And Then It Happened

Who would've thought that November 18 would be a breeze?

After 11 months of preparation.
Tons of decisions made.
A lot of money spent.
Tears cried.
Laughs shared.
And sleepless nights...

It finally happened :-)


Brian+May Same Day Slideshow from Lally Eleazar on Vimeo.

ONE DAY TO GO

Today is November 17.
It's 1:24AM
and I'm not even sleepy.

I've got only one day left.
I NEED MY BEAUTY REST
But there's still so much to do.
I just pray that everything will be just fine tomorrow.
May God hold everything together in His hands.

Bridal Makeup Experiment 2

Here's another bridal makeup look I tried earlier. This is based on Jen's Asian Bridal Makeup Tutorial. Next to Michelle Phan, I think she's one of the best online makeup gurus. I really like how she pulled off this look cause it brought attention to her eyes. She also used this look for her own wedding :-) Overall, I think this makeup look is good for an afternoon wedding ceremony and an evening reception :-)

Products Used:
Face
1. Maybelline Clear Smooth Minerals BB Cream for foundation
2. La Faerie's Medium Camo Quad Concealer
3. Cover Girl Professional Loose Powder in Translucent Honey
4. Clean&Clear Pressed Powder in Medium

Eye (see picture above)
1. Base color for the lower lid - Fashion 21 48Color Set - Matte Dark Brown shade2. Outer V base color - Fashion 21 48Color Set - Sheer Copper shade.
3. Outer V shadow color and Brow Bone Highlights- Prestige Cosmetics Beauty Bar Eyeshadow Palette (FCE-01 Earthling) - Dark brown and Sheer Very Light Brown
4. Brow color - IN2IT's Waterproof Eyebrow Colour (ER 01 Eyebrowns) Medium shade
5. Maybelline The Magnum Volum'Express SuperFilm Mascara (not in picture)
6. E.L.F. Eyelid Primer in Champagne
7. Eyeliner - IN2IT's Waterproof Gel Liner in Very Black Shade

Lips and Cheeks
1. E.L.F. Natural Radiance Blusher in Glow
2. IN2IT Lasting Colour Lipstick in Smoked Peach

Compared to the first bridal look, I think I prefer this one :-)

What do you think?

Bridal Makeup Experiment 1

It has always been an option for me to do my own hair and makeup on my wedding day. Should I or should I not? I'm no professional makeup artist but I've taken up Suesh's Basic Makeup workshop earlier this year, I've watched a lot of makeup tutorials online (yay Michelle Phan! :p), and I love trying out the looks on my own. I don't know if that's enough reason for me to do my own makeup but I'm really considering it. Anyway, today is a holiday and with not much stuff to do, I decided to experiment with some bridal looks. Here is the first look:

Products Used:
Face
1. Maybelline Clear Smooth Minerals BB Cream for foundation
2. La Faerie's Medium Camo Quad Concealer
3. Cover Girl Professional Loose Powder in Translucent Honey
4. Clean&Clear Pressed Powder in Medium

Eye (see picture above)
1. Base color - IN2IT's EY06 Tiger (Gold shade)
2. Brow bone and mid-eyelid highlight - Natural Palette from Forever 21 (6th pot)
3. Outer V base color - Fashion 21  48Color Set  - Sheer Light Purple shade
4. Outer V shadow color - Fashion 21 48Color Set - Sheer Dark Taupe shade
5. Outer V highlight color - Fashion 21 48Color Set - Matte Light Pink shade
6. Brow color and Eyeliner - IN2IT's Waterproof Eyebrow Colour (ER 01 Eyebrowns) Medium and Dark shade
7. Maybelline The Magnum Volum'Express SuperFilm Mascara (not in picture)
8. E.L.F. Eyelid Primer in Pearl (not in picture)

Lips and Cheeks
1. E.L.F. Natural Radiance Blusher in Glow
2. LipIce Color - Candy Apple



I'm still looking for other hairstyles to complement this look. I just hope that if I finally decide to do this on my own, my hair and makeup will last and survive 'til the reception. :p So, what do you guys think? Should I do my own makeup? :D

Artistas For A Day

One of the exciting things that married-couples-to-be enjoy nowadays is the engagement shoot or more commonly known as the pre-nup pictorial. Brian and I got to experience this a few weeks back and it was the most fun, and yet tiring, day ever! And aside from the pictorial, we also got to shoot our very own mushy music video which will be shown during the reception program. Hahaha! We felt like "artistas" for a day!

There are a lot of things that I learned about this whole experience and one of them is the importance of preparation. Initially, Brian and I planned to have our engagement shoot in a music studio - think retro vintage, grand pianos, speakers, amps, drums, guitars and basses. We tried looking around and we asked friends for some suggestions but it turned out that it would be more expensive to have our shoot in a music studio since they charge rent per hour. So, we finally decided to alter our concept. The music element would still be there but we had to change the venue. Brian's friend, Kuya Yeng, helped us out in asking the admin of Ohana Place, a really nice resort condo in Las Piñas, for a permit. It was actually a blessing in itself because we didn't have to pay any extra fees for the venue anymore :-)

Aside from the venue, planning the "outfits" is really important, too. For the shoot to look cohesive, Brian and I had to make sure we bring "matching" clothes. Haha :p Our photographer told us to bring 5 sets of clothes but we managed to use only 3. I even brought other props like my violin and 2 hats, which unfortunately I forgot to use. Brian brought his bass guitar, too. Man! I can't believe that being an "artista" can be this hard. I even had to sleep earlier the night before to make sure my eyes won't have dark circles. And I avoided salty foods to make sure my face won't look puffy either. How vain! hahah :P And thanks also to my makeup artist, Jem, she was able to help me look fresh and glowing that day, despite the stressful week that I had.


We started the shoot at around 10:30AM that day and finished at around 3:30PM. It was good that the weather was cooperating with us. Thank God for that :-) But Brian and I got really tired after! Ms. Lally of The Lightshapers even told us that it would be more tiring on the wedding day, so the engagement shoot was really just a practice for us. She also said that it's important that we keep ourselves hydrated so that we won't look tired. 

Anyway, here are some preview pictures of the shoot. Thanks also to Kuya Jo for joining the shoot and sharing with us some of his shots.

Here's also a preview of some of our video shots taken by The LightShapers. This is not our official teaser video yet, but I'm really happy that they included us in this music video :-)

Lightshapers + SONY NEX 5N from Lally Eleazar on Vimeo.

A GIVEAWAY CONTEST I WANT TO WIN

I don't really win contests. I often join them but never in my entire life did I ever experience to win. So, now, I'm trying this contest thing one more time. And hopefully I win...Kikay Si Maria's Pre-Holiday Giveaway!

Kikay Si Maria is giving away some really good stuff from her sponsors so hopefully...I WIN! :-)

Please, please, please make me a happy bride! :-)

Some thoughts for the day...

Earlier today, we had our wedding entourage gown fittings. I visualized this day to be an exciting one. A day where all my bridesmaids, secondary sponsors, and flower girls together with my mom, Brian's mom, and my grandmothers could get together. I had this happy picture in my mind. But things didn't really go as I wanted it to be. We left late. Arrived late. Didn't meet the designer. Not every one who's part of my entourage went. And some abrupt changes happened. Everything was just whirling around me. I was excited, happy, pressured and depressed at the same time. You can call me crazy but I think every bride-to-be knows exactly how I feel.

I tried to keep my calm. I kept reminding myself that I shouldn't break down. I kept asking God, praying to Him, to hold the hearts of the people around me - that they would also keep their calm down and just enjoy the fitting. And thank God because they did.

Then, I realized that the pressure is really building up. I'm becoming too emotional. I'm becoming very sensitive. Every single word that people say around me becomes magnified. It's like every word has weight. And that affects me a whole lot, most specially when the voice tones change. As much as I wanted to be calm and be organized, all the more things get messed up. Maybe because I'm such a control freak. Or maybe God is teaching me something - that I should trust Him more than myself. More than Brian. More than my family. More than the people around me.

Well, I guess He really is teaching me something.

Thinking about what happened earlier today, it made me question my purpose of putting up all these preparations. Why am I such a control freak over these small details? Why do I want my wedding to be perfect? Why do I want to spend so much? Why am I feeling so pressured when people around me talk about it? Why do I get so affected when people suggest or comment on these wedding details? Then it hit me. I had the wrong purpose. I had the wrong reasons. I wanted my wedding to be picture perfect because I don't want people to say negative things about it. I was afraid of what people are going to say. And that's simply wrong. That's not how God designed how a marriage should start. All these preparations and details should first and foremost remind me that this event is such a big one because it is God who designed it. God designed marriage. It's His wonderful plan. And this wedding is a celebration for God. It's a day to honor Him and to thank Him for this union. It's simply all about Him working through Brian and mine's life.

Proverbs 29:25 says "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." (NIV). My friend, Ate Van, shared this verse during a devotion earlier today before our band rehearsal in church. Thank God for Ate Van because this verse really made me think about my attitude towards the wedding preparations. It made me realize that I shouldn't go through all these things just because I fear what people are going to say. I don't want to be trapped in that thought anymore. This wedding is for Brian and me...and more importantly about God.

So, this is what I'm going to do now, I'm going to put my whole trust in God that He will keep this wedding safe - away from all the negativity that I think may come, and away from worries. It's going to be tough. But I trust God.