Weddingbee Blog

…Anyone catch the reference to Sex and the City in the blog-post title? Yes? Even 10-plus years since that show aired I am still a huge Carrie Bradshaw fan.

A lot of wedding-planning checklists include tasks related to beauty, such as “get in wedding-day shape,” “start a beauty regimen,” “consider whitening your teeth,” “consult a dermatologist for skincare advice,” “test out spray-tan treatments or self-tanning creams,” etc. There is so much pressure to look perfect on your wedding day. And glossy photos on wedding blogs and in magazines don’t help! As the wedding day got closer, I frequently thought about what I should’ve or could’ve done differently over the course of our engagement. Should I have spent more time with a dermatologist trying to get rid of my pesky adult acne? Should I have started a tanning regimen so I didn’t look pasty in my low-back dress? Should I have spent less time on crafts and more time on an elliptical?

I keep going back to an awesome article by a wedding photographer that was posted on Offbeat Bride. Angie Gaul writes:

Here’s something that you might not know about the wedding photography industry. MANY MANY MANY of the photos you see on the wedding blogs and planning sites are not real couples. Some of them are models. Some of them are extremely photogenic newlyweds who agree to get dressed up again for dramatic photos. And some of them are the photographers’ skinniest friends in borrowed dresses…. What all of these fake wedding shoots have in common is that these are hand-picked, super attractive people taken to attractive locations to look thin and pretty, which can end up making you feel—intentionally or not—like you are somehow lacking. Coupled with the pressure that you must BUY ALL THE THINGS and DO ALL THE THINGS and BECOME THE PERFECT PERSON WITH REALLY WHITE TEETH before your wedding, and it’s…not good [...] At least three of Junebug Weddings’ (a self-described ‘style inspiration’ website) winners in their Best of the Best 2010 wedding images were not even taken at real weddings—two winning shots were taken of models at workshops, and one at a styled session on a weekday.

Does that sound familiar? Hive, who else stares at the beautiful, sun-kissed, doe-eyed models on wedding-blog posts with envy? Tell me I’m not the only one who tried, and failed, to finish a seven-day course of Crest White Strips application! Or who could’ve been out tanning at the pool on summer afternoons, but was instead indoors printing DIY save the dates and stuffing envelopes?

And then there’s the issue of photogenic-ism. (Is that a word? OK, spell-check is telling me not, but let’s go with it!) I’ve never felt very photogenic. My face is always shiny, I have a big forehead, and I really don’t like my side profile. I am that girl who blinks in every picture. (Sorry!!) My driver’s license photo is the definition of awkward. What if I look hot and sweaty in every single wedding picture? Will I manage to keep my mouth shut and eyes open during the formal portraits?

But, Angie Gaul continues:

To expand upon a 1998 self-esteem campaign slogan from The Body Shop that said, ‘There are 3 billion women who don’t look like supermodels and only 8 who do.’…Well, there are so many more of us imperfect, snaggletoothed, plus-sized, frizzy-haired, sweaty-faced-on-the-dance-floor real brides (like I was) than there are perfect, dewy princess brides.

I’m not trying to knock brides who do have the time and self-discipline to change their beauty regimens before their weddings. And I am amazed by the women who stick to their guns and are able to lose weight, in spite of the stress of planning a wedding. But I, Mrs. Wallaby, was not one of those brides. I knew that when I walked down the aisle and Mr. W took my hands in his, I would look pretty much the same as when he met me: I would be pale, my teeth wouldn’t be perfect, I might be a little sweaty from nervousness, and my acne might choose to make an appearance that day. I migh cry through our vows and make my not-so-cute crying face in all of our ceremony photos. But I know that Mr. W loves me for who I am now. He knew that he wasn’t marrying a Victoria’s Secret model, and he has seen me at my absolute worst. He tells me that I am goofy and cute, and he laughs at all of my terrible jokes. Our wedding probably isn’t blog-worthy, but we planned a special day and I couldn’t imagine us not having a great time. We always do. You’ll know we did when I get back our wedding pictures and I look like this:

Hiking along the coast of Ireland with my BFF circa summer 2011 / Personal photo

Whew. Once I got that off my chest, I unsubscribed from some of the wedding-inspiration blogs and started focusing on planning our honeymoon.

Have you struggled with your appearance on your wedding day? What helps you stay grounded?