West Aussie Wedding

Sample Sale

By some cruel twist of fate Aurellio Costarella is holding a sample sale which I will be out of town for.

Grrr.. I suddenly hate my job even more than I did before.

Please Perth Girls- do check it out and let me know how you go. 

I've tried on some of his dresses in the hunt for a wedding gown and he has some beautiful stuff..

My admiration for his designs is documented here, here and here

Dress Shopping Report

I wouldn't say I was dreading shopping for a wedding dress, but I wasn't looking forward to it either.

 I'm normally a Shopping Loner.. having an audience makes me feel a bit pressured, I hate parading for people, I'd rather Shop Assistants leave me alone.. 

Spurling in Peppermint Grove. It was where my bestie bought her wedding dress and she was a satisfied customer and Black Swan Bride had had a positive encounter with one of Shop Assistants once.. so seemed like a good place to start.

The walls are lined with row after row of huge dresses.. A sea of thick satin and beading.. The sort of style that makes me want to pull a face.. But I had stayed sober on Friday night for this and I had my control knickers on so I wasnt going to leave without trying a few on. 

There were some which were okay, most were better than I thought they'd be and surprisingly flattering.. my friends were gushing, the sales assistants were cooing, but I was unmoved.. not becuase I looked bad, just because I didnt really feel like myself.

My favourite of the day was actually one from their Bridesmaid section that comes in 100 different colours, including whites/creams/champagne etc, although the one I was wearing was green. It was very plain but it cheered me up, I felt really relaxed and happy wearing it it was really light and comfortable and it would look styling with flat shoes and some kooky headgear, unlike the other dresses I tried. (Although it loses points for being strapless and not having pockets.. But it gains points for being only $470.. which is like one sixth the price of the other ones I'd been trying on)

So the Quest for a Dress continues.. but that last one has given me hope, I could happily wear something like that one on my wedding day.

I will focus my dress finding energies on ready-to-wear and off-the-rack dresses from non-bridal shops from now on. If anyone has any suggestions of good places to check out in Perth (or Melbs!) please fire away! 

   

image from pemberley

Here are 'my learnings' from my first wedding dress expedition in a 'real' bridal shop

* Dresses do look better on your body than they do on the rack

*Dresses look better on their own than surrounded by other dresses

* Traditional dresses are really exxy! all those beads and bows and bits and bobs are going to cost you

* Don't scrunch the cathedral length veil into a voluminous mass on top of your head, the shop assistants dont like it.

* When trying on dresses it's about how you feel in the dress as much as how you look.

So there you go Amber, thats the FULL report, you are probably sorry you asked :) hehe 

Dress Shopping

I was supposed to go wedding dress a couple of weeks ago but canceled it becuase I was too hungover. Shame on me. Anyway have rebooked for this morning and happy to report that I am feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to try on wedding dresses.... 

 

image from MarjChun's Tumblr

I will report back.

Unwrapped!

Unwrapped: The Marketplace 2009 is this weekend.. It goes from 1 - 6pm this Sunday on Mends Street in South Perth.

It's the event in Perth for emerging design talent, enabling early-career designers to launch their brands and engage with their target market.. and not just anyone can open a stall, and the vendors are selected based on their style and quality of products.

For shoppers its a chance to step out of the suburban shopping box and get a taste of the high quality wares of up-and-coming designers. Everything from fashion, to jewellery to furniture..

Its a good way to raise awareness and support local talent!

All You Need in Life

a roof over your head

an apple tree in each direction of the sky

a sheep to keep you warm

a chicken for the eggs, obviously

a monkey to make you laugh

a ghost to make you cry

and finally

two horny bears

 

   

"All You Need in Life" Pillow case set by Lilli Hartman from Remedy

 

These would make an excellent wedding, engagement or house warming gift.

 

Remedy is a company based in Fremantle, Western Australia.

They sell beautiful things made by creative minds. They promote conscious living and responsible consumerism, advocating a buy once, buy well sort of policy.

 

They have some wonderful stuff.. find out more here

 

Wild Hearts

Aussie designer Collette Dinnigan has collaborated with Target to come up with a range of beautiful yet affordable underwear. Sounds good to me. 

I love the feminine detailing she applies to her clothing..  pretty bras and knickers seems right up her alley.

These are my favourites

Or maybe I just love the wallpaper.

View entire catalogue at Designers for Target

girl love

This looks so hot. I love everything about it.

Her scruffy hair, her comfy boots, her ribbon necklace..

I cant really come up with an angle that makes it wedding related. Except that if I looked like this I'd marry me.

originally seen on Grace's Bridcage Wedding

Image from  J.Crew

Words Of Wisdom

Ariel from Offbeat Bride  posted a few months ago about a simple wedding which was planned in haste due to a terminal illness in the family. In it she says:- 

"..in many ways wedding planning will expand to fill as much time and/or money as you want to throw at it. If you have two weeks to prepare, you strip it down to the most important things and the result is deeply meaningful"

This is so true. Sometimes it does seem that the simple act of getting married becomes lost in a sea of incidentals. I recommed reading the full post here and reminding ourselves that calla lillies, personalised monograms, vera wang and 3 course meals do not a wedding make.

Etsy

I have recently discovered the wonderful world of Etsy

Its like a marketplace of handmade arts and crafts.

But cool.

 

Here are just a few of the items that have caught my eye recently.

Knitted neckwarmers from KnittingCarnival

 

Funky aprons from snappyshop

 

 

Porcelain jewelry from sofiamasri