Real Weddings Style Annual 2011/12

Loveable Bits:

- “Tree Of Love” Page 63 I love the plethora of flowers and greenery at this wedding of Seija and Matthew, along with the bridesmaid’s beautiful patterned gowns

-” Walking On Water” Page 73 Such gorgeous water side inspired styling and a sense of humor to Gabrielle and Michael’s wedding

- “Vibrant Love” Page 121 I love the neutral colour scheme of the weddingof  Sarah and Nicholas with the incredible colourful blooms and floral chandelier.

-”Recipes For Love” Page 137 Classic, food inspired country wedding to celebrate the marriage of Maria and David

- “A Novel Idea” Page 159 Polka Dot Made’s own contributing editor Alicia has her wedding pictures come to life in her library inspired wedding

Bride To Be Volume 158 November- January 2012

Loveable Bits:

- “Romantic Charm” Page 58 – What happens when a wedding magazine editor tiers the knot? Editor Sarah shares her wedding to zJustion (so beautiful!)

- ” Carnival Party” Page 70 A Carnival inspired wedding of Zoe and Craig- streamers, pinatas and coloured jewels!

- “A Sweet Ride” Page 77Fiona and Robert’s winery bike inspired wedding

- “Ethereal Muse” Page 150 A beautiful fashion feature focusing on dreamy soft gowns and accessories

= “Bridesmaid Style Guide” Page 190 So many options, colours and prints for your special girls

Cosmopolitan Bride Summer 2012

Loveable Bits

- “Miriam and Tim” Page 61 This grazing at Gundaroo wedding is so relaxed and full of joy  – I love the spring centrepieces.

- “Autumn Glow” Page 88 Ora-Tali and Noam’s Victoria Autumn wedding with the most divine lace bodice on the bride’s gown.

- “A History of The Wedding Dress” Page 97 A look back at wedding gowns over the years

- “Secrets To Happy Ever After” Page 139 Wise words from married couples

- “Carolyn and Michael” Page 152 The bride wore silver in this grey and yellow urban Melbourne wedding

The Knot Magazine Summer 2011

- “Turning Tables”  Page 91 Three weddings stylists take one table and create three very different but gorgeous looks

-”Rustic at Sunset” Page 100 Kristaly and Marc’s seaside sweet wedding

-”Ballroom Grandeur” Page 102 Laura and James’ classic Sydney wedding

- “Mismatched Elegance” Page 106 Annaliese and Clarence’s golden hued winery wedding

- “Quirky In The Countryside” Page 112 Tiara and Nelson’s country wedding

Other titles I’ve been reading this month include Southern Weddings Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, Dream Weddings Bali Style, Complete Wedding Sydney & Modern Wedding magazine which are all full of ideas I have yet to pour over (cup of coffee needed stat……and a biscuit or three)

What have you been flicking through? What are you loving?

Want More? Check Out These Posts:

1. Wedding Magazine Roundup October 2010
2. Out Now… October November 2010
3. Real Simple Weddings Magazine 2011

I’ve always been fascinated by Feng Shui since my mother bought a book on it from those office book sales. I remember pouring over the book and spending ages figuring out the corners of our house and to this day I still cannot bring myself to give knives to anybody as a present!

So I was fascinated to receive Wedding Feng Shui by Laura Lau and Theodora Lau in the mail for review. Covering all aspects of how your Chinese sign will affect your wedding plans, the book kicks off with plenty of advice on incorporating feng shui into your wedding. There’s plenty of advice on how  you might incorporate feng shui into your wedding theme, your wedding location, even down to what issues your bridal party might have and gifts that they’ll love. The book  also covers a Chinese horoscope timeline which, if you’re wanting to incorporate traditional Chinese culture into your wedding  day can be incredibly helpful with generalised timelines.

The most valuable part of the book for me, was the breaking up of each sign starting off with seasons, flowers, colours and stone  and moving into the personality traits that each bride might have as that sign, giving tips as to how to mange the different wedding stresses each sign might react to and how to deal with vendors, family members, bridal parties and even each other.  The book also merges lunar and sun signs and how these have an impact on your relationship and your wedding plans.

The ‘tiger’ bride, for example, might have a show stopping gown and is fiercely loyal of the loves in her life. A passionate bride, she will celebrate her loves during her wedding, and she hates getting bogged down in details. The ‘horse’ bride,  will be drawn to a summer wedding and have a gown with high drama and glamour. Her traits include a strength in following her instincts but she may have trouble compromising and guests will enjoy a longer reception and perhaps a shorter ceremony. While the ‘rabbit’ bride  loves a gown of high quality and may be known as the “harmonizer bride”. She loves to surround herself with beautiful things  and will avoid conflict and rather seek out peaceful alternatives.

The uninitiated to Chinese culture are not left in the dark, the  book starts with a handy ‘how to’ guide and not only is it easy to find your sign, but the book also has suggested “lucky” wedding dates for the next two years. There’s even a glossary and set of worksheets so you can work out the sign of each of your bridal party and be aware of certain traits that may occur in their behaviors.

Wedding Feng Shui by Laura Lau and Theodora Lau is a fun read for anyone interested in incorporating Chinese culture into their wedding day and an interesting look at how Chinese horoscopes and signs cause people to react in different ways during the planning of a wedding – it’s a fun title to pick up and explore!

Wedding Feng Shui by Laura Lau and Theodora Lau is available at any good book store or online.

Want More? Check Out These Posts:

1. Mindy Weiss -The Wedding Book
2. Not My Mother’s Wedding
3. The Conscious Bride

I have a lovely large wedding magazine roundup coming up soon but since I count this little offering as more of a book than a magazine, it definitely deserved a post of its own! I look forward to receiving my copy every year and delving through the pages – isn’t the cover of the 2011 edition scrumptious? (you all know how much I love coloured shoes!)

Real Simple – as with their interiors magazine, brings simplification to the wedding planning process through the pages of their wedding guide. From planning templates and guidelines to commonly asked questions and resources. The real beauty of this guide, however, is how the planning tips are broken up with gorgeous real life weddings (perfect for inspiration) and beautiful details from real vendors. So instead of a ho hum feature on the style of bouquets – it’s bolstered by the addition of beautiful bouquet photographs (as well as a seasonal flower guide, switch for Australia of course) and a colour palette assistant.

The guide pares back the information to the helpful and the need to know, while the beautiful pages in real inspiration turn the guide into something that’s fun to read and pour over.

Want More? Check Out These Posts:

1. Real Simple Weddings Magazine
2. Real Weddings Magazine Unveils A Brand New Website!
3. Sweet Alice – Real Weddings Magazine Sneak Peek

I imagine meeting Sharon Naylor would be akin to reading a wedding encyclopedia- I’ve been reading Sharon’s books for as long as I can remember (she’s written over 30!) so it was a nice surprise to have her latest offering ‘Bridesmaid On A Budget How To Be A Brilliant Bridesmaid Without Breaking The Bank’ arriving on my desk.

Being a bridesmaid in today’s world can be a sticky subject – The latest Bride To Be Cost of Love Survey notes that couples spend on average $4023 on bridal party fashion (and that doesn’t include what bridesmaid’s spend themselves). Do you pay for the dress? Is it expected that you organise the pre-wedding parties? What about the shoes? The makeup? Then there’s the presents, the accommodation. It’s a mad juggle to work out finances and obligations while dealing with the emotional roller-coaster that often surrounds weddings. ‘Bridesmaid on A Budget’ tackles all of the issues involved in being a bridesmaid – from speaking up tactfully, right down to tasty but cost effective sweets and treats for the bridal shower.

I think what I liked best about this book is Sharon is quick to point out that you need to take some control of the situation if you don’t want your expenses as a bridesmaid to spin out of control – she doesn’t blame the bride and turn her into a demon. Instead she suggests ways of handling the sticky budget talks, ways of being honest and upfront without treading on toes and gives a little perspective from the brides’ point of view. In the end, I found the value in the book not through the budgeting tips (As an Australian a lot of the resources Sharon mentioned aren’t available, though the general premise of the resources is) but through the advice of navigating the sometimes tricky and painful role of bridesmaid in general.

‘Bridesmaid On a Budget’ by Sharon Naylor is available at all good book stores now.

Want More? Check Out These Posts:

1. Sharon Naylor’s New Book
2. Two Birds Bridesmaid in Australia
3. Beautiful Australian Bridesmaid Options

Another two months another bunch of great wedding magazines to pour over! here’s my favourite features from the latest round of glossies!

The Knot Australia Magazine Summer 2010/11

Lovable Bits:

- “Decoding The Table” on Page 84

- “The 10 Biggest Things Brides Forget” on page 93

- Claire and Chris’ garden tea party on page 110

- Katie and Bret’s vintage floral wedding on page 120

- “Beauty In Extremes” fashion feature on page 128

Cosmopolitan Bride Summer 2011

Lovable Bits:

- “Essential Bridal Survival Guide”on page 52

- “Wedding Wonderland” fashion feature on Page 62

- Kristy & Heath’s Tasmanian garden estate wedding on page 162

- Anli and Laura’s geek chic inspired wedding on page 166

- “Portrait Of A Lady” inspired fashion shoot on page 179

Bride to Be November- January 2010/11

- Faye Cahill’s delicious cake filled wedding on page 61

- Kate and Andy’s country fair inspired wedding on page 64

- Yvette and Dylan’s Noosa stylish Noosa wedding on page 98

- “A Stitch In Time” fashion feature on page 126

- Bridesmaids style special from page 197

White Magazine Issue 10

- “Natural Beauty” fashion feature on page 28

- “Suit Yourself” grooms style feature on page 45

- Michelle and Geoff’s winery wedding on page 53

- “Green Feet” reduce your eco footprint on page 107

- “Still The One I Love” a generational look at love on page 140

Also out this month by Modern Wedding is “Modern Wedding DIY Magazine” which is tailored just to the DIY bride! Queensland Brides also look out for your summer special magazine!

Want More? Check Out These Posts:

1. Wedding Magazine Roundup October 2010
2. Out Now – March 2010
3. Wedding Magazine Roundup Out Now November 2011