...in my humble (and always correct) opinion, anyway.
It's my epic Native American squash blossom wedding necklace!
My grandma picked it up in the '60s on one of her many travels, and I'm honored she's letting me borrow it for the wedding. Maybe now you can see why I was faced with the conundrum of finding the perfect dress based on this necklace, because HOW CAN I NOT WEAR THIS?!
So, I mentally ousted my first dress and randomly bought a second dress, thinking it would be utter perfection with the necklace. Long story short, I tried the latter dress on for everyone and they had a major fit and I ended up returning it. The truth is, I wasn't super obsessed with it once I tried it on, so the return was relatively painless.
At the prodding of my mom, I tried on the first dress and still loved it. Damn! Luckily it hadn't made an appearance on an eBay listing quite yet and I still had it hanging nicely in a dress bag. After further prodding from my dear old mother, I tried this necklace on with the first dress and...
...MAGIC. PERFECTION. FIERCE WEDDING DRESS REALNESS.
It all just sort of went together and didn't look overaccessoried in the least bit. Granted, wearing a giant, head-dominating hair flower like I had planned would be definite overkill, but I'm pretty sure I can live without that minute detail if it means wearing this necklace.
Major lesson learned: Don't rule something out without trying it first.
Dustin isn't immune to Southwestern wedding accessories, either. He agreed to wear one of my late grandpa's bolo ties...during the ceremony at least:
As I arranged the two bolo ties on the table to snap a picture for this post, I couldn't help but tear up thinking of Dustin wearing one as I wear my grandma's turquoise necklace.
Dustin wearing a bolo tie as we say our heartfelt vows will be the perfect homage to my amazing grandpa (who used to let me dress him up in my grandma's old square dancing dresses and petticoats, which tells you a little bit of how wonderful he was).
And there you have it. One more piece to the puzzle and 54 days to go.
Anybody out there wearing something special when you tie the knot? Are you as infatuated with turquoise and silver as I am? Should I take an extra suitcase on our honeymoon in case I find more amazing jewelry?!
Hollie
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Yay for FIERCE WEDDING DRESS REALNESS!
Our weddings are getting SO close! Can't wait to share pics of our big days, Twidesmaid :)
Posted by: Cindy @cindykrenek | 04/18/2011 at 08:56 PM
Oh, I love it! I love the sentiment behind it, too. So much more meaningful than just "pretty."
Posted by: Anni | 04/19/2011 at 10:38 AM
Girl that necklace is too hot to trot! I lurve it. My grandma also gave me some awesome silver and turquoise rings. I wear them all the time.
Can't wait to see your necklace in action.... in 54 days! Yes, I expect pics IMMEDIATELY.
Posted by: Nicole | 04/19/2011 at 03:41 PM
Huzzah! I bet that looks awesome -- like Nicole, I look forward to seeing the awesome pictures. Incidentally, I inherited a very, very similar necklace from my grandma, and some other turquoise and silver pieces. Did all of our grandmothers have southwestern/turquoise phases?
Posted by: kathleen | 04/19/2011 at 10:33 PM
(sorry I over-awesomed that comment...)
Posted by: kathleen | 04/19/2011 at 10:35 PM
What a beautiful necklace! I put about zero thought into my jewelry for my wedding. I didn't have a piece already that stood out to me as a must wear and I didn't want to spend a fortune buying new stuff!
Posted by: Married in Chicago | 04/20/2011 at 10:17 PM