Your Designer Wedding Dress In The January Sales

Happy New Year and welcome to 2012!

Every bride wants to look as stunning as possible on their wedding day.  Some dream of becoming a beautiful princess for a day, while others wish to be as glamorous and gorgeous as a movie star.  Whilst Christmas is an expensive time of year, there is one benefit to being engaged during January...the SALES!  Now, you may not feel like going dress shopping at a time of year when you've probably been overindulging a little too much, but there are bargains to be had for those who are willing to use this time of year to hunt for their wedding dresses!

Net-a-porter now stock some absolutely stunning designer wedding dresses, like this elegant gown from Marchesa.  Previously costing £5,855 it is now a steal at £1,756.50!

Marchesa Silk-Crepe Ruffled Column Gown

Alternatively, for those of you who want want to make a statement in a sexy, yet classy short dress, why not check out Lela Rose's silk strapless number?  Previously £1,725, it's now on sale for £862.50; fantastic if you're looking for a gorgeous wedding dress for under £1000!

Lela Rose Embellished Silk-Crepe Strapless Dress

Finally, for the ladies who just loved that Vivienne Westwood wedding dress from the first Sex in the City film; why not consider a slightly more affordable version from Vivienne Westwood's Gold Label?  Giving you curves in all the right places, this dress has been reduced from £2,525 to £1,262.50!  Be Carrie for your special day!

Vivienne Westwood Gold Label Feather Draped Silk-Taffeta Gown

If you still can't face trying on your perfect wedding dress after your festive indulgence, then why not organise getting your bridesmaids, ushers and best man outfits instead?  After all, any money you save on their clothing budget might mean you're able to buy your dream pair of Christian Louboutin shoes for your wedding day!

Reduce The Stress & Budget For Your Wedding!

There are only 9 days left until Christmas...yes, only 9!  For those of you who haven't finished your Christmas shopping this is probably inducing a certain amount of stress, especially if you're not 100% sure what to get your friends and family.  

I find it quite strange how we get ourselves worked up into such a frenzy around Christmas time.  If you look at it bluntly, it is one day.  One day out of an entire year's worth of 365 days!  Now I realise that the reason we put so much pressure on ourselves at this time of year is to ensure that our loved ones have something special to open.  We want to make sure that they have something they are going to truly enjoy and remember.  In some cases, we go way over budget, spend much more than we can afford, and lose sight of why we're doing it.  Something in our minds says "the bigger, the better".  Almost as if the more money that is thrown at something, the more likely it's going to be cherished; this frequently isn't the case.  In fact, the more thought you put into something, even something very inexpensive, the more likely it is going to be enjoyed.  When you think about it, Christmas holds many similarities to planning a wedding!  The main difference being that the stress of organising everything tends to start somewhat further in advance than one month before the event!  The truth of the matter is, then when we're planning for Christmas, or a wedding, we put far too much pressure on ourselves for everything to be "perfect".  What is perfect anyway?!  It's only a concept we've formed in our own minds, no one else knows what our idea of perfect is!

A few tips to reduce the stress (and budget!) for your wedding:

1. Make sure that your bridesmaids, ushers, best man are all people you can trust and rely on.  You need people who will make you feel calm and who will support you when in your own head you feel quite insane!
2. Set a budget...and make it realistic!  If you only have £2000 to spend, your wedding day can still be amazing, you just need to realign your ideas if your dream was to get married in a 5* hotel with 200 guests.  You could still get married in a 5* hotel, but maybe it'll just be 20 of you having a beautiful dinner.  The possibilities are there, you might just need to shop around a bit more and get busy with researching!
3. Make a list.  Write down what you have to do leading up to your wedding day and put everything in order of importance.  Don't be alarmed!  This will be a very long list to start with, but as time goes by you will be able to tick items off the list which will feel extremely satisfying!
4. If finances are tight, subscribe to wedding blogs for ideas instead of spending money on magazines and wedding shows.  There are some great reads out there which give you so many ideas and have some stunning photos.  Wedding blogs don't cost anything to subscribe to so access to ideas and inspiration can come right within budget!
5. DIY!  Where possible, make items yourself.  Again, there are hundreds of ideas scattered across the web.  If you're not sure where to start, take these three examples for a little inspiration: 

• "Pinwheel Accents" from Finishing Touch Event Design as a great example of DIY decorations.  

Melissa McCrotty photo of Finishing Touch's Pinwheels 

• Make your own "Shabby Chic" invitations, as featured on the Love My Dress blog.

Photograph Copyright © 2011 Shabby Chic Bride

• Make your own table centrepieces like these from Martha Stewart Weddings.  Not only will you save costs on flowers, but you can make these weeks in advance as they're created by using dried grasses, so they won't wilt or die.  You could even let guests take them home as gifts!

Photograph courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

Overall, planning a wedding should be exciting and enjoyable.  One piece of advice that everyone who is planning a wedding should bear in mind...this is one day only.  Yes you want it to be as close to perfect as possible, but don't lose sight of why you're doing it.  You're marrying the person you're closest to in the world, the person you don't want to live without.  Your wedding day is about the two of you making a commitment to one another and symbolises the beginning of the next chapter of your lives together.  If you're sad about the fact that you don't have a huge budget and can't afford to make your wedding day quite as lavish as you'd like...well, why not have a wedding renewal ceremony/reception on your 10th anniversary!  

The Post Wedding Blues - How To Beat Them!

At the weekend I went to a lovely winter wedding at Brocket Hall.  It was beautifully festive with Christmas decorations and even a firework display across the lake late in the evening.  I had a fantastic time and my feet are still in agony two days later after having danced the night away!  

The day before the wedding, I decided to get my hair done; I can't think of a better excuse to pamper yourself than an invitation to a wedding!  Now, considering that I got married earlier in the year, I hadn't really done anything interesting to my hair in quite a long time; well over a year really.  It looked nice, but I was beginning to get rather bored with it.  I like to experiment every now and then, and haven't had the opportunity to do so in a while.  It's fun to shock people...in a nice way of course!  Well, I definitely did that.  I had most of my hair chopped off, went from my natural dark blonde to...deep purple!  I have had some incredibly positive feedback and my husband was over the moon that I'd been so daring!  

The Before & After Shot!

When people at the wedding commented, the most frequently asked question was "what made you decide to do something so different?"  The only answer I could come up with was that it was my way of rebelling after our wedding because I hadn't been able to do anything other than grow my hair for the last 18 months.  This suddenly made me realise that up until recently, my whole life had revolved around our wedding.  Was my new hairstyle my way of injecting something interesting into my new life?  After all, there don't appear to be any huge events on my horizon for me to look forward to now.    Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely happy and a lot less stressed now I don't have to constantly think about my wedding day...it's almost a weight off of my shoulders!  Though it has made me wonder, how many brides and grooms are suffering from the "post wedding blues"?

Realistically it isn't hard to believe that a lot of people might suffer from feeling a bit down after their wedding has been and gone.  We get engaged and then for the entire time leading up to the wedding, that special day is constantly on our minds!  Even if you're not someone who panics about it, you're still aware that you want your hair to look good, to have radiant skin, to be slim and just generally blow people away with how amazing you are in your wedding dress...or suit!  Personally, I had never in my life put so much thought into beauty regimes before; I didn't even use face cream until my bridesmaid told me off 6 months before our wedding!!!  I'm sure for some people, one question keeps sliding through their minds...so now that I'm married what do I have to look forward to?  The answer?  Thousands of things!

A few ideas to prevent the post wedding blues!

1)  Enjoy your first Christmas as a married couple.  You've probably had a rather hectic year and this may even be the first time since your honeymoon that you've really had time to enjoy each other's company.  Spoil one another and consider starting your own traditions!

2)  Get yourself a new haircut!  A new style always cheers you up.  I'm not suggesting you do something quite as drastic as I've done but still, it's nice to be pampered!

3)  Schedule in some quality time with your closest friends.  Maybe a gorgeously plush lunch and some cocktails, a shopping spree or even a day at a spa.  Have some "you" time and surround yourself with those friends that make you feel great about yourself.

4)  Exercise.  Firstly, exercising releases endorphins in your brain which makes you feel positive.  Secondly, it's good for your health.  Thirdly, just because you don't have a super fab dress to fit into doesn't mean that you don't want to look absolutely stunning as often as you can.  You probably put a huge amount of effort into getting trim for your wedding day so why let it all go to waste just because that day has passed?  Get the balance right though as you don't want to starve yourself!

5)  Make sure you and your beautiful new husband/wife get some quality date time.  Yes you're married, but it doesn't mean that all that romance needs to disappear.  It's lovely to surprise one another, to go to the cinema or theatre, out for meals or even a walk in the park.  It doesn't have to be expensive, it's just important to spend quality time together.

For any of you reading this who are feeling a little bit down in the dumps, I hope this has helped and I'd love to know how you have coped with your post wedding blues...

Invitations from WBDesigns Featured on English Wedding

Beautiful Butterflies - www.wendybelldesigns.com

Hello again!  So...after yesterday's post, with me bearing all, showing you my wedding photos, I am once again, featured on English Wedding today.  Claire at English Wedding was so sweet when she saw my wedding photos and said that she'd like to do a mini feature on my wedding invitation designs ...of course I said yes!  I have known for over a week which day her post was going to be published and have been eagerly awaiting what she was going to say.  Claire has been extremely complementary of my designs from the first time I contacted her in October and today, I am delighted to say that she has shared this with all of her English Wedding readers!  So, for those of you who would like to know what she has said, please read her article "Wedding invitations for you"...

My Real Life Wedding - As Seen On English Wedding

Photograph courtesy of:  Green Olive Wedding

Everyone loves to see other people's wedding photos...I know I do!  It must be something to do with the voyeur in all of us; we like to compare, to take notes, and, though we don't want to admit it, we like to judge!  Personally, I'm always curious how a designer would design their own wedding.  Would it be over the top or quite subtle?  Would it be something you'd expect or seriously unusual?  Also, when you're parting with your hard earned cash, buying from designers for your wedding, wouldn't you love to know if they deem their designs suitable for their own weddings?  Well, here you go...I got married at the Roof Gardens in London on Sunday 31st July 2011.  For the voyeurs amongst you, why not take a look at the photos?!  English Wedding have written a blog all about my wedding, entitled "Glamour, flamingoes and inspiration" so you can see for yourself.  This is one designer, showing you all, how I designed my own wedding...what do you think?