A Minute in the Life of Maria: Fashion Finds: Daughters of Simone

I'm at that age now where just about every conversation I have with another female involves the mention (and their strong opinion) of...getting married.

Daughters of Simone 'Jackie'

They are: getting married, attending a wedding, can't find the right person to get married to, don't think they'll ever get married, can't get their boyfriend marry them, don't have the money to get married, don't believe in marriage, or they don't necessarily want to get married, but feel the need to get married to have children. Mama mia!!! Us women drive ourselves absolutely bananas over this. But that's a whoooole other blog post (or short novel rather)....

Back to getting married.

Weddings can be ridiculously expensive for both the bride and the groom. The cake, the rings, the dress, the venue, the invitations, the wedding party, the food-- just hearing my girlfriends talk about it makes me nauseous.

More and more, especially during these economic times, I've been seeing alternatives, in every aspect of "the wedding" pop up. Beautiful alternatives, creative alternatives, unique and personal alternatives that really make a wedding more about a celebration of two individuals and their love for one another. These alternatives range from one-of-a-kind handmade wedding rings to affordable destination weddings in unexpected locations. One of my favorites is this alternative to the generic wedding dress-- Daughters of Simone.

Daughters of Simone is an online boutique that sells beautifully romantic, re-worked, one-of-a-kind, vintage wedding dresses and accessories. Founded by Christy Baird and Brittany Castanos, these two fashionistas "envisioned their woman as a rare bird, someone who would breathe new life into “the dress” and feel that it represented the entirety of her essence." The dresses range from $150-$1000 and are carefully sourced and reconstructed. How beautiful are these!?!