Bridal Portraits & All The Details

Bet you weren't expecting any more wedding posts from me, huh?? I haven't done a "Wedding Wednesday" since just after my wedding, but I'm BACK today to share my bridal portraits, because I never shared them after Kenny and I got married two years ago, but I love them. Since our second wedding anniversary was yesterday, I figured it was the perfect time to share a few last unseen wedding photos to the blog, plus details about my dress and wedding day accessories!

I was never really on the fence about doing bridal portraits prior to my wedding day, I just wasn't going to do them. I didn't have much interest in having designated bridal portraits, let alone risking my wedding dress by dressing up in it prior to the wedding day. I felt like it was more old fashioned to have formal bridal portraits taken, and I was far more interested in getting photos of Kenny and I together on the wedding day. Lucky for me, I still got a lot of beautiful bridal portrait-esque photos the morning of the wedding, thanks to my amazing photographer, Aubrey! For more of Aubrey's work, check out our engagement photos, my styled shoot, and my wedding day post.

All photos by Wild Heart.

My dress was the "Liv" dress from the Rebecca Ingram collection by Maggie Sottero. I didn't do much dress browsing before going shopping, but I knew I wanted a tulle skirt that wasn't a ballgown, and something floral on the bodice without too much embellishment. I ended up randomly going dress shopping last-minute the day after Christmas without any appointments because my maid of honor was in town from New York City and I thought it'd be fun to try on some dresses just to get my feet wet and get a little bit of a better idea of what I wanted. We visited two boutiques and I found this one at the second one! I didn't really have one of those tearful "this is THE one, I'm a bride!" moments, this one just felt right! Along with my MOH, I had my mom and my granny with me, and this was the first and only dress that everyone agreed that we liked (plus it wasn't too revealing, per my mom's subtle demand 😂).

My wedding band is from Etsy! I highly recommend the shop I ordered it from, the owner helped me customize my ring slightly to match my engagement ring perfectly based on my requests and some photos I sent him. I would definitely purchase from him again.

These earrings from Nadri are the ones that I wore, and I think they were just the perfect touch! A little extra without being over-the-top. Nadri does a lot of really beautiful costume jewelry that's perfect for weddings and other events. I also love this pair that's almost identical - I own a few pairs of earrings from the same brand and I love them.

My "something blue" was a sapphire and diamond ring that my mom had gotten me for my birthday that year for that specific purpose. This one is similar, from the same place that I got my wedding band! The other little white gold ring I wear was my great-grandmother's wedding band.

The nail color I wore was "Chiffon My Mind" from OPI, which is one of my longtime favorite neutral shades.

I wasn't sure how I would feel on the wedding day as far as stress was related because I was pretty stressed leading up to the wedding, but I could not have felt more zen. I think my bridesmaids and photographer might've actually been a little worried about me. 😂 But it was the most blissful experience to just feel ready and not the least bit anxious (except for right before I walked down the aisle, eek!) Anytime someone asks for advice as a bride, my number one tip is to NOT STRESS! I know that's much easier said than done, but everything truly comes together to create the perfect day (even if things end up going wrong - read: everything that went wrong at our wedding). One of my only regrets is how stressed I was in the last couple months leading up to the wedding, when I could've been enjoying the process more! The last week or two before the big day though, all of that melted away and I was able to get fully excited for everything to come.

My wedding shoes were just... OMG. They're the "Venetia" heels by Badgley Mischka and I loved them maybe even more than my dress. 😂 SADLY, they got a little busted during all the dancing at the reception, so I'm glad to have photos of them when they were still immaculate. I got little heel caps on to try to protect, them but I completely forgot to put them on! Still kicking myself for that. The Venetia heels are no longer sold, but I'm linking some of my other Badgley Mischka favorites below!

A lot of people told me that I looked like a ballerina on my wedding day, which is definitely not what I was going for, but I see it! It's definitely the combination of my hairstyle and all the tulle.

These photos on the stairs are some of my favorites. I just imagine an introvert (me) running away from a party, up the stairs, to peace. 😂 PLUS, the florals on the railing were one of my favorite details of the day.

These outside photos were taken after the ceremony, just to get some different shots with my veil and bouquet!

My florist was an artist sent from actual heaven, she works out of her house and does not advertise, but my mom's coworker knew her and recommended her, and she made every tiny petal and leaf into a work of art.

My veil was from Etsy, and it was extremely simple - just a cut of tulle with a clip sewn on. It's the 90" chapel style in "light ivory." The shop owner was very helpful in helping me pick the correct color to match my dress perfectly, and I also ordered some sample swatches from her just to be sure.