Mr. RC and I have officially made it through one year of marriage!! Can I get a "Yaaaayaa!"?! They always say the first year is the hardest and, due to things outside our control, ours has certainly been no walk in the park. I mean just to give you an idea, 5 days after our wedding Superstorm Sandy hit...talk about a rough start! But all that aside I'm still happy as a clam being married to my one and only.

I'd always planned to share our wedding on here, but with all of the year's craziness, I somehow never got around to it....until now. In honor of our one year wedding anniversary (celebrated yesterday), I will be sharing a whole week of wedding posts with you, including our vendors, how I did my own wedding make-up, some money saving tips, and even a few DIY ideas.

First off, you should know that I had basically been planning my wedding since I was like 10. Yes, I was one of those girls. A Martha Stewart's Wedding Issue somehow ended up in my hands, and I just never looked back. I still have the issue and my notebook full of clippings and ideas to this day. While there were actually a lot of things I liked from my 10-year-old wedding vision, there were also quite a few things I wasn't crazy about. But one was totally unexpected. The dress. I had always envisioned myself as a total princess, with a big puffy dress and some kind of a tiara. I even came about this close to choosing such a dress. And then I went to Kleinfield's and my mind was forever changed by the most gorgeous Monique Lhuillier gown.The only problem was the price tag. Never one to take no for an answer, I set about trying to find a similar dress in my price range. That didn't happen, but since I am one determined lady, I came up with a way to emulate the dress (my philosophy has always been "if I can't afford it, I figure out how to make it"). While it wasn't an identical twin to the Monique dress, it ended up being even more 'me' and it was only a quarter of the price. Here's what I wore-

I picked a simple satin sleeveless dress from RK Bridal. My lace jacket I bought from H&M for less than $20 (and received at least 20 compliments on it). The sleeves were loose and flowey, so I took them in myself, cutting along the seam, disposing of the excess fabric and resewing them, to make them more form-fitting. For my sash, I picked up a gorgeous piece of velvet ribbon from M&J Trimming. I had been eyeing a pair of Miu Miu shoes hoping to get a deal on them, but alas that wasn't the case so my determination came into play again and I was able to snag a similar pair of dainty embellished pink flats from Chinese Laundry. My Mom made a simple, but very long, tulle vail. I then finished off the look with InPink earrings, and my "something borrowed"- a diamond bracelet of my Mother's and a vintage clutch from my Grandmother. I carried a Flower Girl bouquet filled with some of my favorite flowers in a pink-meets-fall color palette.

For my bridesmaid's dresses, I had really only one requirement - I didn't actually want them to look like BM dresses (you know the gaudy dresses that look-cheap-but-actually-cost-$200 that I'm talking about). I wanted them to be either dark gray or pale pinkish/nudish/goldish color and that was about all knew. I originally had my bridesmaids try on the Vera Wang one's seen on Gossip Girl, but they didn't end up working out. Everything else that I saw seemed too ugly or too expensive. Then one day, I was shopping in H&M with my Mom (on the hunt for the lace jacket referenced above), when I unexpectedly found my bridesmaid dresses. For only $60! Without a second thought, I instantly knew it was the dress so I quickly snapped up one in every girl's size. I have since seen weddings where the bridesmaids had similar dresses, except for the fact that they cost more than $200. You definitely couldn't tell the difference! I have had many people ask where I found my bridesmaid dresses and no one believes me when I say H&M. So my tip to you is to never rule any place out for BM dress shopping, and don't be afraid to check unexpected or unassuming spots. You'll be more likely to find things that are unique and fit your tastes, and your bridesmaids will thank you for saving them several hundred dollars not only on the dress, but consequently, also on altering (buying something from a mainstream store means it's less likely to need fixing). Another bonus for the bridesmaid, is that they will have a dress they could easily wear again or even resell if they choose to, as opposed to spending lots of money on something they will never wear again. To complete the bridesmaid look, I let them all choose their own hairstyle, shoes (as long as they were gold or silver) and jewelry. They each carried a simple bouquet of baby's breath wrapped in pink satin ribbon.

The groomsmen all rented Vera Wang tuxes from  Men's Wearhouse and they paired it with a pale pink tie and pocket square to go along with the bridesmaid's dresses. Mr. RC designed a custom tux, wore Aldo shoes and accessorized with the special octopus cuff links I had given him as a gift. The groomsmen's boutonnières were baby's breath, again to match the bridesmaids, and Mr. RC's included one of our favorite flowers, an orchid, in his.

All pictures taken by our incredible wedding photographer Lesley of Kensington Blue

Wedding Dress- RK Bridal Lace Jacket- H&M Sash- M&J Trimmings Shoes- Chinese Laundry Earrings- InPink Bracelet- borrowed from Mother Clutch- borrowed from Grandmother Bridesmaid's Dresses- H&M Groomsmen's Tuxes- Vera Wang via Men's Wearhouse Groom's Tux- Custom Groom's Cuff Links- Etsy Groom's Shoes- Aldo Flowers- Flower Girl