To make or not to make!

With less than 3 months now until we get married (OH.MY.GOD) I have been trying to tie up lots of loose ends! Since I chose my dress back in September - after a good 4 months of constant trial and a lot of error - I made the decision that I was going to MAKE my veil. Having just completed all my handmade invitations I was caught up in the creative bug and thought this sounded like such a good idea by creating something organic and beautiful without the 'wedding' price tag. However, having tried my dress on at the time with a Claire Pettibone veil I had a lot to live up to.

I spent a lot of time researching the best materials for my veil, bearing in mind I wanted something that would fall naturally and not scratch me or cause me to overheat (ode to a beach wedding). I then spent some time calling around asking for quotes on materials etc. The material alone- (for silk tulle) was near on £250, regardless of the fact I'd wanted to hand stitched most of it with fresh water pearls, silk flowers and crystal tear drops. I worried that I wouldn't be able to create exactly what I wanted and if I didn't I would have to forfeit the price tag and buy something.
So, I started researching bespoke handmade veils, by mostly British designers. They are few and far between, but I was really impressed with what I found.

Claire Pettibone inspiration veil

Don O'Neill created the Fall 2014 Theia collection



Photograph courtesy of Sarah Gawler from Ann Guise website

Oscar de la Renta floral embroidered veil - inspiration




Faulkner and Carter lace applique veil

Ann Guise silk veil

Ann Guise silk veil



Faulkner and Carter silk tulle veil with chantilly lace

Faulkner and Carter silk tulle veil with French lace trim

Courtesy of Julia Boggio from Ann Guise website

Grace Loves Lace Jasmine veil

I adore Faulkner and Carter's effortless soft stlye, each veil has something so organically ethereal about it and oozes femininity. You can buy them straight from the website - and they currently have a lot in a very reasonably priced sale! They also can create a bespoke veil especially for the brides requirements, the cost being £400, which I think is very reasonable for a bespoke hand worked veil with a professional finish.

The Ann Guise veils are also absolutely gorgeous, everything she makes is 100% bespoke so you can talk through every fine detail from start to finish. Her gallery of pictures feel a little more grown up, each one so unique to the next - portraying each brides individuality and her testimonials really do speak for themselves by showing how accomplished and talented she is. Each veil is of course individual and prices vary, however the quote I got for what I was after was £495.



Grace Loves Lace is another one of my all time favourite designers for wedding dresses and accessories. They epitomise everything I aspire to be as a beach bride and I only WISH they were based in the UK and not Australia! They do have International delivery, but for me this was too much of a gamble as to whether it would arrive on time and whether or not it would suit my dress etc... 

So, with all that in mind I decided that the most sensible- although the most expensive- option would be to raid Mr Piggy Bank and go for my original Claire Pettibone choice. The comfort of this being that -not only is it the most stunning, unique and timeless veil, it also goes perfectly with my dress.

So with one more thing off my list now I am just down to shoes and how I am going to do my make up and hair! It's my first fitting - with my actual dress- next month and I'm just SO excited! I can't wait to share my dress experience with you and tell you all about the incredible Blackburn Bridal Couture.

In an ideal world. . . if money grew on trees!

If money really were no option and it did grow on trees then I would probably try my best at purchasing one of the following dresses I have chosen to blog about. A lover of anything delicate, feminine and unique I have stumbled my way upon these wedding dresses over the last couple of months of trawling Pinterest and the Internet at large- key words have become my nemesis- especially "beach. wedding. dress" which merely brings up an array of scantily clad Filipino women wearing less than I would on a very hot summer's day.

It's not been an easy task trying to find a wedding dress suitable for the hot humidity I have chosen to endure in 10 months time! I also have to admit that I have not actually taken myself along to try anything on yet . . . for the most part- because I want to lose weight before trying anything on. I want to go along and shimmy into something gorgeous and feel light and ethereal and hopefully make my mother cry stunned by her daughters beauty and not (and this is how I currently see any session going), squeeze into something half done up, with arm fat hanging over the sides, sudden back cleavage, quivering lip and a sweaty brow from the whole uncomfortable strain. Then to have my mother say "oh darling, well...it could / would/ will be beautiful, once you've lost that stone you keep talking about". Thus, I am tied to Internet dreaming for the moment, until I have whipped my ass in shape, walked that 5 minute (total pain at the moment) stroll to Virgin Active and lost "that stone".

Also, - and this blog seems to be turning in to more of a rant now than my initial thought - why does every dress seem to have 3 noughts on the end? Since when did chiffon suddenly become worth thousands of pounds...? I thought that I might be clever and find a "delicate white embellished maxi dress" - detouring the price of the "wedding dress" title but, no, it seems every white maxi around that is even seemingly wearable or wedding"y" starts with "I'm worth more than you will be able to touch". My final rant - since when did renting a dress for a week (another way around potentially wearing that perfect dress with the price tag only Beyonce should smile at) cost more than renting a super car for the same duration?

Rant over, here are the current dresses on my wish list:

Firstly, the uber talented Australian designer Amanda Garrett's "Snowflake" dress. Sleek, timeless, whimsical and oozing feminine glamour mixed with a hint of Gatsby's vintage, this dress really is my dream. A low back, small capped sleeves and smothered in intricate beading, you can't really be too angry that this dress does come with a price tag of $4,700 AUD / (about £2854 GBP).





If you are UK based you can in fact purchase this dress from the magnificent Luella's Boudoir, in Wimbledon Village (which I will  make reference to later in this blog).

 

 
The second designer I have become a huge fan of is "Grace Loves Lace", an Australian brand based solely in, you've guessed it, Australia! A collection of stunning hand made, bohemian- esque romantic dresses boasting an air of vintage antiquity, all at a more affordable, realistic price. Having Tweeted them to find out if they had any British stockists they informed me that even their Australian customers have to buy online. This's my biggest fear with them, as even though I could quite happily purchase about 5 of their stunning designs, my worry would be receiving a beautiful dress that a) didn't suit me b) didn't fit me properly - as my curves are VERY different to the models online! c) couldn't be returned!!! This probably should have been letter A) on my list. You have to give them your height, dress size and for some dresses, waist and hips- so the dress is hand made especially for you in mind, which makes sense that it can't be returned but is a huge risk. They ship all over the world and have some wonderful testimonials from brides everywhere- interestingly, most having beach weddings like me! If only I could find something like this in the UK where I could try the dress on! The dress I have selected to show you is the Loren dress, retailing at $1050 - $1200 AUD (£638- £729 GBP).

                           

                           

                            

The final designer that I couldn't not blog about is Anna Campbell. I came across her dresses on Luella's Boudoir website. A stunning looking boutique based in the heart of Wimbledon Village offering a mesmerising and unique looking collection of wedding dresses (and other bridal necessities). I have this on the top of my list to visit as soon as I feel I am on the way to my ideal beach wedding body!  

Another Australian designer (clearly they seem to tick all my beach bride boxes), Anna Campbell's dresses are flauntingly feminine and just so unique. The attention to detail is exquisite, as are the shapes and blend of materials used. For me I am looking for something feminine and light with a beautiful back and detail. Anna Campbell succeeds in all my wedding dress dreams. However, her prices are from $2999 - $6999 AUD (£1822 - 4254 GBP), a few reels of lace out of my price budget, but one can always admire, dream and imagine.

Below you will find a mixture of my favourite designs from Anna's collection.

                               

                              

                            

                          

If Mr National Lottery / Santa Klaus should be reading this blog, I really have been a terribly good girl (so far) this year and promise to do any of these dresses the justice they deserve.

Is any one else in the midst of planning a beach wedding abroad and struggling on what to wear? or any one who may have already been through it? Any advice on dresses especially would be hugely appreciated!

Emi x