a bow on top

I'm not wearing a veil at our wedding.  I've never really pictured myself wearing one.  (One of the advantages of not being a girl who's been imagining her wedding all her life is that there aren't things I've "always" planned on wearing or saying or doing--which, now that we're planning a real live wedding, has left the options wide open...)

So, no veil.  I think they look nice.  I just don't want one on my head.  I don't need the weird symbolism that seems to go along with the whole thing, and I'm not so hung up on tradition that not wearing a veil would seem wrong.  (If I'm getting you down with this whole "no" thing, you should wander over to Souris Mariage.  I really like what Mouse had to say last week about her fancy new headgear.)

All of this begs the question: What, if anything, am I going to stick on my cute little head?  For a few months there, I was campaigning for crown-wearing at our wedding.  Not a tiara, thank you very much.  A nice big crown.  Perhaps made of construction paper.  While my partner-in-crime was in full support of the idea, I've since decided that maybe I could do better.

And I'm pretty sure I need something fancy, if for no other reason than to distract people from noticing that I've done absolutely nothing at all with my hair.

I've gushed here before about the lovely little things over at LoBoheme's Etsy shop.  And with the clock ticking so loudly now at the back of my mind, I'm kind of inclined to just order one of the stunning things listed there.

Like maybe this:

Or possibly this:

photos by Marisa Holmes: marisaholmesblog.com

I'm still clinging to the idea, though, of making something myself.  There's still time, and I have some ideas, albeit vague ones.

Remember my slightly-toxic flowers?  I was thinking of making a few of those in white and somehow sticking them together, along with something shiny.

(And my selection of shiny things grew a bit more this past weekend when my mother-in-law-to-be stopped by with a few pieces of costume jewelry she'd offered to loan me.  Along with some other lovely little things, there were a pair of rhinestone-studded birds, which of course, must now find their way into whatever I end up with.)

I'm not really satisfied with my initial efforts, but here's what I have so far.

Mostly, I just love the little bird.  Besides that, I think I've got my work cut out for me.  Is it a headband I want?  An alligator clip?  I have no idea.  It would probably help if I could decide how I'm wearing my hair.  (My beloved stepmother has already vetoed pigtails.)

I do like the rosette pattern of the flower, but I think I'd rather have petals that are more defined.  When I tried cutting and then melting something more petal-shaped, I ended up with little tendrils of melted polyester, instead of anything remotely flowery.  I guess I'll have to work on that.

And my whole I-can't-sew hang up is seriously getting in the way with all this tulle and netting.  I am way outside my comfort zone, and I might have to start looking for someone to give me some advice.

I do feel like I might be headed in the right direction, though.  It might just take some more clumsy hacking to really get the hang of this.

I'll keep you posted.  Obviously.