Friday, July 13, 2012

Winter Wedding - Bridal Hair

When it came to what the heck I was going to do with my hair for my wedding, I was super anxious about it. I have really, really baby fine, thin hair that doesn't grow past my shoulders (unless I have extensions in - which I love to do!)

I also knew that I didn't want to worry about brushing my hair having it in my face, it getting stringy when I sweat from dancing, etc. So I definitely knew I wanted to wear my hair up, secured, and sprayed with a gallon of hair spray.

But.....with my baby fine hair, there wasn't much to pull up, so I knew some kind of hair piece or extensions would be needed.

My initial inspiration was from my fave person in the world ever, ever, ever...Gwen Stefani. When I saw this photo of her from fashion week back in 2010 I think, I knew I wanted some variation of this. Love her.


But I wasn't sure I wanted the 'bun' part to be that big or boxy - it could come off as a hat. I really had no idea what I was going to do and spent hours doing Google searches until Pinterest came around about six months before my wedding - whoo hoo.

So I started pinning all kinds of top knots and hair ideas.

I really liked this one that is still floating around Pinterest...



I also decided I didn't want a slicked back look in the front. I have a really big, round head... lol..and I knew head on in pictures it would look awful if I had all my hair pulled back -- so I knew I wanted to do something with the shorter hair in the front. I found this pin that I was drawn too of Reese Witherspoon...



The girl who did my hair really pulled through for me. I didn't have extensions or anything for my trial, so we did a "this is kind of what it will look like" look. I had to trust her for the real thing.

She showed up on my wedding day with clip in hair extensions that matched my hair and a round sponge, bun thing (that I still use - it's awesome). Somehow she pulled my hair up, clipped in extensions, put in the 'sponge' and teased my hair to a giant top knot perfection.


And here's the final product!


My veil comb went right in the front and I loved the way it looked.


And for the reception, I bought a beautiful ivory flower clip that I attached on the side.


I loved it! It was messy, but suited me well I think. I looked like I had WAY more hair than I do and it stayed put!


It stayed put so well, it just about looked the same the next morning! Ha!


Read the rest of my blog posts about my Winter Wedding in Birmingham, AL on 12.10.11.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

My Mother's Wedding Dress

This week, both Megan and Megan Charleston bloggesses (yup, two Megans!) posted about trying on their mom's wedding dresses and were both contemplating on how to use the dress in their weddings. I felt like joining the party (even though my name isn't Megan) and decided to post my "trying on my mom's dress" photo and share with you how her dress was a special part of my wedding day.

Here is my mom's dress in all of it's 1975 glory...this is her and my grandfather before she walked down the aisle.


Here's her and my Dad... Ruffle tuxes and big bow ties were the trend at the time apparently. :)


I have been in love with my mom's dress since I can remember, and I always said I would wear her dress on my wedding day. Yet, as I got older, I knew I wouldn't be able to because I'm taller (and wider) than my mom was on her wedding day. No amount of alterations would get that dress to fit me. She was all of 5' and weighed barely 100 pounds on her wedding day. Me? Not so much.

The Thanksgiving after I got engaged, my mom pulled out her sealed dress box and we opened it. And here I am, in all my glory, trying on her dress - definitely not zipped in the back.


So, since the dress was not going to work as my wedding dress, I decided to wear my mom's veil on my wedding. However, it had a cap like crown that didn't quite match the wedding dress I ended up choosing. So we took the cathedral length bottom layer off and Jodi, owner of White where I got my dress, sewed it on a comb for me for free!

I wore the top half with the lace crown for my rehearsal, which was fun.


Then the cathedral veil was my veil on my wedding day and it was gorgeous! I almost didn't take it off for my reception, but it would have made dancing (especially our first dance) very difficult.


The rest of my mom's dress was recreated into special elements on my big day.

My mom's friend, who is an amazing seamstress, made our ring bearer's pillow out of the dress, a cover for the flower girl's bell, and the lace cuff (complete with buttons!) for my bouquet!


The rest of the dress was then made into a beautiful christening gown for my niece's baptism. The dress will be passed along to each of my mom's grandchildren for their baptisms. I think this is so special!





Even though I didn't get to wear her dress, I'm glad we were able to include her dress in different ways in my wedding.

Did you wear your mother's wedding dress and/or veil on your wedding day? Did you incorporate her dress in your wedding?

Read the rest of my blog posts about my Winter Wedding in Birmingham, AL on 12.10.11.


Monday, July 9, 2012

50 Shades of Grey Movie Casting...

...according to me.

I finished 50 Shades of Grey last week, and while some of the book was cringe worthy, I did get attached to the characters and the "plot". I'm already a few chapters into the second book now.

One of my favorite things is reading a book and then seeing how it's adapted into a movie. Of course with all the popularity and buzz, it was only a matter of time before somebody bought the movie rights:
It was reported that Mark Wahlberg's production company was in the middle of buying the film rights to the trilogy until several studios, including Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount, and Universal Pictures entered bids for the film rights, with reports stating that James was requesting to retain some control during the movie's creative process. On March 26, 2012 it was announced the rights had been secured by Universal Pictures and Focus Features. Actors Ian Somerhalder and Ashley Benson have expressed interest in acting in the film. In June 2012, it was reported that Angelina Jolie was interested in directing the film and was currently in talks to direct the adaptation. American Psycho writer Bret Easton Ellis publicly expressed his desire to write the screenplay for the film stating, "I'm putting myself out there to write the movie adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey..." -Source: Wikipedia

Wow! Screenplay by Bret Easton Ellis and directed by Angelina Jolie... I love the idea of that! They are both crazy in real life, so the book would be interpreted well I think. And while I like Ian Somerhalder and Ashley Benson, I find them more suitable for supporting roles.

Here is my casting for 50 Shades... there is no doubt in my mind that Ryan Gosling is Christian Grey. I think he's perfect for the part - young and intense. He's only like 29 in the book, right? So he has to look the part. I'm not sure I'll be able to watch the movie if someone else gets cast - I only picture Ryan.

If you haven't watched the new show 'Girls' on HBO, get your On Demand working and check out Season 1. It's like Sex & the City, but the realistic version. It's hilarious! Allison Williams would be a perfect Ana -- and I kind of like the idea that she's somewhat of an unknown. And I like that she looks more like a girl next door - everyone keeps trying to cast someone too sexy in the role and we forget that in the book Ana is a virgin. Besides, Allison already does nudity in 'Girls', so she won't have a problem with the role.

I also didn't want to cast someone too sexy as Jose - because Ana isn't attracted to him, so he can't be Wilmer Valderama or someone too attractive. He too needs to be a boy next door, best friend type.

I was torn between Michelle Pfieffer and Julianne Moore for Mrs. Robinson. But I like the idea of Michelle Pfieffer -- but part of me thinks she might be too old for the part.


So, what do you think? Who do you picture for each role?

Friday, July 6, 2012

Blog Summer Vacation

I have all of these posts in my head, but finding the time, the patience, and the motivation to post has been challenging for me this past month.

I've been traveling, vacationing, working, exercising, playing, working, traveling, beaching...

I apologize for the lack of posts and will try to do better in July.




P.S. I'm adding Captcha back to my comments - the amount of anonymous spam comments I'm getting is filling up my inbox and it's ridiculous. Sorry.