mrs. cupcake's wedding blog: Love is All About "We": The Dress!

All photos below by The Wiebners unless otherwise noted. We purchased a disc of all unedited images from our wedding day, so some post-processing has been done by me for the purpose of sharing the photos with you. Click on any photo to enlarge.

When it was time to put on my dress, I had butterflies. This was the moment that would really make me a bride.

I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed as so many people were now in our suite (six bridesmaids, my aunt, MIL Cupcake, my mom, two makeup artists and a photographer) so I asked that not everyone come into the bedroom while I got into my dress. It was just my mom, my maid and matron of honor, and my aunt. Looking back, I hope that no one felt shunned from this experience by my request, but I needed a little breathing space!

Naked time! Stepping into the dress with the help of MOH Nicole and my mom

It's funny how the photos of a bride getting into her dress are so iconic and it seems like such a process, but for me, it was all pretty quick! (Thanks to a zipper covered by fake buttons... we would have had to build an extra 20 minutes into our timeline if those buttons needed a crochet hook.)

My dress is from Casablanca Bridal (it is style 1860 in Champagne) and I felt like it was made just for me!

My mom zipping me up

Done!

I love this photo of my mom looking at me

The only thing that took a little bit of time was, um, adjusting *ahem* the girls. I couldn't find a bra that would work with my dress and not be painfully uncomfortable, so I opted to have cups sewn into the bra. I was still a little nervous, though, as I wanted everyone to behave and stay in their designated corners (as MOH Nicole says, "divide and conquer") — enter the magical world of double-sided tape. I had picked up a roll of fashion tape a few days beforehand, and it ended up being a lifesaver (for me and a few of the bridesmaids). Probably the best $10 I ever spent!

Only a true best friend would reach down your dress to put fashion tape on your boobs

The girls are good to go!

It was now time for the finishing touches... the accessories that I had so carefully chosen.

I had asked SIL Cupcake to help me out with my "something blue" — putting blue crystals on the bottom of her shoes was something she had done for her wedding day, so I thought I'd continue the tradition. She carefully glued our initials and wedding date on the bottom of my Liz René shoes, so my "something blue" was with me all day long.

{photo by SIL Cupcake}

Momma Cupcake helped me from falling over (I tend to do klutzy things like this from time to time) while Aunt Jane helped me with my shoes. We call this the "Cinderella moment"!

Next up was my custom-made bracelet from Tracy Tayan (Tracy now has a website up since I last posted about her amazing work!)

The bracelet is lying on top of my something borrowed (a handkerchief from my mom with her first initial on it, which was about to become my new last initial) and my something old (a yellow-edged handkerchief that my Nana left for me when she passed away two months before the wedding. She had asked SIL Cupcake to give it to me.)

Most of my nerves started melting away and I was starting to get really, really excited!

SIL Cupcake peeking in

Bracelet: on. Next up were my Lunessa earrings:

I packed my clutch with my handkerchiefs, phone, and a few cosmetic items for touch-ups.

Then came time for the real crowning moment: the veil. I absolutely loved my veil. If it didn't always feel like it was in the way, I would have considered wearing it all day. It had such delicate detailing along the edges and I felt like it was the perfect accent to my dress.

A closeup of the detailing on my veil {photo by SIL Cupcake}

My mom didn't know the best way to put my veil on and didn't want to mess up my 'do, so DOC Jenn Poletti came to the rescue. She had just arrived and we put her right to work. (Ours was one of the last weddings Jenn worked in 2008 — she was pregnant with twin boys who later arrived in January!)

Jenn and I became good friends throughout the planning process — our nickname for each other is BIFF (which stands for Best Internet Friend Forever) because we emailed each other so much! Half of the time it was about The Hills, though, not the wedding....

I love this picture

"Well, I guess that's it?... I'm a bride now!"

I had everything I needed, so I made my way out of the bedroom and found that my dad had arrived.

He's happy to see me!

I look like a mischievous little kid here! I guess I really couldn't contain my excitement at that point.

Here comes our "prom" pose — me pinning the boutonniere onto my dad's lapel (or pretending to pin it on for the sake of a photo... I think I eventually gave up and made Jenn do it for me).

I think the way he is looking at me in this photo is very sweet... I am the only daughter and the last of two kids to get married, so it was a big day for both of my parents.

{photo by SIL Cupcake}

I also got the first glimpse at my bouquet that had arrived earlier from Blue Moon. I loved it! Somehow, despite my frazzled descriptions of what I wanted, Wade managed to put together the perfect bouquet for me.