Weddingbee

Part I: Let’s Get Beautified

Every time I see our “first look” pictures, I think of a song that I’ve loved since my pre-teen years called “The First Time” by Surface. Specifically, this part of the song

Can you tell from the look on my face
That I love you more today
The first time I looked into your eyes I cried
Do you remember the first time
We fell in love
You looked into my eyes
Wiped the tears away
The first time
When we fell in love

I think that best encapsulates how I felt when I first saw Mr. Pearl that day, then looked into his eyes.

Anyway, onto the eye candy

My coordinator and photographer set up a first look session for Mr. P and I in the foyer of the hotel/our reception venue. It was a great location because it provided a long hallway for us to walk down and meet each other while the shutterbugs clicked away.

Mr. P got there first with his guys and hung out nervously waiting for me. I was a bit late, but what can I say? Beauty takes time!!

Meanwhile, back to me. . . I was making my way down to the ground floor, but walking my way around the hotel. The minute I stepped off the elevator, I had people gawking (nicely) at me and giving me friendly congratulations. My “favorites” were the ones with the crappy comments about marriage, saying stuff like “It’s not too late!” Uh yeah, ’cause you were going to change my mind? Let me run back up to my room, toss on some sweats, and call the whole thing off! Or…not.

When I got down to the lobby, I saw my grandma (Nana) and her husband sitting in chairs waiting for our First Look. The day before the wedding, she called me and let me know that she was going to be attending after all. It caused a little bit of scrambling, but I was glad she’d be there to see the first of her grandchildren get married. She came up to my room while I was getting ready to say hello, but she mentioned she’d have to leave to get ready for the wedding (they drove down to LA the morning of the wedding) and I’d see her later. She was really excited to see me all dolled up. It was kind of touching for me to realize that we had three generations of our family’s women standing there (my mom is in the pink sweater in pictures below) and someday after I married Mr. P, a fourth generation would be on its way.

And at last, we see each other!!! [note the entourage waiting and snapping away in the background]

Notice how I started crying almost immediately. The big, dopey grin was to prevent damage to my makeup from sobbing. I wasn’t the only one though. Mr. P was just as teary-eyed as I was, even if he’d probably deny it to everyone!

Next up: Formal Portraits

• Wheeling
• Hot Dress Roundup