hitched!

i was never a romantic.  never really wanted a wedding (although i was down for marriage), certainly nothing big and fancy.  then, i met eric, the biggest romantic of all.  we decided we'd get married in montana, at the foot of the bridger mountains, with wildflowers as our centerpieces.  small affair, VERY small affair.  i would make my dress (and my mom's!).  eric's mom coordinated all the floral arrangements.  there were stunning!  we all know i love bright colors (i wanted a bright wedding dress, but apparently everyone thought that was a bad idea...) . here's the arrangement at our table:

for my dress, i had a theory cream silk strapless dress i bought years ago at a sample sale and never wore.  the neckline, although straight across, would gape open (i lack volume up top), and i hated the idea of having to wear a strapless dress to my wedding, only having to hike up my dress every 10 mins.  no thanks.  so, i pinched together the center of the dress under the sweep across the bust and stitched it narrower, and made myself 2 straps (one with floral applique, one plain) and a floral belt.  me, getting ready with mom and eric's mom helping:

i found the most beautiful 3d floral appliques on etsy:

so pretty:

i bought 8 small panels, then clipped all the flower clusters apart so that i could make my own arrangement!

for mom's dress, i used simplicity 8293, view b, which had a lined bodice and sheer sleeves.  mom is super modest, as i've noted many times, so she wanted a high neckline.  omg the sleeves were SO narrow.  i drafted my own butterfly sleeve pattern and made my own sleeves so that mom would be able to move her arms around, hehe. 

her fabric was a lace i found on etsy, now THE most expensive fabric i've ever bought, but so pretty.  i loved the dress on her (close up pic earlier, in the pic of us getting ready).  she, on the other hand, found it a bit short (hey, why not show off her cute little knees a little??).   this is a pic of the 'rents and me walking to the ceremony, held on the grounds of a scottish highland cattle ranch.  they plowed the field just to our liking:

we had a mixed ceremony.  there was a pre-ceremony for really close family, held next to the ranch.  the pre-ceremony was at this really cute b+b, along a brook, super lush and beautiful.  this is probably my favorite pic of eric and i: i love the green, the flowers, and the brook in the background.  i wish both our faces were focused, not just mine.  had to have some red in my ensemble: my shoes!

we held a tea ceremony where we both honored our ancestors and parents.  the grounds of this ranch were stunning.  view of ross peak in the background.  the chuppah was made with white birch poles that eric and our friend matt sourced from the woods by the house, hehe.  the fabric was primarily made of gauze that eric's mom selected, appliques from mom's own wedding dress (!!!), and the corners were made of the linen from the curtains for our house!  all were tied to the poles with leather from the factory of course!

i love this photo:

detail shot of the back of my dress.  here's a little secret: the straps and belt were made with remnants from a silk bedsheet i once had that got really worn and ripped in some spots.  i've used it to line several of my garments now.  it was the perfect color match to the dress, hehehehhehee!

for party favors: our diemaker for the factory gifted us a debossing die as a wedding gift.  adrea, my oldest friend from nerd camp ehheheheh, designed the logo (i sent her photos of the wedding site and the mountain peak in the back, and she drew it!!  note the 2 little bunnies at the very bottom, eeee!!!)  we then cut and debossed coasters as party favors.  red, gold, and brown leather!

neither eric nor i like cake.  we served pies for dessert instead.  the bakery made a small topper for us to cut.  the pies weren't that tasty, unfortunately.  more beautiful than what i can make, but i prefer the taste of mine!

and now we're off to building a life for ourselves out in montana!  we love it here.

we've now got a baby on the way!  due end of april/early may!  i've been working on some baby clothes; post on that, next!