Throwback post about nail salons

From June 2014:

Weird and awkward.

I would not describe myself as a girly person.

I like glitter, I like shopping, I love purses, make up, and other girly things, but I’m just not that girly.

Wedding planning and everything involved in the process is very girly.

It started a few months ago when we were trying on dresses. There aren’t mirrors in those little dressing rooms. One of the dresses we tried on had several layers, and I could tell that one of the layers in my dress was messed up.

Without a mirror and without being able to move, there wasn’t much I could do to fix the problem. I called the bride into the room and asked for help. She dove down in the layers in my dress and started tugging and pulling them into place.

Um, my friend is up my dress. Not that I care, I mean, I don’t. It’s just weird to have your friend all up in your dress.

That was the first time I learned that this wedding stuff is not for the faint of heart. Things like this happened multiple times along the way.

I don’t want it to seem like I’m complaining about it, because that’s not my intention. Looking back, all the awkwardness is kind of funny now.

Another really awkward, really girly thing was the nail appointment a couple days before the wedding.

I’ve gotten my nails done professionally once. It was a fast thing, a basic manicure, nothing to write home about.

Everyone in the wedding party this time around got a gel manicure (I think, anyway). I’m not going to lie, they could have given me the crappiest manicure ever, as long as there was glitter on my body I would have been happy.

I didn’t realize how intense the appointment would be.

First, they cut off your cuticles, which basically made me feel like a person who has never, ever had a haircut.

I didn’t even know cutting that much off of my fingernails was possible.

There were more steps involved after that. Dip your fingers in hot water, dude said, then stick them under a hot light, and then do more uncomfortable stuff. (Am I the only one who thinks this is a little weird and kind of hurts? I never asked anyone, but I wondered that the entire time.)

I just remember the appointment was really long, and I couldn’t really face the rest of the wedding party or talk to them.

That leaves me facing a total stranger who is basically holding my hands the entire time.

Weird.

This dude I’ve never seen in my life is right up in my face, in my bubble, I don’t know how long I’ll be here and I don’t know whether I should be nice and talk to him, ignore him, or look away.

The weirdness just got weirder.

After the manicure was over and my nails were awesome and glittery, I noticed that my hands felt dry.

He mentioned he’d put lotion on my hands. Okay, that works. What I wasn’t expecting was a massage on each arm, up to the elbows.

Dude? I just wanted lotion on my hands. Stop it and get out of my bubble.

I’ve never gotten a gel manicure and I definitely don’t regret it. They look pretty awesome and they’ve lasted much longer than regular polish.

I wasn’t expecting a total stranger all up in my face, massaging my arms and just being so…there the entire time.

The fact that I’m an introvert explains a lot, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Even more disturbing, there was a woman getting a pedicure while we were getting manicures. I swear someone massaged her legs the entire time I was getting my nails done.

Am I the only one who thinks that’s creepy? Is this actually relaxing to some women?

I’m all for getting massages. I had one earlier this year and it was wonderful. In my mind, if you want a massage, you need to go get one and not go to a nail salon.

But hey, what do I know about life.

I had fun throughout all of this, and I’m grateful I got to be a part of my best friend’s wedding day.

However, I can’t imagine doing this on a regular basis for fun. This wedding stuff is a lot of work.