Finding My Wedding Dress!

If you’ve been following me for a while, then you know i’ve been a bridal consultant at Annalise Bridal Boutique for quite a while now! It will be 4 years since I started this June!! Time flies!! I absolutely love working at the shop and helping brides find their wedding dress! Those special moments I get to be a part of just can’t be beat!

Once Kyle proposed, I knew the only place I’d want to find my dress was Annalise! I already had a pretty good idea of what I wanted from trying so many dresses on over the years but definitely still wanted the traditional bridal shopping experience with my friends and family. Luckily since I’ve been a bridal consultant for a while, I was able to narrow down my picks to a small list of dresses I wanted to try to not overwhelm myself! In total I tried on probably around 10-12 dresses! But remember I’ve tried on plenty of dresses at the shop in the past so had a good idea what I would like/not like!

Even though I know quite a bit more about wedding gowns than the average bride, I was still so nervous for my appointment!! Choosing your wedding dress is a huge decision and can really decide many other factors of your big day so I was anxious. When we arrived to Annalise, we were welcomed with warm smiles of my boss/owner Lindsey and co-worker Katlyn! Lindsey was so sweet to get us some sweet treats to snack on during the appointment and of course there was champagne for sipping! All the girls got settled on the couches, along with my mom and Kyle’s mom and we got started!!

All of my bridesmaids were able to make it to my appointment and it was so special to have them all there! Luckily i’ve got an amazing group of friends/family who were nothing but supportive and only shared opinions when i asked! **tip from a bridal consultant: definitely make sure to bring people who will only be positive and not bring you down during your appointment! Shopping for a wedding dress is already a stressful experience for some brides and you don’t want anyone who may be negative towards you there! ….Or too many opinions!

My mom crying after I put on the very first dress! ^^^ LOL (which ended up being the “dress”!!)

// A few of my favorite dresses //

Every dress I tried on was absolutely gorgeous but I just could not love any more than the dress I chose! I had seen it online a few months before and had shared it with Lindsey! It was a combination of a few key things I would love in a dress. We did not carry this particular dress in the store but were able to borrow the dress for me to try on!!! I am so happy with my decision and can’t wait to wear it on October 17th!!!

My wedding dress shopping experience was so fun and easy! i am grateful for all the people who have made my overall wedding experience so amazing and I am excited to celebrate with them all soon!

190 days to go!!!

Our Engagement Photo Shoot!

One of the biggest changes that has happened since last year is I am engaged!! Kyle proposed to me on the day of my Shop Harvie launch party (blog post to come) and it was honestly one of the best days of my life. So many emotions and almost everyone I loved was there. I will never forget that day!!!

Ever since we got engaged I imagined our engagement photos and was so excited to have professional photos of us! We don’t have very many professional quality photos so I was super excited to have new images to display around the apartment. I could really just stare at these photos over and over again!! Our photographer Courtney did such an amazing job shooting our engagement session and I am overjoyed with how they turned out. Check out her work at www.courtneymorganphoto.com

Since our wedding is going to be on the formal side, I knew I wanted to do one formal location for our engagement shoot and one location a little bit more fun/laid back. After doing plenty of research and discussing it with our photographer, we decided on the VA State Capitol for location #1. The large staircase mixed with stunning capitol building just can’t be beat! i wanted our outfits to be a bit more fancy for this location and so decided on a gorgeous lace embroidered dress for me and a nice navy jacket/khaki pant combo for kyle. I’m super happy with the way these two outfits looked together.

The day our engagement session was scheduled ended up being a bit overcast (perfect for photos!) but extremely windy. I think my curls lasted about .5 seconds haha. But I didn’t let that bother me and I’m so happy I didn’t! I remember sitting at my desk in the morning just praying it would not rain on us! We got super lucky and had the best lighting for photos.

For location #2 we decided on the new pedestrian bridge down at Brown’s Island. I had seen a few couples use this location in the past and just could not get over how perfect it was. I love the view of the city, river, and the shots on the bridge. I decided to make our looks a bit more casual and opted for a maxi dress while Kyle wore a casual button down shirt and pants.

At this point the windy day had completely flattened out my hair which made it fun to just really embrace the wind/casual vibes and get so many gorgeous shots! I love how the breeze picked up my maxi dress in so many shots.

It really is hard to choose favorites for this post because I honestly love them all. They are photos I know we will look back at for years to come. Courtney did such an amazing job and I can’t wait for her to shoot our wedding in October. Stay tuned for more posts as I continue the wedding planning journey and all the fun days ahead.

 

Shop My Engagement Shoot Look

My white lace dress is no longer available but I’ve linked similar options!