I want that one!

Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby

arhhh haa arhh haa arhh arhh.

Do ya? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?

Do you Ever! This satin maiden is so clearly one of Johanna Johnson's creations. She is a marvel when working with fabrics such as this heavy satin and is the queen of the drape, getting fabric to fall in ways that  are so natural and elegant.

This particular dress is called "The Ruby" (hence the Kaiser Chiefs reference above) and is just that little bit different for that bride who doesn't want the standard wedding dress, but still wants to feel like a real girly girl.

You can bet that you will be seeing more of Johanna Johnson's line in future "I want that ones"!

The New Aussie Gold Rush Online

Well hello to the new and improved Australia dollar!!! The best thing about the strong aussie dollar for us is shopping online. Well I'm sure it means other stuff for the econmy as well, but that means little to me.

For brides this is a great time to buy those things that you have been looking at online, but that are not available in Australia. This could be little but beautiful details from Etsy...or designer pieces that are a couple of hundred dollars more expensive in Australia.

The things that you need to look out for are that the website will except an Australian credit card, as some don't and that the postage does not out weight the savings you are making.

After looking at Emily and Tito's Etsy Crazed Wedding I thought I might have a bit of a twirl about the site and see what I could find.

Set of 10 Mastache Props from Wisker Works' Shop on esty for $95 USD and $10 USD postage.

 

200 Edible Gold Bat for Sweet Deja vu. They are made of wafer rice paper and with stick to a varity of different surfaces using a little corn syrup. For $30USD and only $2USD postage they are a little detail that everyone will remeber.

If bats aren't you thing there are butterflies, dragonflies and danty edible lace dollies. 

Or how about a Vintage 50's dress from Animal Head Vintage as a unique bridesmaids dress. This one you can wear strapless or it also has a sheath which has wonderful bow details on the sholders and buttons on the back. It is $150 USD plus $18USD for postage.

Happy online shopping.

Emily and Tito - More Images

So you've had a little taste of Emily and Tito's Wedding and now it's time to binge. But lets start with a few particulars about the pair.

Emily and Tito meet when Emily travelled to Paraguay to teach English to little Paraguayan people. Tito's family where lovely enough to  become Emily's host family, for the six months she was to be there. It's was revealed at the wedding by Tito's mother, that when Tito first heard they were to be hosting an Australian girl, he passionately stated that he was not going to be driving some exchange chick around. This was until he saw Emily.It wasn't long before mutual affection bloomed and Tito was more than happy to drive Emily where ever she wanted, and Emily was inventing reason to be taken places.  

After almost out-staying her visa, Emily returned to Australia. Tito braved the modern day equivalent of a dragon (Immigration Australia), and followed Emily to Sydney where they have been living happily ever since.

As a beautiful little foot note, Emily and Tito's first kiss was at a wedding. Emily and Tito's wedding was on that exact same date, six years later. Too cute!

Now the photos and some details to follow. 
  

Even Little Miss Emily will admit she may have gone a bit Etsy mad. I feel guilty being as I  was the one who showed her this website, but on the upside she did get a wonderful wedding out of it. The soft ruffled bolero Em is wearing is from an Etsy store called Toccata and the boys buttons holes are from Brydferth. Other items brought on Etsy include glass bottles, bird shaped soap, bridesmaid jewellery, candles, almond eggs, chocolate eggs, ribbon and the list goes on.

The wedding ceremony was held at the Catholic Church in Sutton Forest and the reception was at Eling Forest Winery. Emily's dress is by Jennifer Regan at Embryo and she found her feather headpiece at a vintage fair in Sydney.

Photography was by Amanda Mac in the Southern Highlands, including the photo below of Emily and a very pregnant me. I don't always look so short. It killed me not to be able to wear high heels...bloody swollen feet!

Designers Done Dirt Cheap - Stella MacCartney for Target

Now ladies how keen are you???? Tomorrow at 9am the lovely new line by Stella McCartney for Target comes out in select locations. The last time this happened in 2007 it was like those sale events you see in sitcoms where people get trampled and women fight over the last dress.

If you do have the guts for it you could find some beautiful and different bridesmaids dresses.

The whole lines prices range form around $40 to $300 and includes not just clothing but bags and accessories.

 Lace Dress in French Blue $199

Bow Gathered Detail dress in Felicia $149

Black Silk Dress $299

 Lase Tee $129, Tulip Skirt $119 and Fabric Belt $39

Happy clawing ladies.

Do us a favour?

Do us a favour will be a repeated post all about cute, funny and generally awesome ideas for wedding favours, or bonboneries, if you'd prefer it that way.
This week, we're going down the Eco line. I've been doing a lot of research into different ways to make a wedding Eco friendly and carbon neutral. Once I've finished all my research I'll let you know my findings in the form of a blog post. But in the mean time, while doing the previously mentioned research, I came up with a brilliant idea... and then found out I was most definitely not the first person to come up with it... nether the less, this brilliant idea was:

Flower bulbs as a bonbonerie!
It's a brilliant alternative to lollies or overly expensive trinket. It's lasting... well for a season anyway, it's memorable, and it grows into something beautiful. It's a wonderful me

The how to's:

• Have a look online for a good bulb supplier. For those in Australia, try bulbs direct. They seem to have a great range and at reasonable prices. For example, you can get 20 gladioli bulbs for $19, or if you want to splurge, you could go for 25 Dehlia bulbs for $75. Have a look:  http://www.bulbsdirect.com.au/level2.asp?viewitem=GLACOL2&planttype=_Special%20Offers 

• For the bags, there are many options out there. Couple of ideas would be to go down the eco line and get 100% recycled bags that are gusseted, so they stand up themselves and use them as a place card, by stamping them or printing on them. One place I've found is ecocern where you can get 1000 bags for $50. http://www.ecocern.com/products/gusseted-bags/ 

Turning this bag into a place card could be as simple as writing on the bag, but if you want something a bit more formal, glue a place card on the bag.

Image Source: Elizabeth Anne Designs

If you're not as into the eco thing as I am, but would still like that earthy, natural feel, you could try calico bags from Pink Frosting:

http://www.pinkfrosting.com.au/shop/item/eco-mini-drawstring-favour-bag-made-of-100-organic-cotton-12

They're $25 for 12, but they are super cute and could be used for lots of other items. They're organic cotton, which means somewhat environmentally friendly production practices, so you can still feel good about buying them. They're also reusable, so you guests can have something lasting to take away with them. 

There are many other plant ideas that are becoming increasingly popular, which I'll go into in later articles, but I think bulbs are a lovely idea. Something that starts from nothing and grows into something beautiful... Just like love... awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

 

What's in season

Spring is an amazing time for flowers (obviously...because of all the bees with their stingers and such), and as such, the more exotic of the flowers drop in price and become more readily available.
Which brings me to David Austin Roses:

 Known for their layer after layer of elegantly coloured petals, they're a hybrid rose, developed by, believe it or not, Mr David Austin. They're in season between October and December and are available in many colours, ranging from whites and creams, to dusty and rich pinks, to some very sweet peach tones. They make beautiful additions to a bouquet or are stunning as textual element within a center piece.

I think that David Austin Roses are just dreamy. They remind me of layers of tulle that make dresses puff out... like an upside down petty coats. They'll definitely be making it into my wedding... if it ever happens!

Emily and Tito

When my wonderful friend Emily told her two sisters that they could pick their own bridesmaids dress as long as it had purple in it, she wasn't sure what she was going to be in for. The two beautiful girls have very different shapes so when they both felt great in the same Charlie Brown long silk floral dress, on what I'm pretty sure was the first day of shopping, is nothing short of a miracle. This issue for Emily then became how to work the dress into her already fixed ideas she had for her wedding. Yes the dresses had some soft lilac purple in it, but it was contrasted with a very vivid green that Emily was not sure what to do with.

After talking to her and because I already knew some of the themes (birds) and ideas (long tables and mix and match vases) she had for her wedding, I created a inspiration board for her to help her visualise how the vivid green could be working in quite elegantly. And here it is.... 

Now here is some beautiful images from Emily and Tito's wedding day and how Emily turned inspiration into a gorgeous reality.

In a few days we will post a couple more picks from this lovely couples wedding.