Wedding Blog

Whew, it’s been a while, hive! My apologies for the delay in recaps, but I’ve been a little out of commission lately. You see, I haven’t really been able to type pain-free. A while back, I tripped on a computer cord at work and ended up with this:

(Excuse the sausage fingers- I couldn’t even get my wedding ring off, they were so swollen!)

Don’t believe me? Ask the guests of the D’orsay wedding who witnessed the “cast robot”.

Um, yeah. I’m cool.

But I’m out of the cast now and back to recaps! I’ll start where I left off:

After a somewhat hectic morning, I was all clean and ready for hair and makeup. I looked outside to take it all in and realized that we were blessed with blue skies and a beautiful day in the mountains! Part of me wanted a light snowfall, and another part of me wanted our out of town guests to see the beauty of a sunny winter day in the mountains.

We got ready in the hotel room and asked the hotel if they could possibly bring a chair to our room for makeup. Our hotel has a bar in it which also serves as one of the town watering holes. The bar stools are all named after ski trails on Vail mountain like “Lost Boy”, “Born Free”, and “Lion’s Way”. But of course, the guys at the bar sent this stool up to our room:

Verrrry funnny boys—you’ll find your woman eventually. Don’t hate. We all got a few laughs and got right to work with hair and makeup. My mom was up first for makeup, and because she isn’t the girliest of the girls, it was so special to see her feel pampered and pretty.

I’ve mentioned before that my mom isn’t actually my birth mother, but I can honestly say now that I never once felt sad that my birth mother wasn’t there to see our wedding. My mom is, and will always be, the woman who raised me, and I loved our time together on the morning of the wedding.

Now I can’t remember a word she said, but our makeup artist Liz Spetnagel was a hoot. She kept us laughing and uplifted the whole day, and it was so nice to be surrounded with such a fun group of women. It got me so excited for the celebration ahead.

As my friends and family got ready, we all chatted and laughed and it really felt like it was just any regular Saturday. I wore the same worn out slippers I wear around our apartment in DC, read aloud an article in People about the octomom, sipped champagne, and just enjoyed the day.

Bees before me have given the best advice about enjoying your wedding day, and I couldn’t agree with them more—just enjoy every moment. Chit chat about current events, tell stories and share memories, and most of all, just relax!

Well I guess I may have been relaxed for other reasons, too. Moving right along…

The girls all went through the rotations of hair and makeup and I realized we were getting closer and closer to game-time.

Champ’s mom even managed to break herself away from last minute alterations for the boys to get ready. Apparently a few of the guys gave the wrong measurements, and she basically fixed them all—one of the many details I’m glad I heard about after the wedding!

A few of the girls worked on steaming my dress and veil, and my cousin was around every corner with her camera!

Before I knew it, it was my turn for hair and makeup!

You might recall I had a crappy 1st hair trial, and ended up choosing another stylist. It’s a decision that cost me some money, but in the end I was SO HAPPY with my decision to change.

Kacee Picot was my stylist, and she listened to literally every request I had for the style.

She showed one of my bridesmaids how to put on my veil, and it was time for makeup!

As Liz Spetnagel did my makeup, and it all started to really hit me at once: I was about to marry my best friend. At this point, nothing else seemed to matter.

I must’ve completely stopped talking, because both my mom and my cousin came to check on me. My mom reminded me to eat something, as all mothers do when they worry about you.

My cousin came over to see my makeup. She made me feel beautiful, and she put my mind at ease. I’m so thankful for my family.

It was finally time to get dressed, and I was ready!

Next up, the guys get ready and take some group photos in the parking lot. Yep, we’re in the beautiful mountains, and they’re taking pictures in—the parking lot. Grrr.

Previously:
The Gift Exchange
Perfect Day to get Hitched!
Antlers and a Sing-along
The Practice Run
Finally in Colorado
A Quick Trip to the County Jail