Usually my inspiration boards are full of practical items that you can go buy but this week i just wanted these pretty pictures! Inspired by the rainbow sprinkle on the glass picture of last week i wanted more of this rainbow heart racing inducing lovliness and i found exactly what i wanted! Hope you enjoy it!
Sometimes when i read back on my monday 'week in pics' posts i think 'do i ever actually work?!' because i'm always doing something! The thing is i'm a serious planner, i love having things to look forward too and so i'm always booking up tickets for shows and trips. It has its advantages and disadvantages. Advantages being quite obvious, i'm never bored and i get lots of outings! However there are disadvantages. One being i get left quite under pressure with the amount of work i have to do. Number two is when things get a bit bad on the finance side of things i've already committed myself to loads of things and the third reason is that i will make advance plans with a group of people and i sometimes don't get any spare social time to make plans with some of my other friends who i plan things with on a more immediate basis.
Out clubbing in Manchester
That's why i was excited to go out this week with not only my besty but one of my friends who i havent seen now for months! We went to an indie club in Manchester and had a great time! I wore a kaftan from H&M which i brought last week (and can be seen in last weeks monday post) with a black skirt and tank underneath.
Drool....
In the morning i woke up with a bad back from all the dancing (you can tell i was busting some serious moves right?). On wednesdays i dont have work until the evening so me and the boy went to watch the new pirates of the caribbean. I am a huge pirate fan (as you might gather from the name of the blog) and have always loved Johnny depp (show me a man more beautiful and i will show you a unicorn dancing with santa claus) so when the pirates of the carribbean movies started i was in heaven. It was like someone had entered my brain and made a movie from the things they found there (except without bunting and cupcakes). There were rumours and reviews that this instalment wasnt as great as the rest. To be honest it could have been 3 hours of Johnny depp sitting silently in a white room and i would have been raving. The script didnt have as much humour or witty one liners in it as previous films but i loved the film none the less.
This is the place to go for some one off retro vintage! Timeless Vixen have so many dresses on their site its great and they are all in beautiful condition. I have a love of the 50's style dresses and Timeless Vixen have dozens of choices for me. They ship worldwide and have a great feedback record.
$440/ £274
They are based in Beverly Hills and you can visit them for an appointment if you're local. If not then go to etsy now or visit their main website here.
Ok so i've been naughty. The last 2 days have gone by without a new post. I can explain, it was all times fault, its screwed me over! Well i'm home now visiting the family so i'm a bit short of time today as well which is why this whole post is coming to you courtesey of emmaline bride. They did a fantastic piece last week about DIY crepe paper ideas which was so full of pretty pictures and wonderful wisdom i'm sharing it with you today! Heres some of the best tutorials from the article:
This week was so very productive! The fiancee has now officially finished university and i have officially finished for this year plus i handed in my last wedding planning diploma assignment! The weight off my shoulders...has just been replaced by other weight but its all self inflicted, i love to keep busy!
So mid week me and my besty met up for lunch and smoothies and then did what we did best...shopping and this time we excelled even ourselves! Aside from the stuff pictured i also got 2 more tops, a skirt, lots of underwear, a swimsuit, 3 dresses and a handbag.
Then that night the boy and i went and saw Pete Doherty perform which was brill! For those who don't know who he is he is someone who was in a fab band called the libertines then went and ruined it all with a drug habit, for which he's now better known. In fact just a few days after the gig he was sentenced to 6 months behind bars for pre mentioned habit. however the gig was fab! Check him out on youtube here!
At the weekend the boy dragged me to cardiff because there was a rugby final in which his team were playing or something like that...i drifted off. Turned out his team lost but i didnt really care. Although of course i did the whole pretending i cared thing! We met his parents in Cardiff as well, as his dad is a big rugby fan, and it was lovely. His mum and me enjoying cocktails courtesey of his dad while the boys weeped into their beers. When we arrived at the hotel we found complimentary wine, chocolates, biscuits and cakes in the room but on the saturday night while waiting for everyone to get ready to go out for dinner i scoffed the lot! I'm kinda impatient :D
Just a quick note to say i wont be posting anything this weekend as i'm away but it will be business as usual on monday! Have a lovely weekend everyone!
$45/ £28.46
This weeks shop is my bohemian summer and i've never been so excited about origami! This shop contains some really cute items and all really great value as well! It ships everywhere, 100% positive feedback and every so purty, everything i desire from an etsy seller! The seller does custom orders as well and i'm so in love i think i might buy something for my bridesmaids to carry!
They have been a serious wedding trend in 2011 fitting in beautifully with the current vintage theme that so many people love. I am not an exception to this and we are having doily placemats at our own wedding. While scouring the net i realised that there is so much you can do with a doily and even those who are less crafty, like myself, can have a go. Paper doilies are available for so cheap, i've seen 250 for about £3 so even if it all goes horribly wrong there is really no loss and it will be like i've just spent a few quid on a fun afternoon of crafting (or more realistically less fun, me getting frustrated, throwing things about being deciding i need chocolate and wine immediately).
The wedding garland
A very popular idea on the net and there are quite a variety of garlands about. The above garland is paper doilies engraved with letters and dusted with glitter. It looks really beautiful although it would take a lot more skill and patience than some of the others around however does really have the x factor. The tutorial is available from daily bits of beauty.
This is a garland using paper doilies which could really add some elegance to any venue space. Its very dainty but makes a big statement. The full tutorial is at project wedding.
There is something about this that seems so wonderfully retro. This would be beautiful as a photo booth backdrop wouldn't it? Get the tutorial at Sarah Hearts.
I love the colour used in this doily mobile and the mixture of different patterns. The tutorial at tatertots and jello is for a child's mobile but this is something that would fit so beautifully into a wedding.
The stationary
Photo courtesy of Design Mein
A very pretty idea and i love it if your invite is particularly colourful so it contrasts against the white of the doily. Its very simple but equally as effective. Design Mein has a quick little tutorial on how to complete these.
At Daily Suze they have a heapload of free downloadables. They have the wrapping paper download which has a very pretty doily print on and the manila tags are also available to download. The tags could be used as escort cards, place cards or as part of a favour and the paper could be used to decorate something such as a wedding post box. Get the paper here and the tags here.
A cute idea for a chocolate bar favour. They have a blank space in the middle which is big enough to write a name on and so they could double as place cards as well. Get the free download over at Daily Suze.
Ok so the situation is that it is 1.36am and i am writing this blog while painting my nails and trying to figure out what to do about the bout of insomnia thats hit me recently (4th night in a row with less than 4 hours sleep!) thats the state my life is in right now haha. But i cant possibly get annoyed about it because i get to write about these beautiful weddings and we have 4 this week.
The first wedding is to be found on style me pretty and as you might be able to tell from the above picture its a traditional italian affair. I love italy, i've travelled there before and just fell in love and it really is an ideal setting for a wedding. I dont understand how someone could look at the above picture and argue with me!
To us this looks like the prettiest most romantic thing ever but for the bride and groom this snow caused a lot of havoc from missing guests to the caterers not being able to turn up. However if you go to rock my wedding you can see all the rest of the photos and read the heart warming story of how everyone rallied around to make it the beautiful wedding it turned into.
This bride has the look down! Dolly couture dress- check. Ban.Do headpiece- check. Curls- check. Oh and did i even mention they got married on a pier! These americans dont know how good they have it getting married all over the place! See the rest of the wedding on green wedding shoes.
isnt that cute? I love this australian wedding, so many beautiful touches. Arn't you curious about their absolutely amazing cakes? Thought so. Head over to style me pretty.
Sorry if this blog post isnt that great, you wouldnt believe the spelling mistakes i had in it before i ran it through spell check. Note to self. Me + no sleep = bad blog posts!
I was thinking about what today's blog post could be about while i was painting my nails neon pink and that's when it struck me. Neon isn't really a big wedding theme, hen night maybe, but actual wedding day not so much. I knew it would be a challenge and that's partly the reason why i chose it however i didnt realise how much of a challenge. It was super hard trying to find things that wern't so in your face tacky. So here's my best attempt!
I once went to a wedding where at night they turned off all the lights and everyone decorated themselves with neon bracelets before dancing around and it was amazing. Get neon bracelets in bulk from Well glow.
So what have i been up to this week. Nada, Zilch, nowt, zip, jambalaya (ok so nothing to do with nothing but i like the word!). Work all week and the one social night i had planned had to be cancelled after my new second job wanted a short notice meeting which i didn't want to make excuses for especially as its my first week but hey that's life!
The boy was gone for the weekend, had gone down south to watch some rugby so i decided to use the time to have a big clear out of my wardrobe, shoes, drawers, cupboard, under the bed etc. It was one of those times when you have been going at it for hours, you have a break, look around and realise the place looks messier than its ever been before. A lot of things had to come out before i put them back away! So that was almost therapeutic although not exactly how i would like to be spending my weekend but not to worry because this weekend i get to travel to Cardiff to watch rugby with the boy. If only you could see my...ahem...excited face at the prospect.
At first i think 'oh well thats what a relationship is about, compromise' then i think 'would he travel to Cardiff to go to a wedding fayre with me?' and i think that maybe i should try and milk it a bit, dinner out with drinks afterwards me thinks!
Also a quick note to say my blog has now started getting over a 1000 page views! Big news to me, that people are actually reading what i'm saying so thank you to everyone who's checked out the blog and i hope you continue to come back! Much appreciated!
Now before i bring your attention to that fantabolous video let me share with you this pic from a photo shoot i saw on The knotty bride.
Doesnt that look perfect! Its so super pretty and would fit so perfectly into my wedding!
Now talking of which i have a wedding dilemma, i know with the wedding a whole 22 months away it seems quite early to be facing one but bear with me. I love paper lanterns. Pictures like this set my heart a flutter :
Its a really cost effective way to create such a stunning decorative feature. The problem is the ceilings of our venue are 30 foot and as the staff of the venue are not insured it would be our responsibility to put these up. It would also have to be done with a freestanding ladder because the walls are decorated with silk and there are no supporting beams or anything. I have no idea how i'm going to get hold of someone to come round on the morning of the wedding to put the paper lanterns up, especially as the venue is 45 minutes away from the place all my family live which is too long for them to come to put them up. It may be i have to hire a decorator or something to help me?
Right now for the video. I'm sure you've seen this elsewhere because its been all over the net in the last week but its just too cute. I cried and i have to say i don't cry at anything! I cried at Lion King (Mufasa's death) when i was a little girl and haven't cried at anything since. After i remained stony faced at the notebook my friends became convinced that i was dead on the inside but this video has managed to get through to even my stone cold heart!
I've never been on a successful diet before because in my heart i always felt i would rather eat what i want when i want than be skinny. I didn't like how i looked in photos but i would take photos of chest upwards and i could be happy with that and although i didn't feel comfortable in a bikini living in england meant that was a problem i only faced a few weeks a year. Then i got engaged and it all changed (ok well it changed about 5 months after my engagement). I knew that i could find my dream venue, decorate it to perfection, have the whole day go without a hitch but if i was going to look at the photos and feel fat then there would be no point to it all. I'd of rather have got the boy and married him in a registry office, forgetting about my dream wedding. I started the diet in Feb and 3 months later i've lost over 2 stone. I'm more surprised than anyone, especially since my plan was to start 'properly' dieting once university was finished in June.
My diet rules:
No exercise. I'm too busy to exercise and i'm too far away from things to walk anywhere. I thought that as i'm so busy i will be trying to fit exercise in whenever i have any spare time and it will start to feel like a chore and that will make it more likely for me to quit the diet altogether.
Smaller portions. I was eating bigger portions than the boy and i always finished my food. Giving myself smaller portions was probably the hardest thing to handle at the beginning but after a fortnight or so my appetite got smaller and now its not something i struggle with at all.
I am a fast eater, very fast! This would mean i would finish my meal and still be on the lookout for something else. Now i tell myself to wait 20 minutes (like a child) and if i'm still hungry i can have something else. I never need to.
Always have dessert! I couldn't go on a diet that didn't satisfy my sweet tooth but instead of a whole fudge cake now i will have a meringue, some jelly, a weightwatchers chocolate brownie or something similarly low fat.
I'm allowed to eat and drink whatever i want when i'm out with friends. Again i knew this was always the hardest part of any diet for me. If i'm going out to dinner and paying £20 for it i want something more than a plain chicken breast so now i eat what i want and then i dont feel like i'm depriving myself the rest of the time.
Every time i tell my friends this they always are confused. 'You've lost two stone on that diet?' and that's the point, i've found a diet that's easy for me and i can now rest assured that when i do get married my weight isn't going to be on my mind (or on my hips).
Most brides i know have lost weight before their wedding day. In the few weeks run up they have so much on their mind and the stress can affect their weight. Some people lose weight when they are stressed however some will find themselves snacking more and subsequently put on weight.
Usually you have quite a few months until the wedding meaning the diet can be a graudual thing which will mean a longer term result as well. For many brides it may just be eating more fruit and veg, walking a few more places, drinking more water etc. Cutting down on alcohol is a great way to throw out a few calories and doubles as a cost cutting exercise in the lead up to the wedding.
Crash diets arnt the way forward because while you may lose the pounds you want for the wedding day they can also leave you with bad hair and skin and the weight will just go back on after you've started eating properly again.
With exercise every little helps and if there is one area you want to focus on then research what exercises you need to be doing to tone up that specific area. For me its the arms so a few bicep curls and bench dips should help me get them toned. It could be about finding an exercise that you actually enjoy, for example swimming or joining a group of some kind. If all else fails put on a keep fit video!
With both diet and exercise Set yourself short term goals that mean you can moniter your progress and will continue to motivate you.
And its not just the bride who wants to diet for their wedding, it may be the groom as well. By undertaking the task together you can provide motivation for one another and its always going to be easier to stick to a meal plan if you are eating the same thing rather than one scoffing a take away while another has their steamed fish and veg. Exercising together is a great way to make exericisg enjoyable as well.
A bit of sexy lingerie on the wedding night or for the honeymoon makes that post marital sex a bit special. I mean after a few years of being together i think the husband is just going to be surprised its not mismatched or ripped! So traditionally the bridal lingerie is virginal white but i can almost 100% guarantee your new husband will not care if its a different colour! However i have found some lovely white lingerie sets to show you today!
If its good enough for the queen its good enough for me! However i can't imagine (or rather doesn't want to imagine) that the queen wears anything as pretty as this gorgeous set and i also can't imagine i will ever be able to justify 90 quid on a pair of knickers, however pretty and this is really damn pretty.
La Perla are a really classic brand and have lots of beautiful underwear and this includes a bridal range. They are an established brand for luxurious lingerie so i'm sure that any brides looking for some luxury will have La Perla on their list.
For all your rock and roll headwear needs i present Janine basil. This fab London based shop provides the funkiest range of facinators, headbands and hats you're ever likely to see!
$149/ £94
$150/ £95
The great thing about this shop is they have a big price range from £11 to £143 so they cater for everyone, they ship internationally for a great rate, 100% positive feedback, i cannot wait to order a few!
Ok so i only have 45 minutes left in the day before wednesday is over and so is my chance to show off my weddings of the week! Good job i have some real beauties where the photos can speak much louder than any of my silly words! Plus i have *ahem* 12 weddings to show you, oh they are so purty!!! But that does leave me about 3 mins a wedding to write up, do the links, crop the photos and spell check. EEEEEKKK
Sonama wedding at Style me pretty. Look me in the eyes and tell me the little boy in the suit isnt the cutest thing you've ever seen!!
Ok so this is less my wedding of the week more my wedding of the year! This wedding leaves me breathless, exciting, happy and envious. Check it out at the knotty bride.
One of my closest friends is obsessed by peacocks. You know when you go to the zoo and there are always random peacocks just casually walking around? Well my friend is the one chasing after them giggling like a toddler. So this weeks inspiration comes courtesy of her.
Ok so as you may or may not know a few weeks ago i got overwhelmed with work and stopped the blog for a few days and so i have lots of cute shoots and inspiration to show you all backed up! So in todays post i have a lot to share!
So these amazing photos are part of an inspiration shoot styled by the fab bloggers over at Rock my wedding. They come in 2 parts (Part 1 and Part 2) and they really are something to behold. They call this look 'Dolly Pop' however they have styled some different looks if this isnt your cup of tea.
This beautiful photo was part of an easter shoot by love my dress. I know that easter is long gone now but prettiness never dates right? This is such a cute shoot full of pastels, lace and cupcakes so right up my street!
Sometimes when i see an engagement shoot you think 'wow' because even if you take away the stunning photography, cute outfits and pretty props you can see a couple so in love and thats beautiful enough. But what about after 55 years of marriage? Will there still be that spark? Well this couple can inspire us all. I hope to be as in love at this age (and as stylish). Head over to Style me pretty for the full shoot.
