Wedding Series: Update!

I am so happy to say that, just like me in the photo below, our official wedding photos are finally ready and are on their way! 

Though I was a little bit disappointed to have to delay the wedding series posts I promised you, due to our photographers having a backlog of photos to edit after the busy Summer season, I hope they were worth the wait! Here is a sneak peak of two of my favourites...

Please let me know if you have any particular requests. I can't wait to get started on the posts and I hope you enjoy them! xxx

Our Wedding Video

Our wedding on the 5th of July now seems a million light-years away, but watching this little trailer brings back so many happy memories! I just wanted to share it with you all and I do hope you enjoy it!



We are still waiting for our official photographs (I'm counting down the seconds) so my series of detailed wedding posts about suppliers, venues etc. is a little delayed. I am sure they will be worth the wait though! In the meantime if any of you have any questions please do get in touch! xxx

OOTD: Rehearsal Dinner

Today's post is a little outfit of the day from my rehearsal dinner. I had about 15 mins to get ready after our church rehearsal so I quickly tonged my hair with the Babyliss conical wand and refreshed my makeup using the Urban Decay Naked palette and a slick of The Body Shop gloss over MAC's Costa Chic lipstick.

 

I picked up this bright mint gradient/ dip dye maxi dress in the Ted Baker sale and think it works perfectly with my tan by James Harknett.

 The secret is out... I have a twin!

Apologies for the deer in headlights expression... but I was unashamedly nervous/ exhausted/ excited/ apprehensive/ happy!

My wedding makeup!

Among all the tutorials, forums and posts on the internet wedding makeup has to be the most requested and hotly debated! I have done a few bridal themed looks in the past, but planning your own makeup can be quite the challenge. I opted for a defined, but classic look not too different from my every day (but a lot more neat and product heavy) as I wanted to look like myself, but the best version of myself... I personally don't think your wedding day is the right time to try anything new or risky and I despair a little when I see brides who never wear makeup suddenly decide to try that dark smokey eye they had always admired in magazines. Not to say they don't look beautiful, but you don't ever want to look back at photos and think that you don't look like yourself.

The most important things to consider are the weather (opt for long lasting, oil free products in the hotter months), your location and wedding style. If you are going for a boho Summer wedding a red lip and lashings of eyeshadow may not look quite right, but may be perfect for a Winter Wonderland theme!

Our wedding was quite a traditional, classic summer wedding with lots of flowers and a neutral palette of blush pinks, ivories and a hint of silver. I therefore went for a classic look with clean skin, defined eyes, rosy lips and cheeks. However, not taking my own advice with regards to preparation in the hurricane of wedding planning it was a week before the big day when I realised I hadn’t even planned my makeup! I had booked an MUA for my bridal party, but hadn’t planned what to do for myself… Luckily being a hoarder I managed to shop my stash and only had a few essentials to pick up. I did a quick (half face) trial the weekend before the wedding and just hoped that my nerves would be steady enough to execute liquid eyeliner on the day!

My top tip for any special occasion makeup where you will be photographed is to go for a base that has little or no SPF and a powder that doesn’t have too much titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, silica or mineral sunscreens. These are the culprits of the intense white glare that you get with flash photography! For longevity you may also want to consider oil free products that verge on the matte or velvet rather than dewy or glowy finishes.

(Quick selfie after I finished my makeup - with flash)

I primed my skin with Clarins Beauty Flash Balm and used Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation which gave a lovely finish without being too heavy. Summer weddings are definitely the most difficult to prepare for in terms of skin as you want to have flawless makeup that will last through the heat well into the night without looking too heavily made up, especially in the day and in bright sunlight. I therefore chose an oil free foundation with buildable coverage and used layers of powder to ensure longevity rather than piling on too heavy a foundation.

For concealer I used various textures on different areas of my face. Under the eyes I used my favourite L’ancome Effacernes mixed with Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer. I find that the L’ancome concealer is pigmented, but light enough in texture to be used under the eyes without too much creasing. It also has a peachy tint that helps to counteract dark circles (and having been woken at 5am on my wedding day mine were awful). The Sensual Skin Enhancer is a much heavier, waxier texture that I used sparingly on top (mainly because it is a much lighter shade) to add some highlight to the under eye area. On the rest of the face I used MAC’s Studio Finish Concealer (from the PRO Conceal and correct Palette) which has great coverage and staying power.

(No flash)

 
To set I used Clarins Mineral Loose Powder pressed into the skin with an old fashioned powder puff. Getting married in July with oily skin I would definitely recommend copious amounts of powder!

For a little contour I used MAC’s Sculpt and Shape duo. I would say this is an absolute must not only for photographs, but also because on your wedding day you are wearing one solid block of white or ivory so your face needs a little dimension to overcome some of the reflection. This duo is great as it contains minimal shimmer so the highlight will not create glare when using flash. I used MAC's Dame as my blush for a cool toned pink flush.

For my eyebrows I used MAC’s brow shader and set them with an old mascara wand sprayed with a little hair spray.

Contrary to the order of this post I actually did my eyes first (except for the mascara) to ensure there was no eyeshadow fallout. I primed with my longstanding favourite Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden and used Urban Decay Sin shadow all over the lid. I then used a MAC 219 pencil brush and MAC Quarry shadow to define the crease and a MAC 217 brush with Wedge to blend it out. I then dipped in and out various soft brown and muted grey tones to ensure the crease was well defined and blended. I used Urban Decay strange (from the NAKED 3 palette) as my highlight with a tiny bit of MAC Phloof! at the highest point of the Arch. I then finished off the eyes with MAC’s blacktrack fluidline and L’ancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Waterproof mascara (on the lower lashes).

 (Close up from my mini trial)

Given my natural eyelashes are absolutely tiny, and I definitely wanted a more dramatic lash look on my wedding day, instead of risking false lashes that could start curling off in the corners (like they did in our engagement shoot) I had eyelash extensions. These were done by the wonderful  and super talented Asma at her Boudoir Lashes Parlour in Shoreditch (my previous review of her eyelash extensions can be found here with detailed photos). Unfortunately as I was still working all the way up to my wedding day I had to have my lashes done a week before so they were not at their best, but they still looked so much better and more natural than falsies. I was also happy knowing that I didn’t have to worry about them in the heat and through any tears!

For the lips I used my trusty MAC cremesheen lipstick in Crème cup, which is a very natural blue toned pink.

To ensure longevity I touched up my t-zone just before leaving with MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinish Natural and sprayed Urban Decay’s All Nighter Setting Spray. The wedding was at 2pm and given I had to finish my makeup by about 11.30am (so I could do last minute prep and have enough time for hair) I was impressed that it lasted well over 12 hours of rain, sun, smiling, crying and dancing. I touched up with powder twice throughout the day to take away shine, but other than that it was pretty much worry free!

I hope this helps if you are planning your wedding day makeup. I would say a trial is the most important thing - get your makeup done in the morning and see how it lasts throughout the day and night and make sure to take some flash photos in the meantime! Please do let me know if you have any questions. 

Always happy to help! xxx

Our Wedding!

After over a year and a half of meticulous planning, organisation and anticipation on the 5th of July I married my greatest love and best friend. We had the most beautiful day surrounded by our family and friends and my only regret is that it passed by all too quickly! It was absolutely the happiest, most special day of our lives and I am so excited to share it with you all.

We are still waiting for our official photographs (and I am dying of anticipation), but in the meantime I thought I would share a few sneak peeks that our photographers have sent us!

Arriving at the church was such a blur!

Planning a wedding is honestly one of the most overwhelming and demanding, yet enjoyable and fulfilling challenges I have ever had! I really want to share as much as I can with you all in the hope that it may help in some small way if you are planning your own wedding or helping a friend. I feel I have learned a great deal through the process and if I can make anyone else's planning just that little bit easier by recommending an amazing supplier or just providing some inspiration, tips or advice then the hours of wedmin would be made even more valuable!

I will be doing a series of detailed posts about our venues, suppliers, plus all the little extras so please do let me know if you have any particular interests or queries? Even if you are not planning a wedding I do hope you enjoy the photos!

3 Months Today!

One year ago...

He asked and I said YES! 

 If only every other question was so simple to answer...

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend my lovelies! xxx

D&M Wedding

I just wanted to take a little moment to share with you some photos from one of my best friends' weddings in the beautiful French countryside this July. As so many of you have been asking me about wedding preparation I thought that you would enjoy these photos and if not for inspiration, then purely for the beautiful imagery.

 The reception venue was an old Abbey set in the French countryside near Versaille.

 Getting ready in the bridal suite... I did my own and bridesmaids' makeup :).

 Something blue? Louboutins of course!

 The gorgeous Caroline Castigliano dress (honeycomb) and veil with blusher (apologies for my ridiculously long arms ruining an otherwise perfect photo)!

 Confetti cannons!

 The wedding party (and me trying to hide the fact I'm as tall as the groom).

 The lake created such a stunning backdrop!

 Luke and I stealing a quick moment alone during the drinks reception.

 The wedding breakfast. The table numbers and place cards matching the laser cut invitations by Intricate Creations.

The cake was a custom creation by The Cake Parlour to match the lace in the wedding dress and shipped all the way from London!

Wishing all the best to my dear friends D and M in their future life together!!! 

 xxxxxxx

Our Engagement Party and Amazing Cakes!

On the 1st of June the fiance and I hosted a much belated celebration of our engagement with our closest friends and our families. It was a wonderful evening and while I was having far too much fun catching up with everyone to take many photos I did want to share some pictures from the night and also give a special mention to some of our amazing suppliers :).

You all know I love any excuse to dress up, so while the Mr kept it pretty casual I decided to wear something a little more adventurous. I chose the Talia dress from the Hobbs limited edition Invitation collection with matching shoes. It's a nifty little corset number with a very voluminous skirt that really reminds me of the shape of Vivienne Westwood dresses, which I adore. I paired it with a white L.K Benett chiffon petal bag.

As the dress was already quite a statement I kept my hair simple by curling it with Babyliss hot rollers and brushing through the hair with a soft Denman brush to create loose, soft, shiny curls. For the makeup I went for a silver and grey smokey eye to complement the dress.

I chose the Blanchard Room of the Hollywood Arms as the venue for its amazing decor and it did not disappoint! All our guests loved it and I must say that the staff were outstanding on the night, making sure everyone had plenty of bubbles in their glasses until the early hours ;).

Since we are not getting married till next July we wanted to give our guests a little taste of what to expect next year and decided to order a cake as a sweet finishing touch to the evening. I am a huge dessert fan and loved the idea of having a cupcake cake for our guests to enjoy. After getting quotes from a few suppliers I chose the Chelsea Cake Company. Nessie was an absolute sweetheart in creating the perfect cake for us and it's just so lovely to work with someone who is incredibly passionate about their business. I highly recommend you check her website out for wedding, party or celebration cakes as she does some incredible designs using only the best organic ingredients.

Nessie also made some adorable wedding themed cookies for guests to take away with them! They were just as yummy as they look.

After the party we carried on the celebration at Embargos, although not all of our guests made it that far ;p. Fingers crossed I will be able to make the wedding go as smoothly! xxx