Burning River Wedding: Manly Things

Word on the street was Josh had a long night and a bit of a rough morning. We're so compatible. Luckily it wasn't anything a good breakfast couldn't fix.

I have no idea what shenanigans the boys got themselves into that morning, if any, but I guess I don't really want to know. Unfortunately, we have zero photos of all the boys getting ready or hanging out in the room. This makes Josh and I a bit sad as that is part of the reason we loved the idea of a husband and wife photography team. Oh well, they can't capture everything I guess. Ted did get some artsy shots of Josh getting ready, though!

Apparently he also took some shots of Josh in a closet?

And of course, a few traditional portraits.

In the card I wrote him to go along with his wedding present I specifically asked him to open the gift in private with Ted. I really didn't want the rest of the boys knowing what I did for him. What did I get him? Well, I never talked about it on here, but it rhymes with shmudoir shmotos. Sorry folks, but you don't get to see them. If you're really interested give me your email and I'll send you a link to the blog post ;)

Anyway, it was great to see how he reacted upon seeing the album of risque photos.

I think he approves!

Ted did snag a few pics of Josh and his boys chillin' before heading out to do our first look.

Good times had by all :)

One more artsy pic. This one goes out to my friend, Laura. She has an obsession.

We have a crap-ton of these shots but none of the boys getting ready. 

Kinda sad about it.

Burning River Bride Tip: Boys are boring...don't blog about what they did the morning of your wedding because they probably just sat around.

This was the most boring post of my recaps...I promise to be back next time with something MUCH more exciting...our First Look!

All photos courtesy of Linczak Photography

Burning River Wedding: All Dressed Up In Love

One of my wedding day requests was to have all of my bridesmaids dressed before me. I really don't like seeing getting ready shots where the BMs are in their "street clothes" or pajamas helping the bride get ready. Personal preference, I guess.

Once my girls were dressed it was time for me to get in my gown! Eeeeeeee!!!!!

There was a bit of a...problem, though. I'd forgotten my Spanx at home. While I didn't need them to smooth out anything under my dress (my dress was very structured and could practically stand up on it's own), I knew I needed something to prevent friction on my inner thighs because my dress was so tight. I should have (and could have) asked some one to drive back to my house to get them, but I didn't want to mess up the schedule so I figured I would be fine. HA. Ha ha ha ha. Again, I'm an idiot. I'll talk about that in a future post.

Anyway, I ended up wearing a black thong under my dress. It really was all I had but it honestly worked out fine. I guess.

No one was really offering to help me in my dress, just standing around awkwardly, so I asked my mom to help. I knew she wouldn't speak up on her own, but I knew it was something she really wanted to do.

That other blond woman is our DOC, Brenda. I LOVE HER. 

Ps, sweet bra cups, right?

Since I know not everyone wanted to see my goodies, I manged to stay fairly covered up while putting on my dress. Here was my approach:

-Wear undies, tank top, no bra, and robe.
-Step into dress.
-Remove robe.
-Hold up dress to chest and carefully remove tank top while trying not to eff up hair and/or make up.
-Zip that baby up!

I spy a tramp stamp! Ooooh scandalous!

This is my "Please dear GOD let it fit" face. 

Can you see my MIL in the background sitting on the couch? She's so cute.

As my beautiful friends looked on adoringly,

I put the finishing touches on my look

and became a bride.

Burning River Bride Tip: have a game plan for getting dressed. Ask yourself some questions: who do you want present? Are you OK undressing in front of a ton of people or would you rather do it more privately? Is your getting ready outfit easy to get out of? These are things you may not consider until you're faced with them, so if you're still engaged definitely take a few minutes to develop your game plan.

Next up: We take a few in-room portraits and a little blue box arrives!

Burning River Wedding: Gettin' Prettified

Despite only a few hours of sleep and feeling like complete crap, I pulled myself together and started getting ready. I inhaled the granola bar and the ginger ale was really helping my stomach. Once all of the girls arrived I ordered breakfast for everyone...you have no idea how much I was looking forward to eggs and ham.

While we waited, the stylists got started on the girls. I also pretended the outside world didn't exist so I didn't have to witness rain on my wedding day, hence the closed curtains.

BM Helen and BM Ena. Sorry Helen, I had to do it :) 

We all looked a bit rough that morning

*Photo courtesy of BM Nikki*

I got a head start on my make up before BM Bree tackled my hair. I'm glad I left plenty of buffer time in the schedule because doing my own make up definitely took longer than normal. 

Right before we started my hair, our photographers arrived! I was SO happy to see them. I hired them over a year before the wedding and stalked them for nearly a year before I booked, so this was a long time in the making. Rachel is a beautiful person with amazing talent and I was so thankful to have her with me the morning of my wedding. I really should have insisted we take a picture with our photographers. They truly are special people.

Bree requested we start with freshly washed hair because her philosophy is you can always make it "dirtier" but you can't ever make it "cleaner." Makes sense to me! She started by blowing out my hair the way only she knows how. Sigh...I'm a lucky girl. Then she curled it and began pinning.

There's a smile from Mama P! One of the few caught on camera that day.

Laughs all around...I was feeling much better by now.

I also worked on my face a bit while Bree pinned. This was harder than it looks.

Some of my favorite pictures of the day are the ones Rachel captured of everyone laughing and having a good time. My goal was to create a relaxed and happy environment, free from stress and drama. I think the pictures showcase this.

I spy with my little eye....a mother-in-law-to-be!

The suite was definitely buzzing with activity. We put the finishing touches on my hair and make up:

The moms got their hairs did:

And the ladies prettied themselves up:

*Photo courtesy of BM Nikki*

Next thing I knew...it was time to put on The Dress! And guess what: we were totally on schedule!! I couldn't believe it. We actually had time to spare.

Burning River Bride Tip (I've lost track of the numbers...whoops): Create a TON of buffer time in your wedding morning schedule. If you think something is going to take 30 minutes, give yourself 45. We managed to stay on time all day which I hear never happens. We started really early (8am), but we were relaxed and not rushed.

Next Up: I become a Bride

Was your wedding morning crazy and rushed or pure serenity?

**All photos by Linczak Photography unless otherwise noted. Do not take without permission.