Hair Trial Update

My hair trial was supposed to be last night. Unfortunately, the hairdresser was unable to make it due to a family issue. Luckily, it was scheduled to be at my sister's house and so Justin & I ended up just having a nice dinner with my sister, her husband & sons, and my parents.

We also passed around the eight (!!!) pages of images I had printed, so everyone could see what I was thinking for hairstyles and offer their two cents. I was surprised by the interest that my father, brother-in-law, fiance, and even 4-year old nephew took in the wedding hair!

Thanks to everyone's help, I've narrowed the bridal style down a bit and gotten some sense of a style for the bridesmaids. Below, I've posted the "crowd favorites." I've lost most of the photo IDs, but the bulk of them came from The Knot or Project Wedding.

Bride:

Bridesmaids:

One of these things IS like the other . . .

This post from the Smithsonian Museum of American History blog reminded me of the wedding dress exhibit I talked about earlier this week. The post is about the dress above, from the costume collections at the museum.

This dress was made (by the bride) from the parachute her husband used in 1944, jumping from a plane in a night bombing raid over China! Very neat story.

NH Seacoast Bridal Show

If any of you wedding-planning readers live near the New Hampshire Seacoast, the University of New Hampshire is hosting a bridal show this Sunday, January 17th. Follow this link for more details.

I considered going, but ended up making other plans instead. Besides, there are not many vendors we have left to book (DJ and baker), so I didn't feel that I needed to go. However, I am disappointed to miss the exhibit of historic wedding dresses that the UNH Museum is putting on to complement the bridal show.

As an historian and museum professional, I love when modern things give a nod to the past and historic things insert themselves into the present. In fact, the day after Justin and I were "informally engaged" (said we wanted to marry each other, but no ring & formal proposal), I worked my job at a local historical society and remember being so pleased to sit and look at the 1899 wedding dress on display there.

You can read more about the wedding dress exhibit at this weekend's bridal show here and here.

(cross-posted on Museophilia, with some revision. It's my professional blog, after all!)

Unrealistic Expectations

A few weeks ago, I read the following in a wedding blog which I like (and will not therefore name): "I bought a dress . . . that was beautiful and cheap and made my mom cry - but it didn't make me swoon."

And my jaw dropped. "Come on," I cried aloud to the empty air (Justin wasn't home at the time), "we have to literally swoon in order to know we like our wedding dress?!?!?"

A bit of a harsh reaction, I know. It was more out of disbelief than disdain, I swear. However, I still think the foundation of that reaction is sound. Even after spending the last thirteen months in the trenches of wedding planning (with five more to go!), I cannot process the idea that a women must see an flock of doves descending from heaven in order to know that her wedding dress is THE ONE. Isn't it our new spouses that deserve that kind of heavenly sign? ;)

All kidding aside, I worry about those who put too much pressure on themselves and their weddings to fulfill every dream they ever had of a fairytale wedding. According to the quote above, the dress was beautiful and cheap and made the bride-to-be's mother cry. Why can't that be enough?

The Bridesmaid Dresses - In Person!

Ta-da! Here is one of my bridesmaid dresses, hanging in the changing room of the J.Crew store in SoHo. I was in NYC for New Year's with one of my 'maids and we headed down to the store on Saturday afternoon. She tried on the Sophia and liked it, so she ordered one.

I loved seeing the dress in person (clearly, since I took a picture with my camera phone). I have a swatch of the Mediterranean Blue color and I know what the fabric is like, since my dress is made of the same. I've also seen a photo of my sister in her dress. But, until this weekend, I hadn't ever seen the dress itself in person.

I was also a tad concerned about the color. A friend who is getting married this spring/early summer bought this dress for her maid of honor and didn't like the color when it arrived. I can see where she's coming from - the dress is definitely darker in person than online or in the swatch. However, I like this darker blue quite a bit.

As of now, I know for a fact that three of four bridesmaids/groomswomen have bought their dresses and am waiting to hear back from the fourth. With under six months to go, I'm happy to know that those ducks are almost all in line!