Hunter Valley Wedding Recap ~ Part 6 ~ Boys Getting Ready

The boys had a few of their own wedding day morning challenges ….. a MIA groomsman,  one of the replacement suits still didn’t fit and misplaced cufflinks.

DH cousin was amazing! After locating said missing groomsman, she fixed the suit as much as possible, organised replacement cufflinks from the hotel and kept them all on time! What a superstar! 


  

   

 

 

Hunter Valley Wedding Recap ~ Part 5 ~ Girls Getting Ready

~ Saturday ~

 The morning was fun and fairly relaxed with only a few hiccups. We woke early and had breakfast together, before DF headed to one of the groomsmen’s villa’s to get ready with the boys, so the girls, my niece and mum could came to our place for hair, makeup and to get ready. 

We'd hoped for a sunny day (especially after all the flooding issues) and quickly realised it was going to get HOT! when DF left at 8.30am it was already 28ºC

Our hair & makeup artists were lovely and very patient with everyone to make sure we all looked our very best. We had a hiccup when one of the bridesmaid dresses didn't fit, luckily Emma our makeup artist, came to the rescue with a temporary fix using the wraps to convert our strapless dresses into halter neck dresses. Very rough and not the best look but it seemed to work ok and we were already on time.

 A few snaps from the morning …

  

getting my make-up done  

 

 

The girls

 

The flowers arrived mid-morning, dropped off by the lovely Tanya from Angel Blooms. The flowers were absolutely phenomenal! a gorgeous mix of peonies, lisianthus and a few gardenias for sent.

 

my flowers & jewellery

   

 

The boys had problems of their own during the morning and it held up our photographers, so we were all ready to go when Julie, our photographer arrived. Thankfully we had just enough time for a few quick photos, before we had to go, but not as many as I had hoped/planned for.  

 

Looking back it is the one thing I am most disappointed about as I so wanted to get special photos with each of the girls and my parents. Throughout the day I did manage to get photos with most in group scenario’s, but I missed out on a photo with my niece and we only had one with my parents as part of the family group.

 

 Everyone has parts of their day that are super important to them and if photos are on that list for you, ensure you make a checklist and ask your photographer to do a quick check and ensure you have all your must have pictures as you dont get a second chance.

 my clutch

 

my shoes!

 

 

 

Next up...... the Boys getting ready

Hunter Valley Wedding Recap {Part 4} ~ Bridal Party Day Out & Welcome Party

~ Friday ~

 Girls Spa Day

I booked a local spa for the Friday afternoon and arranged a champagne lunch, manicures & pedicures for the ladies.

Unfortunately a few last minute dramas (the boys suits were lost, cake issues meant we didn’t know if it would arrive on time & even if it did we definitely knew our cookie favors were not coming, still had welcome bag notes to change by hand with the new Brunch details before the hotel could distribute them) meant I wasn’t able to get there till right before the end (just in time to clean up!).

I was pretty upset that I missed the day as I had been looking forward to it & they all had a lovely time but thankfully I was able to get all the welcome notes changed, replacement suits sorted, favors for the reception and a backup a cake option organised instead.

Friday ~ Boys Day Out

 

The boys day out started off a little rocky when the venue we had organised the golfing day & lunch with cancelled. Instead the boys moved activities to our house and had a  relaxed afternoon and BBQ lunch before heading off to the Welcome Party in the evening. 

 

 

Welcome Party

The week before the wedding we had a call from our welcome party venue (also the place we booked for the Boys Golfing Day Out) to say they had taken a corporate booking and we would no longer be able to have the use of the golf course for the time we had booked & also that our welcome party would have to start at least 2hrs later. My first reaction was “is this some weird wedding humour that you think is funny? our wedding is next week & we booked this MONTHs ago?” after a few uncomfortable minutes of silence I realised….

No it wasn’t a joke

Yes they were very serious

No they didn’t see this as unacceptable or unprofessional at all and

Yes they expected me to suck it up & move our party start time to 9pm

Needless to say that would not happen! so we needed to find a different venue and it took all of 5 minutes to work out who to call for help. Enter Naomi from Peterson’s Champagne House, our amazing reception venue. Without hesitation Naomi offered Peterson’s and a few emails later we had selected the menu and with a quick change to our (already printed) welcome notes we were back on track!

In the end the party was brilliant, the food was fantastic & it was the perfect start to the weekend

Next up... WEDDING DAY!

 

Dressing the Ladies

I’m feeling very relieved this week as the bridesmaids have decided on their dresses!

As I find it difficult enough selecting my own clothes (let alone a wedding dress!) I thought it would be good to let the girls select their own dress. I still think this is  great decision as although I'm buying them, they have to wear, but the mistake I made was not asking one of them to take charge of the process.

I did have one request & that was to try & work in with our soft, earthy, casual feel. My preference would be to avoid harsh bold colours in thick shiny fabrics like taffetas & opt for something softer that was more fun & comfortable vs severe & formal.   

 

The problem was the process was too drawn out. No one wanted to step on anyone’s toes, everyone was so polite, yet could not agree, all this meant that no decisions were made for a long time & decisions that were made were second guessed & changed, which frustrated everyone. What I believed to be a thoughtful & generous approach (as I hadn’t wanted to be “that Bride” that picked the dress they hated!) had somehow been misconstrued as lazy & shirking my wedding planning responsibility.

So some quick & final decisions were in order, we picked a dress that I think everyone seems to like and we have compromised on the colour and gone with a pastel pink. I did love the yellow but pink is fine. We have ordered matching wraps, just in case it’s gets colder in the evening.

The Dress (in pastel pink)

 

I had already purchased the shoes and clutches and I found the earring & hair clips last weekend. The Disney bracelet is a little surprise I got for everyone last year when we were planning to have a larger Disneyland wedding.

the final outfit for the ladies ....

Bridal Party Newsletters

With so much happening and our bridal party spread far & wide, I am writing up a newsletter to keep everyone included & in the loop on plans & deadlines.

 

 We wanted to include the kids as well so we have made them up their own special newsletter, with information only on things that involve them & what will happen on our wedding day, plus games & puzzles.

 

Bridesmaid Shopping Day

We had our first official Bridesmaid’s shopping day to look for dress styles & colours we liked. As the studio we were going to was an hours drive away I made up shopping bags for the girls with the necessities we would need for our road trip.

First was our style card, especially as one of the girls is overseas and couldn’t join us, I wanted to keep all our measurements and choices together so we could refer to them later.

And what trip would be complete without champers!

The Supporting Cast .....

Wedding planning is as exciting as it is overwhelming and choosing which of your family & friends will play a special role in your day can be one of the easiest or one of the hardest & most daunting decisions you’ll make.

While there are no hard & fast rules around whom & how many should be in your bridal party, it should be made up of your closest family & friends. It is a special honor and an important responsibility to be part of a bridal party, and each member has a role to play that extends beyond fun & bachelor/ bachelorette party planning.

This is why it’s important to choose people you know & trust as they will be your support network when times are stressful and you need to know you can count on them. And for me especially, this has been a more difficult decision that I expected, partly because of me and partly because of circumstances.

Many years ago my best friend and I started to plan every intricate detail of my wedding, complete with a folder full of clipping & ideas, run sheets & photos. We added to it over the years & changed details but the two constants had always been the groom & my best friend. Several years ago my best friend passed away and while many things since have been difficult, I knew this would be one of the hardest. This is why it was so important to us to make sure our wingmen & women who would plan, prepare & stand with us, were our nearest & dearest, whom we trusted completely.

When all have had a chance to think & decide if they are able to participate we will update our website with all the details, but until then a few things to consider when choosing your bridal party:

First, don't rush into choosing your attendants; think about what each of their responsibilities will be (practical, time & financial).

Second, try & choose people who you can trust & rely on, and that you know will be honest with you.

Third, factor in the lifestyle and current situation of those you intend to ask, and how it will work with their responsibilities and your needs.

Lastly decide what's most important to you both and go for it, don't get caught up in other people’s expectations or history.

DIY Project - Bridal Party Loot !

This is one of my favourite prjects hands down!! along with collecting items for our OOT bags I have been collecting gifts & extra little bits & pieces for months & months for our bridal party welcome / gift packs.

 I have a great stock pile of things that I was planning on filling the bags with when we were having our big WDW wedding. Unfortunately many of the things I have been collecting don’t really work now that we are not going as a group, but some will still be ok. 

I haven’t got much for the boys bags yet, especially as they really won’t appreciate all the Disney stuff now, but I can always stock up on snacks & alcohol for the boys.

So far I have ordered the monogrammed pink tote bags for the girls and blue back packs for the boys

Bridesmaid goodies so far ...

Flower Girl goodies so far......

Maid of Honour goodies so far .....

I still have plenty to collect for the bags and for 6 or 7 people I know who have madly scrolled to the bottom of this post, in the hope of seeing your special gifts that FH & I have organised........ Too Bad So Sad … you all have to wait for the rehearsal dinner to see what they are !!!!