I went to a wedding!

Well, this is different.

Since TSW began I've pretty much been a shut in as much as possible. Buckling down at my computer with my water by one hand and mouse in the other, I just play hours of video games and watch TV and movies until my eyes are dry and red.

This past weekend was a wedding and as some of you may know, leading up to it, I was very anxious about how I would fare both physically and mentally at a long social event. Most of the socializing I've done has been limited to hanging out with coworkers an hour or two after work then going straight home to tear off my clothes. But here, I'd be held captive for a whole ceremony + reception.

In advance, I vetted my costume very carefully. It had to cover all my messed up skin, besides my face, and it had to be comfortable. Initially, I found a turtle neck long sleeve dress with open shoulders. My worst spot at this point was my neck and I figured if the rest of my skin was covered up besides my shoulders I could moisturize those babies and it'd be fine. Right?

Wrong. Fast forward one month and my shoulders are scratched to bits and my knees are now exhibiting elephant skin. What's a girl to do?? Well, go shopping of course. Luckily, I stumbled across a turtle neck midi length dress from ASOS. Only 13 bucks was a great investment for a classic dress that I could wear out on occasion. I chose charcoal gray because if any flaking occured, it'd blend into the texture.

Yay, my outfit was set. Now for the makeup. My skin was oozing a couple days before and I was a little worried that I'd be oozing all over during the wedding. That morning (or afternoon more like) I got in the shower 3 hours before I had to go to the event and then started to pat dry my face and apply my vaseline and cetaphil moisturizer, then zinc oxide on top to make sure any spots were wicked away. 

My face was a bit flaky that day so my choice to use a cream compact was probably a bit misguided. I used Chanel's vitalumiere compact and immediately I could tell it was the wrong choice b/c my skin dried down immediately and I looked a bit cakey. No matter, I popped on my eyebrows, eyeliners and falsies and off I went.

Only #selfie I took. I know, I look like I'm going to a funeral. But really, I'm headed to a summer wedding :D Forgot to take an upclose of the face but forehead was a little flaky. At least HFFA? lol. 

For day, I doubled up on ibuprofen and tylenol, which I warn shouldn't be done often and especially shouldn't be done if you plan to drink. My evening would be dry except for the toast where I sipped a few teaspoons of champagne. I took 400mg ibuprofen and 1000mg tylenol every 4 hrs and it kept my itch away.

I also had to take a break half way through in the bathroom and strip off my dress and shake the flakes off. The avalanche left a film of my skin over everything and when I went grab some toilet paper, it created a little cloud of skin in the air. Lovely.

One awkward moment was when I was chatting it up with some of the grooms friends, one commented that I looked cold because my sleeves were pulled up to my knuckles. "Are you a shy person?" I suppose, but really, it's TSW!

It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. The bride and groom wrote their own vows to each other and their day of celebration was really touching. There were tears shed during the ceremony and reception and it left everyone feeling warm and fuzzy inside. For the moment I was able to forget about my suffering and enjoy the present company which was nice.

Our table's centerpiece

A kid warming up the dance floor

Finally, I'll leave you with these pics where you can kind of see my face. My expressions are a little muted b/c my skin is tight but I was glad I looked okay for these goofy pictures.

Photobooth! My friend's face is altered for his privacy. 

It was definitely worth it to get out and about for the day and enjoy company and good food, away from my dark skin filled room. If you're able to escape it for just a moment, you should. Though the next day I was super flaky and itchy, I just thought back to the previous day and how great it was to hang out with friends.