Final Haircut & Fitting

This morning, I had my final haircut and color (highlights) before the wedding. I'm happy with how it turned out. I hadn't had my hair done since March sometime, so it was in dire need of a touch-up. I didn't mind the extra length in my hair, but I couldn't stand how it was all one length and so flat. This is me last week when we got our marriage license:

And this is me today (note: it's a little messy since I've been caught in the pouring rain about three separate times today!)...

Much better.

Let me just go off on a tangent here and talk about the weather for a minute. Today? Worst wedding weather EVER. My second (third?) cousin got married today. We weren't invited (we barely know each other), but I know my grandma was going.

I saw the weather forecast yesterday and saw that it was calling for rain, but when I woke up this morning, it didn't seem so bad. I thought perhaps they were going to luck out and it would be better than forecasted. Well, hell no. It started raining around noon and it literally did not stop until just a little while ago. I was at my mom's earlier, and for a while there, it was actually raining cats and dogs. Horrible, horrible wedding weather. Well, it is if you want pics outside, anyway.

My mom is convinced we are going to have perfect weather next weekend. I'm trying to prepare myself for anything. In fact, today, after my haircut, I ran to the Dollar Tree and bought 14 black umbrellas for Michael, me, and the wedding party in case it decides to pour on us. We thought us all having umbrellas would make for some cute pics if need be. I told my mom about the "Plan B" locations we selected with the photographers in case we can't take pictures outside. But my mom keeps insisting, no, we're going to have perfect weather.

And I hope we do. Last weekend? Ungodly hot and humid--absolutely miserable. This weekend? Pouring rain--depressing. So next weekend... it has to be nice, right? In theory. Even the laws of probability would seemingly be with us. But hey... you never know. I'm still prepared for anything.

After the Dollar Tree, I ran to my mom's and then we headed over to the seamstress for my final dress fitting. Just the hem and the bustle, actually. But my matron of honor also met us over there because we needed my mom and her to learn how to lace me into the dress. And thank goodness for the corset back. The seamstress was telling us horror stories about brides losing weight and gaining weight at the last minute and having to make changes even after the "final" fittings. I actually lost three pounds this week (without even trying!) so I'm grateful to have that flexibility with my dress. I'm hoping to drop a few more next week! :)

All is going well... only ONE WEEK to go!! At this time next week, we will be married.

Hair & Makeup Trials

I had my hair and makeup trials today. So fun! It was really exciting to finalize what I'll actually look like on the wedding day. I think I have everything figured out now. Five weeks to go!

Here is my hair from the back--My stylist kind of curled it quickly and threw it up... it will be neater and the curls will be a little tighter on the wedding day:

Here is the view from the side (with veil). Again, kind of messy, but you can get the idea. It will also be a bit tighter/flatter on the top and sides. He threw it up kind of loosely and we all decided (my mom was there, too) that we'd like it pulled back a little more tightly:

After the hair, we went over to my makeup trial. She went a little heavier on the eye makeup so that the eyes will pop. The rest, we kept pretty neutral. I don't wear a ton of makeup normally and I didn't want to look UNlike myself. Sure, a better version of myself, but still myself.

Once I got home, I took some pics with my jewelry on so I'd get the full effect. Front view:

The obligatory eyes closed shot:

Sort of a side shot so you can see more of the hair:

My hair started falling out before my makeup trial was even over. I'm assuming it's because he didn't do it "all of the way" because it was just a trial. It makes me a little bit nervous that my hair wasn't EXACTLY what I wanted (a little too messy), but I'm going to trust that he knows what he's doing and it will be perfect on the wedding day.

When I was at the my makeup trial, I was at the salon one of my close friends works at. She's a hair dresser and wanted to see my hair. I showed her, with the disclaimer, "it's already falling out!" And she said, "oh, I know, but it's just a trial... you can totally tell what it's going to look like. It's beautiful!"

I guess professionals have a vision. They can see what I can't. The potential, I suppose. :)

Overall, I'm really happy with everything.

What do you think?

Mission: Accomplished

Last night, we met with a videographer... and walked away with a videographer for our wedding.

It is such a weight lifted off of our shoulders. The guy does wedding videography on the side--he works full-time as a multimedia person for a local church, so we met with him there and he showed us examples of his work. It was of good quality, and we really liked his prices. Everyone else we looked at was $1,000+, and packages often included things we didn't really need/want.

All we were looking for was ceremony and reception coverage, professional editing, and we wanted to have a "recap" of the day set to music so anyone could easily watch the "short version" without having to sit through the entire video. This guy offers exactly that. His coverage is completely unlimited, he'll be there as long as the day goes. Also, we get TEN copies of the DVD included in the price. Most videographers will give you two or three and charge you an arm and a leg for each additional copy. I don't even know what we'll DO with ten copies.

Best part? All of this for $750. Woohoo. For an additional $50, he'll come to the house before the ceremony and record some footage of the girls and me getting ready. We figure, what the hell--for only $50 extra, we might as well have him get those extra memories.

He's young(er) and fun, so we're excited about finally booking this vendor. Now we don't have to worry about regretting anything.

Also, this afternoon, I had a hair appointment to get it cut and highlighted. I took pictures of potential wedding day hair with me to show him because I wanted to schedule a trial. It was funny--the minute I showed him, he was drawn to the one that is actually my favorite. That helped solidify things a little. Of course we will have to wait until we see what it looks like on me, but I'm excited. This is the style we're going to use as inspiration:

Mine will most likely look a bit different since I don't have curly hair (it's naturally pin straight). But he said he has product that he'll put in to give my hair texture, and then we'll set it in some curlers for a bit. He told me I should try to find some type of hair pin--oye, just another thing to be on the hunt for.

We made an appointment for me to get my hair freshly cut and highlighted for one week before the wedding (June 14). Crazy guy, he actually suggested waiting to do my trial until then. Ummm, no. I cannot wait until one week before the wedding to test out my hairstyle. What if I don't like it? Then I only have like six days to find something new. So he budged a little and scheduled me for a hair trial on May 17. I'm still freaking out that it's still a little too long to wait, but I suppose it'll be here before I know it.

We'll see how it goes!

And then there was hair

Aside from the ongoing shoe saga, I basically have everything figured out for my attire for the wedding day. I still need to order my garters, but I have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing there.

And then we have the hair.

I'm not too stressed over this because I know we (meaning my stylist and I) will figure something out. Right now, I'm collecting "inspiration photos" because I have a hair appointment on Saturday. It's not my trial, but I figured I'd bring a few photos in anyway to show him what I'm thinking. Then we'll schedule my hair trial for sometime in April.

My first inspiration photos were these:

With these styles, I would plan to wear my veil under my hair. I still really like these, and they are still a possibility.

Since then, however, I have also fallen in love with a look that I think is a little bit "older" and possibly more sophisticated, or elegant. Here are a few inspiration photos I've collected:

All three of these photos are from a "knottie," MrsPDXBride06. The potential problem, I think, with this style is that my hair is naturally really straight. I'm not sure I can pull this off. But looking at the rest of MrsPDXBride's bio, it seems as if maybe she has naturally straight hair, too. You never do know, though.

Similar to MrsPDX's style is this one, from another person on The Knot, FutureMrsVP.

In my opinion, her stylist needs to learn how to hide bobby pins better. Other than that little problem, though--this is also a pretty style.

My hair dresser said that for my trial, we can do my hair in a couple of different ways, so that will be nice--I don't have to go into the salon committed to one style right away. I can actually see a few different ones on myself so I can picture everything better. I can't wait!

Until then, I'm still on the hunt for inspiration photos...