A Party To Remember: The Bride Gets Ready

So unlike Mr. Milk, I was not a fan of doing this the traditional way. I've never been one for doing things just because tradition says to, and despite my parents disappointment, I chose to get ready without a lot of pomp and circumstance. 

I got up in the morning, showered, and headed to the hairdresser with my maid of honor and one of the bridesmaids. It took about 3.5 hours and was probably the least enjoyable part of my day. By the time I got back to my parents house, very close friends and family had started to gather, including my bridesmaids, maid of honor, and the make-up artist. But just before we were about to begin, my sister called me into the tv room...

She had created a slideshow with pics from when I was a baby all the way till now. It was really sweet and the beginning to what was going to be a day full of tears and laughter for this bride :)

The silver tray on the left contains the things we need to take to the church. This is the brides duty. Mostly because, I think, if you rely on the men, there will be no wedding ;) It contains our marriage license, a small silver bowl with jordan almonds (again for luck and fertility) and small pieces of red ribbon. Tradition says, that if single ladies take a piece of the red ribbon after the ceremony (since it has been blessed) they will dream of the man they are to marry. I forgot to check with my lady friends if any of them had sweet dreams that night :)

Also in the tray are our rings, also tired with red ribbon, our crowns linked by a long white ribbon, a bottle of red wine, known as commandaria, for holy communion, and a glass for the communion. 

In the basket to the right you see the bubbles ready to be distributed once the ceremony is over,  flowers for tossing, and some mysterious sign that will be explained in a later post :)

And the "getting ready" part begins!

I loved the colors we picked for eyeshadow!

Throughout the entire time I was getting ready, we were constantly horsing around, as is evidenced by my bridesmaid's reaction in this picture!

This is one of my favorite shots (click to enlarge)! In the top right hand corner is my sister getting her makeup done in her bedroom, while I get mine done downstairs.

A ton of mascara to last the whole night...

Testing out the bubbles...

Another favorite! My sister looks on from the other room.

The makeup artist covered me in a light oil and then rubbed a shimmering powder on my arms, back and chest. I was super shiny!

Makeup done! Lets head on up and get this dress on!

Maid of honor helping me get into my dress

I love all the little buttons! I doubt she was as impressed by them at this point :)

The ladies all help in trying to figure out the bustle...

I love these two shots!

Help with the garter...

And the shoes...

Leads to an over-worked maid of honor :)

Bride is ready!

Mother of the bride and sister/bridesmaid are also ready!

Crying episode no. 2 and I haven't even left the house yet! This is a very close family friend of ours, who I grew up with. She came in, opened her arms, and started singing traditional wedding songs to me, and we both lost it.

Aaaand off we go! 

All Photos courtesy of Petros Sordinas Photography

Next up: Heading to the church!