When and where did you get married?
Mike and I were married on the 9th October 2010, at 'La Toscane', Sweetwater Vineyards, Hunter Valley
Tell us about your dress…
I designed and made my own dress. My background is in Fashion and Costume for Film and Theatre, so I definitely wanted to create my own special dress for the Day! It features gorgeous hand made French lace and I opted for a matte silk faille, as opposed to a silk satin- the theme of the day was very much a 'Garden Party' so I didn't want anything to ultra-glam! I've worked in Fashion and Wedding Dresses for several years now, so my first step was to try on dresses with different necklines and skirt silhouettes...you'll know what looks better on you than others, so I think shopping around and trying different things on is valuable research.
Tell us about your bridesmaids story….
I had 4 B/maids- my 2 younger sisters, my cousin and my best friend from School. It was wonderful to have them all there :) I designed their dresses and made all 4. I opted for a matte silk crepe to keep within the style of my own dress, and embellished them slightly with pieces of the lace from my gown on the hem and shoulders. I adore turquoise and the colour worked well with photos within the location, so choosing a colour was easy. The fact the girls were happy with the colour and the simpleness made the process easy. I found the waisted v-neck style very forgiving for all figures- all the girls felt comfortable- even my cousin who just had her baby! I conducted all fittings and they paid for the fabrics ($60 ea). They kept their dress at the end. I paid for their hair to be done and bought flowers and lace we could use for their hair, and they styled the dress their own way with their shoes, and jewellery. I love the way, back in the day, that to be a bridesmaid was to pull out your best dress in the Brides chosen colour and to wear your best jewellery for the occasion- I kind of wanted to channel that idea a bit. Above all else I wanted them to comfortable...and they were. there was no hitches, no dramas and they really enjoyed the ability to have dress fittings without the price tag! The only slight issue was convincing my youngest sister to not wear her converse at the ceremony :)
-Do you have any great advice to pass onto future bride and grooms-to be?
Enjoy this process together! The Day above all else is about you and you bride/husband-to-be. As corny as it sounds, it really is about Love and the amount of love you experience on your Day is enormous! There will be ups and downs during the planning- we opted to source a lot of things ourselves as we pretty much had a vacant property to style, so our ideas sometimes clashed! Yes we had little disagreements about the smallest of things, but you have to remember why you are doing this. It's about the both of you. Pick the aspects of the Day that matter most to you both, and focus on that. This is the most incredible project you will both work on. Be patient, understanding of each other and ENJOY! The little things that you fear will go wrong will not even come close to grabbing your attention on the day- you'll only be looking at one person!
