A Garden Wedding

Soon-to-be Mr. AllDressedUp and I went to a beautiful garden wedding this past weekend at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh.  It was such a gorgeous setting that I thought I'd share a couple of pictures.  And maybe brag about share a great deal I got on a dress to wear to the wedding.  ;) 

One of the corridors within the conservatory



The Broderie Room, where the wedding took place.  A gorgeous setting, yes?

The above picture is the view exactly as wedding guests saw it.  There was an intimate group of about 30 of us.  The bride and groom stood at the center of the room.  The groom, who is a childhood friend of the fiance, was absolutely glowing as he waited for his bride to come down the aisle.

A glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly, an artist who has had his work featured at Phipps

The fiance and I after the nuptials

Here's the outfit:

Sunglasses: Marc Jacobs

Dress: Simply Vera by Vera Wang

Bangle: J.Lo (remember when she had a jewelry line?)

Shoes: Shoedazzle

Okay, now for a brief tangent.  I have to tell you guys about that dress.  The fiance and I took a trip into Kohl's to look for some shoes for him to wear to school (he's a teacher, too).  I did a quick sweep through the misses department, and a pretty pattern on the sale rack caught my attention.  I started digging, and I found this dress.  In my size.  For $5.  BOOYAH.  I was so excited!  I plan on wearing it again for my friend's rehearsal dinner in a couple of weeks.  I was also excited to get home and find that I have three cardigans that match it perfectly (one J.Crew Jackie in a light coral, one from Loft in a dark coral, and one from Target in a navy).  There were plenty sizes of this dress left on the sale rack, and I'm really not sure why.  I almost felt wrong buying it for $5, when I think the original price was somewhere around $65-$70.  I wondered what could possibly be wrong with the dress that there were so many left at such a great price.  I wore it for 8 or 9 hours, and I couldn't find anything wrong with it at all.  /endtangent.

After the ceremony, we went to a reception at a restaurant across town.  We had a yummy dinner followed by even yummier cheesecake.  It was really heartwarming to see friends we hadn't seen for a while, catch up with the groom, and meet his adorable bride.  If my parents and fiance would have let me, I'd have loved to have a small, intimate garden wedding just like this one! 

Thank you, J.Crew (and some of my favorites)

I was pretty pumped when I opened my J.Crew email this morning and saw that they are now offering flat-rate shipping for $8.95 and free shipping for orders over $175.  I also couldn't wait to get home from working in my classroom (blech) to check out the new arrivals (yay!).  After the last roll-out, I had a feeling this update was going to have some great pieces in it. 

Before I get into my picks, the sweater from my B&M that I could not identify in this post is actually the Fisherman sweater from the new arrivals.  It's reviewed with pictures in the post mentioned above in the heather honey and deep plum colors.  I also (unbeknownst to me at the time) tried on and reviewed the origami mini in houndstooth in this post. 

Now, on to the items I'm lusting for after this rollout.

First, the Double-cloth townhouse trench:

The shape, buttons, and available colors make me want to order this rightthissecond.  The $350 price tag, though not unreasonable, is stopping me.  The fiance and I are putting ourselves on a spending moratorium to save up for a few wedding essentials, as well as a new bed, and spending $350 on a coat that isn't even a long trench just seems to be superfluous right now.  This will be going on my wishlist in the vibrant flame color, though.  It would be the perfect way to cheer up on a cold day. 

The Blythe shirtdress

This silk shirtdress seems to stay true to its moniker with a beautiful, feminine silhouette and texture.  This just looks so easy to wear, and it looks like it would make its possessor feel like an absolute lady when she dons this dress.  I'm having a hard time deciding whether I should put this dress or the Maisie dress in abstract floral on my wishlist.  What do you think?

The Two-tone circle skirt

This skirt reminds me of my grandma, but in a good, vintage fashion sort of way.  I love the caramel and grey colors together, and I love the length.  As a part of the collection, this skirt comes with a $250 price tag, so I will probably have to just stare at it lustily on my computer until a generous coupon code comes along.

The Merino pleated skirt

I have never worn a pleated skirt, and I can't imagine that it would look good on my curves, but I can't help but love looking at them anyway.  If this skirt came in colors other than black or "saddle" (pictured above), I might be more willing to give it a try.  Nonetheless, I imagine it would make an excellent staple for girls with less of a hind end than myself. :)

No new tops or pants really seemed to entice me, but looking through my favorites, I can see why.  I'm really loving feminine, vintage-looking skirts and dresses for the fall.  I've always loved a vintage silhouette, and I'm ecstatic that stores are beginning to carry pieces that lend themselves to that type of look.  I guess I have Mad Men to thank for that. 

Side-note: My double-serge no. 2 pencil skirt in jazzy purple should be arriving within the next day or two, so when it does, I'll make sure to take some pictures and post a review.

Have you checked out the new arrivals?  If so, which pieces are you coveting?