12 Blogs I found Useful for Getting Wedding Inspiration!

Hello there brides to be!

I imagine you're feeling a heavy mixture of nerves and excitement about your upcoming nuptials, non?

As my own wedding loomed closer on the horizon, I trawled through countless websites and totally lost count of the amount of times I saw something I liked... then forgot where I'd seen it...GAHHH.

So, I thought I'd stick them all in one post, mainly for my beautiful little sister who is getting mawwied (purpose spelling mistake there don't fear) so they're all in one handy place!

Personally I didn't like any of those blahblahblah wedding community/wedding countdown sites with a 'Mrs XXXXX to-be' profile name... to me they're not healthy! Call me a Lone Ranger, but you just CAN'T let wedding planning take over your life, tempting though it is. Plus, they reminded me of this time back at school when I was chatting between my friends just as we were about to go in to an exam, everyone had revised differently and I panicked because I hadn't revised what they had and it stressed me out no end, didn't help at all, nor did talking to them when I came out of the exam about how I thought it had gone (so glad I don't have to do exams anymore...)

Anyway, I digress, wedding community sites anger me too much, I didn't want to be part of that sisterhood/rivalry/jealousy thing I personally found, everyone's different remember :)

Don't EVEN get me started on wedding fayres. They made me not want to get married.

The internet is a marvellous thing. Yes, I purchased my fair share of wedding magazines which were helpful to an extent, but the web, the web dear brides is FREE* :) Hurrah!

*For the picky readers, OK you pay for the connection, but don't nitpick.

I've put them in categories, as I like lists, so without further ado, my first and favourite site is this:

Bloggety Blog!

http://www.beforethebigday.co.uk - Daily wedding blog with bucketloads of wedding inspiration, real weddings and craft ideas. I 'borrowed' so many ideas from this site, I LOVED it. They even featured our wedding afterwards (nothing to do with why this blog is #1 on the list, I swear!)

http://www.100layercake.com/blog/ - This is a blog from the US, but I loved it (I still peek at it every now and then, you know, as research for my little sister of course)

http://www.100layercake.com/blog/2011/06/17/a-beautiful-mess-wedding-elsie-jeremy-and-a-diy-boutonnierecorsage-tutorial/ - I saw this post just after our wedding (when we were back from honeymoon obvs.) and I got MAJOR wedding envy - just look at the details! And I defy anyone not to cry at the video on there. Dear me.

Ant and (table) Decs:

http://www.etsy.com/ - Online marketplace for craft items - fabbo dabbo! I got my cake decorations from here along with plenty of other exciting things and had no issues with things being posted from America.

NOTE - Etsy also has some FAB one off piece of amazing jewelery. I actually ended up buying mine from little known retailer Debenhams after I got fooked off with a staff member in a bridal shop trying to upsell mega expensive jewels to me. Know your audience lady.

http://www.coxandcox.co.uk/categories/any-excuse-for-a-party - Slightly more expensive than I would like, but nonetheless worth a glance at the pretty and shiny things you can decorate your venue with!

Smile! You're on Camera!

http://networkedblogs.com/bmrYZ - Rather fantastic blog from my very fabulous photographer Sarah Jane, (http://www.sarahjanesphotography.co.uk/) who I am so glad we found (and no, we didn't find her at a bloody wedding fayre, I hate those things!) This blog runs through why photographers charge the price they do, so save it to your favourites ready for when your fiance utters the words 'why is it so expensive to take photos? Can't our friends just stick them on Facebook?' Josh didn't ask that again after I sucker-punched him.

http://alidegraffphotography.blogspot.com - Call me weird, but I loved looking through other Real Wedding albums. The amount of ideas I got made all the weirdo comments worth it.

For Fleurs sake!

http://alidegraffphotography.blogspot.com/2010/10/paul-brittany-9310.html - I toyed with the idea of a giant flower instead of a traditional bouquet, but it didn't work out. Massive boo. PLEASE let me know if you have a giant flower!

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/228444/laura-and-ben-brooklyn-new-york/@center/272446/real-weddings - Another Real Wedding site, and it's no coincidence that I'm going to land you on a page where I got TOTAL bouquet envy! Butterfly bouquet? Oui bien sur!

http://www.sarahsflowers.co.uk/ - Don't fancy real flowers? I didn't. Another hassle to worry about on the big day? No ta. I faked it and for once didn't feel bad, ha ha! Great website, good for inspiration even if you just fancy getting some inspiration for real bouquets. My bouquet didn't get tossed to the ladies, no siree, it got laid on my Nan's grave so it lasted much longer than a real one. Good times. I bought a spare bridesmaid dress in the sales and intended to launch that to the gaggle of giggling senoritas, but forgot. Oops.

THE Dress.

Just go shopping. Baby, just go shopping and bloody enjoy it. When else do you get bubbly when you are shopping (if you shop in New Look like me that is), plus you have no idea what suits you until you start trying on. Countless blogs said 'oh you'll just KNOW when you've found THE ONE' (no pressure hey?) and in truth, THE ONE for me turned out to be the one I went home thinking about, couldn't stop thinking about and felt like I was cheating on when I tried others on. I was so excited that evening when I told Josh that I'd put the deposit down, that made the wedding seem so real for him (catch up, I told him.)

Be warned that dresses only come in sample sizes, so there will come a time where you might be squeeeeeezing in to a miniscule size 8 (I had a time where the assistant actually HELD the dress in front of me and tried to show me what it would look like in my size. Ridiculous, I wouldn't even order a New Look dress using that logic, let alone spend £800+ on one. Go away.) OR you'll try on a size 20 and be clamped with bulldog clips - ta daaaaaa! No. It helps so much if the dress is around your size, I really don't see why more dress shops don't order say a size 12, and a size 18 or something like that.

Also, don't settle for anything less, and that comes down to service in the dress shops too remember. I was so lucky in Confetti and Lace, Harrogate, to find Jacki who was just so lovely and helped me so much. Big love going out to Jacki. If anyone makes you feel rushed or cheap, or harrassed, get outta there. Make your excuses and go, but take the dress off first hey? One shop I won't name was just so awful I didn't even try on all the dresses I had set aside. Just like the dress, you'll know when you've found the right shop. You'll be spending a LOT of time there over the next coming months, so it's got to be the right environment for you.

Oh, and be nice to the staff! They work such long hours and have to deal with emotional brides all the time. Being nice goes such a long way, that goes for every service you receive in the wedding planning, you'll more than likely end up getting some nice little discounts that help too. A smile costs nothing, and it might save you a buck or two!

Almost there :)

Lastly, here's a couple for the men involved; you know, the ones that just show up in a suit on the day :)

http://www.iamstaggered.com - good tips for wedding speeches, and all the other tiny things we give to the men that we can trust them with not to screw up :)

http://www.moss.co.uk/pws/hire/wedding_planner/wedding_planner_home.html - Another supremely helpful site with plenty o'helpful links and info for the dudes. We didn't hire suits from Moss, we used Cameron Ross who bordered on useless when it came to ordering suits to be collected around the country. (NOTE - Yorkshire Menswear were fantastic, they were just let down by the supplier, big love going out to Steve!)

You know what? None of this even matters by the time it gets to this point:

(Literally no turning back now, look at how tightly my Dad is holding on to me!)

AND that was straight after the car had pulled up to the wrong church and then I'd got my shoe heel stuck in the drain right outside the church (my Dad had to literally get on his knees and yank the draining off, I wasn't going down the aisle Cinderella style) - I laughed through it all.
It's the best day of your whole life, it does fly by before you know it, you MUST make the most of it and not sweat the little stuff.

(Because I'm living proof that no one cares if the tablecloths don't match the bridesmaid dresses.)

I'll leave you with some snaps from the magnificent Sarah Jane and her magical camera...

Over and out sisters, fire any comments, questions or useful links my way for others,

Katie x

What's Catty Doing?

Just in case you've been wondering what Catty has been up to recently, I'll fill you in.

2011 was a good year for Catty, check out what a busy year he's had and some of his favourite things to do...

Busy growing in to an EVER BIGGER cat.

Checking out his snow boots!

Sniffing stuff and being curious in general

Diving! Scores please?

Perfecting staring and the art of total lack of spacial awareness. Yep. He is a busy dude.

Balancing and that.

Catching some rays! Outta my sun!

Snoozing on laps, did you know cats sleep for up to 20 hours of the day?

Making new friends who have beer!

Drinking out of toilets - I don't think I'll ever understand this...

Practicing my 'I'm just too cute for anything laborious' face.

So there we have it. Catty has BIG PLANS for 2012. He's going to go on a diet (he doesn't know this) he's going to chase more things thinking he is a dog, he's got plenty of sleeping to be catching up on and muddy paw prints to tread through the house. Hopefully this Boxing Day he won't be sick on the carpet and this year I'm crossing fingers he stops using the bathroom mat as an extension of his litter tray. All I have to remember is that this is actually HIS house and I'm just lucky he allows me to live there with him.

Explore. Dream. Discover. Yep, it's MY Bucket List!

Bucket List = Things I would very much like to try in my life before I'm not able to try them any more!

Lately I've been reading more and more blogs about people and their bucket lists, and although I'm not a massive fan of bandwagons, I'm jumping on this one and taking it for a ride. Man. I've thought about this list for a while, and I couldn't care LESS that some of them might be on other people's lists or that they might not be considered original. They are important to ME. So thereeeeeee.

So without much further ado...Katie's Bucket List (capitals and everything, oh yeah.)


• Visit every continent (must first learn about continents.)

• Put down a track in a recording studio. Of sorts.

• Visit Devil’s pool in Zambia

• Go on a TV game show

• Travel in a helicopter

• Visit Rio Celeste in Costa Rica

• Eat a steak in Argentina

• Go to Panama (wearing a Panama hot. Obvs.)

• Ride on an elephant

• Wear size 12 jeans

• Learn another language. Fluently.


HOWEVER, I must confess that thinking about the ol' bucket list made me think about what I've done in life so far that is pretty cool (if I say so myself) so I kind of made my own 'done it already list' to lay it out there...what??! Have you never added something to a list that you've already done just to tick it off??

• Zip line in Honduras
• Safari in Kenya

• Appear on a TV show (prime time in case you didn’t know)

• Contract typhoid in Uganda

• Camp in the Serengeti

• Help build a house in Honduras

Weirdly, as a child (and I suppose in later years too!) I was always jealous of anyone who broke a bone because I'd never broken one myself, so I was fairly satisfied when I broke my ankle last year during a netball match, but the satisfaction didn't last long when I had to hire a mobility scooter on a trip to Disneyland Paris...

I'm off to the newsagent to get that winning lottery ticket now.

Where's your bucket list then? Hey?

Things I'm excited about on a Sunday evening...

Nothing. Goodnight.

Only kidding!

• Having my Christmas tree up! Although does it weird anyone else out that you have a garishly decorated tree in their living room? Feels kind of grotesque, but the kind that I like too much to stop...
• The tin of miniature heroes under aforementioned Christmas tree
• X-Factor final - come on Miss. Amelia Lily (it's a quiet week for me ok?)

Errrrr...

This was a pointless exercise. It's Sunday and I'm hungover, who am I kidding?

On another note, there are too many things that I like from this photo taken last Wednesday, yes it was a school night... (I need to buy a new dress I think, I wear this one a LOT) I'm practicing sustainable fashion though.

Goodnight x

'Africa has never really appealed to me...'

...Is something someone said to me last night. I actually think I held it together quite well considering how much this comment bothered me. Also good considering I'd had a litre of very nice red wine and no dinner by that point too.

ARRGHHH I just don't like it when people wipe out a whole continent from their mind simply because of what they hear on the news or what they think of as rational in their hair-brained minds...

This guy followed it up with 'because the crime in Johannesburg is awful'. Yes, you're right spongehead, the WHOLE of Africa is the same as Johannesburg, anyone want to swap seats with me?

Be sure to have lots of fun on your Spanish holiday where you never leave the compound of the resort and complain that people don't speak English and there's no decent TV shows or you don't like the food...

Breathe. Count to ten.

Idiot. Travel is about opening the mind, breaking down boundaries and opening the mind. Oh, I said that already...oops.

I've seen you wearing that dress before...

I was reading Company magazine in bed this morning (perfect hangover reading fodder) and I found myself getting increasingly frustrated by the fact that magazines, and the wider media too, constantly point out a celebrity wearing *shock horror* the same article of clothing more than once! But look! She wore that bag TWO YEARS AGO - Kate Winslet, hang your head in SHAME...

The media been doing this for years and I think it has always amused me more than anything, of course they have plenty of money, why should they have to wear an item more than once? Surely they can afford to wear new underwear every day if they wanted to? In fact I do recall reading that a male A-list celebrity never wore the same pair of socks twice. Socks. Is that just indulgence, laziness or greed because he is able to afford new socks every day? If he worked in an office or stacked shelves in a supermarket there's a slim chance things might be different on the sock front methinks.

Why has it become a massive deal for anyone in the public eye to re-use their clothes? In today’s society where you have a different bin to encourage recycling and supermarkets are berating you for not bringing your own re-useable bags and heaven forbid you leave your TV on standby overnight; it seems laughable that the media are not doing their part to change this mindset that celebrities should be pinpointed if they wear the same thing more than once.

Thinking of my own meagre wardrobe, I would reach crisis point within two weeks if I had the paparazzo outside my door pointing the finger for wearing something twice. I often buy an article of clothing and wonder what the hell I wore before I owned it because I wear it so often…

I was inspired by Sheena and her Uniform Project fundraiser for children in India when she pledged to wear a little black dress for a year in support of sustainable fashion. More celebrities should take note and give this a shot themselves in my humble opinion.

Now, I am not what you might call a fashion aficionado. Haute couture might as well be a dish on a restaurant menu for all I care, and I know there’s a lot of money to be made from fashion, but it hurts my brain to think of all the intricate work that goes on to make a beautiful dress that will be worn once on the red carpet, then who knows where it goes after that?

If I buy a dress that I LOVE, I’d want to wear it again and again and again! It’s sad enough that I’ll never be able to wear my wedding dress again. In public *ahem* actually maybe there's something to be said about the wedding dress indusrty, but that can keep for another day.

Now, if someone was to tell me that all these once-worn clothes go to good homes and fulfil their clothing destiny, then potentially I’ll feel better. I hate to bring the developing world in to it, but I will. I’ve seen enough families in ripped, filthy clothes to feel strongly about this, I don’t feel this frustration is unjustified. There’s so much more that we can be doing to act responsibly when it comes to fashion and recycling what we have in our wardrobes. I’m not saying we need to send our clothes to Africa, but changing this attitude starts at the top, higher than Kate Winslet using her handbag more than once…

Oh, here’s the Uniform Project I was banging on about earlier http://www.theuniformproject.com/

 

Hat trick of shameless same dress wearage! Over and out!

I WILL be thin for this summer...

I've decided to stop drinking, or at least stop drinking during the week, or...failing that at least drink less in general. I realised that every story I told little sister Beth when she was up here the other day started with 'This one time I was hammered' or 'I was so drunk this time' etc...which isn't so good, but I quite like being merry and with the festive season approaching, it's only going to escalate.

So...I've gone and done what I never EVER thought I'd do...no, no that - naughty. I've joined a GYM! And I quite enjoy it! I've got myself kitted out in Nike sports gear (other brands are available) I've made myself a play list of dudes to help motivate me (shout outs to Tinie Tempah, David Guetta, Snoop Dogg and oddly enough, Kelly Clarkson...) and I hit the gym a few times a week, I even went on a Sunday the other week, check me out. See, I enjoy the calories too much to cut back as much as I need to, so it's good old exercise for me as a counter balance. Jessica Alba, watch out love.

What else? Ummm talking of little sister Beth, her and the other half Oli came to stay the other day, which was full of laughs. We went for tapas then on up to the Skylounge in Leeds city centre for one overpriced drink (£8 for a cocktail I tell you...sip it, don't gulp it)

Here we are, roll call!

It's fun having them to stay, we listen to a lot of good music, stay up too late on a school night and laugh a lot when they're here :)

In other news, a fun night was had by all last Saturday for my good friend and colleague Laura's birthday party, hosted at my friend, colleague and gym buddy Nayani's house, then Leeds city centre.

Laura's on the right there, this photo makes me sad though because Rachel on the left is moving hundreds of miles away soon and I won't see her five times a week unless we REALLY make an effort. Humph.

Things I'm excited about:

• Going back to 'things I'm excited about' on here, I've dropped it since getting back from Africa. I blame Africa for this and many other things...
• The in-laws are descending on Leeds/Bradford for the weekend and it's going to get messy
• Going out for dinner with the fabulous newlyweds Brunoff and Mitch (must not ask them how married life is treating them, got SO annoyed with people asking me that...)
• Plodding through my TEFL course - yes life really is that exciting for me...I'm getting my geek on and learning stuff
• Going to see Bryan Adams on December 1st. Sadly it's not just me and him in a room having dinner, but I have to tolerate whoever else has booked to see him in Sheffield...*please no one else turn up* fingers crossed.