The ladies get pretty, the guys sleep in.

So the morning of the wedding I woke up without the aid of an alarm clock, I was just too pumped up to sleep anymore. I took a shower, blew my hair dry and threw on my white hoodie and some jeans to wear to the salon (it was a large V-neck hoodie which easily fit over my head and hairstyle), meanwhile my sisters also got ready and chatted with me. I remember that I was eerily calm, like it was a regular day, not my wedding day, but there were moments when I had surges of overwhelming happiness and joy. It was a weird feeling to go about my business as usual and have those moments of "Oh my goodness, I am getting married today!" I think it was because my morning routine at the apartment wasn't that different from a typical day for me so it was easy to stay calm and collected. Once all the girls were semi-ready, as in, ready enough to hit the salon we hit the road.

First stop was to Tim Horton's for an assortment of Tim Bits and some coffee (of course) then we had to hit up Meijer for some unknown reason, I really cannot for the life of me remember what we stopped there for but I do know we had to stop there. Sisters A and E what did we stop there for? Do you remember? Anywho, we then finally made it to K.D Alexander's where fabulous hair stylists were waiting for us. We did get there a tad early but it turned out to be a good thing because that made us early to everything else we did that day. I have to say everyone at the salon was so nice and it was such a relaxing time, they were completely fabulous. I don't have any pictures of us at the salon because I told Jackie our photographer to just meet us at the house where we were doing our make-up and getting dressed. I regret that I don't have pictures of all of us getting our hair done but it meant that Jackie could stay later at the reception. My sisters and I went first, since we were the first to arrive, my mom, momma Tal and sis-in-law were all arriving separately since their appointments were a little bit after ours. It seemed like our hair appointments were over in a flash and we were off to PeTEAte Parlour in Pemberville just a block away from the opera house aka our ceremony location.

Once we arrived we got everything laid out and hung up and all the girls started doing make-up and getting dressed.

 

All of our stuff laid out/hung up for us!

Top pic: Me getting the eye shadow on! Bottom: Sis-in-Law prettying herself up

 Sister E smiling for the camera, Sister A getting her make-up done by Mom

Some hair shots!

Mom helping me get ready. It was at this point that I only had a little bit until I got to see Andy and this is when I started to get nervous!

My all time favorite picture of myself from my wedding day! There is just something so peaceful and calming about this picture!

Finally all put together before the first look!

Up next: The Bride and Groom get a sneak peak!

I cheated...

On my dress that is! But first a little back-story. I have been spending loads and loads of time at David's Bridal lately. I had my two BM (Super Sis-to-be and Bestie) that still need a dress, so I trekked there with them a few weeks back. A few weeks before that I went in search of another pair of shoes for the wedding (Yes, I fell victim to the colored shoe trend). This week I have been twice to help the Momma's try to find a dress. Momma Tal had luck on Monday and my Momma found a dress at a different bridal salon in town today, but we checked at David's to be sure.

David's 2010 line is out and it is gorgeous, if you haven't seen it, pop over to the website and take a gander, your peepers will thank you. While we were perusing the goods, I first saw her on a mannequin. Her tight bodice, layered tulle, and flower detailing seduced me. I eyed her up the entire time my mom was trying on dresses. I even wandered over and ran my hands over the bodice and tulle, wondering if I had made a mistake with my oh-so-simple-satin dress. Just have a look at my seducer:

As soon as my mom had tried everything on, it was time to go, but as we were walking I told my mom that I was in love with another dress in the store. She insisted that I try it on. Seriously, I tried to be the good person and leave well enough alone but my mother practically pushed this dress on me. I tried it on. As I slipped into it, I felt light, almost ballerina like. My mom zipped it up and it fit like a glove. I twirled in front of mirrors, my heart did a little flip-flop, was this my dress? Within a minute, I knew, it wasn't my dress. It was pretty, it fit me well, it looked beautiful on, but it wasn't the same as my dress. My dress was perfect for me. My mom knew that, but she also knows me, she knew if I didn't try it on I would think and wonder, so she made me try it on so that I could see for myself that it wasn't for me.
My cheating experience was a good one, it reinforced what I knew, that the dress I picked is perfect for my wedding and me. Although I have known brides that have cheated on their dresses and ended up in a pickle, wanting to buy the new dress, I would still recommend it. It was a very good experience for me.

Have any of you had a doubt about your dress? Have you taken it to the extreme of trying on other dresses?