Haigh’s Chocolates For Weddings

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200g ballotin Haighs Chocolates For Weddings

Haigh’s Ballotin Box comes in  Dark Connoisseurs, Milk, Milk and Dark, Cream Centres, Truffles & Dark Ginger varieties.

Haighs are a truly delicious Australian made chocolate company. With a long family history they actually make the chocolate on their premises in Adelaide. After training with some of the top chocolatiers in Switzerland, Haighs has become an Aussie icon.

I love the the ethics and values behind this company (which become evident if you take a factory tour and enjoy their free samples!)

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Haighs Duet Gift Box contains a champagne and sparkling shiraz truffle

Mr Polka Dot is particularly fond of their Maltichocs and me? I adore their dark chocolate peppermint frogs!

So I was very excited when I heard Haighs does yummy boxed chocolates for weddings!

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Haighs Acetate Heart Gift Box

From chocolate hearts, to champagne truffles, you can spoil your guests with the yummy chocolates that will remain etched in their memory without having to worry about whether it will get thrown in a drawer or not!

Haighs have stores in Adelaide, Sydney & Melbourne though are available to order anywhere in Australia

Find your nearest store here

http://haighschocolates.com.au

ABC Of Weddings: H Is For Hair Accessories

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Happy Hour is often celebrated at a wedding with Hors d’oeuvres and Heaps of Hummus and Hot chilli in their Hands to Heave a Happy sigh of relief.

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Choosing a hairstyle can be an arduous task- up or down, straight or curly! Then there’s the various accessories you can find! Ugh! Today I’m looking at all things ‘hair’ you can wear on your wedding day.

Veil

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Heidi wed Michael wearing a simple veil (from theknot.com)

The iconic bridal item, the veil truly tells the world you’re a bride! The veil takes many forms (which we will explore further soon!) and can suit the theme and style of your wedding. Able to be worn alone or with other adornments the veil is a classic part of a bride’s attire.

Flower

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Leigh from theknot.com wore a white flowers in her hair when she wed Sean

Wearing a flower in your hair adds such a beautiful touch to your wedding hairstyle – old world and vintage, or pretty and spring like! A fresh bloom can last a long time if it’s a sturdy variety such as a rose, whereas a more fragile flower such an an orchid may be better replaced with it’s silk sister to ensure it lasts all day. A large silk bloom studded with crystals may bring a vintage glam touch to your wedding day style.

Tiara

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Lauren from theknot.com wore a tiara as she married Scott

Although not as popular as it once was, the tiara still holds a place in bride’s hairdos. The varieties of tiaras are endless, from simple wire and beads to elaborate diamond glittering numbers. Choose one appropriate to the formality or your wedding.

Hairband

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Hairband from theknot

A hairband is a soft look which can add a feminine looking touch to a ‘up’ or ‘down’ do. A hairband can be made from silk ribbon to something like a rhinestone studded band.

Comb

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Kristin wore a pearl studded comb as she wed Andy (Image from theknot.com)

Combs with their intricacies can make any hairstyle look gorgeous. Often studded with gemstones, rhinestones and all kinds of beads they turn a hairstyle into any ‘look’ and are simple and easy to incorporate. With the comb’s edge it can be firmly placed into your hairstyle.

Pins

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Kara from theknot.com wore rhinestone hairpins when she wed Brian

Hairpins are a gorgeous way to add a bit of sparkle and detail to a hairstyle. From rhinestones to pearls, hairpins can match many wedding day looks.  Pins are a great idea if you can’t find the look you want in a clip or comb. They’re able to be grouped together or scattered and can be as simple or elaborate as you choose.

Fascinator

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Fascinator from Chameleon Designs

Fascinators are reminiscent of the races and have an elegant look about them, especially when paired with a beautiful gown. They can also be a great alternative for a bride who doesn’t want a veil but still wants to make a feature of her hair. Fascinators can even incorporate netting to create the sense of a veil.

Take a look at ready to spark‘s recent post on fascinators for history and more inspiration.

Clips

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Megan from theknot.com wore a rhinestone studded hairclip as she wed Graham

Similar to the versatility of a comb, a clip can take many forms and add a beautiful feature to a simple hairstyle. Easy to replace, a clip can be switched between the ceremony and reception for different looks.

Brooch

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theknot.com bride Jennie wore a brooch in her updo when she wed Dave

A beautiful way to incorporate an heirloom brooch is to have it adorn your hairstyle. A bold geometric style brooch could be worn for a mod style look, or an intricate flower design would be perfect for a garden wedding.

Something Different

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Jewelled hair vines, Ngoc wearing a red hat for her wedding from theknot.com

The only limit to hair accessories is  your imagination. From crystal studded vines, to necklaces, scarves, hats and feathers. Anything can be incorporated into your hairstyle to make it just that little bit more special and unique.

The Wedding Jump & Registry Bliss

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whitejumpwedding The Wedding Jump & Registry Bliss

This is such a great wedding shot by capturingreallife – the sunset, the beach! It’s feels like a great celebration (and I love the neutral colours of the bridal party!)

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You can check out Perfect Bound for my top registry picks! See the Polka Dot Bride entry here

perfectboundregsitrybliss The Wedding Jump & Registry Bliss

ABC Of Weddings: G Is For Guestbook

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Garters are often Given to Grooms, and Guests are Greeted by Guest books and Green Gowns.

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I love a guest book, it’s such a nice way to look back at your guests’ well wishes and even memories. There are so many ways of collating guests thoughts nowadays!

The Traditional Book

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Guest book from Kikki K

The traditional route is to have a traditional guest book with name and guest comment. These are easily found, a no fuss option. They’re easy to find and customise to suit the theme of your wedding and simple to fill out.

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The Guestbook Store Casual page guest book

A variation is to customise and buy a traditional book with a twist like the above one from The Guest Book store. It allows guests a bit more creativity and you’re guaranteed some messages that will make you giggle!

The Hardback Book

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MILK: Love by Milk Photos makes a great guestbook

A coffee table book can make a fantastic guest book. Choose a subject like love or something that means something to both or you- a beautiful architecture book if you’re both into buildings, a French photography book if your proposal was under the Eiffel Tower. Guests can write in the blank spaces (choose metallic pens to make writing in dark areas easier).

The Wishing Tree

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Wishing Tree by Rebecca Thuss at Martha Stewart

This is such a pretty option and perfect for a spring or summer wedding, even a fall wedding with bare branches. Guests write wishes and hang them onto a tree, creating a pretty display and an easy way for you to collect the wishes after the wedding.

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Colourful guest book idea and origami guestbook idea from Martha Stewart Weddings

You can mix the idea up a bit by creating a ‘Wishing Line’ where guests write wishes and peg them to a hanging line of string or a ‘Wishing Bowl’ where guests write wishes and place them into a glass bowl. Use postcards, printed cards – any sort of card can work with this idea!

The Photo Book

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I love this idea that Mrs Emerald from Weddingbee used. A coffee table book made up of your own photos (a great excuse to use your engagement photos!) where guests sign along side. The book could include your favourite love quotes. Try Momento for this option.

The Polaroid Guest book

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Polaroid Guest book by Instant Albums

The Polaroid guest book has become a bit of a classic and can even be modernised with digital cameras. Have someone assigned to take photos of each couple, use a photo booth, or assign someone to take photos of everyone on a digital camera. Photos as always are a great way to preserve the memories of the night.

The Photo Mat

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Photo Frame Signature Mat from We Do Wed

This is an unusual way to have a wall hanging that is special. A photo (an engagement shoot shot is perfect for this) is displayed at the reception with a blank photo mat around it, guests sign it, you pop in a wedding photo once developed and voila- instant art! Your photographer will be able to arrange this for you but photo mats are readily available at framing stores.

The Quilt

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Knottie woodstockbride had a quilt made in one piece for her guests to sign

A sentimental idea is to have guests sign squares of fabric (make sure to leave enough room for seams) in colours of your wedding palette or like the bride above have a panel made to quilt up after the wedding. Certainly something that will become a family heirloom!

Other ideas to collect guest messages include

  • Get each guest to paint a canvas, or have them paint part of a large canvas to act as a collaborative art work.
  • Send guest book pages to guests before the event and ask them to decorate the page and send/bring it to the wedding and then bind it into a book
  • Have your videographer record a message from each guest.

Tips

  • Provide plenty of pens
  • Consider asking junior bridesmaids to walk the book around to each table to ease congestion at the reception entrance
  • Ask the DJ or those making a speech to mention the guest book
  • Have someone collect it for safe keeping at the end of the night.

What are you doing for your guest book?

Polka Dot Bride Wedding and Bride Blog