All About Me: Bridal Portraits

Remember all the way back to my early posting days (if you've been with me since then, hey! Thanks for sticking around!), when I said that I originally thought that engagement pictures were super awkward?  Okay, so I ended up coming to terms with that.  But you know what to know how to make things really awkward?  Take away one person and have another wedding photo shoot! 

I'm talking about bridal portraits, folks.  Which I should have mentioned in my New Orleans/Southern wedding traditions post, but since it's just what you do here; I forgot they aren't the norm elsewhere!  For those who aren't familiar, bridal portraits are done several weeks before the wedding with just the bride, usually in a different place than the wedding venue to get some pictures beforehand.  I'm not really sure of the exact reason, and I have no need for an entire album of pictures of me, but I'm all for it since it will act as a dress rehearsal for my wedding dress and accessories in advance of the wedding.  And it'll make Momma P happy to have some extra pictures of me, so that's what we're doing!

Longue Vue Gardens was one place I considered for photos./Photo by Eau Claire Photographics

Honey, Let's Fly to...

When you think about honeymoons, there are the two extremes - jam-packed days of activities and sight seeing or toes-in-the-sand, lounging beach trips.  We wanted to fall somewhere in the middle of that.  We love kicking back on the beach with a drink in hand, but we knew that we wanted some interesting activities and fun new experiences.  I was really tempted by some cool tours when MOH/Sis Curls was planning her graduation European vacation, but ultimately we decided that we wanted something more relaxing.  And as Sphinx pointed out, those kinds of tours will be more fun to do with friends and family later on - our honeymoon should be something that we prefer doing without other people around.

We knew that we wanted to use this as an opportunity to travel somewhere that neither of us have been before, and somewhere that we'd always wanted to go.  Early on, we had a dream destination in mind and have finally made the decisions to make it happen!

The Pyramids will be traveling to...

Kaanapali Beach in Maui.  Let's all just take minute to let this soak in./Photo via Dowdle Daily

Hawaii!

The Metal Kind of Wedding Bands

No, not heavy metal.  I mean the jewelry kind!  We've ordered our wedding rings, hive!  

And it was pretty much one of the easiest pieces of the wedding planning thus far.  Finally, we found the illusive "easy part"!  

Well, it was so easy because I had picked out my wedding band when I found my engagement ring (way back in the fall of 2011).  Yep, I fell for a set.  One of the things I loved most about my engagement ring was the band that matched.  From the very first time I laid eyes on it, I could imagine myself wearing them together or just the band in the future.  As a reminder, here's my lovely engagement ring: 

I got a hand cramp trying to get some good side detail there - hope you appreciate it!

And here's the band that caught my attention so long ago.  

Style WB6711W44JJ from Gabriel & Co.

I never considered looking for another wedding band, since I knew it was this one from the beginning, which made life so much easier.  Especially since the non-uniform width of my e-ring band would have made it hard to find something that looked right against it.  I love how these two will look together; the design of the band is just slightly different than the e-ring, so that it doesn't just look like two of the same ring on my finger.

Photo from Gabriel & Co.

So my band shopping experience was easy sailing - no regrets, no drama.  I guess we had potential for a bit of drama - when I went back to Ramsey's right before Christmas, they no longer carried my engagement ring, and so no longer had my band in store.  They were still able to order it, though, so Sphinx called in his order and it should arrive in a few weeks!  I don't have any pictures of both on my hand, but I'm sure you'll get to see that enough later on.

For Sphinx, he did a bit of research and liked the look of black or gunmetal of a tungsten band.  I wasn't 100% convinced that it was a classic look, but I wanted him to get what he wanted and I knew from  Mrs. Armadillo that we could get a great deal on one.  

Like this, or maybe a two-tone./Photo from Metal Masters Co. on Amazon

When we went to try them on in person, he didn't like that the band could not be resized or cut off if necessary, and he wasn't exactly feeling the dark color against his skin.  He got to experience what we do with wedding dresses - what brides think they want going in might not be what looks best in person!  

We moved over to the other side of the case and found some white gold rings that were more his style, but left the first time without purchasing.  Last week, when I said we needed to go back, Sphinx said "Oh I thought we wrote down the number of the one I picked?  Don't you need to just call and order mine like I did for you?"  Men, amiright?  I wanted him to be super sure, since he had been wavering between white gold and tungsten on the first shopping trip.  So we went back to the store on Saturday, and I'm glad we did.  He ended up swapping for a slightly different ring that was not on his list; the first had a knife edge, and this one has a comfort edge.  

7mm, 14K white gold band with a brushed satin center./Ramsey's Diamond Jewelers

He didn't want a completely plain band, but he didn't want too much detail either. I really don't think he could have picked a more perfect ring for himself!

I liked it so I put a ring on it!

Looks like he did get his gunmetal color with the flash!  It looked a bit lighter in real life.

I'm so excited to check this off our list so easily! Sidebar: is there such a thing as a to-do list app that showers your screen with confetti when you check something off? That should so be a thing.  Even though we ordered his a little later than mine, they should be in around the same time, and then there's the agonizing wait until the wedding where we can actually wear them!  

Oh who am I kidding, there will be no agonizing wait, because days are flying by at warp speed and I'm doing my best not to completely freak out!  Sure picking vendors and sending out mail to guests makes it all seem pretty real, but nothing like picking out our wedding rings to take you to a whole new level of "OMG, we're getting MARRIED."  

Was your wedding band shopping easy, or did you have trouble finding what you wanted?  Anybody else have a rush of unexpected feelings at seeing your fiance in a wedding band?  Totally wasn't prepared to get emotional about that! 

Fire is Catching

And if you burn, we'll make it a photo op!

Continuing on with the theme of including overdone wedding trends in the Pyramid wedding, I give you - sparklers!  Like the photo booth, we've never attended a wedding with a sparkler exit, and I imagine that a lot of our guests haven't either, so we're doing it!

Found on Style Me Pretty/Photo by Life Writing Photography

About half of Sphinx's stories from his childhood begin with "well, we were making bonfires in the field behind the tracks...", so I always figured this was something he could get on board with.  The Board of Trade allows it, and the arcade area exiting the venue makes for a great place for guests to line up and wave some fire at us while we make out.

Big Easy Wedding Traditions

Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!

Normally we would be spending the day out on the neutral ground catching beads, eating Popeye's and king cake, and drinking some daiquiris (strawberry-colada, please!), but it's disgusting, cold, and rainy over here.  With a cold already coming on for me, and plenty of parades already under our belt, we'll be sitting this one out.

Last night was the Orpheuscapade, where we got dressed up in formalwear to catch beads and party down in the Convention Center.

BM Dino and I racked up 

On Saturday, we hit the streets for the Krewe of Endymion parade - and at least the weather was beautiful for that one!

It was actually hot on Saturday and freezing today.  Go figure.  Like my baby hat?

Okay, that's enough of me trying to prove to you that we're not boring because we're staying in on Fat Tuesday.  I figured it would be the perfect day to share with you some New Orleans wedding traditions, and letting you know what we'll be including in the Pyramid wedding.