what i wore this wedding season 2017

Friends getting married > friends having babies. I'm all for the dancing and eating and the open bars and the reason to go shopping and get all dressed up and make personalized gifts [more on that later]. Sometimes I'm even all for the traveling it requires.

This year was a good year. THE best friend got married and so did some of his best friends and his brother. SO MUCH PRESSURE.

There has never once been a time that I felt like the best dressed guest at a wedding, but I learn each time... kinda. Still, I seem to think you care about what I wear to these events so here I am posting these terrible cell phone pics again. I'm such a professional.

WEDDING ONE, on the water in MD, in May: #darrlybeloved

I'm pretty obsessed with this dress from Forever 21 [and the Charlotte Russe shoes that I wear to every wedding every year], even though it seemed pretty out of my norm. It's the right amount of trendy and appropriate for a wedding. It may have been better for the more fall-season wedding, and maybe I shouldn't have looked like one of the bridesmaids in navy blue... but damn if my make-up wasn't on point...

For each wedding, I just did a blend of the NAKED3 palette and an awkward attempt at contouring.

WEDDING TWO: Maid of Honor in SC, in June. #partyharding

I've already posted all about this dress and all the dresses I tried on to pick it, but thanks to her photographer, I have better pics of my hair. 

Whenever I do an updo, I throw in some braids, then finish my make-up, then figure out how much time I have to create something with the rest that isn't in a braid. I had five minutes, so I did a quick topsy-tail, bobby pinned some pieces, and prayed it looked good because I never look at the back of my hair. After seeing these pics, I'm amazed by how good the rainbow looked! 

WEDDING THREE: Outside in upstate NY, in August. #hughesidos

Half the fun in getting dressed up is doing subtle matching, right?! Although, based on everyone's comments, I wasn't so subtle with the matching at this one. His $9 tie from TJ Maxx, $5 coral shirt from H&M, and my NastyGal dress were a match made in Heaven. The only issue was that my lady parts fell out when I walked until I put some safety pins near my hips to keep that wrap-over part together. Don't you hate the slutty girls at weddings??!? 

WEDDING FOUR: At Pinstripes in DC, in September. #yeswayjose

An Express dress that I thought was simple and fun enough for a wedding at a bowling alley, but with the amount of compliments I've gotten- I need to wear this more often! I finally switched up the shoes for blush wrap around heels from JustFab, and blush fringe earrings that I bought at Target 90 minutes before I went. I'm gonna need to update this post with a close-up of these things.

I normally allow myself an hour to get ready after a shower, and soon I'll need to admit to myself that's not enough time to do hair, make-up, put on the right jams, make some pre-wedding drinks, and gather my things before ordering an Uber. I did another version of a side braid then had to straighten the pony because I convinced myself that sleek was cute [and I was almost running late].


Maybe next year I'll re-wear some of these dresses for a wedding. lololol JK. A more realistic thing would be trying to find some friends who will trade with me. Isn't that a genius idea?! Swapping dresses you've worn for weddings?! WHO'S IN?!

love,
elizabethany

Tweet

these are all the dresses I tried on for my bff's wedding

I have two major problems in life: Shopping and making decisions. 

My best friend decided she wanted to let us all pick our dresses for her wedding, and even the color we wore, within a palette. When she dubbed me her Maid of Honor, I pretended like I was going to help out all of the other bridesmaids by ordering and trying on a ton of dresses, but it was a totally selfish act. I just wanted to try on ALL of the pretty dresses, in the comfort of my own home. 

The beauty in places like LuLu's and ASOS is that they have beautiful dresses, for fairly cheap, and free returns. I literally ordered 17 different dresses. I never planned on sharing these pics with the world, but I figure it could help you out if you're planning a wedding or looking for a dress. This is most of them: 

The "transformable" dresses in the top right two- you could change up the way the top was in infinite ways. I really like the satiny one, but it would have shown every lump in my body in pictures, I think.

Here are some links to the dresses that are still available/that I can find: 

• TRANSFORMABLE DRESS $78
• SHINY TRANSFORMABLE $58
• GOLD SPAGHETTI STRAP $94
• STRAPLESS $84
• PLEATED $74
• OFF THE SHOULDER DETAIL $179 [used to be cheaper :(]
• DEEP V WITH SLIT $84
• CRISS CROSS NECK $68
• LACE CRISS CROSS $84
• WEIRD BACK SATIN $96

It was from ASOS, when they were having a sale, so I got it for about $80. It's currently $119.

The TFNC brand on there has a lot of really pretty kind of matching but not totally dresses. I'd recommend it. :)

As for the finished product... I'd say we all did pretty damn good. I wish I had a better pic of everyone's dresses at the moment.

Now I have my birthday party and WHAT THE HELL WILL I PLAN FOR AFTER THAT?! 

I'm sure I'll figure something out... I guess. 

love,
elizabethany

Tweet

photo diary: i planned my bff's bachelorette

Some people say "you'll only be a bride once," but the only thing I know for sure at this point is that I'm only gonna be a Maid of Honor, for my lifelong best friend, one time. I've gotta go all out! 

I've been planning her bachelorette party for several months now, and of course I was like "OMG this is gonna look so cute and I'm gonna take so many pictures and it's gonna be such a good blog." Then real life happens and I live in the moment and I forget about work and well- I have crappy phone pics again. 

Crappy phone pics > No pics... and this first one is pretty damn good to be honest.

This is our semi-new trademark pose, which was obviously perfect for this.

Kelly and I used to carpool to gym every day for like a decade or something. We've been through a lot of life changes, struggles, moves, and everything else life throws at you, but never fought. Her first kiss was the first love of my life [in preteen years] and I didn't even start a slam book against her. That's real friendship. 

Now she's engaged to a man who lets her stay young and happy, what we've always said we'll always be... and it's time to celebrate that!

As a lover of everything 'Merica and red, white and blue, I knew that had to be the theme. I've seen some for "Red, White, and Bride," but that doesn't even make sense. The bride is white, ya stupids! I went with "Red, BRIDE, and Blue," had her dress in white, the rest of us in red and blue. Because she had people coming from literally every corner and coast of the US, we went with a fun place in the middle: Austin. 

I've never had to plan something to suit a diverse group of unknowns and holy bleep, I'm glad I'm only doing this once. In the end, I figured the best way to do a little bit of everything and keep the bride happy was to have an awesome party house to hang at one day, and city activities planned for the next. 

AirBNB is the best way to go, and I found some lists of suggested houses on the Google machine, and ultimately decided on this "MANSION IN BUDA," complete with a pool, game room, and beds for a solid 14 people.

It wasn't the cleanest house you'll ever step in, but the owners sure know how to throw a party. Look at this addition/game room/club!

Opposite side views. Be sure to note the "Sex Beds" on the bottom right.

The pool had tons of rocks to jump off of, perfect for a group of gymnasts.

As for decor, I bought a ton of balloons, lanterns, a pin the peen on Willy game, and other little things from this party store straight outta China. I ordered a few months in advance so they came with plenty of time, and the balloons were only about $1-1.50 a piece, even for large letters that said BRIDE. I bought a helium tank once I got to Texas, but turns out those tanks aren't strong enough to make the foil balloons float, I guess. PINTEREST FAIL. I also splurged on some coozies from etsy, and didn't catch the spelling error until Kel saw them. Go figure. 

I also created a pretty simple Snapchat filter that I had activated for a few of the locations I knew we'd be at during a certain time. [Click here if you wanna see/download it]

Now, the bride loves her some water hangs, and Austin was perfect for that. We started the weekend [after they made a stop in Waco to visit the home of Chip and Joanna] at Barton Springs Pool. I am SO JEALOUS this place doesn't exist near me. It's a fresh, clean, natural spring with huge lawns surrounding it, and even a diving board. No picture did it justice. 

Dinner was at a nearby food truck park, because Austin, then a house party full of real Beirut, air hockey, pool, and dancing under a disco ball.

Day two was spent by the pool before heading to the city. In 2017, one must visit as many murals as possible for the most shareable pics. I found a list here, starred them on Google, and made the rounds. The two most famous [i love you so much and Austin] were a little outside of downtown, but worth it. 

We had dinner downtown before heading to a pedal tavern, which took us to the tiniest bar in Texas and a ton of other bars that are perfect for a group and/or anyone with ADD; They have games and food and dancing and the best of all the worlds. If you saw my Snaps, that's good. You saw the party. This blog will not. 

It was a Bachelorette party with only a little bit of cheese, a noticeable theme without being obnoxious, and as much of the bride's favorite things and people as possible. If it were mine, I would have had way more peen and obnoxiousness, but I tried to remember what I learned before. 

And now, I can breathe a little. Kinda. For like a week until I need to put all the finishing plans on my 30th birthday party that happens one month from today.

love,
elizabethany


Tweet

photo diary: wrapping up wedding season in chicago

Continuing on with my year of traveling and weddings, last weekend I headed to Chi-town for my college "roommate's" vows! [I say it in quotes because it was 7 of them who lived together and I lived in "the guest house," AKA a house down the street because roommates and I are never a good idea.]

It was the most extravagant wedding I've been to. Lots of people, beautiful decor, surprise performances from singers and bagpipe groups and probably more that I'm totally forgetting. 

Not gonna lie, I kinda sucked at getting pictures this time because I was running on 90 minutes of sleep, but here's the beautiful couple: 

And the setting of the resort: 

And the dinner/reception setting: 

New mailbox for cards! 

She's giving the table numbers to her BFF for her wedding this winter- recycling for the win!

And my outfit: 

-dress from Forever21! I looked at so many stores and finally sighed before one last try by going in there. I love this beaut. 

-shoes from Ross

-BlueLans necklace

And I did my hair with a little twist, a little braid, and a messy bun. I liked it from the front, but seeing pictures from the back now makes me cringe a little. My make-up was a medium-dark smokey eye with teal worked in the corners/under eye.

I'm quickly learning that my favorite parts of weddings are the "extra celebrations." Like the weekend long excursion in Texas, or this Cubs game that 70 of us went to in a party bus the next morning. Not only does it give us out of towners more time with the couple, but I got to explore the city more, too!

Wrigley field- with bleachers on top of the apartment buildings outside of the stadium!

My only picture with the bride. I'm terrible. But how great does she look for the morning after her wedding?! Props.

With the wedding on Friday and everyone peacing out Sunday, I decided to stay an extra day and explore alone [mostly because I wasn't supposed to be alone, but life happens] and meet up with some radio friends I've never met in real life. 

Radio is cool like that. In every city that I go, I can holler at people I've talked to online a few times and crash on their couch or at least meet up for a while. For Chicago, I met two friends who are close to my DC radio fam, and then two that I have a "let's copy each other brainstorm together" relationship with. 

Check out the view of one of their homes: 

CAN YOU IMAGINE ACTUALLY WAKING UP TO THIS EVERY DAY?! Stop it.

Had to get the Bean picture, obviously. We're making fun of him on his phone, like a true radio peep.

True life: I have a weakness for sunrises and sunsets. Accidentally catching this while walking around was fantastic. 

For being taken on my phone, these pictures are pretty legit, right?! I guess it's not hard with a pretty city. 

 Now I don't have any more trips planned for the rest of the year! I want to go on at least one more, but I have no idea where that will be. An easy ride to NYC? A visit to Salt Lake for my station event out there? I'll figure something out, duh. Suggestions always welcome!

Another congrats to the new Conroys! Thanks for having me out to the beautiful start to your new life!

love,

elizabethany

Tweet

photo diary: wedding #3 in california

The third stop on my wedding train this summer: Irvine, California for one of my closest Texas friend's big hoorah! 

It was the reason I finally bought a plane ticket to the West Coast and explored LA. Had he not decided to get married in a place that never rains and always has perfect weather, my cherry would still be in tact. 

The wedding was beautiful. On a golf course, lots of light and bright colors, thought out decorations... and a family of ducks to greet everyone as they arrived. [That may or may not have been planned...]

And LAWN GAMES! A wedding with lawn games is a winning wedding.

Cute story alert: There were bugs flying around during the ceremony, and one landed on her bouquet. He quickly took the bouquet and let the bug go away from the ceremony. There's gotta be an unplanned, fun, light moment in every ceremony, and that was it.

Congrats to Mr and Mrs Young!

I wish I had gotten another picture of this when it was full of desserts. I've never seen so many options. A lot of times I don't even go for dessert at a wedding, but I got way too many things here. Strawberry shortcakes in mini mason jars, milk and cookies, macaroons, the works. 

This picture is so perfect. During the "funny" best man speech, the other best man could not lift his head because he was laughing so hard and maybe even a little uncomfortable. The groom was obviously loving it, and the bride was laughing but with more of an "omg" face. 

Another one added to our little group of friends!

There was a lot of fun Disney touches too because she's a big fan of the mouse's movies. Songs, speeches, vows etc... all had little touches of it. It was adorable.

As for what I wore... I found this dress in a place called Zara out in LA. I don't think I've ever heard of it, but there were a ton out there, and they all had two floors of clearance. It was my heaven. I could only find this dress in the wrong size, but it was such a perfect color, I looked in every other location I passed in the next couple days. With five minutes to spare before an appointment, I found it! 

-dress from Zara

-shoes from Charlotte Russe

-gold clutch from New York and Company

-earrings from Forever21

I didn't realize how low cut it was until I was looking at pictures, and maybe it wasn't the best decision for that, but I really did love the dress, and I'll be able to wear it plenty more times. Plus- a little cut out and bow action in the back- yes, please!

Once again- CONGRATS to the Youngs! And thanks for inviting me to the celebration!

Last stop of the year: Chicago in September! And it seems like next year will be just as busy, based on all the ring pictures on my Facebook lately. Bring on the free drinks and reasons to shop! I mean... bring on the love!

love,
elizabethany

Tweet