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

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





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

Pin Up Couture

I am putting this up in the vain hope that someone out there loves me enough to treat me to one of these fab Pin-up couture dresses for christmas... although I wouldn't say no to getting one just for sake of it (and then maybe the other one at christmas!)

What could make you feel more glam than a sexy wiggly swing dress... helloooo sailor!

xxx

Good enough to eat...

Omg my beautiful friend Lauren sent me a link to this fab jewellery seller on etsy today. Fatallyfeminine designer and creator Aubree desribes her work as 'Handmade jewelry that is inspired by Japanese Street Fashion, an overdose of girlyness, and childhood whimsy' - although she fails to mention that it is totally awesome and sweet on the purse!

Just searching through the numerous pages of cute polymer clay jewellery made me hungry for cake and cookies and WAFFLES! Can I please please please get one for christmas... or just for being me?!

xxx

Wedding shoes! Yum!

Wow! I've been looking for inspiration for my wedding outfit for quite a long time now and when I came across the Christian Louboutin 'Margi Diams' shoes on Net-a-porter I was (literally and that's a first for me) speechless! Cue sending a link straight to Scott's blackberry with a massive pleading text attempting to express to him just how much I love these shoes... all was well and good... that is until we noticed the hefty price tag of £1200!

And so then it was back to the drawing board - unless we win the lottery - and that when I came across these fabulous 'lady dragon' shoes by Vivienne Westwood that are a lot more purse friendly at less than £100! So they aren't quite the shoes of my dream but if I really must compromise then these are what I want!

xxx

'I don't know who invented the high heel, but all men owe him a lot' - Marilyn Monroe

Pretty Please

Ok so yes, I know that I have a LOT of jewellery...

BUT...

This necklace from White Trash Charms is just so cute - what summer dress would look complete without it? Here's to hoping that Scott reads this :-)

xxx

'It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you don't stop' - Confucius

Lily's Summer Wardrobe

Since I fell pregnant last year I have realised that there is nothing more satisfying than shopping for baby clothes.

Which is probably the reason why Lily's wardrobe is chock-full of gorgeous summer dresses, the sweetest sleepsuits you could imagine and at least twenty pairs of little shoes.

In stark contrast mine and Scott's wardrobes are quite bare - but thats ok by us, we would much rather see Lily looking good than worry about ourselves, albeit a bad habit of parenthood!

This little three piece set is the latest addition to our gorgeous daughter's wardrobe, its from Vertbaudet and cost just £8 in the sale *woop go bargain hunting mummy* and thankfully today is just the perfect summery day for her to wear it :-)

xxx

'No bees, no honey, no work, no money' - proverb