flowers

As ever, these beautiful photos are copyright to Filip Welna.

We did something a little unusual when it came to wedding flowers, and it worked out so well for us that I thought I'd share it. When we met with the florist, I had a few black and white printouts of the kind of bouquet shape I liked. I liked things with lots of texture and variation. But I didn't know what flowers I wanted. I felt like Willetton Wedding Flowers really got the feel I was going for anyway, so we booked them.

Later, I sent them a fabric swatch and some paint chips of the kinds of colours I liked, and I sent them a long, long list of Flowers I Like and Flowers I Don't Like. I sent these massive long lists because I figured it would give them more to choose from depending on what was in season. And beyond that, the bouquets were up to the florist.


To my surprise, they used nearly every flower on my 'like' list. I had kangaroo paw, geraldton wax and succulents. Roses, orchids and anthirriums. Rosemary, ferns and ranunculas. Dusty miller and cherry blossoms. Every time I looked at my bouquet I found something new. They were the most beautiful bouquets ever. And no two buttonholes/ corsages were the same.I strongly recommend giving your florist some creative freedom.

The only thing I would do differently, if I were to do it again, would be more aware of the cheap white plastic holders that are used on cascading bouquets. Had I been aware that they were going to use one, I would have hit up etsy for a vintage silver bouquet holder (such things exist), or provided some really nice velvet ribbon to hot-glue around the handle. Just a thought. If cascading is what you're thinking.

Oh, and another tip? If you use succulents in your bouquet, you can plant them afterwards and they'll grow! Pretty cool huh?

Gimme some hair

All images copyright Filip Welna.

To follow on from the makeup person I used, I thought I'd mention my hairdresser in case anyone was interested. I left hair until far too close, and all the mobile hairdressers I could find (that I liked) were booked out. In desperation I called Peggy Sue's. Not only did she agree to do it, she didn't freak out at the sentence "By the way, the Best Woman has an undercut." Now, mobile wedding hair is not her usual thing, so I don't want to promise that she'll do yours or anything. But she did mine, and the Maid of Honour's and the Best (wo)Man's and I was pretty stoked.

Also, she texted me the morning of the wedding to ask if there was any last-minute errands she could run for me (how nice is that?), and was an all-round fun person to have with us on the day.


This isn't the best photo of the Best (wo)Man's hair, but the only I could find that didn't show her face. BwM has, as mentioned above, a pretty severe undercut. On the left side of her face is a beautiful 1940s victory roll, and all her hair was swept round to trail down on the right-hand side, showing off the undercut at the back on the left. It was gorgeous.

For the Maid of Honour I gave Bee this picture for inspiration. Bee likes nothing more than big hair. Oh, so big.


This doesn't even begin to show it. Well, kind of. Look at where her shoulders are, and where her hair ends. Her hair was as tall as her face was long. It was Elvira-esque. It was a beehive. It cracked me up every time I looked at it. People came up to me after the wedding and said "You look great and all, but her hair - my god! That's a feat of architecture!" Was it exactly what she or I would have chosen? No, but I didn't ask for a redo because it was wild and silly and it looked amazing. Once in a lifetime hair.

Mine? She just made mine as big as was humanly possible, given I have thin, fine limp hair. She did a great job. C'mon, you've seen it in the other photos.

Makeup

Image copyright to Filip Welna. Do not use or copy.

I had a commenter ask who did my makeup, and, embarrassingly, it took me a really long time to remember! I think after the wedding was over I did my best to block everything out. I mean, it was fun and all, but it was nice not to have to think about it anymore.

Anyway, I remembered (whew!) It was Nicole Forde. I chose her because she did my friend's wedding, and all the girls had the most amazing, giant doe-eyes.

The other thing I loved was that when I rang her and said I didn't want to wear foundation, and would that be okay, she was completely fine with that. Even told me that she thought most people didn't really need foundation. I just hate the sensation of something coating my skin, so I was happy to have finishing powder, but didn't want a base. By the time Nicole was done with me, you couldn't even tell.

just a little note...

All photos copyright and by Filip Welna, our fab photographer

I'm looking to sell my wedding gown. I love it to pieces, but don't have the space to keep it. Knowing that Priscilla of Boston dresses are rare as hen's teeth in Australia, I'm hoping to find someone else who loves it and will give it a second outing. You can find it listed here or here, or leave me a message on this post with an e-mail address at which I can reach you. I'm open to offers, willing to post anywhere (not just within Australia), and more than happy to answer any questions! Perth people are also welcome to see it in person, of course.

The boning creates some killer curves, if I say so myself. This is me giggling madly while my poor bridesmaid tried to do up the top hook and eye.