Alice.

I know I'm a little late on the band wagon, but I love Alice in Wonderland!

I saw it a couple of weeks ago and I was expecting the amazing makeup, the wonderful computer graphics, the quirky interpretation.

What I wasn't expecting was the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G costume design.

Alice herself goes through about 6 costume changes (from what I can remember). We can all thank Colleen Atwood for combining whimsy, imagination and beauty into her costumes for this movie.

Here are some stand outs:

Alice shrinks and her petticoat becomes a dress, so nice!

My favourite, the Mad Hatter whipped it up :)

Notice her cute little slippers with bows around the ankles? Great detail!

I LOVE fashion sketches!

images via Rebels Haven, alice kingsley livejournal and flickr

A lot of things going on.

Sorry for the lack of posting, just had heaps going on this week!

Work has been crazy and we have been trying to smash our wedding-related task list so that when Zac goes on his teaching prac in a couple of weeks we're in the best possible position to focus on that, rather than wedding stuff...

In other news,

This bouquet is beautiful:

Wedding Style Guide via Polka Dot Bride

This shoot is where I want to be:

via A Glamorous Little Side Project

And we have found a font we like.. it's kinda girly, but not toooo flouncy, a little musical (think Bass Clefs) and Chantelle has already bought it because we liked it:

Jessica Hische

Consoles.

From what I can decipher from the email Orielle sent me, those console tables are $28 to hire.

For both.

Done.

love.

I am so in love with this man.

My heart gets that funny achey feeling just looking at photos like this....

Brides in the News.

So wrong. Why is it that that these women are driven to crazy by planning their wedding? I say they should go visit Meg to get some sane back.

Headline: "ANGRY BRIDEZILLA TRASHES US BRIDALWEAR SHOP"

Stand Out Quote: Three men later turned up at the store accompanied by the bride-to-be and a huge brawl erupted, in an incident caught on CCTV ... mannequins in the store were picked up and used as weapons.

Headline: "LEANNE WALKER'S DRUG EMPIRE PAID FOR BRIDE'S BIG DAY"

Stand Out Quote: Police said the drug money helped paid for a stretch hummer to come from Melbourne, bridesmaids' dresses and the wedding cake.

Headline: "LESBIAN BRIDE SHARON HANCOX ARRESTED"

Stand Out Quote: Her lawyer, Steve Burnell, said she did not "fully appreciate" that the stiletto was in her hand when she lunged at Mr. Jenkins.

Furniture.

Legged it to the south of the river this afternoon to visit a few small stores to see if they would consider lending/renting me some of their furniture. My theory being that it may be easier to rent a couple of black queen anne console tables (on the cheap) from a small business owner than from an established hire company.

I visited:

French Vanilla, Applecross

They have 2 rounded console tables, but they are that 'shabby/chic' white. After seeing some lovely black furniture they had, I think I am convinced that black will work better within our colour scheme. They just look a little more streamlined and masculine, the shabby/chic look is very, very feminine and we aren't the biggest fan. They didn't seem opposed to the idea of renting, but I decided to call back later because they were moving the shop around.

Orielle, Como

I have driven past this store so many times, but it was only today that I realised they had changed the signage in their window to "Orielle White Wedding" and now have an active hire business. They have quite a few pieces of French-style furniture, a website and they have 2 black console tables that we can hire (no pictures unfortunately). Still waiting to hear back from the lady as to how much they will be to hire.

This chaise lounge is quite nice: hire price is $180. I can't deny it would look lovely for some photos and somewhere to sit while champagne and canapes are being handed around.

Black furniture: See how it is a little more understated? Still quite strong, though...

Their typical wedding set up, apparently they can cover the chairs in whatever fabric you like. That's a pretty cool hire feature. You can see a white version of the console table in this photo:

They also have this birdcage that caught my eye, not that we need it. I can't decide if it is more impressive, rather than pretty. Do you know what I mean? A bit over the top for my taste.

all images from Orielle

A couple more places to go and see:

Corner Store, Claremont

Queen of Theme, North Perth

All that being said, none of these things are essential to getting married, I won't even be worried if it doesn't pan out. Although, the former Events Girl in me says, "Why not try if you have the time?"

Float.

This is one of those, "If we were getting married in Summer...." things.

What a nice way to visually represent how you can feel when you're head-over-heels-floating-on-air love. Could totally see this as a ceremony decoration in the Pioneer Women's Park in Kings Park, or on the South Perth Foreshore or at Voyager Estate in Margaret River.

Via Apartment Therapy.

Created by landscape architect Gustafson Porter for the 2008 Venice Architectural Biennale.

New Series.

On Fridays I am going to be posting about some venues in Western Australia. I enquired about so many venues when I was looking for somewhere to get married and it was hard because there weren't many places that you could just google that had a huge list of contemporary or nicely styled venues. It is hard sifting through hundreds of different websites, so hopefully this will help someone out there! Let me know if you are hunting for something specific and I will try to help out!

So without further ado - here are some venues that I think would suit someone looking for old-world charm, with some modern sensibilities. These particular venues have both a lovely outdoor garden area and charming inside rooms for other functions.

Peel Manor House

Located outside of the metropolitan area, this venue has a lovely garden area and a nice driveway to arrive in. The inside of the house is a little old fashioned, but it's finished in neutral colours and you could decorate it really nicely. You can book accommodation at Peel Manor House and there is a beautiful lake area that would be nice for an outdoor ceremony.

Website: www.peelmanorhouse.com.au

photos via Peel Manor House

Cottesloe Civic Centre

Another popular wedding venue, because golly, look at that view!! The huge grass area overlooking the Indian Ocean is gorgeous, the ceremony staircase is romantically styled (Zac and I even explored there just before we got engaged!) the formal gardens offer a whole bunch of outdoor reception areas, marquee areas and there are indoor rooms if you prefer (or if you think it will be cold at night). The whole complex is style, style, style... I love the Civic Centre, even if no one else is around and you're just exploring with your honey :)

Website: Cottesloe local government

photos via (1) (2) (3)

Caversham House

One of the more popular wedding locations in Perth, but of course, there is a reason for that reputation. Beautifully maintained limestone walled formal gardens and a beautiful french-styled interior in the reception area. Did I mention this place has it's own boat and dock if you want to use it? Oh, did I also mention it has a massive waterfall you can walk behind? So beautiful...

Website: www.cavershamhouse.com.au

All photos from Caversham House

Pranks.

There is a horrible tradition on my Mum's side of the family that I am really hoping doesn't carry through to our wedding day...

Pranking.

My Aunt Katherine, who was working in a lab with rats doing science was greeted on her wedding day with two chauffuers dressed as rats. They whipped off their costumes to reveal suits just before they walked into the church, but golly what a shock!

My Uncle Kevin HATES cats. He woke up the next morning to cats crawling all over his car, someone had tied some bait fish to the engine block.

My Aunt Michelle was blocked in her driveway by two Luigi's (i.e. "Sava da Money") with flannel hats, bonds singlets, work shorts and thongs telling her to "backa away from da car, donna scratch my car wid your car!"

I think she yelled out, "YOU BASTARDS!!!" and ran after them. The whole street came out to watch and laugh and clap. The Luigis had their suits in the trunk too...

The ultimate was my poor mother, who married last. They didn't do anything, but on purpose. My poor mum was fretting about it the whole day, wondering what they would do!

That is why I am being very tight lipped around my extended family when it comes to how the day is running and what is being planned. Hopefully the first exact information they know will come from the invitation! haha :)

It's hard being secretive around my Nana, but she is the worst! She loads the guns and then blames everyone else for firing....

Tennis Fail.

I played tennis against a wall today. I think the wall won!?

SIGH.

Lacoste, via

One day I will be a tennis-playing-Stepford-woman. With pearls.

Gala Darling

Also: unrelated but amusing

Cherie.

I want to live in Paris in the Springtime, riding bicycles, eating macarons, trying on dresses, skipping down stairs and taking off under a big bunch of pastel balloons!

Earring update.

I went into Oroton during my lunch break again on Saturday and bought the second pair of earrings that I posted about (the pearls). They look great, really happy with them.

The gentleman in the store was VERY excited that I was getting married. Here is how the conversation flowed:

me: Hey, I'm trying to decide between a couple of pairs of earrings, but I'm leaning toward--

him: NO! those ones are TOO GAUDY for a wedding, you want to be CLASSIC, CHIC, you don't really want to be looking back in 20 years and asking, "Why did I wear those earrings?"**

me: Uh, yes - that's why I was leaning toward these ones - do you think they are a good size?

him: Yes, absolutely, CLASSIC, CLASSY! What is your dress like?

me: It's an Aurelio Costarella--

him: OH MY GOD, COSTARELLA!! *dying noise* was it expensive?

me: Uh, no, cheaper than some monstrosities I tried on in the bridal stores...

him: Wow, oh that will be amazing. When are you getting married? Where at?

me: July, at The Old Brewery

him: Oh wow - Winter wedding! I think I've only been to 1 Winter wedding and that was when I was like 6 or something. OH MY GOD, THE OLD BREWERY IS SOOOOOO NICE.

me: Thanks

him: So what made you pick July?

me: Well, my fiance is still studying and there is a uni break then, plus we both really like Winter

him: What does he study?

me: He is doing a Jazz degree at WAAPA and an education degree at ECU.

him: ECU? Isn't that AGES away? Does he have to drive far? I study marketing and advertising.

me: The WAAPA campus is in Mt Lawley, so it isn't too bad.

him: Oh cool, JAZZ IS SO COOL. I'm a drummer, but I could never do Jazz, too fast.

me: Yeah, the drummers are insane!

him: So your fiance must be pretty young huh?

me: Yes, *slightly embarrassed* he is 21

him: OH MY GOD - how old are you?

me: *even more embarrassed* I'm 24 - slight cougar

him: NO WAY, that's not a big difference, but you guys are so yooooung!!

me: I know, "young love" and all that. It's pretty sweet. Zac says it's all about the person, rather than the age, though so I'm sticking with that!

him: Oh yes, definitely, and if the GUY is saying that then it's all good and it's all on!

me: Uh yeah, I guess so!

him: Ok, are you a member of the "O Club"?

me: No...

him: Oh you should be, definitely. OH MY GOD!!!! I'LL SIGN YOU UP UNDER YOUR MARRIED NAME!!!

me: Ok....

him: *squeak* how do you spell it?

me: g-a-g-e-l-e-r

him: There all done! Let me know how it all goes!!!!!!

me: thank you :)

I seriously, wasted so much of my lunch break in there. But it is nice when people are excited with you...

**hopefully this isn't what I will be thinking about in 20 years?!?

Ode to Floor Time.

I have a list of things that I love about Zac.

I know. I'll just let that revelation of dorkitude sink in for you.

Anyway, this list started when I was still scared about being in a relationship that I saw 'going somewhere' to reassure me about all the things that I loved about Zac, so I wouldn't talk myself out of it. I've added to it and sometimes I look over it to feel all those 'falling in love' feelings again.

Right now, Zac is having 'floor time'.

It's funny, he gets annoyed, frustrated or overwhelmed and he hits the floor. Some people call it a "Dead Man's Drop" but we call it Floor Time.

Floor Time is so endearing. I love it. Sometimes I join in. Things really do seem better when you're lying on the floor with the one you love......

So Floor Time is going on the list :)

Etiquette.

I was remembering back to about a week after we got engaged, Zac and I walked in the door after church and my parents had some friends over. Dad and Mum explained that we had just got engaged and Donna said, "Congratulations" to Zac and "Felicitations" to me.

I thought that was pretty cool and she explained that traditional etiquette was to say 'felicitations' to the lady because you wanted to celebrate her happiness, rather than congratulate her on her 'achievement' of advancing up the social and economic ladder.

I had heard of some etiquette do and don't requirements before, but this one was new to me.

4 Months!!

Oh my gosh!

It's exactly fourth months until we get married.

Time absolutely flies!

Earrings.

I am going sans necklace on our wedding day, I'm thinking I might wear some drop earrings and possibly a bracelet (but I'm not sure about the bracelet).

I saw these in the Oroton store during my break last week and they look nice.

Oroton 3 Hoop Crystal earrings. $150. Via

These are a bit more classic:

Oroton Audrey Pearl and Crystal earrings. $65

These are from an online store that copy celebrity earrings. I've always liked this style of earring that Oprah wears:

Hollywood Style Oprah earrings. $34.95

Any thoughts?

Bubblegum.

I'm loving this look, not sure if I could pull it off, but I like it regardless!

Via Junebug Weddings

Altar.

I'm not sure how we are going to decorate our ceremony area, we really want the view to be the main visual interest, but I keep feeling we need to dress the space, somehow.

At the moment, we are thinking a console table would look nice with a couple of flower arrangements. That way we can have a cool piece of furniture to sign our documents, rather than a poxy cafe table covered in 2x tableclothes and a coloured overlay. Something like this, perhaps even black?

Lucite or glass?

Or some blocks

photos from: 1) Corner Store 2) Elle Decor 3) Freedom 4) Style Me Pretty

or just some tall flower arrangements?

Decisions, decisions....

This week.

Woops, haven't done one of these for a while! The last few weeks have seen us complete the following, looking back it seems like a lot!

• Met with Chantelle to talk about our invitation suite, finalised our wording etc.
• Picked a new colour scheme for our wedding day. Golly, I love planning parties!
• Met with Sweet Floral, Applecross Studio Flowers and Lesmurdie Florist and Gifts regarding our flowers. Expensive, wishing I could be talented enough to do this myself.
• Paid the deposit for The Old Brewery
• Chose the music for our ceremony and reception - Zac is a legend! We are really happy with our ceremony songs. Jazzy and sweet. Maybe I'll post on them later...
• Found a makeup artists - Jane Wong, recommended by my friend, colleague and fellow bride-to-be Bonnie
• Bought Clare's shoes, yes I got them. This new season in shoe-land was really uninspiring. Too many buckles, studs, velvet and horror. As Sarah so aptly put it, "one side of the shoe says SWEET, the other side is WHORE WHORE WHORE". Yeah, not great for a wedding. Considering dyeing them to be a little less "bridal".
• Picked up Clare's dress, Zac has not seen it yet. Miracle.
• Went out a few times trying to find bridesmaid dresses - proving to be a difficult task! Morrison, Myer, Review, Aurelio Costarella, Alannah Hill, Forever New, nothing nice in our price range so far.
• Bought a bed frame, mattress and linen with money we had saved and gifts from our engagement party
• Acquired a 2 year old washer and dryer from a place down the road for $80. Bargain!
• Got a free-standing wardrobe from Freedom that they were going to chuck out (because they didn't want to pay for delivery anywhere). Free. Bargain. We are going to put it in our entry as a linen cupboard/extra storage.
• Booked in hair appointments right up until the wedding. I heart Identified Hair.
• Wrote all of our thank you cards from the engagement party. We are still handing them out - bit of a nightmare!
• Adjusted our guest list, task list and budget in response to our change of plans. Not so fun. Loving google docs though, so handy to have one copy, rather than always sending each other updates!
• Paid off the flights for our honeymoon, now it's only 1 more night of accommodation to organise and everything for our honeymoon is done...
• ...besides my passport, started filling out the application. I promise I have started, Zac!

Aurelio.

I simply love Aurelio Costarella's designs. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Clearance sale on Monday, we're going shopping for the girls, but I'm secretly hoping there might be something for me, too!

This one below is probably my favourite, it's on sale, now it's only $1000 because no one has been able to fit in to it, it's a size -1. le sigh. The beading on the bodice is perfect and the layers of fabric in the skirt are dreamy......

All images from Aurelio Costarella.

Final Word.

Tuxedos are slammin'

read here.

google images