Wedding Forum

[JustJess]

Hi,

So I said a huge thank you in my last S&T at the start of the week, but today is my last day at work before the wedding and I don't have anything to do, so by doing this it will help me see what I still need to do (well thats the plan anyway!)

Okay, where to start...

Met in March 2007 in Melbourne. FH is with Navy, so he lived in Sydney but was in Melbourne for six month doing maintenance on the ship. About two months after we met he headed back to Sydney. There was ALOT of driving on his part between where I lived at the time (about 1.5 hours from Melbourne - LaTrobe Valley) and Sydney.

Jan 2008 - I moved to Sydney

November 2009 - Proposal in QLD. Nothing fancy or special, more like a discussion, mind you, he also forgot the ring back in Sydney! Was also my birthday

December 2010 - FH deployed for 6 months

Got into full planning swing as soon as we got home as we knew we'd get married in Melbourne, so we shortlisted places to visit over Christmas. I think we saw about 12 places over 2 days, shortlisted it down to two and took my parents as they were paying for the reception and I wanted them to be happy. Booked a place and that was that.... until.... about 9 months later we changed venue. Previous venue was beautiful, but in the end, just wasn't feeling it for me.

We are booked for a lunchtime wedding at Leonda by the Yarra now... We got lunch because they didn't have any dinners for the dates we wanted and as time went on we realised lunch suited us better. We are very laid back, not wanting a big fuss so lunch fit perfectly. Just between us though, I get cranky at night as well if I don't get enough sleep so its even more perfect for me!

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[JustJess]

So I am beyond happy with booking Leonda (although it doesnt stop me from looking at posts and magazines going 'ohhhh i wish we were getting married there!') as its not over the top weddingy for me.

Ceremony:
Held outside on their courtyard.
Ours will be facing the other way to the photo below and we will be having a white carpet.
Flower decorations will be white with blue

Decorations:
- navy blue tablecloths
- white chair covers
- guests will have white organza sashes
- bridal party will have navy blue sashes
- centrepieces are as below, in a fishbowl though, with about 3 tealight candles spread around.

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[JustJess]

Everyone's favourite part... the dress!

Was not what I had in mind, i didn't want 'poufy', but i'm also not the right shape to have slimfitting.

I'll be honest though, I also didn't have the 'this is it' moment with the dress but I think that may just be me. I don't have the patience or desire to try on hundreds of dresses from hundreds of stores... I only just organised this on in May this year.

There won't be straps ...

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My shoes:
Surprisingly these got the thumbs up from my dad, he thinks they are awesome!

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My garter:

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My bag:

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Possible underwear:

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[JustJess]

My wedding gifts:
Although I don't know whether I will wear them.
I was thinking of keeping my neck bare
And due to my hairstyle, I have about 6 other earring choices which I think would look nicer

Please excuse the pictures, was a paint job from a cataloge!

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Hair and MakeUp trial:
I got clip in hair extensions for the wedding day, i wanted a bit more length to my hair.
I will also be getting my hair colored the Wednesday before, just probably highlights.
My hair and makeup artists are FANTASTIC!

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[JustJess]

Bridesmaids:

I have 1 MOH, 1 BM and 1 JBM
We spent one day driving all over Melbourne trying on dresses in March this year and apart from alot of laughs, didnt find anything that grabbed us.

In May i flew home and had about 8 print outs of AA designs and we walked into a bridal shop at home and I said we werent leaving until we had something. The shop had about 6 of the designs I had and this one was just like 'wow' and suited both girls ... now that i've written that I feel a bit sad i didn't have a 'wow' moment!

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My 10 year old cousin is being my Jnr BM
She will be wearing this with straps:

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and the color for both dresses is:

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[JustJess]

The Photographers:
This was the first thing we ever booked, and I booked Infinity Photography...They are based in Sydney but also have a photographer in Melbourne which was perfect for us as it was easier to deal with a Sydney office in regards to seeing books and then album planning. I contacted other photographers who advertised Sydney and Melbourne services however we would have had to pay for flights/meals/acc for those ones which I couldn't justify.
At the moment, I'm a bit annoyed at them so I'll move on.

The Cake:
A custom cake from Ab Fab cakes. This was the second think we booked a year or so ago but have recently changed the design. It is now a Circle Base, Square Middle, Circle Top, the bottom of each layer has navy ribbon with light blue ribbon on top wrapped around it, the top layer has our initals in diamontes and the bottom layer also has a diamonte strand around the base. It caramel mud for top tier, middle tier is fake and bottom tier is marble mud.


.... and then I made the best decision EVER.

I hired a planner as it got to the end of last year and was facing my partner being away on a 6 month deployment with no other plans made and generally a headache anytime i tried as I googled myself around and around in circles!

I'm one of those people who make a decision and then perhaps see something I like even more and ummm and ahhhh too much!

My planner has been invaluable! In the short few months I have had here we have organised florist, celebrant, entertainment and decor... which I know I wouldn't have been able to do without her! Too many choices and its harder when you don't live in the state.

Entertainment:
We have booked The White Tree as our band, we booked a four piece as we wanted the female vocalist as well. I fell in love with them when I listened to their sample of Empire State of Mind.

[JustJess]

Wedding Night:
Our wedding night accommodation has been taken care of by my work...

We are staying at Crown Towers in a Premier King Room with late check out, champagne and chocolate. I checked it out online, its about $600+ for the room and extras!

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I also have this for no other reason that i think its pretty.

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I probably should have mentioned our theme is blue/white with a touch of nautical.

Our STDS:

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Transport:
Possibly one of my favourite parts of the wedding (apart from cake!)
Myself and the girls are travelling to Leonda by boat
Then after the wedding the boat will take DH and myself to our hotel.
Boatride takes an hour though!

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[JustJess]

Honeymoons:
I'm lucky enough to get two honeymoons!

The first will occur the day after the wedding, ideally we will have breakfast with the fam and then head to the airport, we are heading to Surfers for 5 nights staying at the Hilton Surfers in a Relaxation Suite... $560 per night for best available rate however it was $423 per night for government - so it pays to be with a govt employee!

We also booked a limo transfer to the hotel from Gold Coast airport!

We haven't booked anything else other than accommodation and transfer. I have a list of restaurants I would like to try, but we are just going to wing it.

There is no pictures of our room on the website, but it states:
Intelligently designed to be the ultimate restful retreat, your Relaxation Suite features separate zones in which to rest, refresh, relax and work. From the daily newspaper, to the Hilton Pillow Menu, rediscover all the special Hilton touches you love. Your bathroom, with walk-in shower, beautiful bathtub and luxury amenities is a calm, rejuvenating space. In your separate lounge, enjoy your 37-inch LCD TV and iPod docking station, or sit back and take in your panoramic view over the ocean, city or Hinterland. Your Nespresso coffee machine makes the perfect cappuccino – or dial up a dish by celebrity Chef Luke Mangan. You'll also enjoy exclusive access to the private Executive Lounge on the 15th floor, with its superb panoramic views over the best of the Gold Coast and continental breakfasts, canapés and beverages. And at the end of the day, spoil yourself with the absolute luxury of your king-sized Hilton Serenity bed.

Our second (and proper) honeymoon is a 14 night cruise around NZ with RCL. It leaves in January 2012 and I can not wait. Our first major holiday together as a P&O Cruise around South Pacfic and i fell in love with cruising.

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[RusticBride]

I loved your first S&T and seeing it all so close together like this makes me love it even more!

Your theme works SOOOO well and everything goes together so perfectly.

You must be so excited

[JustJess]

Gifts for MoH, BM and JBM:
I am my own worst enemy when it comes to gift giving, as I love buying gifts and probably too many of them!
So far, this is what the bridal party are getting:

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(in silver - decoration is a reef knot which fits in with theme!)

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(all personalised - and they look awesome!)

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(all the way from Dubai)

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