An opportunity awaits...

Melbourne cup is just around the corner and while you are probably in the same boat as me - finding a new dress to wear along with an over-sized floral arrangement for my hair- you are probably not aware that this is a PERFECT opportunity for you as a future bride.
You have a perfect excuse to wear (and trial) the makeup for your wedding. Call a makeup artist now and book in for Tuesday morning to have your makeup done. That way you will have the chance to see how it lasts, how it looks in photographs and if you are happy with your chosen look.

If you are still stuck for some ideas check out these fantastic styles!

 Pretty, pretty pretty! So sweet!

All hair by The Art of Hair Beecroft and Breakfast Point Creative Teams.
Makeup by Garry Siutz of multimediamakeup.
Photography by Ian Golding.
Shot at The International Education Centre Goldwell KMS, Sydney.
Headband and necklace by Wendy Louise Designs.
Top by The White House.

Naturally stylish look

All hair by The Art of Hair Beecroft and Breakfast Point Creative Teams.
Makeup by Garry Siutz of multimediamakeup.
Photography by Ian Golding.
Shot at The International Education Centre Goldwell KMS, Sydney.
Head band stylist’s own.
Top by The White House.

 

 

Glamorous with a modern, natural twist

All hair by The Art of Hair Beecroft and Breakfast Point Creative Teams.
Makeup by Gorgeous Cosmetics.
Photography by Ian Golding.
Shot at The International Education Centre Goldwell KMS, Sydney.
Hair piece by Headlines Headpieces.
Accessories by Wendy Louise Deisgns.
Top by The White House.

Golden, metallic glamour.

Photo courtesy of Napoleon Perdis

 Another take on the pretty pink using the same shimmery eyeliner as on the first pic.

Photo: Justin Aveling

Hair & Makeup by Bobby Bujisic of Vivien's Creative

Model - Sam of Vivien's Models

So now you are totally inspired, it's time to start organising your makeup for next week. Make sure your friends take heaps of photos in all different lights so you are sure to give the look a complete work out. If you want to inspire your fellow brides, send us your pics so we can share your success!

If you are still trying to decide how to have your hair on the big day or even next week, check out our DIY hair article on the modern wedding site. It's easier to create an incredible look than you think!

Also don't forget to say hi to us on facebook and twitter!!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ModernWeddingMagazine
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ModernWeddingOz
 

Have a great weekend!

K x

The List

Photo by VL photography

 I never get bored of weddings. I am what some would consider a serious wedding junkie. I get excited when people invite me to a wedding because of course they're letting me into one of the most important days of their lives. Also I think as each wedding is so individual, each choice a couple makes often reflects them and you get to know them a bit better although it is of course in a heightened sense of reality. Every day is of course nowhere near as dramatic or stressful-thankfully!

I think my friends are similar to I although we had vastly different weddings. For each of us there was a list of things that we thought were important and things that were less important. I'm always curious to see what falls into the most important category. For me:

Of vital importance-shoes! Save or splurge? Splurge!

Splurge:

My dress and shoes
Photography
Reception Food
Ceremony

Save:

Cars
Table decorations
Bombonierre
Flowers

Our bombonierre. Save or splurge? Save!

And how important something was determined how much we spent on it. A wedding already costs a great deal as it is (ours was easily a house deposit) but we had to put the cap on it some places. And the easiest way was with where we thought was less important. Now that doesn't mean that what you spend less money on is any less impressive. We managed to a) borrow a car from an uncle that had a particularly nice and wedding appropriate car b) used simple table decorations and used scattered rose petals c) found gorgeous heart shaped tea infusers for a steal from the United States (shhh don't tell my guests! ;) ).

My wedding dress. Save or splurge? Splurge!

With that, I felt more freedom to spend on a Collette Dinnigan wedding dress and Manolo Blahnik shoes and a great reception venue. And even though my husband thought that I was slightly crazy, by some minor miracle we came in (just) under the allocated budget.

However, I sent around a quick email to my friends this week asking them what the thought was the most important 5 things and least important 5 things. And what I noticed was one friend said that flowers were the most important thing to her and she spent a small fortune on the flowers (almost as much as a bespoke dress!). And thinking back about it, her flowers were spectacular and we all loved them. The flowers were so very her and so was her wedding. Another friend's (whom I shall call Martha Stewart Jnr) main focus was the table decorations. She worked with the venue to do create some truly amazing centrepieces. I like to think that she is going after Colin Cowie's crown ;)

So tell me Past, Present, Future Modern Wedding brides, what did you splurge on and what did you save on?
Also don't forget we've got a facebook and twitter page! Stop by and say hello :)

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ModernWeddingMagazine
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ModernWeddingOz

Love & Bombonierre,

L
xxx

Tickled Pink

Barbie by Stefano Canturi

I was captivated recently by Stefano Canturi’s Barbie. Along with the rest of the Modern Wedding team, I sat starry-eyed and heart aflutter: mesmerised by the spectacular one carat purplish pink Argyle diamond featured in her necklace.

The pink diamond is admired as the rarest and most sought after stone in the world, but with less than a decade of estimated supply remaining in WA’s Argyle Diamond Mine, the pink diamond is becoming more precious... and more elusive. 

 

Although the Argyle Diamond Mine supplies over ninety percent of the world’s pink diamonds, just one tenth of one percent of the 25 million carats of diamonds recovered from Argyle each year are pink. A whole year’s worth of production yields barely enough stones to fill the palm of your hand!

 

These to-die-for diamonds are so few and far between that each stone is an instant heirloom. With pink universally considered to be the colour of love, it’s no wonder they are so coveted by collectors, celebrities and jewellers. A special grading system categorises the colour and intensity of each stone. Colours range from Red to Pink, Purplish Pink, Pink Rosé, Pink Champagne and Violet.

L - R: Emerald Cut, Heart Cut, Brilliant Cut Pink Diamonds from Mondial Neuman Pink Diamond Gallery

The Argyle Diamond Mine recently released the 2010 Pink Diamonds Tender. Entitled Earth Magic, this year’s collection includes some incredibly vivid and intense pink stones, as well as a one-of-a-kind tiara designed by iconic jeweller Asprey.

Musson Jewellery

Mondial Neuman

Mondial Neuman

Musson Jewellery

Tickled pink and spellbound like me? What is it about pink diamonds that makes them so desirable?

 

For more information on pink diamonds visit www.argylepinkdiamonds.com.au

 

For more inspiration and stunning sparklers check out www.modernwedding.com.au

 

 

Byron Bliss

Our friends at MM Photo have shared with us a recent wedding they shot that touched their hearts. Anthony and Stella's stunning wedding was set in the hopelessly romantic Byron Bay. 
A little background knowledge? Stella's beautiful dress was made by Judy, her old teacher.
The flowers were arranged by Wildflowers in Byron and the reception and accommodation was at BlueGreen House, Byron.
Beautiful wedding guys - congratulations!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael from MM Photos says "AJ and Stella were such a great couple and on such a perfect day at Byron Bay, the setting can't get much better. My favourite moments were shooting up at the light house. Such a romantic location and beautiful view. Felt like a real fly on the wall up there and could tell the couple were so in love. Also had a lot of fun playing with AJ and Stella in the white sand next to the lake and of course trying to keep their dog (who was in fact a member of the wedding party) out of the way."

A bride's essential diet

Last night I saw an outrageous show - "3 Fat Brides and a Thin Dress" on GEM, channel nine's new station. It was fantastic viewing, packed full of drama... but while I was being entertained and shocked by the brazen statements Gillian McKeith, diet dictator, was throwing at the girls, I did have a bit of a moral issue with the show. I agree with the main message that it is a serious health risk to be obese, but the show comes dangerously close to preaching that all brides should routinely lose weight before their wedding -  this is an unhealthy message that can push already fragile brides into obsession over weight loss.
The show redeems itself however, with great information about the specific benefits some foods provide, it also makes you question your so called 'need' for a chocolate fix.
For a bride, the most important thing to do is to keep your stress levels down and have a healthy balance of diet and exercise - don't go overboard with any one thing.
Stress can easily get to you, especially in the last weeks of your wedding planning, so all brides need some help keeping this unwanted stress at bay so here are some fab foods to stock up on in the last month of your planning - eating these great foods will ensure you stress less, your skin and hair glow, and you feel refreshed on your big day.
Here are our top 5 stress-less foods:

Number ONE

Blueberries
These succulent black beauties are full of antioxidants and vitamin C, which are the perfect de-stresses. Theses high fiber treats will ensure you don't suffer cramps or constipation, which are often associated with stressful times.

Image: Andrew Simpson

Number TWO

Mangos, Oranges and Kiwi Fruits
These fruits offer high levels of vitamin C, which is a crucial ingredient to stress-less diets. Mixing these fruits with eggs, milk or cheese (foods high in B2) will help you say goodbye to anxious feelings.

Image: Berkeley Robinson

 Number THREE

Broccoli
Another B2 food that has another magic trick under it's sleeve! It contains the all essential folic acid, which directly fights anxiety, stress and even depression.

Image: Pontus Edenberg

Number FOUR

Fish
More B vitamins! Fish contains B6 and B12 - the famous stress-fighters. B12 is renowned for it's involvement in producing the happy brain chemical serotonin - in fact if you don't get enough B12 you can suffer depression. 

Image: Thornsa

Number FIVE

Almonds
A great snack to take everywhere you go! Chockers full of riboflavin (B2), vitamin E, magnesium and zinc. the magnesium also helps produce serotonin, vitamin E will fight toxins and zinc wards off negative effects of stress.

Image: Jerry Liu

Keep these top five foods in your diet and you will be walking down the aisle a very balanced, glowing and relaxed(ish) bride.

favours these days

Those little thank yous. Only a smidgen of a sign of how much you appreciate your friends and family, but still, it is the littlest details that people remember. Small tokens say so much, because you didn't have to, but you did.  

Here and there in weddings, couples are opting down the track of small gifts, food+drinks or flowers+plants. How cute are these ideas!

From top: Vintage book stack from Design Talented One, little pots of flowers (double as a place setting), duck egg blue fans for a beautiful summer's day, toffee apples from Reeaadd, lace fans Modern Wedding Shop, hand-printed coffee bags, heart holographic glasses, salted caramel jars from Cacoa Bakery, twine spools from Craft Pile

finding a venue...

It always seems to happen this way. We were having breakfast with our friends from out of town. All through the course of heavenly free-range eggs tricolore, I was pondering whether I could drag these wonderful girls through a possible venue across the road. Convenient, I know. However, they hardly needed convincing and practically rushed me out of the café, over the road and through the rustic iron gates of this delightful place.

I barely said a word but wandered through the courtyard and evergreen gardens, admiring the manor in the distance. French shutters, stone steps, federation style verandah. Need I say more?

Without giving away too much, I am now practically envisioning the place filled with our families sipping sparkling wine, strolling through the gardens with jazz trickling out of the windows.

I am very tempted by these event stylers to bring out the rustic charm of this venue.

From top: Angels Dreaming, Chantelle Grady, Amour Amour, Georgeous, Glen Allsop , Grandiflora, Poppy Lane , Amini Concepts, To Embellish, Zoe Gallina