A Style All Her Own

My Angel in Waiting

First communion for my 8-year-old happened this past month. As we planned to celebrate this most holy and important occasion in her life thus far, we wanted to make sure we captured this moment beautifully.

Lots of education and ceremonies are involved in preparation for this special day.  I want her to know I see her studying hard and appreciate her time and dedication to her faith.  So, I planned a special weekend just for her. It began with grandparents day at their school, in which my mother surprised the children and flew in from the bay area.  After a morning celebration at school together, we  surprised my daughter with the beginnings of a girls “Weekend of Grace”.

We had so many fun events planned from picking out the dress, choosing reception sites and all the food and treats to serve!  If you just take the time, you can do just about anything- it will all fall into place…and it did.

The Dress:  The hubby and I spent Valentines evening with some great friends who had one of their dress designers fly in from Miami for a trunk show.  They own a wedding dress boutique in Corona Del Mar, California called  The White Dress.  Meet my new fav dress designer, Jorge Manuel.

He was a breath of fresh air and knocked out so many ideas for communion dresses.  He even showed me pics on his phone of some of his young nieces designs.  I took every bit of advice he gave me.

With ideas brewing in my head from that night, we thought to try on some gowns at The White Dress location, which would have been amazing, but a small selection.  Then it hit me!  We kicked off our weekend with a first class experience with Graces very own Nordstrom Personal Stylist.  “What do you have to do to get that?” Nothing!  The service is free.  “But I bet you have to spend a lot.”  Nope.  “I bet they hard sell you”  Nope.  “Pressure you to buy stuff?”  No, I never felt pressured by staff to buy anything, but I loved the communion apparel they put together for us…so of course we did!  It’s super fun and makes shopping with family really easy….we brought both grandmas and all the kids- a definite moment to remember for all of us.

Here we are getting ready to unveil what we are doing in this totally cool and private room for Grace…the girls were so excited.

 The unveiling…

The look on her face says it all…

They thought of everything from head ( & ears) to toe.

She had never stood in front of a three way mirror before…

Nor had her measurements taken.

Her personal seamstress shared with Grace about her first communion- they were instant buds after that!

After our stylist Lucy shared about the accessories, she was ready to bring in the dresses for Grace to see…

They were hiding in the next room…

Grace was so excited…

I wonder what my lil girl was thinking as she looked at herself for the first time…

We asked her to put on a fashion show for us…complete with whirls and twirls.

Each new dress she put on, she gave us a bit of a show…

Even lil sister jumped in on the fun and tried shoes on…she could not resist!

The winners Grace chose…

Grace’s personal stylist Lucy is now my insider at the store, so if I ever need help with a return or finding an item, I just need to shoot her an email or send her a text (yes, she’s in my cell phone’s contacts).   See your Personal Touch department for more info.

The next day we hit brunch together as grammies and girls do!  We powered up for more shopping on gloves, veils.

Then…after all that, we found a different dress.  This always happens when you least expect it.  It happened at the The Duck Pond in Orange.  Enough said.  The minute she tried it on, our Irish smiles lite up the room- that was her dress, Irish lace to boot.

The rest was history…

As long as my girl was happy, we were happy.

She was beautiful.

Note: Have fun!  When planning for a big day, go the extra mile to try and think of ways to enjoy the moment.  These are the moments we will cherish most in life.  How cute would a personal stylist experience be for your teenage daughters birthday party?  Add some fun shirts for each guest and a few season favorites for your daughter- too fun!  How about Grandmas 70th birthday dress- add some champagne & cake to the room! A night out with the girlfriends all looking for some summer finds for the season?  Don't forget your boys too!  This communion event could have easily been outfitted for your son.  Measurements and all.  Just add some cookies and milk and a fun video playing on the screen, a golden mother-son moment as well!