We're married!

I thought I'd leave you with a quick picture or two before we go away. We only get pro pic's in 8 weeks so it will be a while before recaps begin. These two we took quickly before the ceremony began (where the minister forgot my name and called me something totally different!).

Eyelash extensions - NO NO

I've been wanting to get the luscious lashes eyelash extensions for quite some time now so I finally made the appointment and went ahead with it on Wednesday morning. BIG MISTAKE! It took about 2 hours to attach each lash individually with industrial strength glue and afterwards I couldn't decide if they felt or looked worse. Firstly they had a flick at the end of each eye which looked so incredibly fake and secondly each time I closed my eye they'd prick the rim of my eyelid.

The wonderfully competent salon, who by the way I had done research on before going to, insisted that I would get used to the uncomfortable feeling and would soon feel some relief as time went by. But as the day went on I couldn't shake the feeling that my eyes didn't feel right. I called the salon and insisted that I needed them removed, only to be told that they didn't have any appointments available. So of course I raised my voice and eventually got put through to the owner, who after a long conversation wherein mostly telling me that I was making a mistake wanting to get them removed, squeezed me in. Once I got there they could see how stupid it looked and persuaded me to only get the flicky parts at the ends removed, still insisting that the comfort levels would soon normalise. I let her remove the few lashes and wanted more off but she was so rough that she actually rubbed the skin off my eyelid, so I couldn't take the pain any longer.

I left and was miserable for the rest of the day. Yesterday being a public holiday in SA, all the salons were closed. My eyes were swollen, sore and uncomfortable. Bear in mind when you have lash extensions you can't rub your eyes, wear glasses and you cannot wipe your eyes once you've washed your face so all the water and any excess cleanser goes into them.

This morning I was on the phone bright and early. I begged the salon to fit me in to remove them, only to be told that she had no time and I should look on the internet for an alternative! Can you believe that?! I was furious! I did just that though, I went onto the website and after many calls finally found the most wonderful woman ever. Her voice and reassurance alone soothed me straight away. So off N and I went. When I lay in her chair she was absolutely stunned at what the pathetic salon had done to me. She said they had actually glued the lashes to my skin instead of 1mm away. They had filled my lashes with so much glue that it took a little over 2 hours to remove. Afterwards my eyes were sore and red but I was so happy just to have them off that I didn't care.

I know it sounds silly but you can't believe what a bad experience this was for me. It absolutely ruined my last few days before the wedding. Anyway I'm happy that they're off and I can close my eyes without pain!

Just a few more days left

I haven't been posting that much lately because basically I don't have much to say. With only a few more days to go I thought I would be running around frantically trying to finish last minute things but with all the free time I've had recently with not working, I haven't had any last minute things to do. I've been shopping for honeymoon goodies and have even started packing what I can in the mean time as I'm pretty sure the Sunday after the wedding will be rushed and so tiring that we won't feel like doing much.

Today I sent all our vendors emails reminding them of the wedding this weekend. We booked most of them so long ago that I feel more at ease just touching base with them and making sure of the time that they'll all be there for setting up, etc. I also gave our DJ specific instructions on how to do the music for the ceremony, like the fading of the song once I've reached the alter and little things like that, so lets hope it works out like its supposed to.

I also confirmed all our honeymoon accommodation. With all the different places we'll be staying at its easy to get dates mixed up, so I confirmed all the correct dates and I made sure that they all knew that its our honeymoon, not just any holiday. Hopefully we'll get some extra special treatment or a bottle of champagne or something nice to make us feel spoilt.

Today was N's last day at work so from tomorrow I have her all to myself! Over the next few days we have waxing appointments, teeth cleaning appointments, shopping (yes more shopping, that's all I seem to do lately), cooking & baking for the rehearsal, the rehearsal and finally on Friday setting up of the chapel AND then its the big day!

Good News...

....my dress fits! And with a bit of room! I've been putting it off but thought I'd better try it on before its too late. As I described previously it wasn't overly tight but I couldn't move comfortably in it BUT now its comfortable enough to even wear normal underwear with it instead of those incredibly sexy looking body shaper shorts / underwear thingies (although I'm still considering wearing those since they give such a good shape).

It almost feels surreal that our day is almost here, a mere week and we're married. There's one thing that I've been worried about for a while now and I can't seem to find an answer for it, and that's what am I going to do after the wedding and honeymoon?? There will be no big event to plan and look forward to, no life changing event that warms my heart every time I think of it being a day closer. What will I do with my time?? Seriously though, it scares me a little - a lot!

Go away rain!

I checked the weather forecast for next week and to my horror its going to rain! Not only is it going to rain on Thursday, the day of our rehearsal, the day that I've planned for and spent money on already to enjoy our sunny braai and cocktails by the pool. But its also going to rain on our wedding day. What a disaster! My dress will get dirty, my shoes will be muddy, and not to mention the photos, how on earth will we get nice enough photos inside?! Its so shitty not being able to control something so major, isn't it?!

This is the forecast from AccuWeather.com

Thursday, Sep 24

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Cooler with clouds and occasional sunshine. Winds from the W at 12 km/h.

Realfeel®: 21 °C

High: 21 °C

Thursday Night, Sep 24

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Partly cloudy. Winds from the SSE at 6 km/h.

Realfeel®: 9 °C

Low: 9 °C

Friday, Sep 25

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Intervals of clouds and sun. Winds from the ENE at 9 km/h.

Realfeel®: 23 °C

High: 22 °C

Friday Night, Sep 25

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Rain. Winds from the ENE at 16 km/h.

Realfeel®: 9 °C

Low: 12 °C

Saturday, Sep 26

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Rain. Winds from the NE at 11 km/h.

Realfeel®: 25 °C

High: 24 °C

Saturday Night, Sep 26

More Details

Rain. Winds from the NNE at 6 km/h.

Realfeel®: 13 °C

Last DIY complete

The seating chart is complete. If there's any more changes to names of guests partners then its just tough! My maid of honour has now changed her partner for the third time, so I've just left the name as "Partner"!

Second hair trial

I bit the bullet and went for a second hair trial today. I really wasn't happy with the other one, it was too much for me - too many curls that didn't last, too much hair that all just blended into one big mess at the end of the day. This time I'm much happier, I prefer the less complicated, natural look.

Its difficult to explain to the hairdresser what I want when I don't even know myself. We tried a few more things today like putting sections in velcro curlers for added body but because of the straightening treatment that I had not so long ago my hair wouldn't hold any body or volume. We resorted to sleek straight hair with a section clipped up as was previously done. She suggested that we layer the front for a better result which I don't mind since my hair is one length mostly (except for the front bits). That will get done this Friday when I go for my cut and colour.

Here's the results (as mentioned above the front will be different so its not pictured here):

Hair trial

I don't know if I like my hair like this or not. I was after more defined, bigger curls but even with a lot of product my hair didn't seem to want to hold them. I originally just wanted my all my hair loose but she took some pieces up and it actually looked nice. I considered having a second trial with my hair all up but I really don't think an up-style suits me, I've got a chubby face and need it to be framed and covered a bit with my hair.

I couldn't get a decent picture of the front so I didn't bother posting one.



Here's some inspiration pictures that I took to the hairdresser:

Happy Friday!

Its a beautiful sunny day today and with the weekend just around the corner it couldn't be better.

I gave final numbers to our decor/florist person as well as our venue this morning. There had better not be any cancellations otherwise we're paying for nothing. We did have one cancellation yesterday, luckily it was just in time. Our final numbers are 61. So we'll have 5 tables of 10, 1 table of 9 and of course our sweetheart table.

I finished our table boxes yesterday for the decor woman to set up. Each box is marked for a specific table and consists of:

* Seating arrangement chart
* Place cards
* Camera
* Favours
* Candles
* Menus
* Cocktail Menu
* Table Number

I wanted to print out the seating chart today but I've got minimal paper left and don't want there to be any further cancellations so I'll wait till next Friday rather. Better safe than sorry.

I'm off to my hair trial in an hour. I so so hope that it turns out well!

I had a feeling...

... that something was going to happen. For the last few weeks I've had this feeling that something was going to happen to my car thus preventing us from going on our honeymoon (since we're driving down).

On two separate occasions yesterday somebody almost drove into me so I was relieved when I got home and my car was untouched. But my luck ran out today when to my horror as I came out of the shopping centre my car was surrounded by security guards. Obviously I panicked and did a quick scan of my little black beauty, but couldn't see anything wrong. One of the security guards joked that somebody had tried to steal my car but I quickly saw what really happened. A huge SUV had parked next to me and as the driver got out of the car the wind slammed her door into mine. What kind of damage would that cause you ask, well with the very strong wind we have at the moment it caused enough damage for me to get totally shocked and immediately furious with the driver, who I couldn't really blame since it was mother nature's doing.

Its not such a bad dent, but it is dented and the paint is chipped off. I wouldn't have been so angry if it wasn't for the amount of money I would have to pay out of my own pocket, especially with the wedding just around the corner. I do have insurance but my excess is more than the cost of the damage. I've been advised to request that she pay for the damages but I doubt very much that she would be willing.

Catching up

It feels like I've been so busy lately, that there's just more and more going on and more things to do.

Last Wednesday we got started on a kitchen renovation for my mom, since we had a group of professionals doing the kitchen I thought that it wouldn't be such a huge job for us but I was so so wrong. We worked our asses off till all hours of the night but I am now happy to report that my mom has a brand new sparkling kitchen! When my parents bought the house in 1988 it had the original kitchen and has only now been upgraded. N just needs to put the blinds up for my mom tomorrow then it'll all be done!

A couple of weeks ago I tried on my wedding dress and too my disappointment it was tight, not tight enough that I couldn't zip it up but tight enough that I could barely bend over or sit. I tried to loose a bit by eating better but being so busy hasn't allowed me the luxury of healthy eating. Its been playing on my mind so much that last night I dreamt that I had to wear a hideous black and white dress to get married in. I was actually sad when I woke up! I'm so angry with myself that I let myself go to this extent. I'll give it another week and then I'll have to take it to get altered.

I have my hair trial on Friday and I'm so looking forward to it. As with the make-up trial I really hope that the results are what I hoped for but you never know, I might end up looking all poofed up and big haired - oh lets hope not.

Final meeting with venue

Yesterday afternoon we met the new and old coordinators at our venue for the final run through. The meeting was about an hour long and we covered everything from the type of champagne served to the placing of the tables in the reception area.

I was impressed with their suggestions and with the little extras we'll be getting. Both N and I will be getting our own rooms to get ready in, where in we'll each receive a snack platter for 4 and champagne for us girls and beers for N and her boys. We'll also be getting a honeymoon suite for the evening.

Our coordinator will also be offering a lot of help to my mom. We explained that her walking is very bad and that she might be coming in a wheelchair and they were more than willing to show us ways in which to get her in the venue and chapel (since its not an overly wheelchair friendly venue).

Its such a relief that they'll be taking away so much of the responsibility that I thought would be mine on the day. For instance, they'll be liaising with our MC with regard to the following of the order of events, they'll check that the chapel is full and that people are seated before they call me to begin, they'll ensure that the lighting is dimmed at certain times and brighter at others, and they'll ensure that the set-up is correct and that all serviettes are correctly folded to hold our menu's.

We also discussed the types of cocktails for cocktail hour. We'll be having Pimms & Lemonade, Sourz and Lemonade, and orange juice for the non drinkers. These drinks are refreshing (although I've never tasted Pimms) as the venue is hot even in spring, as we found out yesterday.

Lastly we discussed the order of events. We originally had the first dance then the cake cutting. They suggested it would be more practical to first have the cake cutting then the first dance otherwise just as the party gets started everything has to be stopped to cut the cake then afterwards begin dancing again. For some reason I hadn't given it that much thought but their way is far more practical.

Make-up trial

I was pleasantly surprised, I didn't look like a drag queen although I've never worn so much make-up in my life (and doubt I ever will again). I took lots of pictures with me to the trial and pointed out certain aspects of them that I liked. I also told her that she was not to use any browns, I can't stand brown eye shadow. False lashes are definitely something to get used to but the effect that they have is phenomenal. I do think that she could've applied them neater and more accurately though. I was after a sort of sultry look, a bit of a smokey eye and I think she did a pretty good job. At first there was way too much shadow and liner by my bottom lashes but she fixed that and it looked dramatically different. I still feel a little uncomfortable with so much on my face but I'm sure it will look much better than having less on in the photo's.

This was my inspiration:

The final result:

Happy Spring!

Its September! Spring has sprung here in SA! Bring on the sunny days, lazying by the pool sipping cocktails......oh heaven.

It feels so good to be able to say "I'm getting married this month" - yay!

I'm off to my make-up trial this morning, I'm so hoping that its going to go well, I'm a bit nervous that it won't though. I don't know if I'm too fussy or if I just pick the wrong people to do the job - lets hope not.