Wedding Dresses

Shopping for a Little White Number

I have to admit, I've never actually had a 'Muriel's Wedding' episode, where I've gone into a bridal shop (pretending to be engaged) and managed to drink the shop out of Champagne whilst trying on 90% of their stock (with a tear in my eye as I envision myself delicately sobbing into a tissue at speech time)... so when it came to me finding my wedding dress I didn't really have a clue what I was looking for.

At the beginning of my search, I had my heart set on something extravagant, with the thought 'I'm only gonna be doing this shizzle once, so it better be damn big!' The designer that seemed to answer all of my prayers was Ian Stuart, and I believed that these were definite contenders for strutting my stuff on the big day:

Rhapsodia Ian Stuart 2012 Killer Queen Collection

Sapphire Ian Stuart 2012 Killer Queen Collection

Sapphire as above

Andalucia Ian Stuart 2013 Supernova Collection

Atlantis Ian Stuart 2013 Supernova Collection

If any of these amazing dresses take your fancy, you can get some more details on them and others from Mr Stuart's amazing collection here.

However on trying some of these beautiful dresses (and they really are), I found myself leaning more and more towards a more fitted and slender style. Had I been getting married in an amazing country manor house then perhaps one of the above dresses would have fitted the bill, but as the wedding would be in the middle of London, and involved a bit of walking between venues - weather dependent - I was starting to look at dresses that reflected the overall theme of the day. On top of this, I started to think about what was really 'me' and this actually meant something more figure hugging and (being such a short a*se) less drowning.

So back to the shops I went...This time to a lovely boutique bridal shop in London - London Bride Couture. The ladies here are so welcoming and really make you feel at home (I was comfortable enough to try on practically the whole shop.) They've got a great selection of dresses from some great designers, and seem to be able to chop and change bits of any dress to suit your requirements.

Here are a few of the dresses that I tried and loved from London Bride Couture. The first three are by a designer called Intuzuri, and the last - Bali - a more fitted Ian Stuart number:

Two other brands that had me contemplating several wedding dress changes throughout the day were Pronovias and Jenny Packham. Here are a few more dresses to wet your appetite! 

Now only 8 months away from the wedding, I think I have found THE ONE, although I am yet to order it... the deadline is December!

I'll be posting the chosen dress after the big day.... just in case of any prying eyes!

A Sunday at Embankment

Tea, Cocktails and Wedding Venues

As Chief Bridesmaid and Usher, our dear friends Annie and Nick are subject to certain privileges (or chores as some may see them) prior to the wedding.

One of these was a sneak preview of our wedding venue last weekend. Robbie and I dragged the other happy couple up to Embankment for a guided tour around the venue of choice - One Whitehall Place.

Of course, no afternoon in London is complete without afternoon tea, and feeling slightly worse-for-wear courtesy of the previous evening, we opted for the traditional menu at The Royal Horseguards Hotel, and forwent the Champagne ...did those words just come out of my mouth?!? (or fingers should I say).

The tea consisted of the expected but also included a couple of little surprises such as this rather delicious egg mayonnaise choux pastry

 After 'unlimited refills' of sandwiches... cucumber, smoked salmon and cream cheese, coronation chicken, beef and horseradish... we moved onto our scones - obviously smothered with a healthy dose of cream and jam, and then onto the tantalising puds...

Amazing flavours: Earl-Grey-chocolate-melt-in-the-middle-bomb-lollipop

Bitter sweet: sharp fruit topping over a delicious creamy base

And of course, a mini cupcake

Somehow managing to heave ourselves out of the bed-like armchairs and away from the delicate strings of the harp we made our way across the hall to the wedding venue.

I'll save the wedding venue pics till after the big day next year... but you can see some of the function rooms here.

Still feeling full, we took a stroll along the River to the church where we will be having the ceremony - The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy. Unfortunately - as expected - the chapel was closed, but we managed to get a peak of the newly landscaped courtyard area.

Having not eaten or drunk anything for the last hour, we were all starting to fade away and so had no option but to nip into the nearest watering hole to recharge. Luckily this happened to be one of Annie and my favourite bars at The Savoy Hotel.

Just before the bar there is a 'mini museum' with some interesting little additions such as this framed coin that was the first taken by the hotel in 1889... (and happened to be for a bottle of Champagne!)

After studying the extensive menu, soft drinks definitely seemed like a cop-out and hangovers were forgotten as we tucked into cocktails accompanied by the live pianist... (in the very dark bar area)

Being the Bond Season, this was the specialty offering:

So of course we had to sample. It was a refreshing mix of gin, vodka, wines, syrup and Japanese Yuzu juice, which we could have sat drinking all night!

As well as the Skyfall, we also sampled the Piano Man; another refreshing mix that even included cucumber... the perfect cocktail to get you back into the swing of things!

About Us

About Us,

I thought I'd write a little intro about us as people often perceive this blog to be written by just one person when in fact there are two of us! One wife, one mummy and two glamorous lives... that is, when they're not otherwise engaged cleaning up after a Great Dane or changing babies nappies!

Amy M - aka 'The Wife' -  is a Marketing Exec for a large corporate, and fiancee to Robbie her partner of 10 years, so when she's not working or blogging, she's busy planning her spectacular July 2013 wedding. Hen festivities (organised of course by none other than chief bridesmaid Annie) will be taking place in 'Sin City'...Vegas baby! So keep your eyes peeled for plenty of wedding related posts!

Having worked as a Senior Beauty Therapist for over a decade, Annie R - aka 'The Mummy' is now a full time Mummy to Bella Rose, (born in May 2012). As well as the sharing almost all known beauty secrets, from the most natural eyelash extensions to waxing nooks and crannies you never even knew existed, Annie also shares the latest and greatest on baby fashion, toys that keep the house peaceful for longer than 20 minutes, the best recipes for your precious tots and much more besides!