real life: discovery street + flagstaff winter

My blog pal, Ruthy, from Discovery Street, is a fellow Flagstaff bride .  When she started blogging her wedding planning I couldn't get enough - as she and her husband are RAD to the bone.  (seriously, they are traveling all over the world right now for their honeymoon!)  I asked her to share some of her wedding with us...and you can see why...it was a simple and gorgeous wedding.  (And her words were exactly what I needed to read in those last couple days leading up to my wedding.)

Planning a budget destination Flagstaff winter wedding in 4 months takes a lot of planning and organization...neither of which I am good at.  Somehow, when it came down to the wire all the details worked themselves out and the outcome was a day that I relive through photos almost daily.

 

We chose Flagstaff because Andy's parents live there and his dad pastor's a church in town.  The church we got married in was brand spanking new; we were the first couple to get married in it...and because the pastor's son is getting married, we had an automatic volunteer crew (the congregation) who put in countless hours to help with all the last minute details.  I was also able to decorate the church however I pleased.  I wanted the altar to be sweet and simple--this is what I came up with. 

I also wanted to incorporate something different from the unity candle ceremony; instead Andy and I served our wedding party communion and then they all prayed over us.  It was an incredibly touching, intimate aspect of the ceremony. 

I couldn't wait to be announced as Mrs.  I think you can see the joy in my face.  :)

Aesthetically I think the most beautiful part of our wedding was the venue for the reception-- The Foxboro Ranch Estates.  It was such a gorgeous building that the only decor we added was white Christmas lights around the windows.  It was the perfect location for a cold snowy day!

There was a really cool tree in the center of the building...we chose it as the backdrop to a number of pictures because it made such an awesome background!

I love that my mom wore a Han-bok--a traditional Korean dress; I don't think I've ever seen my mom happier than on my wedding day.  She looked stunning!

I can't believe I had any hesitation about whether or not people would dance, once the music started the dance floor was jumping!  I know it sounds crazy, but our wedding day was the time Andy and I had danced together (if you don't count slow dancing in the kitchen while cooking dinner).  We had so much fun...and he is an absolutely hysterical dancer.

I don't think anyone noticed the fact that we didn't have programs, or party favors, or that we left in his parents white Honda Civic instead of a limo; in hindsight it is often the details we stress about most that mean the least.  What stands out so much in my mind about our wedding day is our guests; how much they were for our wedding and for us.  When Andy and I left amongst rows of sparklers it felt like we were walking the red carpet amongst adoring fans.  My prayer for you and your wedding isn't that your cake matches your decor perfectly or that your guests remember their party favors that you spent hours putting together, it's that your friends and family are there to celebrate you and your partner and the journey you're about to embark on. 

our love words weekend

I've decided to keep the script that Tommy and I composed close to our hearts, for us to revel in, for us to enjoy...and for our guests to experience.  However, I would love to share with you our readings.  Tommy and I each have two siblings, and all are in our bridal party.  We wanted to include them in our ceremony in a more prominent way, and invited each of them to give a reading during the ceremony.  (There are three readings here, Tommy's little sister read a prayer at the beginning of the ceremony.)   These literary passages give me goosebumps...and I love the poem by Neruda.

An excerpt from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

At that moment, it seemed to him that time stood still, and the Soul of the World surged within him. When he looked into her eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke-the language that everyone on earth is capable of understanding in their heart. It was love.

Something older then humanity, more ancient then the desert. Something that exerted the same force whenever two pairs of eyes met. She smiled, and that was certainly an omen-the omen he had been awaiting, without even knowing he was, for all his life.

It was the pure language of the World. It required no explanation, just as the universe need none as it travels through endless time. What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. He was more certain of it than anything in the world …And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning.

An excerpt from A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Heminway 

At night, there was the feeling that we had come home, feeling no longer alone, waking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal.
We slept when we were tired and if we woke the other one woke too so one was not alone. 

Often a man wishes to be alone and a woman wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that.
We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. We were never lonely and never afraid when we were together.

Soneto 17 by Pablo Naruda

I do not love you as if you were a salt rose, or topaz
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I know no other way than this:

where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

real life: flagstaff in august

Well, my wedding weekend is here.  After months and months of planning and blogging and loving my Tommy, I just can't even wait to sip wine, enjoy the view of the Flagstaff mountains, and say "I Do" to the one who loves me best.  These next three weeks are going to be insane...with the wedding, my graduation, our honeymoon, and then our move out to New York!  Thankfully, I have a handful of bridal blogger buddies who have all shared advice, diy tips, words of wisdom, and lots of lovely wedding pictures!  

I will see you all on the other side.  Wish me luck!

 All photos taken by Sarah Neal Photography.

Hi everyone! Cori here from August and After. Let me just say first that I'm so freaking excited for Jes and Tommy. A.Mountain.Bride was my biggest source of inspiration while I was planning my own wedding and I can not WAIT to hear how amazing their wedding day was. I know everything will fall into place and end up being a night they and their family will cherish.


When I began planning my wedding during my short engagement last year from May to August, this blog was a life saver. It pulled me in from the main blogs and gave me something inspirational, honest, and realistic to look to for help. Plus I loved teaming up with another Flagstaff bride! She inspired me to begin my own blog, which now gives me a place to share what I've learned through my journey of planning a wedding and into the life of marriage.

So, what I have learned? Here's a few of the main things I discovered while planning a wedding to get hitched to the boy I love.

1) A wedding can be anything, and I mean anything. It doesn't have to live up to a certain standard, involve a white dress and 15 bridesmaids, or open bars and hand-your-first-born-son-over expensive food. Honestly. A wedding can be anything from a small cookout in a backyard to a full out black-tie party like there's no tomorrow. If it's your style and you have the extra dough to spend, go fancy. If you're more of a laid back couple who's stressing at the thought of first dances, the garter toss, and walking down the aisle of a church, then Good Lord -- just cut those things out! A wedding is a celebration of your love, not only with each other but also with the loving community that supports you. Have it in your style.

2) Ask for help when you need it and learn how to politely say no. The wedding is yours, if your family dynamics are different than that I'm sorry, but the wedding should really just be yours. When you need help (and you will), don't be afraid to ask for it. Chances are you have family and friends who would jump at the chance to help decorate the day before, or wouldn't mind researching places for guests to stay if your plate's too full. ASK. You will not be able to do everything, and on the day of the wedding it is SO important that you let go of everything and just focus on you. My Aunt was the one who took over for me. If you can afford it, get a coordinator. If you can't, ask a family member, bridesmaid, or someone else you can trust. Then enjoy your morning as you get ready. When you don't need help or anymore crazy ass suggestions being told what to do, learn to politely say no. Believe me, this is a skill you're going to use the rest of your life (especially if and when you have kids), so if you don't have it now there's not a better time to learn it.

3) Don't be afraid to speak up. If there's something you don't like (and something that will matter to you later on), speak up! Don't be afraid of hurting your hairdressers feelings when you're paying her to do your hair for pictures you will have for the rest of your life. Use your voice, and tactfully guide people to where you want them to go or do. It's your day and everyone is trying to please you anyway. Help them by making it easier to figure out what you want. It's kind of like the bedroom rule, communication makes it better.

4) Hire a good photographer. Most of our money went into food and photography and I don't regret it one bit. I fed the people I love a good, wholesome, meal and I have pictures I love to remember the day by. Get a good photographer, someone who can show you pictures you go crazy over. The days are over of over-photoshopped glowing faces and red roses held by a black and white bride and groom. Hire someone who can capture the natural beauty of you and will go the extra mile to find that flattering angle or get that right lighting. Make sure there are pictures taken of the two of you candidly loving each other, at least one of you both smiling at the camera (oops, somehow this one got away from us!), and one of you and your family being comfortable in front of the camera. If something is super awkward, ask to switch it up. You've got one chance with these photos, and speak up if your photographer needs some help capturing them. You're a team and it takes all the players.

5) Enjoy yourself. Let the stress go after you can't control things anymore. There's a point you cross when you get close to the wedding day where you've planned as much as you can and suddenly you just have to let go and let the pieces fall into place, even the pieces you don't know will fit anywhere. Just let it go, put them into the hands of those you trust, and freaking enjoy your wedding day. It's such a monumental day, such an exciting celebration full of joy and happiness, where it's all about the two of you. You're going to hold onto this day and later down the road in your marriage you'll both look back on the memory of how you started. Make it good day by always remembering the important things and letting go of the small ones that will mean nothing once the day is said and done.

The biggest thing I've learned is just that: choose to put your energy into living those fleeting, beautiful moments, however large or small during the wedding day. Put it into the people you're there with and the one you love, not the little stuff. It'll be an overwhelmingly beautiful day if you do, I can promise you that.

i'm off...

Darlings - thanks for the help with the neck situation!  I called a massage therapist SUPER early and made an emergency appointment.  I've only had a massage one time before - but didn't get hooked.  THIS guy hit the spot...I want a massage every day thankyouverymuch.  I can move my neck a little more now, and the pain has decreased (though it's still there...but it's BETTER!!)   Joy!!

I wanted to write a post about my emotions...what i'm feeling, what I'm sensing...how this is all playing out.  But - in this very moment - I'm anxious to get up to Flagstaff...real life is waiting. 

I'm getting married....to the one I picked...and I'm so lucky he picked me too.

See you on the other side friends.  Wish me luck!!

hugest pain in my neck

It's 4am.  I can't sleep.  I'm not stressed, or having wedding nightmares.  I have an unbelievably painful kink in my neck, rendering it impossible for me to lay down without the feeling that someone is stabbing me. 

Pretty shitty right?

I started to sorta feel the neck pain this Tuesday...and then Thursday it was really bad...and now...excruciating.  I want to scream and cry and feel sorry for myself...because I know for my wedding weekend I will not only LOOK ridiculous, but I will be in serious pain. 

This happens to me every now and then...and it usually takes 5 - 6 weeks for the kink to work itself out.  It renders my neck virtually paralyzed.  I can't physically turn it side to side...it looks like my neck is fused.  It happened for the entire month of December this year (and part of January) - and I remember for nearly two months when I lived in Costa Rica I couldn't move my neck either. 

I haven't found ANYTHING that helps.  Not deep tissue massage...not hot showers...nada.  Does this happen to any of you??  Any suggestions?

I'm so tired.

bachelor party...in vegas

Here's a brief rundown on what's been up in my pre-wedding world.  Tommy's best friend/best man flew in from Norway this past Saturday and has been living on our sofa...amongst the moving boxes and wedding decorations.  He was awesome and would accompany me on wedding errands while Tommy was at work.  Then, his little bro from Rhode Island flew in and has been sleeping on a small patch of carpet in the living room...surrounded by towers of boxes.  Needless to say, it's not easy to get stuff done when you want to play host!  Thankfully, these guys are good sports...like, really good sports. 

Last night, the boys left.  They are meeting up with a dozen of Tommy's dude friends in Vegas for a few days of craziness.  The next time I see him will be at our Rehearsal dinner!  Ha!  How's that for timing!?

Visions of The Hangover play in my head...I just hope they manage to avoid the whole tiger kidnapping situation. 

I've had a lot of friends ask me if I was nervous about the Bachelor Party in Vegas.  Umm...I had my party in Vegas....it's a fun freaking town!  They are going to be wild....perhaps a bit crazy.  And I'm not nervous one bit...they are good guys. 

They only thing that's a bummer is that now I spend the last couple days without Tommy.  Last minute wedding stuff is up to me...and this is a romantic time so I wish he was here.  BUT - I know these few days in Vegas will be amazing for him and his buds.

victory #16: our guestbook

Ohmygosh I love how our guestbook came out!  Like - love love it!  Wahoo!  A friend of mine had their engagement session printed up into a photo book and had their guests sign that.  Perhaps you've seen that at weddings?  Well, wouldn't you know I somehow got a code for a *free* photobook?  I  think I got it from signing up for something somewhere along the way...perhaps at a bridal convention?  Anyway, we ordered a Shutterfly photo book of our engagement session last Monday.  And it is just spectacular. It's totally narcissistic...yes yes...I know...but...whatever.

Originally, we were going to go along with the whole "Polaroid Picture" guestbook - an idea I found in blogland and became instantly addicted to.  I even got myself a dope Polaroid camera!  But as our guest list slowly increased...I realized we needed a LOT of film.  More film than we could really afford.  I had no idea how pricey polaroid film is.  Whoa.

I was a little bummed that this wouldn't work out - I thought the idea was RAD!   Up until last Monday we were still gonna go for it.  But...the reality of our budget hit me...as I realized there were other things that we could use that money to pay for.  It's SOOOOO easy to want to give into the whims of the wedding world.  It's hard to pull away.

There are about a zillion different places on the web to make an engagement photo book.  Some photographers sell them along with the engagement session - but from what I've seen they can be rather expensive.  I used Shutterfly, and it was easy - and the product came out beautifully!!  I've ordered photo books from Kodak before too, and they had beautiful cover options, but I liked Shutterfly's paper/layout design selection better.   Those are my 2 cents.  (Plus, with my coupon code, I only had to pay a few bucks in shipping...which rocks my face off...and by making a new Shutterfly account, we automatically got 40 free prints or something amazing!)


Did you have a guestbook?


*note:  I appreciate all the nice comments some of you left for me yesterday.  REALLY.  Little funks are few and far between, but when they hit...it just effs up the whole day.  Today I looked in the mirror and felt like I was glowing :-)  And the huge zit on my chin was gone.  Ha!!  I love you bloggy friends.

wedding wish wednesday #34: bridal beauty

  One Love Photo:  this girl has some serious bridal beauty going on...

I had a post all written about my LAST wedding wish to be for love and a happy marriage... yada yada.  But....I'm not going to post it....because today, for the first time during this whole wedding thing I'm freaking out.

Ha!

No...not about any of the wedding stuff.  With all that I'm good.

I'm freaking with my own physical insecurities.  Maybe I'm just having one of "those" days.  Ya know?  Where you feel fat and ugly and frizzy and sloppy.  Days like this are the worst.

I'm pissed I didn't exercise or diet at all...as I won't have that typical toned bridal body that many woman create for their big day.  I'm getting married with my real bod...curves and bumps and backfat and all...maybe even a little more curves than usual.

Then my "look?"  I'm not a stylist...I have no idea if the stuff I chose will coordinate nicely for this thing.  I'm having serious second thoughts about everything I've chosen.  Except for my shoes...my new yellow shoes are pretty fab.

I'm officially nervous about what I will look like.  And I feel like an idiot for sharing that with you...except this is part of my journey.  And I need to get over this because I sound freaking ridiculous. 

WTF is wrong with me.

victory #15: our diy boutonnieres

I forgot all about the boutonnieres until this past Saturday whilst on the mission to find our card holder.  I walked into the plastic flower section at Michael's and "ohhh yeaaa" happened.

Tommy and I talked about boutonnieres once - we decided it would be rad to incorporate something that made 'em special...to make 'em us.  We liked the idea of using hemlock cones that we collected last spring from my Aunt and Uncle's Seattle front yard.  The Pacific northwest is our favorite region of the country, and it's where we would love to live someday....our vacations there are always so inspiring and wonderful.  We wanted to bring a piece of those dreams, of that place, of our adventures, to our wedding.

So I had a jar of hemlock cones...and florist tape.  Nothing else. 

I spent about an hour meandering around Michael's this morning...lost...no direction...no idea how to freaking make a boutonniere...no idea where to start...or what to use.  Even though I studied the DIY directions from blogland.  All the plastic greenery looked so... well... plastic.  I went home with no clue of what to do.

I ended up dismantling a large bouquet of dried flowers I purchased at Pike's Place last year.

Yay!  The bouts turned out AMAZING!  Once I got the stuff all collected, it took me 15 minutes to whip 'em up!!  I just hope that they don't smush into a million pieces...as they are rather fragile!!

But, seriously, I'm proud of myself.

compromises...and dollar dances

I remember when our engagement first began and I was naive to the planning of weddings.  I thought for sure all of my ideas were unique, tasteful, and rather lovely (ha! don't we all!).  There were things about traditional weddings that I swore up and down I wouldn't incorporate into ours...  like large bridal parties, dollar dances, and garter groping.   I knew we would only invite our closest friends and family, we'd have a divine stationary suite that I would hand make (something frame-able...honestly...that was what i wanted...something frame-able), a scrumptious fillet Mignon dinner and a sweet top shelf open bar.

Reality.  We have a few people coming that neither of us have met, and a few people we aren't even particularly close with.   We didn't end up with a stationary suite (and none of our paper products match at all)...we don't have menu cards or hand drawn local maps.  We're serving chicken....and our open bar consists of wine and beer (they are on their own for the rest!).  We also ended up having a huge bridal party of 10 people.  AND I'm participating in to the dollar dance.  *smile* 

I've seen the dollar dance at almost every wedding I've ever been to.  And heck yes I've paid to dance with those grooms!  And I always enjoy it!  But, for some reason, for my wedding, the whole idea made my skin kinda crawl....I feel weird asking for money.  I dunno.  But my fiance is so excited about it I just didn't have the heart to tell him no....again.  I'm already saying "No way" to the garter grope, and the bouquet toss....and to a couple other ideas he's liked (I know that sounds horrible, but his and my ideas aren't always on the same page...though...for the most part, they are.)  He's clearly more fun, and less stuffy, than I am. 

Anyway.  We'll be dancing.  For money.  At our wedding.   Obviously, I realize that this will be hella fun.  It will actually be nice to have a few moments with these fine fellas of ours. 

Any idea of how long this is supposed to last???

the quest for the card holder

here

I didn't even know what a freakin' "card holder" was until I started blogging.  I've never seen one at a wedding.  I'm sure they've been there...but I've never noticed.  It's clearly not a "detail" I cared much about.

Until yesterday morning.  8 days until the wedding.  This is how I know I'm lame.


Instead of packing my house, or feeding the homeless, my sisters and I set out to find a freaking birdcage.

 via Love, Love Me Do

My search started online.  The only pretty old birdcage for sale on Craigslist was $125...honestly.  Antique stores would be too hit or miss to harness online...we'd have to check those in person.  So I did some typical internet browsing real fast:  Google, Target, Joanna's, Michael's, and Walmart.   Target's online site had one for $40 - no way in hell was I going to spend $40 on a dumb thing like this (no offense...I just wouldn't spend that).   Found one for $17 at Walmart (but we refuse to support Walmart...so really...I'm not sure why I even looked there...desperation perhaps?)  There are loads of beautiful birdcage card holders for sale around the web, but since I slacked and waited to long, an internet option was not feasible. 

 via Remember Something Blue

My sisters and I started making the rounds at the stores in the area.  Came up empty handed time and time again.  Nothing.  Nothing even remotely use-able.  We gave up.  Nobody should spend 4 hours looking for a stupid card holder.  Thank goodness I was with my sisters - which was fun....super fun actually...not a waste of a day even if it was a wedding fail.

the knot

Final stop on the list was Joanna's to pick up some placecards.  Low and behold.  A birdcage-esque card holder.  Who freaking knew?  But I didn't have a 40% coupon...which is the key to shopping at Joanna's.  I bought it anyway...and then called my Mom from the parking lot.  She's the best, and ran down to her local Joanna's with her handy dandy 40% coupon... and picked up the lil white wire thing for around $12.  I took mine back. 

don't remember where I saved this one from!  Sorry!

That, my friends, was one hellova quest.  It ended up taking alllll day (with a couple side-tracked stops along the way.)  We were so exhausted from it all, that we came home and just collapsed on the sofa in front of the TV.  Nothing else got done.  Just silly sister stuff.

After all that, I hope somebody actually brings us a card .  And knows to put it in the card holder.  Humm.

love words weekend

 One Love Photo*

the space in my heart is the shape of you.

no one else can fit in.

why would i want them to?

- jeanette winterson

*omg I'm so excited to meet Heather and Jon from OneLove!!   Ahhh!!!
**note:  I've grown quite fond of my tradition to feature love words over weekends.  This is the last weekend of my "fiancee" status - as next weekend I am off marrying my loverboy!  I thought this might be a nice time to share our ceremony readings with you....but then I changed my mind (sorry Julia!) and will share those next weekend...when those readings become embossed on my heart.

our programs *yay!*

I really really really wanted ceremony programs.  I dunno why.  I've only been to a couple of weddings that had them, and I know they aren't required, or even expected.  Except, I love having a program at weddings...I like knowing who people are, what's coming next, and I REALLY love when the readings are included so I can follow along.

When I sat down to design the program this morning I stared blankly at the computer screen.  How do I do this?   I know I've seen bazillions of program designs on the wedding blog circuit...but I couldn't, for the life of me think of what I wanted to do.   I knew I wanted it streamlined.  I wanted it to be EASY...I wanted to print everything on one page...and I wanted to include our readings.

It was a project that took a few hours of fiddling around with the layout, and sending them to Tommy for approval and revisions.  I took them to the printers...got the lux ivory heavy weight paper and it cost around $40 for 100 programs.  Yes, that's rather pricey...and it would have been cheaper if I had a home printer that didn't print everything crooked.  But I made them - and I love them.  Totally worth my time. 


I knew that I didn't have the time/patience/$$ to create lavish fan or accordion shaped programs.  I found a great template at WeddingBee for a simple folded program that included all of the elements I wanted.   Here's the link to the specific template I used:  Mrs. Bee's Program Template.

The moment I saw the rad handmade invitations at A Homegrown Wedding, I fell in love.  The trees are so reminiscent of the two sturdy pines Tommy and I will be married in front of...it was a detail that was too perfect for words (see the image here of the trees I'm talking about!)  So, I emailed Lindsey & Matt, and they were amazing enough to let me use their image - which is so crazy nice.   It makes it even more special...it really does. 

I'm stoked.

project party

Today, I had a "project party."  My two best friends, and my little sister came over to fold and glue and tie raffia knots.  I make a freezer full of margarita popsicles...and filled the fridge with all sorts of treats.  I knew it would be a long day...there was a lot to accomplish.

And we did it all.  In like an hour.  I have to admit, I was confused that it got done so fast.  But it did.  Which rocked.

What the heck we did:
- folded programs
- tied raffia around the large mason jars
- did a run through of centerpiece set up
- decided to wait to put the guest gifts in pouches until before the wedding (they are fragile!)
- decided to scrap the extra couple steps for the programs
- figured out how to do speedy perfect place cards

Somehow I thought we had oodles and oodles of stuff to do.  Guess we didn't.  It's all under control.    Wasn't expecting that....but I'm cool with it.

we're not foodies....so what.

Well, actually, we LOVE food... alllllll types of food... but umm... I think everyone loves food.  It just doesn't take much for us to be impressed or delighted, as most everything is pleasing to our taste buds.  We just aren't hoity toity about cuisine.  (and by hoity toity I mean sophisticated...we just aren't that sophisticated with our culinary choices).  We like food.  We eat it.  End of story.

So what do non-foodies serve at their wedding?  Do we go overboard to impress our guests?  Do we bust the budget to serve only locally grown organic food?  With seven courses?  Or host a cheese spread flown in from around the world?

Umm.  No.  We're serving chicken.  With "vegetable medley" and "wild rice" and bread.  And green salad. 

At our venue you have to select from their menu.  There is no taste testing...just picking from a list.  Fairly unromantic...but it is what it is.  And you know what - I freaking love chicken.   I feel good about the fact that we are able to provide our 100 guests with a meal... it may not be fillet mignon, or Alaskan salmon, but that's OK.    People don't go to weddings for the food anyway.

At least, that's not why I go to weddings.  I go for the booze.


Kidding.

major hair trial FAIL

*actually...this last picture isn't sooooo bad...I love the flower!!!  Except, the pic is not a true reflection of what the style really looks like...perhaps is the angle?  and the straight on photos were so laughable I refuse to post them on the world wide web...so...just take my word for it - it sucked*

Yuckity yuck yuck.

My four hour round trip escape up to Flagstaff yesterday proved to be very educational.  I am clearly more opinionated about my hair than I thought...as I hate what the lady did with mine.  To be honest, I've learned, through this whole wedding ordeal, that I am more opinionated about MOST things, more so that I really thought I was.  I care about details.  I'm slightly bummed about that - I wish I could just breeze by and not care about it all.

But I care after all.  And I did not care for "my style."  Granted...it wasn't the worst thing ever, but it didn't feel "good" and I felt super silly, instead of pretty.   Picture me with 1990's prom hair.  I swear I rocked this same exact style to the Winter Formal in 1996. 

I took in these pictures:  (low curly bun)

aaaaaand instead of a lower curly bun,  I got curls on the top of my head...and in the back of my head.  The saving grace of the experience was the rad little flower piece with twigs from duplume.  It looked cute!  But the rest?  Made me laugh. 

So now I'm in a bit of a quandary.   I have a different stylist that has been recommended to me (by a couple different people!) and so I am interested in contacting her...but there will be no trial run...what she does is what she does that day!  Or...do I stick with the lady that did my hair, and just cross my fingers she listens to my pleas next time?  OOORRRR...do I practice like a mad woman for the next 11 days and try to do my hair myself?

stupid stupid stupid.

*note: someone mentioned in the comments how I could look so "happy" in those pictures even though I was grumpy with the result.  Well...honestly...my sister and I were laughing about it's ridiculousness.  But the stylist just thought I was experiencing "bridal glow" (she said that..."bridal glow"...made it even more hysterical to me!)