Wedding Recap: Part 8 – My Wedding Day Look

Want to know why I looked so good on my wedding day? I have friends with some wonderfully wedding-y talents. My good friend and long time stylist, Jamie, took care of my wedding hair to the point that all I had to do was show up. Literally, all I said was, “I don’t want an up-do” and she said, “Ok” and took care of everything from my color to the style without me having to make one decision. My make-up was the same scenario. Another friend, Nancy, who is Jamie’s beautification partner in crime, came over for our hair and make-up trial and asked me what I wanted. I said, I don’t know, but I don’t want a natural look, I want to look like I’m trying, but not trying to hard. These are not good directions and yet somehow she just said, “Ok” and I ended up looking way more fabulous than I ever could have figured out on my own.

One of the best parts about having your friends do your hair and make-up for your wedding is that it makes the getting ready part of the day even more fun. My little brother used to work with Jamie, so their banter was cracking me up all day long. He was making fun of her for being so meticulous with every single strand of hair (which is why she is such an amazing stylist). She was teasing him for thinking he is a big shot. She was spraying absolutely excessive amounts of hairspray sometimes accidentally in Nancy’s face while she was doing my eyeliner. The jokes were flying all day long.

Not only did I get amazing special treatment, but so did the rest of my ladies. It just so happens that the stylist, who regularly does my mother’s hair, is also a long time friend of the family. Heather took care of my two Mamas (my Mom and Evan’s Mom) and one of my bridesmaids. The rest of my crew was taken care of by my bridesmaid, Stephanie, also a talented stylist. Is that a hook-up or what?

Even better than all the fun we had getting ready was all the fun we had at the wedding. These girls are not just good at making other people look good. They are hot Mama’s themselves! This is always a nice thing to spruce up those wedding guest photos!

Hair Flair

Now that I am more excited about my hair looking good, I have been on the lookout for hair accessories to complete my wedding look. I decided long ago I didn’t want to wear a veil. I am just not a veil type of girl. Plus my dress isn’t something that needs a veil or major accessory. I am thinking simple earrings and a small flair hair piece will be perfect.
Sarah Jessica Parker has made hair flair on your wedding day a major trend for the Modern Brides. This gorgeous blue feather not only satisfies the need for hair accessory, but also contributes to the age old, “Something Blue.” SJP combines a major hair accessory and a veil, but I’m just not that trendy.

Feather head pieces don’t have to be quite as extreme as the blue Carrie Bradshaw feather. There is a simpler feather hair pin:

or a luscious white feather poof:

I have kept my eyes out for something feathery like these and preferably blue. I saw something that I thought would be perfect at Hats in the Belfry downtown Annapolis. My bridesmaid, Jen, manages the shop and I pick up shifts there from now and then. They had this small hair clip in turquoise straw and turquoise and yellow feather wisps. I noticed the clip one day when I stopped in to say hello and the next time I came in it was gone. Bummer.

Two weekends ago, I was scheduled to work for a few hours on Sunday. When I went in Sunday morning, I noticed a bag of hats in the backroom that had one of these turquoise hair clips sitting right on top. Written on the bag was “Shannon”. I thought to myself “Could that be for me?” I waited for the other sales girl, Ashley, to come in and asked if she knew who that bag of hats was being held for. She had no idea. I anxiously waited two more hours for Kelsey to come in and asked her. She said that a guy named Shannon had put them on hold yesterday, but he never came back. It was a sign! This was destined to be mine!

Hair Excitement

I was having major hair dilemmas last week. My hair is longer than it has been since I graduated from college, my color had faded and I was just not feeling like myself. I started to think more about what I wanted to do with my hair for my wedding day look and was feeling quite overwhelmed. You see, not to brag, but I have had some really awesome hair styles in the past few years. My stylist is amazingly talented and for at least the last 6 years, I am used to having people ask where I get my hair done. That puts some pressure on a bride who happens to work for a hair salon and who has a history of award winning (literally) hair cuts.

Hair Style from 2005

I was seriously stressed out about my hair problems and to make matters worse, I was having a really tough time finding hair inspiration in Bridal Magazines or on Wedding blogs. I do not want to wear my hair in an up-do style for my big day. I know this is going to sound odd, but I am really self conscious about my long neck. I know many women wish to have a long slender ballerina neck, but as a former ballerina, I don’t want to look like I am performing Swan Lake at my wedding. Does that make sense?

Hair Style from 2006

Hair stylists that I work with were telling me that I had to find a style where I felt like myself, not like a person dressed as a bride. My problem was I couldn’t visualize what “looking like me” would be. I was seriously thinking about telling my stylist to chop it all off and just go as a short hair bride. Thank goodness I didn’t go through with that.

Hair Style from 2006

I had my appointment last Thursday and vented my frustration to my stylist and good friend, Jamie Sugg @ Bubbles in the Annapolis Mall. She said, “Of course you don’t feel like yourself, your color is totally faded.” Then after a very short lecture about not washing my hair every day, we decided…I am going to be a funky bride. My hair is usually funky in real life, so why try to get conservative for the big day? Jamie as usual created a beautiful look with vibrant color and didn’t cut one inch off the length. I feel like a new person and am really excited for my look on my wedding day.

She said straight to me, “You don’t have to worry about what your hair is going to look like on your wedding day. That is my job.” Isn’t she the best?!

Picture from 2010!