Weddingbee Blog

On the morning of our wedding I woke up around 8 AM. I had set my alarm for 10 AM just in case I decided to pass out and sleep through our wedding, but luckily I woke up with the sun (!! Sun! Not rain!), feeling rested. One of the great things about having to drop everything off with the venue Friday morning was that I couldn’t do any more projects after that. So, I went to bed at a semi-reasonable hour on Friday (after hanging out at the bar near our hotel, post rehearsal dinner), and got plenty of sleep. I highly recommend this if you can, because I know personally—and Mr. GP will happily testify to this—I get pretty cranky when low on sleep (or food, especially)!

(Good morning, gorgeous view from my room!*)

Since I must. eat. breakfast. every single day, I got dressed in my easily removable top (haha! Oh what, you didn’t read that like a 12 year old boy?) and headed down to the hotel breakfast. Is that weird? After I got down there, I realized many people in my family and Mr. Guinea Pig’s family were there eating breakfast too, and I felt slightly awkward hanging out eating french toast with everyone like today was no big deal, but breakfast was necessary, so I fueled up. [On a side note, Mr. GP and his buddies went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Cracker Barrel! Honestly...]

I headed back up to my room and took a shower (I also hung my veil in the bathroom to get ’steamed’ one last time!). Around 11:30 AM, Kelley Small (of Amie Decker Makeup) arrived wielding numerous hair tools and products to transform our hair into fabulous styles, and my lovely friends started arriving at my room while she set up and got started.

Kelley was a trooper - she was ~7 months pregnant, and it never seemed to faze her! She did my hair, the 5 bridesmaids, and touched up my mom’s! She’s an amazing lady, super sweet, and very talented.

(BM J’s awesome finished hairstyle*)

For me, it was an excellent choice to have hair and makeup folks come to our hotel room. It meant I got to hang out together with my bridesmaids, mom, and anyone else who wanted to swing by in the morning, in a chill environment with couches, magazines, and plenty of food! I did what I do best: drink tea, eat {Berger} cookies, and take photos.

(so bride-like, right?*)

Time flew by and before I knew it, most of the girls had their hair done, and Amie and JoAnna (the makeup half of the Amie Decker Makeup team who did our hair and makeup) had arrived to complete the look with makeup!

(Yeah, this is pre-makeup. Did I mention all my bridesmaids are gorgeous?*)

(Amie works on BM D’s makeup*)

(Stunning BM L!*)

It was about this point that our wonderful photographer, Amy Deputy, arrived! (Personal photos are denoted with a * - otherwise, photos below are copyright of Amy Deputy Photography)

(My beautiful sister!)

When I first saw the above photo, I said out loud to Mr. GP, “I love this photo! But don’t I look really different here?” He looked over my shoulder and said “Well, that’s because that’s your sister.” Oh, right. No wonder the girl in the mirror is so beautiful! [Also for the first time I sort of understood why people used to ask us if we were twins when I was in high school & college---I was always annoyed because Sister GP is 3.5 years younger and I didn’t want to look like a kid, but now I know to take it as a compliment if anyone were to ask that these days!]

Then in the blink of an eye while I was getting prepped, everyone else was getting dressed!

(Last minute ironing. This photo is mostly to prove to BM N’s dad that she can, in fact, iron*)

The girls got into their dresses, then cooled off with the wind:

(taking advantage of the breeze on the balcony )

and watched as I got the finishing touches to my hair and makeup!

(I love this photo SO much. Also, hi dress!)

I loved seeing all the bridesmaids dresses together in such a beautiful color (that I searched so hard for!), and it was all made even more wonderful when I saw my sister and my mom looking fabulous in their dresses.

(I don’t think this was even posed, but I love this photo of Sister GP in front of my dress!*)

(Mom GP looks radiant!*)

All that was left was for me to finish getting ready! We were running a few minutes behind schedule at this point, but I wasn’t too worried about it (perhaps unwisely). The morning/early afternoon was pretty relaxing for me, and although my friends were getting their hair and makeup done while we were hanging out, it actually sort of felt like we had just all gotten together to catch up! I guess it hadn’t sunk in quite yet that we were all here so I could get married.

Up next: I get ready and we head to the venue!

* = Personal photos by myself, friend DB or bridesmaid D. All other photos copyright Amy Deputy Photography.

Miss something in the Guinea Pig recaps? Far Beyond Forever:

• Crabs and Crying (Rehearsal Dinner)
• Practice makes perfect (Rehearsal)
• A photo summary of our wedding