MAFS; S11, EP2

Karen & Miles:

Miles is getting pep talks for his big day by his dad, as he looks forward to his wedding. Karen, on other hand, is reeling from her “heads up” text, and stalking Miles’ Instagram stories, and is feeling more nervous than ever. She does manage to shake off her nerves and move forward with the wedding. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress, which fit perfectly and her hair was some of the best wedding hair I’ve seen on the show ever (in my professional opinion). The preview from last week made us doubt if they were going to go through with the wedding, seeing the clips of Karen crying, but luckily that was just shady editing. Miles seemed really happy with Karen after they met, and Karen seemed to cut the crap, thankfully (LOVE Miles already). Their after-wedding conversation was awkward as expected, but seemed to go well and hopefully they will actually make it, because they look adorable together. It’s definitely way too early to tell, but I’m rooting for them.

Olivia & Brett:

Olivia was getting ready for her big wedding day amongst friends and family in her hotel room. Her makeup looked great, while her hair was in a pretty “meh” ponytail, but all in all she did look very pretty and the dress fit her great. Brett and his ball-busting brothers were gearing up for the big day by making fun of each other and playing stupid “pull my finger”-esque jokes. When Brett finally saw Olivia at the altar, it was pretty hard to tell what his first reaction was. He was pretty straight faced throughout the ceremony, though he cracked a few jokes, and had to throw in the fact that he had a cat. Olivia was bubbly and cute, and got very choked up during the ceremony. They seemed to  be getting along afterwards during their “after ceremony chat”, and Brett even claimed that she is just like someone he would be attracted to at the bar. He did, however, mention an issue about “not having a lot of disposable income”, which was a little bit of a buzz kill for a wedding night. Hopefully he was only acting like a jerk for tv during the bachelor party, and he won’t ruin poor Olivia’s life. Best case scenario, they will all get along and live out their best sarcastic, lil Wayne karaoke cat lover lives. Worst case scenario? He tries to hit on one of her bridesmaids. (oh wait that happened already with someone else…. )

Woody & Amani:
Amani looked amazing in her form-fitting dress and big, curly self-proclaimed “Coming to America” ponytail (I wasn’t a huge fan of the two pieces down in the front, or my professional term for them “antennas”), but otherwise the hair was on point. She had both her dad and stepfather chatting her up pregame, and everyone seemed positive and excited. Woody, of course, won the style award for the episode, in his white tux jacket and matching white/black glasses. I honestly wasn’t sure what to make of him in the first episode; he doesn’t stop moving, he’s super stylish, and he always looks like he’s in on some kind of inside joke. However, I think he was the absolute best during the ceremony, seeming both fun and sincere. I really wasn’t sure if these two would like each other, or if he was even serious about getting married at all, but so far it looks very promising! Way to go, “experts”! You get one gold star for Woody & Amani so far (I may take it away at any point in time). 
When the new couple went for their after-wedding chat, they seemed to be hitting it off, with Woody laying it on thick. It seemed like Amani may get annoyed with him being so “extra”, but it’s only the first 5 minutes, so she’s finding it cute for now. I am completely shocked to put them in my Number One category for front runners so far, and am even more shocked how much I like them together. Don’t make me regret this, Team Woodmani!

Amelia & Bennett:

OKAY, Okay,Ok, ok……Now, as a person who styles brides for a living…. I have to take a deep breath. I knew what we were getting into from the previews, but watching it all come together is another story. I have styled MANY an eccentric bride and had a pretty unconventional wedding myself, but WOW. That being said, it’s like a bird flew into Pebbles Flintstones’s hair, crashed and died, and left a trail of dead bird feathers attached to her ears (they were actually more like macrame).  There was also random string dread lock in her hair that Dog the Bounty Hunter would be extremely jealous of. There was a brief moment before the nest was affixed to her scalp that she looked nice… but man! Did I miss her explaining the significance of the bird’s nest?? Is she just a big Alfred Hitchcock fan?? I am lost. The flooffy dress and the upscale cavewoman hair was just a confusing combo that read as “80’s Madonna lost in the wilderness”, but in a bad way. The way that she kept opening her mouth as wide as it would go, made her look like a human bird feeder. Hopefully nothing landed in there…

Bennett was hanging out on the hotel bed, pretty chill, with his best buds- one of whom was Kip from Napoleon Dynamite (I was wondering what that guy was up to these days!). Bennett wasn’t aware that dress socks were a thing, so he was wearing his least holey but still dirty white socks. His extra theatrical mother came in to give him a very dramatic pep talk, referencing theater, and it almost looked like she was going to bite him. Bennett did confirm that he was in fact wearing deodorant for once, which probably delighted the tux rental people. On a positive note, it seems like Amelia may be the only person who would meet his mother and be delighted immediately.

When it was time for the ceremony, the doors swung open, and we were privy to the bridesmaids, which were a whole other story. Each maiden was wearing a various colored fringed dress and sheer headscarf. It was like this weird Bedouin circus vibe gone wrong. I actually kind of liked the fringey outfit idea, but the execution was just wrong. Bennett even seemed a big surprised by the theatrics, included but not limited to the maid of honor riding in on a unicycle. Then, just like the previews suggested….. Amelia confesses that she’s met Bennett before. There it was, people, the cliffhanger. We don’t know how or when, but they have met and it seems to be extra awkward. I still have hopes that this scene was heavily edited and that their having met was not necessarily a bad thing, more of just a weird coincidence. (Unless they met before because Amelia treated him for an unsightly rash or something…. that could be an issue). Until next time!