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Getting Ready
08 September 2011
The day before the wedding was warm and sunny – perfect, infact, for a wedding. Which made the disappointment all the more intense when we woke up to rain! Ian checked the weather forecast and it looked like there was a small chance it would clear up a bit as the day went on – that was good enough for us.
Thankfully I had slept well, but still looked like a dogs dinner. Thank goodness for the wonders of hair and make-up!
Ian and I said our goodbyes, and then us girls (being me, my mum, the bridesmaids and the best man’s fiancé) dashed off to commence stage one of the process: Hair.
I’d been in a bit of a pickle about my hair. It’s not very long, and is quite fine so growing it out wasn’t a realistic option. As my dress was very 1930s, I decided in the end to go for a traditional sleek bob.
The overall vibe we were aiming for with the wedding day was relaxed and fun – I therefore saw no need for the bridesmaids to have rigid up-dos, and so they had a blow-dry followed by quick run through with the curling tongs. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? Well…
There was, however, one thing that was less than perfect – the timing. I had various consultations and a trial with the owner of the salon before the day, and he said the bridesmaids’ hair should take no longer than 45 minutes. I thought this sounded a bit unrealistic, so factored in an hour per person when planning out the morning. The lady who would be doing make-up for me and the bridesmaids needed 3 hours in total, so in order for it all to work two of the bridesmaids needed to leave the salon as soon as they were done so she could make a start, with the rest of us following later on (are you with me so far?!). This shouldn’t have been a problem, except that the bridesmaids’ hair took far longer than it should have done, and when I had a polite word with the salon owner he went on the defensive! Really not what a bride wants to hear on her wedding day. To make matters worse, my maid of honour has curly hair, and they allocated a stylist to her who clearly didn’t have a clue what to do with it. It had nearly reached afro proportions before his colleague stepped in to sort it out.
All in all not ideal, but we got there in the end. Before leaving town for the venue we picked up some brunch from Caffé Nero to eat whilst we were getting ready. Chocolate twists anyone?! Nom nom nom! And what wedding snack would be complete without some sparkling wine? One of my bridesmaids merely clicked her fingers and her husband (one of the ushers) came running with a bottle and glasses! Now that’s what I call service, and after the mild fiasco at the salon I definitely needed a drink.
We got ready in the bridal suite, where Maggie worked wonders with make-up (Maggie Make Up Artist). The photographer (Rick Milnes - Lightmajestic) arrived at 12 noon and so was able to take pictures of us all being dolled up. Maggie did the bridesmaids first, and they looked fab:
It was such a relaxing experience – I loved being pampered. Time was tight after the hair issues, and she got us all looking gorgeous with time to spare. She was really excellent, and so professional.
The flowers arrived shortly after, and I was thrilled with them (Black Cat Floral Design). I had described the colours I liked to the florist, and then let her do her thing. I loved them so much, and they smelled gorgeous!
While the main photographer was with us, we had a second photographer who took photos of the boys. Clearly the most complicated thing about getting ready when you’re a boy is tying your own tie:
Once that was sorted out, they had time for some fun shots:
Once my make-up was done, the next and final stage was getting the dress on. This probably wasn’t as complicated as most other wedding dresses due to the lack of corset and tricky fastenings – however shortly after it was on I realised I’d forgotten to bring the essential tit tape, and proceeded to spend the next 10 minutes searching through my case and seeing if there was anything I could improvise with (the answer being no, clearly). Oh well. As far as I’m aware I only flashed one person, being the best man’s fiancé (thank goodness it wasn’t the best man himself!! That would have made for an interesting speech!).
Ian bought me some stunning sapphire and diamond earrings as my wedding present, so once I was dressed I put them on with the rest of my accessories.
The garter was a present from everyone that came to my hen do - it is handmade and absolutely beautiful.
Here's my before and after - what a transformation!!
Before I knew it, the registrar was knocking on the door to go through the final questions. How did time fly by so quickly?! I couldn’t choose between my Dad and my Step-Dad to walk me down the aisle, so we’d decided on both. We waited until I was fashionably late (only 5-10 mins – I didn’t want Ian to start sweating!), and then made our way to the barn…
Thankfully I had slept well, but still looked like a dogs dinner. Thank goodness for the wonders of hair and make-up!
Ian and I said our goodbyes, and then us girls (being me, my mum, the bridesmaids and the best man’s fiancé) dashed off to commence stage one of the process: Hair.
I’d been in a bit of a pickle about my hair. It’s not very long, and is quite fine so growing it out wasn’t a realistic option. As my dress was very 1930s, I decided in the end to go for a traditional sleek bob.
The overall vibe we were aiming for with the wedding day was relaxed and fun – I therefore saw no need for the bridesmaids to have rigid up-dos, and so they had a blow-dry followed by quick run through with the curling tongs. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? Well…
There was, however, one thing that was less than perfect – the timing. I had various consultations and a trial with the owner of the salon before the day, and he said the bridesmaids’ hair should take no longer than 45 minutes. I thought this sounded a bit unrealistic, so factored in an hour per person when planning out the morning. The lady who would be doing make-up for me and the bridesmaids needed 3 hours in total, so in order for it all to work two of the bridesmaids needed to leave the salon as soon as they were done so she could make a start, with the rest of us following later on (are you with me so far?!). This shouldn’t have been a problem, except that the bridesmaids’ hair took far longer than it should have done, and when I had a polite word with the salon owner he went on the defensive! Really not what a bride wants to hear on her wedding day. To make matters worse, my maid of honour has curly hair, and they allocated a stylist to her who clearly didn’t have a clue what to do with it. It had nearly reached afro proportions before his colleague stepped in to sort it out.
All in all not ideal, but we got there in the end. Before leaving town for the venue we picked up some brunch from Caffé Nero to eat whilst we were getting ready. Chocolate twists anyone?! Nom nom nom! And what wedding snack would be complete without some sparkling wine? One of my bridesmaids merely clicked her fingers and her husband (one of the ushers) came running with a bottle and glasses! Now that’s what I call service, and after the mild fiasco at the salon I definitely needed a drink.
We got ready in the bridal suite, where Maggie worked wonders with make-up (Maggie Make Up Artist). The photographer (Rick Milnes - Lightmajestic) arrived at 12 noon and so was able to take pictures of us all being dolled up. Maggie did the bridesmaids first, and they looked fab:
It was such a relaxing experience – I loved being pampered. Time was tight after the hair issues, and she got us all looking gorgeous with time to spare. She was really excellent, and so professional.
The flowers arrived shortly after, and I was thrilled with them (Black Cat Floral Design). I had described the colours I liked to the florist, and then let her do her thing. I loved them so much, and they smelled gorgeous!
While the main photographer was with us, we had a second photographer who took photos of the boys. Clearly the most complicated thing about getting ready when you’re a boy is tying your own tie:
Once that was sorted out, they had time for some fun shots:
Once my make-up was done, the next and final stage was getting the dress on. This probably wasn’t as complicated as most other wedding dresses due to the lack of corset and tricky fastenings – however shortly after it was on I realised I’d forgotten to bring the essential tit tape, and proceeded to spend the next 10 minutes searching through my case and seeing if there was anything I could improvise with (the answer being no, clearly). Oh well. As far as I’m aware I only flashed one person, being the best man’s fiancé (thank goodness it wasn’t the best man himself!! That would have made for an interesting speech!).
Ian bought me some stunning sapphire and diamond earrings as my wedding present, so once I was dressed I put them on with the rest of my accessories.
The garter was a present from everyone that came to my hen do - it is handmade and absolutely beautiful.
Here's my before and after - what a transformation!!
Before I knew it, the registrar was knocking on the door to go through the final questions. How did time fly by so quickly?! I couldn’t choose between my Dad and my Step-Dad to walk me down the aisle, so we’d decided on both. We waited until I was fashionably late (only 5-10 mins – I didn’t want Ian to start sweating!), and then made our way to the barn…
You look so lovely and happy. Those earrings Ian got you are gorgeous, well done that boy!
