2nd Ebay & other stuff Haul - bargains, woohoo

3 weeks tomorrow to the big day, gees Louise that's flown up!

Things are coming along, the to-do list is getting to-done, just need to pull it all together.

While researching how to try and keep costs down, I realised I could buy alot of the things you would usually hire for decorations, at a cheaper, or around the same cost, and then with reselling them after the wedding I could bring costs down even further.  So I've been on the hunt, mostly through Ebay, and some local garage sales.

I posted back on April 20, the haul at that stage:

100 x Rice Paper Lanterns (white) - $126 ($150 to hire)
150m x Fairy Lights (warm white) - $283 ($300 to hire)
2 x Candelabras - $40 ($50 to hire)
1 x Bird Cage Wishing Well/Card Holder - $66 ($40 to hire)
100 x Willow Green Organza Chair Sashes - $139.99 ($2.00 each to hire)
1 x Bridal Cake Knife & Server set - $2550 x personalised wine charms for gifts - $75 - can't resell

1 x Guestbook - $25

4 x 4m White Bali flags - $25

The Guestbook above will be sold unused as I found a different one I just loved, after I bought the Ebay one. Also the bird cage is in the midst of being painted white.

Since then I have secured some more lovelies for the day:

Gorgeous cake stand with mirror etched plate, we will use it for our 2 tier wedding cake 

$39.99, haven't seen similar in shops for under $50

6 x ceramic cake stands, we will use on the cake table, with 6 cakes made by our mums, sisters, aunts

a steal at $12.50 each, have seen exact same in several shops for $25-30 each!

6 x cake servers for the cake table

$18 for 6, bargain!

This weekend I'm hitting the op-shops to hopefully pick up a heap of bowls & plates for the soup & desserts, wish me luck, c'mon treasures come to mamma  :)

Songs - final (ish) list!

This weekend we meet with our celebrant at the hall for a trial run for the big day!  EEEEEEK!!! so close!

So by Sunday 11am we need to have our music sorted, we're pretty close, I posted back in mid May a list we were working on, and not much has changed (links to Youtube vids on song titles):

Arriving at the Hall - Marry You - Bruno Mars
Walking Down The Aisle - Jessica's Theme - Man From Snowy River
Signing Registry - Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version
Walk Back Down Aisle - Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
First Dance - Halo - Beyonce
Cutting cake - maybe How Sweet It Is - James Taylor
Bouquet Toss - Single Ladies - Beyonce
Garter toss (if we do it) - You Can Leave Your Hat On - Joe Cocker

Loving the Bruno Mars song, really up beat, I think it's perfect to be be playing as our car arrives, and we're getting sorted, then we'll go to Snow River song for the walking bit, it's more mellow, and just lovely.

I love Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Somewhere Over the Rainbow version, I think it will work well as background music while the 'official' stuff is happening.

Everyone loves a bit of Queen for the end of the ceremony.

Probably my favourite song ever is Beyonce's Halo, I cry nearly every time I hear it, so I've told the makeup girls to make sure I'm waterproof everything, and have a supply for touchups!

Not overly worried if the music just goes freeform from there, but if we remember, I think How Sweet It Is will be perfect for the cake, Single Ladies for the flower toss and a good stripper song (and I loved 9 1/2 weeks movie!  Mickey Rourke was so hot before he got carved up!) for the garter (if we do it!).

Now just to make sure we're 150% ok with them and burn them to disc for the celbrant on Sunday!

Poodles, Drag Queens, all in the bridal prep!

After a mad dash to Newcastle on Friday afternooon for strapless bra and suckitallin knickers, Saturday was a big, and busy day.

10am was my Hair & Makeup trial.

I told the girls I wanted to be quite natural, a 'posher, bridey' version of me, but that I was open to suggestions. I have straight blonde hair to about bra strap, so there were a few options. I took with me photos of hairstyles I had found online, and told the girls that I wasn't wearing a veil, I wanted to use fresh flowers.

After about an hour of hot curlers, straightening irons, enough spray to sink the Titanic, I was done, well almost.  Once she said she'd finished she held a mirror behind, and I had to stop myself from muttering 'poodle'!

I wanted a bit of body & wave, but not like a poodle ready for best in show!  So I asked her if she could pull out the curls a bit, which she was happy to do.  She pinned one side back to behind my right ear, leaving some light curls around my face, and added some fake flowers, so I could get an idea of how it would look.

Surprisingly I liked it!  I'm a ponytail girl, all week long my hair is in a ponytail, the only time it comes down is if we're going out for dinner, or I've just washed it.

So to see so many curls & waves, and hairspray (haven't used it since early 90's puffy fringe fiasco!), was a bit of a shock. But I was happy enough, knowing that my dress will probably give quite a different look to the hair, rather than jeans & tshirt I was wearing!

Next I went up the back of the salon to the makeup chair (Napoleon Perdis), I explained again I wanted natural, but joojsed up a bit so don't wash out in photos etc.

My chair was about a metre or so from the mirror and she went to work, painting, brushing, adding fake lashes to the outside of my lids, highlighting this, contouring that, etc etc, you get the drift.

After about an hour I was done, and from a meter away it looked a bit intense, very black liner on top lids, fake lashes curling up.  Then she gave me the hand mirror, holy guacamole!!!  Hello Drag Queen!

I looked like I'd been hanging out with George Hamilton, and had taken on his orange hue!  The eye makeup was the most distracting, with heavy black liner, and bronze/gold/white/green to almost my eyebrows!  I'll sometimes were a brush of glittery shadow on lids if going out, but never extending above my eyelid fold, so for me it was new, and a tad scary, in a Priscilla Queen Of The Desert way!  Except I luckily had a nude lip!

She asked if I was happy, if I liked it, I didn't want to offend, as she had put in alot of work (and used buckets of product!). I meekly said 'um I think it's just very different to what I usually wear, all the eye makeups not something I do, I guess I'll wait to see with the dress before deciding'.

A not great quality shot from my phone, of right side of my hair, after dress fitting!

She looked at me a bit like I was a rabbit ready to bolt, and I kind of was.  I almost ran to the counter, paid and got in my car, not wanting people to see me in full regalia!

I drove to the dress shop early, as my plans to drop in at cake shop & Spotlight were out the window now I was in my war paint! Luckily the girls at Newcastle Bridal, were free, and able to do my fitting early.

Another photo I took on my phone, on the way to the dress fitting, yes I'm too scared to show the drag queen makeup!

Once I manhandled myself into the strapless bra (if you're a cup size of D+ you know what I mean!), and suckitallin knickers, and shoes, the NB girls laced me into my dress, and helped me with the bolero jacket.

I stepped out, and the NB dressmaker smiled a big smile, so I felt a bit better.  I stood on the podium thingo, and had a proper look.

The poodle hair fell like waves on my shoulders, and the drag queen makeup didn't look that bad, now I was in 'bride mode', I was shocked, I didn't feel like a freak!  Yay!!

My dress, alas not me in it!

The dressmaker said with my shoes, the length of the dress was perfect, with the only alterations needed being tucking in at the bust to make it sit flat on my chest (yay Curves!!).

So after parading back and forth for about 20 mins while the girls tucked, primped and prodded, and getting some lovely comments from teenagers looking for Debutante & Formal dresses, I was sorted.

I'll pick up my dress in 2 weeks. Woohoo. Now all I have to do is dye my ivory shoes green, and all will be sorted on the clothing front.

So to wrap it up, I loved my hair in the end, and I think with a bit of tweaking I'll love my makeup, and I already love my dress.  All in all a great Saturday, and when I tried my dress on at 2pm, was exactly 1 month till I would be donning it to walk down the aisle with my man!

Weekend Schedule!

I have just got home after 5 days in Sydney working, I had plans of prepping all of the fabric for bunting, in the hotel room, each night, however it just didn't happen.  The first 2 nights I was treated out for dinner, night 1 with the boss, night 2 with the boss and the boss of another farm, then the other 2 nights I was absolutely knackered, after 12 hours walking the horses at the sale, I was asleep by 8pm, so no fabric work was done!

Seeings as it's a month yesterday till the big day, my schedule & to-do list is under the pump, so this weekend my plans are:

Friday

• 3pm - early mark from work, leaving at 3pm, to be at Newcastle by 4pm to buy bra & underwear for final dress fitting on Saturday!
• as long as I last - bunting work Friday night

Saturday

• 10am - hair & makeup trial
• 2pm - final dress fitting in Newcastle 
• 4pm (surely won't take more than 2 hours!) - crockery hunt for the soup station and dessert table, the rest of the food is finger food from waiters
• Sat night - bunting!
• 40 mins on treadmill

Sunday

• wine tasting to make final selections on wine & champagne for wedding
• dye shoes from ivory to green - wish me luck!
• meet with 'cake lady' to give her the cake stand, and recipe for ganache
• bunting!
• 40 mins on treadmill
• organise 2nd bedroom for installation of built in wardrobe next Wednesday! Heaps of boxes to sort/move!

(photo source)

As my Nan used to say, I'll be running around like a blue arsed fly :)

Trimming down! Eek 5 weeks left!

This Saturday is 5 weeks until our big day, it has come up so quickly it's crazy!

When I went dress shopping back in mid April I gave myself an aim of losing 10kg before the final fitting, and hoped to lose around 15kg before the big day, over the 3 and a bit months.

Well it's 5 weeks to go, and I have lost 6 kg, not as much as I hoped, but given I was sick with gastro for a week (yes should have meant weight flying off me), then sick with a shocking flu for 2 weeks (no exercise boo!), it's not too bad, at least it's a loss!

I have 10 days until my final fitting, I know I won't get to my 10kg target, but hoping I can get pretty close!

My dress is a lace you up, suck the air from your lungs type, the bonus of which is if I do lose more weight the dress won't look funny, I'll just get my Brideslave to put her knee further in my back and rip those laces tighter  :)

A small challenge is I'm away from home with work from this Sunday till Thursday before the fitting, staying in a hotel in Sydney, so eating right will be numero uno on my agenda, not giving into the temptation of restaurants, fast food, room service!!

My plan is to head to the supermarket Sunday morning before starting work at midday, and buying food for the week, fruit, breakfast supplies, lunch and snack supplies so I don't venture to the cafe at the venue for anything more than coffee!!  I won't be getting to Curves which sucks, but I'll be walking km's a day with work, and dealing with a couple of 300kg+ horses for the week will give me a good workout!

Wish me luck!

Becoming a Mrs

Par for the course for most brides when getting married is taking your husbands surname.

Looking into it, there is alot of information for/against, and the reasons why (see Wikipedia entry), but I just think of our marriage as being the 'official' start of  us becoming a family, and I would like all in our family to have the same surname, so I'm happy to take on Mr Mel's surname. Actually I can't wait to be Mrs Mr Mel :)

(photo source)

However, I keep ticking over one main 'issue' in my mind.

I am 37, and have been working since I was 19 (after dropping out of Accounting degree I detested!), and over the past 10 years I have built up a good reputation in my industry.  I'm not on the whose who list, but I am quite well known within the business circles I travel.

By losing my surname I worry that I'll lose the 10 years of good work I've put in under my 'maiden' name.

My thinking is split into 3 thoughts currently:

1. Suck it up and just go with Mr Mel's surname, the contacts I have will get used to it
2. Go for a hyphen on work/business side, but take Mr Mel's surname officially
3. Stick with my maiden name for business dealings, which could get confusing?

I'm currently leaning to - 1- but 2 & 3 both have their merits.

Has anyone else had these thoughts, or am I being a tad precious?  Be honest, I can take it  :)

Edit - A comment from Sami Jae reminded me I hadn't mentioned Mr Mel's thoughts.

Mr Mel is  happy with whatever I want to do, he's just rapt I want to take his name officially :)  Personally I think he'd like it if I went by his name business wise as well, but I don't think he'd mind if I went with the other 2 options.  Shall have to discuss with him further once I know where my thoughts are heading!

DIY Decorations - Bunting - part 1

It's been a little while coming (see earlier posts!) but on the weekend I finally made a start on my massive DIY Bunting task!

We have worked out that we will need approx 150m of bunting to do all the decorating we want:

• 2 x 2 strands looping from sides of hall up to a chain hanging high from ceiling at each end of hall, width of hall is 10m, so allowing 15m per stand to include the 'loop' - 15m x 4 = 60m
• 1 x strand looping behind/above bar - 10m should cover it
• 1 x strand looping above cake tressle table - 5m
• 1 x strand looping above soup station - 5m
• 1 x strand looping above kids area - 10m 
• 1 x strand looping above entrance - 5m
• 1 mega strand looping around verandah, below the fairy lights - 40m
• leaves 15m just in case it looks to bare!!

The triangles/flags I'm using are 20cm wide, however once sewn together and turned right side out they're about 17cm wide, so going to have 5 flags per metre with gaps of 2.5cm between each flag. 

So 5 flags per metre x 150m = 750 flags (oops DIY project out of control a tad!!)

So far I've cut out around 100 flags, and sewn up around 60, so you could say I'm a way off being finished!!

Luckily I'm really enjoying it, finding it relaxing (thank god!).

These are my creations so far, in various stages of completion!

The calico was my first try, luckily it worked, so I moved onto some of the fancier material, these are ready for binding

These are now all sewn up into flags, to be bound together

This mornings inside out flags, waiting to be turned right way out then bound, a bit of red to break up the green/cream

I have sourced material from a number of places:

• Op Shops - sheets, shirts
• Garage Sales - sheets, shirts, curtains
• Big W/Target/Kmart - discount baskets of fitted sheets, flat sheets
• Spotlight - sticking to the budget options

We have a long weekend coming up in a few days, looking forward to getting through a couple of hundred metres worth of flags!!  Wish me luck!

What To Do With Mop Top!?

Just under 7 weeks till the big day (holy hell how has that happened!)  and I have still got absolutely no clue what to do with my mop top (aka hair!).

I am booked in for a practice hair & makeup run on 25 June, and they have asked me to bring along photos of what sort of styles I like!

I don't think "Um, I dunno you're the hairdresser" will cut it, so I've been Googling my heart out and came up with some options that MIGHT work!

My dress is strapless, but I'm wearing a sheerish bolero/wrap type thing, so not sure what style will be best!

I have blonde straight hair that sits just above bra strap, with layers at the side/front, no fringe.

I think a total up-do will be too formal, our wedding will be quite casual, so I don't want to be feeling to done up so to speak. I don't want it really curly either as it's just not me. And I won't be wearing a veil or tiara, just a flower or two, if looks ok!

These are the styles that have caught my eye so far.

Any suggestions more than welcome!!