Wedding Preparations

Nothing combines personal finance and body image issues better than being in a wedding. The bride-to-be is one of my dearest friends and I am very excited to be there with her next week. Even though I’m not the one getting married, there’s still a ton to do just to get myself into wedding-worthy shape.

I’m not talking starvation dieting to look my “best” for the big day (I didn’t even pull that crap for my OWN wedding, thank goodness). I’m more talking about all those little things that add up to feeling and looking great while standing up there beaming with joy for your friend. Those things take time, money, and add up to a healthy dose of body confidence when you know you’ll be seeing lots of old friends, acquaintances, and possibly former nemeses.

The first step to feeling like a million bucks involves a trip to the spa. I was thrilled to find a daily deal on Living Social for $200 worth of services for $100. This is a God-send. I will be maxing out this deal on Saturday getting my fingers and toes done, my brows waxed, and a massage. Although no one will see that last one, there’s nothing like a good rub-down to help work out the kinks and leave me feeling ready to face it all.

The next part of the equation involves foundational garments – I will be rocking my Spanx and some kick-ass toeless hose under my bridesmaid and rehearsal dinner attire. I generally don’t have much patience for those types of things on the daily but for an event, they are a big part of feeling sleek and smooth while standing up straight in front of people.

And most importantly, there are the dresses. The bride graciously let us pick the styles of our various dresses dictating only the color choices, which are lovely and flattering on everybody (lapis with wisteria trim aka dark and light purple). I’m pretty sure we all picked the long strapless one with some sort of shrug. I was afraid that it wouldn’t fit given the fact that I bought it back in October or November of last year and I’ve been making my peace with food with some serious gusto. But all is well and it will be fine. I got some lovely silvery-gray shoes to go along with it and we’re good to go. I also snagged myself a deal on a smokin’ rehearsal dinner dress from Kiyonna. There’s nothing like a new dress! It arrived yesterday but I have yet to try it on. I’m hoping it’s as fabulous and it looks online.

So, I pretty much have everything in place to feel terrific going into this affair. I managed to do much of this on a relatively tight budget ($100 for the spa, $85 for the rehearsal dress – gotta love coupon codes, and $150 for the shoes – well, a girl’s got to splurge somewhere and I’m serious about comfort when it comes to my feet! I can’t remember the cost of the bridesmaid dress, but it was extremely reasonable. I think I’ll try to find a cute little silver bag to go with the shoes and maybe some earrings or some other inexpensive jewelry to complement the dress. All in all, not bad at all considering I will feel completely prepped and great going into the weekend of wedding fun. That will free me up to bask in happiness for my friend and her groom without worrying too much about myself. And that is the best deal of all.