In this issue of Alan & Adrian Get Married, we are getting the low down on wedding attire and hair and makeup services for the wedding day. How did two grooms navigate the overwhelming world of fashion? Read on!
Photo Credit: Mi Amore Photography
Shopping for Wedding Attire
Q: What was the first thing that came to your mind when you started thinking about attire?
A: Thank God we don’t have to go through the dress buying process that traditional brides do! We simply needed to find a suit that complimented our wedding colors and that was not difficult at all!
Q: Where did you buy/ rent your suits?
A: We decided to rent all our men’s suits from Celebrity Tuxes & Tails. We saw them at one of Aldea’s open houses and they offered a variety of options and affordable pricing. The rental packages even include shoes, which is an additional cost at many of their competitors.
Q: Can you tell us any details about the suits you selected or is that a secret until the wedding?
A: I decided on a navy suit and Adrian decided on dark grey; both suits will be accented with peach ties. Our groomsmen will be wearing a lighter grey suit accented with a black tie with the exception of my best man, Andrew, who will also be wearing a dark grey vest. For a fun twist, we added Star Wars socks – my groomsmen will be the rebel alliance and Adrian’s will be the empire!
Shopping for Attendant Dresses and Jewelry
Q: What did you find to be some of the biggest challenges when selecting groomsmaid dresses?
A: Understanding the terminology alone for dress styles, necklines and fabric was daunting in itself! Thankfully the girls were able to help make the decision easy. We wanted to let them select certain design elements of their dress (like the neckline) while setting certain parameters for continuity. Ultimately, we decided that they will wear a navy, A-line style, knee length dress with silver/grey heels and each girl can select her own dress as long as it fits that criteria.
Q: Are the girls wearing the same jewelry or can they express their personal style with accessories?
A: My girls will wear the navy earrings that were part of their “will you be my groomsmaid” gift (see earlier post) and Aidan’s girls will wear Star Wars themed earrings!
Q: Do you have any junior groomsmaids or flower girls?
A: We have two jr. groomsmaids and flower girl and we wanted them to feel beautiful in their dresses. Rather than going with the typical tulle style dress, we chose a navy foral lace dress.
Hair and Makeup
Q: What was the most challenging part of choosing everyone’s attire?
A: {Alan laughing} Hands down hair and makeup! We are two guys! Trying to plan a wedding is tricky enough – I mean, we haven’t been dreaming about it since we were five – but let’s face it, our knowledge on hair and makeup is really limited. That’s when Aldea stepped in and recommended Babydoll Weddings. We met them at an open house and the stylists were great about answering our questions about complexions, skin tones, hair types, etc.
Q: What were Babydoll Wedding’s main selling points that led you to book them?
A: One main factor is that they travel to the venue (or other location) where your party is getting ready. That takes away so much stress in figuring out how to get everyone to and from the Salon while budgeting the right amount of time. The package pricing is also very competitive and since we are gifting this service to our attendants, price and value was a huge factor.
Q: Do you have one uniform look for the girls or are they selecting their own color palette and style?
A: We are going with a natural look emphasizing the eyes not the lips. Hair will be in a modified up-do, at the base of the skull, with wispy, romantic curls. A few of our girls have shorter hair which will be styled with big curls.
Our girls suggested a trial so we booked one for four of the girls to make sure that our vision looks good on each girl.
Booking a Trial
Q: How was the trial?
A: It was beyond successful! We arrived at the Salon and were surprised with glasses of champagne for everyone. We shared our vision with the stylists the best we could – we are guys, after all – and showed a couple of pictures and they started styling. The entire process didn’t take as long as we expected. Each stylist was so knowledgeable and they even offered styling tips to each girl. By the end of the trial, each girl was sporting the look we envisioned!
Q: Was there anything about the trial that stood out?
A: The stylists took photos of their finished work and also wrote various notes that they can refer back to on our wedding day. That was hugely comforting knowing that they will have photos and notes to remember what they did at the trial. I can only imagine how many brides and weddings they work with!
Q: Babydoll Weddings offers services for men – specifically a face prep and hair services. Are you and Adrian getting any pampering done the day of?
A: We are! We are getting the face treatment which includes a no-shine service to ensure that we are matte and smooth for photos.
Words of Wisdom
Q: Do you have any advice you can offer our Babydoll Bride Tribe?
A: Include your attendants in your decision process regarding attire. They feel vested in knowing that they will be comfortable and look amazing. Take advantage of the hair and makeup trial. Babydoll Weddings has been nothing but exceptional to work with and they offer an array of services. They take care of scheduling the staff and creating your hair and makeup timeline so you don’t need to stress. Call them and thank us later!
