P to the W to the C

What does that spell? Post-wedding chop!

I did it, everyone. I had to. It was down to my waist and I couldn't stand the static, tangles, and hair-always-in-my-way. It was heavy, unhealthy, and ready for a trim.

(sorry for the blurry picture. taken on a phone!)

But, instead of a trim, Ms. Buttons and Heidi Klum inspired me to get back to my high school days and go short!

Drum roll please...

I'm donating my 10+ inches to Locks of Love, a non-profit that makes hair prosthetics for financially-disabled youth with long-term medical hair loss. Donating is very, very simple to do. Here are the rules:

• Hair must 10 inches from tip to tip
• It must be sent in a braid or a ponytail
  
• It must be sent dry: have your stylist braid it and chop away, then wash and re-cut
• The hair can't have graced the floor
  

The new 'do will take some getting used to but at least Mr. CB says he likes it more than my long hair.

Will you be chopping your hair after your wedding?

Please Excuse Me For One Minute

I know, I know. This was supposed to be Part IV of my invitation series but I needed a breather from all of that design-speak. In lieu of all things paper, I'm going to talk about something completely different: flower girl accessories.

One of the things I want to gift my flower girls with is a cute hair accessories to go with their eyelet dresses. Where did I turn first? Where else but J. Crew's crewcuts accessory section. The bridesmaids are wearing dresses from there--or at least dresses that match their colors--so I figured I could get cute, chiffon-y headbands or hair clips that match.

I thought it might be cute if they all wore different ones, especially since they all have different hair. My cousin has Annie-like red curls while the other two have soft, blond waves.

These are the ones I ordered:

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The hairbands came in the mail today and when I hold them up to J. Crew's Light Shell and Silk Chiffon fabric swatches the colors are slightly off and the headbands aren't as cute as I pictured. They're too pinky or exploding in a floral way. And, I imagined the poor girls rubbing the spot behind their ears where the headbands start to push in after too long.

Where did I turn next? You know it. Etsy.

I figured one of the many talented hair accessory artists there could make a smaller version for my three 'lil punkins. (Yes, I absolutely adore all three of them).

On Etsy, what usually takes me three or four days of research, ends up taking more like three or four clicks to find exactly what I'm looking for. Which is what happened when I found Quirky Beauty.

She's going to make me three custom pieces for $15 each based on the design, below. You'll just have to wait and see what she sends me because it will actually look a bit different than this, but will use the same organza flowers.

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Looking at her designs had me dreaming about headbands again--but not for the girls, for myself.

Bring on the eye candy from the Quirky Beauty shop!






What accessories did your flower girls wear, if any? Where did you get them?

To Veil Or Not?

I've never been a veil bride. From the very first dress I ever tried on (almost one year ago!), I never pictured myself with a veil, even though my mom made me try on a few. I was drawn to a raw veil (love how modern this feels) and then to a mantilla veil (love how vintage this feels), but in the end, I'm pretty sure I'll be walking down the aisle sans this iconic bridal accessory. 

For a short while, I considered a headband made from ribbon like these brides, and I'm still kind of in love with the idea.

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I'm also considering the hair flower route as so many brides have done before. Mrs. Perfume revealed her DIY flower here, Mrs. Cupcake showed us her purse- and hair-accoutrements here, Ms. Mascara gave us the rundown on crafting your own here, and Mrs. Pineapple made a feathery flower here. While three out of the four brides above crafted their own, I would be taking the safe route and buying one pre-made. 

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For inspiration on both fronts, I've been on Etsy (story of my life) and come across these lovelies.

Etsy seller Oh My Deer

Etsy seller Grace Art and Antiques

Etsy seller BeSomethingNew

Etsy seller Muscari

What should I do? A hair flower or two? Or a headband? 

A Whole Lotta Wedding Planning

This upcoming weekend, I've got a whole lotta wedding planning going on. A six-hour drive on Friday will pretty much put me into wedding wonderland for the following 48 to 60 hours. Saturday entails a hair trial and menu planning, Sunday involves on-site rehearsal dinner research, and Monday (yay for holidays from work!), I'll be testing out who I think will become my make-up artist. See some of the hair and make-up vendors work below!

Katelyn Simkin's Make-Up

There's something to be said for not getting married in New York or Los Angeles. While Denver (the nearest major city to my venue) is large, it's make-up artists and hair dressers are a bit more navigable than a city thirty-two times its size (yep, that's the Denver to New York ratio). While I tried Ms. Joey's Craigslist method of finding wedding-day beautifiers, it didn't quite work out. I got one reply and, alas, I wasn't excited by it.

Tasha Valenti's Hair Styling

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So, I scoured Wedding Wire for some recommendations. Originally, I wanted someone who could do both hair and make-up. And while the girl I think will be doing my make-up can do hair too, she had a recommendation of a superb hair stylist since all five of my 'maids want to get their hair done.

A Before and After Make-Up Job by Katelyn Simkins

As I e-mailed a few various vendors, though, I began to see that the two-hour drive to my venue was creating some massive travel fees: $50 per hour or $125 round-trip. Yikes. Then I came across Ms. Katelyn Simkins who seems to have a real talent and charges .50 cents per mile (which ends up being about $40 each way). Not only that, she recommended Tasha Valenti from Denver's Look Beauty Boutique to do hair. Tasha agreed to jump in Katelyn's car (they're friends) and charge no extras for travel. So this weekend, I'll be giving them both a shot! And, since I likely won't be driving back up to Colorado before the wedding, I hope they work out.

Tasha Valenti doing hair for a photo shoot. She looks fun anyway!

I blogged about the Vogue cover make-up inspiration before, but besides that, I haven't shown you anything else! So, below, are the images I'll be handing to the respective stylists (note: while I have a few more on the hair side, here, I actually have some magazine tear-outs for make-up that I didn't scan in time to show you). All images below are from Project Wedding.

For hair, I'm back and forth between a low chignon and a pinned-back down look. So far, I've only seen one down-do that I like (below). I have stick-straight hair so romantic curls just aren't in the cards for me. We'll try both the bun and the down style, I'm sure.








For make-up, I'm going to a dewy look with hints of peach and gold:


Where did you find your inspiration? And your make-up and hair stylists for that matter?