Sometimes we stumble across some cool finds for weddings (or wedding related celebrations like bridal showers or engagement parties) that we want to share with you. While we don't want to contribute to the 'oooh, I wanna buy that because it's sooo cute' throw-away-culture, we do want to feature fresh, new and unique options for you to check out.
In my job I hear both the glowing and the snide comments whispered by wedding guests. And although you don’t want your wedding day to be an anxious rollercoaster-ride-of-people-pleasing-pain, if you didn’t care about your family and friends, you would have had your ceremony at the registry office, yes?
You know the saying 'happy wife, happy life'? Well, in wedding circles, it can easily be translated to 'happy guests, happy wedding' - although it doesn't sound as great because it doesn't rhyme..
But, if you can plan ahead and follow the 3 golden rules of winery weddings, it is much more likely that your guests will remember your special day for all the right reasons.
Unbridely are proud to have Kate Pardey, a photographer with soul and substance, as one of our growing team of expert contributors. She is an accredited and award winning member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers, and also volunteers her time and skills to the amazing organisation, Heartfelt.
We have asked Kate to weigh in on a (sometimes) contentious issue of wedding timelines; to get her take on how to best plan out your day to make the most of natural light and maximise delightful photographic opportunities.
Take it away, Kate!
A chat with Rhiannon from Plan Style Party
So, Plan Style Party started in 2014, but what were you and Skye doing beforehand?
"Skye was working in retail but her passion was making the store look amazing and I worked in Admin but was always planning events and parties for the company and volunteering at large events around Adelaide. The planning and styling was always in us, we just didn’t realise we should combine our strengths to create stylish events and parties! But then one day, after Skye’s daughters 1st birthday party, we decided to go for it and haven’t looked back."
Researching and booking your wedding vendors can seem like a daunting task. Who's good, who can you trust and what are you even looking for anyway? When it comes to your bridal makeup, a service so unique and personal that choosing the right artist can affect your confidence levels on the big day, the search gets even trickier.
Unbridely's beauty contributor, Gemma Vendetta, is a qualified hairdresser & makeup artist (MUA) from Adelaide, South Australia.
Specialising in vintage and bespoke hair and makeup services for weddings, stage, film, and special occasions for near-on 8 years, Gemma is a user-of, and advocate for natural, organic, cruelty-free, Australian made & chemical-free products. So much so that, in January 2016, she released her very own mineral makeup range. You can shop the Gemma Vendetta range here.
Gemma wants to help brides find their perfect bridal MUA and to "take the pretension out of makeup". WE LOVE HER.
Maria Athanasopoulos from Zink: The Element of Hair, Plympton gives Brides the low-down on how to make sure that your hairstyle is one you'll love - not just on your wedding day, but years down the track as well.
The Modern Couple's Manifesto is our core philosophy. Save it, Pin it or print it out to help remind yourself of your 'why'. Happy planning!
Unbridely loves wedding photographers.
We appreciate the depth of their experience and love the raw emotion they capture in their photos; the art and their legacy. So it's made us sad to see quite a few wedding photographer horror stories hitting social media lately.
We feel that they cast a shadow over the amazing service, product and experience that the majority of professional wedding photographers provide to their couples.
But there is no escaping the sense of loss a newlywed couple feels when the wedding professional, they trusted their photographic memories and hard earned money with, fucks it up.
And not just in a 'people make mistakes' way. It's the 'I'm above society's norms/I don't subscribe to basic courtesy/what are you going to do about it anyway' kind of attitude that really gets us fired up.
So what can be done about it and how can you avoid hiring a dodgy photographer?
You want to be the bride that is leading the conga line of guests at 2am, right?
If you are getting married soon, there is a good chance that you are doing the lion share of the planning, organising, supplier meetings, family negotiating and general running around. And even for the healthiest and fittest of us, there is potential for your health to take a backseat.
But to be blunt, here at Unbridely, we think that this is where everything is a little backwards.
Our philosophy is that your wedding planning experience should be more like airplane crash procedure: you need to put on your OWN oxygen mask first before you help anyone else.
We want you to FEEL GOOD EVERYDAY.
It's like Sesame Street song goes; one of these things is not like the other.
See if you can pick it:
a) You're having a birthday and you want to celebrate it; so you throw a party.
b) It's Summer and you want to celebrate it; so you organise a BBQ.
c) You've received a promotion and you want to celebrate it; so you go out to dinner.
or
d) You've found the love of your life and you want to celebrate it; so you just plan a wedding..?
You're right; the wedding is the odd one out. No one in the history of weddings 'just planned a wedding' and did not experience the pressure of expectation, a little guilt or some kind of stress along the way. It is not a side of weddings that people like to talk about because it's not sexy or fun. "But why can't we just have a simple wedding?" many couples bemoan not long after starting to plan their big day.
Well, let's break it down..
Your parents have stuck by you through all your awkward phases.
Including your desperate pleas for a horse when you were 8 ("of course I will feed it every day, Dad!"),
your emo phase at 14 (black was the new black)
and your unhealthy obsession with a really dodgy local band when you were 21 (don't deny it, you know it's true).
And if your siblings are anything like mine, they would have mocked and teased you mercilessly through the aforementioned phases.
But here you are, planning your wedding and you really want to acknowledge and include them in your big day.
Sure, your dad can walk you down the aisle, but what other ways can you include your family in your wedding?
There are 3 core ways you can include them; practically, in a supportive function or by honouring them and the special relationship you share.
One of the most uplifting, and yet sometimes subconscious, first impressions a guest has of a wedding ceremony is conveyed via the music they're greeted with. The palpable sense of occasion and celebration that a live string quartet (duo/trio) creates can be both emotional and calming.
Enter Amicus Strings; a professional Adelaide-based string quartet founded in 1996 by Carolyn Lam. I've worked with the girls at several wedding ceremonies over the years and have always admired their professionalism and polished performances.
Carolyn and I sat down for a chat and pulled together the top 5 things you need to know before you book a string quartet for your wedding.
Last week in Part 1 we touched on how modern elopements, when you personalise the 'when and where' and embrace the wonderful and unique couple that you are, can be a freeing and fun alternative to a traditional wedding.
But it does bring up the stickier topic; how on earth do we go about it? The logistics of the ceremony itself are a piece of cake, next to the potential for hurt feelings, regret and guilt that can accompany the aftermath of an elopement.
For example, what are you going to tell your friends and family before you elope - are you going to lie to them? How are they going to feel about that? How do you plan to announce the news after you're married, so as not to alienate the people that you care about?
Part 1 - How to Get Started
Over the past few years, I've noticed a growing trend in the number of couples not interested in the big white wedding and everything that goes with it (including the cost, planning pressures and family expectations). There are also many brides and grooms who are simply less than thrilled about the idea of being the centre of attention on their special day. But what are the alternatives?
One of the trends that I have noticed and think is super cool, is the concept of giving back in the planning stages, the execution (there's got to be a better way to phrase that) and/or clean-up of a wedding. And the best part is that you don't need to be a paid-up member of Greenpeace, chain yourself to a heritage listed building or march in the streets to make a difference.
Here are some of the great new ways you can share the love of your special day with those less fortunate.