Engagement shoot - but what to wear?

Yay! I am a very happy bunny today because I just booked our engagement shoot :-)

Ruby of Ruby Yeo Photography is flying over from Malaysia to see her sister and has very kindly agreed to shoot our engagement pictures!

Visit her blog here to see some of her work:

http://rubyyeophotography.blogspot.com/

Sooo I have a photographer, I have two locations (London Southbank where Scott proposed and Greenwich where we went on our first date), I have the fiance to be photographed with and so now all I need is something to wear!

I have absoloutely nothing post-baby that will look good for a photo shoot :-( I've ransacked the wardrobe and can find NOTHING so now its onto the web to find something just right for the engagement shoot!

Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

xxx

Cute carnival themed engagement shoot!

OMG! How cute is this Carnival themed engagment party from green wedding shoes?

I am actually in love... and a little bit sad that despite being engaged for nearly two years (this christmas) we still havn't had one! I now desperately want one! The amazing stationary were designed by the bride's friend, the food was all organised by family and the decorations were DIY, borrowed or given as gifts... Dreamy!

See more on the bride's blog:

http://rachaelnicolephotography.com/blog/?p=1562

xxx

And whilst we are on the subject... Non-floral bouquets...

Images via google

How stunning are these bouquets? The first image is called a button bouquet (no surprises for guessing why?) and the second one is made completely out of felt flowers!

sooo stinking cute...

Unfortunately my husband to be doesn't share the same opinion - in his words they are 'strange' *tut-tut* maybe he is more traditional than I thought :-p

Well despite his inability to get past them being a bit 'weird' I think they are stunning, and I may just have to have a go at making one myself :-)

xxx

Non-floral Buttonholes



Buttonholes from Elizabeth Anne Designs and etsy seller Frittsrosenow

Lately I have become totally obsessed with sourcing out original ideas for DIY wedding projects. Whilst browsing Etsy for hours on end (as usual) I came across the idea of non-floral, handmade boutonnieres (buttonholes).
Traditionally these consist of a single flower - roses or thistles are popular and a small amount of greenery wired together and are given to the groom and groomsmen the morning of the wedding to wear on the day.
However I can think of nothing better than making one of these delightful buttonholes as a present for my groom and his groomsmen - my thinking being that a) they would work out a hell of a lot more budget friendly than the quote I got for £5 each (for rose and some weeds :-p) from the florist. b) they would look funky and unique and c) they would be a memento that lasted forever of our wedding day.


The two examples above are just two of the millions of ideas you could use - you could make them completely personal and individual to the man wearing it - or you could make the same for all the groomsmen and add a little extra touch to your husband-to-be's buttonhole. The first image shows a buttonhole made out of felt flowers and delicate beads and the second is, of course, made for a guitarist out of a tiny guitar and personalised wedding date pics.


There are endless ideas for ways in which to make your own buttonholes - button badges, felt flowers, twigs, feathers, mini plastic toys (what about incorporating fun superhero figures for the super-men in your life?) I know that something like this would go down very well with the men in mine!


xxx





Venue Woes

So these past few days I've been doing a lot of thinking about the type of wedding venue that Scott and I would like to get married at. However it's become clear that it is awfully hard to find reasonable wedding venues in London - particularly ones that meet my (quite fussy it seems) requirements.

My Ideal venue:

• A Blank Canvas - it's important to be able to inject our own personalities and colour scheme upon our venue - the last thing I want to be doing is having to make my flowers and bridesmaids dresses match the walls in a stuffy room... this may seem a bit random but imagine a Red and Black wedding theme in a blue and white roccoco style room... exactly my point!
• Outdoor Space - Granted outdoor space is rather limited in London but would it kill someone to open up a venue where you could have guests wander freely in pretty, scented gardens or at least a terrace where we could serve up BBQ and cocktails... clearly it would! The venues with outdoor space know that it is a valuable commodity and so charge through the roof for it - out.of.order methinks!
• Budget friendly! haha - now this is being unrealistic it would seem - a venue in London, with outdoor space for less than a hire fee of £4000 and without a minimum catering spend of £80 per head - pah foolish for even hoping for it!

Ok so maybe I am asking too much - but I just want our wedding to be perfect. Unfortunately perfection comes with a price... one which I would be unwilling to pay even if we could afford it!

Some of the dreamy but waaaay over budget venues I have been looking at this week:

The Imperial War Museum, London

Vinopolis, SE1

Kew gardens

Fulham palace

Queens House, greenwich

and my personal favourite: London Zoo (plenty of outdoor space but I can't imagine my guests being too comfortable with eating with the lions can you?

xxx

Anybody for a shot?... Of coffee that is :-)

There is nothing quite like a cup of turkish coffee (Kahve) to wake you up in the morning and I absoloutely love drinking from the dinky espresso style cups - particularly now I have my very own ashy grey set from Ikea (once again I heart Ikea!) 

<><>

<>

<><>

My new Ikea kahve cups... £2.59 for cup and saucer

Cute, cheap as chips and an ever so stylish accompaniament to my morning toast :-) xxx

Daytrip! We heart Ikea!

Spent today dawdling around the Ikea store in Croydon with two old school friends (believe it or not i've known them since primary school!) and Lily-Rose!

It was Lily's second trip to Ikea (which is one of mummy's favourite stores!) and her first time EVER to be sat in the little seat section of the shopping trolley which she loved... although I was a little less enthusiastic once she decided to try licking the metal bar at the front *GERMS!*

There was another great first for Lily today - Swedish meatballs with gravy and loganberries- she loved them, which is good because so do I and it was very exciting to see her tucking in to brand new food - feeding herself of course!

Aside from lunch and trolley experiences we brought home some little treasures at bargain prices... The first image is of the Duktig 14 piece felt vegetable basket set which cost just £5.99 and will be used for years to come for role play and the second are the Mula stacking cups at £1.99 which Lily already adores!

xxx

Cake Love... Yum!

Oooh found this cake on Project Wedding and it made me feel extremely hungry! I may have to forget the diet and pop down to tescos in the (very) vague hope that they stock something resembling this!

I've never been one to place much emphasis on wedding cakes but the more wonderful, creative cakes I see the more I begin to change my mind.

Although to be honest seeing the price tag that would go with a cake like this would probably stop me drooling anyway! hehe

xxx

Budget Special: Headpieces and Side Tiaras

Ok so whats a girl to do if her budget doesn't stretch to swarovski crystal encrusted Jenny Packham then?

I've spent the past few days hunting down glamorous, affordable alternatives that still look a million dollars and here are the two best I came up with...

The top design is (and you will never have guessed it!) from Topshop and is just £8 un.be.liev.able! So cute and so on trend it hurts. This design can be worn as a traditional alice band or as a 'side tiara' and could easily be glammed up by sticking some sparkly gems to the centres of the flowers! Now that is what I call a bargain.

The second design is more expensive at £88 from Glitzy Secrets (the home to the most fabulous costume style jeweller you could find) and although a little bit less affordable it is very luxurious and sparkly and would add that 'wow' factor to a wedding outfit with very little going out of the purse! Glitzy secrets have designs starting at as little as £16 but once I saw this 'Eternal Rose' I was stuck... there's no beating about the bush - I want it!

xxx

Spotlight on Jenny Packham - Accessories

This absoloutely stunning and ornate 'side tiara' is one of the new accessories in the 2011 Jenny Packham collection. It is called Acacia II and is a smaller, less elaborate (although you wouldn't guess it!) version of a previous design... imaginatively the design that it is based on is called 'Acacia'

My budget would never ever stretch to one of these beautiful and intricate designs (this one comes in at around £300 - a reasonable price for JP) but to be perfectly honest if I had a spare £300 it would all go on shoes!

xxx