girly necklace:

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All some matchy girly earrings:

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I'll be wearing white wedge sandals I already own. And of course, my floppy hat the FILs got me! It looks like this:

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But boy would I love to own something as whimsical as this:

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But all is well. I plan to jazz up my hat with some ribbon and maybe even some tulle. ;)

Next up, the rehearsal dinner outfit! This was a pricier purchase and I will definitely resell to recoup my costs (I can't help it! I hate wearing things I already own for big events, so I buy now and resell later. I like to think of it as "renting" an outfit! hehe). I got this dress from Mod Cloth (I can now thank Mrs. Apple Cider for my new obsession with their clothing which is typically out of my price range! :P).

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I have a black cardigan I'll carry with me in case it's cold that night (we'll be outside for the rehearsal then on the riverboat for dinner and the ghost tour after that). I haven't found any shoes to go with the dress yet but I'm looking for some along these lines (but waaaay cheaper):

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I'm wearing black flower stud earrings I already own plus this dramatic statement necklace:

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Then comes the reception/after party dress. Some of you may remember that I already had a dress for this part of the wedding weekend (as seen in my profile pic). But due to an unfortunate (and shameful) event during my bachelorette party (still waiting on photos from my girls *hint hint!* so I can post), I no longer have my dress. So I had to find a replacement. It took forever but I finally settled on one that comes close to the way I felt about my engagement dress.

I really really really wanted this one because it would compliment my wedding dress so perfectly...

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...but $400 is simply too much for me to justify. And I couldn't even use the excuse of reselling it because I KNOW if I bought this dress I wouldn't give it up for the world. *le sigh* If I were a short dress bride, that would be my wedding dress in a heartbeat!

So I went back to the search, deciding that I wanted something similar to my original reception dress but a little more bridal. I quickly came across a photo I used for inspiration. I love Solange's dress!

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Working off the inspiration photo I found this gem!

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I've said it before and I'll say it again; if it blings, sparkles, or glitters, I LOVE IT. The sweetheart neckline and flower embellishment just sent my love over the edge. And I could live with the $133 price tag (after a promo code to take 10% off!). I'll decide after the wedding whether I want to resell this one.

I also bought special shoes to go along with this glittery dress:

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And I'm wearing earrings I already own:

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I'm wearing a short veil I ended up getting for free on Ebay after the seller refunded me the full price when it arrived super late (I wanted it in time for my boudoir photo shoot-more coming soon on that!). I'm also switching bags before we go out and using the one my MOH got me for Christmas last year (that's only $5 now!):

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*Whew!* Okay, that's all...for now. I still have to share my bridal outfit! You know, the wedding dress and all? :P I pick up my dress from the alterations shop next Friday and I'm hoping to get a post in before the wedding on the much-anticipated "inspired by" purchase! Stay tuned and more importantly, stay patient my lovelies! :D