Have you ever looked at an oldpicture/videoof yourselfand thought, what in the world was I thinking? More specifically, did you used to think that you used to be ‘all that and a bag of chips’ and suddenly became aware that you weren’t even ‘some of that and a single chip’? Not even a frickin’ frito.
My mom brought me my wedding dress the other day from its semi-permanent residence in her spare closet, which prompted me to get out the ol’ wedding videos and view them. I grabbed up my daughter, who is obsessed with all things wedding-white as any self-respecting 6 year-old girl would be, and giddily sat down on the couch ready for the precious walk down memory lane. Avery smiled up at me and said, “I bet you were so pretty, mommy.” I smiled down at her and hit the Play button.
OMG.
A little back story here. I was married in 2000, not that long ago, right? Right…too recent to be retro-cool but just long enough ago for my hair, clothesand makeup to be excruciatingly embarrassing. The video starts at the rehearsal and that’s when my humiliation began.
First of all, my dress was so weird. It was this purple and white gingham sleeveless number with an empire waist.And it was short. Seriously short. I’m pretty sure anybody standing below the platform altar saw a part of me that they never imagined they would see. But it gets worse. My hair. My hairwas so blonde and frizzy. I should explain that I have very curly hair; somewhere between 3a and 3b if you’re a curly girl. If you’re not, that’s code for “pretty dang curly.” It has taken me all of 33 years to figure out how to style this mop of a do. I obviously hadn’t figured it out yet back in 2000 because I was sporting some gigantically frizzy hair. Did I mention it was really blonde? Lastly, and perhaps even more obviously distressing than the brillo pad on top of my head was my makeup. You guys, the blush. It was so mauve.And defined. My cheekbones were so angular I looked likea 1986 magazine cover model.In the year 2000.Apparently, I had recently learned the “contouring” technique and took full advantage of my newly acquired knowledge. It was bad.
Now, before everyone jumps on the “love yourself” bandwagon and I get barraged with comments about it, understand this:
The wedding was a different story…I looked smokin’ hot. It goes without saying that someone else had done my hair and makeup. No brillo pad or uber-contoured cheekbones in sight. I was a blushing bride in the full sense of the word and my daughter’s face when she saw me march down that aisle in my beautiful sparkly princess dress was priceless.
I did get quite a chuckle out of the first half of that video. It was humorous, in a bone-crushing humiliating sort of way. I’ve come to realize that aging is a very interesting process of time. It’s almost indefinable. Probably one of the most universal beliefs about time is that nobody remembers it passing. I think that’s why it can be so shocking to see pictures from the past. It’s so hard to imagine that our clothing, hair and makeup can be so “dated.” I don’t remember looking so bad because at the time, it wasn’t. At least, I think so. Oh, God, I hope so. But, time passes and trends change and luckily, we have the pictures to laugh at later on.
I will say that I didn’t take passing time and wedding photos into consideration when picking out my trends to follow…if I did I certainly wouldn’t have been sportin’ that mauve blush.
Love to all, Mindy
You can’t tell us about it and not post a picture of that lovely gingham dress!!!!! Come on, bring it on.
I actually tried to find them in our digital albums with no luck…I know they are there so I’ll enlist Hubby’s help and post them soon. Hopefully. =)
Mindy
http://www.thesuburbanlife.com
I MUST see a picture of this dress and the blush!!! that is too funny!
i love going back to old pictures and doing the “what was I going through” cringe! Makes me realize how far I’ve come!
I’m sure its not as bad as YOU think but its probably pretty funny none-the-less.
I have one of me with purple lip liner – yes purple- with a lavendar ice lipstick.
I was SO cool. =/
Amber-
I’m going to try and find the pictures to post them…totally remember the purple lip liner and frosted lipstick. Man, those were the days… =)
Mindy
What you said about the aging process and time going by is all so true….. I was married in the 80’s….i actually had a curly mullett, ugghhh!….you want to talk about embarassing, haha!
Ah, Wendy…I bet you rocked that curly mullet girl! =)
Mindy
You were such a beautiful bride Mindy! but now I’m really wanting to see the video. Let’s have a wedding video watching session at your house 🙂 I’ll bring the popcorn!
Oh, I admit I was a pretty good lookin’ gal on the actual wedding day, but as for the night leading up to it…purple gingham dress. ‘Nuff said. I’ll dig out the ol’ video and we’ll have a movie night! =)
Mindy
Ha – I loved this post! It reminds me of every year, my tradition is to watch the video the day my daughter was born – 1992.
I am coming home from the hospital, with Hannah in arms – in get this – turquoise jeans overalls with a YELLOW turtleneck! WTF was I thinking??
Sadly, since my daughter is 17, its been only me watching the video, but I still laugh every time I see that outfit.
Oh, I remember jeans overalls! I had a pair that were shorts. Oh, not a good look for this 5’2″ shorty on the plumper side. But, turquoise! Now THAT was a fashion color!
Thanks so much for the comment! I appreciate it! =)
Mindy
I want to see pics!! Thankfully, I look pretty good in all the pre-wedding and wedding photos and the kids are always too busy making fun of their dad’s mullet to harass me! We got married in 1990. And I’ve been trying to convince my daughter, that indeed, that look was hott back then.
Now, my high school photos are another matter. Homecoming 1986 still makes my daughter howl with laughter at my purple Laura Ashely dress and matching purple hose. With white shoes no less. Can we say fashion disaster? But I remember at the time thinking I was one of the prettiest girls there. I can’t wait til her future daughters and I can laugh at her homecoming pics!!! Payback!
♥Spot
Oh, I am loving the image of Laura Ashley with purple hose and white shoes. The ’80s was quite a decade. =)
PS – I’m trying to find some pictures so everyone can laugh at me. =)
Mindy
I actually just dusted my wedding video(s) off last week and oh my!! My friends were dying. Jeremy was soooo goofy during the reception. Brought back some memories. Can you believe next year we will both be celebrating 10 years as Henricks women?!? Wow…where does the time go??
Jeremy was soooo drunk during the reception. He was probably freaked out over his impending doomday…our wedding! =) And,no. I cannot believe it’s been close to 10 years. I swear it was just yesterday. Ah, memories.
Mindy
oh this such a funny post, Mindy! Gave me a good chuckle… You must post a picture for us all to see! =) And I agree, we don’t notice the passing time, until one day watch old videos, or photos…and go oh my, is that really me? lol
Thanks for sharing!
P.S. Btw, you are all welcome to enter my latest Giveaway here:
http://leylasroom.com/health-and-fitness/giveaway-dual-resistance-tube/
Thanks Leyla! I’m pretty sure looking at old photos keeps us humble! I will try and dig up some photos to post. =0) Thanks for the head’s up about your giveaway!
Mindy