I Just Don't Want to Set Myself on Fire

I know that I said I'd probably spend the next few posts talking about my wedding pictures but this weekend trumps my wedding picture post. I'll return to that after a couple of days, don't worry. I'm sure you're at the edge of your seat waiting to see them.

As I mentioned on Friday, The Mr and I did a "trash the dress" shoot with Maria and Drew this weekend. I was pretty stoked about it (so much so that I spent a good week debating whether or not I should get my hair and makeup done) and felt it was my chance to get some super cool pictures around the city. I told Maria that I was game for anything. The beauty about trash the dress pictures is that you don't have to worry about getting your dress dirty so you're more inclined to go to interesting places and you're just much more relaxed since the actual wedding is over. Because I want to donate my dress, I said I'd do anything except cut my dress or set myself on fire (okay that probably had more to do with my fear of burning flesh).

I finally decided to get my makeup done and oy, what an ordeal. I'm kind of a weirdo when it comes to doing certain things and one of them is getting my makeup done. I don't know why. I just feel like such a turd. A lot of girls told me to go to the MAC makeup store but the salespeople in there scare me! Have you ever been in there? They look so mean. Theresa suggested Sephora so I called them up and booked an appointment. And then I dragged Theresa with me because I can't handle this sort of thing alone. I'm too nice to say I hate something and would have walked out of the store looking like the clown from IT so I needed a friend there who could set me straight.

Aaanywho - I really lucked out and was given Rory. Seriously - if you ever need to get your makeup done and you live in the Baltimore area... go to Rory at Sephoria in Columbia Mall. He is so cute, fun, sassy and did an amazing job. He called my look "Slutty Wedding Spice". I know that probably sounds awful but it was exactly what I was looking for.

Maria and Drew were thankfully running a wee bit behind because I ended up staying at Sephora for about 2 hours chatting it up with Rory. I managed to quickly fix my hair into a messy low bun and slip into my dress before they got to our house. At that point, I felt like a turd. I started to panic a little internally about feeling like a complete douchebag in my wedding dress prancing around the city.

We started off in our backyard where Maria managed to dodge all the dog poop (and I am so sorry about this. We're usually pretty good about picking up their poop but hadn't picked up their morning poop yet and they had just gone again when you were there... we're not cruddy people, I swear Maria!). We moved to the rusty old fence and "No Trespassing" sign by the trucking yard near our house and then explored the train tracks that also run near our house. We had to climb up some steep steps but it was worth it (although I haven't seen pictures... but just in general it was a cool place to snap some photos and I will probably go back!).

Then it started to rain. I wasn't worried about my dress or my hair (especially since I sprayed it to helmet firmness) but was concerned about my makeup running off and looking like George in The Wedding Singer. It didn't, amazingly. We headed off to Hampden.

Luckily, the rain soon passed over and we did a few fun shots in front of a mural at an elementary school. At this point, we hadn't really run into people so my complete fear of going through a crowd of Baltimorians hadn't come into fruition just yet. We had a few onlookers but they just kept on walking.

But then my fear came true. We had to walk through... Honfest. It's a large festival held every year in Hampden that's very cute and fun. But it's a bunch of people dressing up in beehives and leopard print. I was in slutty spice makeup and my wedding dress! I was freaking out a bit but you know what? Baltimorians are amazing. A ton of people started clapping and cheering. They were shouting "Congrats!" and giving us warm wishes. It was awesome and it almost made me want to start wearing my wedding dress to all festivals in Baltimore.

We shot some pics in a very cool alley and then sat outside of Cafe Hon where we were greeted by a ton of strangers snapping pictures. And me being the slightly self absorbed person that I am was convinced that a picture of me and The Mr at Honfest would end up somewhere. And it did! This is what came back from a random search on Flickr. Some folks convinced us to join them in front of the band stage and dance.


We ended our shoot with a quick stop in Mt. Vernon to jump in a fountain. The best part? There were some Baltimorians by the fountain who didn't even look twice at a bride and groom splashing around.

I probably could have kept on going all night because Maria gave me some Swedish Fish and complimented us left and right. I hadn't eaten lunch so I was surprised that I was still so full of energy. Regardless, I had a blast with Maria and Drew and can't wait to see the results of the photo shoot!

Oh and to any past brides thinking about doing a trash the dress session? DO IT! It's a ton of fun and you'll surprise yourself with what you're willing to do in the dress (i.e. sit on the ground, lay across train tracks, jump in a fountain). And if you live in the Baltimore/DC area... you should hire Maria to shoot the pics! I'm not joking. I know I say it all the time but HIRE HER.