Love is in the Air

I love weddings!!

This weekend it was finally time for my cousin Anna’s wedding. <3 I was in the wedding so I didn’t get a lot of photos but I wanted to share a few of the good ones I managed to get.

The wedding was on Sunday Feb 19th. My friend Ashley kindly agreed to do my hair for the wedding. She doesn’t do hair professionally but she always looks super cute at work with her hair styled in creative ways (seriously, how does she have time to do that every day?!) so I asked if she’d be up for doing mine. I was so glad she said yes! And I am SO happy with how it turned out. Here are a few pictures:

She did two braids in the front, tied them in the back, did a bunch of curls and hair-sprayed the hell out of it and then put the clip in my hair. (I got the clip on amazon and it matched my dress really nicely). Here is the dress:

The dress was from Macy’s (and on sale, even better). It was a dark plum/purple floor-length dress. My heels were a dark raspberry color. It’s kind of hard to see in this photo, but here you go:

The wedding was at The Secret Society in NE Portland. It’s a cool place with a separate bar, lounge area and then a big ballroom. Michael’s work Christmas party was there last year and it was a fun space.

So I got to the venue early with Ashley so she could do my hair and then I did my makeup. Immediate family started to arrive and the groom was bustling around getting stuff set up. Anna’s dress was gorgeous!

Here is a picture of the bar as they were setting everything up and getting ready:

It’s a fun, unique place. The Ladies Lounge was really big with two huge, comfy couches and private bathroom stalls. This was where we were getting ready. Finally the bride arrived and her mom and soon to be mother-in-law and the other bridesmaid, Shawna, helped her get dressed.

So much fun, so much positive energy. And the gorgeous bride:

Someone grabbed a bottle of wine that was especially set aside for Anna and we had a toast. Then it was time to rush through the official family and wedding party pictures as guests were starting to arrive.

She had some sustainable bouquets that were such a cool idea. I love that they were made out of paper and other reused products. They were really pretty and will last forever.

The ceremony started and we walked out to “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” The groom’s brother performed the service and it was funny and sweet and the perfect ceremony for the couple. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.

The party got started. It was an open bar and there were munchies and mini cupcakes.

A little bit later, a few of us made speeches. I was really nervous about getting up there in front of everyone (even though I knew more than half of the guests!) but I did it (and barely made it through my speech without crying) but I think Anna liked it. 🙂 People were super nice afterward and came up to me saying it was a great speech and they cried. PHEW! Success!

Ezra, the groom, got up and made a speech and thanked everyone and then he had an announcement. He had a surprise for his bride: he hired her favorite band to perform for the reception!! Anna was blown away and it was such a cool surprise! You can see a clip of Sassparilla playing on my Instagram page here.

They are kind of a bluesy, bluegrass, Americana, punk hybrid. The music was really fun! I think everyone had a good time. The wedding was really one big party and that was the vibe all night. I’m so happy for the bride and groom! And slightly jealous they are off on their honeymoon soon. 😉

I was kinda bummed that Michael was home sick with a sick Logan, too. 🙁 It would have been nice to have my guy there to dance with…Weddings are so romantic.

It was a really fun, special night. I’m super happy for the lovely couple and wish them a lifetime of happiness!