1. A truly wonderful place to spend your Honeymoon, it’s the St Regis Hotel in Florence Italy and it simply drips Chic and elegance. Imagine soaking in the atmosphere here.

2. Diamonds. One of the greatest joys for us is when we pick diamonds for our engagement and wedding rings. There’s something about sorting through them to hand pick one for a ring. it never fails to amaze us how heavy a diamond is considering it’s size, it makes you realise how dense they are and did you know that light passing through a diamond is slowed down by 50%.

3. A Rolls Royce car. Wouldn’t you love to be driven to your wedding in that, it’s got to be an Uber luxury not to miss out on if you get the chance.

4. One for the guys is shoes. There’s nothing better than wearing a pair of well made or even hand made shoes the pair in this shot are by John Lobb in England and are the De Rigueur of style for the guys on there wedding day. Plus they’ll last for ever.

5. Our final image to share is of a Vincent van Gogh wedding cake that I saw on Pinterest. It’s so ‘not traditional’ yet is a very Boho thing to do, I love it! Cake by megpi via Neatorama

 Ms Gingham says: Florence, great shoes and a Rolls Royce…. what’s not to love?

Diamond Love Collections: The Founder and designer of DiamondLove Assuntina (Tina) Oliva is an internationally recognized jewellery designer with many years experience of creating beautiful jewellery and has worked with some of the major high street retailers around the world. It has always been a dream of Tina’s to have her own brand that she could pour her prodigious talents into and at last that dream has come true with DiamondLove.

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 Designing truly beautiful bridal gowns that reflect the personality of the bride is a gift that only a lucky few of us possess. Our guest today is Katie from Loui Col Designs a bridal gown designer based in Perth, Western Australia. Katie loves adventure (she has just walked the Kokoda track) and this comes across in her designs with their beading and lace and gorgeous embellishments – all a little different and all so feminine. How lucky Western Australian brides are to have her right in their midst! So let’s dream of sugar and spice and all things wedding gowns with Katie!

When did your dream of creating beautiful wedding gowns start?

My journey began almost 20 years ago! I was always interested in fashion design and dress making and completed 2 weeks work experience at Silk’n’Satin bridal shop in Subiaco. I was blessed with the opportunity to work with the amazing designer Marie Perry-Watson. Her back ground was in the theater, ballet and made to measure. She took me under her wing and I have never looked back. 

Where did you do your training?

Along with working full time with Marie I went to College and completed my Diploma in Commercial Dressmaking and Pattern cutting, here in Perth.

Image by Amac & Wise

You spent some time in Florence, Italy honing your skills. What is it about the Italian way of designing that inspires you?

I love the feel of European design, Valentino at the time was one particular designer that stood out for me. Gorgeous, classic and elegant lines.

Around 2004 I had itchy feet and a desire to explore design and a different day to day lifestyle! So I planned, packed and move to Florence for 12months.

Getting into the bridal and fashion scene in Florence was a little more difficult than I had thought! (Surprise, Surprise) So instead I enjoyed soaking up all aspects to ‘living’ the Italian dream, until my creative fingers needed to do something..

With Florence famous for its leather work I decided to try my hand and started a course at the Scuola del Cuoio (Leather School). I ended up working with them making hand crafted leather goods under some wonderful ‘old’ school artisans.  This was an extraordinary career experience and a year I will never forget.

Image by White Tulip Photography

When designing a gown for a bride, what inspires you towards a particular design?

My inspiration is driven by the person wearing the gown, their personality, style and how they aspire to look and feel both inside and out, on their special day. I’m also entranced and enchanted by the vast array of stunning materials available both nationally and internationally. Quite often I will start with a design and get excited about all the options that present as the dress comes to life.

I love reflecting on the history of design as it unveils the secrets of bygone eras, when women dressed beautifully from head to toe.

Your gowns all seem to have a standout feature – whether it is the fabric, beading or lace you’ve used. Is this a ‘signature’ of your design style?

I really love the unique creative process with each client, so I am not sure that I have ‘signature’ style. I love good quality! I endeavor to make gowns that evoke ‘a feel’ to them, rather than just a look. I am not as interested in following trends, I believe a classic look with highlight features for the individual is the key to a beautiful gown.

Image by Merge Photography

Your designs are all made on your premises in Perth. What are the advantages of this?

Having a bespoke gown made is a special treat, for a special day. I want my girls to enjoy the whole experience from start to finish. I aim to understand each bride individually and support a creative environment where we can explore beautiful designs, laces and materials, which involves the client through the whole process. My brides look forward to their visits as each new fitting brings their dress to life. Our studio is a wonderful space for the bride to either come by herself for her own personal experience or to share it with mums and friends. The time and space is all theirs.

Image by Merge Photography

 Do you design accessories to accompany your dresses?

We do, as we get half way through our dress fittings we start looking at bridal accessories that include jewellery, veiling, headpieces and even the boys ties as our finishing touches.

We make all our veils and we hand create our lace headpieces to match our brides gown. Our beautiful silk flowers are made locally as is the elegant jewellery. I am very much about supporting the local talent we have in Perth.

There’s something about Perth……I love…..

I love the ease of living, I have lived in Perth city for about 12 years and I love being central with all my local connections.

Perth! Fabulous weather, great coffee, inspiring opportunities and most importantly my FAMILY & FRIENDS!

Image by Angela Higgins

A great honeymoon (or mini moon) location in WA is….

Our beaches are pretty sensational, you can’t go wrong anywhere along our coastline. The south west region also offers many popular and enjoyable wineries. Always a winner when honeymooning J

Thank you Katie for sharing your story with us today. To find out more about Loui Col Designs visit the website

Image of Katie courtesy of Katie Colgan

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Gown by Fara Couture Perth / Image by Jonathan Pang via Timeless Elegance Inspiration Shoot

Hi Girls

I am sure you have all heard horror stories of red wine being spilled on precious garments so I thought I should pass on some advice that may save you a lot of stress and expense. Whether it be your wedding Gown, Bridesmaid or evening dress.

I had a telephone call Sunday morning from one of my dear clients who just got married the Saturday night before.

When I heard her voice, I thought something was wrong with her gown! Scary… but she just wanted to thank me for my hard work. She said everybody loved my (her) dress and everybody was asking who made her gown.

But… this story does not have a perfect ending. Unfortunately, at the end of the night, she tripped and a glass of red wine was poured on her gown. Eek! So she wanted me to advise her if there was anything she could do.

So what should you do if an accident like this happens? Put lots of salt on the stain. The salt soaks most of the red wine away. Do not try to wash it out, rub it with anything or touch it more than necessary and straight away send it to a decent dry cleaner who specialises in wedding gowns.

Let us hope this does not happen on your wedding day, however regardless of whether you and your dress make it through unscathed – you will need to dry clean your gown after your wedding day and I strongly suggest you use a good dry cleaner and not risk that lovely gown with a lesser one.

Love Fara xx

Ms Gingham says: Oh a must read post for any bride!!! It happens much more often than you think!

About Fara Almasi – Fara Couture Wedding Dresses Perth: Fara Almasi is a couture Perth bridal gown designer with over 20 years experience. Not only does she design and alter wedding gowns she also creates stunning bridesmaids, mother of the bride and evening gowns.

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Jack Sullivan is not your stereotypical male fashion designer – in fact, this 20-something, straight, ex-ski instructor never imagined that he would be trading the slopes of Canada for a career which incorporates creating his own lace. Jack has not only just launched his Winter 2013 Collection, but has been accepted to take part in the Bridal category at this year’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week!

Jack has been holding Designer Days around the country, and I was lucky enough to meet the man himself at his recent Designer Day in Brisbane. Greeting me with a glass of champagne (could a Saturday morning start any better?), I was welcomed in store and into the beauty of his bridal creations.

Jack says, “I love doing Designer Days. I spend most of my time either in a studio working on gowns or in airports, so doing Designer Days are amazing because you get to see something you designed make someone so happy. It always acts as good motivation when you have been frustratingly and pain stakingly pinning lace to a new design for weeks. Then a few days later, a bride-to-be wears that gown and it brings her (and often her family) to tears, making it all worthwhile.”

“Brides seem to enjoy meeting the person that designed the gown, often getting little bits of information about the gown they might not normally get, whether it be about the lace, or how the gown was cut.” The fact that Jack, along with his mother Wendy Sullivan (award-winning bridal designer and Owner of “Brides Desire” and “Airs and Graces”), create their own lace from scratch is simply impressive. I especially enjoyed getting this background information and an insight into how Jack has interpreted the peplum trend or is embracing styles other than the typical sweetheart neckline.

After years of studying design through Wendy’s guidance, Jack has created his own unique style which reflects a combination of old fashion elegance and modern-day playfulness. “I have been blown away with the response to my latest collection, a few of the most popular gowns were actually inspired by gowns that I did for a competition last year. This next collection that I will be giving a sneak peek to has been inspired by some new laces I have had made. It took a few goes at sampling these laces before I was 100% happy. It is a hard balance between having something cool and different, and having something so crazy, nobody will like it”

Well Jack, I am sure that almost everybody is going to like (love) your new collection!

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As anyone would know, Mother Nature can be unpredictable. I was all set to go to the David Jones Bridal Expo VIP Preview Night, when Mother Nature decided to unleash a cold snap onto Sydney that made me reconsider my choice of outfit. But this didn’t waver my excitement for the event one bit.

And it in turn didn’t disappoint me one bit! Located on the seventh floor of the David Jones store at the Elizabeth building, I was immediately greeted with a bag filled with goodies and champagne from dare I say, handsome waiters.

Kashaya & Co had many (including me!) mesmerised by its fine detail on their wedding cakes.

At the centre of the room, table-top displays by My Little Jedi were tailored to suit different tastes from the whimsical to the sophisticated.

It was no surprise that there was a queue for the La Prairie Luxe Bar, because hey, who doesn’t like a free gift and Skin Caviar hand and arm massage? If you want to achieve that glowing look for your wedding day, consider visiting a La Prairie at David Jones or at one of their stores for a consultation.

And lastly the fashion parade hosted by Vogue Australia Editor-in-Chief Edwina McCann and designer Collette Dinnigan, whose gowns also featured in the parade along with other flawless gowns from designers Oscar de le Renta, Johanna Johnson, Karen Willis Holmes and Rachel Gilbert, just to name a few.

Dress by Collette Dinnigan. In store August 2013.

Dress by Oscar de la Renta.

Dress by Johanna Johnson.

Karen Willis Holmes. In store May 2013

Overall the David Jones Bridal Expo VIP Preview Night was a huge success and I can tell that it’s going to be another exciting season at David Jones for the brides-to-be out there!

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