Well today we wind up the last of our feature on the wedding of James and Erica (Girl With A Satchel)

As they approach their first wedding anniversary, Erica shared her after wedding thoughts and tips for brides to be!

The Aftermath

What were you happiest with?

A good friend of mine said she could literally feel the love in the room at the reception. So, I guess were were happy to be able to create a warm atmosphere with lots of fun and laughter (and good lighting and music, which I laboriously selected!). We were really happy with the speeches and the reception in general.

Erica and James enjoying their wedding reception

What is your tip to other brides?

Don’t plan an interstate wedding – and if you must, have it at a venue where everything is done for you. We spent a lot of time fussing about finishing things and I didn’t really have time to relax into the moment, which was a shame. I was one wired bride!

Make sure you have a few days beforehand just to relax a bit (as much as you can!), enjoy your family and friends and get a bit of R&R.

What inspires you?

Beautiful things and beautiful people. As I write a blog devoted to magazines, I get a lot of inspiration from my glossies, as well as trawling the web.

I’m also a big nature-lover, so getting outdoors is great for my soul. And, of course, God. I read the Bible daily and try to live my life in accordance to what it teaches. It’s inspiring to think we’ve all been created with a unique purpose in mind (mine includes shopping, of course)!

Erica and her bridesmaids navigate the stunning Mt Tamborine

Apart from the ceremony, what were you favourite moments of your wedding day?

Seeing my daddy, Jim’s song, Andy’s best man’s speech, admiring my beautiful bridesmaids, spending time with the girls and mum, and my sister saying in her speech that it was the best day of her life. Gosh, I’m going to cry!

Where did you go for your honeymoon?

We spent six lovely nights in Noosaville. With all the interstate planning, we would have been mad to plan an overseas trip on top of everything, so we just packed up the car and cruised north.

We were both exhausted after the lead-up to the wedding, so we were happy to just lie by the pool, eat and sleep!

James and Erica’s Wedding Vendors

Photography Adam Weathered Bridal Gown Rosaline Ribbons from Melbourne Avenue Bridesmaids Princess Charlotte by Charlie Brown Suits Roger David Hair Boss Hair & Beauty Makeup Aimie Fieberg Invitations Poppies For Grace Catering Shamar Catering

Thank you Erica for providing such lovely detailed answers to my questions and allowing me to share them with Polka Dot Bride readers! Your wedding looked gorgeous. So relaxed and full of love! Congratulations to you and James on your first wedding anniversary!

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Blogging is so new in Australia- especially for weddings! Here are some of my favourite idea filled Aussie wedding blogs!

(there are lots more of wedding suppliers (ie photographers!) but that’s another post!)

Kathryn writes Australia Entertains (link should hopefully be working soon!). Kathryn is one and creative stylish lady who is full of beautiful ideas and helpful hints for everything from weddings to kid’s parties. Kathryn is full of new ways of creating unique and stylish events and her warmth comes through her posts.

Fashion editor of Bride Magazine Kirstie Armiger-Grant writes Bride Pure Couture and has a fab insiders view to what Aussies are doing with weddings. She also talks of what the magazine is doing and their special projects which is exciting to read. She writes beautifully detailed posts which I love to read with my cup of tea.

The ladies at Wedding Style Guide Magazine have launched their own blog. Although only new, readers are invited to poke and prod the staff as they share what’s hot at the magazine and Australian weddings. With such a stylish publication, this blog is certainly one to watch!

Cathrin D’Entremont is a Perth based wedding planner with a love of anything ‘wedding’! Cathrin runs wedding workshops in Perth which she shares on her blog. She also shares some of the gorgeous weddings she helps come to life and her trials and joys as a Perth wedding planner.

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Today our Real bride Erica of Girl With A Satchel shares her wedding day details with us.

Tell me about your ‘details’? favours, centerpieces etc

The table centrepieces featured bluebirds.

As there were bluebirds on the invitations, I decided to use them as a motif for the reception. My friend Aime’s mum made amazing table centerpieces: little bluebirds nestled amongst branches covered in crystals and berries mounted in clear vases filled with white pebbles.

I loved them. And they were a labour of love for Jen – each one took hours to make! We ordered little brown favours bags with the bluebird motif through our invitation designers, Poppies for Grace, and filled them with caramels and éclairs we bought from Big W, then tied them up with navy-blue ribbon, in keeping with the colour theme. The table settings and tablecloths and chair covers were all white.

Tell me about your flowers? Why did you choose them? Where were they used?

Erica’s bouquet

We had a local florist create posies of lisianthus and baby roses. Divine!

What music did you walk down the aisle to?

Vanessa Carlton’s ‘A Thousand Miles’. It was symbolic of our long-distance relationship!

Did you have any special parts to your ceremony?

Erica and James during their wedding ceremony.

As we’re both committed Christians, we wanted the ceremony to honour God and our commitment to centring our marriage around him. We chose the readings and hymns carefully (Amazing Grace and Chris Tomlin’s “Indescribable”) but didn’t want to alienate our non-Christian guests, so it was all very light and good humoured. We had two reverends overseeing the proceedings – a family friend and the minister from the church – which was a little different.

Did you have a something old, new borrowed blue? If so what were they?

Umm, not really! There was blue on my garter, I had an old purse, my shoes were new and, well, I guess I forgot to borrow something!

Did you DIY anything for your wedding? Tell me about it?

Apart from the centerpieces made by my friend’s mother and stuffing the favour bags with sweets, nope. Unless you include the marquee, in which Jim did all the lighting (we bought paper lights from Bunnings to keep it soft) and the cupcakes (made by Jim’s aunt Muriel) we had for dessert. Oh, and I compiled seven CDs of music for our DJ to play throughout the night. It took ages but was worth it – I had people asking me to burn them copies!

What perfume did you wear?

Ralph Lauren Romance.

What traditions did you keep? Which ones did you throw out the window?

Erica and James

It was traditional in the sense that we kept to the ceremony within the conventions of our faith (though we’re not aligned with any particular church) but otherwise we weren’t too fussed with formalities.

I wanted my sister to speak at the reception, as she’s my best friend, and our wedding dance wasn’t rehearsed – there was too much other entertainment to think about.

Next- Erica shares her post wedding thoughts!

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