Welcome To Fall 2025 Wedding Prep

How is it "going," you ask? Let me tell you!

Come in, come in! You’re right on time. Well, that’s not entirely true, according to the wedding dress salespeople I recently met. Apparently 12 months out is actually like three months behind in this industry, so you do the math.

(Spoiler Alert: I did not leave those appointments with a wedding dress. However, as you may recall from my previous post on attending the NYC Jimmy Choo sample sale, I do have my wedding shoes, and which one is more important here? …Don’t answer that.) I have another dress-shopping appointment Sunday, so please send good vibes. 🍀

Thankfully, spirits are up, though inboxes are swirling.

So what’s already done?

1.) Wedding party has been proposed to (and accepted).
Ryan asked his groomsmen during separate hangouts around the city. For my bridesmaids, I delivered bridesmaid proposal boxes. What is a bridesmaid proposal box, you ask? It’s basically a curated box of personal goodies to thank your friends for supporting you on the Big Day™ (…and the many months before, depending on when you ask them). The contents of these boxes totally differ, as does the execution. You can hire an expert to make them on Etsy, or you can craft your own, like I did.

Here’s how mine turned out (click to play the video in another window!):

@ellyayres0Here’s everything I put in my bridesmaid proposal boxes! 💙#bridesmaidproposal #bridesmaidproposalbox #bridesmaidproposaldiy

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2.) Wedding venue has been BOOKED.
The reception venue has been booked, though technically we’re still figuring out the best ceremony location. (Details, details!) We’re so excited to celebrate our Fall 2025 wedding at the Asbury Lanes, a historic venue in Asbury Park, NJ that serves as a concert venue, diner, and yes, an actual bowling alley.

The venue has personal history for us, which wasn’t initially a must-have while venue-shopping, but it’s certainly a heart-warming nice-to-have. Ryan and I saw Waxahatchee (aka, indie singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield from Waxahatchee Creek, Alabama) perform there, and on one cozy winter weekend, we even tucked into malts at the diner (okay, I tucked into a chocolate malt, Ryan had coffee).

Collage of our wedding reception ~vibes. Think: Rock and roll-inspired, but in a romantic ‘60s and ‘70s way. Figuring out how to toe that line (without getting into corny themed birthday territory) will be the challenge.

3.) Hair and makeup salon is secured.
I booked Lock And Shade pretty much based on this gorgeous ‘Goodfellas’-inspired wedding shoot the Asbury Park salon brought to life. I love the message this creative execution sends — that you can land spectacular and distinctly “you” results when you look outside the wedding industry echo chambers for inspiration (trust me, you don’t have to tell us twice to go pour over retro movies and vintage album covers that have resonated with us over the years).

I’m still not sure exactly how much retro glam I want to incorporate into my bridal makeup look, but maybe there’s something with my signature winged eyeliner and a lip color that we can do. I’m thinking a ‘40s-Hollywood silver siren-esque hairstyle (I will have my usual bob length).

Potential wedding hair and makeup direction: Strong cat-eye with a bright white waterline, ‘40s-esque waves on a shiny blonde bob.

4.) We’ve booked our wonderful wedding planner.
Sarah at A Lovely Universe has patiently guided us along our timeline of deadlines and deliverables with cheery texts and prompt emails, even going so far as to tell us when Bruce Spingsteen did a particularly good interview that we needed to check out ASAP. If that’s not white-glove service, I don’t know what is!

And that’s pretty much the end of the “done and dusted” checklist! We still have quite a ways to go. So, what’s next on the list?

Next up, we’re tackling:

1.) Overall look & feel of the reception
Please review a sampling of the “wedding vibes” board below Ryan and I curated together on a recent weeknight. Personally, I like to think of this more as the directional energy behind the reception, not necessarily a literal example of how the evening will unfold (read: we will not be spray painting “it’s only rock n roll” on any walls, to my knowledge).

Ryan and I curated a “vibes” moodboard for our wedding reception.

Still, we had a lot of fun combing through stacks of rock-star weddings, though the above board may better inform our photographer’s shooting style than the actual decor (i.e., furniture rentals and linens) — which is the end goal of identifying the look and feel of the reception.

For that, I have a secondary board:

I curated a “look and feel” board for the wedding to better identify decor needs. Disco balls? Obviously a must-have.

2.) Styling an after-party look
I am still prioritizing finding my wedding dress, but seeing as that will stay TOP SECRET until the big reveal, I won’t tempt you with details of that search now! Instead, might we discuss the outfit change for the after-party?

I’m not entirely clear at what point of the night this outfit change happens, but I do know I want a show-stealing queen-of-the-dance-floor moment. I’m currently trolling The Real Real for white secondhand minidresses of the ‘60s-inspired persuasion. I love the look of sequins and sparkle (this is for the after-party, after all!), but I also appreciate the sweet sophistication of a plain white satin minidress, and I think you can really kick it up with embellished mesh gloves and the right shoes (a pink sling-back pump with metallic brocade details? Don’t mind if I do!).

✰ My after-party style direction (aka, even more ‘60s romance vibes) ✰

3.) Florals
Truthfully, I never thought I’d have an opinion on flowers. Before wedding planning, all flowers were good flowers in my book. You got mums? Let’s show ‘em off by the front door! Carnations? Love those things — throw them in the vase! General greenery, no bud in sight? How lush and tropical!

But you know what this whole process has taught me? I have dormant opinions on lots of wedding-related things, and said-things were simply waiting until I had to spend inordinate amounts of wedding budget on them before they would reveal themselves.

Turns out, I’m more in the camp of: Whimsical, bright, and cascading. Modern, cool, and playful.

And I’m not interested in attending this camp as much: Rustic. Stuffy. Traditional.

We’re still honing in on a florist, but in the meantime, please peruse my floral moodboard below:

Floral direction for wedding bouquet (minus disco balls — though we’ll see those at the reception venue!)

And there you have it, folks! If you have any ideas (or more importantly, you come across the PERFECT white sequined minidress from 1967 in your eBay hunts), please drop me a line below!

Until next time,
xx Elly