Prep: Me.

Once we got back to the hotel and stood awkwardly around for a bit, then ran around doing some last-minute errands, it was time to shower and begin the process of getting ready. Of course, being me, I allowed entirely too much time between returning from the Love Pond and my appointment with Mara. So I sat around for a while. I wrote a blog post, checked my FaceSpace, drank a warm beer and just kind of chilled. Kat showed up and started taking pics of the extraneous little things, and eventually Mara showed up to get the surprisingly long process of making me all purdyfied out of the way. Remember how I wanted my hair originally? Yeah, well, my hair doesn’t do that. But I dug the end result.

*P.S.: There’s some bra action, though minor, in this post. Divert your eyes/computer screen, if you must.*

Pretty sure I'm telling Shane to keep the beverages flowing.

Beginning of the braid dilemma.

Solution to the braid dilemma.

Mimosas ease frustration. It's a fact.

Another awesome thing about best friends? They actually force you to eat. Burgers.

The finger waves that never would.

My hair is, apparently, as stubborn as its bearer.

Let Round 2 commence!

Moar?

Airbrushing: Good for nixing forehead spots and tan lines.

Mara totally had the set up. Even if there was an obscene amount of pink.

I begged for this. And ran out of time to put it on.

More failure!!!

Damn you, follicles!

Shane likes to carry big black garbage bags around. Whatevs.

Mama Sooz.

Loves.

My favorites.

It takes a team.

Shaner trained for months for this.

Smells like team spirit.

Mama's job.

The whole process took about 3.5 to 4 hours, which was considerably longer than I’d thought. My hair refused to cooperate, which dragged the whole experience out. Mara was such a trooper, and finally after about the third try on the finger waves, she asked if she could just sweep my bangs to the side. At that point, I was totally for whatever she was suggesting. She did such a fantastic job and fully put up with all of our goofiness.

Hair and makeup: Mara at Lilikoi Hair Studio.
Venue: Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows
All photos by Persimmon Images.

The Beauty Department.

Don’t know it? You should. Especially for its braid tutorials.

Click the image to check the tutorial. There’s also some rad makeup tips. Ogle away.

Time.

No matter how much you plan and organize and delegate and reorganize and micromanage your wedding day, time is a squirrely little beast. Hell, not just the day. THE WHOLE PLANNING PROCESS.

I had ours worked out pretty well. I figured my hair and makeup would take a couple hours, max, and with the ceremony slated to start at 5:30, I thought 2 would be juuuust fine for Mara to show up and begin the process.

HA.

My hair and makeup took right up until 10 minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start. Apparently my hair refuses to cooperate, even when full of schlagoo to make it work. The finger waves I’d decided on for my bangs? Yeah, no. It took a good two hours of my hair in rollers, bobby pins, curling irons, etc., before we literally said “eff it and just make it not be in my face.” Seriously, I had such a minimal amount of time to get into my dress, much less take portraits with my side before the ceremony. However, Kat was able to get lots of great detail shots, since there are only so many photos you can get of curled hair.

And then!!! The ceremony was longer than I expected (I read it aloud and with Aussie no less than five times. Each time it took 15 minutes). And we were swept up with photos. And family.
Our 6:30 reception arrival? Try 7:15. It was still an effing blast, though. Impromptu karaoke, anyone?

Planning on planning your day is difficult. Working with your photographer is necessary. We lucked out in that we had Kat and Justin for a couple of days, so we got lots of nifty shots. But there were many I was a bit sad not to get. No matter, just poor planning on my behalf.

Morgan at Morgan Trinker Photography posted a fantastic guideline to planning your day. Really, seriously read it. And make sure that even if you think your photographer knows the key shots to get, you spell it out. Because, let’s face it, no one’s really a mind reader.

No one is saying you have to get up at 6:30 in the morning for a 5:30 p.m. ceremony, but give yourself a bit of wiggle room. We did a great outing in the morning with our friends and I was pretty good to go as far as getting ready by noon. But, my hair is a stubborn little bitch and hindered the progress. Which, honestly, I should have known.

Chop.

It’s not quite the standard post-wedding haircut, but it works for me.

It’s Here.

 
Today is the day. I know. What the hell am I doing on the Interwebz?!?

Truth be told, I’m waiting to get my hair and make up done. And you know what? I’m not nervous. I’ve loved him for a long time. Today is our three-year anniversary. It’s actually more of a relief that it’s finally here. It feels like I’ve been planning for two years … oh, wait. Ha.

In three hours we will make that final commitment to one another (all nicely nestled into an 8-minute ceremony). And then it’ll be done. And I can’t wait.

xo
 

Wedinated and Vegoosed: Myndi and Tim.

Name: Myndi Ruland

Age: 27

Occupation: Bookkeeper

Wedding location: Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

Wedding Date: May 10, 2010

Length of engagement: Slightly more than one year

Tell me about your wedding: The ceremony was intended to be as short as possible. Twas a civil ceremony, religious talk makes me feel a little uneasy … We made an attempt at writing our own vows and I wish that we would have gone through with it looking back. I chickened out as the day approached.

What was your favorite part of your wedding? Everything was my favorite part of my wedding! Everything! Every moment of the weekend leading up to it and the day itself was amazing. I had my favorite people in the world all in one place and all celebrating Tim and I getting married. Did I mention this all went down in Vegas? I love Las Vegas, the lights, the commotion, the endless nights … Las Vegas, all the people I love most in the world, and marrying my best friend, what could be better than that?

What disasters did you avert … or not avert and how did you deal with it? Eh. My divorced parents that have not spoken since my high school graduation were forced together for this blessed occasion. That was awkward to say the least. I dealt with it by pretending that it wasn’t an issue and refusing to let it get in the way of the wonderful things happening.

Was there anything you would have done differently, or do you have any regrets about how something went? I would have made the groomsmen take off their bowties before the wedding. When I first saw them I noticed they looked a little goofy and notice it more in the pictures. If that is the only regret that I have, I’d say it was a pretty successful wedding.

What was your biggest challenge in planning? Not being able to see the locations of the ceremony and reception before committing to them was a little difficult. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t have a clear idea of anything that was going to take place. I had to put my faith in a wedding planner that I had worked with via e-mail.

What lessons did you learn from planning or from the wedding itself? I learned to appreciate that special time, because it’s over and done before you know it. However once its all over with, if you did it right, there will be a loving marriage to be stoked on almost daily.

What was your biggest “holyamazeballzI’mfreakininlove!” moment? Those moments haven’t ceased to happen. My husband amazes me with his level head and caring heart. It’s usually during my darkest times that he really comes through and makes me realize how lucky I am and just how much I love him.
There was one incident on the day of our wedding that I just oozed with love for him. I had the world’s most epic blister on my heel (it landed me in the ER at one point) and I needed some serious epic blister supplies. My bridesmaids were all busy getting ready for the wedding, and I couldn’t find my mom. So, my groom ran all over Las Vegas, literally ran on foot, to gather the medical supplies I needed. It took him hours to find it all.

When he arrived back, we weren’t supposed to see each other. He gave the blister gear to a girlfriend and went to get ready himself. When I saw how much effort he put in, and the selection of band aids, gels, pads, and other misc. materials I was so touched and impressed. A few hours later I couldn’t wait to walk down the aisle wearing an invisible blister band aid and marry that man. He was my knight that found a Walgreens.

What were your top 5 favorite things about your wedding?
1.) Seeing Tim as I walked down the isle
2.) The people that were in attendance
3.) The city of Las Vegas
4.) My red shoes (both the heels and the Chuck Ts)
5.) Dancing the night away to Lady Gaga and Beyonce

Top 5 least favorite?
1.) The world’s most epic blister on my heal
2.) The wind blowing at the ceremony
3.) When the weekend was over, having to say goodbye to everyone
4.)
5.)

What was the worst piece of wedding advice you received? I’m not sure that I received any “bad” advice about marriage… It all seemed pretty valid to me.

The best? The best was from my dad. He knows what a hot-head I can be and gave me advice for when I get pissed, “Don’t say things you don’t mean or will regret. Your words can leave scars on each other. Don’t have arguments that will leave scars, because you’ll regret it.” This is the advice that I have used on several occasions…

If you’ve been married for more than a few years, what have been some challenges? I have been married for barely over a year but have sure as hell become acquainted with challenges. We decided to try DIY home improvements on our house. I have high standards. He is not necessarily what they call handy. Many heated discussions have taken place as a result. As we continue to work on the house, I just try to remember that every project we have finished has turned out just fine … but I can’t help think that if I hadn’t bitched during the process that they wouldn’t have turned out as well.

What from your wedding vows/ceremony still holds the truest? The for richer or poorer part…

Any other bits of wisdom? Don’t rush it. Patience is key. When the going gets tough remember the reasons that you married the dude to begin with. Don’t be blind to your own faults. Laugh together every day.

 

Venue: Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas.

Photography: Caesar’s Palace Photography by Imagine Studios.

Hair Bling!!!

So, the lovely, wonderful and amazeballz Kate Cope worked her talented magic and made me a hair thingy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry it’s kind of blurry, I had to resize it. But rad, yeah?

 

Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!

This Chick …

Effing rocks. I just spent 20 minutes cruising her archives. Srsly. The fashion. The glamour. The hair.

The Freelancer’s Fashion Blog.

*drool*

Follicle Follies.

As we are all aware, I am having a rather hairy issue. Ha. Really, just in that I can’t make up my oh-so Libra mind on what to do with my follicles. I keep going back and forth between the retro-y pincurl look and a more romantic braided look. But, with the help of my darling, uh-mazeballs Sammie Sam, we may have reached a good compromise.

I fell in love with this look a few days ago when I saw it on Style Me Pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But I still want the retro element … so of course the brilliant Sammie suggested “Hey, why don’t you add a pompadour?” A la Gwen?

Pure genius.

It’s Coming to Hair-Raising Extremes

Because I can’t effing decide. So, you all saw the Billie Piper/Brigitte Bardot headband idea. But I’m still kind of hooked on victory rolls. It’s just so … different from anything I would normally do. And as I was perusing Unique Vintage today (love love love the dresses!), I stumbled upon a do I love. Maybe not as ringlet-y at the bottom, but in general really stellar.

Obviously not with a big, white, floofy flower. Maybe a little sparkly bling instead.

xo