Shoes & Socks

Some of my favourite photos from our wedding don't feature people. They're photos of details.

These details reflect the thought and planning that goes into a wedding. Those little things that not everyone notices on the day, but that the bride and groom (ok, lets be honest.. it's generally just the bride!) puts into the planning. They're little purchases that we've trawled the internet searching for, or the decisions we've worried about, blogged about, posted on forums about -  because when we're planning we are focussed on details!

In my case, shoes and socks somehow became a detail that featured heavily in our wedding snaps:

My Shoes.

Bridesmaid Shoes.

Groomsmen Socks.

Romantic Feet.

Pretty Shoes. Orange Argyle Socks. 

I never expected so many photos of feet and/or shoes. It certainly wasn't a planned detail. But it became one that stood out. And somehow these photos manage to look exactly like "our wedding".

Don't let anyone scoff and say that details aren't important. I hate it when people insinuate that brides are 'bridezillas' for worrying about Something as little as shoes.. or the perfect shade of orange argyle sock! Really - these are the things that personalise a wedding, and that put that individual stamp on your wedding. And in the end, those unique shoes/veil/vases/bonboniere might end up creating memories, making your wedding look like "your wedding", and featuring in your favourite pics!

Tell me, what details are you obsessing over?
Or what details became a feature, without you even meaning them to?

Wood = Rustic

What could be more 'rustic' than wood?
We already had plenty of wood in our venue, given that it was made of 100 year old baltic pine.
But I wanted to decorate with more wood.

Like Rachel and Brent's wedding that I talked about back here:

Or like this lovely cottony, woodsy, wedding that I found while planning:

So we* collected some wood! (*by 'we' I mean 'I' scavenged from the side of the road and random people's houses).

And we^ spent hour upon hour trying to saw straight lines through the hardest wood ever using only a hand-saw! (^by 'we' I mean my spunky husband and thoughtful Dad).

And we came up with just what I had in mind!

1. Wood to form centre-pieces. For vases and candles to sit on and around.

2. Wood to hold our menus.

I love my wood bits. 

A Hens day with class

I've been MIA again. I know. But over the weekend I headed up to QLD (or was it Northern NSW?) for my friend's Hens Day. I had the best time!!

This friend is getting married in one month (exactly one month today in fact!) in the Cook Islands. I would have loved to attend her wedding, but due to a lack of annual leave and of funds, we had to decline. I am so jealous that I am going to miss out on the sun, fun, romance and awesome party that I know it will be. BUT so it often happens with destination weddings...
The good news is that because I knew I was missing the wedding, I made sure to get up there to celebrate the Hens Day instead!!

It was a ladylike hen's day! Everybody was instructed to dress like "ladies" and we all got a bus to a gorgeous place called House of Gabriel on the Tweed River. It was the sweetest venue where we settled in for delicious High Tea. The food was scrummy, the setting spectacular and the company a blast.

The pretty little House of Gabriel

The starring 'ladies'

Settling in for High Tea - they decorated beautifully for us

The peaceful setting

More High Tea, in full force now

The sun that set in front of us

This Hens Day involved no strippers, no topless waiters, no tackiness. Who needs these when you have great champagne, yummy food and lovely girlfriends?

We played one game, whereby those who broke the rules and were not 'ladylike'enough, had to suffer the consequences and look like men (donning a disgusting old racing jacket and gloves) until they caught someone else breaking the rules! Hilarious. And enough fun without interfering with the day as games so often can.

I will admit the night got decidedly less-ladylike after High Tea was over and the sun went down. But I wont share the photos of that! Let's dwell on the ladylike loveliness instead!

It was a fantastic day. Congrats to my beautiful bestie (MOH and sister of the bride), Kristy, for organising it. And congratulations to the stunning bride-to-be Shelley. I hope the wedding is just as beautiful and just as much fun as the weekend! I know it will be.

More from deep within the wedding archives..

I promised when I started this blog that I would share some of my favourite pics from the (rustic) weddings that inspired me while I was planning. There hasn't been enough of that yet - so here is one of those weddings... from deep within the planning vault. Is it just me or does this sound like a commercial radio station playing 80s music? "And now.. from deep within the audio vaults, here's another classic from John Farnham". Anyway...

This wedding was brought to my attention by West Aussie Wedding whose author was (a) one of my favourite sources of inspiration while planning and (b) a beloved "voguette".
She posted it in August 2009, precisely one month before I got engaged, so it's an early one! In fact, I spot one of the pics in that first ever inspiration board.

What's to Love??  By golly... what's not?

• The glassware... beloved glassware that was important to me from the beginning!
• It's got that lovely, homely inside-outside vibe that I've talked about. Like, it's in the bush yet it just looks so cozy, welcoming. The lights, The furniture, The rugs on the floor = LOVE!
• Those colours. It manages to strike a balance between brights and neutrals. There is plenty of colour, but it is warm. This is surely due to the bushland setting and native flowers. The colours pop without taking over. 
• It's a great AUSSIE example of rustic. It's not America. It's not a barn. It is true blue Aussie charm at it's best.

These photos originally came from here  but I notice they have been removed now, so I hope that Sue-Lynn, the photographer, doesn't mind me re-posting after a couple of years!

Mismatched Bridal Parties (again)

Back over here I talked about mismatched groomsmen - and mentioned the fact that our groomsmen and bridesmaids were all mismatched. It's a decision I'm glad we went with.

Firstly: The Girls. 
I purchased fabric (a coral coloured silk chiffon, with a deeper coral satin lining) and I gave it to each girl to what they wanted with. They all went and sorted out their own thing - using entirely different dressmakers. Here was the result:

The girls all looked amazing! They all came up with such different styles, but they still worked so well together. They also all picked their own hairstyles for the day.
The things that held them together were: (1) they were all similar length: just above the knee, (2) they wore matching shoes and jewellery. (3) they all held bouquets which helped tie them together.

And: The Boys
We didn't want to make the guys buy (or hire) expensive suits, so Adam picked a grey suit he liked, and the guys just bought the pants (except for best man who decided to buy the suit too). We bought them those fabulous ties off etsy, that I talked about over here
... then they accessorised however they wanted.

Groom wore the grey suit - with a black & white gingham tie.
Best man wore the grey suit - with an orange and white skinny tie.
GM1 wore grey pants - with and orange and white bow-tie, a grey vest and a cap.
GM2 wore grey pants - the orange and white skinny tie and some grey braces.
GM3 wore the pants with just the orange and white tie.

Here is our whole bridal party together. I wasn't sure if they were happy to be on the net, so I have "starred" out their faces (just in case!).

Bring on the comments... I would love to know what you think. And would love to see your favourite mismatched pics!

 

A (non-rustic) Fairytale Wedding

Would I be a real wedding blogger if I didn't comment on the glorious Royal Wedding that has just passed us by? I think not!

I'm ashamed to say that I actually got a speeding fine on Friday night while rushing to get to my friend's house in time for the vows. I didn't even make it after all that either.. (thank god for replays). There, we sipped champagne, ate scones and analysed the wedding.

There's not a lot to say that has not yet been said. 

- The dress = amazing (for her - though not quite my taste). It was so like Grace Kelly's dress and oh-so fitting for a princess. (while i say not my taste, i guess this is because i am a rustic bride, not a princess bride!)

- Pippa's dress = also amazing.. and this time more to my taste! I never like a cowl neck, but somehow it worked. What wouldnt work on that figure though? 

- The flowers = lovely. I could see these translate into a rustic event too.

- The ceremony = 100% dull. If the bride and groom look sleepy, you can only imagine how those guests at the back of the church felt!

- The Kiss = a bit passionless and quick. I was disappointed. They had to replay it in slow motion to make it seem decent!

Isn't it funny how the wedding itself can seem so long, boring and lacking intimacy.. yet a highlights package makes it look like the most sweet romantic event? Shows the importance of photography!

My only real thought over the weekend was for Pippa Middleton. How lucky is she???

1. Not only did she get to participate in the wedding of the year and be a (semi) princess for the day... 
2. She got to do it with lower stress levels than Kate. 
3. She probably hooked up with Harry (who is clearly the more fun of the royal brothers)
4. She now gets to have her own normal wedding (and must secretly have been thinking "my wedding will be so much more fun than this one!!" during all those hymns on Friday.

She really does have the bet of both worlds right now!

Taking the inside outside..

I love the trend of using furniture as decoration. I love seeing lounge out on the lawn or a dressing table in a field. So today's post is full of pictures saved on my computer that feature just this.

Look at this divine chaise... fabulous seating and an amazing photo prop!

Found via Summer Picnic Wedding

This set of drawers (complete with amazing glassware and ranunculus) makes for an amazing "alter" at this garden wedding. (Incidentally, this was one of my all-time favourite weddings for inspiration and will no doubt appear on my blog again some time soon. View the whole thing over here)

Rachel & Brent's wedding from Green Wedding Shoes

Another fantastic "alter" using bedside tables. Great colour!

Maya & Dave's wedding on Green Wedding Shoes

And from the same glorious wedding, how about an old desk as a: ....photo-booth..... guest book.... or dessert table??

Or how about an entire lounge area for your guests...

Danni & Nick's wedding via Design Sponge

And to finish things off.. here is a snapshot of my ceremony furniture: