Almost a year to the date, Sam proposed to Oona in NY’s Central Park.  Bonaparte and I were spending the weekend in New York and we were able to celebrate with them moments after she said yes!

She said yes!  And the big day is almost here!

And now we are in the throws of that last  week and a half before the big day.

So, what did I do this morning?

I did the eyes a bit today and added magnetic lashes. It took me a f(^(*&(& ing half hour to get them on! I’m wearing Hunter by Estetica Designs today!  I needed a shorter wig due to the humidity and heat!

I started my “Preliminary Packing”.  It’s the packing before the packing.

Since it’s summer and the weather is very hot, especially in Cincinnati because it’s a landlocked area, I’m packing light clothing.  I’m not even packing shorts except the loose ones I’ll be wearing around the house.

Yeah. It’s sizzling!  I mean the weather. It’s spicy hot!

I’ll be sundresses for me.

And I’m hoping to put everything—even my mother-of-the-bride gown into my carryon.  Oona has a steamer so whatever wrinkles are made in the dress—they’ll be steamed out!

So, come along with me on a little tour of what I’m packing so far.

I have my Longchamp Weekender on the floor to the left of my vanity.  My “Makeup” room is a bit unorganized today because of the packing and figuring out what I’ll be bringing and wearing since I’ll be sticking around for five days!

I love a good packing challenge and by God, I’ll get EVERYTHING into that bag on the floor!  

In order to ensure a structured bottom of the bag, I’m placing my Mother-of-the-Bride hair, at the bottom of the bag.

My besties at Estetica are too good to me.  They gifted me with a Wedding Alden and a card!

Caramel Kiss RT 4! OMG. I’ll have Julia Roberts hair for Oona’s wedding!

Now, I’ll be bringing more hair with me but I’m unsure which wig. I feel like Jamison will be upset if I don’t bring her but I think I’ll be bringing Avalon instead! (Shhhh. Don’t tell.)

I’m on a longer, wavier kick this summer.  It’s a difficult decision between Avalon and Jamison. But..this is why I preliminary pack!

And this wig comb by Jon Renau is the bomb!  I ordered three more to keep in my purses.  At three bucks a piece, these are wigsavers! Into the bag with ya!

Now for the prelim clothes..

My designated “slob” outfit/PJ’s . I was drinking coffee when I did the prelim pack and spilled some on the shorts.  The cami isn’t working!

Stuffed into a little plastic pouch and into the bag.

TRAVEL TIP: Keep plastic pouches  the clothing comes in. The pouch above?  A bathing suit came in it and now it’s used as a travel pouch!

The Rehearsal Dinner Ensemble. I went with the dress from Guess. I tried it on at Lord and Taylor when I searched for the MOTB dress and went back for this one. It’ll suffice well because there’s some stretch!

I love this dress so much!  It’s comfortable and has a bit of stretch!…

And the shoes…they’ll also be worn at the wedding and will be off my feet as soon as I hit the dance floor!

Because I don’t want the lace to get messed up, I turned the dress inside out…

And rolled her up…

And for added protection, placed her into a small white trash bag. Into the weekender you go!

I’m big on placing practically everything in bags. Those black heels for the rehearsal dinner? They’ll be going into a shoe bag that came with Rondini sandals. I have six of these bags and they are the greatest travel asset for shoes!

In the bag and in the bag!

This won’t be the time to bring a ton of footwear. For everyday, I’ll bring my favorite Rondini sandals–my Bikini sandals.  They look great with easy summer dresses!

Set aside but NOT  yet packed because I wear these a lot. I’ll be wearing them to work this week!

One of my ten-dollar Old Navy dresses. I’ll wear this to get spray-tanned.  On Thursday before the wedding, Oona and I are getting sprayed! This is the perfect dress because it’s loose and comfortable.  Into the bag you go!

The one undergarment I can’t do without for the wedding!

The sticky-boobs I ordered from Amazon. Holy Smokes, these are great! They push up and stay put.  You are in the bag!  Plus, the packaging adds structure to the weekender!

The Hanky!  Oona’s Maid of Honor, Lauren, gifted this hanky to me and had one made for Sam’s mom too. I’ll be wiping tears of happiness and melancholy from my eyes. Isn’t it gorgeous?

It’s rolled up and………

Placed in this metallic clutch.

The wedding purse is a nice-sized metallic clutch with a chain strap that I picked up at Nordstrom back when I worked there.  It was a huge seller for special occasions.  The hanky, a phone and a lipstick will fit perfectly!

The strap hidden…..

…and the strap exposed to put over my shoulder when I’m enjoying a beverage at the cocktail hour.

You know, the clothing isn’t the challenge.  It’s the little things.  I’m planning to pack my two Lilly Pulitzer Margot Dresses and the bright colors call for bright earrings. Or do they?  Do I bring the tassel earrings or only hoops?  I’ll be wearing the good pearls and good pearl earrings for the wedding.  They are on display but not in the bag yet!

I’m undecided on the tassel earrings.  That’s why I preliminary pack!

Same with makeup. It’s a challenge because a makeup artist will be doing my makeup for the wedding. And I’ve really lightened up on the face makeup for the summer.  I put some stuff into a basket to mull it over.  The Morphe lip gloss is definitely going as is the MAC eyeshadow quad and the Benefit Gimme Brow.  I gotta think about this……….

And there we have it.  For a while.  What else needs to be packed?  The two Margot dresses which I can roll up, and my MOTB Dress which I may carry separately and have the flight attendant hang it up.    Underwear needs to be packed and a second wig.

Overall, it looks pretty good! This Longchamp bag that I picked up years ago for 43 euros at Charles de Gaulle airport is the greatest purchase ever.  I still have a ton of room for the rest of my packing!

This bag expands just like my waistline!

So let’s see how many times I’ll be changing my mind on the packing!!!

Presently, I’m stressing my daughter out so I’ll leave her alone for a few days.  I guess this is the norm for the Mother-of-the Bride!

Oh well!  I’m going to relax with a glass of whine and wine now!!!  XXOXOXO