Tuesday, 29 May 2012

The wedding…through the eyes of the Bride {Part 1}

Photos by Radiant Production Studio
Today we start a new feature "Through the eyes of the Bride". Part one will be the intro to our lovely bride...and when you stay tuned you will be able to follow along about what a wedding day was like for this beautiful bride. So without further ado... I introduce to you, Odette, our beautiful bride! :)

Part One:
You are probably wondering why someone would want to write about “The Wedding Through the Eyes of the Bride”?
It hit me when I was in my room the night before the wedding… How am I going to remember what happened at my wedding? Everyone was telling me how fast the day goes, how you don’t get time to eat, how you will not remember what exactly happened etc. and the fact is I was really really worried that it will be true. I wanted to remember it and thought of doing a blog on it and adding photos I actually took myself on the day of the wedding.
Then I decided to pull my lovely cousin, Monique into the mix… first of all, she REALLY helped me a lot with my planning an ideas! Since I started with the planning, she gave tips, links to websites, sent pictures AND she designed my save-the-date and wedding invites. She was also my photo-booth photographer (and a great one I must add). And she has this awesome blog that I referred to rather often during my planning months.
Thus I was going to tell my cousin to do a blog telling brides-to-be how it actually felt on the day of the wedding, only she said I should write the blog.
There you go. The short and sweet of how I got to write my very first blog.

The planning

We (Ruan and I) got engaged in January 2011, after we have been dating for 4 years and 4 months. I wanted to start planning the wedding immediately, but due to some factors, I had to wait a while. That gave me time to start looking at ideas, thinking of what we wanted, who we wanted at our wedding and where we wanted our wedding. Then finally in May 2011 we set the date and started planning the wedding. I am not going to bore you with all the details of what you should plan, when, how, who to use etc. because the fact is I am not a wedding planner and definitely not a wedding expert.
First of all: I was working full time, 7:00 am to 4:30 pm every day, with an hour’s travel to and from work. My fiance lived 2 hours away and I only saw him on weekends. Thus I did not have a lot of time for planning and when I did have time, I enjoyed sitting back and relaxing rather than planning.
But with the help from my family and friends and a lot of helpful hints and tips from wedding blogs, I managed to plan our wedding.
Hints I would give to other brides: make use of wedding blogs, for tips, ideas, contacts, planning tools and it is fun seeing what others interpret as the perfect day. Get a wedding planner (if you need and can afford it), they help with controlling your budget, organizing and thinking of everything, minimize the stress and it allows you to focus on the fun stuff! Have an engagement shoot with your photographer, then you will know what to expect.
 Stay tuned for more updates and photos from this stunning wedding!

All photos by: Radiant Production Studio

Thursday, 17 May 2012

The Wedding Dress: Part 3

So, if you missed the previous post about how I came about choosing the style and fabric for my wedding dress, Go check them out here at Part 1 and Part 2 

We went fabric shopping together with the dress maker. It was totally overwhelming to see all the pretty bridal lace available but even more overwhelming when I saw the price. With the dress being completely covered in lace I would need about 7 meters and for between R800 and R1200 a meter, the lace alone would cost more than the original dress at the boutique that I couldn't afford!!
My heart sank as we tried to use every available option, even giving the lace curtain section a whirl...but nothing suitable for a wedding dress was found. Just when we were about to give up hope and head back with nothing, my Mother-in-Law to be discovered a section with marked down lace They were all very pretty but most were in bold colours. Not something I thought would be an option for a wedding dress. Its then that she pulled out a piece of grey scalloped lace. It was stunning with a gorgeous pattern scalloped on the edge and bead work.  And it was marked down! R250/m!
Would I consider a coloured lace dress? It took me a while to get used to the idea and with many options weighed out about white satin underneath to make it more 'bridal' I finally gave in to the idea..."Why not?! Lets go for it!"
The lace over white satin
The scalloping and bead work
  As nervous as I get some days about my choice, other days I get super excited to know that I will have something totally unique! Today marks 100 days before the wedding and I will be going to the dress maker to talk about designs.

I printed out all the elements that I want in the dress. The keyhole back, the sleeves, the shorter front.
Hopefully I get my dream dress 100% me! :)

Friday, 11 May 2012

Looking for an affordable wedding dress?

Why not consider a second hand dress? I found a great website for South African brides that want to buy or sell a wedding dress. Buying a second hand dress is really a great way to get a stunning gown at a fraction on of the price. And if you think about it...the dress has really only been worn once!

The website is StillWhite.co.za
Here are a few great dresses i found that are stylish and best of all cheap!

First up: This great ruffled dress!

Price: R2700 (BARGAIN!)
Size: 8

Description from the website:

Beautiful and elegant dress that's one of a kind.

Strapless dress with a fitted and flare silhouette with a sheer chapel train. The sweetheart lace up bodice is made up of beaded lace and can easily be adjusted to fit ZA sizes 30-36 as it was designed with extra panels of fabric on the inside.


The layered tulle and beaded lace skirt is fitted and flared at mid thigh with a chapel train (1m long) and has a bustle put in (ie you can hook the train up) The skirt was shortened a little for me: I'm 172cm with my shoes.


Bust: 87cm Waist: 69cm Hip: 97cm Height: 172cm


Anti yellowing bag and beaded veil included
Check it out here.

Next we have beautiful Chiffon dress! I actually pinned this one on my wedding Pinterest boards!

Price: R2000 (score!)
Size: 6
Description from the website:
The dress has never been worn as I am pregnant and when I got the dress it did not fit my body anymore.
 Check it out here.

Another stunning lace covered dress.

Price: R3000
Size: 10
Description from the website:
It's a one piece strapless, hart shape top with mermaid type bottom part.

It's covered in lace and is a size 10


It has been dry cleaned and only worn once and is in a excellent condition.


With the dress I will include a matching vale FREE 

Check it out here.

So head over to StillWhite.co.za and browse around. You might just find your dream dress that wont break the bank!