My Wedding 10: Getting Ready

My friends, today is a big day. It's the International Day of Happiness, woo! It's the first day of Spring. And it's the day I finally reveal my official wedding images by One Love Photo. There are a ton, so I'm breaking them up into easily digestible weekly segments. Thank you for following me on this journey so far. Over the past few weeks, I've really enjoyed being able to share with you the details and process behind the greatest creative project I've ever pursued, leading up to the happiest and most emotional love-filled day of my life.

Here's how it began. Our guests would be arriving at 1pm, so Hal and I woke up at 5am to practice our first dance. This seems crazy, I know. But we had been taking tango lessons and never had a chance to practice our choreographed dance on the smaller-sized dance floor my dad set up on the lawn. The sun was rising and there was still a layer of dew. We were slipping and sliding all over the place and couldn't help but laugh about the absurdity of it all. This was actually one of my favorite memories of the wedding. It was a sweet way to connect with Hal in the quiet early hours before the chaos.

My special lady friends came to the house around 6 am (such troopers) and we got to primping. My girl, Cara, spent most of the morning helping our day-of coordinator arrange the table settings and flowers, bless her heart. My maid of honor brought over a tray of fruit, croissants, OJ and champagne, which was such a nice gesture. I had zero appetite, but knew I had to cram something down so I wouldn't pass out later in the day.

While we were dressing upstairs, the boys got ready in the basement. Hal told me later that he was freaking out because he couldn't find his tie. But as you'll notice in the photo, he put it on before buttoning up. You can see the outline of of the tie as he's tucking in his collared shirt! So funny. I'm pretty sure that's why the rest of the guys were laughing at him.

My very sweet friend, Sarah Wong, did my make-up. She flew up from LA early for a trial run to make sure I was comfortable with the final look, natural and classic old-hollywood with a bright lip. The lovely Sophia VanSlyke did my hair. I call it "the illusion". People thought I cut it! I asked for a half-updo so the back of my dress could be seen and she came up with this pretty 20's style creation that worked perfectly with my headpiece. This photo was taken later in the day, so I'm a bit wind-blown. I actually prefer it this way.

The green part of the headpiece is an antique Art Nouveau woodland headdress from 1911 Germany! Pippa from Pippatree sourced it out for me. It arrived in a darling heart-shaped wood box with a matching men's corsage and a pillow embroidered with the names of the original bride and groom. I wanted to wear it like a halo, but it didn't fit around my entire head. So I took a piece of vintage jewelry that I already owned and fastened it to the ends to make a crown.

My gown is Tadashi Shoji. I posted before about my dress-selection experience and final fitting, but never clued you in on how many dang alternations this puppy needed. Like most brides, I lost a bit of weight. But my seamstress needed 4 separate appointments to get it so the back wouldn't bunch. The intricate beading and embroidery was extra tricky.

And remember how I told you my bridesmaids made the bouquets the day before? Here is it is. My beautiful artichoke bouquet with ferns and herbs. Theirs, which you'll see in later photos, are a smaller version with baby artichokes. The day after the wedding, I unwrapped my bouquet, boiled it, and savored every last bite.

Next week... the first look!

SEE THE REST OF MY WEEKLY WEDDING SERIES HERE.


{Images by One Love Photo; Dress by Tadashi Shoji; Shoes by Remix Vintage; Half of headpiece by Pippatree; Hair by Sophia VanSlyke; Makeup by Sarah Wong}