Our wedding day: all the pretty dresses

It's been so much fun writing about the wedding! I can't believe it's more than a month ago. This post is the topic that everyone is asking me about - the clothes! All pictures are by Fresh Photography unless stated.

I had such an extensive wedding wardrobe! Two dresses, three jackets, two pairs of shoes and two bras! It was lots of fun to have wardrobe changes, and also kept me comfortable.

Having two dresses was extravagant but practical. Plus my first dress was on an incredible sale, and my second dress was kindly gifted.

Dress one was more bride-y than I'd ever imagined I'd wear. I bought it in June 2014 from Fairytales Bridal Boutique - Mum actually picked it out. It had six skirt layers and half a metre of tulle was cut off as I'm so short. It was adjusted with a lace up panel at the back to accommodate my bust. My lovely dressmaker altered it - I think I spent more time standing in it for fittings than wearing it on the wedding day!

I loved it - I felt like a princess!

I wore some soft gold glitter peep toe wedges for the ceremony and some of the photos, but I soon removed them and replaced them with some comfier soft gold ballet flats. My dress length was just right for both pairs of shoes. I can wear my shoes again.

In the lead up to our wedding, I was really worried about how the boning in my very bride-y dress would affect my skin. I asked married girlfriends with Ichthyosis for advice on how they kept comfortable on their big day, and also asked my dressmaker friend to make a simple jersey band to wear underneath the bodice - to avoid the synthetic fabric hurting me. I was also lucky to be given a second wedding dress from St Frock to change into, should I need to.

(Picture by Camille)

I managed to stay comfortable in my traditional dress from 1.30 - 9.00 pm. And then I wanted to be able to sit comfortably, eat dessert and dance. Oh yeah, and go to the toilet on my own! And my forearms were getting a little sore from the lack of moisture. So I layered up (with a Metalicus 3/4 sleeve top that disappointingly ran on first wear), the sequinned maxi dress and a little coatlet plus a brooch in the wedding theme colours.

This dress was made for dancing! So swishy and comfortable.

Thanks St Frock!

It's important for me to cover up and as much as I'd loved to have bare arms, it wasn't possible. I get itchy, dry, cold and sore. Plus I wouldn't have bare arms in every day life. And so I covered up with jackets.

For the ceremony, I went traditional - my big white dress and a simple lace bolero that was handmade and given to by my friend Jackie who runs clothing label M'gapi. It was so soft and comfortable to wear - beautifully made to measure.

(Picture by Sandra)

During the official photos, I put on a coloured jacket which was lots of fun! That was by a UK brand called Darling (I bought it from a shop in Yarraville that's recently closed down), and while it's not on sale in store, I saw a couple on eBay.

I promise to write more about this jacket in a future post - it really was the feature of the wedding.

And I put a winter white coatlet on with my second dress (the coatlet was from a bridal store in the city that has now shut down), and pinned the collar with a brooch from Clay and Chic on Etsy. (There's a photo of the brooch below.)

My headpiece was handmade - I found an amazing artist at the Etsy bridal fair. Ashlee Lauren, from South Australia, created a lavish headpiece for me - it fit like an Aliceband. It was rose gold, silver and crystals.

The jewellery was simple - a pearl and cubic zirconia pendant on a silver chain (from Salera's), a pearl bracelet (from Royal Pearl and Gem in Royal Arcade Melbourne CBD) and my grandmother's engagement ring - which is a blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds. I put my engagement ring on my right hand. Now I have my wedding ring, I have been wearing it on my right hand and my engagement ring on my left (my hands have been too sore and swollen to wear them both on one finger right now).

Adam wore a dark blue suit - a suede-like jacket with brown elbow patches (from Peter Jackson), suit pants (from Connor), a white shirt (also from Connor) and a cornflower blue bow tie (from Peter Jackson). He accessorised with Yoda socks (I got them from an online comic store) and a Mickey Mouse Jedi pin I bought from Paris Disneyland.

He looked so dapper! This was the first time I've seen him in a suit!

Camille made dresses for her and Cassie - they were pink and blue shantung silk. I said they could wear whatever they felt comfortable in, as long as it was in the colour scheme. The dresses were so simple and pretty, and I hope they get lots of wear out of them again. Camille did such a great job! She even made matching bags. Their jewellery was their own.

Jason told me he wore a blue blazer, a shirt with red floral pattern, pink check tie and black stripe suit.

He had Blundstone boots, undies by Bonds, and a buttoniere by Nic's Button Buds.

My mum wore an amazing black and hot pink jacquard dress from Anthea Crawford. It went perfectly with the bridal party. I loved it so much!

Dad had a white shirt, striped tie and black pants on. He was adamant he wasn't going to wear a suit... Too restrictive to dance in I guess!

Read more wedding posts here.

 

The Dressmaker Exhibition at Ripponlea Estate.

A sponsored post brought to you by Nuffnang and the National Trust of Victoria.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening of The Dressmaker costume exhibition at Ripponlea last week. What a beautiful, opulent experience, seeing the Parisian inspired fashions from the film.

I saw The Dressmaker film with my Mum last year, and loved it. Here's a bit about the film in case you need a refresher.

"Based on the best-selling novel by Rosalie Ham, The Dressmaker is a bittersweet, comedy-drama set in early 1950s Australia. Tilly Dunnage (Kate Winslet), a beautiful and talented misfit, after many years working as a dressmaker in exclusive Parisian fashion houses, returns home to the tiny middle-of-nowhere town of Dungatar to right the wrongs of the past. Not only does she reconcile with her ailing, eccentric mother Molly (Judy Davis) and unexpectedly falls in love with the pure-hearted Teddy (Liam Hemsworth), but armed with her sewing machine and incredible sense of style, she transforms the women of the town and in so doing gets sweet revenge on those who did her wrong."

Kate Winslet perfected the country Aussie accent as Tilly Dunnage, and Liam Hemsworth, who played Teddy, was quite nice to look at (especially as he was being measured for a suit!). I spent a lot of the film gasping at each beautiful costumes. So it was wonderful to see these costumes up close in person.

The exhibition transported us back to the film - set in the 1950s, to the country town of Dungatar - the searing heat of the fields, the sweaty, rowdy football games and the glamour of a country wedding. There are 50 designs on show - worn by Kate Winslet, Sarah Snook, Rebecca Gibney, Allison Whyte and Hugo Weaving - to name just a few cast members.

Before the exhibition opened, author Rosalie Ham spoke about how pleased she was with the adaptation of her book. She said how her writing process, particularly when she created the imagery of the costumes, was a lot like a dressmaker creating the costumes.

She and a few family members played extras in the film.

Rosalie Ham said in creating the costumes in the book, she created the personality of the characters, accentuating their faults. This was clear in the film - the more over the top the dress, the less genuine and nice the personality. Tilly Dunnage, hoping to redeem her reputation, made and wore such elegant clothes. Regal even. Her wardrobe had the very integrity she was trying to prove to the people of Dungatar. Tilly also transformed the people of Dungatar with her fashions - taking them from rags to riches. Her skill was so sought after.

Marion Boyce, acclaimed dressmaker, made a short speech - thanking the crew, and making a special mention to the cast who endured the Corsetry in the heat of country Australia. Marion's favorite costume was the one above - black with chiffon pleated sleeves. I loved it too, Marion.

It's easy to see why Marion has won so many awards for her costume design - the level of artisanship and detail is spectacular. The ballgown Gertrude (played by Sarah Snook) wore is encrusted in beads, so delicate and beautiful.

One of my favourite parts of the exhibition what the video explaining how Molly Dunnage's (played by Judy Davis) old sweat stained, well worn clothing was made. There was a room full of her clothes - they certainly didn't smell like I expected them to!

Another highlight for me was Tilly's sewing room - filled with fabrics, a feather boa and a dressmakers dummy. I loved the image of Tilly sewing. It made me feel I was on the film set.

There was glorious millinery.

This was my favourite style. Stunning.

And this was my favourite colour.

I wore my wedding jacket to this special event. I felt so chic among the wedding party.

There's so much more I could show you, but you really should see it yourself. I can't wait to go again with my mum and friends.

The Dressmaker exhibition is held at Ripponlea Estate, Elsternwick until 31 July. For more information, visit The Dressmaker website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our wedding day: official photography by Fresh Photography

 

Our official wedding photographers have just sent us through all photos of our special day. There are so many to choose from, so here are just a few. Husband and wife team Souri and Andreas from Fresh Photography captured the emotions of the day perfectly. I love seeing everyone so happy – dancing and laughing. As I looked through them, I had tears.

Our wedding took place in Balaclava, so the photography locations were urban – think house fronts, trams and street art, and of course our wonderful venue. There was lots of interesting street art around Red Scooter, which added a pop of colour to the photos. The photography session between the ceremony and reception was a lot of fun for us (and we hope fun for our guests – they mingled and drank at the bar).

 

I first met Souri and Andreas from Fresh Photography at the Kidspot Voices of 2014 event – Souri blogs at Fabulous Femme and she was one of the winners of the beauty awards. She wrote about that here. It was really good to have seen Andreas in action at the awards night, and to have a reference point through their blogs. I remember looking at their portfolio online with Adam, inspired by the unique photo style, and saying to Adam "they're the ones we want to work with on our wedding day"

Isn't it brilliant how blogging brings people together?!

 

Souri was so calming, and Andreas was lively during the reception. They put us at ease from our first meeting and of course on the day, and I know we will stay friends.

Souri and Andreas donated the fee for our wedding to charities that are meaningful to them. So lovely. I cannot recommend Souri and Andreas enough.

See lots of Fresh Photography’s photos from our day on their blog.