Weddings in your 30s

...was the title of an article in one of my Bridal magazines.

Beauty Tips:
Hide those wrinkles because they're starting to show.

Are you kidding me? Oh yeah! The magazine has all sorts of talk about ways to conceal those wrinkles and sun spots that are starting to show from those days in your teens and 20s when you could spend all day at the beach without sunscreen and still have perfect skin. In fact, i don't know about you but I always thought (and actually still think) that Vitamin D from the sun is good for my skin. Doesn't that mean that the longer I lay out, the less chance of a breakout?
And then there's the hair. Gone are the pretty curls cascading down your back, or wisping around from an updo. it's time for the classic, elegant, slick back (to show off all that concealer on your face, that's probably why they're seriously recommending it).

Bridesmaids:
Have less of them. Basically they say that by this time most of your friends have children and might not be able to get a sitter.
Choose dresses that will look good on friends who might be pregnant.

Wow, that kind of sucks. But I decided I'm only having two - my sister and my best friend of 25 years. Neither have kids and it would be cool if my sister is pregnant! She would love nothing more than to have a dress to show off she has a baby in her belly.

Wedding:
Destination Weddings. Chances are, they say, this is your second or third wedding and Mom and Dad are no longer paying for it. In this case, when the bride and groom have to fork out the money, combine it with the honeymoon. This will limit the guest list significantly, unless you have a bunch of friends and family who are dying to get out of town and your wedding is the perfect excuse.

That would be cool if my fiancee and I could even get off work for a long period of time. One thing they forgot to mention is how people in their 30s can't just go and take off on a long honeymoon if they have very demanding careers. In our industry, we are going to have to wait to take our honeymoon until the winter holidays when Hollywood literally shuts down. I've had producer friends hold off on their weddings because they were always traveling for business, to film festivals, for this premiere, that premier.  I've talked to other friends who got married and waited two years to have a reception. Really, these days, this age, and in this economy, etiquette goes out the wedding. Do what you can do.

Wow, I feel really old. To make it worse, they had articles for "Weddings in your 20s" and "Weddings in your 40s". I was so far off from the "20s" and not THAT far off from the "40s". Waaaahhh! But you know, it's true. As much as I want to have a party, I just cannot reason with saving thousands of dollars to put toward one day, when with that money I can pay down the debt I accrued from my first marriage. (What a mistake!) Even for my first wedding, I made the location far away to avoid having a ton of guests, and the wedding was still well over twenty grand. However, this is Brad's first wedding, and you think he was a girl, or sorry, "a woman in her 30s" the way he's been acting about it. He's concerned that the less guests we have, the less chances there are for registering for gifts. It's really not so much about the gifts themselves, as it is, he just wants to go shopping for our registries. Uh huh! Then there's the issue that he wants to invite his whole family and all his friends, and not to mention some co-workers. And he doesn't mind spending his hard-earned money. He's willing to spend his savings on this big day. He also wonders if, since i bought my wedding dress, if he now can go shopping for his tuxedo!!!! Yes, he wants to BUY one, since in the business we work, there are enough events to make it worth owing a tuxedo. I've even showed him the numbers it would cost us to have the guest list he proposes (which isn't even that high number-wise, but still) and he just shrugs and says, "Whatever you want..." after just saying, "Oh, but I have to invite so-and-so because he/she invited me to his/her wedding."

Despite all this, I have to say that there are two things that excite me about getting married in my 30s! I'm probably in the best shape ever and my dress looks ROCKIN' on me! And second, I'm marrying my first, true and real love! It feels like the first time because I feel mature enough and finally ready for a marriage and family.

Peace Out and wish me luck with my diva fiancee!

-
Signed,
Marcieanna Jasko

Summer Time, UGH!

Hot weather is coming and when you live in a Southern California beach town like I do, that means you're going to start living in your bathing suit. Although I love the change to the warm weather and the long days spent on the sandy Pacific shore, I DREAD the bathing suit. Here are the following reasons. Now this is not just the bathing suite I hate, but the maintenance it takes to be a well groomed woman IN a bathing suit.

1) Hair Maintenance: Whether you are shaving, waxing, threading, or using an epi-lady to rid yourself of your forest it is a pain in the ass. The hair removal process must begin well before the day you are going to be sliding that bikini on. AND it is not just the legs that need to be maintained...the pits, the eye brows, upper lip and the dreaded bikini line. Added to this annoying maintenance is the MEXICAN dark haired curse that I have. This is when I have to start bleaching. Now I am going to be completely honest here, I have to bleach that fine hair that has started creeping up all over my body; arms, tummy, and back. TMI, I know, but in the spirit of the blog it is honest. I have dreams of having my entire body lazered or better yet have all my hair follicles somehow removed so I no longer grow ANY hair except on my head. Oh, I fantasize about this day throughout the entire summer. But until then I curse the hair gods while I grit my teeth and wax, thread, pluck and bleach religiously.

2) Skin Maintenance: We turn 30 and our skin changes for the worse. It suddenly starts getting dry and flaky. Wrinkles are showing and smile lines are getting deeper. Then there are those HORRIBLE sun spots that suddenly started rearing their ugly dark heads. I NEVER noticed I had these cheetah spots until after my kids. Now I must use glycolic peels, bleaching creams, and gobs of sunscreen to keep them at bay. I layer concealer and makeup up over them to try and hide 'em from the world. The warm summer months hit and I start really stressing. This is when they get dark and ugly. So before I even put my little finger out the door into the sunshine I MUST layer on the 65 sunscreen and the wide brimmed hat. Gone are the carefree days of the 20's when I baked in the rays of the sun and came out with golden sun-kissed skin. Here are the days of the matronly cover-ups, granny hats, and sunscreen.

3) Aunt Flo: This is that horrible time of month that hits right when you have your vacation to Cabo planned or your hot date at the beach with that guy from the coffee shop. Inevitably your period is going to hit hard...BLOAT, HEAVY rivers of blood, tampons being filled up to the brim each hour, cramps that radiate throughout your entire body, acne that blows up your face like a volcano, and that wonderful emotional roller coaster that is sure to make you question your sanity. Then there is the reoccurring nightmare that this will all happen while you are wearing your bikini. Who hasn't had that dreaded moment on the beach when you are sure, even convinced that your tampon string is hanging out? You know that EVERYONE has seen it there...the little white string popping out. Or how about the fear that the warm liquid you feel on your leg is not sweat but actually BLOOD from your vajaja? Your tampon has overflowed and it is dripping down your leg. This is the worst possible scenario, but I FEAR it every freaking time I put on that damn bathing suit when I am on the rag. I know that it is going to happen, one of these days...it is going to happen, I just pray it is while I am in my backyard playing in the sprinklers with the kids.

So does this stop us from wearing the bathing suit? Well, no, but the stress it takes to get that thing on kills me a little more each year!

Signed
Annie (I still haven't worn mine this year)