Now those of you who have been following this blog for a while probably already know that I had 8, yes 8 bridesmaids. Now at first I thought that was a totally ridiculous number of people to have in a wedding party…especially at the age of 30. However, when I really started thinking about it I realized that there were 8 especially important ladies in my life who were all like sisters to me and how could I leave out a single one of them?

Here was the lineup:

Maid of Honor – my sister, Lauren

Matron of Honor – my best friend, Kelly (whom I’ve known since 4th grade)

Bridesmaids (listed in order of how long I’ve known them):

Mary – since 3rd grade

Katie – since 7th grade

Courtney  – since 8th grade

Erin – since 8th grade

Heather – since just out of college, which mind you was like 8 years ago

Jamie – Gary’s sister, since 4 years ago when Gary and I started dating

Since all of these women are like my sisters, we’ve grown up together or shared in life’s most important moments thus far, how could I possibly leave anyone out? So I decided not to, as an unbride I don’t have to follow any set rules about how big your wedding party should be based on the number of guests/ size of your venue/ your age, etc. etc. Who freaking cares, right? So I had 8…add to that my 16 year-old sister Tara who was the official Oliver-walker/ jr. bridesmaid and that’s 9!

However, once I knew that I was going to have a whole slew of ladies in waiting, I knew there was no way I was going to make them all buy matching dresses…not that there’s anything wrong with those who want to decorate with their sisters and friends, I just decided to let them decorate themselves for the most part. Plus, I’ve worn a few bridesmaid dresses in my life…thanks to my friends they were very attractive bridesmaid dresses but I have to admit, no I have never worn a single one again.

So instead, I asked each of my bridesmaids to select a black cocktail dress of their own choosing and asked them to wear black fishnet hose to make the look a little more rock ‘n roll to go along with the theme of the wedding. The I had Kirstin Fox from Castle Bride Couture make a bunch of little black birdcage veils to top off the look. She even added a crystal brooch to each of the veils for my honor attendants…and boy did they all look fabulous. Here are a few pictures from Kelly so that you can see the look…

Courtney, Kelly, Heather, Erin & Mary

Fishnets, always so chic & sexy!

Here is Kelly on the shuttle to the wedding, knocking back a nice bottle of Veuve…

The bracelets you see are my gift to them, they are the petite rocks bracelets in white topaz by the amazingly fabulous Judith Bright.

Posted in Fashion
Tags: black birdcage veils, bridesmaids, Castle Bride Couture, fishnets, Judith Bright