Our Joyous Day: getting ready to tie the knot

On the eve before the Joyous Day, the bridal party and I stayed here, while the Mister and his groomsmen stayed across the street. I bounced out of bed on March 10th in the wee hours of the morningtide even though we all agreed the night before that we would snooze until 9 a.m. I was brimming with elation and couldn't contain myself; I was getting married to the love of my life in a few hours! And you can bet your bottom dollar that I let all the poor, unassuming waiters who would kindly lend an ear while we were downstairs for complimentary breakfast  know precisely that. Even the the fish swimming idly in the pond in the lobby were subjected to my breaking news. Gone was my anxiety from the day before, when I was stressing over all the minute details during the wedding rehearsal. The Joyous Day was finally here, and I was more than ready to marry my love.
After breakfast, we began readying ourselves. Aren't my bridesmaids beautiful? They're insanely beautiful on the inside too, and I am so incredibly blessed to have them in my life. Our exceedingly talented photographer and dear friend, Christian Cruz, snapped all these photographs while his wife and our dear friend, the ever lovely and talented Reinna, styled my bridesmaids' hair so that it reflected the height of 1940s charm.
The highly esteemed and sought after Joyce Luck did my hair and makeup. She is the absolute sweetest and did a magnificent job making me look radiant yet as natural as possible.



I had an inkling of what I wanted my wedding dress to look like, and the primary hankering was for it to be vintage, preferably hailing from the 1930s or 1940s. Fortuitously, I unearthed a simple 1930s cream-colored tulle gown from a vintage shop for less than two hundred dollars, and knew it had plenty of potential to transform into the dress I had been envisioning. I scoured all of La La Land for months for the perfect lace to add onto it before finding it here. I was much too apprehensive to alter my wedding dress myself, so I had an adept tailor add the delicate, pale yellow French lace onto the bodice and used the prettiest, most elaborate section of the lace as a sheer skirt overlay. We used the remainder of the lace to fashion a sort of ruffled neckline that complemented the tulle straps. The whole dress was impeccably light, ethereal, and, best of all, comfortable! For my headpiece, I crafted a birdcage veil for only six dollars from Russian netting bought from here. To adorn the birdcage veil, I sewed together bits of complimentary lace samples I had been collecting during my months-long quest for lace for my dress. I didn't opt for a flower or feathers or anything; the simple lace embellishment was the finishing touch, besides my engagement ring.


After wiggling into my dress, my bridesmaids surprised me with a heartfelt card and floral bouquet from my love.
I wouldn't be able to articulate the barrage of emotions within my heart at that moment, but on the outside, I was a teary, overjoyed mess.
Mimosas and cheers with my lovely ladies, because merry matrimony is about to occur!
Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on our first look!

In case you missed prior posts on the Joyous Day:
+ wedding invitations
+ save the date & engagement photographs