AW: Hey, y’all! It’s Aria and I’m back with a new episode of Bare It All! Today, I have two very special guests with me, and they happen to be really good friends. I have Mariana Alvarez and my wifey, Adel De Luca! Welcome back!

MA: Ah, I’m excited to be here! Hi everyone!

AD: Hey, everyone! I'm back again! I can't seem to stay away!

AW: So glad y’all are here because today, we’re talking about wedding planning! -cheers and claps her hands excitedly; So for this episode, Adel is the host and Mari and I are the guests, since our weddings are just around the corner. This is very exciting!

AD: I'm so excited to welcome these two into the wife club! It's greater than I expected it to be and these two will be fantastic wives! -looks between the two and grins, nodding her head; And that's right, I'm going to see if these two are bridezillas or not. -laughs and rubs her hands together; Let's start off easy - how many guests are you guys expecting? Were you picky or did you go crazy and invite every person you've ever met?!

MA: Thank you so much! I can’t wait to be a wife, and I’m sure Aria feels the same! -laughs; As far as guests, I honestly went pretty crazy, I’m not going to lie. Definitely more than I needed.

AW: Oh, I can’t wait to be a wife! Everything about it just excites me to no end. -laughs; I definitely invited every person I ever met. Even some I’ve never spoken to before, but they’ve made a name for themselves. You know I’ve always wanted a big wedding, so why not?

AD: You hear this, y'all? These two did not come to play on this. I feel like...big is better if that's in line with your dream. After all, it should be one of the greatest days of your life! 

MA: I completely agree! If a big wedding is what you want, go for it! It’s your special day. 

AD: -raises her champagne and takes a sip before continuing; Let's talk about the dress. I know some sneaky details about Aria's dress, so why don't you go first, Mari? Have you said yes yet? Was there a budget and did you have an idea of what you wanted, or did any surprise you?

MA: As far as a dress goes, I’ve kind of looked online to try and gather ideas, but that’s been the extent. -laughs; It’s just tricky because I will be a lot bigger when I get married too. I do have some ideas in mind, so we shall see! I’m hoping to actually go look for a dress soon. Hopefully I find something I really fall in love with. Was it hard for either of you, or did you really just know the dress was the one?

AW: -raises her champagne as well and takes a sip; Sorry you can't join us with champagne, but I did get some sparkling juice! -sets it in front of her; 

MA: Sparkling juice works for me. -laughs and raises it up before taking a small sip;

AW: You haven't went dress shopping yet? -gasps; Girl, you gotta get on that! I see you in a flowy dress with a sweetheart neckline, but that's just me. -smiles; Was it hard? Yes. Did I know the dress was the one? Yes. I had an idea on what I wanted and tried on dresses that met my image, so I got with a designer and they're creating it. -eyes Adel with a smirk;

AD: Mari, you're going to be gorgeous in anything you wear. I can't wait to see the little bump on the big day! It's going to be so special. -looks at her with a smile; 

MA: I know, I know! I’m horrible. I need to get more on the ball, and thank you, Adel! The little bump is the reason I’ve been slacking more.

AD: As for me? Well...with eloping, I ended up wearing this gorgeous black Chanel dress that was in my closet that I hadn't worn yet. We basically got married 12 hours after deciding it was what we wanted, so there wasn't much time. But my legit wedding dress..I originally thought I was going to wear black, but then I fell in love with a champagne dress and never looked back! -takes another sip of her champagne and grins toward Aria; And your dress! Dress shopping was so fun because this crazy had been planning the second she said yes and we were going through magazines and then at the shops. And...yeah, I wonder who could possibly be making your dress...okay! Do you think the dress has been the most stressful part? Are your guys involved with the color suits they want and that sort of thing, or are you running the show?

MA: Aria, I bet your dress is absolutely amazing. I cannot wait to see it. And Adel, you always having amazing taste and the pictures I’ve seen were so stunning! I feel like for me, the dress has honestly been the most stressful part. Getting that done. It also took a while to settle of a color scheme, because there are just so many good ones and I am very indecisive. Zach is pretty much letting me run the show - he just wants me to be happy - but he does give input and everything, because like I try to remind him, it’s his day as well.

AW: -nods her head; I’d have to agree with Mari. The dress was easier than the color scheme because I kept going back and forth and then once I settled on a color scheme, I found something else that I liked, so I forced myself to go ahead and send the invites out so I had something solid and concrete and I couldn’t change my mind. -chuckles; Yeah, I’m basically running the show. He’ll give me his input every now and then, but I pretty much have to ask him to give me his thoughts. Otherwise, I don’t think he’d care how the wedding turned out. He says it’s my day, but I tell him it’s his day, too. I did tell him that he’s in charge of getting the suits handled, so we’ll see how that goes.

AD: It's such an exciting time and stressful, but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait! After we eloped, Jordan wanted me to still have the wedding experience, and we looked over colors and things like that, and he was very vocal. -laughs; But when does he ever shut his mouth? It all worked out for us in how we ditched it all together. I can't wait to see how it all comes together for you both. I love how getting married is so universal, but each couple is unique and makes it their own. Those men are lucky to have such lovely ladies like yourselves. Also, wife, if you need me to kick Hunter in the ass...I gladly will. 

AW: Your wedding dress was beautiful, Adel. I don’t think I’ve seen you that happy in my entire life. -chuckles; And yes, just kick his ass for the hell of it. -laughs;

AD: Okay! What about the wedding party process? Do you have any of those family 'obligation' wedding party members, or did you give yourself a limit? Has anyone been salty and how do you handle it?

AW: Surprisingly, no one’s been salty. I don’t have family, so I don’t have to worry about it and I’m making Hunter’s mom as involved as I can be. She’s like a mom to me, so it’s been fun gushing and planning a bit with her. But with the wedding party, it was a no brainer that I wanted the people closest to me to be by my side. I have a lot of friends, but only a very few that I’m close with. So I knew I wanted to have you and Grace as my bridesmaids. You were a no brainer. I’ve said it years ago that when I get married, you’re the maid of honor. It was a given. 

AD: Girl, it's a total honor to be your maid of honor! I love you so much and we're family forever. I also think it's lovely of you to include your future mother-in-law in as much as you can. Typically there's a larger focus on the bride, so I'm sure it's extra special for her given she's the mother of the groom.

AW: Thank you. I love you too, wifey. -grins; I just love Rose. She’s been amazing and so welcoming from the start. It’s hard not to love her. -laughs softly; I’m eager to hear about Mari’s experience.



MA: Aria, that is honestly so special and amazing that you have that bond with her. Not everyone gets that, so that really cool! -smiles at Aria before turning her attention to Adel for a moment, nodding; The wedding party process has honestly been pretty easy for me as well! No one has been salty and there hasn’t been any obligations as far as family. Like Aria, it was kind of a no brainer who I wanted up there on the big day. I also have plenty of friends, but only a few I’m really close to. It’s crazy how emotional I get when thinking about all of this - in a good way. It is all just so exciting.

AD: -looks to Mari and smiles; You're a doll and it's okay to be emotional! It's an emotional time that's going to be one of the most important times in your life. Speaking of emotions...has the extra stress caused either of you to be not so nice? To your grooms? Venders? Friends? Family? Are you extra sensitive or are you just on the whole...my way or the highway with people? I know relying on others for events and things can be a challenge, but I know for a wedding it could be amped up.

AW: Yes, of course it has! I mean, you know me, Adel. When I want something done my way, I’m going to be a bitch about until I know that it’s being done. As for vendors, I have amazing friends that have graciously agreed to cater my wedding as a wedding gift, so I’m very grateful for that. But they better know that I’m still writing them a check for it.

MA: I guess you are so right. It is an emotional, special time. And I definitely believe that about you, Aria! You like things completely in order and how you want, and you’ll stop at nothing until it happens. Something I admire about you and wish I had more of. Adel, I feel like you can be kind of the same, but I could be wrong! For me, honestly, I haven’t really been mean or anything. I honestly think it can be so hard for me to actually be mean. Even with this. I think I just don’t want the added stress, so I just try to stay as zen as possible and trust that everything will be okay.

AD: I totally need order and things to come out how I envision them or I won't do something at all. I don't believe in short cuts. -laughs; My label maker is one of my favorite things and our pantry is labeled and color coded. My husband loves to make fun of my OCD when it comes to things like that, but it makes sense to me - it flows! I'm all about spreadsheets and flower arrangements being balanced down to food being on theme with a party. I'm wild, but that's fun to me! -switches gears; Okay. You guys are doing well on the bridezilla scale...within reason when it comes to Aria. Mari, you're definitely the zen one, which is good for the little on the way. What about kids at the wedding? We know garden girl is an exception, but what about other kiddos? A lot of weddings aren't about them.

AW: I’m all for having kids at the wedding. It’s a celebration and as long as they’re respectful and not loud and keep their hands to themselves during the ceremony, we’re good. Besides, I have a lot of friends with kids, so it’d be rude and ridiculous to say they could come. It’s optional. Bring them or don’t. It’s not one of my worries. Though Eden would get bored being around nothing but adults. She does that on the daily, to be honest. So, kids at a wedding is fine with me.

MA: I am very much okay with kids at the wedding! Like Aria said, I have a few friends with kids, so it would be kind of mean to leave them out since I do adore them. As long as they aren’t overly acting out, it’s fine by me. But I will warn that the reception might get a bit crazy. So that will be up to the parents whether they want their kids there or not for that! -laughs; I just want everyone to have a great time.

AW: Yes! The reception will have alcohol and adult songs, so…. -chuckles; Eden will be staying for most of it, though.

AD: That's fair! I figure whatever works best, but we know a lot of people with kids, so I get it. It's like one big, extended family. Gonna switch gears to finish up - what about the food? The cake? I missed out on all the tasting parts for our wedding, but me and Jordan decided a little while ago we were going to make a wedding cake for a date night coming up. We take reality baking shows seriously in our house. -chuckles; I'll take pictures, don't worry! 

AW: I know how y’all get over baking shows. Very competitive in the De Luca household, that’s for sure. -laughs;

MA: All the competitiveness! I think that is really cute that you and Jordan plan to do that soon, Adel! What an amazing little experience.

AD: Thank you! We're all about doing new things. Did you and your guys have the same vision? Do your venues offer catering? Or did you go private? Will you save the top layer of your cakes for your one year anniversary? Do people still do that?

AW: You wanna know what Hunter said about the food and the cake? -mimics his voice; “Whatever you want, babe. I’m just along for the ride.” -laughs; Like that’s helpful. But I’ve basically been telling him what we’re having and he’s cool with that. The venue did offer catering, but we paid a little extra to have our own food catered to the wedding. Y’all will love the food, I can assure you. And I think I will. You know me, I love a good wedding tradition, so why not? I’ll save it.

MA: Zach and I have pretty much agreed on everything, so things have been really easy in that department.  You could say we share the same vision. We are going private for our food, just because we want certain things! I can’t wait to eat like all of the food at your wedding, Aria. But don’t worry, you can pay me back at mine. -laughs; I believe the two of us will probably keep up with that tradition. I think it’s a neat tradition, and who doesn’t like cake?

AD: I can't wait for the food! I know you both have great taste, so it'll be a fun time for sure. I think that brings us to the fun now? The party. Any hints on what to expect for the reception? What's your take on dance choreography? I for one can't wait for the toasts. I'm emotional already to give my speech. And sparklers. Please be on team sparkles!

AW: I think dance choreography can be really fun. I saw this video of a bride and her bridesmaids dancing a choreographic routine to WAP and I was like, “That’s me!” -laughs; But as far as I know, no one’s doing that and I, personally, don’t have the time for it. But I am definitely team sparklers. I mean, how can I not? They’re so pretty and it’ll be a great send off for us, so I can’t wait to see how the pictures turn out. Oh, speaking of pictures, no phones at the ceremony! You’re not ruining the pictures by having your phone out. Nope. Not happening.

MA: Oh my god, I saw that video too! I love a good dance routine. With things like concerts and music videos, I’ve gotten quite used to them as well. Toasts are always so emotional, I swear. I’m ready but then I’m not ready for all of that! My makeup will definitely have to be waterproof - for both of these weddings. As for sparklers, they are amazing for a great little send off. I always find that to be so pretty. And Aria, I definitely agree with the phone thing! I am definitely having signs and it even announced that no phones are to be out. That is what photographers are for.



AD: I'm more of the ballet type, so there's no damn way I'd be any good at any of those routines! I'm always dancing around the house or around you guys, but for crowds like that? No thank you! -laughs, shaking her head; I think it's safe to say you both are far from bridezilla and will have the most beautiful weddings of your dreams. I'm so very happy for you both and can't wait to celebrate you. Thanks for letting me host, wife! This was so much fun!

AW: -laughs softly; This was fun, and you know you’re coming back for another episode at some point, so this won’t be the last we get to hear from you. And Mari, thanks so much for coming and chatting all about wedding planning — the good and the bad. Your wedding is going to be a beautiful and you’re going to be a beautiful bride.

MA: This has been so fun! Of course. I loved doing this with the two of you. Thank you both so, so much. Aria, I hope your big day is everything you’ve ever dreamed of! I cannot wait to be there. I know it’ll be amazing...and you both better save me a dance at the two weddings! -laughs;