It's all coming together, with 34 days and 3 hours to go (thanks to a countdown one of my brothers thought of).
Recently we went to Perth for a week, during this time we found a very nice suit and ring for Ricky, as with getting the alterations done to the dress then picking it up. The suit was bought from Brittons Formalwear with the help from the great staff there, if you are looking for a really good suit and don't mind spending some money I recommend them. We bought a suit (jacket and pants), shirt, cuff-links and tie for $450, that was including the pants being taken up as a service by the store and personal help when fitting and trying the items on.
After walking into many jewellery stores, Ricky found some rings he liked in Koro Fine Australian Jewellery. The ring Ricky is getting made is made out of titanium and white gold, and fits smack in the budget, being $400. I must commend the staff at Koro, compared to the other jewellery shops in Perth, they were the only ones who seemed to understand that Ricky may not choose the design he asked to see or try on. Many others seemed to give off a different attitude as soon as you said that you were unsure on the design still.
The alterations to the dress came to a total of $165, with the bustle for two layers being made and matched so we can hook it up, and taking in the side seams to fit after being laced up. Dion for Brides were a great help from start to finish with the dress shopping process, for anyone who plans to shop there later Shirley was the one that helped me choose which dress and she is great to work with. The lady who did the alterations, Felicia, was also very nice and was a great help in understanding the dress.
While in Perth we also went to IKEA for the first time, we would of gotten more if we hadn't already filled the car with a suit and dress, though we managed to get the napkins and tealight candles for the night.
Most of the invitations have been sent out, and with help from Mum the caterer is booked. The bouquets which were mentioned in the last post have long since arrived and look absolutely gorgeous thanks to Margaret at Special Occasions.
Recently I had the make-up and hair trial at Hot Locs Hair Body & Soul. The make-up will be slightly different, as with the hair, though here are some pictures that we took (with the image from the back brightened to see the curls in the lighting):
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| Make-Up and Hair by Hot Locs Hair Body & Soul |
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| Make-Up and Hair by Hot Locs Hair Body & Soul |
We are currently working on our invitations, which is slowly making progress. Though in the meanwhile, here is our Save the Date. We originally had a purple background, though we didn't like it so we changed it up.
Our progress from the last entry:
- We have booked the cake with My Sweet Delights
- Organised my wedding ring with Leon Baker Jewellers
- Found some rings the Ricky likes at Michael Hill
- Booked a date for the wedding dress fitting and alterations, and to go shopping for Ricky's suit
- Completed the bouquet designs (for another post...)
An extra image, the shoes chosen for the day; now to learn how to walk in heels successfully (without breaking my ankles) and stop slipping out of the back of the shoes...
One of the recent posts by Offbeat Bride was about a Youtube video The Crooked Rooks made regarding bridal magazines. It's quite a good watch and shows how easily it is to fall into the "wedding trap".
Bridal magazines, for me, were great to get the ball rolling though once we got started felt like they were putting expectations on a wedding, for matters that should only matter to the couple. Now I tend to use Pinterest to post ideas and Offbeat Bride for the planning side.
For anyone that is currently planning, or has already had their wedding, what helped you pull through the "wedding expectations" that the industry seems to have?
We had our second meeting with Neil from Casa Blanca Function Centre, here we organised a rough idea of the room setup and even organised our centrepieces. They are absolutely gorgeous! We are allowed to have artificial plants in the room, so we are hoping to find some really beautiful ones to help bring some greenery to the night.
We have also organised our ceremony location, and confirmed our ceremony time. We started looking through the book Oriel has given us to assist with our ceremony wording last night, there are so many options to look through! Not to mention I still want to work in a personalised passage. Just got to keep remembering that there is still time, and there is no need to stress.
To top it all off we have booked Special Occasions to do our bouquets, with the below inspiration to make 2 beautiful flower arrangements.
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Singapore Orchids Teardrop Bouquet
Source: QFlowers |
Next on the agenda: Catering, cake, wedding rings, and the groom's suit.
We went into town today aiming to get another set of clothes for the gym and to check out some sales. We came home with a new set of knives, a set of gym clothes, and shoes to go with the wedding dress.
Originally we entered the store as I saw a nice style of shoes which I thought were white, though on closer inspection were pale pink. After being called possibly colorblind by Ricky we had a look around and found shoes which I had been eyeing off since they were brought out a year ago.
I was explaining only last night how upset I was about the Betts website no longer stocking these shoes, and how another pair of shoes I also really liked are no longer being sold by Light In The Box. When we saw that our local Betts still stocked these shoes, we weren't about to wait and lose the opportunity to buy them.
Below are some of the other shoes that I found absolutely lovely while searching for the style of shoes would suit the day.
Another decision down, and another step closer to actually getting married.
Last Thursday and Friday we visited a selection of bridal shops. During the fittings my sister (bridesmaid) and Ricky (fiancé) were the voices of opinion, with the ever helpful sale ladies.
We went to Brides Selection first, after taking at least one wrong turn to get there. Here I found out that dresses can be really heavy, and hot for that matter! After trying on many of the beautiful selection of gowns they have, I walked out of the appointment with two possible dresses that I liked from the salon.
Not yet convinced on either of them we proceeded to have a look at their bridesmaid selection before getting some lunch. My sister tried on a couple of dresses and found Courtney by Mr K, which looks absolutely gorgeous on her. After debating the colour choice, being either Regal (sister's choice) or Purple (my choice), we chose purple. Just hoping it looks as beautiful on her as the Cosmos did.
After some lunch we headed over to Dion for Brides and had a look through their selection. Dion for Brides was a lot more formal in their store layout, as with their attitude towards the dresses, though the staff were helpful and understanding.
We had a look through their style book and discussed with the staff what type of dresses I was interested in, even though the style book dresses were out of our budget. After trying on another selection of dresses, during which finding some really beautiful gowns. One of the last dresses I tried on I absolutely loved, with everyone complimenting me and the dress!
Not wanting to buy anything without having time to think on it, and having one more bridal salon to visit the next day, we took down the name of the dress and headed back to our accommodation. That night all I could think and talk about was the dress at Dion for Brides.
On Friday we visited Bridal by Aubrey Rose, who had some beautiful dresses, though none that I felt topped the one from the afternoon beforehand. I tried on approximately five dresses, and spent roughly fifteen minutes at the salon. Feeling bad for spending the sale consultants time, we bid farewell and revisited Dion for Brides.
Upon revisiting I tried on the dress again to ensure it is what I remembered it to be. As soon as I looked in the mirror I knew it was what I definitely wanted and the bridal party agreed. Before leaving I also chose a veil and even a tiara! With my sister's help of course.
I never understood the whole "feel like a princess" in a beautiful dress, until I tried on that dress. Now I can't wait to spend most of a day in it!
After much time between getting planning stages and indecision, it is finally starting to come together.
On the 24th of August we booked the Casa Blanca Function Centre as our reception venue. We chose the intermediate wedding package offered, and due to the amount of people we are inviting the venue operators are throwing some extras from the higher end package into the setup.
In the last 6 months we have looked into many photographers, some that didn't fit in our price bracket, and some that didn't offer what we were looking for.
Recently, through some asking around, we found Kirsty-Anne Purcell Photography who is just starting out in the wedding scene. We have booked our engagement shoot with Kirsty-Anne, as with our wedding, and very much look forward to working with her to create captured memories of this important event in our lives.
To top it all off we will be visiting some bridal studios in the next couple of weeks, here we will have a look at bridal attire for myself (the bride), the bridesmaid, and different suit styles for the men.
Also, keep your eyes peeled on your email inbox and social network inbox in the next week, you may just find a little something for you within.
Since the post in February, we have viewed two venues and looked at the possibility of getting married overseas. The overseas option we aren't too fond of, due to already having such a small amount of people on our guest list and not wanting to miss out the opportunity of having those people attend. Due to this we narrowed down the selections in town and booked some viewings, see the breakdown of the two venues below.
Geraldton Surf Life Saving Club Function Centre
Contact Ph: 08 9921 3403
The hire of the Surf Club includes full use of upstairs function room, upstairs kitchen, upstairs toilet facilities, outdoor balcony area, downstairs toilet facilities, lift and inventory items of the function centre. It is located off of Willcock Drive in Mahomets, Geraldton, has the beach just past the balcony and has a fantastic view in the evening.
The atmosphere of the venue is nice, and the kitchen facilities are great. All set up and set down are all up to the person hiring the venue, and all tablecloths, chair covers, and any other decoration assortments are not provided by the function centre. The cost for the function centre is reasonable, though the added cost of the hire and help for setting up makes up for the difference.
Casa Blanca Function Centre
Contact Ph: 08 9964 2472
The minimum wedding hire of the Casa Blanca Function Centre includes hall hire, wishing well, tablecloths, half chair covers & bows, ceiling decorations (not incl. fairy lights), use of kitchen - heating facilities, hall & table set-up, and basic inventory. It is located on Eighth Street in Wonthella, Geraldton, has a beautiful entrance and a bar facility available.
The atmosphere of the function centre is cozy, and the couple who runs the centre are pleasant and easy to get along with. Depending on which wedding package you choose, you can also have access to a D.J. and full pack down of the venue would be done by the venue operators. The cost for the function centre is reasonable, considering they do the hard work required on the day.
Conclusion
Ricky and I are both fond on the Casa Blanca Function Centre at this point in time, we will give it some thought, though I think it may be our choice of venue.
Now just to decide what we are going to do with our ceremony, and send out save the dates...
It has been quite a few months since Ricky and I have focused on our wedding plans. Not to mention the end of year hectic schedule, though I also think that we began to have too many options in who to start asking for quotes in some areas and didn't want to deal with it.
We silently decided to take a break, until the planning really needed to be started. The pre-12 month mark is approaching and some vendors that I have asked quotes on before have started sending us emails, asking if we would like some more information or have made decisions. Unfortunately the ones that have emailed, we can't give an answer to yet, as they rely on trying dresses on and making a rough schedule for deciding times for photographers.
Though today, things started to change for the better, Mum got me a Wedding Planner. I've been using Google Docs to record everything but the planner makes it feel like it's finally starting to go somewhere. I think it's the fact that it's being put onto paper and doesn't feel like some fairy tale any more.
Time to start making plans to organise viewings of venues!
The Australian Bridal Industry Academy (ABIA) was founded in 1997 to protect the bridal customer and promote the bridal supplier. They aim to make the selection process of wedding suppliers a little simpler and safer by compiling bridal feedback about suppliers, to help the to-be-weds choices a little easier.
ABIA uses a mathematical calculation, from the feedback the brides and grooms have given, to determine the Winner & Finalists of each wedding category in each state (The Annual State Bridal Industry Awards) and nationally (The Designer of Dreams Awards).
The 2nd WA Annual Bridal Industry Awards, 2012 winners were published online earlier today, many big suppliers of Western Australia were mentioned. Though one I really want to mention is Flowers in Love, which is local business here in Geraldton. Flowers in Love offers a range of services including fresh or silk flower design; unique event hire items; and handmade bridal Swarovski crystal and pearl jewellery.
This year's WA Annual Bridal Industry Awards have recognised Chantelle's fabulous work and have awarded Flowers In Love with the Wedding Hire award, with Finalist positions in Decorator, Flower Design and Jewellery Fashion. Congratulations Flowers In Love!
There are plenty of other really great suppliers that have also been given awards in this years WA ABIA awards, check out the list and make sure to put in the word on your suppliers after your wedding!
When choosing a centrepiece you can do many things, expanding the theme, expressing yourselves as a couple, or even just adding some more lighting. Whatever you and your partner choose, ensure that you enjoy looking at it, as it is one of the main decorations of the evening.
Alternatively you could skip centrepieces all together and use the entrée or even the guest's cake portions as the separator for the table!
Have a centrepiece idea you would like to share? Tell us in the comments!
After writing the previous post Photography Considerations, I continued reading up on wedding photography and found some interesting blog articles. All upcoming couples getting married should take a look through these to get a better understanding of the industry they are hiring, photography requires passion, creativity and patience.
Wedding Photographers Deserve Our Respect.
A good read for brides to get a better idea of wedding photography. It make's you realise that even though you have a list, list the non-common or special "must-have" moments and try to keep the list short. The photographers are professionals and have done this many times before. Give the photographer freedom to shoot what they see as unique moments, as photography is an expression of art after all.
Zack gives a great example of the work required doing weddings in his blog entry; "I figure the only harder job in photography is war photography because you have to do your job with bullets whizzing past your head".
As Darren Rowse states in his blog entry 21 Tips for Amateur Wedding Photographers; "Weddings are about celebrating – they should be fun." Organising and setting up posed shots all day doesn't encompass the atmosphere of the event, nor does a moment that did not go exactly as planned mean it's ruined.
Take the day as it goes and trust the professional. If the budget allows hire a photography team of two to capture the event, this will lead to a bigger range of shots to tell the story of the day.
My personal favourite are photojournalism style shoots (in colour) with a minimal amount of planned shots. If you have any tips or links to add to this, we'd love to read them in the comments below.
Every wedding has a "must-have" photograph list, whether it's as simple as the 54 Must-Have Wedding Photos For Photographers list, family tradition shots or ones that hold that "extra" meaning to you as a couple.
During the wedding process make sure you and your fiancé look through photographer profiles and sites like Pinterest together to gather shots that will hold special meaning to both of you in many years to come.
In this time it would also be a good idea to discuss the idea of a "first look". It is a new tradition where the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony.
It may be too untraditional for some couples, though the "first look" has many benefits, if only to photograph the special moment between you and your fiancé when you see each other for the first time that day.
Seeing each other before the ceremony leads to a smoother schedule for the day, this opportunity can be used to take some bride and groom shots while the make-up is fresh and the atmosphere is calmer than between the ceremony and reception.
Now you have the photograph types you need for the day set out, time to look for a photographer. When looking for photographers search for those within your region, useful if you want to get them to shoot the engagement shoot as well, and then start narrowing down the list by what style you like.
Once you have a list of photographers, discuss as a couple what you would like to be able to do with the photos once they are taken. This step is essential for the photographer to know so they can work out whether you as a client need to keep copyright on the photographs, or if it is signed over to the photographer, what licencing rights are going to be needed to be organised. More information on copyright can be found on the Australian Copyright Council website.
When meeting your photographer, take a mental note whether you will feel comfortable with them and discuss it as a couple after the initial meeting. The job of the photographer (and videographer) requires them to fit in and to inspire natural shots by both the couple and guests feeling comfortable with their presence. If you as a couple don't feel comfortable with them, be polite when confronting the situation and be mindful of what is the best approach for both you and them.
The important part of working out how to record your wedding day is to have fun, imagine yourself and your fiancé in similar shoots to what you choose, and be mindful of not putting too many expectations on the person who captures your day.
Further Reading:
Wedding Wednesday: Photos Before the Ceremony?
In many wedding magazines, blogs and comments that I have read around the place, there are people talking about how to make other people happy in their wedding. Short and simple, the only people that need to be happy, is the couple that is getting married.
You only have one wedding day, you and your fiancé are the ones who should be kept happy. Sure add in some songs to the playlist that will keep everyone enjoying the night, though don't change your day, theme or anything else for that matter just because someone else wants it like that. No matter who it is, remind this person in a polite manner that this is your day, they have had theirs, or theirs is to come, though this is to celebrate the joining of you and your fiancé, not you and them.
This said if you have people chipping into the payment of your wedding, make sure to give them something they can have a say on, that you can come to a mutual agreement on.
Guest lists also fall under the same category, every event is held with a budget and keeping this budget in mind is essential. A great tip on creating guest lists is first to list the people who you and your fiancé cannot imagine celebrating without, from there invite the people who have been there through thick and thin. Once that number is counted, add more people from there if the budget allows.
With this method no people are left out that are close to you as a couple and the budget more likely to be kept to, with room for adding people to the list afterwards.
The last thing you want is to turn into a Bridezilla (or Groomzilla) because people are pushing you to do things their way!
On the weekend just past, Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th of May, the Midwest Royal Flying Doctors (RFD) Bridal Expo was held at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Geraldton. I was only available to go on the Saturday, having missed the fashion show due to the rain and lack of cash in the wallet for entry, one of my bridesmaids and I looked around at what stalls were there.
There were many stalls, and many vendors showing their work off in such a way that I don't think I will forget them easily. There were some stalls we didn't get to see due to lack of time and that we didn't realise they were positioned outside of the hall until closing time.
A list of vendors for the Geraldton and Midwest area that were advertised at the Midwest RFD Bridal Expo include the following, I have also added in vendors I have found during the last few months:
DJ
Sound Trax Mobile Music FB
Midwest Entertainments FB
Small Catering (e.g. Hen's Night, Buck's Night, Rehearsal Dinner)
The Provincial FB
If you have any vendors that operate and cater to the Midwest region, please post them in the comments for future brides and planners. I have many more vendors but they are based online and mostly design/make dresses. For a more in depth list of venues contact your celebrant, they have lists of ideas available.
Looking more into inspiration with something to give us some ideas, I started thinking about a theme we could base the wedding around. I looked at all the ones listed on the wedding sites I have found and none of them really caught my eye. While Ricky and I were discussing certain aspects of the wedding that we have wanted from the beginning, I realised that we should go along with a video game style theme.
I thought this is a great opportunity for Ricky and I to express who we are and create our own integration of the theme.
Some of the sites I found to encourage inspiration along the path include:
The Drunken Moogle - The Drunken Moogle has many cocktails based on games, series and awesome movies. If we were to have alcohol at the wedding we could use some cocktails from here.
HyperComboFinish - A blog with how a couple used the video game theme in their wedding.
Cake inspiration - Video Game Cakes, More Video Game Cakes, Geeky cakes
There are more out there, though I haven't found them yet or they aren't covering the areas we are after. Keep in mind this theme doesn't mean the whole feeling of the wedding is going to change, it is just that we will have a part of our hobbies involved with what is one of the biggest days of our lives.
I was trying to get some inspiration of what setting the wedding should be in, so I starting playing around with making an inspiration board. With an hour or two of playing around with it I realised I had the invitation for Pinterest in my inbox.
I under estimated the site due to the hype that was being made about it. It is good to keep images of what you want for the event and be able to link back to the original vendor to buy it later. The best thing about PInterest is that it can be used for more than one event and interest.
Using this virtual inspiration board I have been able to build a better picture of how the colours can blend together and how the shapes work together. Ricky and I have gone through some changes so far, though the colour scheme (Blue, Green, Silver) has stayed the same.
For the flowers we are going to use the following bouquet's as inspiration for ours. At the current time we have decided on fake flowers, the type depending on availability and cost.
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Bouquet of blue orchids and green Spider Mums.
Cream roses add a beautiful contrast to the cool greens and blues.
Source: Bouquet Wedding Flower. |
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Bouquet - white tulips, light and dark blue hydrangea,
white mini callas, white stock, blue delphinium and blue triteleia.
Source: Bouquet Wedding Flower. |
The Bride's dress, also known as the wedding dress has got to be the most difficult clothing to decide on. Considering I change my mind on style quite a lot, it makes it harder for me to find something I like. An example of this is when Ricky and I were looking at engagement rings; originally I didn't like the princess cut, then one day that is all I wanted. When making choices a person has to take into account that their taste of style will change over time, you want something that you won't regret buying or wearing down the track.
When I started looking, the first site I found with many resources was The Knot. The Knot has many planning ideas and tips, as well as a gallery called Dresses & Fashion. This gallery has all different types of wedding dress shapes, from A-line to Princess. A business I found that also helped me when choosing the dress designs was Australian Designer Bridal and Formal.
Going through many different styles I have decided that the A-line and Ball Gown are more what I see myself wearing. While searching, I discovered my hatred for lace on dresses, it makes me think that the person is wearing a curtain, and the train, all I see it as is a way for your dress to be ruined by the ground. Though not all is bad, as I discovered my love for ruffles.
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| Australian Made Wedding Gown (Source: Unknown) |
Above: I love the way the dress bunches up to the clip at the hip and the detail the breast has. The embroidery with the criss-cross material makes it seem elegant. The only modification I would have is to make sure it is lace up and remove the train.
Below: I love the colour contrast, though if I used this style I am thinking of getting the colour of the material up the top as white. The lace would be removed and the butterfly embroidery is currently undecided on. I love the ruffles they have incorporated in with the gown and the way it melds together. The detail over the gown and the flowers also adds to the appeal.
These were, unfortunately, the best photos of the dress I could find. One of the photos had a watermark on which someone has tried to remove it and did so badly, there are no original copies of it that I could find.
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| Lilac and White Dress (Source: Unknown) |
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| Lilac and White Dress Back (Source: Unknown) |
With these styles in mind as my current choices, I am still yet to try on any dresses. With the wedding planned for 2014, I want to try on the dresses early/mid next year and order it then. I will keep this updated with the decision I choose on the dress.
When first looking for styles of dresses I had no idea what to look for. I have never had envisioned any "fantasies" about weddings when I was younger, having never been to one and would rather learn about the world around me than create and design, I had no direction of what style I wanted. Not knowing the style of the wedding or colours and wanting to jump right in and look at styles, lets say it didn't make it easy. While searching for ideas I came across The Dessy Group, this site became an area of inspiration for me.
The styles to choose from with the range of colours helped me develop more direction and get some ideas. While consulting with Ricky and Jessica (sister and bridesmaid), we agreed upon Shamrock (shade of green) for the dresses.
When choosing the style, I went searching for a few that had the rough idea of what I thought would work and came across quite a few, including the design above. Having more than one bridesmaid, I wanted the individual to show who they are, while still staying in theme. I gathered some of the designs I have found and showed them what I was after, leaving the option open for the ladies to suggest some designs of their own once they have seen what I was after. To my amazement both of the ladies chose the below design, which we will need to add some accessories to, as we plan to have the wedding during late Winter. I don't remember where I got this design from, though it can be found at Zhahau Tiansong Trade Co. Ltd.
At the current time the colour scheme is Green, Blue and Silver. Though this is subject to change depending on what ideas we find during the next 6 months.
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