Chapel of Love

I love a pretty painted nail! OPI has the most fantastic range of colours- and sassy names to match!

Matched Luggage

OPI has a range particularly perfect for brides called the ‘Honeymoon Collection’. Names include Mimosas for Mr and Mrs, Bride’s Bouquet, I Do! I Do!, Heart Throb and Altar Ego

Second Honeymoon

For Aussies- the cheapest place for OPI is 8ty8beauty.com the polishes are $US3.98 each which works out to be about $AU5.15 (depending on the exchange rate) per bottle. postage is really reasonable too- $US11 about $AU15 from the US for 6 bottles. Otherwise, they’re also available at David Jones.

‘Bombshell’ features beautiful lines and is worn with a French lace mantilla

A bridal couturier is someone who I hold great admiration for- their workmanship often shows in every gown, the choice of fabrics, the cuts- can make the girl next door into a Hollywood movie star.

Mira Mandic is a Sydney designer who now based in France. She uses beautiful lines, amazing fabrics, and subtle details to bring out the beauty in her brides.

“With evening and bridal wear I can work with fabrics that many main-stream designers can only dream of. I have the ability to be a little more fantastical in my designs whilst still staying true to the unique style of each of my clients”, explains Mira.

‘Sensualista’ is adorned with lace and a tie at the back.

Mira could never be described as ordinary- her gowns are statement pieces for the bride who wants to be different, bu still gorgeously elegant. There are no covering of curves, but rather by using beautiful fabrics, Mira enhances a woman’s body making the ‘voom’ transform into ‘va va voom’.
Mira’s gowns have adorned many stars, from the red carpet to Melbourne Cup Day. Her designs always stand out and make the wearer feel exquisite.

Mira Mandic
220 New South Head Road
Double Bay
NSW 2027
(02) 9363 8844
mira@miramandic.com.au
http://www.miramandic.com.au

Sometimes, there’s nothing better than curling up on the couch and watching a wedding movie.
here are some of my favourites, what are yours?

As an Aussie , can I really ignore that classic Australian hit Muriel’s Wedding ? Not only a great watch for one of Toni Collette’s earlier pieces, but a lovable movie that brings to life Porpoise Spit!

Ah, you can’t make a wedding movie list without the classic The Princess Bride. A must watch!

Whilst it may take awhile, I really love the last wedding in this flick! Julia Roberts is great in any movie that involves romance and humour and Runaway Bride is no exception!

Another Julie movie - My Best Friend’s Wedding definitely goes down in wedding movie history. Love the mayve bridesmaids gowns and the chasing scenes!

Classicly modern romance! The Wedding Date is a great one for bad wedding planning days!

Humourous and sometimes painful, The Wedding Singer is a hilarious comedy for the retro bride!

Ah, Four Weddings and a Funeral- how could I leave this off my list? Especially when there’s FOUR weddings I can delight over! Slightly ‘vintage’ nowadays!

The Wedding Planner shows the delightful side of being a wedding planner, lovely romantic comedy for a rainy day (though perhaps not a wise choice for the paranoid bride who has hired a wedding planner!

My Big Fat Greek Wedding! I love this one, the quirky little bits, unexpected humour and touching moments are a perfect wedding movie combination!

Not strictly a wedding movie- but aside from the fact the whole movie is a beautiful love story, the opening wedding scenes in Love Actually are some of my favourite. Love it!

I of course can’t leave Father of the Bride out, it’s always been my favourite! From the beautiful lavish wedding shots to the ridiculous frank, it has me in tears every time!

I recently discovered a fantastic alternative to the usual ’strippers and alcohol’ bucks night.

Boys Can Cook was started by Kim Terakis and is located in Sydney. With no formal training Kim simple developed his skills through a love of food! As the current food writer for GQ he know’s what he’s talking about!

Kim promises a fun classes tailored to men. To quote Kim ‘‘Men should cook, but they should do it with one eye on the TV, its only natural. So we will have the TV on in the classes.’ There will be no gourmet delights with names you can’t pronounce either, nor will the menu be steak and chips- but rather delicious, wholesome food which is easy to prepare at home- but amazing all the same!

Boys Can Cook provides a fun experience for any groom who prefers to celebrate his impending marriage by doing something unique and yummy. If you’d like to up it another notch, Kim also runs ‘Boys Can BBQ Better’ classes.

For the price of $85, you will experience

• Three dishes prepared from scratch in front of you
• Taste of each dish plus more!
• A few glasses of quality wine
• A folder for all your recipes!
• A giftbag

Boys Can Cook
(02) 9281 2433
Blanco showroom
40 Ebley St Bondi Junction

For Melbourne Bucks- Ed Dixon Food Design also has cooking classes tailored just for men!

Ed’s is located at
Level One, 1 Edsall Street
Malvern Victoria 3144
(03) 9576 1000

Anything vintage style holds a place in my heart! A great choice for place cards

As a lover of all things Polka Dot, it really was only a matter of time before I posted about a Sydney based company called Polka Dot Cookies and Cakes.

In 2003, Elisabeth Marriner started baking delicious cookies for events- a unique, cute and totally delicious favour option for any bride wishing to spoil her guests!

The cookies come in all different shapes, colours and styles. I’m particuarly partial to the “Vintage Lace’ design above, though the cute bride and grooms also have me drooling!

The flavours are diverse and your guests may be spoilt with anything from vanilla bean to lavendar or pistachio! They’ll even help you package them in cello bags or cookie jars. A perfect addition to any table setting, these treats are sure to have your guests going ga ga!

Polka Dot also have a large range of cakes- in flavours like Lemon and Lavender with Lemon Buttercream, no plain fruit cake here (though I’m sure they’d oblige if you asked!)

For the girly hen, Polka Dot can put together a ‘High Tea’ package- English, Australian or Moroccan, with delicious desserts for each guest. Perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Polka Dot Cookies and Cakes
http://www.polka.com.au/
P.O. Box 3249
Marrickville Metro
2204, NSW, Australia
02 9557 9093

Perfect for a spring garden wedding perhaps?
I love cake. Wedding cakes are often works of art and the varieties are endless.

I think aside from the wide range of flavours now in existence, the designs of cakes are becoming more beautiful every year as cake designers experiment with different techniques.

For something a little different I recently stumbled across Cake Stories. Cake Stories makes beautiful cakes reminiscent of a Martha Stewart magazine cover

An autumn wedding, with rich browns and golds would suit this cake!

Cake Stories was started by Nicholas Pelekis who is a french trained pastry chef. He brings emotion into his cak and designs the most delicious looking treats personalised for each couple

Cake Stories

71 Payneham Road College Park, SA 5069
t: +618 8362 6702
e: info@cakestories.com.au

A lot of brides want to get married in a church but aren’t religious, or have conflicting religious backgrounds. Many cities in Australia don’t provide a lot of indoor options for winter or weather concerned brides, sometimes a foyer of the reception venue is all there is!

St Michaels is a non denominational church located in the heart of Melbourne- perfect for any city bride!

The church features beautiful stained glass windows dating back to the 1800’s- said to display the most existential-religious stained glass anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere.

The building itself was designed by Joseph Reed who’s other works include the Melbourne town hall. Joseph loved to design in the Lombardic style of architecture.

St Michael’s Uniting Church
120 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria Australia 3000
Ph: (03) 9654 5120
Fax: (03) 9650 3863
e-mail: office@stmichaels.org.au

Real Weddings is an Australian magazine produced in Melbourne. What started out as a small magzine is now eagerly anticipated by a number of women in Australia- me included! I can’t wait to get my hands on the next issue!

Real Weddings bought out their first annual last year. Real Weddings Style. It’s a beautiful magazine as always- themed around different styles.

One of my favourite things to do when looking at a wedding is checking out the little details- the stuff that makes the event pop. Real Weddings style captures it all!

In my younger days I collected all kinds of bridal information, a lot I still have today. I’d drag my dad to the photocopier and have him help me photocopy my favourite bits out of bridal magazines- bits I still have today. My collection of bridal magazines is one I am slightly red faced about, but throwing them out would be too painful!

I’ve always loved what a wedding represents- a big celebration surrounding the love of two people (corny?? maybe) Now as i have grown older and am part of the industry I love the different facets of weddings- the divine couture, stunning papers, delicious food- and who knew there were so many options for a veil? I’m always scouring international sites for the latest in wedding trends and am continually amazed by the fresh, unique and stylish ideas available. I look everywhere for inspiration- gardens, books, a beautiful piece of crockery.

I’m all for doing things traditionally, but admit there’s a slight touch of anti-bride in my system, I believe thats more to do with making your wedding unique to you and a heck of a lot of fun! I love a wedding where the couple shines.

I hope to touch on anything wedding related that is useful to today’s bride- style, unique finds, fabulous suppliers all with a little bit of fun thrown in! I want to inspire you, to make you dream, to ease the wedding stress and to create an event that is beautiful, and is you.

Located in Australia, the options are somewhat harder to find, but when you find one it’s all the more fun!. In this blog, I discover the unique, the stylish, the fresh and the quirky wedding ideas for Australian (and international!) weddings- most of all I hope to discover things that can make your wedding fun and about YOU!

Contact Polka Dot Bride at polkadotbride@gmail.com