weddingy wednesday 18

Decorate-a-thon:

Planning and making the decorations has been by far the most fun part of planning this wedding.
When I mention all the things I have planned, I think some people think I'm nuts. But it's definitely the BEST part.

I'm having such a good time. Last week I revamped a stack of old lamps. This one was beyond a coat of paint or bit of ribbon, it had too many stains. But add some lace, careful snipping, and glue and VOILLA! Totally wedding-worthy I think. :)

dancing on golden lilies

I've just started reading a book this week (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See), set in China in the mid 1800's, the story of a girl growing up basically. I'm not very far in so I can't comment too much myself yet, but there are reviews here and here.

Anyway, I've just gotten past the part about foot binding. It's grotesque but also fascinating. Not knowing too much about the topic, I had assumed the feet were bound tight as a child to prevent them growing any larger. But in the instance spoken about in this book, it's far more involved; a process of remodelling the entire shape of the foot, so that it starts from the heel, arcs straight up through the arch, and straight back down again into a point at the front. To create the point at the front, the big tow is left out, while the other four toes are bound under, pulled in tight along the side of the foot, until the toes eventually break and reset creating a cone shape down the front of the foot. (I won't go into any more detail here, but there's a great blog post overview with pictures here.)

Like I said grotesque but also fascinating.

The process was carried out on all girls in order to make them marry-able.

Lucky for me this no longer applies. However, it strikes me that the shape of these feet are very much replicated in the shape of our everyday high-heels. I hardly ever wear high heels, in fact I've been doing special ankle-aerobics (hehehe, well, sort of) just to get myself strong enough to be able to wear them all day at our wedding. So I'm curious now, wondering... while I'm glad I never had to break my feet to mary my man, I have fallen into reshaping them for the day.
(Having said that... By God my shoes are great! I am dying to wear them!)

I could have worn flats (and I might still pack some for later on in the night anyway), but Mr You is more than a foot taller than me. If I have any chance of getting in a photo with him, I'm going to need all the height I can get! ;)

weddingy wednesday 17

Flowers:


I have just received the rather upsetting news that dahlia's will not be in bloom in time for our wedding.


We had been hoping...
I had been hoping they would be.
Our flower lady has tried very hard to get them, but sadly the answer ended up as a no.

So here I will drench myself in dahlia's to get them out of my system...
Meanwhile I'm off to come up with a plan B.

cake top peeps

Guess what's on my to-do list this week? I'm looking forward to this task :D

Wooden peeps by Goose Greased Undone on Etsy.

P.S. The little ball will be our kitty. Just wanted to clarify that before any racy rumours started ;)

floydine's friends

A little beauty and inspiration for this fine day...
Amazing felt creatures handmade by Floydine's Friends on Etsy.

ring dilemma

Phew busy week. Sorry for not stopping by sooner. A quick wrap up:
- Our kitty was sick for a few days after her shots. :(
- We organised our honeymoon
- We spent last weekend at Mr You's parents place, helping to tidy up before the wedding, making signs and other things.
- My Dad and his family came to meet Mr You's parents for the first time.
- Returned home for a day to catch up on work, before my Mum arrived to stay for a few days.
- We got stuck in and sewed a stack of table runners, did a stack of shopping and other stuff.
- Today is my first free day, but even that is filling up fast.

Once again I apologise for my wedding only blog. Sorry for driving off my bloggy freinds who used to come to see illustration :( I'll get back to normal soon, in a few months. Promise.


Anyhoo.

Having a slight ring dilemma...

Originally I had the idea of getting a wedding ring that complemented my engagement ring, nothing sparkly, just a simple white gold ring, with a unique shape. I went the the jeweller where my engagement ring was from and sat with them for a while trying to come up with something. We couldn't.

I kept trying to come up with something, but it just wasn't happening, so I decided just to get a plain band. So I left it a month or so knowing that wouldn't take long to get. Heading in to order a plain band last week, and I spotted THE perfect ring!

ONLY trouble is that now I've left it so long they can't get the ring in for me until 7 weeks (too late). They can't even re-size the one they've got in stock because my fingers are too frickin' small!

SO I had to forget about it (or at least try to). Unable to believe that there isn't another place that would sell something similar I dragged my poor Mum to every jeweller in town, only to find there wasn't anything similar anywhere else.

Finally had the brainwave to see if a jeweller could make me one (even better because I could customise it a little). I got quotes from a couple. One is less expensive, but is getting married himself this weekend and heading off on a honeymoon. He said he'd get me designs by last night, but I haven't gotten anything through. He said he's confident he'll get it done, but I know what this wedding business is like, and how little time you have left for normal stuff.

So now.... Do I stick with him, trusting that he will get it done in time, even though I know he won't be around much? Or do I go back to the other guy (who also does lovely work, but can be a little forgetful), pay $100 more, and hope that he'll pull through....

I have to decide today.

Wish me luck!
____________________________________

::EDIT::

Done! My ring is ordered!!! Eeeeeeee!

I went back to the first guy (who is getting married this weekend), as he had done the design drawings (but his email wasn't sending). I went and sat with him for an hour today and we perfected the design. The CAD design has been sent to a place where a lazer cuts a mould out of wax, then it will return for the other jeweller there to cast the ring, set the stones and finish up. He's confident it will be done in about 2 weeks, which is perfect!!!!

It was really fun being part of the design process, makes me feel like I had a hand (a very very small hand) in making it. Because, as you know, I like making things myself, this made me very happy.

Thank-you for all your advice and support. Crisis over. Happy camping once again :D
Yay.

weddingy wednesday 16

The Aisle:

I reeeeaaaalllly don't want to walk down the aisle. I just think it seems weird that you have to parade slowly past everyone for them to look at you. The whole idea frightens me. But another gent mentioned to Mr You that watching his wife walk down the aisle towards him was one the best moments of his life, and now Mr You doesn't want to miss out. So... I'll be walking down the aisle towards Mr You. After all it's his wedding, his moment too. :)

Now I'm trying to decide who I'll be pulling along with me. My parents are divorced, so having them both seems a bit weird, having one or the other doesn't seem fair, going solo seems too scary and lonely for me, and walking in with my sister might look as though Mr You is getting 2 for the price of 1. We've talked about this lots and lots, and I'm still not decided, but we keep coming back to the idea that we'd like our wedding to represent unity. Unity, not just for us, but our families, and friends too.

I had the idea of turning up as though we are having a big Indian Hindi wedding, me amongst a crowd of family; my parents, step-parents, sister, 2 half brothers, and maybe an elephant ;) They can all bustle along, me obscured from view in the centre until I get spat out of the crowd at the end of the aisle. :D I love the idea! Although Mr You isn't a fan, he wants to see me... unobscured. Eeeep.

SO....hmmmm, still thinking. Keeping the idea of unity in mind...

In the meantime, here are some nice pics to help win me over to aisle love:








(Pics from With This Ring)

I realise there are lots of alternatives:

- The dancing down the aisle thing on youTube a while ago was great.

- Friends of ours got ready at different locations, met at a third spot for an intimate "look at each other for the first time" moment, then arrived and walked down the aisle together. That was nice. :)

- My Sister waited at the end of the aisle where her now-husband walked up and collected her and they walked down together.

- All the ideas are nice, but they all require walking down the aisle. If I had my way I would be standing with the groom while everyone arrived. But, it's Mr You's moment too, and he is looking forward to it, so I'll do it.
I do it!

weddingy wednesday 15

Flowergirls:

We decided to have flowergirls. We don't need flowergirls, we're not having bridesmaids or best men or anything like that. But we figured we had the opportunity to give two little girls the best memory of the year... maybe even a highlight of their childhood.

We wrote them big letters asking them, and sent them a package of fabric to make the dress of their dreams. They can come up with any design they like! Mind you we've asked the Mum's to oversee that they don't end up looking too much like poofy Disney princesses or child beauty queens. That's a big ask for 4 and 5 year old girls, who both love pink and princessy things. Nevertheless, I'm sure they'll come up with something that they'll love.

I sent them this fabric (yes, some of it is pink), suggesting they could add other fabric if they liked. I like the idea of adding bright colours, maybe a bright peach colour or something, but it's out of my hands now, totally up to them :)



I also sent some inspiration pics to get them thinking outside of the traditional flowergirl dress shape. This picture is from the Coco movie (I like the dresses either side of the frame). But again, it's all in their cute little hands now. (Theirs and those of their Grandma's who have been enlisted as the dressmakers).



I can't wait to see them on the day. It'll be a surprise for us, and I'm so excited to see what they come up with!
I hope they love it.

nie climbs a mountain

Tonight I have spent a few hours catching up on the the past year of the life of Nie.



Some of you might recall, this time last year, fellow blogger, Stephanie and her husband were in a terrible plane crash. They both survived, though their friend did not, but were both left badly injured and burned, and in coma's. The blogging community banded together and put together fund raising events, and maintained her blog by re-posting their favourite posts of hers from the past.

Miraculously, they are both back now, and have just marked the anniversary of the accident by hiking up a mountain.

Catching up on her blog tonight, I have just been reading of their ordeals; the daily pain and new regimes, constant surgeries, her heartbreak for their children, having to leave their beloved home, and her battles to feel right in the world again. Yet, they both remain optimistic, humorous, and incredibly in love. I've been dabbing at tears as I read their stories, but it was this one that left me in a blubbering heap...

Chickie

If you have a couple of boxes of tissues handy, and a spare few hours, I highly recommend re-acquainting yourself with NieNie.
I feel grounded, incredibly grateful, and truly inspired by their story.
It's a damn good reminder to hug everyone you love.



Much love, and healing to you Nie! .xx.

(Photo's by Wendy Whitacre)

the most lovely plates I ever did see

At the risk of sounding like my "All we ever got for Christmas when I was a kid was an orange" Dad, I'm going to start this post with...

Back in my day... as kids, we weren't indulged, or shall I say spoilt. We weren't even allowed to ask for things when we were shopping with Mum. No hint of "Mum, can I please have an icecream?" No Siree! We just weren't allowed.

As I grew into an adult, with my own income, being able to treat myself to little things just for the hell of it, took some getting used to, but was SUCH a thrill. I still feel like I'm giving myself a "treat" when I buy a coffee. :)

Which is maybe the reason I die a little inside everytime I browse through Etsy. An internal battle of inner consciousnesses ensues...

"Oohhhh, I LOVE it! I want it!" (Not that I would ever have been allowed to say that as a kid)
"Yes, but do you NEED it? Is it a necessity? No? Well then, that's that." (Followed by an inner strut off to the cereal isle).

I carry such guilt buying things just for the sake of it. So I try, I try my hardest, to come up with ways to twist a want into a need. After all, isn't it vital for visual people to surround themselves with visually inspiring things? For the benefit of their, you know, career-COUGH COUGH... Okay, so vital might be a bit of an overstatement, but surely it's beneficial... Right?

I understand these plates are one of the most gorgous things I've ever seen, but SERIOUSLY, I don't think of these as anything other than beneficial to the development of my career-COUGH COUGH... Honest Mum!



Bird Plates by Ninainvorm on Etsy.