Getting ready

After the hair and makeup, we were slightly behind schedule upon return to the hotel. My fabulous youngest brother had gotten myself and the other ladies sandwiches, and my mom and a dear friend (from Germany!) were waiting for us in the bridal suite. My original thought had been to eat lunch together, but people grabbed their lunch to go, and my mom went to make sure that my she and my dad would also have something to eat.

So I got a chance to eat, and Ken took some pictures.

Yes, that is me, eating a sandwich.

Tip: Hanging your dress in the window is often the only place in the room that will enable you to keep the train from dragging. It's why everyone has the dress in the window shot.

The goods: my purse, the shoes, jewelry and the perfume Calvin gave me at Christmas.

And then it was time to get dressed:

The hardest part was trying to figure out how to get the dress off the hanger.

Tip: Spanx rock. Hard. And if you are planning on having this part of the day documented on film, I recommend being totally comfortable walking around in your undergarments.

Ken had told me that sometimes it takes brides all of 2 minutes to get dress, and other times it takes an hour.

Me? I was of the 2 minute variety.

Step...

Pull up...

Zip...

Tape... (yes, I did use fashion tape to make sure my dress wouldn't fall down)

And I'm dressed

My mom helped with my great-great-aunt's necklace. (Note the hair beginning to fall out. This is MY fault, in that I couldn't wait until after the wedding to chop my hair, and was insistent that I get a french twist.)

Putting in the matching earrings that we got converted to work for pierced ears.

Putting on the shoes. My mom helped me get in and out of my shoes for every dress fitting.

All set and ready to go, with a little bit of time to chat.

Saying good-bye to my mom

Checking myself out one last time before meeting Calvin...

All pictures are copyright of Ken Blaze.