Browse Tag by brides
Beauty, Blog, Weddings

Twist Back Bridal Hair Q&A

Happy weekend, y’all! As August draws to an end, we are now entering into wedding season round 3 – my personal favorite: the fall season. J and I will be going to about 5 weddings in the next two months, and I am so excited for all of the beautiful autumn wedding celebrations.

To kick off this fun time of the year, I am answering some of the recurring questions I have received throughout the past year, after sharing my Top 5 Reasons to do Your Own Wedding Hair & Makeup about what products and tools I used for this twisty pulled-back look I did for our wedding:

Q. What type of curling iron did you use?

A. The Conair 3/4″. Instead of twisting the hair, I wrap it around the curling iron. 

Q. Did you use any type of prep product before styling it?

A. Yes! After showering I always apply Oribe Balm to protect my hair when I know I will be styling it with heat. Then, immediately before I curl a section of hair, I spray it with Oribe Heat Styling Hair Spray – typically I don’t need finishing hair spray when using this product as it holds so well.  

Q. Where did you get your hairpiece from?

A. It actually came from a headband I saw one afternoon at Francesca’s (similar one linked here). I cut the rubber sides off the headband then measured how much of the lacy design I would need to have it fit between the twists. Bobby pins were all I used to secure it. I loved that it was super light and didn’t interfere with my veil! 

 

Hair Tools & Products: 
       

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Beauty, Blog, Fashion, Giveaways

Your Next Formal Event Must-Have

 

Today’s post is extra fun and I’m so pumped to share with y’all this amazing company, Borrowed By Design – AKA your next number 1 go-to for formal events. There are so many reasons I love this company and what they stand for: women supporting women (YES!), and their business concept is genius too! Shoppers can go to the Borrowed By Design website and choose to either purchase or rent a dress for any type of event imaginable. Whether you have prom coming up, an engagement photo session, a fun date, or even a midsummer themed photoshoot (like we did here 🙂 ), there are so many options available that are perfect for any budget.

Or, if you have the opposite problem and want to downsize, there are options for that too! How many times have you stood in your closet unable to giveaway or sell a formal dress that you know is just taking up space but you’re too attached to it to let it go? If you’re anything like me, then it’s definitely been more than once, or even three times, but who’s counting? How cool would it be if you could rent out that dress to other women? REALLY COOL! The gown featured in this post is a rental that Borrowed By Design provided for the shoot, and now that the shoot is over, it’s on the way back to its owner – instead of sitting in my closet never to be worn again.

As you can tell, I’m already obsessed and am so excited to provide y’all with a code to get 25% off your first purchase or rental: MALIALYNNW. Y’all there are dresses listed for $11 – that means only a little more than 8 bucks for a new date night dress! AND (yes caps are necessary here hehe) Borrowed By Design is also hosting a special $500 shopping sweepstakes giveaway – so get your entry in asap before the sweepstakes ends on August 15! (Click here to enter)

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Adulting, Beauty, Blog, Gifts, Relationships, The Home

Gift Guide For The Bride-to-Be

Hey y’all! Not only are the holidays upon us, but the engagement season is as well! Have you, or one of your close friends, recently gotten engaged? Congratulations! This is the start of a crazy, yet very fun journey. To have the chance to look back on all of the wonderful (and at times stressful) moments is super special, which is why I LOVE the bride-to-be book to keep track of all of those precious memories.

Also, let’s be honest – what’s a reading/writing session of those memories without a great cup of coffee in your engaged mug. Although, to be fair, at times you’ll probably wish what you are drinking is contained in the diamond flask instead (hehe only halfway kidding). So, whether for yourself or a loved one, it’s celebrating time!

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xoxo, M

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Blog, Marriage, Weddings

7 Essential Wedding Planning Tips

wedding planning

You’re engaged! Congratulations! It’s supposed to be the happiest time of your life, right? Oh I know what you’re thinking… If by happiest do I mean the most stressful? Hmm, maybe 🙂  But I hope not! Remember these seven easy tips and kick all that extra stress to the curb!

1. Let’s begin! First and foremost, this is not your day.

Eek, yes, you did just read that, but hear me out…Although you have been told your entire life by the media, scary reality shows zoomed in on insane brides, and every wedding advertiser on the planet that this is your day and only yours, it simply isn’t. Weddings are about much more than the bride’s favorite flowers – they’re a celebration of a major covenant made between two people which is supported AND shared by their friends and family. Honor those other people too and don’t use this time in your life as an excuse to steamroll over every other family member or friend simply because it’s “your day.” Now, if there is a random or small detail that is actually very important to you, be honest and go for it. Just don’t hurt your relationships in the process.

2. The wedding day is exactly that, just a day. 

I was told time and time again in the days leading up to our wedding to expect at least one thing to go wrong on that day. It seems like a negative-nancy perspective to have, but ironically it brought so much freedom to how I felt waking up that morning. I chipped my french manicure on my ring finger (the only one that matters for photographs) about ten minutes after waking up, and I died laughing. If that was the worst thing that was going to happen to me that day, I was totally cool with it. The thing is, the wedding day is just a day. An awesome day, but it’s the marriage itself that matters the most.

3. Practice your hair. Practice your makeup. AND have a backup.

Whether you’re doing your own makeup/hair, or someone else is, practice! Take pictures, see what it looks like with the dress and the veil. If you are trying out different looks with a makeup artist or hair stylist, be honest about what you are comfortable with and what you aren’t. Also, if you are not doing your own hair and makeup, have a backup plan should your stylist/artist be unavailable the day of. Life happens, and people unfortunately get sick at the worst times, so avoid the potential breakdown and have a backup on call should the need arise! (Click here to find out why I chose to do my own.)

4. Give everyone in the bridal party the SPECIFIC times/places you want them to be, multiple times and in multiple formats.

Our bridal party was awesome when it came to listening and knowing where to be, but many of my friends have unfortunately not had the same level of luck. Send out the times over text, on Facebook, in an email, in person, through other people, whatever! As long as the times have been clearly laid out in multiple ways, there’s no reason why they won’t be able to be where they need to when they need to. However, if they aren’t, go back to Tip # 2!

5. Don’t wait to write the thank you notes.

For real. These notes add up quick, which is a major blessing, BUT if you wait, you will not be a happy camper. After each shower, event, special package arrives at your home, write those notes! After the wedding you will be so grateful to have 100 instead of 500 to write.

6. Utilize the Amazon wishlist for your registry 

This is something I wish we had done in addition to the standard ones. Amazon allows you to combine multiple items from multiple sites into one wish list. Convenient, easy, and fun. Plus, you can make the purchased items hidden if you don’t want to ruin the surprise for yourself.

7. Keep all the main people coordinated: Videographer, photographer, cook, planner, director, etc.

Last but certainly not least, if you are hiring multiple people, make sure they are aware! Especially when it comes to your videographer and photographer, as they are both creative services that will to a certain extent be capturing the exact same moments. Communication is key to allow both of them to do their things without overstepping one another.

You’re going to have a beautiful day, just breathe and enjoy every moment!

 

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