For Greta from GretaKate, her affinity for fashion design runs much deeper than simply creating garments.
She feels incredibly lucky to be part of a bride's wedding day and the preparation and planning stages as well: "I often spend over a year getting to know a bride and her life. It’s wonderful sharing all her excitement leading up to the big day."
To help you with selecting, shopping for and ordering the perfect wedding gown for you, Greta has pulled together her 17 Essential Wedding Dress Shopping Tips.
Thank you, Greta!
Congratulations on your engagement!
There are exciting times ahead but right now, you’re still drunk on the love, right?
This is the best part, but also, that’s when ‘they’ get ya!
Like it, or not (mostly, not) you are going to be on the receiving end of a lot of (sometimes unwelcome) advice and it will all start from the moment you announce your engagement.
So I wanted to give you a little heads up BEFORE you start planning ANYTHING.
When it comes time to plan what is (likely to be) the biggest and most public celebration of your relationship, you want to make sure it will be a party to remember.
And it’s this ideal, wanting to make your wedding special because you don’t want to have any regrets, that can contribute to your decision making becoming clouded. Spending can easily get out of control, the expectations of family and friends can feel oppressive and then the overwhelm starts to set in.
Bingo bango; a happier engaged couple enjoying more of their wedding planning experience!
When I first meet with my couples to discuss their wedding ceremony, once we get past all of the 'where, when and how' logistics, what I really want to know is their top 3. Some of my brides and grooms are are puzzled; what do you mean 'Our Top 3'?
Your top 3 are the ultimate and unique measure of a successful wedding for YOU.
There’s little argument that booking your wedding photographer is a big thing to check off your wedding planning to-do list.
Given the big bucks involved, and considering the fact that this might be the first, or only, time you’ve ever needed to hire a photographer, it makes sense that you might be looking for a little help with the process.
Hiring your wedding photographer is an investment in the quality of the photos (prints, albums, etc) that you will look back on for many years to come. And, given that you will spend up to 12 hours with them on your wedding day, choosing the RIGHT ONE FOR YOU will also affect the way your wedding day feels.
So I asked a friend of Unbridely TV, wedding photographer and high five enthusiast Alex Szczesniak of Time With Alex to help pull together this handy checklist of what to ask your wedding photographer - BEFORE YOU BOOK THEM IN.
Pete Thornton is somewhat of a black sheep; but I find his ‘take no prisoners’ perspective on photography, and the wedding industry as a whole, a much-needed breath of fresh air.
He calls ‘bullshit’ on much of the outdated etiquette that surrounds couples and their big day and concentrates his energy on the story behind the celebration, the snorts within the laughter and the wink after the smile.
The parts of life that make being a great photographer so much more valuable than simply clicking a shutter.
Backyard weddings boast an immediately familiar, comfortable, warm and relaxed atmosphere that is tough to replicate in any other setting.
And, in recent years, these home-grown celebrations have been enjoying a resurgence in popularity and refinement thanks to the quality and availability of small-scale but high quality catering with food trucks and carts, new furniture and marquee/tent/tee-pee hire options and mobile entertainment packages with DJs, MCs, photo-booths and the like.
To help you start to piece together a comprehensive to-do list for your very own homely nuptials, we asked wedding planner and stylist, Nicole Bailey of Your Party Plannery and some newlyweds who had recently planned their backyard wedding, for their top tips and advice.
Also, be sure to download or Pin the DIY wedding drinks guide so you know exactly how much alcohol to buy!
Mentored by the incredible James Day, Alex is all about connection. His perception of his role in a wedding celebration is not limited to just the art of taking, producing and editing photos, but as a facilitator of wonderful memories cherished for a lifetime.
We were speaking recently about the difficulty in explaining to Brides and Grooms the value of a great wedding supplier and Alex had some thoughts that he wanted to share.
If you're not in Adelaide, you may have missed out on Unbridely's first-ever, interactive wedding planning event; Unbridely Live.
Hosted at the awesome Published Arthouse in the heart of the city, myself and 11 award-winning, experienced and generous local wedding suppliers presented to an eager audience of engaged couples and local wedding industry identities.
Focusing on the core message of creating authentic, imaginative and heart-felt wedding celebrations, the Unbridely Live team pulled together a fresh and entertaining night of equal parts ideas and advice.
From the post-event survey, it seemed that the most valuable part of the evening was the app-driven Q&A Session; 8 wedding pros tackling the attendees toughest wedding planning problems.
While we covered a lot on the night, there were still some questions that we couldn't get to, so I went to the Unbridely Live team and got them to write this article.
And, if there's anything that we can help with that we didn't cover, something you're really dying to ask, drop me a line anytime at hello@unbridely.com If I don't know the answer, I have at least 11 good mates that will!
In the seemingly never-ending search for the ultimate in wedding personalisation, engaged couples are hunting high and low for the next 'must-have' accessory, entertainment, reception decor or upcoming food trend.
But when it's all said and done, when the high of the big day is just a happy (but distant) memory, what will you have to reflect on? What can you pass on to your children or grandchildren, and what will you really remember about your wedding day by the time your teeth are kept in a glass of water on your bedside table?
I sat down with Mike from EverettBrookes to chat about their (relatively) new offering for clients to make their own engagement, wedding or 'whatever celebration you want to mark' ring.
Award-winning Adelaide wedding photographer, Luke Simon, is a big fan of first looks. Unbridely managed to catch him sitting still just long enough to get his perspective on the reasons why a first look helps the couple getting married, their guests and their photographer too.
Not a lot of people (and until recently, me included) know what a professional MC actually does or understands the role of an MC at a wedding.
But what I have noticed, when I talk to my brides and grooms about their wedding planning, is a definite trend towards hiring an experienced MC, rather than asking (read: begging/bribing) a relative to do them a favour.
So is hiring a professional MC the right choice for your wedding and what in the hell do they do anyway?
DJBen gives us the inside story..
I hear (read!) wedding photographers chatting amongst themselves on social media and when I notice the same topics come up time and time again, I write a blog post about it.
Because there's zero point in wedding professionals banging on about how brides and grooms 'just don't get it' when you're only planning on doing this once in your life and you've never been told. You don't know what you don't know, right?
So here are some of the hot-button subjects at the moment and expert tips to help you to form a better relationship with your wedding photographer and in the end, get better photos.
It seems pretty clear-cut..
You hire a great wedding photographer, they take photos of your big day and you get the photos to do what you want with afterwards, right? Simple!
So answer me this:
- Are you allowed to upload those photos to Facebook?
- Can you and your family make copies of your photos?
- Do those copies have to include the photographer's watermark?
In short, do you know who owns the copyright (and moral rights) of your wedding photos and what that actually means?
For many couples, planning their wedding is the first and only time they come into contact with, book and work with a professional photographer. To get the most out of your experience and the best result possible (gorgeous photos of one of the most significant moments of your life and hopefully a great relationship with a photographer you can trust for future shoots), it is really smart to know your rights and obligations when it comes to copyright.
Bianca follows bridal fashion religiously - it's her passion. She has helped to style everyone from high-profile, London society brides and celebrities to Persian princesses. She knows where it's at!
Unbridely are thrilled to welcome Bianca Velt-Herron to our ever-growing list of wedding professionals and guest bloggers.
Bianca trained and worked at Harrod's London and is currently the Australian representative and stylist for American label, Jasmine Bridal, and several other international brands (follow on Facebook or Pinterest)
This week Bianca offers us a look at 5 slightly unconventional, but fun bridal styles that allow a bride to express her personality more freely than with a classic princess silhouette: Sequins, Rockabilly, Spanish Senorita, Modern Grecian Goddess and Red Carpet.
We hope you love her take on these Unbridely styles and in particular get some inspiration from Bianca's top styling tips and accessories suggestions!
This week Unbridely welcomes guest blogger from across the ditch, Megan of She Said Yes - a digital wedding magazine and practical guide to planning your own wedding.
Megan is only recently married herself and has some handy and relevant tips for those couples planning their wedding.
She is also the creator of The Little White Book - Wedding Diary and Organiser and has generously offered a special discount for Unbridely blog readers (the coupon code is at the end of this article).
Thanks for sharing your words of wisdom, Megan!
Lee Bouras, from award-winning Wyld Orchids, runs an unique and thriving floral online consultation and design service based in Adelaide, South Australia.
Wyld Orchids creates bespoke and artistic wedding flower arrangements to enhance and embellish the look and feel of an entire wedding; from churches to civil ceremonies, receptions and all types of bridal flowers.
In Lee's 2nd post for Unbridely, she talks about how hiring an experienced, talented and personable florist can make all the difference to your big day - saving you undue stress, time AND money.
Thanks again, Lee!
Many wedding couples would like to include the refined elegance of string ensemble music to their celebration, but don't know which songs would be best, so we've pulled together an amazing resource for you!
We have created an easy, 1-page downloadable pdf for you to refer to: the 8 most requested processional (bride's entry) songs with professional quality audio and video recordings of each as performed by Amicus Strings.
This week it is all about the processional songs and in the coming weeks we will also cover music for the signing of the certificates and the recessional.
You can Pin it HERE!
Researching potential venues, photographers, florists and the like is a critical stage in your wedding planning process. And it's usually when your first understanding of what's available and the associated costs come to light.
Let's face it, you can pin hundreds upon hundreds of images of your perfect wedding, but there are no price tags on Pinterest.
We also understand that many couples are reading up about and contacting their wedding suppliers on their lunch break (because you wouldn't dream of doing it during work hours, right?)
So knowing all of this, why don't all wedding suppliers advertise their prices?
Kiera Blanden is a little obsessed with colour and texture.
"I could quite happily spend an entire day in Bunnings or trawling through Spotlight and (apart from missing my adorable family) walk away feeling completely energised and inspired by a heap of new ideas."
As the founder and team leader of Rapture Events, Kiera has worked on almost 900 beautiful celebrations. Recently rebranded as Kiera Blanden Events + Styling, she has an excellent eye for design and an almost intuitive understanding of which style elements work best together to create an exceptional wedding experience.
One of the growing trends in weddings is for Brides to take on the task of styling their big day themselves - which is why Kiera also offers her couples the option of hiring out her elegant and extensive range of furniture, accessories, linens and games.
Unbridely asked Kiera to give us some insider tips for styling your own wedding. We feel honoured to be given a glimpse 'behind the curtain' and to tap into her 7+ years of experience.
