Today was our first wedding anniversary. Wow! I still can't believe that it's been a year since Lu and I said, "I do."

Since we're going to Seattle in a few weeks, we decided to have a low-key celebration: get dressed up, enjoy a nice dinner, catch a funny movie, and end the night with... well, you can figure out how married folks end their anniversary!

Instead, I'm laying on the sleeper sofa in the living room and writing a blog post. How did this happen?!

Well, Lu was feeling queasy last night, so we went to bed a little early. He didn't have an appetite this morning, so we decided to skip the gym. He felt weak after church, so he decided to take a nap. A fever, chills, a bowl of chicken noodle soup, several cups of tea, and too many hours of junk television later... we decided to call it a night on the couch. (I refuse to have a television in the bedroom. Since we're already so "cozy," we didn't see the point in moving.)

At first, I was totally selfless. My husband's sick. I nurse him back to health. I didn't even understand why he felt bad for "messing up" our plans. I love him, he needs me, and that's all that matters. The Melting Pot will be there another day.

Then after walking the dog, doing the dishes, deciding to fold laundry, writing cover letters for job applications, and checking out a few new apps for my iPhone, I hear Lu say five words that totally changed my perspective, "I'm feeling so much better."

Instead of happiness, my first instinct was frustration. Really? I spend our anniversary wearing stretch pants and folding towels for him to decide that he's feeling better? And 30 minutes after I eat leftovers?! What the heck, he never even gets sick anyway! Today, of all days, he decides to succumb to some random stomach virus, and I spend the day running around like a nursemaid. Now I'm tired, and his sickness is just over???

I didn't say any of this out loud. (See? I have learned a lot in this year of marriage!) However, I had to mentally check myself real quick: Lu and I were able to spend the entire day together. We woke up together, we showered together (well, we did), we went to church and worshipped together, and we lounged on the couch all day long.

As I imagine our future, I'm sure there'll be anniversaries where I'm pregnant and moody, where one or both of us is working late, where we'll be at a dance recital or a football game for the kids, where we'll be traveling for a conference, or when any of life's other commitments get in the way.... And then there'll be the anniversaries where only one of us is alive on this earth to remember the love that we shared.

Only God knows what's in store; but thinking about what the future will likely hold, I'm sure that I'll long for the day when I can go to bed on a sleeper sofa listening to my almost-100%-healthy Lu snore softly beside me with Maggie curled up at our feet.

This has been an amazing anniversary. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be cuddling with my husband for the rest of the night.

All images courtesy of Martin Studio Photography and video by 3 Blind Mice Productions.

It's officially been a month -- practically to the hour -- since Lu and I made our marriage covenant. Here's a video of the ceremony:



The first month of marriage has been fun! Romantic, humbling, a bit crazy at times... but what an amazing start to our journey. We each decided to share our top 5 lessons learned. We're sure there will be many, many more to come.

Val's Top 5

5) We have more in common than we thought, but Lu is definitely a guy.

We've bonded over learning to purposely cook lumpy cream of wheat (don't stir) and debating about the "best" Jelly Belly flavor -- fun, little quirks. However, some things I was not expecting from my sophisticated, intelligent, neat husband: he laughs when he passes gas loudly, loves "man" movies (Superbad, really?), and leaves the door open while doing #1 because it would be "rude" to interrupt our conversation. Hmmm, gotta love him.

4) It's easy to slip into "newlywed 15" habits.

Skipping the gym to cuddle for an extra hour, baking cookies and cobblers to make Lu smile, eating dinner at 9 pm, and don't get me started on the tapeworm in Lu's stomach! Eating every two hours may not affect him, but I've started to watch my waistline. So far, so good.

3) You CAN blend two styles -- and two closets -- into one condo.

Our place looks GREAT! Besides the decorating and rearranging, we've scoured home stores for creative storage idea. Everything (almost) has it's own bin, drawer, under-the-bed box, or basket.

2) Going to bed angry is pointless.

When you're not married, you can argue and not talk for a few days, or maybe even just break it off all together. When you're in it for the long-haul, it's not so easy to cut off someone who shares your bed, shower, office, and last name. Communication truly is key. We laughed when our counselors warned us about the "Why can't he/she read my mind?!" problem. It's real.

1) It's amazing knowing that I really have a BFF.

Best friends forever -- one month down, an eternity to go.

Lu's Top 5

5) Celibacy is worth it.

Married sex is amazing (it's a mind, body, spirit trifecta). There's no guilt, shame, or tarnished white robes (lol). Best of all married people openly talk about it -- especially church members! Every book on marriage that we have has at least one chapter devoted to sex, and one book is all about sex completely. Communication is important, but sex is right up there. In fact it's a perfect gauge of how well you communicate.

4) Selflessness is HARD!

You won't realize just how selfish you are until you get married. Praying together helps keep us on the same accord, but it's an adjustment to realize that nothing is about me anymore. It's all about us. Simply stated "I" no longer exist in vocabulary, whereas "us" and "we" get promoted to pronoun status.

3) You will spend more time in Bed, Bath, and Beyond than you ever have in your life.

At first, it was annoying when Val dragged me into Bed Bath and Beyond. Now I find myself looking at specs on humidifiers and researching vacuum cleaners. Don't sleep on the Shark. Yeah, it's purple; but it picks up everything.

2) A happy marriage = A happy wife

I could give you a mathematical proof for this, but it's best learned through experimental observation.

1) Marriage isn't an added responsibility. It's a lifestyle change.

Everything you do, or don't do for that matter, in some way, shape, form or fashion affects your wife and home. There's no clock to punch on this one. You're on call 24-7. No better yet you work the morning, day, night, and graveyard shifts...no holidays, paid leave, or sick leave. You work HR, accounting, marketing, and maintenance. And don't even think about a raise...in fact, it's like putting "return to sender" on your paychecks. Which leads me to best thing about marriage: the benefits. Yeah, you pour out a lot of yourself; but so does she. Why be selfish when there's someone who's willing to be selfless on your behalf? Marriage is like a marathon with no real end; stop focusing on the checkpoints, and enjoy the run.

Ahh, my wedding day... over four weeks ago?! Wow. It's definitely time to give you a play-by-play update about the big day.

We've got photos, videos, and lots of exciting stuff to share; but for this post, let's stick to the morning of the wedding.

The most important lesson: Anything and everything can happen on your wedding day. Try to schedule as little as possible because there are some things that you just can't plan for... at all!

I woke up in our soon-to-be honeymoon suite at 7:00 am, after getting about 4 hours of sleep. Actually, I woke up at about 6:30 completely full of energy. My hair appointment wasn't until 10:00 pm, and I wasn't scheduled to meet my sister until 9:30. I stayed in bed willing myself to go back to sleep, but I gave up.

Ms. L and Ms. N (who slept over along with Ms. M, Ms. P, and Ms. S) had to get going at 8:00 am, so I figured I'd slip in the shower and get ready before they woke up.

This is when things started going downhill.

I ended up dropping my retainer down the hotel sink. I've had these retainers for over a decade with no incident, so this was the last thing I expected. I called in the maintenance man, who had to take apart the sink to rescue my retainers.

By this point everyone was awake, and Ms. N and Ms. L were actually running late. Since I had over an hour to spare, I volunteered to take Ms. N to her hair appointment. I'd come back, eat the fruit and yogurt I'd put in the refrigerator, then go to meet my sister.

However, after driving for about a minute, my check engine light came on. I'd gotten an oil change and my car checked right before I left Michigan, and there were no problems. In fact, the one and only time my check engine light had come on in the past, I drove about two miles before my car ended up sputtering to a stop at a service station.

Sooo... I freaked out, but Ms. N was able to keep me (mostly) calm and helped guide me to a metro station. I dropped her off, and she left assuring me that everything would be okay with my car and her hair appointment. Love that girl!

Then I headed to the Atrium -- Lu and I had planned to leave the reception in my car -- to meet my sister. I told her about my car, and after some debate, we agreed to leave the car there. At this point I also ran into Johann who was setting up everything beautifully for that night... more on that in upcoming posts!

My sister and I headed to my hair appointment, and the beautician told us that she'd be done in an hour. Knowing my deceptively thick and difficult hair, I told my sister to expect it to take at least two hours. The style ended up taking nearly three hours to do -- my hand-molded waves were gorgeous! Ms. S forbade me from saying "finger waves"... even though that's what they are. :-)

With over three hours until the ceremony, my sister and I debated about what to do. We ended up grabbing fast food, and then calling local mechanics. She wanted me to wait until the next day to deal with my car, but I was worried about service stations being open on a Sunday. Besides, I was determined that Lu and I would fully enjoy our honeymoon.

Sure enough, most places were closed the next day; and the one place that was open couldn't promise that it'd be able to get parts if something major was wrong. So we headed back to the Atrium, picked up my car, and dropped it off at the mechanic. Yes, two hours before my wedding ceremony, I was at a mechanic.

Had I planned that? Not at all!... Just like I hadn't planned having my hotel sink taken apart, a three-hour hair appointment, or skipping breakfast and scarfing down Bojangles for lunch. But I'd left enough spare time in my schedule for unexpected emergencies, so I was surprisingly calm.

Besides, with my car as taken care of as possible, I had more important things to worry about... like getting married!

Through this week-ish, I've written all about the ups and downs of finding, purchasing, and altering my dress. So what's left?.... The fun part: accessories!

Lu and I are having a vintage-themed wedding, and our colors are yellow, burgundy, and orange. Needless to say, I was able to get a little creative with my accessories.

However, keep in mind, there's a fine line between "creative" and "costume." The dress, or dresses in my case, are the still the key to my bridal look. Everything else that I wear has to complement the dresses. If not, it'll just look like I tried too hard... and possibly failed.

I decided to keep it simple and classic, yet fun and funky, with the following accessories:

Jewelry: Classic diamonds and pearls earrings, necklace, and bracelet -- not too big or with a whole lot of bling, just a little sparkle

Veil: I originally wasn't going to wear one, but I ended up purchasing a short blusher veil to stick on the back of my head for the ceremony. (Yes, the blusher's supposed to be worn in the front, but who can tell the difference?) Then I fell in love with a vintage birdcage style veil with a feather fascinator.

Thanks for your input on the honeymoon! Please feel free to keep the comments and votes coming. :-)

Back to my wedding dress lessons: There are a lot of similarities between the process of finding "the one" in a wedding gown and finding "the one" in a man.

1) Style/Type: The search typically starts with looking for certain physical qualities. Be it a ball gown, a mermaid dress, or a class a-line, every bride is looking for a certain style of dress... as well as a certain type of man. You know, the checklist qualities, "He should be this height, this build, with that type of education, and this type of job...."

Also like the dress, many women -- whether on their own or prodded by well-meaning family and friends -- will try on many dresses and interact with many men who are different. Sometimes, they end up with what they were looking for and other times, something they hadn't even considered will end up being a better option.

2) Chemistry: You have to have that gut feeling that this is it. At a certain age, most women begin to think that butterflies don't exist or that butterflies won't help them find a good man. You can have a great guy, but if the chemistry isn't there, there's no point in pursuing it. You will regret the relationship and waste your time. It's the same thing with the dress, you have to feel beautiful. I don't care if it's the right designer, the right price, and your mom has tears in her eyes -- if you don't like it, then you never will.

Granted, sometimes you'll have chemistry with a man who's no good or a dress that could be the down payment on you future home. That's why you have to look at other characteristics, such as...

3) Fit: The most basic criteria, and the one that is commonly overlooked in the beginning. If a dress doesn't fit your body or a man doesn't fit your lifestyle, then you either have to give it up or be prepared to work to make it work. You may have to spend hours in the gym (or chatting on the phone and computer), hundreds of dollars in alterations (or cross-county flights), or sacrifice something else (the cake of your dreams or living in a certain city) to make things manageable. For some, the results are worth it. For most, it's just a lot easier to find something else.

In an ideal situation, there's a compromise. One of Lu's best qualities is that he's versatile. In high school, I was a cheerleader, and I got straight As. I was a fierce competitor in both mock trial and at step team competitions. I was in the National Honor Society, cooking club, and I also dabbled a bit in theater, track, and tennis. Basically, I never really fit into a box. I was more interested in sampling a bunch of different activities than upholding one stereotype. I wasn't a jock, a nerd, a theater geek.... I was just me, and I found someone who was just as wonderfully undefinable.

Unfortunately, the dress wasn't so versatile. As beautiful as my dress is, Lu and I have decided to swing dance during our reception. We've been taking lessons, and I needed a dress that's a little shorter to show off my fancy footwork and my fun shoes. Sooo, I'll be doing a costume change and slipping into a dress like this for the reception:


4) Comfort: After you tackle any issues dealing with fit, there's the realization that this dress or this relationship isn't just a snapshot in time. Take my dress for example, after wearing it for 5-10 minutes in the store (I didn't want to take it off), I realized that I wasn't fully exhaling. Even though it was a great fit initially, it wouldn't be completely comfortable until I lost a few pounds or an inch from my waist.

To be totally honest, my relationship with Lu had that same semi-suffocating effect in the beginning. Once we were officially together, we were always together, or video-chatting, or talking on the phone. To go from totally single to attached at the hip made me question how comfortable I was with a relationship.

The chemistry was amazing, the fit was great, but there were some adjustments that had to be made for us to work in the long-run. For Lu, we've learned how to give each other space. For my dress, I've been pushing it a bit harder in the gym!

5) Approval: Once you're totally enamored with a man (or have spent 5 minutes doing a silent, happy dance in the dressing room), you have to face reality: your family and friends. Approval is tough because you want others to be as excited as you are. Usually there's a combination of excitement, skepticism, or sometimes outright criticism that comes with the approval process. Since you never know how others are going to react, then this can be a bit daunting.

However, the first time I brought both Lu and my dress home, they were both an immediate hit.

.... And now we come to decision time. Everyone reacts to making that final commitment a bit differently. Some people snatch up what they want right away and refuse to let it go, some need time to think about it, and still others run away in search of something better -- only to find that they just keep coming back to the same place.

For me, it was easy. Once everything lined up, I snatched up Lu and my dress(es) and have no plans on looking back.

Once upon a time, a woman only wore an ivory gown when she was... tainted (a "nice" way of saying pregnant, already had children, second marriage, etc.). In fact, it might cause a scandal if a woman otherwise presumed to be virginal wore something besides bright white on her wedding day.

In today's age, it's not uncommon for a bride to wear white to her second wedding, or for a first-time bride to wear ivory. Ivory is a softer color, and it's more flattering to most skin tones than white. All white can actually be quite stark.

Some brides even choose to stroll down the aisle in a white dress with a pop of color -- such as a sash -- that complements the wedding colors. At the extreme, a small but growing number of brides even decide to shock everyone with a bold red dress.

While white may be a sign of purity in the Western world, brighter colors are often the tradition in many Eastern cultures -- symbolizing good luck or future wealth and prosperity. Check out Red Hot Brides for more pictures of women who made the bold choice of wearing a colored dress.

When I was looking for a dress, one of the options that I was leaning toward (and even purchased but returned) was a beautiful ivory lace gown. However, the main reason that I had doubts had nothing to do with the outdated stigma associated with ivory.

The main problem with ivory is that it's just hard to match. Everything about weddings is centered around the color white. From the shirts and spectator shoes that the men in our bridal party are wearing, to the flowers in my bouquet, to the linens on our tables: White takes a co-starring role in most weddings.

Part of me wanted to just wear it anyway. It's close enough, right?

The answer is, "No!"

After talking to my photographer, it turns out that ivory really does show up as dingy when put next to pure white.... And I'm sure that all of my Spelman sisters can agree that the one girl that decided to wear a cream dress for her traditional attire during our first convocation stuck out like a sore thumb.

Me on April 11, 2006 (Class Day) at Spelman in my traditional white dress attire: white dress, flesh-toned stockings, black closed-toe shoes.

In the end, I decided to go with a white wedding dress. Despite all of the unique things that Lu and I are bringing to this wedding, tradition wins on this one.

** Wedding Porn Wednesday: Wedding Gown Style **

Since it is Wedding Porn Wednesday, I would be remiss if I didn't discuss some wedding gown porn. Besides being spammed by all sorts of bridal boutiques, here's some of the better porn that tempted even me:

1) The David's Bridal $99 sale: It lured me into the store twice -- enough said. No, that's not enough because I walked out both times with a great dress. Even though I returned the ivory dress, I was still definitely pleased with my experience.

2) Free Stuff: At some boutiques, they'll offer you free veils, shoes, undergarments, etc. if you buy a dress. Since these accessories can rack up to several hundred dollars purchased separately, it's definitely worth checking out these deals.

3) Running of the Brides at Filene's Basement: The ultimate example of what the wedding industry can do to otherwise normal women. One store + One day + 1700 designer wedding gowns for 70-90% off (i.e. $10,000 dresses selling for $249) + hundreds of "teams" of bridesmaids, moms, etc. = Mayhem!!... But mayhem that's supposed to be really fun. If you're getting married soon, the Chicago event is on Friday, DC's in July 30, and Boston and Cleveland are having their sales at the end of August.

As the familiar jingle proclaims, "You'll love David's Bridallll!"

With over 300 locations nationwide and one-third of brides (about 750,000 women each year) purchasing their gowns from David's, you'd think this would be true. Well, not so much.

In fact Denise and Alan Fields, co-authors of Bridal Bargains: Secrets to Throwing a Fantastic Wedding on a Realistic Budget, dedicate an entire chapter of their book to why they do not recommend the chain. According to the Fields', "We can't recommend any of our readers give David's their hard-earned money. We expect a market leader like David's to set an example for other bridal retailers when it comes to customer service and satisfaction... instead, the chain sets new lows for the industry."

Ouch.

I've gotten a lot of great tips from Bridal Bargains, so I totally crossed David's off of my list of wedding gown retailers to visit. That is, until I heard the familiar jingle followed by four magic words, "It's the $99 sale!"

The Fields' warned that the $99 sale is one of David's scams to lure you in to the store, but with a location less than a mile from my condo, there was no harm in seeing what they had to offer. Right?

To make a long story short, I called up Ms. N to meet me at David's to check out the $99 sale. About an hour later, I walked out with my wedding dress.... A month later, not totally convinced that my dress was "the" dress, I called Ms. L to meet me at David's (for another $99 sale) and left with a dress that I absolutely love!

Two trips to David's Bridal, and I spent $200 + tax on two gorgeous dresses that initially cost $750 each.


To match up my experiences with the David's Bridal gripes listed in Bridal Bargains:

1) Spam, spam, spam!: Yes, you do have to "register" with David's Bridal. They will email you every day and pass out your information to other vendors.... Unless you tell them to keep your information confidential and unsubscribe from their email list. I did both, and I'm spam-less.

2) Trashed gowns: David's bridal used to be totally off-the-rack. However, given the damage and make-up stains on some of the dresses, you can now special order your dress. The problem is that they have a reputation for getting orders wrong. Since it can take 2-3 months to get in a dress, you want it to be right!.... I found a dress off-the-rack in my size with a few tiny stains, and I asked them to clean it for me. They did so with no problem.

3) Service, or lack thereof: I had outstanding service at David's. However, I came in with a mission: "I only want to see $99 dresses. Here's my checklist. What can you offer me?"

I admit that I was prepared for attitudes. When I'd visited other boutiques and told them I didn't want to spend over $1000, I noticed the level of treatment drop exponentially. With David's Bridal already having a bad rep for service, I was ready for the worst.

Instead, I got a great consultant who showed me several gowns. I didn't stick to my $99-only rule, and I ended up wavering between a gown that was $99 and one that was $600. Despite her commission, the consultant told me that the $99 gown was more flattering.

With that being said, service may be place and/or time dependent. I went to a store in Ann Arbor in the early-afternoon on a weekday in May. Try going on the Saturday right after New Year's Eve (ahh, the good ol' NYE proposals) in a big city, and you might have a problem.

4) Ethics: The book claims that the $99 sale is a scam to lure people into the store. In actuality (supposedly), David's Bridal only has a few gowns for $99 in terrible condition and in odd sizes. Once they get you in there, they'll try to steer you to the most expensive gown, toss in a few hundred dollars worth of accessories, and rip you off on shoddy over-priced alterations.... As I stated above, I found -- not one -- but two gorgeous dresses at the $99 sale. As far as alterations, I only need my dress hemmed and will be that done somewhere else.

To be fair to the authors, I can see where they're coming from. The opinions in their book are largely based on personal research and emails from brides and brides-to-be. Like most reviews, people only comment if they've had a terrific experience or a horrible one.

David's Bridal isn't going to bring out the champagne for you. If a bride has a so-so or even a really good experience, then you're probably not going to hear about it. On the other hand, if a store screws up someone's wedding dress a few weeks before the wedding?? That can be an entire book in itself!... Get a few of those negative letters, and David's Bridal goes on the D-list.

Despite David's Bridal being hit or miss, there are still a number of reasons to give them a shot:

• The gowns are beautiful... even if they're designer knock-offs. On your wedding day, people are going to notice the expression on your face, not the designer of your gown. A happy bride in a $99 gown is much more beautiful than an unhappy bride in a gown worth $20k.

• They're here to stay. We're in a recession, and a lot of pricey boutiques have had to close their doors because people just aren't able to spend the money they used to on gowns. What happens to the special orders? Most brides-to-be usually get a refund... some do not.

• They have a pretty decent exchange policy. Although David's Bridal will tell you that their dresses are final sale, you have up until the day of your wedding to exchange your gown. I didn't know this until after I bought my second gown. With two wedding dresses in my place, I was desperate to get rid of the second. I took it to the store not expecting much, especially since it was on super-clearance, but they gave me store credit..... The catch was that I had to use it the same day, so I ran around the store and got shoes, jewelry, a veil, some hair pins, and a cute book for Lu and me to read. A week later, I realized that the shoes were uncomfortable, and I really didn't need the hair pins. I was able to exchange my exchange for something that I liked.
  

I didn't get everything at David's Bridal. However, the total for my entire wedding day attire, which I'll elaborate on throughout the week, including: ceremony dress, reception dress, all accessories (traditional veil, birdcage veil, shoes, purse, jewelry, and garter), alterations, and the associated shipping and taxes rings in at under $450.

I went alone on my first trip to the bridal boutique. On subsequent trips, I went with Ms. L and Ms. N, but I wanted to see what I was getting into on my own before I brought anyone else with me.

The initial conversation with your bridal gown consultant is deceivingly simple:

"HI!! Congratulations! Wow! Your ring is beautiful! Sooo, let's get started!... What kind of dresses do you like, and what size do you wear?"

"Thanks! Um, I think I want something fitted through the waist and a little poofy on the bottom."

"Uh-huh, a princess ball gown."

"Well, I guess. But not too big."

"I totally agree! You're a little short, so we want to keep you balanced. Strapless?"

"I don't know. I feel like everyone wears strapless dresses, so I want something different. Besides, we're doing a vintage theme --"

"Niiice! You could do gloves. Oh! And a tiara.... That'd make it much more classic."

Classic princess ball gown with gloves and a tiara -- like Cinderella?! Nope. Let's get this back on track.




"No. That's a bit too 'princess-y' for me. Let's scratch the poofy. How about something a-line? I'll try strapless, but I think I'd prefer something with straps and maybe a few halters?"

"We can definitely do that! I really think strapless would look great with your long neck. I didn't mean that in a bad way, of course. Long necks are really graceful.... Okay. I think I've got it! How about a mermaid dress?? You've got the curves for it, and they're so hot right now. What size are you?"

Great. I went from Cinderella to Ariel. And wasn't she listening to me? We're doing a vintage wedding. The whole point is for me not to wear something that's "hot right now."

Breathe, Ashley. You're not getting anything today. This is trip one. Just go with the flow.

"I'm a size 4."

"Is that your real size or your wedding size? [*recognizing the confused look on my face*] Wedding dresses usually run a bit small."

"That's my real size."

"Then I'll grab a variety of stuff -- some 4s, 6s, and maybe a few 8s and be back in a jif!"

Every girl dreams of walking down the aisle in her beautiful wedding gown.

The flowers, colors, and even the man in her wedding fantasies might change; but most women have an idea of what "their" dress is going to look like before they're even engaged.

Unfortunately, the journey to the right gown isn't always so smooth.

A few of you have asked, "When are we going to hear about the dress?!?!?!?"

I promise that I haven't been keeping you in the dark on purpose. I've been writing drafts about my wedding dress for a few months now, and they just kept going (and growing) as the saga continued.

Instead of making you read one super-post about the journey to the dress, I've decided to do a series dedicated to just the dress to share a few lessons I learned while shopping for my wedding gown.

I'll elaborate on each of these in detail, but to give you a preview:

• Lesson 1: I'm Not a Princess, a Mermaid, or a Size 4... Or Am I?
• Lesson 2: David's Bridal is Not the Devil
• Lesson 3: Off-White is Okay (Kinda)
• Lesson 4: It Has to Be the One... or Two
• Lesson 5: Striving for Perfection
  
• Lesson 6: Accessories Make the Ensemble