The Look

Well, apparently, my feelings and thoughts have hit quite a nerve with some readers. If you're not sure what I'm referring to, see the comments section under the post entitled "Weddings. . . Plus, Plus." I invite any comments, positive or negative, to start a dialogue about topics addressed here on this blog. Friends have started discussions with their significant others and their families, and I think it's great to just consider these topics and these issues. So, I want to send a shout-out to "Confused Reader in Up-state New York" (here on after referred to as CRUSNY) for disagreeing with me and saying so! Let's here it for CRUSNY for being so honest and proving that we, as a culture/society, should be questioning our traditions!

I'd like to touch on a different topic today. Let's talk about beauty. Oh, the joy of trying to look a certain way for your wedding day! Seriously, the wedding industry has done a number on women - making us feel like we have to look so beautiful, so pretty, better than we've ever looked before. The pain and inconvenience we go through to have that perfect look on our wedding day is quite ridiculous, don't you think?

Should I grow out my hair long, or should it be cut short? Should I wear it curly or straight? Should I wear it up or down? What if I choose the wrong way? Should I whiten my teeth? Should I get a tan? Should I get my eyebrows waxed and shaped? How much weight can I lose before the big day? When can I go get another manicure/pedicure? Will this scar be seen? Do I want a shiny look or a matte look from my make-up? What if I break out and am covered in zits on the wedding day? What bra will be the most comfortable yet supportive? How tight can I get those Spanx to be without suffocating me? . . . and so on!

All of this concern and care for one day - a day when you should be more focused on looking like yourself, the woman your fiance fell in love with. My only wish is that my look show how truly happy I am. At a recent shower, one of my cousins said she's never seen me look happier. That's the best compliment, right? That she can tell how happy I feel at this exciting time in my life, that I can celebrate my upcoming marriage with so many close friends and family, that I am looking forward to spending my life with Sam? That's the best part. (No, that's not me in the picture shown!)

I know that I will continue to feel stressed out about the look, mostly because I am not one to enjoy everyone's eyes on me. Yet, I hope to start focusing on the big picture and stop letting this wedding industry (that wants to make me - and other women- feel like we're not pretty enough for this attention) take hold of me! Sam loves me as I am - with no make-up on, with hair a mess, in pajamas or sweats, stinking of chlorine from the pool, or dripping with sweat after a bike ride. It won't matter, at the end of the day, how much I stressed over my look. He'll think I'm pretty, and he'll love me, and he'll be my husband. So, I'm gonna go ahead and get over it! Maybe some of you other brides will try to do the same! :)