Friday, May 1, 2009

April 6, 2009 Pre-ceremony

(All photos in this post by Matthew Szlakowicz)

It was definitely my idea for IC and I to spend the night before our wedding apart. His plan, though, was for me to stay with him until he fell asleep and then I'd move to another bedroom. As awesome as that idea was, that didn't happen. What did happen is that he fell asleep in what was to be my bed, woke up at 8am, and moved to one of the other bedrooms. Then, and this is the best part, when he was leaving the hotel room for the day, he'd yell to me from the other bedroom, thinking this somehow maintained the "not seeing each other before the wedding" superstition.

I didn't have bridesmaids so I wasn't entirely clear on what I should be doing. The hair and make-up lady was coming at 10 to start with guests who had requested her services. I wouldn't have anything going on till about 3. So I went to lay out on the deck, Elizabeth Grant eyepads under my eyes and Crest whitening strips on my teeth, ipod on. I was alerted to someone's presence only when my sun turned mysteriously to shade. It was Matthew, the photographer. Where are the rings, where is the dress, where is the groom? Oh, I did have things I was supposed to be doing? Who knew? My chill time pretty much ended there. I got in the bath and my wedding day began.

There were a lot of people in my room so I decided to head down to the spa for a manicure instead of having someone come up. I like my alone time, even on the day I am to wed. I emailed IC to tell him to avoid the pool area which I'd have to cross to get to the spa. Unfortunately, I accidentally sent the email to his work address and not his personal address which he was checking. So, as I stopped to say hi to some guests by the pool on my way to the spa, I saw IC walking hurriedly on the other side of the pool. We both looked immediately away. So much for not seeing each other. He looked worried to me, which made me worry too. Turned out later that he was rushing around to finish putting together the Hebrew music for the hora part of the reception.

I got a truly phenomenal manicure, Tamika at Exhale Spa rocksssssss! People kept raving about her massages, I didn't get to try but I have to say this was the best manicure I ever got outside of NYC (come on, ladies, admit it, manicures outside NY are...weird).

When I came back to my room, there was a commotion and I heard Matthew yell out "don't freak out!" And then I saw this:

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Oh, just my dress hanging on the balcony? Why would that freak me out? Apparently other brides might not like their dress in such a precarious position right before its big moment. I was fine with it. I was probably more nervous about this:

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Then I got my hair and make-up done (seriously check out my nails in this shot, so good!):

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I was going pretty natural, hair-wise and was in decision mode about whether I wanted a flower in my hair. As for make-up, I thought Shenique did a good job but I'm pretty finicky so when she was done I ended up taking off the eyeliner she had put on me and some of the eyeshadow.

The Matthew took some shots of me:

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And I decided to go with the flower in the hair:

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I asked Matthew how IC was doing and he assured me he was fine. He showed me a shot he had just taken of my almost-husband:

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I couldn't wait to see him. I was so giddy.

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11 comments:

  1. My favorite is the bathtub, really great shot. Um, my mom is manicurist in Boston, her manicures are pretty awesome. Not that I'm offended or anything. :P

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  2. Well, clearly an exception is made for Russians outside of NY. Ain't nobody do nails like Russians do nails. :-) Seriously, I've had manicures in several states now. They're fine, your nails are painted at the end of it but it's not a NY manicure (except for the aforementioned Russian exception which I'm totally not kidding about).

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  3. Definite thumbs up for the flower in the hair, the photos are all stunning - says the girl whose wedding "photographer" thought chandeliers growing out of people's heads was a good idea, managed to get squiggly red marks on the negatives of the best photos...ack my inner bridezilla is jealous of your beautiful beautiful pictures! The shoes on the balcony would have made me nervous too. I've had some pretty horrendous experiences of manicures in Scotland too, and way more expensive here. We stayed together the night before the wedding, and are still here 7 years later - superstition be darned! Can't wait to hear about the rabbi!

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  4. Manicures are like pizza, the further you get from NY, the less it resembles the ideal. (Except for Petitedov's mom and other Russians :-) )

    And I'm sure I've told you Steff about my million dollar "Quick Nails" idea for Scotland. Get a row of 18 year olds giving 15 minute manicures for 5 pounds (ok, make it 6 because nobody tips). Brilliant!

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  5. Yes but they're more expensive because you don't need to tip double or whatever the amount afterwards!! Your nails do indeed look beautiful. Love the pictures, I can't believe how hands on your photographer was. Btw, do crest strips actually work? I'm tempted but didn't believe it.

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  6. There are two kinds of Crest strips in the US. The regular ones are about 30 bucks, I've used them a lot over the years and there is a minimal change. Then there are the Crest "pro" strips for like 70 bucks and I got those before the wedding. I saw a visible difference after just a few uses. If you're going to get them, splurge for the pro ones.

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  7. I'll second the bathtub photo. It's really clever and pretty. Also? Your arms look awesome.

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  8. I am really enjoying all of this! Next segment please.....You looked beautiful! All the picures so far have been incredible. CONGRATS!
    Oh by the way....If you got married in Provo, where did you honeymoon??!! LOL..

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  9. Also? Your arms look awesome.That is all thanks to 5 hours of personal training at the Crunch on the upper west side of Manhattan. To all NY'ers, ask for Matthew (can't remember his last name, but he's from Hawaii. He totally rules.

    If you got married in Provo, where did you honeymoon??!! LOL..We honeymooned in Parrot Cay. That will be a later chapter. ;-)

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  10. Loved your blog, so cute! Congratulations! Your pics are AMAZING! Was your photographer reccommended by the Gansevoort or is he the photographer they use there?

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