An Exit Strategy: Wedding High Five

Hive, on May 30, 2013, early in the planning process, I found out something that made me a little sad: our reception space cannot do a sparkler exit. I know it’s sort of pathetic to get so upset over something so little, but I had fallen in love with photos like this:

#forevergushing / Photography by the fabulous StudioSomething.

Unfortunately, our reception coordinators had run into some trouble the last time they had allowed a sparkler exit. Previous guests had left the sparklers lying on the lawns, scorched the deck, and made a general mess of things. So, for good reason, they had banned the use of sparklers on the grounds

So… what else can we do? What will work for an evening exit?

Over the course of the next two months, Mr Big and I deliberate what to do. A glow stick exit was proposed, but didn’t match our general wedding ‘theme’; bubbles don’t photograph well at night; and confetti is usually out of the question because of the mess factor (and I don’t really like confetti).

The reception space usually has a goodbye circle or an archway, but a goodbye circle involves the bride and groom saying goodbye to EVERYONE (and we have over 100 guests) and the archway was used by my cousin for her wedding (and I’m trying not to do the same thing as her).

And then I stumbled upon this post during a jaunt over at Offbeat Bride.

Mr Big and I are perpetual high-fivers. The first thing we do when either of us has succeeded in something, be it in my academic work or Mr Big’s job, we high-five each other. The same applies to others. For example, my little sister/junior bridesmaid/Groom’s Homie got a good mark in her exams, she gets a high-five; my older sister and maid-of-honour got a job, she gets a high-five, etc.

Image via Offbeat Bride, photography by Kate Crafton.

I suggested the idea to Mr Big and he was so there. We think it’s an awesome example of us as a couple. We’re constantly high-fiving each other and everyone else. What’s even more is, when others found out they were all for it. We even got one of Mr Big’s groomsmen giving us a thumbs-up for it.

What this means, however, is that the send-off will have to happen indoors. Guests will have to line up, similar to the “archway” where guests form an arch with their arms. Instead of holding hands above and running underneath them, which will be extremely difficult for my 6’0″ husband-to-be, they’ll put their arm up, palm facing towards us. We then run through them, high-fiving each and every one of our guests!

So all of our guests (who survive to the end of the night) will be getting high fives (and possibly even hugs) from us before we leave! ❤

What do you think hive? Good idea or great idea? 😉

Hair-spire Me Hive!

G’day Hive!

I’ve shown you the trial and now I’ll be showing you the inspiration. I know that’s not typically how it goes, but that’s cause I need your help! What on earth do I do with my hair?

During the wedding, I’ll be using an MUA and hair stylist who’ll be coming to us the morning-of. They’ll be dolling up a whopping 8 women that day, so it’ll be a busy morning!

Now, the most I’ve done to my hair is tie it up and call it a day. I’ve never straightened it, curled it, or have done anything remotely fancy to it. In fact, these are photos from our engagement photo shoot and pre-wedding videography session respectively:

Left: engagement photo shoot, in Christchurch. Right: pre-wedding videography session (you can see one of our videographers in the background!). My hair is basically just swept back with no styling, whatsoever. / Personal images.

As you can see, no styling. At all. So, when it came time for the wedding, my first thought was: where do I start?

When I had a look at wedding day hairstyles, I was blown away by the zillions (I may be exaggerating) of hairstyles in existence. The waterfall braid, the half-up-do, the chignon, the ballerina bun, the boho braid, etcetera. I had no idea where to start.

So as usual, I turned to an inspiration board:

All the hair-spiration! // Images from (1) treasuresandtravels / (2) bellethemagazine.com via Scarlett / (3) Hair & Makeup by Steph / (4) bridalmusings.com, photography by Love Life Studios / (5) beautifulbridalmakeup.blogspot / (6) bridal musings, photography by Jessica Janae Photography

As per usual, I went through a lot of uhming-and-ahing about the hair I wanted for the wedding.

First, I wanted a ‘half-up-half-down’ look. The main reason for this was because I didn’t want to look too dissimilar to my ‘everyday’ look. But then, I got to thinking that I should maybe have a low updo – because it’s more ‘bridal’ and I don’t have to pile it ON TOP of my head (which is what I hated most about updos). I could wear it low, messy and still look like me, especially as I’ve been wearing my hair up more lately.

And then finally, I thought that maybe I should attempt to compromise between the two. After perusing through my Pinterest board, I thought about using a 2-for-1 hairstyle. What’s a 2-for-1 hairstyle? Well, it’s something like this:

Two-for-One – going from up and polished in the morning, to down and relaxed in the evening. / Image from Hair & Makeup by Steph, photography by Ciara Richardson Photography.

The reason I could have this, I thought, was because I’d be having a “touch-up” session during the midday of our wedding since our wedding will run basically all day and my skin is far from good. So with that in mind, I began to look at different “up” styles, and “down” styles.

The “up” styles I was drawn to were, as previously mentioned, low buns. I don’t think a ballerina bun would look particularly appeasing on my head. So a low bun it was, like these beauties:

From left to right, top row: Every Last Detail via Lover.ly, photography by Rustic White Photography; Southern Weddings , photography by Christian Oth; Hair & Makeup by Steph, photography by Ciara Richardson Photography. Bottom row: Image & photography via Closer To Love Photography; Wedding Chicks, photography via Erich Mcvey Photography; Bridal Musings, photography by Ed Osborn Photography.

As for the “down” styles, I found myself drawn to such beauties as this:

From left to right, top row: Wedding Chicks, photography by Patrick Moyer Photography; Bayside Bride, photography by Natalie Franke Photography; Wedding Chicks, photography by Tinywater Photography (now, Milou and Olin Photography). Bottom row: Santa Barbara Chic, photography by Jess Wilcox; Bayside Bride, photography by Kate Ann Photography.

However, after going through my trial, I decided that the touch-up session was a no-go. There were a few reasons for this, but the main ones were, (1) the touch-up session added extra costs, (2) the timing of the touch-up session was difficult to pinpoint, and (3) Mr Big seemed quite anxious about taking an hour from the day.

So now, hive, I have to decide on the kind of hair and makeup I want! It’ll be hot, so I’m leaning more towards a low bun.

But honestly, do you think this face would do well with all of that hair pulled to the back?

It’s’a me! Hair down, hair pulled back, hair with hat. Maybe I should just wear a hat… / Personal images.

So, what do you think hive? Should I go up, down, sideways? Can anyone give me pointers? I know a lot of you ladies are way more fashionable than I am. HAAALP!