#30 Garters...

I don't love them.

It may be sad, but it is the truth.

There is just an overwhelming amount of bridal garter kitsch out there! Kitsch is not the right word. Think of a worse word & please apply it.

Once I saw a garter that was gorgeous but the price tag was the kind that pained you to even look at. Haven't been able to find it again so even if my money tree did finally begin to flourish...

I informed Mr N that I would not be partaking in garter-ness. He objected.

So I am rethinking & keeping an eye out for a garter that doesn't give me reason to object.

Here are some that I have found & don't mind....

Via Myrakim/Etsy(Twigs and Honey)

Via JLweddings/Etsy & Plumpfairy/Etsy

Via Woomi/Etsy & GarterLady/Etsy

Or, perhaps I should mix it up? Whatcha reckon? ;)

Via PetereneDesign/Etsy

There is also the matter of the tradition/origin of the 'Garter toss'... It's all a bit much?

Here's an interesting link if you would like a little history lesson...

And really, does the 'modern age man' really give 2 hoots about it all?!

Did you/Didn't you? Will you/Won't you? What do you think of it all?

#29 Again, I Digress...

But surely you'll forgive me once you see this sweetness?!

Besides, it is quite subject related really....

After all, what's life without music? A heck of a lot poorer I say.

Weddings too ;)

Hope you love this piece of lovely as much as I...

#28 Thank You!

The perfect venue/caterer combo continues to elude us.

Feeling a bit down, & a lot stressed out about it today.

Especially as we decided last week to swap our date to the 5th, which is a Saturday = more popular - mostly already booked out since it's under the magical milestone of a year away.

Decided to ignore it all & spend the day with my gorgeous friend Mocha, and her little miss who is my rascals bestie.

Mocha, somewhat ironically, drinks mochaccinos. I'm partial to tea myself. Mostly.

Feel a lot better now. Doubt she does after my venting all day....

She puts up with a lot.

And then I came home to find what is for me & my little page of ramblings, an influx of followers & 'fans' & now I feel extra better!

So, this is for all you Beautiful people - thank you for your comments! - & for my Mocha bear.

Via unlucid mind

Thank you for reminding me how lucky and blessed I am.

xxx

#27 Same Same, But Different!

I'm still loving different bridesmaids dresses in similar shades...

I know I know, I already posted about them but I wanted to share this photo because I think it's just SO sweet & really captures my idea of what the ultimate bridesmaid dresses should look like.

Beautiful. Individual. Flattering.

Via weddingbee

Plus then you know they will likely get plenty more use in the future - hopefully with some lovely memories attached!

I thought I was leaning toward latte/tan/nude kinds of colours but I do love these in shades of grey... And lately I'm leaning toward grey suits too so...

So I don't know. Ha. What do you think???

#26 Numbers Numbers Numbers...

Ah yes. It is THAT time. The dreaded guest list number crunch...

In the pursuit of a wedding size comparable to that of our budget some super hard decisions have been made.

Everyone warns you, but it really is an easy thing to think it won't apply to you until you actually sit down and write the wishful guest list...

Look at the not so kind figures, think of house deposits & school fees, & start to break of the little pieces of your heart that you 'can't afford'...

Via tiny wedding by bleuz

Will they understand? Will they know how much we love them? Will they still know what they mean to us???

One can only hope...

#25 ... and a happy New Year!

Ok so I've been fairly slack lately? I was starting to feel a teensy bit stressed about the planning rather than excited so I thought it best to have a break and jump back in all refreshed and what not...

So! To kick things off again, here is a little something that I find lovelyfull by the most very talented Rob Ryan...

Hope everyone had magnificent Solstice/Christmas/Hanukkah's (and anything else I've missed) & that the New Year is filled with love, laughter & all things wonderful!

xxx

#24 Phantastic Photography!

We have decided on our photographer!

We met the EVER so lovely & EVER so talented Karalee of Angelsmith Photography, (you can check out her beautiful work on Facebook as well) & everything seems just lovely & perfect & peachy.

Her photos are candid, photo journalism style which I like as it feels a lot more personal & her wedding package is excellent - most probably helped greatly by the fact that she loves what she does, which is no line, you can tell she truly does love it.

Looking through her folios at all these amazing, intimate moments in peoples lives she has managed to capture - it's no wonder!

We love what she does too :)

Thinking we'll probably book an engagement shoot with too, got some fun ideas & we really don't have many nice photos of us together at all... Big ups to my Quasimodo style pregnancy there? Ha. So it'd be nice to have some...

It was a fairly busy trip to Adelaide this time around, I guess they will only get busier as we get closer to the date. To be expected when planning from interstate I suppose?

#23 First set back...

So what we thought would be our reception venue crashed & burned.

We found it via the website & to give credit where credit is due, it is an absolutely beautiful venue & the decor is gorgeous.

Went there with the boys parents to check it out & taste the food when we were in Adelaide & - oh.my.god.

Mother outlaw & I went searching for the ladies & we were pointed in the direction of a map which lead us down 3 flights of super steep stairs that let me tell you, you wouldn't want to be descending if you were even a teeny bit tipsy, it was perilous enough stone cold sober!

Though to be fair, it probably did me good on the exercise front?

When we arrived at said destination we were almost ill, they were that filthy.

We had to go up to the counter to order, which was odd in this setting but ok.

We waited & waited...

And when it finally arrived it was laughable.

Laughable if we all weren't so hungry & my heart wasn't breaking as I realised that what had seemed too good to be true - really really was.

If you imagine 'Black & Gold' brand Yum Cha (if such a thing exists) from the supermarket freezer section, with zero points for presentation, cooked badly - either watery, sludgy, or overly deep fried but all of them tasteless- then you are kind of getting what we had the misfortune of experiencing.

The fact that there wasn't a chopstick in sight should have rung alarm bells I guess?

I also had a little look through the window in the door to the kitchen & couldn't help but note that it didn't seem to be in a much better state than the bathrooms...

It's time like these I wish I was a food writer & could openly insult them as much as they insulted us having us pay through the nose for such all around yuk! Ha.

Anyhow, I'm not really all that sore about it. Really I'm not!

In all honesty, my heart did break a bit & I hadn't realised quite how much I had thought it was a sure thing.

But I guess I learnt a valuable lesson hey? Something about chickens and hatching?

#22 Went to Adelaide...

And have come back an (almost?) honest woman!

On Friday 27th of November sometime between 11:30 & 11:50...

While the gorgeous Nannie, Grandad & nieces kept our beautiful boy entertained at the Zoo...

During a suprise picnic by the river Torrens that included all things wonderful...

And 3 heart wrenching cards from my best friend in all the world later...

My sweet & handsome man pulled a little box from the depths of the picnic hamper...

Got down on his good knee...

And asked me to be his wife!!!

I may have cried, I definitely said Yes :)

So now it's Officially Official & the next stage is the Officially Official Officially kind which we are now officially planning for!

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!

#21 We're going on a tree hunt...

We're going to find a BIG one!

I don't yet know where... but surely somewhere in Adelaide there is a tree as beautiful as these ones with our name on it.

Well, not on it exactly as that would most likely be a fine-able offense as any trees this big & beautiful are probably national trust, but the tree meant for us anyway.

Can't you just picture it at the end of the aisle...

Gosh i hope we find one!

If you are in/are familiar with Adelaide & know where 'it' is-please please please enlighten me?

Sometimes my picky/stubborn-ness is little bit more than a lot annoying and i wish I could be more flexible with things... but mostly once I get a certain idea/image in my head then nothing else will do.

Hence the headache of the 'one or the other' direction of reception venue!

What to do, what to do?

Do we go with the surroundings we - yeah yeah lets be honest - i want....

Or with the food?

All attempts to get the 2 of them together have hit brick wall after brick wall after concrete slab.

What's that? Concentrate on the tree? Yup.

#20 Why do you let me stay here?

Not particularly relevant to this blogs topic... Lets call it inspiration shall we?

Lovely word, covers a multitude of strayingness...

A music clip for 'Why do you let me stay here' - She and Him' (Zooey Deschanel & M.Ward) from Marc Webb, the director of '500 Days of Summer', feat Zooey Deschanel & Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Be prepared for serious sweetness...

#19 Uh Oh...

So I had totally decided on the Palomas Nest Ring 'Pillow'.

Then, completely unexpectedly (I was done looking at Ring Pillows you see, it was THAT certain) whilst dancing through the veils, fascinators and other lovelies on the Twigs and Honey website, I came across....

Via Twigs and Honey

Oh no! Decisions!

Do you think having 2 ring bearers - 1 carrying my sweethearts ring, and the other mine - would be out of the question???

I may have to take this new development and its consequences under serious consideration.

#18 Enthusasiam strikes again?

So it may be apparent at this stage, that I have a tendency when I like something to become a little...some may say obsessed, but I'll say enthusiastic?

My last post led me to Twigs and Honey and I'm feeling mighty 'enthusiastic' about this discovery!

Have been sitting here looking at the Twigs and Honey website and also their Etsy store, Goo and Gaa - ing like mad, and perhaps re thinking my decision to make my own veil...

I have a feeling that after having seen these anything I make will fall rather short.

I tried to narrow down my favourites. Honest I did.

I failed.

So all I can do is trust that you will feel just as 'enthusiastic' as I and not mind one bit that I MAY have gone a little over the top...

Veils

Fascinators (To be affixed to veil in this case)

Accessories

Flower Girls

Via Twigs and Honey / Twigs and Honey-Etsy

I really couldn't help myself. Clearly I have no self control.

#17 Birdcage Veils

When it comes to Vintage bridal glamour, there is absolutely no going past the Birdcage Veil.

I really can't get enough of them... And how to choose???

To be honest, I have seen quite a few that I went 'UGH'. Totally over the top and just, well, you get the idea without me heading further into Narkville...

But I have also come across some absolute stunners (In my trawling of google images - great thing that!)

Loving the understated elegance.

Have a gander at these...

................................................Via Artikalnyc-Etsy..........Via Twigs & Honey/Myra Callan-Etsy

Via CastleBride couture ......Via Fearless Bridals ....................Via Brendas Bridal Veils-Etsy

Birdcage veils kick other veils butts.