Wedding Week :: Prepping and Primping

Ring the bells! Cue the music! I’m beyond excited for *Wedding Week* on my little internet haven. I received my professional photos from George Street Photo about a month ago, and since then I’ve been sorting through religiously to pick out my favorites to share. The result is a 5-day celebration on Isn’t That Charming in which I’ll take you through the primping and prepping, bridal party specifics, the first look, and all the details of the ceremony and reception. Let’s get started, shall we?

Ah, the morning of my wedding day. There’s never been a feeling quite like it. I was excited, a little bit nervous {Check out my advice for managing pre-wedding stress over on An Eventful Life}, and in a somewhat dreamlike state. Months and months of planning had finally come to a culmination and there was only one thing left to do: Enjoy the ride.

I woke up and couldn’t wait to get the day started. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long; my wedding party met up bright and early at 8 am. We gathered in my mom’s hotel suite at the Marina Grand, in which we were welcomed with coffee, juice, delicious pastries and quiche for us to munch on.

Everyone came in matching floral robes from Etsy, which was a gift from my mom that was given to the girls at the bridal luncheon. My bridesmaids all wore mint green, and mine was white, which ended up looking so adorable. With music playing non-stop and a room overlooking the sunny harbor, it was the ideal setting to get pampered for walking down the aisle.

After the hair and make up artists got set up, everything started rolling. I showed the hair stylist this pin, this pin & this pin, and simply said, “Give me a mixture of these!” I wanted my hair to be loose and romantic to fit the whimsical nature of the vineyard, and I wanted it to be all up and off my face, since I knew it would be hot. Confession: I didn’t do a hair trial with the stylist before {Looong story involving our prior hair stylist double scheduling and backing out a month before} so I didn’t know what to expect, but I ended up loving the soft curls and up-do that he created.

For makeup, it was important for me to look natural and like myself. These was really the only specifications I gave for direction beyond asking for my eyes to “pop”. I would highly recommend our artist, Marco Kozar out of Grand Rapids. All the girls looked so beautiful and nothing was “caked on” like makeup sometimes can look.

After all the bobby pins were in place and our lipstick was applied, we headed to Willow Harbor Vineyards, where the ceremony and reception were held, to get dressed in the on-site bridal cottage. Here, everyone changed into their dresses, applied the finishing touches of makeup, and brought out the heels. {Or, in my case, gold ballet flats.} We had a few champagne toasts in which a few tears were had, and waited in anticipation for Doug and my’s first look. I still can feel the butterflies that were fluttering in my stomach as my mom helped to put on my veil and dress – my excitement was overwhelming and I literally could not stop smiling.

Of course, all that excitement wouldn’t be complete without a little dancing. After the first look and all the formal pictures were completed, my ladies and I went back to the cottage as the guests arrived. A dance party may or may not have ensued as we watched the school buses filled with guests arrive. Let’s just say that curling iron was a fabulous microphone.

Of course, the guys had a their own fun as well! Though they weren’t up prepping at 8 am like the ladies were, they did meet at Doug’s hotel suite with their suits on and ties tied. After catching up on the stories of the night before {Apparently Fireball was a key factor in a few groomsmen adventures. #Represent}, they headed to the vineyard and relaxed until it was time for pictures. The below shots were taken of Doug right before we had our first look – the guys were all in a really cool indoor/outdoor seating area of the vineyard, which neighbored the bridal cottage.

Doesn’t the above shot look like Doug is President Kennedy? I married such a diplomat. 😉