Wedding Blog

You know you’re a die-hard foodie when:

1. Your favorite perfume smells like chocolate, vanilla, coconut, and cinnamon
2. Your second favorite perfume smells like saffron, pimiento and white pepper
3. Your third favorite perfume smells like honey
4. Your shampoo smells like coconut and your conditioner smells like vanilla
5. Your deodorant smells like vanilla chai

Yup—I walk around smelling like a freaking bake shop. all. day. I LOVE IT! People hug me and say, “Oh, you smell so good!” My doggie occasionally tries to lick my wrists. As I sit here typing, I am euphorically sniffing myself. Yeah, I might be crazy, but at least I smell good, yo!

I’m also the type who associates smells very strongly with memory. For instance, the perfume I’m wearing today (#1) is the same one I wore when Mr. Meatball and I first started dating… so wearing this scent opens a floodgate of sentimental thoughts of autumn, Milwaukee, infatuation, pleasure and comfort.

When it comes time to consider what my signature scent for the wedding will be, I know I want something new to wear, so that specific smell weaves itself into my memories of that day.

I love the idea of wearing it later, on special occasions and anniversaries, so both Mr. Meatball and I remember our wedding and all the warm fuzzies the scent recalls in our subconscious.

But I’m picky. I like my scents to be natural. I wear mostly essential oils, because I find that perfumes often smell “artificially flavored” on my skin and I no likey (I’m a hippie, remember?), plus they last far longer.

Enter Aroma Workshop. This hidden gem of a shop in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago is where I first discovered the magic of creating your own scent! You mix and match from a huge array of essential oils to create a mix that’s perfectly you—and they give you the option to wear it as oil, mix it into lotion, bath gel, massage oil or shampoo! They keep your “recipes” on file for when it’s time to refill—but I gotta say that one $8 bottle has lasted me 6 years so far. Holler!

Aroma Workshop is where I made the special concoction I wear today, and it’s where I intend to make a love potion especially for the wedding, the next time I visit home. It will probably be a new twist on the old sweet standards, but it will be distinct and unique and one-of-a-kind… just like our love!

They also host “scent events”—you and your bridesmaids can go in for a special signature scent creation party… a concept so cute I can barely stand it. If my girls all lived in the area, you could bet I’d be planning one right now.

They ship all over the US, and carry knock-off designer scents too, for those of you who love the scent but not the price tag of fancypants name brands. Can I get a what what?

I can’t wait to go back in and let the spirit move me toward the perfect blend. Now, I just have to come up with a super cute name for it! Any ideas?

Have you found your special love potion?