Poodles, Drag Queens, all in the bridal prep!

After a mad dash to Newcastle on Friday afternooon for strapless bra and suckitallin knickers, Saturday was a big, and busy day.

10am was my Hair & Makeup trial.

I told the girls I wanted to be quite natural, a 'posher, bridey' version of me, but that I was open to suggestions. I have straight blonde hair to about bra strap, so there were a few options. I took with me photos of hairstyles I had found online, and told the girls that I wasn't wearing a veil, I wanted to use fresh flowers.

After about an hour of hot curlers, straightening irons, enough spray to sink the Titanic, I was done, well almost.  Once she said she'd finished she held a mirror behind, and I had to stop myself from muttering 'poodle'!

I wanted a bit of body & wave, but not like a poodle ready for best in show!  So I asked her if she could pull out the curls a bit, which she was happy to do.  She pinned one side back to behind my right ear, leaving some light curls around my face, and added some fake flowers, so I could get an idea of how it would look.

Surprisingly I liked it!  I'm a ponytail girl, all week long my hair is in a ponytail, the only time it comes down is if we're going out for dinner, or I've just washed it.

So to see so many curls & waves, and hairspray (haven't used it since early 90's puffy fringe fiasco!), was a bit of a shock. But I was happy enough, knowing that my dress will probably give quite a different look to the hair, rather than jeans & tshirt I was wearing!

Next I went up the back of the salon to the makeup chair (Napoleon Perdis), I explained again I wanted natural, but joojsed up a bit so don't wash out in photos etc.

My chair was about a metre or so from the mirror and she went to work, painting, brushing, adding fake lashes to the outside of my lids, highlighting this, contouring that, etc etc, you get the drift.

After about an hour I was done, and from a meter away it looked a bit intense, very black liner on top lids, fake lashes curling up.  Then she gave me the hand mirror, holy guacamole!!!  Hello Drag Queen!

I looked like I'd been hanging out with George Hamilton, and had taken on his orange hue!  The eye makeup was the most distracting, with heavy black liner, and bronze/gold/white/green to almost my eyebrows!  I'll sometimes were a brush of glittery shadow on lids if going out, but never extending above my eyelid fold, so for me it was new, and a tad scary, in a Priscilla Queen Of The Desert way!  Except I luckily had a nude lip!

She asked if I was happy, if I liked it, I didn't want to offend, as she had put in alot of work (and used buckets of product!). I meekly said 'um I think it's just very different to what I usually wear, all the eye makeups not something I do, I guess I'll wait to see with the dress before deciding'.

A not great quality shot from my phone, of right side of my hair, after dress fitting!

She looked at me a bit like I was a rabbit ready to bolt, and I kind of was.  I almost ran to the counter, paid and got in my car, not wanting people to see me in full regalia!

I drove to the dress shop early, as my plans to drop in at cake shop & Spotlight were out the window now I was in my war paint! Luckily the girls at Newcastle Bridal, were free, and able to do my fitting early.

Another photo I took on my phone, on the way to the dress fitting, yes I'm too scared to show the drag queen makeup!

Once I manhandled myself into the strapless bra (if you're a cup size of D+ you know what I mean!), and suckitallin knickers, and shoes, the NB girls laced me into my dress, and helped me with the bolero jacket.

I stepped out, and the NB dressmaker smiled a big smile, so I felt a bit better.  I stood on the podium thingo, and had a proper look.

The poodle hair fell like waves on my shoulders, and the drag queen makeup didn't look that bad, now I was in 'bride mode', I was shocked, I didn't feel like a freak!  Yay!!

My dress, alas not me in it!

The dressmaker said with my shoes, the length of the dress was perfect, with the only alterations needed being tucking in at the bust to make it sit flat on my chest (yay Curves!!).

So after parading back and forth for about 20 mins while the girls tucked, primped and prodded, and getting some lovely comments from teenagers looking for Debutante & Formal dresses, I was sorted.

I'll pick up my dress in 2 weeks. Woohoo. Now all I have to do is dye my ivory shoes green, and all will be sorted on the clothing front.

So to wrap it up, I loved my hair in the end, and I think with a bit of tweaking I'll love my makeup, and I already love my dress.  All in all a great Saturday, and when I tried my dress on at 2pm, was exactly 1 month till I would be donning it to walk down the aisle with my man!