Sydney Flower Market - amazing!

This morning, at 3.15am no less, I headed down the F3 to the Sydney Flower Market, WOW what an eye opener, I have never been before, and it was just amazing.

Flowers of every description and colour, I was a bit overwhelmed with the options at first, but luckily had Emma with me (part-time florist who is putting the flowers together for me), and she had a plan of attack, I had several photos of flower arrangements, and colours I liked, so we targetted the bouquets & cake topper first. Once we had found everything for them, we took the flowers back to the car (in the pouring rain!!)

Then we were back to pick flowers for decorations, we're having 2 urns on either side of the stairs for the ceremony, so those arrangements need a little bit of height, then we have a range of around 30 wine bottles, and 20 jars that we will scatter flowers throughout.

One thing I saw that I just had to have was white kale.

White Kale

We decided to change some of the decorations to include the kale, they're so stunning, even nicer than this pic, they were my favourite find today.

And we picked up some of my favourite, Cymbidium Orchids, they have been my inspiration all along re colour scheme etc, and I'm so happy I was able to get some to have in the bouquet.

Cymbidium Orchids

Other flowers we selected were

White Fresias

White Daphne

Cream roses

Blushing Bride

We also got a few bunches of natives and grasses, and some lovely green wheat, to use in the bottles/jars,

I would have loved to have hydrangeas & peonies, however neither were available.

All the flowers are with Emma, she'll keep them in her special fridge, then put the arrangements together on Friday, deliver them to the hall on Saturday morning, then bring the 2 bouquets and button holes to our house on Saturday afternoon before we head off.

I think I could easily become addicted to the Sydney Flower Market, the bargain prices we paid for just beautiful flowers was amazing.  The cost, including Emma's labour, will come in at about 1/3rd of what we were quoted from 3 local florists!  Huge saving.

Well it's almost midnight, and having got up this morning at 2.30am I'm a tad knackered.  Happy to report I have just finished the last of the 100m of bunting!!!!!  I shall post on that tomorrow hopefully. We also met with the photographer today at the hall, and drove to the photo location options, very happy with the plan of attack!

D-Day 5 more sleeps away!

Wow, what a difference a few days makes!

Things were going along swimmingly, everything coming together well, then kaboom a clusterf%*$ bomb goes off.

Don't want to go into too many details, as it's already doing my head in, and I just can't think about it any more. But needless to say alot of swearing, tears, and stress has been had since Friday, none of it of our doing!

1 family member doesn't want to stay in the same house as another because their voice annoys them (yes I'm being serious!), a couple of kids in the family have fallen ill, the illness means they should be isolated, the easy, and common sense answer is that one of the parents stays with the kids, while the other comes. But that's turned into a nightmare with people threatening not to come, even when we told them (1 family who have been sworn to secrecy) that it was our wedding, hoping they would be able to sort it.

Mr Mel and I had a sleepless weekend, trying to placate all parties, we spent most of our weekend calling/texting/emailing everyone trying to work out the best plan for the weekend, when we should have been us fine-tuning everything, and relaxing if possible! However it just didn't happen.

So now it's 5 sleeps till our big day, and we still have a bit to do:

• Bunting - or now known as Nemesis - everything is sewn up, ironed, just need to sew them all together into 15 metre lengths, that is my mission tonight and tomorrow before and after work
• Shoes - I dyed them however once fully dried they were too light, so I have gone over them with acrylic paint, which is in the process of drying, I will then spray them with a sealant
• Honeymoon Clothes - whoops, not a smart idea to try and go summer clothes shopping in middle of winter!  Have found a few bits an pieces that will work with our current clothes, thankfully even found some not too horrific bathers! Yay
• Payments - tonight have to make final payments to caterer, decorator, hire company, hall
• Flowers - I am heading to the Sydney Flower Market on Wednesday morning, leaving home at 3.15am!! with a lady who goes to the Curves I go to, and her daughter, who was a florist, and does some work on the side.  The plan is to go and see what catches the eye, run it by florist re how it could work, then buy them wholesale.  We're going to have a few arrangements, then a heap of single flowers in wine bottles & jars, at this stage!
• Ring - I am hoping I will have time to get my engagement ring polished/cleaned for the big day, if not, no big deal
• Photographer - we are meeting with our photographer at the hall on Wednesday afternoon to get an idea of where to get photos, what sort of light is around etc
• Music - I need to finish off saving music to my ipod and organising playlists
• Decorations - I need to write on a few blackboards & picture frames to go around the hall with info re food, wine, etc.
• Pom Poms - IF I get time I am going to make some pom poms, to hang around the hall, I have all the tissue paper, just need time to make them!
• Family issues - need to make sure I stand my ground for my big day and not get bullied into backing down, I only want to ensure all of our guests are safe and healthy, not infected by possibly sick kids on the day!
• Oh and work - tomorrow is my last day, yay, then I can concentrate properly on my to-do list, instead of squeezing it around my 10 hour work days!  Not mentioning all the work to get done before I leave tomorrow!

Wish me luck!

Honeymoon upgrade - woohoo!

Once again my stalking skills have paid off!

My first stalking success was our house, I stalked the 2 streets we wanted to buy in and we ended up buying one before it came on the market, yay us!

Now another win (not in a wanker Charlie Sheen way!).

I was stalking the website of our honeymoon location - Erakor Island Resort, Vanuatu - and while daydreamily flicking through the online photos noticed that the accommodation page had a new addition.

We are booked on a Romance Package in a Waterfront Spa Villa, the new listing is for a Superior Waterfront Spa Villa!  Immediately I began comparing the details and was getting a bit green eyed monsterish.

So I emailed the lovely Rina at Erakor who has been my contact through the quoting/booking process.  She said we could upgrade to the Superior Waterfront Spa Villa for a tiny extra daily charge (saving us a fair chunk off the usual rate for the Superior Villa).

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!

From the Erakor website:

The Waterfront Superior Spa Villas are privately positioned further along the island and are perfect for a romantic retreat. The villa has separate bedroom and sitting area, breezy front deck with daybed for an afternoon siesta, corner spa, mini bar, plasma screen for a quiet night in with a good movie, bicycles for your morning ride to explore the island and more!

Features:

- Master bedroom with Kingsize bed

- Seperate sitting room

- Bar fridge with mini bar

- Tea & coffee making facilities

- Ceiling fans & ocean breezes

- Private deck with daybed

- Tropical gardens & hammock

- Bicycles & board games

- and mesmerising water views

The Waterfront Spa Villas are spacious and stand-alone and feature a spa bath big enough for 2 to relax and soak up some Island Time whilst sipping a glass of bubbly and looking out across the mesmerizing blue lagoon waters. Decorated with a Melanesian theme, the timber louvres invite the natural light and ocean breezes.

Features:

- Kingsize bed

- Corner spa with lagoon outlook

- Bar fridge

- Tea & coffee making facilities

- Ceiling fans

- Private deck with outdoor setting

- Tropical gardens

- and mesmerising water views

The extra's are the Superior has a mini bar, plasma tv, ocean view rather than lagoon, daybed and hammock. But the big extra is it is further down the beach and more secluded. Woohoo.

Hopefully our villa will be something like this!

Our Romance Package, just for interest sake includes:

• Tropical Breakfast Daily

• VIP Return Airport Transfers

• Tropical Coconut Shell Welkam Drink

• Champagne & Flowers on Arrival

• 30min Island Massage for 2

• Private Beach Champagne Picnic

• Sunset Cocktails and Chef’s Dinner

• Free use of all Watersports

• Free 24hr Ferry

• Tropical Indulgence Giftpack incl Waffle Robes & Slippers, Saron & Lava Lava Spa Bath Pamper Set, Handmade Chocolates

As you can probably tell we're a tad excited about our honeymoon!

D for Dye Day

Today was d-day for dyeing, shoe dyeing that is.

Having searched far and wide for a pair of green heels that weren't skyscrapers, I purchased a pair of white satin heels online, with a view to getting them dyed locally.

Little did I know how difficult it would be to find someone who could dye them for me!  Sydney was the common recommendation when I was asking round - hairdresser, drycleaner etc. There was one other option in Newcastle, but at $130, I thought it was a bit excessive.

I went googling and found a few forums discussing dyeing satin ballet slippers, I thought that surely it wouldn't be too hard to dye my heels.

I also want to dye some of my calico bunting, so picked up various green dyes on one of my trips to Spotlight.

I had my final dress fitting on Saturday, wearing my shoes. So today I set to dyeing the heels.

I used the Dylon Amazon colour first, the colour on the packet looked pretty close to what I was after, but once the first coat had dried I realised it was way too pale and too olive.

Dylon amazon green

Shoe 1, Coat 1 of Dylon Amazon Green

1 coat on both of Dylon Amazon Green

So once dried, I went over them with a coat of Jacquards iDye Kelly Green

Jacquards iDye Kelly Green

And woohoo, perfect, I still have another coat to do once they dry, probably finish them off in the morning so totally dry.  I'll post pics of the final product after that, I think I should probably get a sealant for them to.

Left Kelly, Right Amazon

Both Kelly - coat 1

Just ignore the mess on the towel!

1 coat to go, then sealant

So far, very happy with the result  :)  And with the leftover dye from each packet I'm hand painting/dyeing some of the bunting flags.

Practice makes........hopefully not a blubbering mess!

Our wedding is now just 17 days away, and we are both very excited, but very nervous too, we both hate being the centre of attention, and detest public speaking.

On Sunday during our practice run with our celebrant I got a bit teary and emotional when we were standing at our ceremony spot, and going through a reading.

To most people who know me I'm pretty much tough as teak, I'm quite reserved, and the one who seems to get asked for advice a bit (why, is beyond me most times!).  But my girly/emotional side don't hide too far below that teak exterior.

Mr Mel often laughs (in a good way) when I tear up, or flat out cry, during movies, tv shows, songs, even ads for gods sake!  I too easily put myself in the position of the person having the emotional experience, and the tears soon flow.

So I have decided, so that I don't end up a blubbering mess during our ceremony, I am going to read through our ceremony, maybe every day or 2nd day.  To hopefully take the emotional edge off it to a point.

(photo source)

Some might think it's a bit weird, that you want to be full of emotions on your big day, and I definitely do. But let me give a bit of an eg of where I'm coming from.

About 10 years ago I was asked to do a reading at the funeral of a family member, my first response was no, as 1 - I wasn't the biggest fan of this person, 2 - I hate public speaking.  But I gave into the pestering (in the churchyard just before the funeral was to start!).

So we get to the reading, I walk up to the altar (the Church was one we had grown up attending, and next door to my primary school), put my paper on the lectern, I looked up to the gathering, looked down at the paper to start. And nothing. Yes NOTHING. I couldn't say anything.  I cleared my throat, went to start again, and nothing. I stood there for what seemed an eternity (in reality maybe 2-3 minutes), before my sister (aka Bride Slave), came to my rescue and did the reading for me.

Now I'm not sure if I put that instance down to an intense fear of public speaking, or not wanting to give a loving glowing reading for a person I didn't get along with, or what. But to say it has put the fear of god into me when it comes to public speaking, is a massive understatement!

What has prompted this post? Well I just read through our vows, as I had to email a reading to my sister.  And tears were flowing by the end of line 2, there are 10 lines in our vows, plus the 4 lines of the ring exchange.

(photo source)

I can clearly see myself in a veil of tears not being able to talk, with makeup sliding off my face, in front of our friends & family.  Yes I'm probably psyching myself out, but I assure you it won't take much!

So I have printed out the 5 pages of our ceremony, with the bits I have to say in bold, and I am planning on keeping the soon to be tattered, tear stained copy a souveneir, hopefully it all goes well, and this will be a funny story/post to share with friends and family, post wedding! We shall see!

Practice run with celebrant

It was 3 weeks last Saturday till the big day, and everything is coming together, Mr Mel & I have to-do list each that we are getting through.

Saturday saw me buzzing around Maitland search for and finding some bargains for crockery, cutlery, and bowls/vases/decorations.  A good haul was gotten :)

On Sunday, Mr Mel & I had a practice run at the Hall with our Celebrant, Victoria from Beautiful Days.

Victoria is lovely, we would highly recommend her, she has a really relaxed vibe, and is very excited about our surprise wedding. She helped us come up with our plan of how we'll tell our parents and arrive at the hall.

We met at the hall, Mr Mel & I were a bit early so we did some last minute measurements for the fairy lights around the verandah etc.

Victoria arrived and we signed the last bit of pre-ceremony paperwork. She then gave us some options re how the ceremony will run and where we will stand etc.

We are going to stand on the 2nd top step of the hall, with Victoria on the top step, our Maid of Honour (aka Brides Slave) and Best Man will stand on the 3rd, maybe 4th top step, depending on how we fit. And our guests will stand on the grass surrounding the steps.

The Hall, we'll stand on the steps in the middle

Brides Slave will drive our parents to the Hall, after we tell our parents about 1/2 hour before kick-off, at our house.

Then Mr Mel & I will follow together, with Mr Mel driving.

As we pull off the road, a friend (who is in on the secret) will hit play on the CD, and Bruno Mars 'Marry You' song will start, that song along with the ribbon on our car will be the 'announcement' so to speak, of the surprise.

When we pull up, our celebrant Victoria will bring my Dad and Sister (Brides Slave) to the car, Mr Mel will go and ask his Best Man to be his Best Man!!  Then Mr Mel & Best Man will stand on the right of the steps.

My sister will walk in front and my Dad will walk me across the verandah from the car, stopping about 3m from the steps, when Mr Mel will come and shake Dad's hand, then walk me to the steps.

View from verandah

Then Mr Mel and I will stand on the steps, and the ceremony will begin.

Now up until this point of the practice Mr Mel and I were fine, lots of excited smiles and winks, and hand squeezes.

Then Victoria said that my Sister (Brides Slave/Matron), will say a reading from the 3rd step, looking at us.

Well that was that, tears flowed from me.  Imagining my sister standing there reading the beautiful reading we had picked, got me.  Victoria, Mr Mel & I had a laugh, and after a few minutes of wiping eyes, punching Mr Mel in the stomach for laughing at me, and then laughing at myself, I was ok!

View from the verandah

Once the ceremony part is done, Mr Mel and I will sign the registry, which will be set up on the left side of the verandah, then Victoria will announce us, and we will go down the steps and no doubt get mobbed by friends and family.

We are both so excited, it's 20 days until we have a fantastic day at our surprise wedding, and we can't wait. Sure we have alot to do still (bunting you are my nemesis), but we know that no matter what happens, we will have one of the best days of our lives so far!

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  :)