Weddingbee Blog

After the backyard was set, it was time to get ready. Right around the time people started coming over, I realized I’d need to stick to my golden rule when I taught toddlers: Have a plan. Be ready to trash the plan. I couldn’t control people, so I just let everyone do their thing. With everyone working on their assigned tasks, I had to hope that everything else would fall into place—and my family and friends came through big time!

A hairstylist and MUA definitely weren’t in the budget so my friends brought all their makeup and curling irons to help me out. (Also: we didn’t have a pro photographer for a lot of the getting ready bit. I think you can tell.) We curled my hair and poured margaritas!

(guest photo)

Then, I started the base of my makeup: clean face + moisturizer + primer + foundation + powder + kabuki brush to even things out + blush.

(guest photo)

Meanwhile, madness had started to erupt around me. Now there were 6 girls upstairs getting ready, BIL and Mr. G downstairs with Papa Glasses and Mama Glasses (who was panicking because one of the bigger flower arrangements had tipped over, breaking the vase and spilling flowers everywhere), the caterers heating up the food and setting up, and the photographer. Backyard weddings do have their pluses—everything is at your fingertips so you don’t have to worry about forgetting anything—but one of the major cons is that when the house is packed, it can get overwhelming and crowded. I just had another drink and kept on truckin’!

BFF Cano did my eyes with her amazing collection of brushes and shadow.

(guest photo)

Spur of the moment, I told her I wanted a soft, romantic smoky eye. She used deep pinks and soft browns to fill in and highlight, then rimmed my eyes with eyeliner and a black shadow on my waterline to lock in the color. I carefully placed false lashes on my lids and glossed my lips.

Once my makeup was on, it was time to put on the dress. Unfortunately, my BFF David’s Bridal consultant couldn’t make it to the wedding, so my girlfriends joined around me to get that bad boy on. The corset and petticoat went on first, then we pulled the dress over my head.

We made sure the dress was all lined up and zipped…

Fun fact: my false eyelashes were my something borrowed!

Except it wouldn’t zip. A combination of not knowing how to properly put on the dress and weight gain made it exceptionally hard to get it zipped up and buttoned all the way. Two girls pulled up on the zip with all their might, while a third girl tried to hook the back of the dress together.

This had to be one of my favorite memories from the day. My best friends, pulling and praying with all their might, while I laughed uncontrollably at the situation. I felt all their love and loyalty right then.

Finally, the dress was on. Finishing touches,

My shoes were my something blue. I promise, they were blue

and we passed around a bottle of champagne and took a moment to breathe. The big show was ready to begin!

Next, the big show comes crashing to a halt.

All photos by Tam T. Nguyen unless noted.

Don’t worry, you haven’t missed much!

• First we prepped the yard.

Did you have trouble with your dress on your wedding day?