Just before Christmas, I was asked to participate in a “blogger’s challenge”. A wedding showcase, held at The Glen shopping centre in Melbourne, in which myself and two other wedding bloggers were to style a bridal look to suit a specific body type. We were given free reign at Mariana Hardwick Bridal Emporium and my adventure there, including the dress I chose you can read about here. This post is all about the finished product!

The day of the showcase, I arrived at The Glen laden with accessories and shoes borrowed from Equip and Nine West in true stylist fashion, and made my way up to where the backstage action was. The models were all having the finishing touches to their hair and makeup done and the dresses had been lovingly transported to the event. All that was left was to style the “brides” and get ready to face the public with our presentations. Eeeeeeek! Not really used to speaking in public, I was a tiny bit daunted at the prospect but as our divine host Brodie Harper pointed out backstage, “I used to get nervous too before I realized that we weren’t changing the world”. Wise words indeed! This was supposed to be fun and inspirational which is exactly what Polka Dot Bride is all about! I could do this!

Image by Ms Gingham

My gorgeous model Amy was representing the curvaceous of us girls. I had chosed a divine piece from Mariana Hardwick named “Noella” from their Luxe collection. I chose this gown, as the long, corseted bodice was ideal for showing off feminine curves and also lengthening the torso. The construction was absolutely divine with a combination of organza, lace and brocade adorning the bodice and flowing into the skirt. The corset is so structured that even a bigger busted girl would have no trouble pulling off this strapless design.

I chose to follow the couture look of the gown with a layered combination of pearls and crystals which I was lucky enough to find quite quickly at Equip. I didn’t want understated accessories as I think the dress needed to be shown off and complimented. The necklace was named “Pearl and Diamante Necklace” and retailed at a very reasonable $16.99 while the stacked bracelets were a combination of a 6 pack of pearl bracelets, a 5 pack of pearl bracelets and a faceted bead stretch bangle. The whole look cost less than $80!

Image by Ms Gingham

Image by Ms Gingham

Image by Ms Gingham

For the shoes, I wanted to go for something with a bit of interest. I really believe that shoes are where you can express your personality in a wedding as you’ll know if you follow my Shoe Crush Sunday posts on Polka Dot Weddings! I found the perfect pair of shoes called “Bymyside” (how apt is that?) at Nine West which retailed for again a very reasonable $149.95! My model Amy said that she couldn’t believe how comfortable they were! So far my total look had cost less than $300!!!

Image by Ms Gingham

The finishing touch was a veil. I really love the drama of a veil and I know there’s debate as to whether you should or shouldn’t wear one but from my point of view? When are you ever going to be able to wear a veil and really feel special like this again? I say veil up!!! Being that I’m not satisfied with same, same (and I really wanted to stand out in this challenge) I decided that I would make the veil for the gown. Boy was I happy with the result! It was surprisingly easy to do, cost effective and let me really control the look I was going for. You can read the full DIY tutorial over on Polka Dot Made if you want to do the same!

So we had styled the girls, taped the shoes (there’s a trick I learned when borrowing shoes so that there’s no scuff marks) and it was time to present! It was fun! I got to show off my debut look as a stylist (tee hee) and talk up this amazing blog at the same time.

Brodie Harper did such a great job hosting that I felt as if I was chatting to a girl friend. All in all, I had an absolute ball and have to thank the team at The Glen shopping centre for inviting me to be part of this great event!

Images courtesy of The Glen