Getting Ready on My Wedding Day

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**Photos courtesy of Daniel Peter Photo, www.danielpeter.com.**

**Hover over the bottom right corner of each image to Pin to Pinterest!**

As could probably be expected, the night before my wedding included very little sleep. Ironically, I had just been telling people that very evening at our Rehearsal Dinner that I hadn't had any wedding nightmares or insomnia yet. I was getting 8+ hours of deep, peaceful sleep... of course, that is, right up until the last night.

It took me a while to fall asleep, and then I woke up a few hours later. I figured I'd take a shot in the dark and text my mom to tell her I was having a hard time sleeping. As luck (or God) would have it, she was also having a hard time sleeping! She consoled me a bit and reminded me that all of my A+ sleeps leading up to the wedding would serve me well, and ultimately I would have all the energy I needed thanks to adrenaline and excitement.

I ended up waking up for good at 8 something. I rolled out of bed looking like a hot mess (mostly the mess part) and decided to assess the breakfast and coffee situation downstairs with two of my bridesmaids. One delicious iced coffee with whole milk later, life was good.

My bridesmaids set out their dresses for the day. Part of their gifts from the Rehearsal Dinner included those large baskets (seen above), a pair of nude pumps (not pictured), and personalized hangers (seen above). Each girl also had her own brown bag (seen above) filled with goodies like gum, Advil, Fiji water, and Smart Pop. We also delivered these bags to each of the rooms of our guests at the hotel.

Our hair stylist was already at the hotel, finishing up my mom's hair. They came up to our skyline suite, and she worked her magic on the rest of my ladies.

As far as getting your hair done goes, I think this was just about the best scenario ever. We had a panoramic city view to watch as she teased, curled, set, pinned, and sprayed...

Meanwhile, my makeup artist got to work on beatifying all of the ladies. It made me feel really happy to see these girls, who are so special to me, being pampered. Who doesn't enjoy a complete hair and makeup ritual?

I went last, so that my hair and makeup would be totally fresh. The hair artist curled my hair and clipped it up so that it could set in curls as it cooled. Then, she passed me off to my wonderful makeup artist so that he could start with my foundation and get the makeup basics out of the way.

My sister gave me a super cute tote bag from Dessy. Their web site is mostly dresses, but she somehow stumbled upon the cutest wedding day bag ever designed. Naturally, it was stuffed with goodies like a white tank top with "BRIDE" in rhinestones. 

My then-fiance was in the same hotel, in a different suite, on a different floor. He was getting ready with his groomsmen, my sister's boyfriend, and my dad. I knew he would be a little tense and nervous as he got ready for the wedding, so I wanted to send him a little something to lighten the mood and ease his nerves. After getting my nails done the day before, I had stopped for a nice bottle of Michigan Whiskey.

After my sister gifted me my bag, I sent her to his room with the bottle of whiskey and a card I had written him. I wasn't there to witness any of it, so it's really special to see in photos that she delivered it with a big hug!

It's also very sweet to see my almost-husband reading my card with a big old grin on his face. 

After reading the card, they opened the bottle of whiskey and drank it out of the various assortment of glasses the hotel suite had provided. My husband later told me that the whiskey was a great idea because it really did ease the tension in the room, and, despite being in full tux apparel, everyone loosened up.

The photographers did a wonderful job of capturing the gift giving, card reading, cheers, and aftermath: happy men who look classy as hell drinking whiskey in tuxes.

If you're familiar with the 5 Love Languages, you may be learning that one of my love languages is gift giving. I enjoy finding special items to make my favorite people feel special. So, while my husband and his groomsmen were sipping on his gift, I was busy giving my mother a gift in the ladies' suite.

I gave my mom a silver mesh infinity bracelet. We have sort of an inside joke about watching the T.V. show Revenge (jokes include: how horrible it is, how confusing it can be, why on earth we keep watching it despite those things...). On the show, the main character has a special relationship with one of her parents that is symbolized by the infinity sign. I wrote my mom a story that drew on other inside jokes (and mimicked a letter I wrote her as a first grader) and then talked about how our love goes on forever. 

I also gave her a small packet of blue tissues, "to dry her happy tears" during the ceremony.

As we continued getting ready, my bridesmaids started putting on their pearl necklaces that I had given them in their basket the night before. The necklaces were a collaboration between my aunt Betsy and me, and my aunt made them. I thought they were perfectly classy and simple.

Little did I know, my bridesmaids also had a gift for me. They had put together a book of "Letters To The Bride," each having written me a page. Some were more lyrical, some had inside jokes, and some were more picturesque (one was even 3D!).

It was really neat to read the letters from each of them and see how it not only reflected their unique personalities but also my unique relationships with them. As I read each letter, I was reminded of how lucky I am to have these ladies in my life! They are so supportive, creative, and unique. 

I may have had a few happy tears, but I somehow managed to not completely ruin my makeup. My mom helped me put my jewelry on. I actually had not chosen my jewelry until the day of the wedding. I knew I wanted a combination of pearls and sparkles, so I brought with me a number of pearl necklaces and earrings that were borrowed from my mom and aunt, and a few pairs of earrings. I ended up wearing a necklace that was borrowed from my mom along with a drop pendant from my aunt and pearl earrings from my aunt. Not just something borrowed... many things borrowed.

Next, my hair artist took my curls out of their rolls and pinned me into an up-do! As my makeup and hair started to come together, the mood in the room started to get more and more exciting. We chose more upbeat music (Girl Talk? Backstreet Boys? All of the above) and started to get pretty silly. 

What adds to an already excited room full of women? A bottle of champagne! My mom ordered us some champers and we eagerly toasted to love, marriage, and the wonderful day ahead.

As we clinked our glasses, I couldn't help looking around me at the amazing women that are in my life and be thankful. I am so blessed, and I am sure that, no matter how many words I write or how many times I express my gratitude, it will never suffice. Thank you, thank you, thank you... :)

With my hair finished and my makeup almost done, it was time to put on the dress! I had chosen a lace dress by Jim Hjelm (via Volle's Bridal) that layered antique looking, ivory lace on top of a champagne colored silk. It was very comfortable and I felt like it expressed my personality very well.

My shoes were light blue, extremely comfortable, and had a mid century feel to them. 

The dress is fairly easy to put on, because it lacks the puffiness or elaborate corseting of a lot of other wedding gowns. But, there was a clasp at the top of the back, and a bow to be tied using the ribbon part of my sparkly sash. My sister and maid of honor did the honors, and then it was time to step into my wedding shoes!

Stepping into these shoes just brought me one step closer to the wedding, itself. Despite the momentous occasion of the day, I was still completely calm at this point. In fact, my makeup artist even remarked that I seemed like one of the calmest brides he had ever worked with. I had a very deep feeling of peace, knowing that it would be the start of the rest of my life with the man I would love forever. Who could be nervous about that?, I thought.

In true Carly fashion, I had a gift I wanted to give to my dad. My mom had the idea of bringing him to our suite blindfolded, so that we could capture his reaction upon first seeing his little girl in her wedding dress. So, she headed over to the boys' suite and retrieved her husband, purple blindfold and all.

The photo above will probably always be one of my favorites. The surprise and joy in my dad's face is unmistakable, and my mom's grin as she watches his reaction is priceless. 

I wasn't sure which parts of the day would end up bringing me to tears, but I did know that the most likely culprit would be seeing my dad and giving him the gift I had for him. Sure enough, from the moment we hugged, we had tear-filled eyes. I gave him a handkerchief that was embroidered with a special message to him. 

My dad enjoys taking walks. There is a forest trail near my parents' home, and he frequently takes walks there with family or our family dog. But, it goes back much farther than that. I have a photo from when I was around 9 or 10 years old of my dad and I, standing at the edge of a pier, having taken a walk down to the beach together. We are standing next to each other, staring at the water. So, on my dad's handkerchief, I had a message embroidered that said, "Dad, Thanks for walking by my side today and always. Of all the walks we've ever taken, this one will be my favorite. A'voo, Sissy." (A'voo was the way I said "I love you" when I first learned to talk, and Sissy is one of his nicknames for me)

Once we released my dad from the torturous ladies' suite (apparently we just invite people there to cry their eyes out!), we took a few photos with the beautiful bouquets of flowers that had arrived. We worked with Ashland Addison Florists, and they did an impeccable job. I wanted bouquets that were very muted and light, with a vintage and romantic feel.

Soon after, it was time to put the finishing touches on. My makeup artist added mascara (which he'd left off so far, because I told him I would probably cry when my dad came to see me). Then, my hair artist secured my veil. I surveyed the final product and was absolutely stunned to see what they had done to me!

At this point, we took a few more pictures in the suite and then headed out to meet the boys for Justin and my "First Look!"

Vendor List:
Bride's Dress: Jim Hjelm via Volle's Bridal
Bridesmaids Dresses: J. Crew
Tuxes: Formally Modern
Flowers: Ashland Addison Florists
First Look Location: Hyatt Regency McCormick Place

Rehearsal Day, Part Two - Rehearsal Dinner

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**Read Part One from the day of our Rehearsal Dinner here!**

The drive from our ceremony space to the rehearsal dinner was about 30 minutes with traffic, so we all split up into various cars. My then-fiance was heading home in between to change clothes,  but my bridesmaids, some of their dates, and I arrived at Fulton's On The River at about 6:30 for our 7:00 Rehearsal Dinner.

The event planner was still putting the finishing touches on the space, so we ordered a drink at the bar while we waited. I had something called the Kurt Cobain. I have no idea what was in it, but I liked the name, so I guessed. It was delicious.

One of my bridesmaids ordered a drink that had champagne and elderflower liqueur. So delicious. Reminded me of a cocktail I had at Old Oak Tap over Memorial Day Weekend.

Champagne and elderflower liqueur. Winning.

It wasn't long before they were ready to bring us to our event space. One of the employees came down with a framed sign for us and then lead us to our space.

Inside, the room had been decorated beautifully as per my Mother-In-Law's specifications. The room, which started out being pretty plain, had a beautiful pop of color, with the turquoise linens and bright flowers.

I had coordinated with my MIL to wrap the gifts in a way that complimented the decor. So, my gifts were wrapped in natural wood colors with turquoise accents (Curious about what we gave as gifts? That's a separate post, because it was awesome. Coming soon to a blog near you...).

After getting situated and checking out the space, we snapped a quick pic of the ladies in my bridal party. I am so lucky to have such awesome and gorgeous ladies in my life. #Spoiled

After dropping our purses and checking out our private room, we headed outside to the terrace for passed appetizers. Servers came outside to pass around bruschetta...

...and some delicious crustinis with brie and jam (among other things). It was so nice that the apps were passed, because it allowed us to keep socializing and focusing on each other without breaking off to get finger food. This meant more time to talk to our favorite people.

It also meant we could hang out on that beautiful terrace! Fulton's On The River is exactly where its name suggests: On the Chicago river. Because it is right in the middle of downtown, there is a really special feeling of being on the water yet in the middle of huge skyscrapers. It had a magical, energetic feel to it.

Just like our hotel rooms and the ceremony rehearsal, this area has such great city views and wonderful natural lighting that almost every picture looks amazing. I have a minor photography obsession and my MIL does, too (she probably loves it even more than I do!), so it was the perfect setting for our families to celebrate in!

Wearing: Dress, Victoria's Secret. Shoes, Nina. Pave Bracelet, J. Crew. Earrings, Tory Burch.

We eventually headed back inside for dinner. I was very much looking forward to having dinner here, because it has a great reputation as a steakhouse and their food is always delicious. I had the house salad, steak (other options were provided, but I have a personal rule that when filet mignon is an option, I choose it!), and a fruit plate for dessert (though some other options included chocolate cake or a banana cream pie!).

Personalized menu for the win!

As we sat down, my almost Father-In-Law got up to give a little toast and a prayer. He is extremely eloquent in his speech and it was so tastefully done, as always. In fact, it was so well done that one of my bridesmaids later asked me if he was a preacher! #PreachIt

As the main course was being cleared, Justin got up and told everyone that we had a few gifts to distribute. We gave gifts to our bridesmaids, groomsmen, and Justin's mother and father. Better pics to come later... can't ruin the surprise!

After dinner and gifts, we spent a bit more time chatting with friends and family, and hung out on the terrace a bit more. I am still a little bit in awe of how perfect the terrace area was. It was just so full of city vibrancy that it only enhanced my excitement for the festivities! 

...to be continued...

Be My Bridesmaid? How To "Propose" To Your Wedding Party

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If you've been reading my blog in the past 3 months, you might know that I'm getting married. For some reason, until now, I haven't talked about it much in posts (other than calling Justin "my fiance" over and over and over again...). But, now, I've added a "Wedding" portion to this site, and will be talking about it a whole lot more!

I wanted to share what I did to "propose" to my bridal party. The way I see it, Justin had to put everything together for the perfect engagement - from designing the ring to orchestrating a photographer, from coordinating with our parents to duping me into thinking none of it was happening... so, why shouldn't I have to do some proposing, too?

Here are the basic tools I used:

• Wood Box
• Blue and White Twine
• Scrabble Tiles
• Craft Tags
• Martha Stewart Small Bunting
• Alphabet Stamps
• Black Ink Pad
• White Spraypaint
• Silver Spraypaint
• Lace

I created a box for each of my girls. I wanted these boxes to symbolize my wedding, so I included a lot of natural elements along with some DIY touches. I hand stained the boxes to a very dark color, then laid a piece of lace over the top and did a layer of white spray paint, then a layer of silver spray paint to leave a very neat lace pattern on the top.

I am envisioning chalkboards being a big part of my wedding, because I love the old school vibe they give off. So, on the inside of these boxes, I hot glued a chalkboard. Because the phrase "Will You Be My Bridesmaid?" seemed too hard to fit onto the chalkboard, I opted to break the phrase into two parts. 

I hand stamped "Be" and "My" onto two miniature bunting flags per box, then strung them on small blue and white twine that I hot glued to the top corners of the inside of the box lid. Then, I glued the chalkboards with the word "Bridesmaid" in the center of the inside of the lid.

How did I get the chalkboards to be such an awesome and fun shape? To be honest, this was just a piece of cardboard cut from a shoe box, which I then cut into the shape I wanted before painting over with chalkboard paint. But, it was the cheapest and easiest way to ensure I got chalkboard pieces that were exactly the right size.

As I mentioned, I wanted to bring in some natural elements to these boxes. I lined the  inside with one layer of thin burlap that I purchased from Hobby Lobby and one small layer of a gauzey/lace-like material that my sister had on hand. I thought it was kind of fun that, once you opened the box and saw the "Be My Bridesmaid?" question, there was still a bit of a "gift" to open.

I filled the insides with goodies, and no two boxes were exactly the same. I wanted some items to be in every box, but some items to be unique.

I included champagne corks to signify the celebratory nature that weddings have. Also, I love champagne, so it wasn't hard to collect the corks.

In some boxes, I included dark gray felt flowers to represent one of the important colors we are incorporating into our wedding as well as symbolize the fact that my girls will be carrying flowers as part of their bridesmaid job.

Some boxes also included a sample name card holder that is made from birch wood. I got a set of these at Anthropologie, and they really evoke the feeling of "the outside in," which is part of what I am hoping to achieve. Our wedding is going to be in a huge loft with a skyline view of the city, so we want to mix elements to combine the city life with nature.

Some boxes also included a CD of fun, girly, lovey music that I put together. It includes love songs from Disney movies, as well as more contemporary songs that are meaningful to Justin and me. I wanted it to combine the exciting feelings we have about love as children with the excitement I have about marrying the love of my life. I wrapped the CDs in blue and white graph paper, because I wanted to add another interesting visual element without adding any new colors.

Also, I included Scrabble Tiles that spelled out each girl's name (or a nick name, if applicable). This was my mom's idea, and I loved it, because Scrabble Tiles will also be making an appearance at my wedding!

All five of the boxes also included a set of four cards that I made, which were wrapped in the same blue twine I used to hang the "Be" and "My" flags. I printed these on some manilla folders I grabbed from my parents' den at their house. Basically, I cut those pages to be a print-appropriate size, and arranged all four pages to be about the size of a post card, so that they would all fit on one page and I could cut/separate them later.

Then, I glued thick, brown labels on the top of each card. The shape of these labels mimicked the shape of the chalkboard, and I hand-stamped the phrases "The Job," "The Girls," "The Dresses," and "The Timeline" on them.

I also used one of the fonts I'm using for my wedding. It's called Modern No. 20. It is also part of my Save The Date, so I am excited about the continuity there. It's the little things...

On the card "The Job," I wrote them a heartfelt note about why I wanted them there and what I wanted them to do. I didn't get strict or specific - I just told them that I loved them and that I wanted them to feel wonderful in their dress, to hold beautiful flowers, and to be there to support me as I marry Justin/

On the card "The Timeline," I just broke down the key dates that we have so far - things like an Engagement Party, Cocktails and Crafts Day, Bachelorette Weekend, Rehearsal Dinner, and Wedding Day. I kept it simple by putting the date, event name, and general location (like Chicago, IL or Libertyville, IL), so that they could plan ahead.

On the card "The Dresses," I put a description of what we're thinking to have them wear. I wanted them to know what to expect, so they could visualize themselves on that day.

On the card labeled "The Girls," I named each of my bridesmaids (so that they could start getting familiar with each others' names) and a short, silly, one sentence description about them. For my friend Kelsey, for example, I put "Most likely to give me a pep talk in baby talk," or something like that. The idea was just to keep things light and silly.

Finally, I closed the boxes. I gave two of these boxes out at a family party on the same day, so for those two, I tied some twine around them and added a hand-stamped name card.