Our Wedding: Getting Ready

On the morning of my wedding, I woke up excited and totally calm. My bridesmaid Ashleigh had set her alarm to wedding bells, so I punched my fists along with the song while she and I ate bagels in bed.

I wanted a lot of time to get ready because I've been in too many weddings where you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off, so I set our hair appointments at Salon Vivace for 11 a.m. We had provisions for mimosas and we giggled through the morning. The night before, we'd all decided "Whip My Hair" by Willow Smith was going to be the anthem of the wedding, so we played it for my hair stylist while we got ready. It was super fun.

My finished hair! I loved it. My custom hairpin was made by K. Autumn. Kelly, of K. Autumn, was amazing to work with, and made plenty of suggestions about gemstone and fabric colors.

My sister-in-law Katie has the most gorgeous hair.

Jamie wasn't sure how she wanted her hair done, so she told the hairstylist to do whatever she wanted. Well, she took that suggestion and ran with it. At one point I glanced over, looked at Jamie and tried to stifle a giggle. It's definitely an interesting hairsdo, but not Jamie AT ALL. Sarah ended up taking it down and putting it up in a very chic French twist.

I picked up this antique jewelry box at the Williamsburg Antiques Mall, a favorite haunt of mine.

My necklace is no longer for sale, but I purchased it on sale from J.Crew. It had sweet little bows and just the right amount of sparkle. My earrings were from J.Crew's factory outlet here in Williamsburg, located at Premium Outlets.

For my something old, borrowed and blue, I wore a sapphire art deco ring that belonged to my great-grandmother. It's so tiny it only fits on my pinky!

You might recall my search for the perfect short wedding dress. I ended up ordering the "Beverlywood" from Dolly Couture.

Dolly sells amazing dresses, very customizable, for less than $800 (mine cost about $625, including shipping). My dress came with boning in the bodice, but allowed me to wear comfortable underwear; it had a twirly skirt, with a lace-and-tulle underskirt. I loved it.

The only alterations I needed were the sleeves, which I customized with rhinestone buttons. I had my alterations done by Janie's Tailoring, in Yorktown.

Dolly's dress website was a godsend. I knew I wanted a short dress, but bridal salons didn't carry any in stock and tried to either sell me white bridesmaid dresses, which lacked grandeur, or poufy bridal gowns we would have to chop in half. Neither option appealed to me. Most vintage dresses I found were three sizes too small, or too stained/dingy. It was scary to order online, but Dolly's company customizes to your measurements; with the exception of the sleeves, it fit perfectly out of the box.

Before we left our hotel, the Omni of Newport News, we jammed to old Robyn songs. It was great fun.

We hopped in our cars and went our separate ways: my bridesmaids to the venue, and me, Ryan and Katie to the Ferguson Center, an arts building at our alma mater. We attended CNU when it was built; I covered its very first concert.

I was headed to the Ferguson Center to take pictures before the wedding with Sean. Some people don't want to see each other before the wedding because it's bad luck. To that, I say pish posh. It's practical because it allows you to get those intimate shots without the distractions of others and it's romantic, because it lets you have a private moment to recognize this is really happening and react to each other's finery. I wasn't nervous at all. I was excited.

Next up: Our first look!