I’M OFFICIALLY MARRIED. I know I haven’t been posting lately, but I have been laying low preparing for my wedding. People warn you that it can be a crazy time, but you don’t really realize it until you’re in the middle of it! On November 10th, 2018, I married the love of my life. We had the dreamiest, most perfect, wonderful wedding day. I’ll be posting more details soon, but I received soooo many questions via Instagram, my contact page here on my blog, Facebook, etc. regarding our wedding weekend. Most of you were asking the same questions and I thought it would be best to answer them all in one place. If I missed anything that you want to know, please send me a message or drop a comment below so I can get back to you!
- Who designed your wedding dress? Where is it from? I found my wedding dress at a boutique in Nashville, White Dresses. It is a Peter Langner gown and the style name is Faith. I fell in love with everything about it as soon as I tried it on. If you live in the area, I had a wonderful experience at White Dresses. They lock the store for your appointment so you can have a private dress shopping experience.
- Where did you get married? Why Louisiana? I have a whole post dedicated to choosing our wedding venue (I’ll link that here). We picked a beautiful plantation that’s located about 30 minutes away from where I grew up. It just seemed natural for us to get married near my hometown.
- Where are the stoles/ wraps/ shawls/ whatever-you-want-to-call-its for you and your bridesmaids from? I’m about to rock your world, folks. They are from Amazon. I had thought about ordering them for my girls in advance, but wasn’t sure about the weather. If you know Louisiana, it can be super warm or really cold in November. We ordered 3-4 different styles and brands to try out and these were my favorite.
- Where did you get your getting ready robe? My mom found the robe online from a store called Kim+Ono. She had been helping me look for a long lace robe forever and found this one just a couple weeks before the wedding. It was absolutely perfect. I knew it would be a little sheer so I picked up this lingerie set from Victoria Secret to have something white underneath. Mine was the coconut white lace with silver shine. Don’t forget matching panties!
- Where did you find the neon ‘The Richardsons’ sign for your bar? I think my planner, Alli Sims, ordered it from a contact in L.A. If I can get the exact company, I’ll link it here. You can always have them custom designed online. Recommendation: choose the LED neon so it doesn’t get too hot!
- Where can I buy your rehearsal dinner dress? I knew I wanted to do something different for my rehearsal and not wearing white (for once) ended up being my “cool bride” move. I went shopping with my mom and a couple of friends in Orlando last month and found this dress. With some encouragement and persuasion from them, I bought it! I couldn’t be happier that I wore the exact opposite of my wedding dress the night before. It’s made by Dress the Population. If you have any dresses from them, you know how incredibly well they fit. I actually had to have mine taken in at the straps 48 hours before (thank you, Maggie!), but it ended up perfectly.
- How did you get in shape for the wedding? Well, I did a lot of things. I’m a fairly active person and have been working out 3-5 times per week for at least a year now. I made my workouts more challenging and hired a personal trainer for 1-2 workouts per week. Diet was by-far the hardest and biggest part of this. About six weeks before the wedding I went to see a nutritionist and talk about my goals. Please consult a doctor to find out what will work best for you! I am not a personal trainer or nutritionist and what worked for my body may not work for your body. I basically followed a high-protein and low-carb plan to lose the last 10lbs I wanted gone before the big day. For me, it worked. I’ll be sharing more about my fitness journey soon, but that is a quick overview.
- What kind of tan did you have for the wedding? Did you spray tan? Yes! I went to SouthernGleaux in Denham Springs to get my spray tan. I had an airbrush rapid spray that sat on my body for about 3 hours before showering it off. The tan developed over the next 12 hours and gave me that ideal wedding day glow.
- What skincare, facial, or body treatments did you have done before the wedding? Getting your skincare routine down is so important. Do this in advance so you are not testing new products that might give your skin a reaction right before the wedding. I did a few dermaplaning treatments to exfoliate my skin and remove any small hairs from my face. I also had a small amount of Botox injections right across my forehead to make my skin look extra fresh and tight. My two favorite face masks leading up to the wedding were the Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask and the CO2 Lift. The brightening effects from the Tata mask and the hydration of the CO2 made for a great combination. As far as dental treatments go, I used Crest 3D White Express strips to keep my smile extra white. They made my teeth super sensitive, but worked. The other thing I was hooked on leading up to the big day was The Sweat House. If you’ve never been to a sauna studio before, you must go! You basically hop in a pod for 30 minutes and sweat out a bunch of toxins. There are a ton of health benefits associated with infrared saunas.
- Where are your bridesmaids dresses from? I found them online from a company called Revelry. I had a fantastic experience shopping from home with them and highly recommend! There’s more about how I picked the dresses here. My MOH loved them so much that she chose to order her bridesmaids dresses from Revelry too!
- Where is that from? I got a ton of questions about little pieces of my wedding weekend from jewelry to shoes to dresses to everything. I’m still working to track down a few items, but I’ll be sure to share if/when I find them.
There will be many more details about our wedding coming soon, but these were just a few questions that I saw written over and over again. Thank you to each and every person that sent sweet congratulatory messages to us. The outpouring of love has been overwhelming in the best way!
xo, Nicole Richardson