Final week!

Pushing through - and I'm actually staying above water.  Fantastic.  So I thought I'd post some photos/videos from the November comp.  We placed fourth (and just a few marks shy of third!) and were really pleased with how it all came together.  If we're friends on facebook (which I imagine most of us are), you've already seen the dresses.  If you're a ballroom person, you already know all about them. But for my pageant friends, just to give some perspective, I've never spent this much money on a pageant gown, nor this much time.  These gowns are why I'll not have any new things for pageants... totally worth it!

Finally, I present the dresses designed by Jamie Gines of J.Nico.  She is so extraordinarily talented and I'm so grateful to have been a part of her team for this competition.  Each of her dresses were fashion forward in their respective style, but they also complimented the dancer in her body, her appearance, and her dancing.  I wanted a classic look with modern accents, and I wanted designs and colors that are unique and difficult to pull off (coming from the girl who always uses brown evening gowns).  This is where pageants and ballroom go perfectly hand-in-hand together!

dress. J.Nico
jewelry. J.Nico 
hair. Jamie Gines
makeup. Jen Gulbrandsen 

Finally, Andrew's wife Lydia videotaped it for us, and then they put them up on youtube.  You can see all of the dances, but if you only have a little bit of time, watch the Foxtrot from the semi (green dress) and the Tango from the final (sequin dress).