a small town wedding: girls get ready.

Before I go into the details of the morning of the wedding, I must share one last detail about the night before.  After our rehearsal dinner was over, we had gone to our friend's bar for a bit to visit with friends who were just getting into town.  While we were there I noticed that my nails were destroyed (the manicure I had earlier in the day was not the greatest) so I decided to fix it before I went to bed.  My sister (and MOH) and I stopped at the store on our way to the hotel (keep in mind this is after midnight and Walmart was the only store open) and bought some nail polish.  When we got back to the hotel, I sat down on the bed and immediately painted my nails while we were chatting.  The next thing I know...it's light outside, and both of us are sleeping while sitting up on top of the covers.  I had a bit of a freak out when I realized we had fallen asleep...I was afraid I was going to be late for my own wedding day!  Thankfully it was only about 5 am and I still had a little while left to sleep...under the covers and laying down this time!  

When I woke up (for the second time) we gathered our stuff and headed for the salon.  Leah went right to work on my hair since we'd already had a trial.

My bridesmaids took turns getting their hair done and had some breakfast and mimosas while they waited.

At some point, my (almost!) husband sent me a sweet text telling me that he couldn't wait to marry me.  I swear it made me much happier than I look in this photo.

My hair took forever.  Literally like 2 hours.  I was a little apprehensive at first...this is not what we agreed upon!

But eventually it started looking better.

When it was almost complete, we took a break to do my makeup.

Everyone else was doing their makeup too.

After a few last minute tweaks on my hair...

and a lot of hairspray, we were ready to head to the church!

All images by Deborah Cull Photography

Previously in this series:
a small town wedding: the beginning.
a small town wedding: giving gifts.

holiday hair trial.

It was a crazy holiday weekend! Friday morning was spent at the salon, where I had my hair trial. Based on the feedback I received from all of you, I brought in all of my inspiration photos (side bun and side ponytail) and asked the stylist what she recommended. I mentioned that it might be fun to do a bun that could transition into a ponytail for the reception. She liked the idea and went to work. After the curling and pinning into a bun, we decided the ponytail might be a better choice. The bun just wasn't doing it for us. The ponytail, on the other hand, looked muuuuch better.

I love the way the ponytail style turned out, although we will be making a few changes for the wedding day look. The sides will be a little bit sleeker and there will be more definition to the different sections that are pinned back to prevent the side without the ponytail from looking to plain. Hopefully my hair will grow out a bit more as well so the ponytail will look a little longer!

I am happy to report that the 'do survived all day long, and I was outside for the majority of the day. I wish I would have taken a picture at the end of the night, but after some fun at the bar celebrating a friend's birthday, hair trial pictures were the last thing on my mind (oops!).

Hair trial, done! At the two month mark, I'm getting way too excited when I check things off the list lately. How do you like the look?

hairspiration revisited.

My hair and makeup trials are taking place this coming weekend, and I've been scrambling to put together some pictures to show the stylist the look I'm going for. This is where the problem lies. I'm no longer certain I know exactly what look I'd like to achieve on the big day. If you remember from my last hairspiration post (which was months ago) I wanted a low side bun, much like these two.

(source)

(source)

While I still love the low side bun, lately I've been drawn towards photos of the low side ponytail. I know what you're thinking... not much of a departure from the initial inspiration, but enough to warrant another set of pictures!

(all from Project Wedding)

I'll probably bring in both sets of photos and have the stylist play with both looks to see what will work best. I am really hoping this trial goes well so I don't have to think about hairstyles anymore!

Which look is your favorite? Are you wearing your hair up or down for your wedding?

i can't wait.

My hair is getting SO long. I can't wait to cut it off after the wedding. I was thinking the other day that I should schedule a hair appointment the day after the wedding so I can have shorter hair for our honeymoon. But first I have to figure out when we need to be at the airport! I want to cut my hair like it was a few summers ago...this is very short for me!

While I'm on the subject, I still love the first hairstyle I picked for the wedding day, but I'm leaning towards adding a little more volume, like this.

And of course I'll add some flowers to it!

diy project: hair flower

Tonight, after cutting the fabric for my crinoline, I used the remaining fabric to make the flowers I'm going to put in my hair. Here are instructions in case you want to make one yourself, they are really easy to make!

You will need:

Fabric -- lightweight fabric like silk or chiffon will work best. I just used some apparel lining fabric in ivory to match my dress. You can use scraps from another project, this doesn't take much!
Scissors or rotary cutter
Self-healing mat if you're using a rotary cutter
Needle and matching thread

Instructions:

1. Cut a flower out of your fabric with scissors or a rotary cutter. You can trace a pattern on first if you prefer, I just did it freehand. Sorry for the wrinkles in this flower, this was one of my rejects.
2. Continue to cut flowers, making each one slightly smaller than the last. I used about 10 flowers for each hairpiece I made.3. Stack flowers center to center from biggest to smallest, alternating the locations of the petals to avoid gaps. 4. Carefully lift all of the flowers at once and fold them in half.
5. Place needle in the center of the folded side, making sure that needle goes through all layers of the flower. Make a few stiches to keep the flowers together.
6. Turn flower around and pinch in the opposite direction to make flower round. Arrange petals how you would like them. 7. Make a few more stitches to keep petals in place and tie a knot in the thread. Your flower is finished!
8. Attach flower to hair clip, pin, headband, or anywhere else you want! Enjoy your pretty new flower!

All photos are my own.

onto the next accessory.

I've been thinking about making a silk flower to put in my hair for awhile now. This picture sells me on the idea.

It also sells me on the idea of taking a picture in a boat, but I'd be nervous about falling into the water! I actually think they are trying to trick us in this picture. Doesn't it look like the boat is on the dock? I guess that's how you do it without getting wet! This couple is smart.

Now to start shopping for hair flower materials. I'll keep you posted.

Photo by Luke Walker via Elizabeth Anne Designs.

the perfect updo.

Anyone that has gone on Senior Walk with me knows what one of the rules is. "Must protect Holly's bangs in the event of rain." Everytime I get a haircut I come out with a slight variation of the same hairstyle, always with longer bangs swept to one side. I think I've found the perfect updo for my wedding that isn't too much of a departure from my normal hairstyle.

A low side ponytail bun adorned with fabric flowers. And I found the perfect flower by portabello on Etsy to complete this look.

I especially love that it has small pieces of russian veil attached to it. This would be perfect if I decide not to wear a veil at the ceremony, or at least something to add to my hairstyle after the ceremony. I think it'd be a really subtle way to change my look for the reception!

Hairstyle photos from Martha Stewart. Flower photo from Etsy.