With all things weddings, look at these cute collector barbies I came across... Since a little girl playing doll dress up, how awesome are these ones with their own designer gown. All barbie photos and info can be found on amazon.com

 

This is a VERA WANG barbie, and at $110 I think its not too bad. Cant afford the real dress, so how about a smaller collector item to have forever afterwards ? I am sure my future daughter would love this, although I can see it sitting well preserved in the box on a shelf until her 21st birthday.

Reem Acra Doll

Carolina Herrera Doll

Another wedding item to think about, guess I can always use the its an investment card.

So a little wedding planning update. I havent posted anything about my photographer nightmare - in my earlier post you would see that we had met with our potential photographer. That didnt really work out, and so we are in the process once again of meeting with photographers to locate someone who will suit our needs. The problem with todays wedding photographers is their impression that even though you are spending an enormous amount of your wedding budget to ensure you get those one in a lifetime special moments - that they are intitled to use these photos as they see fit. I would recommend to all brides out there to do your research, and ask all the questions before settling on someone -cause it can turn into a massive dissapointment otherwise.

Questions of importance for our photographer:

* Copyright is a big one! (We do not want any billboards or photos of us appearing in unexpected places)

* Disk with all photos so we can print as much or little as we like afterwards

* Number of hours included, as some photographers stay only the first 30minutes of the reception and get you to do a false impression of a cake cutting and bridal waltz

* Bride / Groom getting ready. This is the most sentimental photos I reckon, and have seen some awesome photos captured of the special moments and important smaller details (dress, perfume, cheeky smile ect)

I must admit and say its one of the more unpleasant parts of the planning process, because you have to meet with each photographer and this is usually done at his place of residence. UNCOMFORTABLE, as you sit in their house, with the kids screaming in the background and while you sit there its like you are on trial as all eyes on you. I just want to find someone now that I am happy with and relax knowing that each of my photos taken on the day will come out perfectly :)  ie. reason why I am hitting the treadmill with all I have

I did met with a photographer over the weekend, and it went well. It was over a casual coffee at Gloria Jeans, while we chatted and he showed me some albums of his work. I do like! I now just have to wait for him to get back into contact with me with the finer details (Terms and conditions, and payment details.,) and still waiting..... why things take so long when you are trying to organise a wedding has me!

 

 

Photos taken from Redcarpetphotography.com.au

Please oh please let me finalise our photographer soon.....

xoxo

Bridal Magizenes

Ok so I am addicted to buying wedding magizene's...!

But I see them as RESOURCE books which offer PRICELESS information and great DIY ideas. I have so many that I could possibly open up my own bridal library. Speaking of, a great tip is that you can lend them from your local library (if you are lucky enough that your library stocks them)- however yes you do have to give them back before their due date. But if you are like me and just love to google over the pictures, and jot down any good ideas in your journal- then its a good option as it saves $15 per magizene - which can then go to saving for the wedding. (now thats smart thinking, if only I could put it to practise each time)

xoxo

VENUE VENUE VENUE!!!

Oh my gosh, let me start off with a simple rant and rave about how frustrating and hard it is to find a suitable venue...! and a co-ordinator who is friendly and gets back to your questions in a timely manner! Now that its out of the way, I can shout out loudly that I have with long last joy FOUND MY VENUE! Very exciting! Its beautiful, and its a lovely and relaxing place with an incredible view - and its beautiful and the service is amazing!

Therefore yes we are getting married 25.09.2010

Photos taken from: The Breakwater Hillarys

So excited now finally things are taking place, and they have been wonderful and helpful to deal with. Thankfully we took this venue instead of the one we were originally going with. Have already got all the table decorations, just need some chair covers and a few extra touches here and there, and all done.. So now the countdown begins... until I become a MRS :)

Much xoxo

Make-up Advice

Every bride wants her make-up to look glamourous and stylish - lasting from the ceremony till the end of the last dance at the reception. Many dont realise that the type of make-up applied on the day, needs to be pre-trialed to see if you like the look, feel and durability of the style as well as taking a few snap shots to see if the make-up comes up nicely in photos. There is nothing worse than a shiny greasy looking face. I came across some great tips below from weddingwires blog - http://blog.weddingwire.com/

1. You want a great primer with a silicone base. Silicone fills in fine lines, wrinkles, pock marks, and blocks the sebaceous glands from producing oil so using that as an anchor underneath all the makeup makes sure it stays put all day.


2. Foundation: The biggest mistake that brides make on their special day is using a foundation that is not light responsive, meaning it is not absorbing and deflecting light in a way that makes you look great for photos. You need a foundation that mimics the way light bounces on your regular skin so you always want to make sure your makeup artist or you do a test shot to make sure your foundation doesn’t drop any lighter than your normal skin shade.

3. Neutral shades for eyeshadow. No bright colors because you want your look to be timeless and elegant… so no matter how natural or dramatic you go keep it neutral!


4. Use water resistant mascara paired with fake lashes. Lashes come in all different cuts and styles so don’t think its automatic drag-queen if you wear lashes!


5. Use a little bit more bronzer and blush than you would normally think, because it wears off throughout the day!

6. Make sure your eyeliner is waterproof. I like M·A·C’s Powerpoint Pencil, it’s amazing! You have about 60 seconds of playtime until it sets and then it’s virtually waterproof and budgeproof.



7. Radiant glow… the skin should always have a nice fresh glow. Products like M·A·C Strobe Fluid and M·A·C Mineralize Skin Finish, placed directly on the cheekbone give off a great cheek highlight


8. Prep the skin with a great moisturizer. I like La Mer. Keeping the skin in tip top condition is key.


9. De-puff and cover dark circles. Fast Response Eye Cream from M·A·C is a great product to use the entire morning of your wedding. It is pure caffeine so it immediately de-puffs and has a pigment that deflects light from dark circles so its my personal favorite.


10. Seal it. Get a sealing spray to set everything and make it stay all day long. I love Motives 10 Years Younger Spray, Model in a Bottle, Makeup Forever Mist and Fix, and M·A·C Fix Plus spray. It basically sets all your work and keeps everything from moving

Another thing to put on the list
xoxo

Wedding colour Palette

Not much news today, just thought it would be a good time to start deciding on wedding colours.I think its a pretty much a given decision, however looking at all the inspiration boards of colour they all look so lovely (even the most bizarre colour choices). I came across these great inspiration colours boards from beimbued's blog. Hope this helps anyone who is struggling with their choices

Photos taken from: http://beimbued.blogspot.com/

CLASSIC ELEGANCE

SPRING GARDEN WEDDING                                                                                                             

XOXO

Cakes

*** Sugar... ahhh yummy yummy...  ***

I am sooo excited cause I can officially say I have got my wedding cake organised! and the lady who is doing it for me is so talented, and I am super happy. I have a definite style in mind, however some more inspiration below (Please note I have tried not to post anything remotely similar to mine below, as there needs to be some surprise elements on the day)
Square or round, that is something that I have not yet decided (?)

If I can pass on a tip though from experience, do look around at all options and cake makers. I had originally gone to a cake shop, and they amount that they wanted to charge almost had me wanting to skip the wedding cake all together.
I ended up finding a lady who has been making wedding cakes for 35years from home, and I was very impressed with her portfolio of her work, all together with heaps of thank you letters.
Another tip is provide some of the embellishments yourself, I will be getting my own ribbon, bling buckles, ect. as this will also save costs towards additional items on your cake - all while making it more personal to your style as you choose the additional items according to your tastes / likes.

Love the cute look of the matching cupcakes above, it could be a great idea to incorporate onto the kids table. Dont think I have let on yet with my ideas for the kids tables, its a clever little plan I have come up with to keep the kiddies entertained ..(and quiet during speeches ect).. Planning for this yet to come so keep tuned

xoxo

Hair Couture

So lets talk hair... and I say hair couture cause the styles below are rocking hot!

The must MUST for all brides is to

* Do some research to find something that ties in with your style of the day, as well matching the class of your dress 

* Find a suitable hairdresser or mobile stylist whom you can book in for a trail well before the wedding

* Purchase any hair extentions, veils, accessories beforehand so your stylist can play around with these for a suitable style

* be 100% happy with whatever style you choose.. if not do more research and repeat the steps above :)

Its going to be a tough one, so many beautiful styles to choose from. Something on my list of things TO DO is get some hair extentions to add some volume and length, and decide of the style and look I am going for when deciding on the choices when it comes to veils.

Exciting times are yet to come, very much looking forward to securing the venue and date and letting the rest of the planning take its course **(holding thumbs for the venue booking this weekend)**

Beautiful Brides to be..

xoxox

Dreamy Dresses

Lets talk dresses!! The best thing of todays modern wedding is that there are no rules anymore when it comes to bridesmaids. Teaming bridesmaids to grooms men is a thing of the past, and so is horrible bridesmaid dresses which will never be worn again - even though the bride will tell you it can be shortened and worn again. Styles and colours can be mixed and matched and each bridesmaids body shape can be taken into mind when choosing their dress (hence making them feel alot more comfortable on the day) and maybe even having a dress that can be worn again.

I am definately going for a more relaxed day for my wedding and bridesmaid or no bridesmaid, I know I will be in charge and calm when the day arrives (even though I am notorious for nerves)

For the bridal table set up, think about having a more intimate affair and including both sides of your parents at your table, or even just the bride and groom as part of a sweetheart table - as supposed to the long bridal table with groomsmen and bridesmaids and their poor partners sitting in the middle of a table of unknown guests.

  

 

Above photos taken from: Style me Pretty

An excellent idea is from Twobirds bridal, who have a bridesmaid dress which can be wrapped in ten different ways and flattering for all body types with one size fits all. Gown prices start at $320

http://www.twobirdsbridesmaid.com.au/

                              

So much choice...

xoxox

Wedding Style

So choosing a wedding style is pretty much the first step in your wedding organisation.

~ Beach Wedding ~
I came across this beautiful set-up for a beach wedding which is "oh so dreamy"...

Photos taken from Polkadot Bride:  http://www.polkadotbride.com/

Bridal Shower

STRAWBERRY KISSES xxx

I just stumbled across a great new South African bridal blog - Primadonna bride. Some great ideas, liking this one for a bridal shower
Feel like i am jumping a few stages (first need to arrange the actual WEDDING before the shower LOL), but its good to get the creativeness flowing and record the ideas as they appear.

Photos taken from: http://www.primadonnabride.co.za/

A personal touch with monogram initials at either a bridal shower or wedding.
Full instructions & printable labels found at Ruffled Blog.




Photo taken from: http://ruffledblog.com/

My typical thoughts towards my bridal shower will be some classy, girly and fun. A high-tea, or garden tea party with yummy cakes and cucumber sandwiches appeals to me more than a night out on the town or a drunken party with unappropriate "entertainment"
Love the look and feel of the laterns overhead with white washed chairs and tables in the garden.

Photo taken from: http://www.bakerella.com/

How cute are these ? All instructions and awesome other ideas for cake on a pop is from Bakerella. Something cute and fun to make with bridesmaids the night before bridal shower.

Well ladies until further bridal shower planning ...
xoxo

Photographers

So... picking a photographer who is going to take amazing photos on our wedding for us to look back in years to come, and still love - is the TASK of the century! I did not know it is so involved when deciding on a photographer. There is copyright to think about, high resolution, editing, number of hours included, style of photography ... not as easy as I once thought.
I LOVE LOVE this photo below!! Its stunning! Not to mention her Oscar De La Renta Dress **sigh**

Photo taken from: http://cdweddings.blogspot.com/

We met with our potential and photographer last week, and we are pretty much sold. He is extremely passionate about his work and it shows in his enthusiasm as he spoke about each wedding photo in his portfolio. Each bride was much more than "another wedding" for him.

I have been milling over the idea of getting an engagement session before the wedding. I think its a fantastic idea, as we get to know our photographer before the wedding - and we get some lovely photos of the two of us beforehand.. This can then be used towards the guest book at the wedding.

Both photos taken from: http://www.polkadotbride.com/

Getting pretty excited, as when we have decided to go ahead its another tick in the boxes of things done.
xoxo

Flowers

Lets face it, weddings are expensive! and being on a budget I would like best value for money where I can get it. Flowers for me was never one of those MUST on my list, with so many other options available such as lovely smelling candles, decorative vases ect. I never set my heart on having massive centrepieces of flowers. Besides that, florists seem to charge a fortune for anything decent.

However looking around I have now changed views on flowers, and decided this is something that I can do myself and intergrade into the wedding as a DIY project.

Photos below taken from : http://florettedesigns.blogspot.com/

I have managed to get a few things already for my centrepieces, I got some great 40cmx40cm curved mirrors for the centre from IKEA and got some great sized vases and crystal candle holders. Now I just have to settle on a candle scent from dusk (thinking possibly a vanilla scent) this would give a nice aroma and feel to the wedding

I love the use of flowers to make the letters LOVE as shown below. This is taken from the wedding planner - Cathrin D'Entremonts blog. She is based in Perth, and is a very helpful and lovely lady. I had a consultation with her, which I won off Polkadot Bride - and she helped me to get some ideas and a few tips on how to be organised.

Images taken from: http://cdweddings.blogspot.com/

http://cdweddings.blogspot.com/

I am a little nervous about the flower DIY side to my wedding, but I am sure with all the family help I have it will come out just the way I would of planned, until then....

xoxo

And Let the Countdown begin :)

Trying to be Miss Organisation, before I become the big "Mrs Forever", begins with a wedding blog. I have been following heaps of talented wedding bloggers, and love the idea of being able to post all my ideas & inspiration on a page for others to read (well I hope it gets that far) - and hopefully be able to help some other BRIDE TO BE on her way to smart and budget savy wedding planning

So let me start my new blog off with a Countdown, and it begins with potentially 5 months and 2 weeks. Potentially as the organisation and ideas start, the venue and date have been pencilled in but missing in action in the confirmed department ... but like all planning, a work in progress so will keep you and myself posted.

Like all good fairytales it started off with a question, and my answer was YES so we had an engagement party and all our family were guests. Our engagement party was held at my inlaws, and the theme was Tiffany and Co. As I am a totally DIY savy, I did the decor all myself and got some family help with doing a dessert table (taken from Amy Atlas inspiration)

until next time

xoxo