6 Tips For Finding Your Dream Wedding Dress | Wedding Bells

If you follow me on social media you'll know I had my first wedding dress shopping experience two weekends ago. I no idea what to expect, so of course I headed to the blog world to read a few ladies' different experiences. I found it really helpful to read real brides' perspectives so I thought I would throw in my two cents while doing a run down of my experience!

The first dress (or second, or fifth..) may not give you the feeling you expect. I was expecting the first time I tried on a dress to have the overwhelming feeling of excitement and "I'm getting married!!", but the first couple of dresses I tried on ended up being super unflattering. I couldn't help but think "oh great, is this going to be worse than going jeans shopping??" but don't give up!
Be firm with your budget before you try a dress on. The worst feeling I could imagine was to try on a dress, fall in love and then realize it's totally out of budget. Most bridal stores are good at keeping within but if they bring you something and don't tell you how much it is make sure you ask! Remember alterations are typically always an extra cost. Ask if they offer any discounts/alteration credits - the one I ended up choosing was originally over budget, but since it was an in-house designer they offered a discount that put it back into my price range.
Bring any accessories you already have. I knew I was going to be wearing my great-grandmother's veil on my wedding day so I had my grandma bring it to my appointment. Because it's 87 years old and has been worn by multiple brides in my family, though it's in very good shape it's obviously not pure white and so I didn't want my dress to be either. It wasn't really until I tried my dress on with the veil that I really had that "bridal moment"!

Try on at least one dress that your mother loves. If you've come with photos of what you have in mind for your dress, your consultant will be pulling from that when bringing you dresses to try on. What I thought I wanted wasn't looking the best on me (hence tip #1), but my Mum asked if I would try on a style that she thought would look good on my shape. It wasn't anything like the styles I had in mind but I said OK and it ended up being the one I chose! Even if that's not the case, you can always just move on to the next!
Don't feel bad if you don't find the one at your first appointment! There was a girl in the change room next to me that seemed to look perfect in every dress she tried on, but she just happened to have a figure that looked great in everything! Not everyone is going to have that experience. Don't get down though, there is something out there for every body and style!
Once you find the one stop looking. I loved a dress at my first appointment but left empty handed as I wanted to know what else was out there. I went to another shop and found another dress I really liked, and knew after that I wasn't going to look at any more. For an indecisive person like me too much choice can be overwhelming, so I took a few days to think and then went back to the first shop to try on the first dress again. They asked if I wanted to try on any more while I was there but I said no. Once I had the dress on again I knew that was it! 
Now two week from my first appointment I've ordered my dress, and chosen my venue, date and photographer. It's amazing how quickly things can start moving once you've made the biggest decisions! Next week I'll share some of my vision/inspiration for the day so keep an eye out for that, and thank you to everyone who has been so encouraging and sharing their tips during the first part of this process!
If you're married, what was your dress shopping experience like? 
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Off Duty

With all the running around I've been doing for the wedding and house hunting, I've been gravitating towards the comfort level of athletic wear. It started out with a hunt for comfortable flat shoes for spring that were versatile enough to wear with multiple outfits, and now I'm in love with the ease of on the go style. Excuse me while I go on the hunt for a baseball cap that fits my small head...

Top {on sale} | Vest {on sale} | Leggings | Sneakers

Top {on sale} | Vest {on sale} | Leggings | Sneakers

What are your favourite athletic pieces for weekend wear?
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Linking up with: Lauren |  Laura | Lindsey | Sarah | Saumya

Lashes to Love | Top Favourite Mascaras

Mascara is probably my number one favourite makeup product. I think lashes can make the biggest difference in how awake, and pulled together someone looks. There are so many mascaras out on the market with so many different claims, I thought I would take inventory of my top favourites and let you see for yourself the type of impact they make!
IT Cosmetics Tightline Mascara Primer | This is my favourite mascara for the lower lash line because it is extremely smudge resistant and the brush is teeny tiny. However for no-makeup days it's also ideal just to darken up the lashes without adding a ton of impact. It's officially called a primer so it can be used under your other favourite mascara, but I prefer just to use it on its own.

Maybelline Lash Sensational | This is my current everyday mascara because it gives a good balance of separation, length and a touch of volume and stands up well all day long. I prefer the formula once it's been open for a few weeks and has had the chance to thicken up a bit as I find then it's able to build on itself more and create that volume. The brush is the perfect shape to both apply product and comb through the lashes to make sure there isn't any significant clumping. 

Jordana Best Lash Extreme | This mascara is my favourite for achieving thick black lashes. The formula is the blackest I own, and it coats the lashes instantly to give some serious volume. It has some small fibers in the formula that help build up the lashes in both volume and length. Because of that it can get a bit clumpy if you add on too many layers, but it's a great one coater that gives a ton of impact. It's definitely not at all waterproof so anyone with super watery eyes should stay far away, but for days when I'm focusing on a big lash look this is my go to.

Benefit They're Real | I've never bought a full size of this mascara, but I've had multiple minis and so it's my go to when it comes to travel. This stuff is serious when it comes to longevity so it makes a great choice for heat and humidity since it won't budge until you're ready to remove it. It reminds me of a combination of the Maybelline & Jordana mascaras I love because the formula is super dark but still creates soft feathery looking lashes. Because it's so long wearing I find it tough to remove with my standard cleansing water - but a little bit of coconut oil does the job.

Which lash look do you like best? What is your favourite mascara?

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Where Have I Been? | Real Talk

I know I've been pretty much silent on everything to do with blogging recently and I've been feeling extremely guilty/sad about neglecting this space so I wanted to take a minute to get real with you and explain where I'm currently at so let's just jump into it.

With the new pup in the family and a whole bunch of life planning going on, I've been travelling back and forth from Tyler's pretty much every other day. If I haven't mentioned it already, I really really hate packing. I always end up leaving something behind. Anyone else have that problem? When trying to plan out photos for posts, forgetting something or not having access to something that I didn't realize I would want/need seriously kills my blogging buzz. Weekends are really my only time to blog since I work late, commute, try (emphasis on try) to go to the gym 2-3 times per week and go to Bible study every Wednesday. So I have  a collection of half baked posts that may have photos but I haven't had the time/energy to write or that are written out but I haven't had myself together enough to get the photos done. I really do love creating content but life seems to be taking priority right now, and I've got to be honest I'm not sure how to balance it all. Any advice?

 As one could probably predict, wedding planning has become quite stressful. Since we really want to get married this fall, we've had quite the difficult time finding a venue that has any Saturday openings - and the longer we put of deciding the closer it all seems to get. I think I'm going to have to resign myself to the fact that I'm likely going to be having a Friday or Sunday wedding. As a guest, which would you prefer? Because everything seems so up in the air until we get a date, I'm taking hold of the only thing I feel like I can currently control and am going wedding dress shopping this weekend. I have no idea what to expect, but I'm excited! Any pointers from you Mrs. out there for what to bring/keep in mind for my appointment?

Long story not so short - I really appreciate any of you who have stuck with me even through my bad-blogger behaviour of spotty content and consistency, but know that I'm not giving up. I love blogging and more than that I love the community and really miss you guys! I know I may talk it to death, but I've found that Snapchat is the easiest platform to keep updated and interact on so if you have an account leave your link/username below so I can make sure I follow you!

Now it's your turn - what's been going on with you lately? 

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