Ok! Let’s take a look at the dresses - the best part of a wedding, right?

Hillary was engaged in December 2021, and we planned our dress shopping trip to New York for June 2022, a year in advance of the wedding. In the mean time, Hillary did some online perusing, and found a Monique Luihllier dress that we were certain was the one. But we made several appointments for the weekend in New York to be sure.

We started at Bergdorf Goodman. There was a beautiful Carolina Herrera I liked, called Paulette, but some of the sizes are so far off, it’s too hard to get an idea of how it will actually fit. I figured we would see it at our Carolina Herrera appointment. I still think it’s pretty!

There was another dress we liked, but it definitely didn’t feel like the one. We were a little discouraged and hoping for better luck at our next stop, Carolina Herrera.

There were definitely a few dresses we loved, and these options were better than any we had seen at BG, but Hillary didn’t say yes to the dress just yet. We were anxious for the next day. Here were two CH favorites: a full length shot, and a close-up of each dress.

Next up was Oscar de la Renta which was a total blast. Hillary tried on so many dresses!

Hillary really liked this one. Edgy and updated, but also feminine with the full tulle skirt. You can see in one photo, the tulle around the shoulders was removable. (Fall 2022)

We also loved the floral themed dresses from the Fall and Spring 2022 Collections. The long sleeved one was one of Paris Hilton’s wedding dresses, but I thought it was too heavy for a June wedding. The short one was my favorite. It was a wow!

Next up was Monique Luillier. We saved what we thought was “the one” for last. We were so positive! It was giving romantic Montana. The model even had a Hillary vibe with her natural hair and no make-up.

We loved the option to remove the lace sleeves..

But this dress did not translate as we had imagined. I thought it was matronly and that A shape skirt was not flattering. The lace was too busy. A surprise disappointment.

We tried a different version. . .

I thought I liked the lace better on this one, but that low cut top was not Hillary. The lace did not have the vibe we were thinking it would. It felt very formal and churchy.

When I say formal and churchy, check out the veil. . .

Kourtney Kardashian had just married Travis Barker the month prior, and . . . No.

I reminded Hillary this was an outdoor wedding in Montana. Our bridal attendant picked right up on that, and we even tried this one, but no, this wasn’t the right dress either.

When Monique Luillier didn’t produce the results we anticipated, we were somewhat perplexed. We scrolled through our photos over and over trying to remember which dresses we liked best. The FaceTime conversation with Hillary’s dad that night was unexpectedly constructive and paved the way toward Hillary’s quick and final decision. We went through all the photos I had sent from the bridal appointments, one by one. Hillary’s favorite was the Oscar tulle with the corset top. Chip’s was the classic Carolina Herrera, Reign.

Chip confirmed that Hillary looked beautiful in all the dresses, but he said there was only one that stood out far above the others. He said the CH was elegant and timeless. The Oscar was too fashion-forward for him, “maybe too edgy for your wedding day” he said. Hillary wondered if Keenan would have a similar reaction to her dad’s, and that was that. She didn’t want to walk down the aisle and have her future husband thinking what is she wearing? She wanted to look like herself. She thought Keenan would appreciate classic.

Back to Carolina Herrera the next day! Much more fun trying it on when you are sure it’s the one!

Suddenly we adored it and it was perfect.

We planned on using a plain tulle standard veil, but when we saw this coordinating option, we fell in love. The veil is only worn for the ceremony and a few photos, and then it comes off, so it’s hard to commit to a more expensive option for that short amount of time. But we loved the little appliqués!

#worthit

At Hillary’s fitting in April, we were shocked to hear that Carolina Herrera would no longer be doing bridal! Hillary’s dress was from the very last bridal collection. After over 40 years, and just a couple years after Wes Gordon took over as Creative Director, we happened to choose a dress from the last bridal collection of this iconic brand. We loved the dress already, but it felt even more special.

~

We couldn’t stop thinking about the short Oscar floral dress. Now that we had settled on the classic wedding gown, it seemed like a perfect “second look” for after dinner.. We didn’t even go back to try it on again. We just called and ordered it. It could be ordered with or without the “cape” on the back. We thought that was the best part of the dress, so that was a yes.

Such a fun party dress!

Hillary wore satin Prada platform heels and the Judith Leiber Dachshund with her wedding gown.

When she changed into her second dress, she stayed in the Prada heels for a bit, and then changed into these darling Miu Miu patent sneakers.

Love the flat lays of these fun accessories from our wonderful photographer, Steve Steinhardt.

I went through a few dresses before landing on the final winner for the wedding. Hillary picked this ODLR out, and I adored it. Loved the high/low hemline, the print, and all.

While shopping, I had been noticing so many darling pairs of earrings from Oscar de la Renta. I mentioned the bear earrings in a previous post, and they are also shown later in this post, and they are the cutest things I’ve ever seen! Hillary had a pair of butterflies from the previous year, that I thought I might use, but they were too large for me.

I ended up wearing the double green butterflies with my dress. I would have normally worn my diamond ovals, but Hillary “borrowed” them for the wedding.

I really wanted this white Bottega handbag, so the wedding weekend was the perfect excuse to get that. I would be able to wear this casually or dressy, and I didn’t want to get anything too fancy for this outdoor Montana wedding, so this seemed perfect.

I preferred the pink Valentino shoes shown below with my dress, but I went with comfort. Those prada shoes are so comfortable! I have them in black as well, and I told Hillary we had to wear them for the wedding, and the light pink color worked just fine.

As comfortable as they were, I also changed into sneakers for late night dancing. I will wear those sneakers all summer - again, love the platforms!

What about the rest of the weekend? The amount of time and energy I spent planning and coordinating the outfits for the wedding weekend, you would think we are famous movie stars and models. But honestly, it was really fun to organize the outfits at night on my laptop for relaxation.

Hillary had already purchased a dress for the Friday luncheon, but when we went back to New York for her final fitting in April, we saw this dress and Hillary tried it on “for fun”. . . I don’t recommend doing this unless you are prepared to purchase “fun” dress.

Here are the ODLR bear earrings I keep talking about. They are too perfect for a Montana wedding weekend. I had to search pretty hard for those. I believe I got the last pair available on planet Earth. The handbag was bought fairly quickly after the engagement. We loved the heart and it felt like it would go with anything bridal related. The shoes were a find! Sam Edelman makes these raffia platforms and they are pretty comfortable considering the height! We loved the material and the fact that they were neutral and didn’t make a big statement with everything else we had going on. I found those on Atlantic-Pacific. Blair Eadie is the cutest and wears them with so many of her adorable outfits and ensembles!

So cute!

I really loved this ODLR lavender dress with the butterflies for me.

I wore the same Sam Edelman shoes! They are so good you guys. The Bottega bag was perfect the whole weekend and I’m so happy to have it in my closet. And my earrings, the ones Hillary would be borrowing for the wedding day - perfect with the oval diamonds in her ring!

I needed a steamer, but did not notice until I saw this photo.

For the Friday night Welcome Party, Hillary wore this Carolina Herrera. It was fun to try it on when we were in New York, and find the shoes to go with!

The Jimmy Choo pearl shoes were a splurge. We just couldn’t resist! The Dior pearl earrings she’s had for a while, and the same Dolce heart bag finished the look. It even has teeny tiny pearls around the heart! There was a coordinating Jimmy Choo pearl handbag that tempted us, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it.

But look how cute!!

Hillary also had a white headband for this look, but she forgot it. We planned and planned and planned and then, forgot.

I adore this dark green Oscar Hydrangea dress!! I particularly liked the short sleeves (as opposed to sleeveless) and the zipper front. I’ll be happy to have this in my closet and can’t wait to wear it again.

These Gucci shoes are another example of the only reason I can wear heels - platforms! The white Bottega bag still working.

The bridesmaid dresses were a hit. Ulla Johnson is a favorite.

Hillary found these shoes to go with, and the Ulla earrings were perfect gifts for the wedding day.

We had a custom suit made for Keenan,

The brothers all rented suits from The Black Tux and that worked out fine.

Hillary gifted ties to the groom, his 3 brothers, and her 2 brothers. The H’s were for Hillary, (and Hermes) and the rabbits for the year of the rabbit! Keenan’s had knots since he was “tying the knot”! (not shown)