Not Feeling Inspired?

Where to Find Inspiration!

All brides need a bit of inspiration, even brides like me who have been dreaming about their weddings since they were children need a little help with some ideas.

But where do you turn?

It’s alright advising brides to find inspiration but where do you start?

There are masses of ideas out there for brides who want inspiration. If you want a more unique wedding there are less ideas, but if you’re going for the more traditional white wedding with the flowers and posh dress there are more ideas.

I’ve collected a few to get you started:

Where to Find Inspiration:

Wedding Blogs!

My blog isn’t very good for inspiration because it’s more of an advice blog, however there are some fantastic blogs out there with pictures of other people’s weddings where you can steal some fantastic ideas!

Wedding Makeup

Some How To Guides

If you’re like me, you will be asking a makeup artist to do your makeup. I’ve posted before about questions for your makeup artist, but what if you want to do your own makeup?

You could pop to a salon in the morning to have your hair done and then return home to apply your own makeup. It would save a few pennies at an expensive time and give a personal touch to your day.

Or maybe you’re a bridesmaid and you would like to help your bride to look her best on your wedding day. I’ve Googled the internet and searched You Tube for the best guides on how to apply wedding make up!

KT Bridal

I Went to…. KT Bridal

I cannot recommend KT Bridal enough! The level of service we received was outstanding and the lady who helped us was fantastic! 

They have a lovely range of dresses and a range of bridesmaid dresses and the people who work there are fantastic.

There are no hidden costs. They are happy to store your dress for you until the day before your wedding free of charge. Any alterations are extra but there are no surprise costs. The price you pay is the whole and complete price.

The show rooms are luxurious and comfortable with a thick red carpet and a beautiful room to get changed in.

This bridal shop was by far my favourite however the dress I liked the most isn’t the one for me. However, it is worth asking a favourite bridal shop if they can order the dress you do like so  that you can buy it from them. It can’t hurt to ask.

I had a fantastic time at KT Bridal. They also own Balloon Expressions who offer chair covers and balloons for weddings, who are fantastic as well! KT Bridal and Balloon Expressions are featuring at a wedding fayre at Buckatree Hall Hotel, The Wrekin, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire. TF6 5AL on Wednesday, 4th May, 6pm until 9pm - Free Entry to the Fayre.

I would strongly suggest visiting KT Bridal to feel like a princess while trying on dresses!

A Day of Dresses

How I Got Really Stressed and Over-whelmed!

Wedding dress shopping is supposed to be fun, it’s supposed to be something you do with your friends or your mother, bonding and having fun. I got really stressed and over-whelmed.

I am a very decisive person. Usually decisions don’t take me very long. I’m an impulse buyer. 

However, when choosing a wedding dress I went all to pieces.

I was a bit shy when I walked into the bridal shop. I’m not used to rooting through racks of dresses and to be honest, it’s difficult to know what to look for. I knew what I liked in the pictures but I wasn’t  sure what would suit me. What I really wanted was for the lady in the shop to choose all the dresses for me, but we had to start somewhere.

I think going to the bridal shop with a good idea with what you want is a good start, but I wanted to be open to something that might not be my taste but does make me look amazing.

This is why I was open to trying on a fish tail dress. It was a beautiful dress but it was not me. I’m a curvier bride with quite a young face. While I do think curvy girls can wear anything we like, I don’t feel the fish tail dress made me look as stunning as I want to on my wedding day.

So fish tails were out!

Once the lady in the shop understood my style, she began suggesting different styles for me. That was when I started to relax.

Chatting with the lady in the shop also helped. It was good that I have an interest in weddings as I was able to talk about Four Weddings, Bridezillas, Don’t Tell the Bride, Wedding House, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, The Wedding Diaries and Wedding Babylon. She was also able to impart some of her experience of other brides.

However, I left the first shop very unsure and feeling as if I hadn’t found The Dress yet. 

Mum, chief bridesmaid and I then went to lunch and very carefully didn’t talk about anything to do with The Wedding.

It was then to the next bridal shop. This was one that chief bridesmaid had been to before when she began her search for The Dress, so this brought back fond memories for my chief bridesmaid. She and mum made themselves comfortable on the gorgeous leather sofas while I got down to my undies.

They had a huge selection and mum and chief bridesmaid seemed to busy themselves with looking for  more and more dresses for me to try on.

But nothing clicked with me, nothing said, ‘This could be The Dress.’ I started to get quite disheartened. I thought the dresses I tried on were beautiful but they just weren’t me!

It was as if I liked bits and pieces from each dress but I couldn’t find a dress that had everything I wanted. I even tried on a huge dress that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.

Normally very decisive, I was unable to make a decision! Unheard of!

The whole experience was really over whelming. I was excited but nervous but unsure about the dresses, I was thinking about what h2b would like to see me in and this image in my head I’d had about my perfect dress was starting to drift away.

Until, chief bridesmaid picked out two last dresses. The lovely lady in the shop could see I was getting a bit distressed and she said that these should really be the last ones. I was grateful.

The last but one dress I tried on after a long day of wedding dress shopping felt like The Dress. It had the shape, the sparkle, the quirk, the something that made it speak to me. I immediately went from tired and stressed to giddy and excited as if a switch had been flicked!

I didn’t want to take it off! I was walking around in it, trying sitting down in it, hopping around the bridal  shop like a kid on Christmas morning. I was smiling! Mum and chief bridesmaid were smiling!

However, we are going to keep looking just to check that we’ve made our final decision. Apparently, I’ve  been told that it does take more than one day of wedding dress shopping to find the perfect dress. How the men on Don’t Tell the Bride manage it is beyond me!

What I achieved during my day of wedding dress shopping are:

• I prefer a fuller skirt so the hoop is in
• An a-line silhouette suits me better rather than a ball gown silhouette 
• I can wear a sweetheart line without showing too much boob
• Fish tail and fitted dresses are not for me
• I need a dress with a bit more sparkle or detail or with something unusual to it

Successful day I think!

Wedding Shoes

Wedding Shoes

This week I have been breaking in my wedding shoes in preparation for the big day. My big day is still 11 months, 23 days away but I believe in being prepared. 

I bought my wedding shoes about four years ago. My friend was getting married in China and I saw a fantastic opportunity to save a few pounds by buying my shoes at the same place. They were custom made to the design I chose. They measured my feet to ensure my shoes were a comfortable as they could possibly be. I have kept them in their box ever since.

Wedding shoes can be a touchy subject. Some girls out there just want comfort for their big day while other fashion conscious ladies want something stylish and beautiful. I’m going to admit that I sway more towards comfort because you will need to stand up in these shoes for almost the entire day.

Here’s some tips on pleasing both types of shoe shopper:

• Make sure the shoe is comfy in the shop!
  If you can’t stand five minutes in these shoes you’re never going to last the whole day. Walk around the shop in the shoes. If you’re buying your wedding shoes at your wedding dress shop, try them on with your dress. Look for problems areas where the shoes may start to rub if you’re in them for the whole day.
  
• Shoe colour…
  More and more frequently, brides are buying shoes that match the colour scheme and stand out particularly under a white dress. This can be a very striking look and really stands out.
  Alternatively, if you would like your shoes to match your dress you can ask for a swatch of the fabric to look for shoes to ensure you get a close match.
  Then again, your shoes are going to be hidden under a long dress, does it really matter what you wear? You could even sneak some trainers under there if no one is going to look. I don’t think wedding guests pay too much attention to the tiny details so if the colour of your shoes is slightly different to the colour of your dress, will anyone notice? 
  
• Heel size
  Often, more petite brides choose a tall heel but remember you are going to be stuck in these shoes for the entire day.
  A few things I’d recommend for heels:
• Make sure your heels don’t make you taller than your groom, unless that kind of thing doesn’t bother you, then have the heel size that suits your figure the best.
• Also, have some flat shoes on hand hear by. You may be able to leave some with your venue or ask your bridesmaids to carry some in their bag.
• The best fold up shoes by far, in my opinion, are Red Foot. I have a pair of Red Foot fold up shoes and on a night out they have saved my life! I take them with me every time I wear my going out sandals! They fold up small enough to fit in your handbag so if your feet do start to hurt during the night, you can quietly slip into some fold up shoes and be in complete comfort.
  
• Outside wedding?
  If your wedding is outside, where will you be standing? If it’s on grass it might be better to go with a wedge heel.
  Alternatively, there is a new invention out there: The Soul Mates. They work by clipping onto the bottom of your heal and act as a wedge for the bottom of the heel. It will mean an end to sinking into the grass or slipping on gravel.
  I went to a National Trust house last weekend, in heels, and I think I brought back half the lawn with me! If I’d used these soul mates it would have been a lot easier. Also useful for garden parties!
  
• Check the refund or return policy
  Just in case anything happens or you change your mind, check the return policy. Obviously, you can’t return anything you’ve worn outside, but if a bridesmaid drops out or anything else happens, you want to make sure you can return the shoes.
  
• Party Feet
  The best invention for shoe comfort in the world! There are cheaper alternatives but I swear by my Party Feet!
  They have full sole gel inserts, sling back strips, heel cushions, sore spots, heel shields, gel pads for under the ball of your foot, blister plasters, ultra thin pads, and much much more. I swear by them. I bought some that are glittery!
  
  I think the blister plasters are the best because you can stick them to your foot in your problem areas. Fantastic!
  
• Can I see your toes?
  While I do think that the small details aren’t so important, I would suggest a pedicure if you’re wearing open toed shoes or sandals.  It just looks nicer and gives an over all polished look to your wedding.
  
• Should the bridesmaids wear the same shoe?
  Not necessarily. If your bridesmaids are wearing short dresses then it does look better if they are all in the same shoe, or at least the same colour of shoe.
  If your bridesmaids are wearing long dresses, your guests will not be trying to see their feet. It would be sensible to ask them to wear the same colour shoe however you want your bridesmaids to be comfortable for the day.

Whatever your shoe decision for your wedding, make sure you really love your shoes. I love mine and I’m really glad I bought them when I did because now they remind me of my friend’s wedding – plus they can be my something old-ish!

Moving Swiftly On…

Dress Appointments

I have made appointments to try on wedding dresses!!! Exciting!! Well, exciting for me anyway.

I’ve been putting off looking at wedding dresses because I’ve not been very happy with my weight. However, now I’ve lost a dress size, I am feeling a bit more confident to try on some dresses!

I have booked appointments at Princess Brides, Simply Brides, Debra Jane Bridal and KT Bridal. I’ve got a few ideas of what I’d like in a wedding dress and I’ve got some pictures of dresses I like so hopefully we will do well to get some dresses short listed.

I am after a princess dress, I don’t want anything too big or too flashy but I want something that will make me feel special. I did really like Honey by Berketex Bride. I’ve not seen one yet that I like more than Honey but I’ve made lots of appointments so we may find something!

I've asked one of my bridesmaids and my mum to come with me to choose dresses. My mum is fantastic at saying which clothes suit me or look nice on me, she’s also fantastic at telling me which clothes look awful on me. My bridesmaid is fantastic at supporting my decisions, plus she and I have a very similar taste in clothes. 

I will let you know how it all goes. I’m really looking forward to it!