CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — When it comes to weddings, there can be a lot of unnecessary pressure that's placed on the aesthetics and pomp and circumstance of the day.
The most important thing: the promise of forever and getting ready to embark on an exciting and beautiful new chapter of life with your soon-to-be bride or groom.
In Part 3, and the final part of our "KII-I do!" series, we're focusing on all things bridal bliss, and we even recruited some fellow South Texas brides to help us out.
The Dress!
At Oh My Dress! in Corpus Christi, you'll find a wide variety of dresses for prom, homecoming, quinceañeras and all things bridal.
Carla Reyes, one of the owners and seamstresses, says there's a specific time of the year when they do expect to see a wave of eager brides and their families.
"Normally, everybody gets proposed at the holidays and right when the year starts is when you see a lot of brides coming in very excited to look for their dresses."
She advises always to make an appointment, and that it's okay to be picky about who you bring.
"We always recommend your mom, or closest relatives you have, your sister or your best friend. Here at 'Oh My Dress,' we always recommend five guests, because it can get overwhelming with a lot of opinions and you need to pick out what you really like."
It's also important to keep an open mind.
How a dress looks on the rack, may look completely different on your body, and if you don't have a clue as to what you may want, there will always be someone there to help.
"A lot of brides have no idea what they want and we love that type of bride! Because our bridal stylists look at them and we can try on different styles, a ballgown, a fit and flare, an A-line..."
At Oh My Dress!, gowns can vary between $1,200 to $1,800, but you'll also need to budget for alterations, which by the way, could take a couple of visits until your dress fits perfectly.
"It's not like you come in and the next time it’s ready - you have to come in and make sure it fits, make sure the lace is where you want it, the length is perfect..."
Dress Shopping Pro-Tips:
- Bring your heels (or close to the height of what you'd like to wear) and come in wearing make-up to better visualize how you might look on the big day.
- Always make an appointment. Some places will accept walk-ins, but will likely not give you the one-on-one time you would normally get through an appointment.
- Call and ask questions (price range, alteration timeline...) before deciding on an appointment. You don't want to show up to a boutique where dresses are out of your budget, or could potentially not come in on time.
- Carla recommends a good timeline to begin looking for your dress is anywhere between six months to a year out from your wedding.
- If dresses at a boutique are a bit out of budget, consider shopping for something 'off-the-rack.' Those dresses will be closer to your size and may require less alterations, which = less time.
The Glam!
Once you've nailed down your date, and have found the perfect dress, it's time to find someone who can help bring the look to life!
If you're not comfortable doing your own hair or make-up for the big day, it may be worth consulting the help of a hair and/or a make-up artist.
Lulu Robledo is the owner of Hair & Makeup by Lulu in Corpus Christi. She began her career in 2017 when a friend had asked her to do makeup for her wedding.
he admits she was hesitant at first, but it was thanks to that opportunity that allowed her to find her passion to help brides on their wedding days.
So, in addition to the bride, who gets their hair and makeup done?
Keep in mind, it costs per person. Lulu says that group typically consists of the bride, bridal party, mother-of-the-bride and sometimes even grandmothers.
"It's just such a special time to bond you know? Because on wedding days, everyone wants to talk to the bride and the groom and the photographer is following you, I feel like you dont have that intimate time, especially with your mom," said Lulu.
"Whenever you hire a hair and make up artist to get ready, you can use that time to bond with your mom and your girls, it’s just such a sweet experience."
Lulu says one of the important things to do when looking to book hair/make-up is scheduling the trial run. She says schedule that day in advance, but make sure that appointment isn't too far out from your wedding day.
"I always recommend doing your trial, one to three months before your wedding day because at that time your hair color will be set, your skin tone, your hair length - if you wanna do bridal portraits that’s a great time to do it also!"
Make-up Artist Pro-Tips:
- Whether you are getting ready at a church or venue, check to see how early they will let you and the make-up team in to prep
- If you find a make-up artist you like, turn to their website/social media profiles to find a reference photo of their work, versus that of a celebrity's or searching through Google images.
- Give your make-up/hair artist a headcount of how many girls will need glam as soon as you can.
- Extensions are expensive. Ask if your hair team can rent them out to you instead of having to buy your own.
- Weddings are emotional. Keep a box of tissues nearby if you have anyone in your party who may be turning on the water works, but Lulu advises to simply dab them versus wiping your tears. This will help keep make-up in place as much as possible (though most make-up artists will use waterproof make-up)
- DO NOT STEAM your dresses while getting hair and make-up ready. The extra humidity will not help hair or make-up. Don't put this off until the last minute.
- Don't forget to eat!
From the venue, to the décor, to all the experts who can help you get it done: there are plenty of local resources we hope we've been able to help add to your wedding planning toolkit.
But ultimately, who better to ask than those who've just lived it themselves?
For that, we turned to fellow Coastal Bend brides for their favorite piece of advice.
The Brides:
Daniella: "Keep in mind that not everything will always go according to plan and that’s okay! However it turns out is going to be beautiful."
Macy Lynn: "Me and my husband didn’t have to worry about a thing on our wedding day so obviously you can choose whoever your heart desires, but get a wedding day planner it will completely change your day."
Marissa: "I know we think the sooner we start planning the better, and that we have all the time in the world, but it comes by so fast! And we think we can do it all, but sometimes it’s best to just ask for help."
Robin: "One fun thing that we did at our costume party wedding reception was to have a ceremony there who could not make it to the chapel, and the person who married us decided to make it fun and unique for us because we were in our costumes and it was such a different event."
Sarah: "Having that special moment with my mom and my grandma when I got to pick my dream wedding dress, that was the best moment just to have the three of us in that room picking that dress out together."
Lander: "It’s a beautiful beautiful day but it goes by far too fast and so make sure you intentionally carve out time with your future husband."
Part 3 of Kii-"I do!" will air Wednesday at 10 p.m.