We have bridesmaid's dresses!!

Saturday was such a lovely day.  I had planned for Suzie and Hayley to come round in the morning and we had lunch in the garden.  We weather has been beautiful, so it was really nice to sit outside and enjoy our weight watcher friendly lunch of low fat pizza, quiche and salad followed by strawberries, jelly, meringue and cream all washed down with squash and a pot of tea.

We then picked up Natalie and Sophie and went to Wedding Belles to order the dresses! Yay!

Hayley hadn't seen the dress in the flesh so I was really excited to see her in it.  She looked beautiful of course!

We've ordered them in Amethyst for the two older bridesmaids Suzie and Hayley and the younger girls Natalie and Sophie are wearing them in Plum.  It's very difficult choosing the colours from tiny swatches but we managed to find similar colours from other dresses the store had to make our decision.

The ladies in the store have been absolutely wonderful.  The first time we went they both dedicated all their time to us and made suggestions when we needed them but stood back to let us make our own decisions and didn't give us the hard sell which I have found some shop assistants to do.  They are ordering me some swatches to keep of the colours we have picked which will be a huge help when it comes to matching shoes, plus it's nice to have something to keep until the dresses arrive.

Another big tick off the list!

Yippee!!!

We're 99.99% sure we've found the bridesmaids dresses.

We went to a shop called Wedding Belles on Saturday and totally exhausted their range of Dessy and Ebony Rose dresses.  As me and Hayley are similar in size I tried on a few dresses as she couldn't be there.

For me it came down to two dresses.  One was by Dessy* and the other was Emma by Ebony Rose.

Emma just seemed to fit all of our criteria.  I love how different and flattering the neck line is, the diamanté brooch is a stunning extra that just makes the dress.  It's a corset back which will accentuate the girls' waists and the side ruching will hide any areas they're not confident about.

We've made an appointment to go back to the shop so Hayley can try it on and give us her opinion.  I've also been emailing other local stockist to find out their best price.  I'm going to see whether I can get a small discount on the dresses should I pay in full by the end of May.

So excited!  I felt like crying on our way home from the shop - it's such a huge weight lifted from my mind!

* The Dessy dress was stunning, ultimately it came down the the style which was going to suit all of the girls. Emma also comes in a junior size which we are having for Sophie.

More Bridesmaid dress shopping.

Good Morning!  Good weekends?

I dragged my poor bridesmaids around shopping again on Saturday.  We visited Bridal Gowns of Droitwich.  They have a really good offer on at the moment which would mean we'd get a dress free.

We found one dress by Hillary Morgan that impressed everyone.  It's a little different to the styles the girls have tried on before and I have to be honest that I wasn't particularly enamoured with it when I saw it on the hanger.  Once the girls had it on it looked completely different.

The pictures I've found of it don't really do it any justice.  It's so difficult trying to envisage how a dress will look when it fits or when it's been made in the right colour.

The original picture of the dress can be found here.  I've made very crude mock ups of the dresses in the similar colours we would have just to get you're opinions.

Similar colours to what the older two bridesmaids would wear

Similar colours to what the younger two bridesmaids would wear.

They do offer a younger style dress with straps for my youngest cousin Sophie to wear.  She did look very sweet, swooshing around in her dress.

So what do you think to these?  Yay or Nay?  Love it or hate it?  Not sure?  Either way I'd love to know!

The BEST news ever!!

Bridesmaid dress hunt is over!!

A friend of a friend at work recently got married and her colour scheme was purple.  She's willing to GIVE me her bridesmaids dress for FREE!
Also - get this!  She had 3 adult bridesmaids, so I'll only need to find a dress for Sophie.

I can't tell you how pleased I am, this is going to save me so much time and money!  She's going to bring the dresses in next week for me to have a look at but has sent me a picture of them.  What do you think?  I know the girls are going to LOVE them!

Choices, choices!

Dessy 2749

Dessy 2512

Dessy 6248

Dessy 2735

Dessy 2745

Alfred Angelo 7006

Mori Lee 269

Mori Lee 602

A few of the dresses I like at the moment.  I think the style we're going for is definitely swooshy! 

The glamorous job of a bridesmaid

Saturday morning the plan was to, pick up Mom, pick up Natalie, pick up Suzie and be at the bridal shop for 10.45.  Easy...

Problem 1.  I struggled to get out of bed so didn't arrive to pick up Mom until 10:18.  After throwing a jam sandwich (breakfast) into my mouth we raced off to pick up Natalie.

Problem 2.
Mom "What time did you tell Natalie we would be picking her up?"
Me "Erm I didn't! I thought you were telling Natalie what time we'd be picking her up..."

Cue lots of frantic phone calls to poor Natalie who was still in bed!  Change of plan, grab Suzie - who was wearing the "Bridesmaid" rhinestone t-shirt I had made her when I first asked if she'd be my bridesmaid (Isn't she super!) - then shoot round to Natalie who had only had 15 minutes to wake up and get ready!  (Sorry Natalie, next time I promise I'll give you more notice!  Thanks for being such a star!)

We arrived at Sallie Bee Brides a little late but it didn't really matter.  The shop was heaving.

Problem 3.  Despite the Mark Lesley website saying that this shop stocked the dress I had originally wanted to see, they didn't have it in.  A little disappointing, but they did have something very similar.
The owner of the shop Silvia was lovely.  She advised us on colours and styles and after grabbing a few dresses off the racks we were shown to the quieter changing rooms upstairs.

The first dress Natalie tried on was by True and she instantly fell in love with it.  An a-line taffeta dress which ruches at the side and has bead details.  Suzie later tried it on and I have to say it's a strong contender.
Another dress I really liked was by Mark Lesley, it was a simple taffeta dress with a diamond brooch detail

Both girls looked lovely in this one.  Although it's a little over budget!

It's certainly given me a lot to think about! The owner, Silvia allowed us to take pictures which is usually really rare, but this will allow me to make my mind up and compare these dresses with others.  Silvia was really very lovely and after we had finished trying on dresses we had a conversation with her about other bridal shops and the fact that she's been in the business over 30 years.

I have to confess I think the hunt for the bridesmaids dresses will be harder than the search for my dress.  I hope you girls are up for a few more Saturdays of taffeta, satin and net!  I promise I'll give you plenty of warning next time!

Best picture of the day, oh so glamorous! x

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping

We've booked in to a local bridal shop tomorrow to see their bridesmaid dress collection.

I'll have Suzie and Natalie with me to offer their opinions and maybe try on a few frocks.

Unfortunately Hayley is working so won't be able to join us. (I'm sure she's secretly relieved... standing in a dressing room in your smalls, whilst a lady you've never met before thrusts a giant mass of net and dress over your head isn't really anyone's idea of fun!)

I'm really liking this dress at the moment from Mark Lesley

style 1096

Hopefully they'll do it in a variety of purple colours for me to choose from!

I doubt I'll be able to take any pictures in the shop, but I shall report back on how the appointment goes!

Tough Job

My bridesmaids bouquet

I can't believe how drained I feel after this weekend.  I suppose it's the first time I've been able to relax for a few days and now it's hit me.  I still feel really emotional.  Has had filmed parts of the wedding day for Suzie and Rob and watching that back made me cry.  I was concentrating so hard on not crying and being strong and supportive to Suzie that I think it's all coming out now.

When the evening guests arrived on Saturday, my parents asked me if I had been on the Red Bull because I was so hyper!  The truth is the last couple of hours I had been so intense that I hadn't been able to relax.  I didn't even realise this until yesterday when all my emotions tumbled out.

I don't think I really appreciated the work of a bridesmaid before Saturday.  Of course I knew my role was to help and support the bride as much as possible in the run up and on the day itself (Suzie was a kind bride and took her dress off to go to the bathroom so we avoided the dress above the head to pee situation!) but emotionally being a bridesmaid is tough!

If I feel like this, I wonder how Suzie must be feeling?  I'm sure she is still in her blissful newly-wed bubble getting ready to go on honeymoon with her new husband.  One of our married friends told us that when she relaxed on her honeymoon she cried for 3 days purely because all of the stress and emotions were finally being allowed out!  I don't think I realised how much emotional pressure a wedding can put on people!

Being a bridesmaid before my own wedding has definitely made me look at my own bridesmaids in a different light.  Of course I know they will do their very bests to be there for me, and help me organise the wedding but now I know how emotionally involved they will be.

I've had so much fun being Suzie's bridesmaid, planning, organising and scheming! I just hope she will enjoying being my bridesmaid as much as I have enjoyed being hers.

My Girls

I've mentioned before that my bridesmaids are all very different.  I don't want to dress or style them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable.  I know deep down they would all wear a peach taffeta fru-fru dress for me, but why would I put them through that?!

I've done little mood boards and "fact sheets" to describe each of their personalities and what sort of bridesmaid I think they'll be.

Name: Suzie/Moo/Squish
Age: 25
Favourite Colours: Black, Pink
Star Sign: Cancer
Favourite Bands/Music: Incubus, Rage Against The Machine, Less Than Jake, Green Day
Favourite TV:  Peep Show, Big train, Sex and the City, American Dad, Black Books, Young Ones, Bottom, Alan Partridge, Miami / La Ink,
Five words to describe Suzie: Loony, Funny, Loyal, Smiley, Quirky

Name: Hayley/Hay/Miss Hayley

Age: 23

Favourite Colours: Yellow, Purple (Good job too!)

Star Sign: Scorpio

Favourite Bands/Music:  All sorts, but she has a thing about 90's boy bands!

Favourite TV:  Lost, Glee

Five words to describe Hayley: Girly, Clumsy, Loyal, Happy, Generous

Name: Natalie/Nats/Snats

Age: 13

Star Sign: Taurus

Favourite Bands/Music: JLS

Favourite TV:  The Hills

Five words to describe Hayley: Loving, Excitable, Scatty, Thoughtful, Sweet

Name: Sophie/Soph/Sophums

Age: 8

Star Sign: Scorpio

Five words to describe Sophie: Bubbly, Energetic, Angelic, Cheeky, Independent

I wonder if my assessments of the girls is how they would view themselves?  Care to comment?

What should I ask a dressmaker?

I need to start asking a few dressmakers a few questions!

I have no idea how long it takes to make a dress or what's involved.  Mom is off work today so she has kindly offered to speak to a few local dressmakers and ask them when we should start making appointments.

I have a list of questions I want to ask them when I do meet with them:

• How long will it take to make 4 bridesmaids dress (3 adults, 1 Child) in a simple long strapless design.
• Ideally when should we make our first appointment to see you.
• Do all bridesmaids need to attend the first appointment.
• Do you have any examples of prices?
• Do you supply material or do we source this ourselves. (Mention the different shades of purple in the same material)
• What sort of materials can you work in/suggest?
• How many fittings will the bridesmaids need to attend.
• Do you have examples of your work.
• What deposit is required.
• Are there additional charges for alterations and are fittings included in the cost?


Do I need to ask anything else?

I'm worried because one of my bridesmaids Suzie will be other wise engaged with her own wedding and honeymoon for the next few months, so I need to make sure we leave plenty of time for designing, measuring, making and fitting!


Also, I have only had one recommendation for a dressmaker and the other 2 I found just by searching.  Obviously if you go with a shop bought dress you have the added security that you know (and hope) it will look ok, I don't want to end up with fraying seams or wonky hem lines!  Mine field!

Mismatched and Marvellous!

As my last few posts would suggest I've been thinking a lot about what the Bridesmaids will look like.  I'm not keen on the matchy samey look and have been looking into ways to get round this.

Something that seems to becoming more and more popular is Bridesmaids wearing similar dresses in different colours or same colours different styles.

I have thought about getting the girls' dresses made.  If this were the case I could choose the same style dress in slightly different shades of purple and berry.

1, 2, 3

4, 5

Maybe something like this?

It's all about Avianna

Coast

My Bridesmaids Need Amazing Shoes

I keep seeing photos of amazing shoes.

from here

from here

And the shoes from the wedding I posted about yesterday.

They all look so amazing!  I really need to figure out in my head what I want my bridesmaids to look like.

The more I think about it the more I think I want to steer away from traditional dresses and the uniformed look.  My bridesmaids are all very different people with different styles.

I think different funky shoes could definitely allow for some personality to shine through.

What to do!!

Surprises, Secrets and Keeping Schtum!

I love giving presents, but I'm terrible with keeping a secret. I'm usually like this:

"Oh I'm excited! I've brought you something, but I can't tell you what it is!"

Both Suzie and Hayley are rubbish with surprises too. Hayley is always asking me what happens in Lost and is constantly reading the spoilers. Suzie is just as bad and made me tell her the ending to the new Harry Potter film.

So with my inability to keep schtum and their impatience for surprises I wonder whether their Bridesmaid presents will in fact be a surprise?!

This weekend I have decided on a big project for my Bridesmaids and I've told both of them about it without actually telling them what it is. As you can imagine they have tried their very best to get it out of me!

To help me with my secret keeping I've decided I can share what I have brought Sophie, my youngest Bridesmaid, as she won't read the Blog.

This is a really cute book that Sophie can fill in.  It has spaces for her to add her own pictures and comments about her experience as a Bridesmaid.  It also has little pockets on the inside pages where she can collect things from the day like confetti, table gems or her name place.  I going to get her a little camera to go with it and probably a few extras.

P.S. Suzie, Hayley... give up now!  You'll never get it out of me! x

Beautiful Bridesmaids

Choosing bridesmaid's dresses is one of those tasks that I am ignoring in the hope that it magically sorts itself out.  
At first I would trawl through websites looking for the perfect dress that was somehow going to suit all 4 of my girls and out of all the thousands of dresses out there I've found one I like.  One.


It's by Alfred Angelo and both Hayley and Natalie have tried it on, they both looked stunning (even though the dresses they tried on were in revolting colours! lol)

I have a few issues,
1) These dresses are £179 each...
2) What do I dress Sophie in?  The "little girl" version of this is £150!  I think that is ridiculous!


I'd really like the girls to be able to wear their dresses again especially for £179!


Hayley mentioned a little while about getting the dresses made.  She knows someone who had her bridesmaid dresses made and it saved her quite a bit of money.  I think I'm going to investigate this a little further.  That way I can get Sophie's dress made to match for a sensible amount!


The only other bridesmaid dress I've liked is by Dessy.  Unfortunately the dress doesn't come in the right colour.  Natalie tried this on and she looked beautiful.  Absolutely stunning and so grown up!

Maybe I can get someone to make me this style of dress in the right colour?

Best girls for the job

Choosing my Bridesmaids was always going to be easy, I am blessed with amazing friends and family and before my engagement ring was even on my finger I had them all ready picked out! During the rest of the holiday I kept thinking about asking the girls and what their reactions might be! I was so excited!!

I knew I had to pick girls who would get excited with me, understand my obsessions, bring me back from the edge of becoming a Bridezilla, be my saviours throughout the 2 years of planning and to obviously look gorgeous!

I am lucky enough to have the most beautiful, sweet and amazing cousins, Natalie and Sophie. The day after we returned home from Las Vegas my parents had arranged a little party so my family could celebrate with H and I. Natalie arrived first, straight from school still in her uniform and wasn’t feeling great. I remember asking her if she would do be a big favour and be my bridesmaid. A huge smile spread across her face as she said yes! Since then Natalie has come with me to try on wedding dresses, offer words of praise and encouragement and even try on a few dresses herself. One thing is for certain Natalie is going to make a stunning bridesmaid… I’m going to have to watch she doesn’t upstage me!!



Sophie was the next to arrive at the party, being 7 I wasn’t sure she’d fully understand what a bridesmaid was, when I asked her I got a shy smile and a quiet “yes”. Following that we have dragged Sophie around BHS to try on princess bridesmaid dresses and it’s lovely to watch her float around in the changing rooms with a big smile on her face, although even at 7 she’s very particular! Her shoes have to have a little heel and she can’t quite make up her mind as to whether she wants a big skirt or something a little more grown up. What ever she wears she’s going to look beautiful!



Before my friend Hayley was even in the door I shouted the question at her “Will you be my bridesmaid?!” She sort of squealed and threw her arms around me, is that a yes then? So far Hayley has been amazing, ready to listen when I needed a moan, ready with a camera when I was trying on my dress when my batteries had died, she even tried on a dress for me when she didn’t have matching underwear on! Whether Hayley wears matching underwear or not, on the day she’s going to look gorgeous!



Next to ask was my friend Suzie, having only recently gotten engaged herself I knew planning our weddings together would be a lot of fun! Pre-engagement we’d spent many a night at Suzie’s flat planning our weddings, poor Rob would sit there trying his hardest to ignore our conversations about flowers, rings and dresses. We already knew that we would be each others bridesmaids so when I met up with Suzie for a Starbucks I only had one thing on my mind! Of course Suzie said yes and is now my saviour in the battle against wedding stress! She’s listened to my ideas, listened to me change my ideas, and then back again! She even committed a few minor driving offences when my mom called her to say “Suze I think she’s found THE dress!”


All in all I think I have the best bridesmaids any bride could ask for, I can’t wait to see them all dressed up on the morning of wedding. They are very special people to me and I love them all very much!