Romantic Peach Dress

This was the last look of the night. I threw this dress on at the last minute, wanting to squeeze in as many outfits as possible! I had imagined using this look during the Golden Hour either on the beach or in some grass, but the clouds did not get the memo. (I had also packed a cute cutoffs and white tee number for a similar purpose.)

We wanted a picture in front of the iconic Chicago Theater, and Braxton suggested this last shot. How cool?! Braxton was way out of our original price range, but his work was light years ahead of the cheaper photographers we met. Almost double the price, but quadruple the quality (at least!). If you are in the market for an event photographer, ask for Braxton Black here.

similar Dress // similar Shoes // similar Necklace

Black Jacquard Shift with Classic Pearls and Pumps

Here's that perfect shift I bought and tailored just for this occasion. When planning out my looks, I tried to tart this one up with big jewelry, but Jill expertly insisted that I keep it simple with just a strand of pearls and classic pumps.

similar Dress (or try H&M stores)  // Shoes // similar Necklace

Silk with Sweatpants and Gladiator Heels

This was my wild card look, and I kind of wish I has skipped it. With everything else being SO classic, I felt like I wanted one look to be representative of  Now. But I think I went a little overboard... This was cute in person, but the grey of the pants against the grey of the rocks and the grey skies just didn't look right. I also changed in the back of the car, so my shirt tuck came out a little awkward.

These shoes are knockoffs of the Extreme Dior Gladiator Platforms Carrie Bradshaw wore in the fist Sex and the City movie! Steve bought these for me when we first started dating, so I thought it would be a cute touch to include them. 

similar Shirt // similar Pants (or try Zara stores) // similar Shoes

Black One Shoulder Cocktail Dress with Pink Glitter Shoes

This was the second look I changed into for the engagement shoot. Don't you feel like when you NEED a party dress, you can never find one!? I found this one randomly at Marshall's one summer, and just bought it for no specific reason. I ended up wearing it on at least 3 other occasions that I can think of. So that's been my new strategy. If I find a great party dress that I love (at a reasonable price!), I just buy it and save it for the next time I need one.

And how about these pink glitter shoes! These are what my best gay refers to as S&M shoes (Stand and Model). They are wildy uncomfortable, but too gorgeous to get rid of!

similar Dress // similar Shoes // similar Bracelet

White Satin Dress with Black Accents

Now that it's summer, and I don't have to really be somewhere every day, I find myself often changing directly from pajamas to gym clothes and back to pajamas again. Not exactly exciting fashion moments. 

So this week, we will take a look at the outfits I chose for our engagement photos. I tried to choose very classic looks - most of the dresses are ones I've had for a while and still love - with one silly fashion-y outfit thrown in. All photo credits this week go to Braxton Black (the terrible cropping jobs are all me).

First up is this white satin dress. This was a Forever 21 size medium that I had taken in to fit me. I did the super strict Paleo cleanse The Whole 30 for 5 weeks before the pictures to shape up my skin and avoid any face bloat - but the side effect was that my body shrank a billion sizes! The theory of The Whole 30 is that our organs are in a perpetual state of inflammation from all the garbage we put in it every day. It must be right, because I (unscientifially!) did not seem to lose any actual pounds, but all of my clothes were hanging off of me.

This dress was no exception. I had to wear a padded strapless bra just to keep it up! Anyway, I liked the faux bridal vibe, and I kept it simple with classic patent leather pumps.

similar Dress // Shoes