Getting Ready

I decided late in the summer to blog about our wedding day. I had ideas. Ideas involving photos. Ideas involving many, many posts. Then I began working full-time. Those ideas? Out the window.

But now they're back! I've had the last two days off and I'm feeling refreshed. I also don't want to do the dishes right now, but that is another story.

My alarm went off at 6AM on my wedding day. I had fallen asleep easily (with the help of Tylenol PM) by 11PM the night before and woke up refreshed. Instead of showering as I normally do, I decided to take a nice, relaxing bath before meeting the girls. While I ran my bath water, I caught part of an episode of Clifford the Big Red Dog on PBS.

Yes, I am admitting to watching cartoons on my wedding day. I later discovered that Michael watched Dora the Explorer with Adrian that morning as well.

Anyway. After a quick breakfast, I met the girls uptown to get our hair done. Heather A., who is married to a good friend of Michael's family, did our hair. She did a phenomenal job! We had allotted more time than necessary for each bridesmaid and we ended up being done an hour early.

After getting our hair fixed, we stopped by my grandparents house for a while. We were bored and still had a lot of time to kill before we could get in the church.

We also stopped for lunch at one of my favorite places -- Bob's Drive In! Oh, my goodness. I could go for one of Bob's cheeseburgers right now. Yum, yum, yum!

Okay, I'm distracted. In the above photo are Sarah and Kara, two of my lovely bridesmaids!

We ended up eating outside on the picnic tables in the shade. This is Chantel and myself waiting for our burgers.

After lunch, we headed off to the church where my pampering continued. Once there, I put on the appropriate undergarments and sat down for makeup. Barb, a friend of my mother's, did an incredible job. With the hair and makeup, I have never felt more beautiful than I did on my wedding day.

After my cheeks were bronzed and my lashes curled, I took one last trip to the ladies' room (this would be my last until after the reception) and began getting dressed. First, note the amazing footwear. I love Father of the Bride and have always liked the idea of wearing tennis shoes at one's wedding. I also wore a Mizzou garter in honor of our Alma Mater, the University of Missouri.

Next, it was time for the gown. I loved my gown. It took Chantel and Kara to help me get dressed, all the while I was panicked that my hair would be messed up. We took it nice and slow and my hair remained in place.

Next came the accessories. My sash repeatedly came untied throughout the day. It was cute, though, and I loved it. Here, my mother is helping me find a way to keep it from coming undone.

With the addition of the veil, my ensemble was complete! We still had a lot of time before the ceremony, so the girls and I played (the name of which I cannot remember) a game.

Kisses from my mom!

The back of my gown.