Monday, July 23, 2012

Bridal Portraits

Happy Monday Dears!

It took me so long to download our wedding pictures, and I am still caught up in picking our favorites. I love so many its really flipping hard, but as I sort, I want to share some pics from my bridal portraits. I had this whole plan to use these pictures for a scheduled post the day after our wedding, but that post quickly fell to the bottom of my priorities when the wedding circus took over my life about 2 months ago.

This was the first time I got my makeup and hair done, as well as the first time I got to shoot with our wedding photographer Akil Bennett, because we took our engagements with Matthew’s sister. I took bridals at Moody Mansion, a Historical landmark in Galveston, Texas. I felt it was important to keep my bridals in Galveston because, everything was happening in Galveston so might as well keep it consistent right?? I also very much considered myself to be a modern vintage bride, and this place was all the rage for the ‘vintage’ feel. What I didn’t think through, is that given the historic nature of this place I was not allowed to sit on or really get remotely close the furniture. So all of my pictures are standing. HA!



So. A little bit about my wedding dress: I wore the Pronovias 2012 “Benicarlo” from the Dreams Collection. It was about 1000 bucks over my dress budget, but I didn’t flinch when I bought this dress. It was definitely the source of an argument or two (or three) with Matthew but I dismissed all his comments pretty much. lol. You only get married once, and if you really knew me, you'd know that I fancy a new dress like no other (I live in dresses because they hide my big hips). Literally nothing was stopping me from getting this dress, AND I dreamt of wearing a Pronovias for quite some time. The only person that was with me when I found my dress was my sister, and I actually went to buy it alone. The whole entourage thing wasn’t for me. My favorite part of a wedding is the surprise of seeing the bride in her dress for the first time, so I really did not show a lot of people what it looked like beforehand.


I opted for a very simple veil at the last second. I honestlyhad always dreamed of a bird-cage-esque veil, but we all agreed that the dress already had a lot going and did not need any other distractions. I added the veil out of fear, that 10 years from now I wouldn't 'have a veil' in my pictures. You are probably thinking, "do what you want Tess" but as planning went down I realized my appreciation for certain traditions that I did not want undo.


I freaking died over the feathers in bust line at the store. You can see a them  better in the picture above and below. When I put this dress on I knew within 15 minutes that this was it, and I had tried on about 20 already. I loved the belt, and how the corset back reined in all my junk. Seriously, corset back is so clutch I highly recommend it. I also went bra-less because I did not feel that I needed one given the tightness. My ribs were also sore for two days after our wedding. The price we pay ladies, the price we pay.



I also had all these ideas of props etc., to use at my bridal shoot. Well I basically procrastinated, and  only remembered to buy sunglasses. Go figure. WELLL, it ended up working out perfectly when we decided to give out sunglasses as wedding favors at our reception. I chose one of these fun pics to display right next to our sunglasses.


Gosh I could go on and on about how much I loved my dress. Interestingly enough, It was completely not what I thought I would buy. I was going for lacy sleeves and form fitting when I was looking, so buying the big poofball was a surprise to me and probably my friends who figured I’d go for something more contemporary.

now, a bigger question - how many brides have sold their dress?? Have you thought about it?? I have seriously considered it lately, but Matthew says its a bad idea. Thougths??

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your dress is so beautiful :)

Sandra said...

You look so beautiful!! That's so interesting that what you were looking for is not what you bought.

Lynette said...

You look amazzzazzzing!! The pictures came out so good! Love love love.

shay said...

Your dress was absolutely gorgeous! You look stunning!

Amber said...

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. I don't think you could have picked a more perfect dress

Audrie Is... said...

I'm sure you've been told this a million times but you look JUST like Kourtney K. to me!! So pretty--an even more stunning your in wedding dress!! I love it! I too, just bought my dress and went with something completely opposite of what I ever dreamed I would have, and I'm totally ok with it!

Raquel said...

Omg seriously...probably one of the most stunning dresses ever! And you look absolutely gorgeous!

tara said...

you are SO gorgeous and your dress is FABULOUS!!!

Emily said...

so so so pretty tessie! you look so much like your mom in the 5th picture.

Priscilla said...

I love your bridals! And the dress is stunning. :) It's amazing that you were able to reign in the info on what your dress looked like. With so many people asking about it, it's tough not to tell anyone!

Carolyn said...

Seriously, your dress is STUNNING! I love it! :) Bridal portraits aren't really done up "north" here, but I love them! The sunglasses one is definitely my favorite. You're so stinking cute.

I wouldn't sell my dress, partly because it was like $500 and because I want to have it. But I say sell it if you're ok with it! :)

Marci @ a smile a day said...

You are absolutely gorgeous Tessa, love the pics! #7 is my fave :)

Jill @ Bluegrass Belle said...

Your dress and pictures are absolutely BEAUTIFUL! You look like you're out of a magazine! :) I did the same thing with the veil...decided at the last minute to wear one at all, and chose a really simple version. I actually borrowed mine from a friend.

Erin said...

Holy shitballs HOW did I miss this post?! You look absolutely stunning!!! I love your dress and free flowing natural hair. Love love love. Putting all those Say Yes To The Dress chicks to shame

Katie said...

IDK how I missed all these posts but holy crap!!! you looked amazing! SO gorgeous girl. Love your dress the flowers everything!!!

Unknown said...

I LOVE your blog with all the photos. I bought this dress for my wedding day in 2013, and have been searching google for pictures of people in in LOL Thank you for sharing and if you have any more lovely pictures please share :) P.S. was your dress off white or white white :) Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Nice photos. Thanks for sharing gorgeous photos with us and making us part of your special wedding.
modern wedding and portraits


Anonymous said...

Hey are you selling your dress... If you are can you email me your price:) faesmith@ymail.com it's stunning x

Unknown said...

LOVE!!! Such a beauty.

SH said...

Your dress is seriously amazing!!!

Sheree
The Hartungs Blog
thehartungs.blogspot.ca

09 10