Trying my absolute best to not stress/freak out. I got to Houston a few days ago and it has been work, work, work! I'm so lucky to have Jose's family. They've been working so hard so we can finish everything by tomorrow night and leave the last few days for relaxation. So far we have:

Made tissue paper flowers

Wrapped mason jars

Burned candles

Spray painted frames

Spent too much money to prepare for Spain (REI -- took my whole paycheck!!)

FINISHED MY BROOCH BOUQUET!! (love it!)

And... got screwed on my hair.

Oh yeah. Get this. When I went to Houston to get my first wedding hair trial -- I was excited. I mean, come on -- you are going to get your hair to look like your wedding day hair. I researched projectwedding.com and picked the most reviewed bridal salon who actually got 5 stars. You know, I was feeling confident considering I'm not a fan of resorting to new hair places.

Before my appointment, I needed to do some stuff that required a person who was knowledgeable about hair. My friend put me in contact with this girl that I went to school with and this girl helped me out SO much. Sorry, I know this is relatively "vague" but I'm trying to respect people's privacy and also keep secrets about the wedding ;)

Moving on! I get to Houston, and bounce my way into the house-turned-to-salon room. My stylist? She's sweet and spunky. I hand her a document with tons of photos with the hair style I'm going for. I even include 2 pictures of styles THEY did, but tell her what I don't like. She ends up picking one of the ones they did, and starts to recreate it. I was really disappointed because she didn't look at me and say "Hmmm, okay... so I see what 'look' you're going for... so let's try this and maybe this."

Imagine hiring a photographer who pumps you up about a photoshoot and you imagine you're going to look awesome because they're supposed to be really good. You get to your shoot and your photographer says "Okay, so stand here and start posing." Umm.. awkward? But what if she/he told you instead "Run your hands through your hair, and then toss them up in the air and pretend you just had the BEST dessert of your LIFE."

That's inspiration. You're being guided. My experience just felt like vanilla wafers. It turned out pretty, but wedding pretty? Mm... no. But, was I being ridiculous? Perhaps, I have this idealistic idea in my head of what someone feels after getting their hair done for their wedding -- but I'm not exactly experienced in this department, ya know? Have you ever come out of a salon after an AMAZING haircut and feel like you are just looking GOOD?

THAT is what I wanted to feel.

I go home, feeling torn. I can't exactly pay for another hair trial, but it's not like I have anything else to compare it to.

I end up e-mailing the girl in Dallas who helped me and ask for her honest opinion. She doesn't like it. Fortunately she offers to go over the style with me and try out a trial with her. She even offers to take pictures that I can show the Houston stylist of what we created so the stylist can re-create it. We set up a time, and DO IT! I love it! We still needed a few changes, but I was so excited to work with someone so creative.

I invite her to my wedding and just blurt out "want to do my hair?!" She, also excited, says "really?? seriously??" And I say "why not? You are obviously good and we already got it pretty much figured out..." So she tells me she'll confirm in a few days. Time passes and she agrees. Days go by and we set up a second trial. The second trial does not work out so we set up ONE more trial before the wedding. She got a stomach virus that day so we of course had to cancel. The bad news? I was leaving for Houston that NEXT MORNING!

I don't hear from her and decide to call her today to see what's up. I'm assuming the virus has calmed down by now. I get her voicemail and leave a message. She replies with a text, and to summarize them for you in just a few words: I can't do your hair.

5 days before my wedding...

So, my friends. Tonight, I said "Forget it, I can figure this out." I just deleted the last sentence. I'll tell you after the wedding what happens :) !! Or if you're here Sunday, you can ask me ;) At this point we are so close, I'm not going to have a melt down because of an unreliable person. But I suppose I wouldn't feel this way if I didn't have a back up plan that worked out...

P.s. We have to pay for internet at the hotel so I may not be able to write before the wedding!! This might be my last words on my blog as Ms. Amador. But I want to remember these last few days. I feel anxious, excited, stressed, and SO SO grateful. I am just blown away by the amount of work and love my friends & family have contributed. Thank you guys for reading, for supporting me, for your encouragement, and your advice. THANK YOU!!! I can't believe it... this Sunday is the day we've been waiting for!!!