I remember having a tremendous difficulty trying to park the van in the garage and carry all my things up to the venue. The Tower Club is on the 48th floor of an office building, and since it was a Friday afternoon, there were still some business-y people around. Several of them didn't even try to hide their amusement at the sight of this "live bride walking." It was fun. In one hand, I wheeled my suitcase, and in the other, I held my wedding dress high over my head. I was frazzled, but also feeling very peaceful and happy. I must have been quite a sight!
This is where I get to thank my stylist, Bridgett H. Bridgett has been my hairstylist for four years now, and she has really taken the time to get to know me while also being a little no-nonsense. She quickly de-frazzled me by requiring me to relax and take a break; she got me some water and said it was important that I start the day very calmly. She is brilliant.
I hung up my dress,
and changed into my yellow get-ready robe (I kept my pants on under it; for some reason I suddenly didn't want to be pants-less with all those people who were going to be around me) and we got started. (*Note: Some of these photos are a bit out of order, as Bridgett and I had been working on hair/makeup for an hour or two before the photographers arrived.)
I think the "getting ready" stage was probably the calmest part of the day. For a while, it was just Bridgett and I, and it was pretty quiet.
The men were getting ready in another part of the building. Since their "getting ready" process was soooo much simpler than ours, there was plenty of time to hang around each other and tease Mr. Oyster about marriage.
Mr. Oyster says that it was very quiet while they were waiting for people to arrive and to start getting ready. Here, my cousin works on her knitting (she's amazingly talented -- more on that later).
My two maids-of-honor arrived (that is my whole bridal party, just those two), and I was happy to see them. It was impossible not to react to everyone's happy, anticipatory mood.
Bridgett was in the final stages of hair and makeup. They watched with interest.
When my hair and makeup was done, Bridgett wished me well and said goodbye:
It was time to put on The Dress.
A long, long time ago, I mentioned working with the seamstress, Nazhly Montilla. One of the things included in her service is that she comes to the venue on your wedding day (if it's local) to dress the bride; sort of a final send-off to her work of art, I imagine. I was so happy to have Nazhly there to help. She also took the time to show my maids how to do the bustle.
Nazhly zipped me up (here I am not being indignant, I'm just holding the dress), and it must have been tremendously funny:
Meanwhile, the men were having some trouble figuring out their outfits and accoutrements. Mr. Oyster got a little help:
In the women's room, my maids and Nazhly helped me with my dress and shoes:
And I love this moment where my best friends saw me in my dress the first time:
Apparently the men across the hall were very satisfied at having successfully dressed themselves:
I put on my veil,
and took one more look in the mirror.
....Mr. Oyster got his final touch with help from our planner,
...and we were ready to go.
*Photos by Chicago photographers David Wittig Photography.
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