Recently, I had the pleasure of attending my friends’ wedding. It was a wonderful occasion because I whole-heartedly support this union. There was much to celebrate and the setting was beautiful.
There were delicious confections,
a beautiful cake,
red velvet cupcakes,
cookies in the shape of love,
an abundance of delicacies,
and the flowers where exquisite.
But you know what? Even without any of those extras, I would have been happy to be there. My friends’ could have gotten married in their living room and served TV tray dinners and I would have been just as thrilled.
Sometimes in the whole hoopla of weddings, people get caught up in the details and forget that it’s not really about the wedding, the decorations, the food, or the location. What it’s really about is two people coming together and taking a leap of love and faith. When those two people choose to share that occasion with family and friends, they are including their loved ones in their pledge, they are asking for support. It’s a beautiful thing.
My own wedding was extremely casual and I truly did not get wrapped up in any of the wedding hoopla. Our wedding was so casual it was a pot luck. I’m sure I broke tons of “rules”, but we didn’t care. We wanted it to be a party, not a performance.
Still, regardless of the grandeur or lack of grandeur, a bride wants to look her best. Here are a few bridal beauty tips that I think will work for every bride:
- Wear comfortable shoes. Even if you don’t dance very much, you’ll be on your feet a lot and you don’t want to be in pain.
- Look like you, just the best version of you. Don’t radically change your make-up. Sure you can go a bit glam, but you want to recognize yourself when you look in the mirror.
- Have tissue tucked away somewhere handy. Maybe you aren’t normally a “crier”, but this might be the one day that you get a little teary and no one looks great with snot running down their face.
- Eat! It’s easy to forget to eat in all the excitement, but you need to especially if you are going to indulge in all the toasting that goes on.
- Smile. Your smile will be the best accessory you have on. It will be what everyone remembers.
I’m a sucker for love. Love makes everyone look beautiful, so treasure yours and celebrate it in others.
Great tips for brides. Your friend’s wedding was very colorful! 😀 I wish her and her husband all happiness!
#4 is so true! I never did eat any of our buffet, I couldn’t tell you if it was good or not!
Let me tell you. I wish I had tissue with me on my wedding day. My sister sang a solo for us, and I was nearly sobbing. I kept sniffing in to try to prevent the snot from rolling down my face.
Lovely deserts and cakes.
I’m dj-ing at a Wedding this Saturday and I have to remember the order of the speeches, toasts, cake cutting and first dance.
I’m already nervous. 😀
Good tips for the bride. And yes wedding are wonderful and can be so magical but there is definitely the point where it hits overkill. I love that they had sugar cookies!
WOW – I wish I had gone to that wedding too. Those cupcakes look delicious! I love your advice, it’s all true.
I have been to some weddings that are so over the top that they are almost hard to enjoy. A nice simple wedding (with cupcakes) is much more fun.
I really think the more relaxed it is, the more fun everyone has. Besides, isn’t it absurd to spend what could be a downpayment on a new home for a half day party?
Yeah, the expense that some people go to is pretty absurd in my opinion. I’d rather use that kind of money on all sorts of other things.
Same wedding as your post up on that other place you post once in awhile – right? I don’t recall the name because I clicked over from G+. My comment would be about the same as it was for that post but I’m having a memory reset. I don’t know if this would be a tip or a goal – be relaxed and excited at the same time. Relaxed about the festivities but excited about the groom.
It looks beautiful…I like a bride and groom who do the red velvet thing. 🙂 I agree. Although, I’m not married yet, I always wonder why they turn into such hooplas. The most fun weddings I’ve been to are the ones that were casual. Good advice! I love the potluck idea btw! How fun!
It was fun and can I just tell you that all the food was delicious and you could tell it was made with love. I’m getting all teary-eyed just thinking about it. We felt so supported and loved by our friends and family. We couldn’t afford a honeymoon and our co-workers got us a weekend at a hotel by the beach and included dinner one of the nights.
Great photos, and very wise advice!
Oh my goodness! I need copies of these photos. They are beautiful! Honestly, I agree with you about the hoopla…even though this is my wedding. A big wedding isn’t necessary and definitely has no bearing on a successful marriage. I am fortunate that my parents are in a financial situation that they were able give us the party we all had imagined. I didn’t grow up dreaming about my wedding day; I just wanted good food and great friends/family to help me celebrate my marriage to Matt. (Plus a party that I didn’t have to clean up after, for the first time in my life.) While it wasn’t a bbq, believe it or not, we actually were able to do it all significantly cheaper than the average modern wedding. (Vendors really jack up their prices, which is ridiculous!)
Your wedding was wonderful. The best part was seeing both you and Matt shine. It just felt right.
Hey Claudya! Oooh, chocolate with vanilla frosting! And red velvet! omnomnomnom… Sorry, were you saying something about a wedding? Indigo x
I’m a sucker for love too….I like what you had a party not a performance. If I could do it over it would be more casual and more sweets!
Wonderful tips! What pretty cupcakes.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! The flowers are UTTERLY STUNNING… I love them so much I’ve pinched the photo and will put it on my Pinterest board! I hope you don’t mind.
Stew and I got married in the church then went home with our guests …. and we had a BBQ lunch. Everyone had to bring a plate of food and their own alcohol too!
We had just bought our first house, had our first baby (MY 5th)… and were broke! BUT SO HAPPY.
No honeymoon either… cos you can’t get a “Honeymoon Suite” with a double bed, four single beds AND a bassinet eh? We thought it was funny.
A family member (professional photographer) shot a wedding recently and shared this video this morning on FB:
https://vimeo.com/46990919 Many of the photos are repeats (in the beginning), but it’s a fantastic example of how a bride can choose to handle a rainstorm on her wedding day. It’s a metaphor for their marriage, for certain. I hope you don’t mind my sharing it.
Love their attitude and they truly look happy in the pictures.
I honestly cannot say that I would have been as cool about it.
What a beautiful bouquet and the treats look yummy. Great advice on attending a wedding. I wish them a lifetime of happiness.