Yeah, I've got to learn how to post pictures up so that I can post the ones of the day but sometimes I'd like to post things leading up to the wedding too.

Those personalised hangers are lovely - thanks for showing me! They are quite expensive though so I might get one just for myself. One of the disadvantages of a big bridal party

I like the sound of lanterns for your centrepiece and know what you mean about the risk of the chocolate centrepieces being epic failures. That's how I felt about my floral bouquets - I really wanted red and pink but it was either going to look spectacular or tacky (if not carried out properly) so I decided to take the less risky path and have the flowers in just white and cream. Bron, how come you're not using flowers again? Was it because you're allergic to them?

I'm feeling a bit stressed about invites too because it seems many of the October brides are working on them now and originally I wasn't going to until a month later. When I thought further about it, I decided that I won't know how long it will take for them to be finished so I've been rushing about lately tryign to get them organised. This is definately one of the good things about the October twins thread - otherwise I might have sent out the invites too late which would have been so rude of me! Most of my invites are supplied by the reception but I am also making wishing well cards and ceremony only invites. I've used a local printer for this by giving them the design and pictures I want. The price they've quoted me is about $2 per card.

Yeah, I asked Kmart which stores had them and they told me which ones but there were none when I got there ... I guess its hard because the ties are so assorted and kmart is such a big chain. So I'll be visiting each personally - the things we do for our weddings!

no i love flowers! i just couldn't really find a flower that i loved for my bouquets. Matching to a green theme isn't as easy as it sounds. I'm not really into roses, everyone does lillies, etc etc. So i just googled online and found the button bouquets instead. They last forever and are cheaper than flowers would have been !

I'm aiming to send my invites out around 3 months before the big day (can't believe it's getting that close!). The norm is 2 months, but i have family and friends interstate, and i just can't wait any longer! At the moment i'm just trying to pull together everyone's names, addresses and partners names which is harder than it sounds. Also playing around on the prinstation CD - takes a lot of stress out of the invite making process!

I've just organised my photobucket account, so will starting posting some photos soon. Can't believe how many wedding related photos i have now!!! Might even have to put up some of me in "the dress" for you all to see!

What are you girls doing underware wise? There's a place in brissie that does undies and bras for the "girl with a bit extra" (as i like to call myself), so i think i might go all out and get a nice coset and underwear set



the dress!

more photos! my beautiful earrings and haircomb



shoes!

Hi Girls!

Sounds like everything is going well..

Bron - your dress is gorgeous!! I love the neckline/straps! Very beautiful!
Your jewellary is also pretty, I just realised that the earrings you have, are the ones I have earmarked in favourites! I'm also thinking of getting some jewellary off there for my BM - r u happy with the quality? Also, great work with the productive trip to Melbourne!! Its such a relief once you start ticking things off isn't it? My mum has her outfit ready to go (including shoes & bag!) and my FMIL has the dress! So it's nice to know that they are organised!
i checked out the personalised hangers - they are great! A little old lady who lives across the road from F'ILs, made me some hangers Mine is ivory and she made 5 purples ones for my 3 BMs and 2 MOTB/G. THey are lovely. Such a sweet thing for her to do, and I didn't even ask her!
In terms of the invites.. yes, I just used Word. Was hard to try and find the right font, but eventually we both decided on one we were happy with

Emmy - I'm only wearing the one dress at my wedding! I know I won't want to take it off! What sort of costume dress have u got? $600 for all of you? Does that include makeup as well? If so, that is fantastic value! My hairdresser is charging $60 pp ($80 for me) and MUA is charging $75pp.. so all up, for me, and 3 BMs and my mum it's $635..!

Girls, I was thinking of also doing the personalised robes. Yes, one of the girls on here got her robes from C0tt0n 0n B0dy and got the embrodery done separately.. they looked fantastic! I really need to get my butt into gear and get these!!

AFM - well I can't believe I am down to under 3 months!! ARGGH!! I'm starting to get a little stressed!!! I mean, I have lots of things done (or underway) but I still have lots of little things I want to have finished! I'm half way through ordering the cake (I just nee to finalise a few details), half way thru the invites, half way thru the favours (I have the little boxes, now just need to work on what to put in it and also thank you tags to attach to it) half way thru gift registry...i just want it all done NOW! haha. I have my dress fitting next week, so hopefully that is ok. I need a fair bit taken in, so hope it doesn't cost too much!
I have started thinking about decorations for the church.. im thinking of making my own pew ends out of tulle, and i'l get a quote off my florist for 2 arrangements for either side of the alter.. have u thought about any of that yet?

xx

OMG Bron what a gorgeous dress! It suits you perfectly and I really like the shoulder straps - very original and tasteful, I've never seen that design anywhere before! Is it in ivory? The satin looks so luxurious and creamy it makes me almost wish my dress was satin (mine is silk taffeta). My dress has the corset strings too which I think is the best option just in case I get smaller or larger on the day.

Are they Alan Pinkus shoes? I saw some similar when I was shopping that I wanted but they were soo expensive. In the end I bought a pair of light gold ones from Wanted Shoes which were perfect because they set the theme for my whole wedding, I've got to learn how to post pics so I can show you girls!

I'd like to wear a corset under my dress for underwear because I love the look of a tiny waist, I don't care if it means I can't breathe on the day. I was thinking of not purchasing it until a few weeks before the wedding because I'm still hoping I can lose a few more kilos until then.

Cotton on body - so that's where she got them from, I might do the same but give the girls the option if they want one or not. I just organised the hens night (yes, I know the BMs are supposed to do it but I'm such a control freak that I thought I'd have to do it myself if it was to turn out the way I wanted) and because its a fairly expensive pamper package I decided to pay for part of the costs myself. So that's my gift to the girls, are you guys giving your BMs gifts?

The cultural costume is pretty hard to describe but I'll make sure I post pics of them after the wedding. I just picked the colour for the girls cultural BM dresses and it is a lovely golden peach colour. Things are starting to get pretty exciting!

Wifey, yeah I am doing a similar thing for my church decorations. I ended up buying some tulle pew bows off one of the girls on here and I might add some fresh flowers to each one, plus two big floral arrangements for the front near where FH and I will be standing. There is an event hire company near newcastle that has pew bows for hire for $5.50 each that I was considering using before I bought the pew bows from here. I've been quoted anywhere from $260 to $500 for the two big floral arrangements.

Are you girls having dance lessons? I'd like to learn how to dance the bridal waltz properly...

Hey girls!

It's so exciting to be able to finally show someone THE dress! My bms and hairdresser have seen it, apart from that it's all top secret! Emmy i love the straps too, it's what drew me to the dress, wanted something different from the strapless dress that most people think i'm going to have! It is an older photo, back from a try on session in May so that is just the store dress, i like the fact that it's lace up so that i can adjust leading up to the big day, i'm a few kgs lighter than in that photo and have a couple more to go! I am getting it in ivory, had always thought that i would get white, but i actually bought my shoes before i bought my dress (can you tell i'm a shoe addict!) so had to get matching accordingly! THe shoes are Benjamin Adams - i got them on ebay for a steal - you can see more of his stuff at cinderellabella.com.au - a totally decadent melbourne bridal store.

Wifetobe - i can't sing the praises of Carla at lulusplendor enough - just incredible! The detailing is immaculate, and the prices are so reasonable for the quality that you get! I ended up changing my BM's earrings and my haircomb just so i could get everything through her! Her production time is about 5 weeks and everything arrives well packaged in beautiful boxes.

Underwear wise i was advised to go to the store mid-late august just in case what i want needs to be ordered in which can take up to 4 weeks. My dress doesn't arrive until midseptember which has me slightly stressed, hopefully alterations won't take very long - i'm anticipating just the hem and a bustle. From what i've heard the cost of the alterations depends on who you go to, how quickly you want it done and how much detailing is on the portion being taken in. If it's heavily beaded as opposed to simple fabric it may cost more

In regards to BM gifts i am getting the cutest pjs pants made for us to wear on the day when we're getting ready. Mine are in some retro print with cartoons about "how to get a husband" and the girl (etsy again!) is going to find something suitable for the girls too. I've also gotten them calico bags with their names printed on them which will hold all their stuff for the big day - purses, shoes, jewellery etc etc. I'm getting the personalised coat hangers for them too. How many BMs do you have girls?

Decorations wise my chapel comes with some standard multicoloured fake flowers on the alter and then white satin bows for the pews. I'm happy with the pew ribbons but the fake flowers are blergh! A friend of mine is going to look after the decorations on the day for me - just getting two large vases with some white sticks with fairy lights on them. Nothing too fancy, especially since we bring in the stuff just before our ceremony and need to take it with us due to ceremonies being on either side of us!

I would LOVE to have dance lessons but FH just isn't into it. I've pretty much had to tell him that the first dance is NOT an option, even if it is the only formal dance we have together for the rest of our lives! I'm slowly introducing the concept to him at the moment, mentioning songs that he might or might not like.. i'd love to do a dirty dancing number, you know, like at the end of the movie.. not sure he will go for it though!

I'm like you wifetobe at the moment, lots of little things hanging around. Still waiting on one guest's name and one address. FH can't decide on what to do about inviting a couple he has known for years who have recently separated. Suit shopping this week. Need to start thinking about cake flavours. Need to make a hair appointment for my trial once i have my roster. Need to book in fake tan trial and makeup trial around the same time so my MUA can see the colour i'm going to be. Trying to chase up grandparent's wedding photos, then need to get them copied and framed. Function place can't provide battery operated tealights as planned so now i have to try and source them too.... *sigh - just lots of bitsy stuff.

Hi, I know, long time no blag!

Since finishing my study for the YEAR( yes I am overly excited!) I have been doing nothing much!


Firstly, bronzilla you look stunning in your dress, I am SO jealous of how slim you look... and you have lost MORE weight... you must look amazing!
I have been being VERY good and going to the gym lots, haven't shifted so much weight wise, a couple of kgs, but I have defintely toned up which looks better anyhow!

Underwear... I am at a loss! My dress has straps, but has quite a low front, not super but lowish and a low back... unsure what I will get under there. I am getting them to "build" moulded breast section in my dress. Maybe that will be enough? I am also stress re" dress pick up. My dress is in Melbourne and I live in Sydney. I haven't seen it since I tried the store dress on. My dress is in and being stored in the shop, but I don't go for alterations (in store) till two weeks before the wedding. They said in case you lose or gain weight. Maybe I should ask for a pic or something? Just freaking what if its the wrong dress or something!

I have talked FH into dance lessons, lest we look foolish on the day. Maybe you could try that route? Even so dancing in a big dress with heals will be hard, lessons or not!

Other than that, I sent my invites last month, already have 68 confirmed RSVP's! I got impatient and sent mine early!
Have got BM dresses, but still need jewellery, shoes, accessories (for me + BM"S), bomboniere and bridal party gifts . Oh, and honeymoon still not done. Need to wait till I get paid first before I look at anything else!

I received the invitations to review today and they are really nice, I didn't expect them to look so well. There's a few details to fix up like the font and format but essentially they are perfect. They sort of make the wedding feel more real now... like there's a date with our names on it and the venue information and its in the wedding theme colours. So I've received the ceremony only invite and the ceremony + reception invite, only waiting for the wishing well card now. Also received the pew bows today for decorating the church and I'm really happy about that because its saved me the money that a wedding stylist would have charged for it, as the rest of my wedding is getting expensive enough.

For honeymoon, I've booked the flights for Tasmania! They were reasonably cheap and its what keeps me going when I hit one of those wedding blockades (like not finding those Kmart ties!!! ). With accommodation in Tasmania, I don't think I'll book it until about two weeks before so I can get last minute rates. Tasmania is fairly quiet in October anyway and FH and I aren't too fussed where we stay as there are so many options.

I haven't exercised for about 2 weeks now ... not feeling good about this. I've been busy but that shouldn't be an excuse. I'm not as skinny yet as I'd like to be for this wedding

In regards to dance lessons, I used the same line as Kay - FH is a very private person and doesn't like to look foolish in public so it was easy to convince him that dance lessons would make people pay LESS attention to us. We are only learning how to do the bridal waltz properly and we've even chosen a short song so we don't have to stay on the dance floor for too long, it's only 2 minutes! I would have liked to do the entertaining bridal party dancing down the aisle like in the youtube video but there's no way FH would go for that...

Hey Kay, I just thought of something - does your dress cost include alterations? If not, then do you know anyone in Sydney who can do it (and for cheaper possibly)? I had a similar situation earlier in the year when they called to tell me that my dress had arrived even though it was months away from the wedding. I had an option of unlimited alterations for $200 but before then I was losing sleep stressing about the dress - would it be as I envisioned, what if they ordered the wrong one, etc - so I decided to pick up the dress and forgo the alteration fee. The only thing that needed altering was the hem line had to be put up but my mother could do that for me although she can't do major alterations. I feel much more at ease knowing the dress is in my wardrobe rather than in the shop's store room as now the worst that can happen is Ebby the Cat gets in and tears up the dress to shreds (which would be pretty bad so I hope that doesn't happen ).

It was a big relief once I got the dress and I really feel for the rest of you girls as I know how stressful it is waiting for the wedding gown...

In terms of the dancing lessons, we originally we going to do dance lessons, but they are pretty expensive! So instead we thought we might buy a "how to dance" dvd and do the lessons ourselves.. not sure now tho, it's getting closer and we havn't done anything about it! lol




Kay - I could have written your post word for word! THat's exactly the situation I am in.. I originally was just going to go with the built in bra, but now I'm starting to wonder whether I want a corset to pull my waist in nice a tight.. but I don't know how that would go with a low-ish front & back! I think I will see at my fitting on Wednesday!
In terms of what you should do re: your dress being in Melbourne, I agree with the other girls.. can you see if you can have the alterations done up here? I know exactly how you feel! The shop rang me about a month ago and said that they had my dress, but that they didn't like to do the fitting until about 1-2 months beforehand! I straight away panicked, thinking, but what if it doesn't fit me, what if I dont like it.. by then, it will be too late! lol. Luckily tho, I was able to go down and try it on (I'm in Newcastle, dress in Sydney)... and I even managed to schedule my fitting in for next week (so 2.5 months before the wedding!). I just want it home with me! lol

Emmy - sounds great about the invites! Glad you are happy with them And how exciting you booked your flights! It's funny.. all the preparation for the wedding makes us so exciting, that we tend to forget that we also have a holiday to look forward too! Under normal circumstances, I would be jumping out of my skin thinking about going to Hawaii in under 3 months (!!!!) but I just focus so much on the wedding, that I tend to forget about it! lol

I KNOW! i'm going to be in fiji in about 3 1/2 months and it hasn't even crossed my mind!

So i have made my final dress repayment today! Slightly stressed though because the store person mentioned a "slight delay" with the dress delivery - was supposed to be in mid sept, however may now be end of Sept with wedding 17th Oct... little nervous because like you girls i JUST WANT TO HAVE THE DRESS! Thanks for all the comments about the dress girls - i do love it so much and i look at my photos of it whenever i'm having a crappy day!

Exercise wise i'm just trying to tone up my arms and shoulders and get rid of my little tummy paunch... my PT has put me on a fairly strict eating program as of this week so hopefully those last couple of kg will be gone before i know it!

Thanks for all the suggestions about the dance lessons - FH might agree to a dance DVD.. will suggest it to him and see how he goes.

Suit day is coming up on Saturday.. hopefully quick and painless. FH and I are on the same page about what we do and don't like, plus we have the ties, shirts and shoes already....

Invitation making day on Tuesday. Invitations have been the bane of my existence this week! I choose to ignore the printing instructions on my paper (do NOT use inkjet printer) which has left the print looking light and pretty much unreadable. *sigh. Luckily i can reprint on the back of the paper - will do so on the laser printer at work over the weekend.

Thanks for all the suggestions re- wedding dress. My alterations ARE included in the cost... so I decided to contact them and ask for a photo, which I got and the alos sent me a larger material sample which is great. The shop have been really awesome, so I have decided to trust them. Remind me of this if I freak out ok!

Bronzilla- I am doing the same re:exercise, really trying to tone my upper half and tummy now (bum and thighs will be hidden anyhow!). If the weight loss does not improve by August, I have decided to go back to Jenny Craig, as it worked great for me before. Also, best of luck doing your invites, I wasn't brave enough to make my own, I am sure it will be so rewarding to look at them finished and know you did them exactly how you want them.

Emmyzilla- thats great your invites are looking good and you are happy. Well done booking your honeymoon. Great idea leaving accom for now, you awill get a great deal a few weeks out from your honeymoon.

W2B- let me know how your fitting goes re: underwear. I am keen to know also if you can get maybe low back and front corsets? Like those "U" bra types or something?

On the wedding front, going to look for shoes next weekend, hopefully other accessories too. See how I go. Have decided to get a personal loan to pay for the remainder of the wedding too. I have been saving as best i can, but got a good rate so thought if I just pay everything now and then focus on paying out the loan, I can stop stressing that I won't make my payment dates. Not ideal, but a neccessary evil I suppose!

Still haven't booked our honeymoon or have any idea where we will go! I know, so funny I am not even vaguely focused on the awesome two week holiday we get!

Kay, if they've been nothing but great so far, chances are they will continue to be that way! It's very professional of them to send you a pic when you requested one, that's a good sign. The place where I bought my dress were always so very rude on the phone and they were always hanging up on me before I finished talking so I didn't trust them one bit.

Bron, I hope everything goes well with your beautiful gown and I'm sure everything will turn out well. My best friend at her wedding last year didn't receive her dress until two days before the date but it was perfect and she looked like a dream. I really do think there may be a wedding fairy who looks after all brides.

Well, the wedding fairy didn't like my Kmart ties so in the end I ended up refunding them and buying the ties at Myer instead. They turned out to be twice the cost as the Kmart ties and not the exact colour match but they were well worth not having to stress about ties (of all things! ) anymore.

I ended up engaging a wedding stylist after all. Found one who was more into wedding styling than furniture hire (and charging huge premiums for it) so it works out well for me as I can hire the furniture myself and all he does is the styling of the venue. I felt so much lighter after that consultation.

I'm determined to exercise reglarly again and am sore today from yesterday's pump class, which feels very satisfying. My best friend keeps on trying to drag me out on saturday nights so that I can't wake up in time for my Sunday morning class, I just have to learn to say no to her. I think the only thing that is going to work for me is cardio. I've lost quite a lot of weight over the past year so I'm onto the last bit which I find is really hard to lose, having broad shoulders and a small frame doesn't help me! Zumba classes start this week so am excited about that. If it still doesn't work, maybe a fortnight from the wedding I'll go on a crash hairy lemon diet.

I organised a personal loan too for wedding expenses. I haven't drawn from it yet as I'm trying to fund as much things as I can from my savings but its useful as I don't have to worry about being short on funds.

Hi Girls - ummm excuse me, when did it turn into mid july? time is flying past!

Well the boys suits are done and dusted. As previously mentioned FH and I had looked at a fair range of suits previously and had a good idea of what we did and didn't like. Managed to get the boys all kitted out in only the second shop we went to, and got FH's shirt which we hadn't done yet either. I should have all the suits home in a week or so after the alterations are taken care of. The only challenge was getting a group of grown men around a shopping centre quickly, they're easily distracted by shiny things!

Invite week is now in full swing. The invites are now printed in black on the invitation paper thanks to the laser jet printer at work. Although the green text on the light green paper would have been nice, it's just not meant to be and such a trivial detail at the end of the day! Tuesday is the day of cutting and gluing, my amazing BM is helping me out, then the invitations should be out by the end of the week! Hopefully they look fantastic! (i'll be sure to post some photos for you!)

The only drama of the past few days has been a family related one. My cousin from the UK has been staying with us for a few weeks and got hammered with the boys after suit day. That evening was my future father in law's suprise 60th birthday which he was ejected from by
several security guards, resulting in my having to apologise to my future family and leave the party for up to an hour while i drove him home and back again. Although he has apologised i'm less than impressed, exacerbated by his lack of contributing (doesn't do the dishes, leaving ciggie butts outside, sucking up all our internet downloads). The plan had been he would stay with FH and myself for a few more weeks, then head to adelaide to stay with an ex for a bit then back to melb to stay with my mum before the wedding. Then come to the wedding, and head back to the UK afterwards. My mum is furious with him (evidently he put on a similar show while staying with her and at a family wedding earlier in the year) and has taken it upon herself to from the sounds of things (she has called him since i've been to work) uninvite him from the wedding and suggest he head back to the UK sooner rather than later. Although i'm peeved with him, i also feel like a nasty bitch....

Anyway enough of that - back onto wedding talk! The only other thing happening this month some photo booth paperwork. FH and i aren't dancers, and neither are many of our friends and family. So to keep everyone amused, and for something "a little bit different" (which seems to be the theme of our big day!) we're getting a photobooth in which can hold up to 6 people at a time! It prints out two copies of the photos, one for the guests, and the other set gets put into an
album which the guests can decorate and personalise - this will become our guestbook!

Finances wise we're pretty much spot on at the moment. Hoping my tax return will be nice and give me some extra spending money.

My sample lanterns arrived from the US this afternoon and they are perfect! We're thinking on each table there will be a large one and four small ones, and the bridal table will have a row of medium sized ones. The colour is pretty much spot on! Will take some piccies for you all.

Hi Girls,

Sorry been MIA abit lately.. my younger brother has been over here from Perth, so been trying to spend as much time as possible with him before he goes back tomorrow!

Ticked a few little wedding milestones in the last few days.. I found my wedding shoes ! I got them from Panache Bridal Shoes in Sydney on Friday.. perfect timing as my dress fitting is tomorrow!!!!!!! I will try and take photo of them (my shoes, not the dress! ) and post them on here! I LOVE THEM!! THey were abit more expensive then I hoped ($250) but luckily my lovely mum offered to pay for them! Yippee! Plus they are dyable, so I can die them black after the wedding and get lots of wear out of them!
We also paid off the remaining money on our honeymoon! So now all we need is to save up for some extra spending money and we are set to go!! Really looking forward to tax time and getting some money back!
And finally, we have finalised our cake. Originally, I was going to get the cupcakes made from a bakery, and then the top cake done from a proper wedding cake place... but it turned into abit of a nightmare, trying to coordinate it all, and we would have had to have picked up the cupcakes and arranged them ourselves.. and it's just easier if we get it done all at the same place.. so the lady at the cake shop is just going to make it all! It's abit more expensive ($3/cupcake, versus $2/cupcake) but that includes setup and everything, and she is also going to make us our cake topper (personalised polymear clay) so instead of it being $110, we get it for $80, coz we are getting a cake through her.. so we save abit of money there! I feel much more relieved about it all knowing its all sorted!
Well, anyway, I'l come back in here to let u all know how my dress fitting goes.. I can't believe it's Mid July already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my FH and I are getting married 16/10/10! We have booked almost everything - seems to be a really popular date down here in Wollongong!

*in the midst of invitation making madness - will hopefully emerge tomorrow*

Only 2 and 1/2 months away - eeeeek! I haven't even booked a florist yet...or a caterer...or the boys suits...

What else can anyone think of that should be organised already by this time?

Hi Girls,

Well I went down to Sydney for my "dress fitting" yesterday.. but didn't end up having one! lol. Got down there to be told that because it's still a fair way off yet, she advised that I didn't have my fitting yet! She recommended that I don't have it until 4 weeks before the wedding.. Coz she said if I so much as lose 2kg, then it will need to be altered all over again.. (at the moment, it needs to be taken in about 1.5 inchs either side) So as much as I wanted it done then & there.. (given I had just taken a day off work and we had just driven 2 hrs down there!) I decided it would be best if I left it until closer to the date. I was a little annoyed at the ladies for letting me book it in so soon, but anyway, can't be helped. The alterations lady was lovely... So I have re-booked in for 1st September, which gives me 7 weeks to lose as much weight as I can, and then I can't lose anymore after that! Will see how I go...
In terms of underwear etc. She advised me that I don't need to wear a bra (which is what I was hoping for) but a little tip that she gave me was that she pins the dress with my bra on, and then i take off my bra and my b00bs will be held in the right place. Same goes for when I put my dress on on the day.. she said to put it one whilst wearing a bra, zip up the dress, and then slip my bra off, it will make sure that they are all fitted properly! lol strange, but makes sense!
She also said no to a corset.. my dress is flattering enough, and she said it just ends up making ppls b00bs look bigger, and at an already size D I definitely don't need that!! lol

I also forgot to tell you all that while I was in Sydney last week, I went to Cott0n 0n B0dy and got the dressing gowns and slippers! The gowns were normally $60 each but if you bought something else, you got them for $30! ANd the slippers were normally $15, but I got them for $6!! SO all up I got 4 white dressing gowns (me and 3bms) and 4 pairs of white slipon slippers for $144! At full price, that would have cost $300!!! So now I'm just going to get the gowns embroided and buy them their earrings and that will be them done! I can't wait to see them in the photos while we are getting ready!

What else.. oh FMIL gave me the cutest little gift last night.. It's called a Magic Bonnet. And what it is, is a little babys bonnet, made out of a white hanky.. and it got given to my FH on his christening day. Anyway, there is a little verse in it which is similar to this:

I am just a little hankie, as square as can be;
but with a stitch or two, they've made a bonnet out of me.
I'll be worn home from the hospital, and on special days,
and then I'll be carefully pressed and neatly packed away.
Then on the Wedding, I have been told,
every well dressed Bride must have something old.
So what would be more fitting than to find Little Old Me,
a few stitches snipped and a Wedding Handkerchief
I Will Be!
And if per chance, it is a boy, someday he still will Wed.
So to his Bride he can present
the "Magic Handkerchief" once worn upon his head.

.. its so beautiful! I am going to get it pinned onto the inside of my dress.. it really means alot



Oh & Em to answer your question.. my little planner says these things should either already be done by now, or being close to being finalised:
- obviously all the main things: dress, photographer, location, honeymoon etc
also
florist
hairdresser & MUA
invitations
cake
stationary (place cards etc)
music for reception (dj etc)
transport
wedding rings
wedding night accommodation
bridal party gifts
gift registry

I am the same, just did my cake organising. I too was going with a "none" wedding place. Same thing, I was stressed as though it did work out cheaper, they didn't offer set up and I had to provide the round tray sizes I was after (as they only did square and I want round)... who was I going to ask to carry a four teired cake... what put a seat belt on it! I freaked out a bit in the end (yet aother freak out!) and found a local woman online who does cakes and free local set up... costs more but the releif is worth it!






Excellent choice of wedding date I must say! It is three months away tomorrow... can you believe how quick this year has gone! Oh well.. back to the gym I suppose!

I had the same thing happen with my dress ( fortunately didn't fly all the way to Melbourne, like you drove to Sydney you poor thing !). I made the appointment for fitting this month, luckily I called the alteration place to check and they laughed and said "no, no , no" no sooner than four weeks out! I tell you I better lose the weight I want to make the dress stress worth while!!

Great tips on the underwear too... I have also been stressing about that.. I will be lucky not to be grey before the big day!!

LOVE your Magic Bonnet, that is a gorgeous idea. Might have to give one to our future kids. Love little old traditions like that.

Still need my something OLD and something BORROWED... you guys doing any of that?

awww that is just lovely!

good to hear the dress fitting went well - i mean, at least you got dates sorted out. and nothing like not having to wear a bra! Had a funny day at work today with all the girls trying to guess what my dress is like. Evidently it's either halter neck or long sleeved . Also really reassuring to hear that most dress alteration places reccomend no longer than 4 weeks as that's around when my dress is getting delivered!

so the invitation saga is almost over. 99.9% of the invites are done, just have found one envelope with no invitation! Grrrrrrr. Very very over cutting and pasting! Everything went well, just a couple of extra runs to spotlight for more double sided tape, you never realise how much you're going to use! Will put up some photos over the weekend

Something old - my shoes! (i got them second hand on ebay!)
Something new - my mum has gotten me a bracelet which ties in with my jewellery really well
Something borrowed - my friend has lent me her veil
Something blue - my button bouquet lady is incorportating a blue button onto my bouquet!

Bron, sounds fantastic! My set up is similar to yours except I'm using one big hurricane on each table surrounded by 3-5 smaller tealight holders. I can't wait to see everyone's wedding day photos on the centrepieces!



W2B how cheap is that for the dressing gowns???? Thanks for the tip, I might run out this weekend to grab some myself and recommend the BMs to buy one too since they are on sale.



I love hearing things like this, that is sooooo sweet and romantic of him and a tradition I think you should definately continue.

Thanks also for the wedding planning list - I've only got florist and cake left to do so its not as bad as I thought. But since you and Kay have already started getting your cakes organised... I think its something I better get cracking on soon. My reception is paying for my cake so I guess I just go and pick one out of the several cake designs they have.



I don't know... I am borrowing my sister's gold watch because it looks like a bracelet. I can't live without a watch and my BMs think the swiss army watch I wear everyday is too shabby for the wedding. New - the shoes are new, the dress is new, probably the veil will even be new. Blue - I haven't bought my jewellery set so I'm thinking either blue earrings, brooch or headpiece. Old - this is the one I'm stuck on

Yeh I think I will..
Old: The magic bonnet
New: Pretty well everything!!
Borrowed: Not sure yet.. was going to be some earrings, but they don't suit my dress
Blue: I'd say I will have blue in my garter...that's always an easy way to incorporate it!

well the invitations are done - gone - in the hands of australia post! little bit sad (not too sure what i can do to occupy myself now ) but also excited - it's really happening!

so i have booked in to have my hair and makeup trial mid august. My makeup girl was reccomended to my by my hairdresser and she suggested it's better to have them done at the same time so that you can see the "finished product" because sometimes bridal/formal makeup looks a bit funny just on it's own. Interestingly i mentioned to her that i was planning on getting spray tanned for the wedding, and would get a trial spray the week before so she could see what colour i am - she said that i need to consider my BM's because if they're not sprayed and quite pale, it can look a bit funny... hmmmmm..... one BM has an olive complexion and the other is blonde and fairly brown anyway......to spray or not to spray?

YAY, well done on the invites!! I am sure you will have plenty to occupy yourself with in the next few months.

Good idea, I did that for my trial too (Did my tanning). Talk to the girls, they might be happy to shell out for the cost of their own spray tans, as it makes everyone look better after all. All my BM's will be up for it I'm sure. No one wants to be the lone lily-white!

Ladies! As promised here are photos of my wedding invite......... this is the full invitation, there are also versions for the ceremony only and overseas invitations to let my relos know we are streaming the ceremony on the net.....

and these are the table centrepieces we got from america.. more are being made as we speak. the guest tables will have one large and four small and the bridal table will have 6 small... all being lit by battery operated tealight candles!

I love your lantern centrepieces bron! I just love the effect of lights and candles. They are going to look so awesome at your reception. I didn't realise the colour theme for your wedding is blue until I saw the invites and lanterns.

My colour theme is light gold, ivory and black. Finished printing the invites and then realised that I FORGOT TO STATE THE DRESS CODE (Asian invites don't include it and I was using one of their templates). I had mini heart palpitations when I first realised but some advice I've been given is just to tell them once they rsvp for the wedding. I don't really care too much what guests wear, as long as they are comfortable, so I guess its not too big a deal that I forgot that detail... but still...

I've got my heart set on decorating some trees so that the walkway into the reception looks like an enchanted garden. It'll cost me a few hundred and some people have tried to talk me out of it ("you don't need it - just a waste of money') but I just think it would be so nice if one of my favourite fairy tales (12 dancing princesses) could be a styling influence at the wedding.

To spray or not to spray... I think you should if that's what you wanted to do. I like what Kay suggested, perhaps your BMs can get it done too

it's actually a dark turqoise and light sea green - sorry about the dodgy photos!

Gold, Ivory and Black sounds so elegant! Don't stress too much about the lack of dress code, most people have an idea of acceptable wedding attire and will check with you if there's any questions.

your walkway decorations sound fantastic! remember sweetie, it's your day, so have what you want and what is special to you!

went and got FH's wedding band fitted yesterday. we saw his surgeon earlier in the day (he smashed his ring finger and little finger back in feb) and evidently the swelling isn't going to be any less. So the rings are now ordered!

Trying to source some battery operated tea lights and hoping to start on the photo wall this week. I'm hoping to get photos of our parents and grandparents wedding days and get them copied, enlarged and framed. Photos are a massive part of my life (very enthusiastic snapper!) and i'd love to bring the family element into our reception..

Good idea W2B, I didn't think of that one because I wasn't going to have the garter but I might change my mind now. Are you girls all going to do the garter thing at your weddings?



Those are lovely shades! I've always liked sea green. I love wedding colour themes.



I got a call from our jeweller yesterday and apparently the wedding bands are ready now even though they told us September?? I haven't budgeted for it so we can't pay them off until then but I might pop in anyway just to make sure they are done right.



This sounds fantastic! This wedding makes me feel like I wish I was more a photo person because the FH and I have hardly any photos to even put together a slide show. I guess for us, music is really important to FH and for me, I like the styling and the 'show' of it all so I'm really focusing on the entertainment - music, alcohol, dancing and my best friend has even offered to sing at my wedding! She has a lovely voice and really likes performing

that sounds great! some of my friends are singers too, but we're not much for dancing. That's why we're quite happy with an ipod playlist and putting the $$ from that towards our photobooth instead.

Emmy - Try not to worry about the dress code.. I was showing my brother the invites, and he actually said "why do u need to put the dress code on there? everyone wears the same style regardless!" I think thats true - unless you are having a dress code out of the norm (e.g cocktail or formal) I think ppl will tend to wear the right kind of attire...& if they are unsure, they will just ask!
By the way.. Gold, ivory & black sounds gorgeous!
I'm also a big sucker for good music... both for dancing & also for meaningful words during the special parts of the wedding. My brother is a Music Theatre performer and so he and a friend are singing at our church... I dont know how Im going to cope.. coz I normally well up when I listen to him sing in normal circumstances! But the emotions of walking down the aisle, to a beautiful song, sung by my brother.. well, I'm going to be a bunch of tears I think! LOL

Bron - love the centrepieces.. very original & stunning!

AFM (sorry, I just copied and pasted this from the 2010 thread) - Well it really is getting close now! Only 10 more weeks!! Eeek!!

Things are going along smoothly for us. We FINALLY sent out our invitations.. and also finalised our gift registry! I will upload a photo of our invitations shortly! We also went down to Bathurst on Saturday to meet with our Priest to go through all of our paperwork, readings, etc. Very exciting and it's definitely starting to feel real! I'm really excited about everything now, and all the readings and everything make sense, and also the ceremony structure, and everything, so I actually know whats happening! Also, the priest said that he will be coming up on the Friday (he is a relative of FH) so we will be able to have a rehersal on the Friday night.. which is perfect!

This week is my second week of swimming before work.. and I'm loving it! I can really feel that it's working the right muscles, and I'm hoping it will just give me that final tone up that I want for my dress (nice arms, back and waist!) I have my dress fitting on Sept 1 (only 5 weeks away!) so once that's done, I'm not allowed to lose any weight! So the next 5 weeks are full on, and then the 4 weeks after that, I just need to maintain!

Also, one of my best friends (my MOH) got engaged on the weekend! We are the first lot of our friends to get engaged, and for 18 months it's been only FH and I that have anything to do with a wedding! But now it's starting to feel like the "wedding season" is coming! All of our best friends are in long-term relationships, and it's only a matter of time before they all get married.. in fact, another one of our mutual friends also got engaged on the same night! They live in Perth tho.. but still, just as exciting! I couldn't believe it that they both got engaged on the same night and didn't know it! lol.

Hope everyone else is well.. I'l upload a pic of invitations now! I'm so happy with them considering I made them myself!!


THe invitation, RSVP card & envelope...




& one of the actual invitation..

wow wow wow! they are beautiful! great work! So exciting when the invites go out - so much hard work and love go into them!

well not much happening on the wedding front at the moment. am all booked in for my hair/makeup/spray tan trial in a few weeks.

my saga of the moment... *sigh my father. Now a brief backstory, my mum and dad have been divorced since the beggining of time. I literally cannot remember (i'm 28) them being together. They have always gotten along well.
My dad has been remarried (and redivorced!) since, and i have met a plethora of lady friends through the years. He has been with his latest partner for about 3 years - I HAVE NEVER MET THIS WOMAN.
When i origionally got engaged unknown to me my mum and dad discussed his partner and decided together that she didn't need to come to the wedding - she doesn't know anyone apart from my dad (let alone the bride and groom!) and when dad is off doing weddingish things, she won't have much to do....
So cut to present day and the invites have gone out, my numbers are pretty much concrete and i'm so OCD i've even done the table allocations, all nicely even at 7 tables of 10.... Dad now feels "obliged" to invite his partner and has mentioned to my mum that he wants her invited to the wedding. NOT that he's mentioned it to me yet... (incidently i'm in bris and my family live in melb). I've talked about it with FH and we've decided that numbers wise, we can't include her, unless someone is unable to attend (very slight chance of this....) Am i being unreasonable?

Hey bron, we're the same age

Lovely invitations, both of you. W2B thanks for the prompt about organising everything with the pastor/celebrant. I should get onto that quick smart.

Bron, I don't think you're being unreasonable as you have already organised everything and your dad should have decided he wanted her to come before. What would you need to do to be able to include her - invite another 9 people? That said, if someone already invited isn't able to attend, do you mind her being there? Is it a matter of there just isn't room for her or because you don't know her at all?

*sigh - if i'm totally honest i think its a bit of both. My strongest issue is the fact i don't have room for her at the moment, and like you said creating another table for the fact she's coming. Im sure some of my issue is also stemming from the fact i don't know her and it's MY family event, but at the end of the day i have many friends bringing partners i haven't met before too...

in more exciting news my learn-to-do-a-wedding-dance DVD arrived today. FH was surprisingly into it and this evening we've played around with it for about an hour (had planned on only 15 minutes!). Lots of fun and a great laugh!

Hey bron I've been thinking, your dad hasn't actually told you about it so until he does, you can just assume that you don't have to invite her. He sounds like quite a reasonable man anyway so if/when he does tell you, if you explain to him that you've already organised the tables and seating and if someone isn't able to attend, then you're happy to have her come but if not, it means that you would have to invite enough people to create a whole new table. Who knows, he may even agree to pay for the cost of it and you might be able to invite a few more people who you couldn't before .... or maybe its a case for the Bridezilla thread?

I still haven't started the dance lessons so maybe we'll just end up getting a learn to dance dvd too since it looks like you guys are having fun with it.

Update on my wedding plans - went to the markets last Saturday morning to buy enough bunches of tortured willow to make my enchanted golden trees. They were much cheaper than I expected - $8 a bunch and I needed 12 bunches to make 6 trees. I'm drying them out, then spray painting them gold along with some plastic fruit I bought in the bargain store for $1 each. Then I'm going to put hanging ltea light holders on them and place them in the reception walkway. I hope it all turns out!

Finally found an understanding florist. I explained that I need to keep costs down because of the 7 bridesmaids so she agreed to charge $60 a bridesmaid bouquet as long as they are only roses, which suits me fine.

Have you girls filled in the Notice of Intention to marry yet?

Yup we filled ours out with our celebrant ages ago....

your enchanted golden trees sound fabulous - and will fit in with your colour scheme perfectly!

Latest update on the dad's partner situation is that a friend of mine from OS is unable to come. So i am now able to accomodate his partner. Had a bit of an email chat to him about it, he had basically forgotten the conversation with my mum (!?!?! has been recently started on antidepressants) so had assumed his partner was going to be invited. Only issue is that now i have to quickly get together an invitation that has his AND her names on it and send it down - he's been telling her that he can't find the invite... so that situation is pretty much done and dusted.

the dance DVD is so much fun! I was out at a work thing last night and FH texted me telling me he wanted me home so we could have a dance together again this is coming from the man who i have never seen formally dance before. There are pre-made routines on the dvd, plus a range of steps so you can make your own if you're that way inclined. We're just going to do a chereographed routine until about halfway through the song, then get the rest of the bridal party up and we'll just sway around for the rest of it.

less than 12 weeks to go - AAAHHHH !!!!

What a relief, its good to hear everything is sorted regarding your dad and his partner.

I am a bit annoyed at FH. It feels as if I'm doing all the work and he doesn't care at all. This can be a good thing as he is letting me do whatever I like but some things he's got to organise because I just don't know how to - like his groomsmen, their suits, and the addresses of the people he wants to be invited to the wedding. The only outstanding invites left to do are his guests and I have to "nag" him about 5 times before he does anything about it.

Bron - I was going to offer you advice re: Your dads partner, but seems uv already resolved it, so good work!
Exciting to hear about your wedding dance DVD. Where did you get it from? I really want to get one.. I hope it's not too late!!

Emmy - the enchanted trees sound great! You must be very clever!! I wouldn't dream of tackling a task like that!
Yep, we filled our NOI form out awhile ago..

I feel very young now! lol. I have only just turned 23..

AFM - Well we have been VERY busy!!! We both had yesterday off work and got lots done! We dropped the material off for the boys ties (they are matching the girls dresses), got the boys their cufflinks & pewter mugs, got our toasting champagne glasses & our cake server set, plus we also got the ribbon for our bon bon boxes!! So ticking things off the list at a rapid pace! I wanted to get alot done now tho, coz FH is going away for 2-3 weeks next week with work He's working in Brisbane, so il be by myself for awhile. It sux! He already spent 3 months in Cairns earlier in the year!















also.. forgot to mention I got my earrings!! they are stunning! I have also just ordered a matching bracelet..

The DVD is called "dance take the floor" and can be ordered online. the two dancers are apparently off dancing with the stars (i don't watch it myself, but they do look familiar!) I ordered it Friday and it arrived the following Tuesday. $40 including postage and handling, which is cheaper than a single dance lesson!

W2B - fantastic jewellery, so so pretty! Good to hear you've gotten some more things ticked off the list (does that list seem never ending to anyone else?). We picked up all the boys suits yesterday after getting the alterations done. So they're all hanging up in our wardrobe, ready for the big day.

Emmy i can completley sympathise with your situation. My other half is the king of "i don't know", "it's up to you" and "i don't mind"... grrrrrr !!!! His workmates' invites were the last to be mailed out! It's a delicate balance between giving them tasks to complete so they feel independent and reminding them of the tasks so they actually get done... No real advice here, but i do go through "the folder" on a regular basis and discuss things that are coming up so that he knows what's going on (and also has some idea of how many things need to be done!)>

Hi girls,

We also filled out our NOI with our Rev in June.

Bronzilla- So glad your family situation sorted out with a happy outcome. The family issue can be hard. My Dad ended up wanting to invite a lot of family members, many I have not seen for a good 15 years! My parents are paying for the recpetion, so even though it wasn't my coice (and completely throws the tables out) I just went along with it in the end, as sometimes its not worth the fight.

W2B- love your jewellery! So pretty. Very elegant.

Ladies- total get the FH uninvolvement!! I tried to have a "sit down talk" last week, but he was trying to watch tv at the same time and was just nodding a lot... but then he gets upset if I do something he doesn't like! Also, his TWO jobs, the cars and the videographer (as he had contacts) are the ONLY things I have not had a written quote for! He doesn'ty understand my concern as says they have "spoken" on the phone and its all confirmed... which of course dos not cut it with me! All I can say is men are truly from Mars!

Took your ladies advioce and I have found alterations (recommended by a friend) in Sydney. I weighed up the additional cost of alterations against the fluights, accommodation, taxis, airport shuttles etc for two trip to Melbourne (plus MORE time off work!) and thought I will get the dress shipped here and have peace of mind!

Does anyone know a great courier service I could entrust my most precious cargo to???



ps, pic of my cake!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zv_m523rmcU/Sqer.../Picture+31.png

Kay - love the photo of your cake! So elegant!

Have heard from my button bouquet maker today. SHe should be starting on my pieces in the next week or so and i should have them by the end of the month. This is something that i've really REALLY been looking forward to, so can't wait!

Also heard from the lady making our table centrepieces - they should be heading this way (from the US!) in the next week or so!

Have also ordered some retro longue pants to wear on the day while i'm getting ready. THey're printed with retro fabric on "how to get a husband" with advice like "cook a roast meal each day", never leave the house without lipstick" etc etc. Sounds hilarious!

My personalised coat hangers should also be arriving in the next couple of weeks too.

Will be waiting for the postman each day!

Kay, what a lovely cake! I guess I better go and choose my cake and finalise menu details.

I cannot believe how little time there is left until our weddings! I think W2B and I have only a little over 7 weeks now!!! There's so many things I haven't done yet.... I keep telling myself that if my best friend could organise her wedding in under 2 months, then I can as well UNTIL I remembered that she didn't have to work those two months and I have to so I only pretty much only have weekends free. Are you girls taking any time off before the day? I've decided to take the Wed-Fri before the day off from work.

W2B, very pretty jewellery! I've decided I'm going to wear small gold and diamond hoops as my earrings and I finally thought of my something 'old' - my gold neck chain and I just need to get a new pendant for it.

I'm having problems on the NOIM front - I don't have a birth certificate or an overseas passport so I have to submit a stat dec and fingers crossed it'll go through. My pastor is sorting it out right now.

I bought myself and my sister (MOH) bathrobes from Cotton On (great tip, W2B - thanks) and let the rest of the girls know where they can get them cheap in case they want one, I'm leaving it up to them.

I'm pulling my hair out with the bridal waltz lessons - because I haven't started them yet! My parents keep telling me they know someone cheap but everytime I ask them about it they say they'll find out for me soon and so far its been over a month since I first asked them. I think I will end up just learning from the DVD, thanks for the info about the title of your one bron.

I'm taking the week before off. My brisbane hens night is the saturday before , my mum arrives on the Tuesday , plus i want a few days of "down time" before the end of the week and the chaos begins! All up i'm taking three weeks off work - one week before, then we leave for a honeymoon the tuesday after the wedding for 8 days , then a few days to regroup before heading back to work

Emmy - can you get a copy of your birth certificate from births deaths and marriages? we had to do it when we went OS for FH's passport application. Only took about 15 minutes and cost about $30.

Our second "living room dance lesson" is tonight - looking forward to it! We're not telling anyone (even my BMs!) that we're choreographing a short routine. Lots of people know lots of details about the wedding and we'd like this to be a surprise for everyone.

So where are you girls heading for your honeymoons anyway? We're going to Fiji for 8 days. THe first few nights we're at the sofitel Denaru which is all plush and 5 star, then we head to a place called Treasure Island which is slightly less ritzy, but more hammock on the beach postcard kind of getaway. Can't wait!

Hi Ladies! Just thought I'd pop on and see if your as nuts as I am at this point! You all seem to be doing well!!!

I'll have to read back a few pages to catch up fully, but just wanted to wish you all the best of luck. I'm ready to fire all my bridal party and just have my children with us. I guess that's what happens when your engaged for over 2 years!

lol Fae, I'll felt like that over some of my bridal party once or twice during the whole planning period! However, if you are serious about just having your family, I have seen some weddings featured in wedding magazines and the family involved made them look very intimate and sweet.

Well girls, I CAN FIT INTO MY JEANS FROM BEFORE NOVEMBER 2008!!!! That's the last time I remember being able to fit into them so you can imagined how stoked I am. I've been very good lately, going to my gym classes about 5 times a week. Even thoughI've only managed to lose about 5-6 kilos and seemed to have reached a plateau, my waistline is definately dropping and the jeans prove to me that I'm not just imagining it. Maybe I'll be able to wear a bikini at my honeymoon after all....

Bron, your fiji honeymoon sounds great. I've been to Fiji before and I absolutely loved it. I love the weather and the way the coral glows at night and best of all, fiji time, which makes each day feel twice as long as the days here. I'm getting so excited about our honeymoon to Tasmania, even more so than about the wedding. Looking forward to the private time between just me and FH.

Starting dance lessons today. Found a good deal at Macquarie community college for all you Sydney October brides who are interested. It's $150 per couple for a 4 week course and its for the wedding dance only. They have a course running for August (the one we're in) and another one for September. I've also just ordered Dance Take the Floor for us to practise when the classes are over in September (Can you believe that was FH's suggestion??? as he's not keen on making a fool of himself in front of 400 people).

Emmy - awsome work! Fitting into a bikini on the honeymoon is my motivation to keep me exercising and eating well too! I'm now at my lightest in forever (literally cannot remember being this small). Got fitted for new work uniforms - my old shirts and pants were 14s. My new shirts will be 10s and my pants will be a comfy 12! Can't believe it!

Got an email from a cousin in England i haven't seen in about 20 years - she's actually going to be in town in October (her partner is a lecturer at one of the unis here) and so she and her partner are now invited to the wedding! Funny how people come out of the woodwork isn't it!

Not much else happenening in wedding land. Hair and makeup trial in just over a week... RSVPs are rolling in.... the days are flying past!

Hi Girls!

I'll probably take the week before the wedding off - I'l just see how I'm going. At this stage, I've booked annual leave from the Friday before - 24th October, but I dare say I will take a few days Leave Without Pay the week before the wedding. At the moment I'm having 3 weeks off all up but it will actually be 4 weeks if I take the whole week off before the wedding as well!!
For our honeymoon we are going to Hawaii!! We can't wait! We don't fly out until the Friday after our wedding, so we have some days at home to relax before we jetset off! Because we are getting married on the long weekend, we will be doing family things on the Sunday & Monday after the wedding, and then we've got Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday to chill out at home and just enjoy being husband & wife!!! Then we fly out on Friday, and then Saturday we depart on a 7 night Pride of America cruise around the Hawaii Islands!! We have a private balcony suite.. I'm so excited! Then after 7 days, we are having 6 nights at the Sheraton Waikiki - it's literally RIGHT on the beach.. check out this view!




Bron - Thanks for the tip re: the DVD. I just bought it! I hope it helps! It seems like abit of an extra expense we don't really need.. but the thought of standing infront of all our guests, all eyes on us, scares the sh!t out of me! lol.. So I figure if we choreograph something, then hopefully it won't be as bad! Your honeymoon sounds divine!! Fiji will be beautiful I'm sure..

Emmy - great work on the weight loss! It really makes it all worthwhile well done!

AFM - Not much news from me. FH is in Qld for work.. He should hopefully be back on the weekend.. but it's been a long couple of weeks without him! Luckily we got most things done before he left! At the moment, we are just waiting for the RSVPs to come in, putting together our OOS, thank you tags/place cards, and when FH gets back we will have meetings with our photographer & reception venue to finalise some details.. I seriously can't believe how close it is! FH & I have been engaged for 19 months (together for 6.5 years) and it just feels like this has been coming forever!! It's always been so far away, and to think it's so close.. is just weird!! My Bridal Party have been pretty good with everything.. I'm abit of a control freak (haha) and I'm very independent, so I have done most of things myself... but my MOH has been pretty good as well. Although 2 weeks ago, she got engaged (she has been wanting him to propose for about a year now!!) and so I think she's started thinking about planning her wedding.. and has sort of forgotten about mine Oh well, at least there's not long to go til mine, so as long as I get to marry my man then I'm happy

W2B - Hawaii sounds amazing! FH and I are hoping to do a USA holiday next year once the wedding debts are all paid off ! Really looking forward to Fiji - due to the wedding i haven't had any time off work since March so can't wait for hammocks, cocktails and lots of lazy days!

I recieved the rest of my table centrepiece lanterns from the US during the week - all 7 boxes of them! Such a relief, i've been having some hassle with my mail (not recieving letters etc) and i was paranoid the same thing was going to happen to my lanterns! Also heard from my personalised coat hanger lady and she's mailed them off, so i should have them in the next week or so!

My BM has been a total superstar to me during this whole process. She's surprised me and FH with an "engagement" shoot in the city in a couple of weeks. She's not a pro photographer, but she takes great shots and i'm looking forward to having some photos of us that aren't the self portrait style we always take! BM and I are going to go and see the Valentino Dress exhibition at GOMA next week and i'm surprising her with a high tea...

Am also having dinner with a good friend of mine who is organising my Bris Hens night to work out the details. invite list etc. NOt having a big stereotypical hens night thing, just a bunch of the girls together for dinner, drinks and dancing!

Can't wait for Monday - hair and makeup trial day!