A Winter Wonderland!

When I think back to my first post, one of my goals was to inspire others to see the beauty in a winter wedding. So, when I came across this winter wedding on Style Me Pretty, I was so stunned by the gorgeous couple and backdrop that it literally took my breath away!

I adore the details in their table settings, particularly their vintage style menus, the silver ornaments hanging from the chairs, and the seasonal centerpieces, which are actually quite similar to my own (though I'm still partial to mine!). In fact, our centerpieces also had touches of white, silver and green for some holiday flair!

And don't get me started on the bride's accessories. The faux fur jacket from Anthropologie is cruelty free and gorgeous (snag it on sale now here), and I love the bride's chic bracelet! But most of all, this couple seems completely crazy in love and happy. This wedding totally made my day. 

 All inspiration boards courtesy of Style Me Pretty

The Dress Reveal!

Hello bloggers! I'm so thrilled to be back in Chicago post honeymoon and able to regularly blog again! I'm still waiting for the photographs from my photographer, which we should have by next week (yay!), so in the meantime I have decided to finally share my wedding dress with you!

I was one of the brides who chose not to post anything about my dress before the wedding because I did not want my now hubby to sneak a peak and ruin the surprise. I'm really glad I waited, because he told me that he could have never imagined my dress and he was so excited to see me in it for the first time on our big day. The dress is called Fanal, and the designer is La Sposa. Here are pictures of the front and back of the dress from La Sposa's website.

This dress is in the color oyster, however I ordered mine in the more traditional ivory. I bought my dress a small bridal shop called Wedding Belles, LTD, located in the suburbs of Chicago. I had visited several other shops in the Chicagoland area before making this boutique my last visit. I did all of the shopping for my dress in one weekend, and was very eager to find "the one," since my mom had flown out from the Cape to help me.

I should explain that this dress was not at all what I had in mind when I envisioned my wedding dress. For one, I was vehemently again wearing a strapless dress, as I had visions of it falling down and being annoyed by pulling it up all night. I also imagined myself in a very simple sheath, more like a beach dress, with out any fluff or pouf, like this cute J. Crew number:

The La Sposa that I purchased, though, was the last dress I had tried on at the store, however, and once I put it on I had "The Moment." This is the moment where I knew this dress, regardless of the fact that it was strapless, satin, or anything else I had abhorred, was meant for me. I loved how the ruching across the body made it more ornate without having to add beading, while being still simple and modern, and how slimming and tall it made me look! Plus, the heavier material did end up being perfect for my winter nuptials. 

Overall, I couldn't be happier with my decision, and everyone genuinely raved about how perfect and lovely the dress was for me. I will be waiting to receive my wedding photos before posting any pictures of me in the dress. However, here a some pictures I found online from Feather Love Photography of another gorgeous bride who recently rocked this dress in a surprise wedding (how awesome is that, btw?!) in the same color as I have!

Engagement Photos: Urban Shots

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! I have decided to finish up all of the posts entailing our engagement photos before I move on to the juicy wedding details (plus, I'm waiting to do so until I receive the professional wedding photos, as it will make it so much easier to have visuals to accompany my descriptions).

Our photographer (Seth Kammueller) was so easy to work with and flexible that he allowed us to go all over Chicago for our pictures. I have already shared the photos from Lincoln Park and it's indoor botanical garden. Here are a few more from Lincoln Park, Wrigley Field, and nearby Belmont Harbor, all special places for me and Cape Cod Groom!

First we went to the lily pond in Lincoln Park for a few last shots at this location:

Next it was off to Belmont Harbor where it was sooooo cold and windy, and I was being stubborn and refusing to wear a coat in 30 degree temperatures, but we are glad we braved the weather for these shots as they are some of our favorites!

We almost got washed away by the waves coming over the side of the walkway, and our photographer's camera got splashed, but this shot is pretty neat:

One of my favorites:

Wrigley Field was our last stop, and despite a rainy morning, the sun finally came out for us!

Engagement Photos: Lincoln Park

Hello everyone!

It feels so good to be writing to you my first time as Mrs. Cape Cod Bride!!! I just wanted to drop a quick note and thank everyone for their warm wishes, support, and congratulations that you have all been sharing with me here and everywhere else!

I'm taking advantage of the wireless we have at our hotel here in Montreal to share some more pictures of our engagement session with you. I can't wait to share all of the details and photos from the wedding, which could not have been more fun and gorgeous, but in the meantime, enjoy these instead :)

All photos courtesy of Seth Kammueller Photography

Holiday Cheer!

If you recall, awhile back I won a fantastic gift certificate for Wedding Paper Divas from the wonderful Alternative Bride to use towards a personalized holiday card. At the time, I asked you to vote on which card you liked the best, and as it turns out, I chose . . . Neither! 

Let me explain. My fiance and I were waiting to order the cards until we got our engagement photos done, as we wanted to use one for our cards. Once we received them from our photographer earlier this week, we went to peruse our options again on their website and found a card we love even more than the other two we had initially considered. Thus, we decide to nix our initial choice and go in a different direction.

Why? Well, we both love the color green, as well as vintage look of this card. Most of all, since we are getting married on December 12th, we adore that the cards say "Happy Holidays from the Newlyweds." I know I'm a big dork, but I can't wait to receive these in a few days and send them out for our first Christmas together as husband and wife!

Is anyone sending out holiday cards of you and your husband/fiance, and if so, how did you choose what to do as a theme?

Engagment Photos: Botanical Garden Shots

As promised, I have more photos of my engagement session to share with you! My fiance and I were a bit disappointed as it rained most of the day we had scheduled to do the shoot and was also quite cold and windy, but what else can you expect for winter in Chicago? As a result, I first suggested that we go to the botanical garden in nearby Lincoln Park, since it's not only beautiful but indoors. Here are some of the highlights:

Can you spot us in this one?

I love these two below because they were shot through the hole in a leaf! How creative is that!?

(All photographs by Seth Kammueller)

We have a few other locations with some great shots that I will be posting in due time! And just because I'm so excited, I can't help but share that there is only one week left until our rehearsal, and 8 days until our wedding!!!!

Engagement Photos Sneak Peak

Sorry I haven't been blogging much, folks. Thanksgiving combined with only 11 days until my wedding = total chaos. That being said, Cape Cod Groom and I had a blast this weekend taking our engagement photos with Seth Kammueller, a fantastic Chicago photographer, and I'm excited to share a sneak peak with all of you! Here is a photo of us in the botanical garden in Lincoln Park. 

This is also a big deal for me because it's the first time I'm publishing photos of me and Cape Cod Groom. Granted, this photo still has us somewhat in the distance, but I'm just trying to be a bit of a tease :-) However, I promise to do additional posts containing the rest of the highlights from the engagement session once I have more time on my hands, and I assure you we have some close-ups :-)

Why the change of heart regarding sharing personal photos of me (and my groom) on the blog, you ask? Well, after much internal debate, a blog post, and a discussion of the issue with Cape Cod Groom, we decided that we both feel comfortable having pictures of ourselves on the blog. I mean, we have tons of pictures of ourselves up on Facebook, and since they are already in the permenant abyss of the Internet, why not post them here as well? I think Cape Cod Groom was always more comfortable with the idea than I was, especially since, as he aptly pointed out, we are not revealing our last name.