what I packed: Connecticut wedding

This is the story of a navy blue bridesmaid dress that traveled across the country in a plastic garment bag. It faced adversity in too-small overhead compartments, a lightning storm and humid New York subway. It arrived just in time for the wedding, wrinkle-free and ready for action.

This tale is not as exciting as my movie-trailer intro describes. I did, however, jet off with Nick this past July to be a bridesmaid for the wedding of my friends Jane & Bobby. This is the true story of what I packed.

Options are key when packing for a cross-country trip, especially when it comes to shoes and accessories. I packed all of the bracelets and necklaces I could jam into the nooks & crannies of my suitcase and in pairs of shoes (a painful surprise when you're simultaneously missing a bangle and putting on a shoe). My [detrimental] optimism for packing is that I truly believe there is nothing that won't fit. Except for the things that don't end up fitting. I refuse to bring more than one suitcase, so it just has to fit. It has to.

With legwarmers, I look like a hockey player. A dorky hockey player.

My traveling outfit is not much to blog about, except that it's always the same. Black leggings, a grey tunic-length sweatshirt, an infinity scarf for a pop of color and hair up in a perma-ponytail. For shoes, I wore my easy-off dorky black & white Saucony sneakers. I hate being barefoot in the airport, so I never wear flip flops. While I usually wear my black Minnetonka fringe boots, I try to never take a pair of shoes that I won't wear. There was just no way that black suede boots were going to be relevant for the 90 degree temps that weekend.

I had a tunic-length tank on underneath the sweatshirt, as I knew it would be too hot for the sweatshirt when we landed. I actually wore two scarves and legwarmers on the plane because it was so cold. But upon landing at JFK, it was too hot for any clothes, though I kept the leggings and tank on. Nick took a picture of me to remember my first trip on the subway, but that's one we're not going to share. Let's just say I'm shinier than the Chrysler Building (see what I did there?).

Day of extreme traveling over (18 hours!), Friday was meant for exploring New Haven. For my "girl about Yale" outfit, I donned a pair of high waisted shorts and a tucked-in oversized white v-neck tee. The hat was a late add, as I felt my forehead searing so I purchased it from Urban Outfitters. Black sandals, a long gold necklace and my vintage Coach crossbody bag also came along. The Yale campus was beautiful and full of large, menacing doors and archways such as this one. One of my qualms about visiting the east coast for the first time was that I would look "too California." I think the picture on the left says it all.

Where's the beach?

The church interior matched my hair nicely.

Post-rehearsal dinner stroll through campus

Later that night, it was time for my first costume change, into my rehearsal dinner LBD. I'd purchased a great sleeveless chiffon shirtdress from H&M, with buttons down the front and a defined waist. I topped it off with my favorite twisty gold vintage necklace and a few bangles. For shoes, I wore the crisscross leather pumps that I'd brought for the wedding (anytime that shoes can do double-duty doubles their value!). I was going to belt the dress, but at the last minute changed my mind. The other bridesmaids looked great in their "snappy casual" dresses, but alas we were rushing to get out of the hot and steamy non-air conditioned church, so we didn't even get one picture together (this became of theme of the weekend).

The bridal party and family members headed back to the hotel bar after dinner. Nick and I took the long way, weaving through campus and taking pictures of all of the doors. I probably said "There should be a book of pictures of all the doors" about a hundred times, and then when we stopped at the bookstore I noticed that it had already been done. One less thing for me to do on the trip, I guess. The Olympics opening ceremonies were on TV, so I went downstairs to socialize/watch out of the corner of my eye (the USA's made-in-China outfits were must-see TV for me). I'd put my travel-sweatshirt outfit back on, as the hotel was heavily air-conditioned. Everyone else still had their party clothes on, but I didn't feel the least bit underdressed. It always makes me smile that even though I dress up every day, with close friends or family it doesn't matter one bit. They still love you in your dorky sneakers.

Nude shoes can do no wrong.

Saturday was "the big day" as people kept noting, and I knew I only had one outfit to worry about: the navy blue dress. The bride very graciously encouraged us to choose a dress style from a few different looks, so that we could each have the most flattering style for our body type. I'd chosen a boatneck with a low back and pleated skirt. The pockets were the best part of the dress, though I didn't have much to carry with me except for my bouquet - which didn't fit in there, of course. Nude was the shade of choice for the shoes, and I snapped this picture. Mine are third from the right. Jane gifted us the necklace and earrings, so we were all set, accessories-wise. The boys wore grey Banana Republic suits and had great navy striped ties. We all looked so very Yale-y!

Veil time!

Hair appointments were done early in the morning, just as it began to rain. Jane was going to kill the next person that said rain on the day of your wedding is "lucky" - as she should have. Luckily we had chic navy blue umbrellas and people were always holding them for us, it seemed. For my updo, I went with a rendition of the Jessica Alba french braid & bun  (Google "Jessica Alba braid" and you'll find it) and it turned out fabulous. The bun had my hair looped into it so it looked like I have more hair than I actually do. I enjoyed having a single cornrow on the front of my head, though it began to itch after awhile and it showed the very fineness of my baby-thin ginger hair.

I did my own makeup and nails (brown smoky eye, nude polish) and then it was waiting time. As the rain poured, I enjoyed delicious sandwiches with the father and brother of the bride. Before I knew it, I was under Jane's dress, fluffing her tulle, and then it was go time.

One of my bridesmaid duties was to iron the groom's shirt, as well as the shirt of my friend, aisle escort and groosman Chris (he's a wearer of many hats). Both shirts were brand-new, as the shirt purchase was a last-minute detail that had been taken care of the day before. After unwrapping the shirts, I fired up the iron, which started shooting out steam like... a steam engine. It then began to flood the ironing board, as I loudly exclaimed, "I've ironed things before, really!" I practically iron for a living. Anyways, as I pressed Bobby's shirt (amidst the flooding), Chris came in three or four times asking if his shirt was done yet. He was traipsing around in his dress pants and a white t-shirt. I told him that I wasn't done with Bobby's and I'd bring both shirts to them. Of course, because I love to torture Chris, I hand-delivered Bobby's shirt while Chris looked on wistfully. I took my sweet time with Chris' shirt, especially since he came in two more times to bug me about it. At what he probably thought was the last second, I finally gave him his crisp, (slightly damp) white shirt and he put his jacket on. We posed for a picture:

Backs of bridesmaids. Pretty hair everywhere!

Chris, the object of my shirt-torture. I have an evil grin.

Some of us bridesmaids helped put the guys' boutonnieres on. The beautiful blue/gray thistles were the same as the ones in our bouquets. Despite me also working with pins for a living, I was not doing well here. Trying not to accidently stab the groomsmen with the gigantic straight pins became my main goal. Between the failed ironing and pinning, I began to question my career choices. There wasn't much time for that, as we were ushered outside into the portico (I love saying "portico") for photos and then into shuttles to the church. The wedding went off with out a hitch, though standing on a step I nearly locked my knees and toppled over during a prayer. There were no America's Funniest Home Videos moments and we took more pictures with the families.

Me, Nick and his tie clip.

Jane's family is Scottish, so many of her male relatives wore traditional Scottish kilts to the ceremony and reception. I had the pleasure of riding the bus back to the reception hall with her family and the kilt-wearers. A bagpipe player greeted us at the entrance, and he later escorted the bride and groom into the hall. With a deep-seeded love for all things plaid, I felt Scottish by association. Scottish for the day, if you will!

At Bryant Park, dressed like a slob. What would Nina say?

At the reception, I was reunited with Nick and we had this blurry picture taken. I also got to see my dear friends Carmen and Cassandra, both of whom I had not seen for awhile! The food was delicious (raspberry sorbet!) the dancing was hilarious (a crazy circle dance!) and there were even fireworks (giant sparklers!). As I took my braid out on the bus, I was gearing up to wake up just two short hours later to catch our train from New Haven to JFK.

My dream that flying out of JFK would mean that I would get to step outside on a New York city street. The travel on Friday to New Haven had proved too stormy to walk around the city, but luckily we had extra time before our flight on Sunday. Walking from Grand Central Station on a very gloomy, quiet morning, the city felt like it was ours. It oddly felt much like downtown LA on a weekend morning. I saw Times Square, had a New York bagel and we even passed by Bryant Park. It made me tingle (Bryant Park, not the bagel). It was very cold, so I wore both of the scarves I packed (this is how The Clash got their name), and my legwarmers. Not exactly a memorable fashion moment happening there.

After a whirlwind trip, the navy blue dress and I arrived in LA on Sunday afternoon, albeit wrinkled and tired (the dress, and me, respectively). Congratulations to Jane and Bobby!