Stefani's Blog

Right after I got engaged, I felt only excitement. Then it hit me. I need to get “wedding ready“! I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that nothing was how I wanted it.  Ever been there? Face, brows, hair, nails, eyebrows and clothes. I needed to step it up and perfect everything for this perfect day.

I immediately started with my skin. I wanted to have flawless, blemish-free skin. First I got a consultation and was told that a regime of twice monthly chemical peels would be good. I tried keeping up with that, but I suffered from an eczema breakout shortly after. Obviously this routine was too harsh for me. I took a step back and decided to get facials (not peels) twice a month instead. I began going to SKN Houston with Tricia Magee. Tricia was great; she recommended products and knew exactly what my skin needed. I got the Diamond facial and my skin loved it. It was such a relief to find a knowledgeable esthetician and a routine that worked for me. I will be headed back to SKN very soon!

Next up were my eyebrows. I found Emily, a Certified Microblading Artist and Texas Cosmetologist, who calls herself the HTXBrowQueen. She was looking for influencers to try microshading and I was all in! I’d read a bit about micorblading and heard a lot of people rave about the results; so I was excited to try it. If you are not familiar with technique, microblading is a semi-permanent alternative to standard eyebrow tattooing. The microshading process, which is what I tried, provides similar results with a handheld tool that does not include a blade. It’s also referred to as “powdered brows”. Emily walked me through a two-step process. First, I went in for an initial shading, and transformation of my brows. I then came back 6 weeks later for a small retouch and shaping. It wasn’t as painful as I thought it might be; not too bad at all. I loved how they looked!

My hair came next. I wanted to get extensions! I heard of a process from a friend called NBR, which is natural beading rows or natural beading. I wanted longer, fuller hair for my everyday looks. I found a salon in Houston called TradeMark Salon that specialized in the process and booked my appointment. I bought the hair for my extensions at Sunny’s Hair. My friend, Dafina Smith, is the owner. She recommended a color and style for me which I loved. I got the extensions put in and at first I was in love with them. The length I wanted was certainly there, but I underestimated how full of a look I really wanted. They lasted for around 8 weeks and after that I was done. For me, it was a bit too much maintenance. Maybe I’ll get more use to it after having them a few more times. I did realize that I didn’t want anything in permanently. So, I went back and had the extensions removed – but I did use the hair I bought to make clip-ins for the wedding.

For my nails, I had big plans. I wanted some bling, true wedding style! I searched on Pinterest for wedding nail inspiration and the results were crazy. Way to much information to process. Blogs were saying to do trails for the exact shape and color, but I just felt that was a bit much. I wanted a look, not a homework assignment. I found a great salon called Mod Nail Bar. I called ahead and let them know these nails were for my wedding and they referred me to an amazing technician who really took the time to figure out, and deliver, the design and color I wanted. I went with a coffin shape, white ombré color, and added silver glitter for the bling touch. I loved them and they lasted all through the honeymoon too!

As far as my clothes, I knew I wanted to have many looks for the wedding, but didn’t want to spend money on outfits that I would only wear once. I decide to try Rent The Runway Unlimited. It was amazing! I loved picking the looks for my engagement party, bachelorette bash and different looks for the wedding. They have a huge selection of cocktail dresses as well as everyday looks. You can order four looks at a time. My only issue was returning and ordering again. You have to return items before you could order more, but it normally took about two days to return and two days to get your order. Typically, I bet that turn around time would be fine but I needed my items quickly. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to return and re-order before my honeymoon. I did however, love how you can cancel at anytime or put your account on hold.

All in all, I was happy with all my choices. At the end of the day I realized that not a lot needed fixing. Sometimes we lose ourselves in thinking we have so many imperfections. I think as brides we want everything to be so beautiful, and perfect that we forget what we are doing it all for. My husband would ask me, jokingly, “will I even recognize you at the altar?” After he said that I took a deep breath and decided to rely more on my own natural beauty. It’s okay to be reminded of that on occasion. It’s also okay to live in and enjoy the moment, instead of getting all worked up about it.

I’m happy with how I look in my pictures. I’m even more happy for the lifetime of memories I’ll continue to build as Mrs. Mayberry, picture perfect or not.