All My Love, All My Life: Get My Pretty On

Ahhhhh, yes, now where was I? Oh, that's right, I just finished telling you about our kick-a$$ bonfire the night before the wedding.  Suffice to say, it took this bride a little longer than usual to feel like her normal, sunshine-y self the next morning.

But I did finally manage to drag myself out of bed because I had made plans with some friends to go for a short run in the morning.  This was an awesome way to start my wedding day, even though some of us struggled more than others.  It also started to rain while we were out and the optimistic, naive part of my brain was still convinced it would clear up by the afternoon. HA.

After the run and a delish, communal breakfast of french toast and fritattas with everyone, thanks to our awesome bed and breakfast (Shaker Meadows) the time had come for my "bridal transformation." (Snicker.)

Now, here's the deal with me and make-up: I don't wear it. I consider the day a success if I remember to put on deodorant (Really.  I forget about half the days, much to my co-workers' dismay.) The few times I attempt to put on make-up are for a night out on the town and even then, I'm only good for the basics, like eye shadow and mascara.  I'm honestly not sure what "primer" is or how to use an eye-lash curler (those things are scary-lookin', yo!)

So when it came to my wedding, I had zero interest in hiring a make-up artist.  I trusted my friends to do my face and I think it came out great; like a prettier, more vibrant version of my au-naturel look, very low-key.  No false eyelashes or air-brushing in sight, which was perfect for me and for the vibe of our wedding.

Same deal with hair.  I'm a wash-n-wear kinda girl and I just couldn't bite the bullet to have my hair done by a stylist.  I was rather lucky in this department though, since one of my bridesmaids is a total hair pro and she did my lurvely lady locks and I loved the results.

I also have no professional getting-ready photos to share with you guys (sorry!) This was a conscious decision on my part, though, that had nothing to do with budget or time constraints.

Even though my photographer mentioned that the "getting ready" portion of the day often results in some of her favorite shots, I just couldn't muster up any enthusiasm for the idea. It felt impersonal, somehow, to have a stranger (as lovely as Kelly is) be a part of the intimate ritual of getting ready for my wedding.

I wanted to be surround by friends, I wanted to drink champagne and be filled with giddy anticipation. I'm not particularly photogenic (in case you haven't figured that out by now) and I didn't want to worry about whether I had a double chin in the last shot or making doofy, ugly faces while getting ready (which I obviously did but who needs a pro photographer to capture those?)

So all the photos I have are from friends, which for me, was the way I wanted it.  And as for Mr Trail Mix? He could care less whether he has photos from getting ready, all he cared about was catching as much of the USA vs England World Cup game as he could before he had to head out.

Um, alright, well, now it seems kinda silly to show you the few photos that I do have from friends, after all that rambling but here's some shots from the girl's suite, pre-wedding...

Notice my crazy shirt? It was part of the final gift from my amazing bridesmaids.  They put their heads together the week before the wedding and each one was assigned one of the "Somethings" (you know, something old, new, borrowed, blue...)  So BM Jwills made me that shirt, which is from our alma mater, for my "something blue"...

Bridesmaid Dee provided the "something new" by procuring a lovely bottle of rose champagne, which we promptly cracked open...

BM Jo offered up "something borrowed" in the form of a few beautiful, embroidered ribbons "borrowed" from her work crafting closet (which turned out to be extremely handy in a few hours, you'll find out why later on.) And MOH Pip gave me a beautiful vintage handkerchief to put in my clutch (which I just realized I never showed you guys.  My bad, I'll bust it out in a future post, for sure!) for my "something old."

Aren't my bridemaid's the sweetest things ever? I know, they really are...

Cheers! One last toast and it was time to put on my dress, which I did in about .5 seconds with zero help from anyone. My dress was pretty low-key as far as wedding dresses go and with nary a button, corset, petticoat or crinoline to deal with, I just slipped it on, zipped it up and was good to go.

Jeepers, Mom, open your eyes!

My flower wreath (OMG, I loved my flower wreath SOOOO much!) was attached with some bobby pins and after one final photo with my mom, it was time to head to the Tannery Pond in my pimped-out, mega-deluxe, super-sweet...Subaru station wagon?

Yup, I got a ride with my mom. And yes, it sorta felt like when I was back in high school again and had to be driven everywhere.  But it was about a two-second ride and I didn't care, I was about to get married!

 At this point, I still thought everything was all good up at the venue site (cue ominous music here) but when we arrived...Well, you're just going to have to wait until the next recap post to hear about the most stressful two hours of my life...Dum dum duuuuummmmmmm...

Catch up, if ya want:

All My Love, All My Life: Post-Dinner Partyin', Yo!

All My Love, All My Life: Rehearsal's Done, Let's Feast!

All My Love, All My Life: We Rehearse