let's start from the beginning {of January}

it has been soooooo long since my last blog post. it would seem that i'm the kind of girl who blogged during her wedding planning, and then stopped. sadly, it's true. this post starts it back up again, so here we go!

i loved blogging about all of my ideas during the wedding, and things i stumbled upon along the way. there were so many ideas flowing all the way, that I could not even begin to share all of them. planning my wedding was actually one of the hardest, most challenging, and incredibily fulfilling things I have done. it was so nice to be able to dream a dream, and then see it all come together. we could finally see the fruits of my labors on January 19th. on a cold, wintery day, i became a wife.

i think everyone says it about their wedding, but the day was absolutely perfect. i thought that i would be a ball of nerves, and a crying mess all day. i spent so much time fussing over details that i think i finally let it all go the day of, and truly enjoyed the day!

our pictures before the ceremony, but we couldn't see each other

all photo courtesy of pure amour photography

what I also realized (and what you hear so much of, but never really believe) is that all of the details can go unnoticed, even by you. there were so many things that i spent hours agonizing over that I never even saw myself. i spent hours and hours thinking about the branches and hanging votives, probably even days. unless someone has a picture of these, i never saw them, and unfortunately, my photographer didn't capture them. i am sure that they turned out great considering all the time I took to get those together. i hope that they added to the decor, but i'm not sad that i missed them.

while i may not have saw the final product of the branches, there were so many things that I talked about in my posts that did make it into the wedding and reception. here are some highlights:

Our unity candle during the ceremony - blogpost: falling

{eye} love eye primer

as I was getting ready this morning, and putting on my makeup, I had a moment where I was truly thankful...for my discovery of eye primer!

once upon a time, I was standing up in a wedding. as any bridesmaid knows, hair & makeup can be an expense. for this specific occasion, I decided to try my hand at doing my own makeup, smokey eye and all! you should know that I am not a makeup artist, nor did I have any real talent for applying makeup. of course I could do the standard foundation, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara, but there was no technique for any of it.

for anyone interested in trying to do their own makeup, definitely head over to youtube or pinterest to find great step-by-step tutorials on how to achieve any technique. for me, this was very helpful to see what tools and products I needed to achieve the look of a professional makeup application. I found pinterest to be the most helpful in seeing the final product, and then taking me to the video, wherever it was hosted.

after acting like a 5 year old in my mother's makeup for a couple of weeks, I felt like I was finally ready to buys the proper tools & makeup for this experiment. from all of the videos, it seemed that eye primer was a very important part of the process to prep the eye, and keep the shadows in place. So, I headed into Ulta to browse the selections. my first choice for advice on makeup is heading to Sephora as I just personally have had great success with the products I have taken recommendations on. either way, the prices are about the same.

so I asked the girl wandering around with pounds of makeup on, what she recommended for an eye primer. She told me that her favorite was Urban Decay Eye Primer ($20), so I picked it up.

as I browsed the selections, I came across some shadow that I thought would work perfectly, Starry Eyed Baked Eye Shadow Trio ($26).

this trio has a bit of a shimmer, and can be used wet or dry. As I continued to fall in love with all the products, I noticed this kit, that contained everything I could possibly need, Close Up: Real Life to Red Carpet Eye Tutorial ($37)

here I had everything I could need at my finger tips: eyeshadow, eye primer, mascara, liquid eyeliner, a makeup brush, and a step-by-step book on how to accomplish several different looks! I picked this up too, and headed home to try my hands at a smokey eye.

as with anything, practice makes perfect, and it took me a few tries to accomplish, but I started to get the hang of it. the wedding day came around, and the true test of my practice needed to pay off. I had to say I was pretty pleased. as I looked around, I couldn't tell that I had done my makeup myself. I felt a sense of accomplishment.

I had another wedding a month later, and I tried the technique again, and with another successful attempt. I was pleased at how professional the look ended up being, and I had spent a fraction of the cost for the professional services. the shadow lasts through the event, and does not smudge or leave creases. over the months, I have continued to practice and experiment. I receive many compliments on the shadow, and because of that, I have purchased more Lorac goods to replace the originals. while I normally am quite thrifty, these products are worth the money, and last for quite a long time.

to swing back to this morning, I use the eye primer by Lorac every day. however, I don't wear shadow every day. during the week I prefer a more natural look, and don't wear eye makeup. in the past, I would wear shadow because my eyelids would be more red, or would appear shiny compared to my skin that had foundation. to mask this, I tried putting foundation on my lids. this worked, but by the end of the day, the oils from my lids would wash the foundation away. this is when I decided to give that lovely primer I used for weekends and special occasions to good use. the primer is relatively skin colored, which creates a very natural appearance.

image from today, a random tuesday, with a sun burnt eyelid to boot.

now again, I am not a makeup artist, so this is why I share this with you. a simple product can be easy to use, at any skill level, and give you a very finished look. eye primer brought me joy this morning, and I'm hoping that if you aren't using it already, it can bring joy to you too!

{tie}d with love

one of my favorite things is baker's twine. this simple twine with white & an alternating color really spice up a craft project, gift, card, etc.

as with the colors, the possibilities are endless. head over to Etsy to find some great supplies or inspiration. or if you would like, here are a few items to get your project started:

jewel toned

About a month ago, I ordered the bridesmaids dresses for my wedding. They are beautiful, romantic, and most importantly, very flattering. The dress if from Dessy, and I would recommend any of their dresses for style and price!

of course since I'm obsessed with detail, I have been mulling over what jewelry should be paired with this dress. should I go simple? should I have big jewelry? small? sparkly? or none at all? After looking at a few things online, I decided I was really drawn to the Swarovski pearls. I was drawn to the beauty, luster, and affordability!

As always, I headed to my favorite site, Etsy, to try to find someone who would make some amazing jewels for my bridesmaids. I was stunned at how many beautiful handmade pieces were out there to choose from. If you love these pieces as much as I do, just click the links, and you will be taken to the Etsy seller's page.

earrings

   

bracelets

   

necklaces

   

while I think that these are very affordable considering their beauty, I have decided to use these to create my own jewelry. I think there will be a lovely sentiment in giving my 'maids earrings, a bracelet, and a necklace made by me.  I have sourced many of the pearls, crystals, spacers, and findings from Fire Mountain Gems, an online bead retailer. once I decide which one of these I will create, I will surely share my product with you!

...to be continued...