Renaissance Wedding

Today is my 22nd Anniversary with the Mister.  Last year, here on the blog, I dedicated the whole month of November to our marriage with a five part series on lasting romance.  If you missed it you can check it out by either clicking the button on the sidebar or go here for part one, two, three, four, and five.

Several years ago, for our 10th anniversary in fact, we decided to renew our vows to one another and did so with a Renaissance themed wedding.  Renaissance means rebirth so we thought it only fitting since we were celebrating the rebirth of our commitment to one another.

Our invitations were copies of an illumination that I hand painted and then they were sealed with wax and hand delivered.

I designed and made my dress.  It had three layers, the outer layer was a dupioni silk with hand beading, the inner layer was a silk velvet, and the chemise was a rayon.  I spent hours working on this dress and was quite proud of how it turned out.

We incorporated many ancient traditions, such as a handfasting ceremony, moving the ring sequentially from the thumb to the middle finger, and being encompassed inside a circle made of our guests to symbolize our eternal love.

My mother and I made our cake to look like a castle.  We decorated the Hall in a castle medieval theme and my sisters and daughter served as our serving wenches.  My youngest sons served as our Knights. Our guests also came in costume so it was loads of fun to see what everyone put together.

So, in honor of our anniversary, I thought it would be fun to share some of the photos from the event with you. 

 

 

 

 

Daily Outfits

Some days you just want to have longer hair, thats why I love having extensions, they give me the best of both worlds.  I also love this top, it has a wonderful asymmetrical neckline with lots of draping down the front.  Its very easy to dress up or down.  Here I paired it with my denim capris and my polka dot wedges.

I adore this vintage skirt!  You have seen me wear it a couple times now and Im sure you will see it again in the future.  I paired it with a peacock blue satin shirt and my mustard yellow sandals.

Isnt this purple top fun?  I love the detailing.  I added a navy skirt, my Aigner pumps, and a darling clutch purse that I picked up at TJ Maxx last year.

Our last outfit shows me wearing a gray satin blouse that I got at Dress Barn a couple years ago that I paired with my navy pants and gray oxford shoes.  My hair was having a crazy frizzy day - see I do have bad hair days too!

Daily Outfits

Here I am wearing a striped boat neck tshirt from Old Navy.  Ive paired it with some navy slacks and my little red slip ons from Walmart.

This raspberry colored top was given to me by my sister.  Its a soft jersey material and I love the asymmetrical neckline.  I added a brooch, some gray slacks and a pair of bejeweled flip flops.

This was a casual day outfit at work.  I am sporting a tee that I have had for ages.  It is a Sweeney Todd t-shirt.  Who else loves Johnny Depp as much as I do?!  Ive paired it with my denim capris and a pair of leather sandals.

This lime green dress is a jersey material and so stretchy and comfortable.  I got it about 10 years ago from Newport-News. The shoes are Aigner that I picked up at TJ Maxx a couple years ago.

This top was a gift from my sister for my last birthday.  I love this shade of blue, it always reminds me of the beach.  I paired it with my gray slacks and added my Belle Blossom to my hair.

Daily Outfits

I love bright colors and this lime green top is so fun to wear.  I paired it with some charcoal gray slacks and lime green sandals, added an orange Belle Blossom to my hair and called it good.

I picked this navy blue wrap dress up at a warehouse sell about 5 years ago.  It is a nice weight cotton so its very comfortable to wear.  I love the pleated bottom.  I paired it with some mustard yellow wedges that I have gotten a lot of wear out of this summer.  Oh, and in case you were wondering, this is my freshly blow dried, unstyled hair.

I'm not sure I really like this top.  I've had it for years and I adore the print, but the tie belt seems to stretch out as the day goes on.  Maybe if I used a different belt with it, I might like it better.  I added a khaki colored camisole underneath and paired it with black slacks and my little red flats.

I have had this dress for ages.  You can't really tell from the picture but the top is lacy.  Its made of a soft jersey fabric which makes it a dream to wear.  I added a pink camisole underneath and paired it with these fun, beaded wedges.

This was a fun, warm weather outfit.  These mint green capris are comfortable but are lint magnets.  Not good when you have a cat and a dog and toddlers running around.  I've paired it with a sleeveless top that is made of a gauzy material, great for those hot days, and the little leather sandals I bought from Walmart earlier in the year.

Daily Outfits

I love casual Friday's, don't you?  Sometimes, if I know I will be having to do something that is messy, like moving furniture, or setting up a computer, I will dress even more casual.  This was just such a day.  I threw on a t-shirt and my cropped jeans, slipped on some flats and put my hair in pigtails to keep it out of my face.

This dress is so comfortable.  It is made from a jersey so it is soft and stretchy.  I've had it for several years and it always gets a lot of wear in the summer time.  I can't remember for sure where I got it, thats how long Ive had it.  The shoes came from Walmart many years ago, too.  And I threw my hair up into a bandana.  

This cute little top came from Kohl's a couple of years ago and its no longer available.  Ive paired it with some black slacks and my ballet flats.  My hair here has just been blow dried and pinned back with a couple of bobby pins.  So, overall, its a very simple look.

This top is one of my favorites.  It looks like two separate pieces, but it is made together.  Its the details of the under shirt that I love so much, it is a sheer chiffon material with delicate pleats in the front and the sleeves remind me of a 30s style.  I've paired it with some black slacks and my little slip on shoes from Walmart.  I'm telling ya, I get lots of wear out of those cheap shoes!

Daily Outfits

I love polka dots and was so tickled when I found this lovely polka dotted dress in a lovely gray shade.  It was one of the dresses that I got for the wedding I talked about here.  The shoes I got on this trip.  My hair accessory I have had forever, can't remember where I got it but probably from Walmart.  The turquoise bracelet I got about 10 years ago as a gift from a co-worker for keeping his dog while he and his family went on vacation.  I thought that was so very thoughtful of them and was really a win/win for me.  I got to spend a week with a cute little doggy plus got amazing jewelry in the deal.

I can't say which of these are older, my dress or my boots.  The dress I have had for about 15 or so years now.  It came from a Liz Claiborne outlet store and it is truly one of my all time favorite dresses.  I love the length, love that its a wrap dress, and the fabric is such a breezy, silky rayon.  The boots I've had at least that long, if not longer.  I hardly ever wear them though, not sure why.  They are very comfortable.  I guess I'm just not a cowboy boot kind of gal but I can't let them go.  Still hanging on to them because you never know when the mood to cowgirl it up will strike.  The rose in my hair is from Belle Blossoms and I love it. 

This skirt is so cute.  It has a corseted waist which helps with the tummy bulge.  I have had it for several years now and I think I picked it up at JCPenney's.  The peasant top came from My Baby Jo's I got it over a year ago when I was ordering a dress for my niece for her 18th birthday.  The dress is no longer available but the top still is.  The Tommy Hilfiger shoes you have seen before, I talked about them here.

This peasant top is very comfortable.  Its made with a kind of gauzy type material which makes it very cool to wear in the heat of summer.  I can't remember where I got it but I think it was from a discount store.  The bracelet is part of a set that I got from Premiere Designs.  The shoes you have seen before because I wear them quite often, they came from Walmart and were under $10.  This skirt is vintage and I got it from this etsy seller.  I spotted a matching top on etsy several months ago but couldn't decide if I should get it or not and when I went back to it, it had already sold.  That is all the time happening to me.  The top had a label in it but my skirt doesn't so I am curious if they were made by the same company.  The label in the top was "Paradise Hawaii" Made in Honolulu

Daily Outfits

You may remember this dress from here, it is one that I made.  The bangles I picked up at the local antiques store, the shoes I have had for probably 15 years.  They need a good cleaning but I'm not sure how to go about doing that since they are macrame.  Anybody have any suggestions?

Apparently I forgot to iron this before I wore it.  Maybe wrinkles can be counted as an accessory. lol. I picked this skirt up at a thrift store.  I like the length, its so hard to find longer skirts these days.  This top I have had for a couple years now, I love the color and the lacy neckline.  I think it came from Dress Barn.  The shoes are ancient and came from a garage sale.

The peacock blue of this blouse is one of my favorites.  I picked it up at JCPenney's more than 5 years ago.  The pants you have seen before and I posted about these shoes here.

This is my PUG dress that I blogged about here.  I also got these shoes there.  They are a little uncomfortable but I think I actually need about a half size larger.  The cardigan is thrifted.