BHLDN.

So it happened. Yesterday I went to the BHLDN boutique in Seattle for my bridal appointment, and it was absolutely MAGICAL. Literally the most wonderful experience. Anyone who has heard me talk about wedding dresses has listened to me gush over Anthropologie's bridal collection. It's so different than anything I've found from other designers--simple, romantic, natural, ethereal, and classic. All somehow wrapped up into a collection. & the majority of the dresses are surprisingly affordable! They range between about $500 and $3000, but of course the ones I looked at were between $900 and  $1250. Despite being on the less expensive end of the spectrum, they were no less gorgeous. I've scoured their website, clicking through all of the dresses and sales and options. Basically if I had to choose only one store to buy all of my pre-wedding clothes, wedding gown, bridesmaids dresses, accessories, and decor... it would be BHLDN. It's bad. 

There are only five our six BHLDN boutiques in the US, and needless to say I was ecstatic when I realized there was one in Seattle. I instantly made an appointment during the week I would be up in the PNW visiting Cass (who had also been gushing over their bridal and bridesmaids dresses). I had been looking forward to this for weeks, and on Tuesday, March 24th, the day had finally arrived. We strolled into the store as casually as we could while absorbing the glory that is Anthropologie, then meandered upstairs to BHLDN. Soon thereafter we were greeted by my bridal consultant, Rachel, who was sweet and outgoing and made me feel so comfortable. She offered us little glasses of champagne as we relaxed on a vintage couch and she collected dresses. She pulled the ones that I had my eye on before coming in, as well as a couple she thought would fit me well. Honestly, I enjoyed them all. I just love the fit of the collection, the sheath silhouette and the flattering necklines. None of them were heavy, and I didn't feel like I was lost beneath a dress. Of course, there were a couple that I liked more than the others, and there was one that I fell in love with... the Valentina. 

 

It's so incredibly different than anything I've seen or tried on or even wanted to try on. I thought I wanted a flowy sheath dress with an illusion sweetheart neckline or cap sleeves and a little bit of sparkle. But this one... it's wonderful. It feels so sleek and light but still bridal. It accentuates my body type. It's conservative and classy in the front, but contemporary and unique in the back. I love the high neckline and the dramatic back. Basically I just love it. It's also $1000... which is what my cap was in theory. I wouldn't need it to be tailored much at all, depending on whether I wear heels or flats.  We'll see though. I think it may be the one. Fingers crossed!

My First Trunk Show.

Hello wonderful humans!

So these last couple of weeks have been an absolute whirlwind. Despite the madness of the quarter coming to a close, my mind has naturally been occupied with all things wedding since the engagement. I've been telling everyone that wedding planning is like taking a whole extra 4 unit class, time-wise. It's all too easy to fall into the internet's beautiful trap of endless wedding blogs, giveaways, and planning websites. I'm pretty sure that my top websites visited consist of Pinterest, The Knot, and Style Me Pretty. Before I know it, I've spent hours scouring through venues, sending inquiry emails, gazing longingly at dresses, signing up for giveaways and checking my wedding email in anticipation. But I love it. I really do. Maybe even a little too much. :)

Anywho! This little post is about dress shopping, which I'm SO excited to share with you. Last Saturday, March 14th, I walked into my first bridal boutique--Trudy's Brides in Campbell, CA. I had spent at least an hour the day before trying to figure out the perfect outfit that would convey, "HELLO Trudy's Bridal! My name is Lindsey, I am engaged, I am ready to find a dress, yes I'm young but I am sprightly, and no I do not have a million butterflies fluttering around my stomach! I AM STRONG, MATURE AND CONFIDENT!!!"

I'm not really sure if blue & white my striped jersey swing dress with nude ballet-style flats did the trick, but I tried. Haha but what was especially wonderful about this little experience was it was a trunk show of a collaboration collection between Desiree Hartsock & Maggie Sottero. Their dresses are absolutely stunning. But wait, it doesn't stop there!! Desiree Hartsock flew down from Seattle for the show. Bachelorette season nine in the flesh. She flitted around the store, stopping at each bride trying on dresses and chatting for little bits at a time. She lingered over in my corner for a couple of times, as I was trying on two of the dresses in her collection. We took a couple of awkwardly-lit pictures together, found out she loves San Luis Obispo, and talked about living in Washington. She was so, so sweet and personable. It was actually quite the memorable experience.

I tried on about seven dresses on in an hour and a half, which was the perfect amount for me. My bridal consultant was easy going and clearly very experienced, and I felt like I was in good hands. I tried on an array of styles that she felt fit my description of "simple, romantic, a little bit bohemian and a little bit classic." I wore a beautiful lace dress with cap sleeves, which was lovely but just not it.   I truly enjoy lace, but the all lace dresses felt very generic bridal to me. I don't want to be a generic bride. So naturally, a couple more dresses later, I fell in love with Desiree Hartsock's Juniper dress. It's made with Aurora chiffon sheath and features a fully beaded Swarovski crystal neckline draping the shoulder and tracing the back. It has an illusion sweetheart neckline and a Swarovski crystal belt attached at the waist. In other words, GORGEOUS. Desiree was there around when I was trying it on, so she was talking me through some aspects of the dress. I love love love it. It's so different, and is both dramatic & understated. But of course, it's $1,600. & I, as a 21 year old college student with a 22 year old college student fiance... it's just not in the cards. Or maybe it is. But I wasn't going to buy it in the moment. Instead, I soaked in the experience of looking at myself in this beautiful dress, with smiles from my mom, sister, designer, and bridal consultant reflecting back at me.

Even though I know I probably won't end up buying the Juniper, now I know what brings me joy in a dress. I love the sheath silhouette, a little bit of sparkle, cap sleeves or straps of some fashion, and beautiful backs. Now it's time to find the perfect dress at the perfect price.

...Challenge. Accepted.

The Juniper in all it's glory.

The stunning $2600 Zarina. I just can't handle.

The Proposal.

                                      

The post is mainly for me, to recount the experience while it's still fresh in my mind and jot down every detail I can. This is a memory I want to keep forever. This is the story of the proposal. :)

On February 28, 2015, Bradley was visiting me in SLO. He had come down the night before to stay for the weekend, and as usual, I was so excited to see him! It had only been a couple weeks since I was up in Fresno, but a couple weeks is starting to feel like an extremely long time. We're becoming long-distance wimps. Haha anywho, we had decided that on Saturday we wanted to go to Montaña de Oro to hike, because we hadn't been there in quite some time and it's BEAUTIFUL. So about 10 am, we headed off to MDO to hike the Valencia Peak Trail, which is about 5 miles round trip with 1200 feet of elevation. It was sunny when we got there, but the rain was clearly coming in--we could see the huge clouds over the ocean. We were walking and talking (really I was doing most of the talking with Brad listening) as we climbed towards the peak. We ran into the most eclectic group of Mardi Gras hikers on the way up, who gave me a couple of their beaded necklaces after I offered to take a picture of them. They made us laugh, and we were intent on beating them to the top of the mountain or we'd get stuck behind the big group! But as the elevation grew steeper, I grew crankier. My quads were really sore from running the day before, and naturally I had no idea that one of the biggest moments of my life was going to happen any minute... so let's just say I made my pain very clear. At one point, when I took a brief break near the top, Brad put his hand on my shoulder and I responded, "Don't touch me" in a monotone voice. I was so mean!! Haha I just wanted to get to the peak so my legs would quit burning. And of course, soon enough we made it, with a glorious view awaiting our arrival. It had started raining, and it was really quite romantic, but at the time I had no indication of what was about to happen. Brad led me down away from the partying Mardi Gras hikers to a little ledge some ways down. We sat down, and he casually started talking to me about our future. About our graduations in December, about my grad school... then, I noticed a soft shift in his voice. He began showering me with wonderful words and encouragement about everything that's going to happen in the next year or two, insisting that he will be right there with me every step of the way and that Jesus will guide us. Reminding me that we're going to do this together. Then, he looked me straight in the eyes and said, "I'm ready to start planning my life with you." I suddenly notice a beautiful little ring in this hand, and my eyes widen and I cover my mouth with both of my hands as I realize what's happening. 

"...Will you marry me?"

In my head: OMGGGGGG IS THIS REAL LIFE I HAD NO IDEA I CAN'T BELIEVE IT HOW ROMANTIC IS THIS

What I said out loud: "Oh my goodness! Of course!!!"

Cue sliding on the ring, kissing on the mountain top in the pouring rain and not believing what just happened. "Is this real life?" I asked as I cuddled my head into his chest. Then of course I started realizing what a brat I had been on the hike up and started apologizing incessantly, insisting I had no idea and if I did I would've been so much nicer!! "It's okay!" He laughed, "I love you even when you're wet and cranky." 

The rest is a blur as I tried to take pictures while it was raining, and then about 10 minutes after he proposed the rain had passed and it was bright and sunny once again. It was wonderful and perfect and so us. I am incredibly blessed by this man, and I still can't believe we're actually going to be planning a wedding together. I can't wait for this fleeting and joyful season of life. Also, thank you Jesus for the endless love and grace you cover us with every day. You have led us through the hardships and challenges of a long-distance dating relationship, and will continue to lead us through our long-distance engagement--not to mention the rest of our lives. For that I am eternally grateful. 

Welcome! I'm glad you're here.

Why hello there! Fancy meeting you here. If you're reading this, somehow, someway, you've stumbled upon my little blog. My name is Lindsey, and I am a twenty-one year old psychology student at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo with graduation in her near future. I am also newly engaged to  my high school sweetheart and the love of my life, Bradley. We have been together a little over four years; I was 16 and he was 17 when we first started dating. As I sit typing this, I've only been engaged for about 30 hours--and I'm in the midst of what my friend coined an "emotional hangover." Yesterday was so filled with surprise and joy and laughter and love. As I am nestled into the couch with an oversized blanket, watching the sunlight fade away and listening to Piano Guys Pandora, I am slowly absorbing the wonderful events of yesterday. But at the same time, my mind is racing with planning and "to-do" lists and ideas for venues and budget concerns and everything else that accompanies planning a wedding. This blog is place to explore the process of the season of engagement, and I am so excited to share this experience with you. God bless!