In need of inspiration

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Image credits (clockwise from left):

I am sure I have posted this before but I can't find the credit (please let me know if you know)

Ditto the turquoise car (please let me know if you know)

from US Vogue June 2008 via A Desert Fete via This is Glamorous

Robyn Kessler via Style me Pretty

peacock - unknown

Damian Hall Photography via here

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It's cold, it's dark, I lack motivation. I have decided I need to step back and look at things in a new light. So I went through all my photos and picked the ones which speak to me a representative of our theme. We're not actually getting married in a field and nor do we have that very Californian light in England, but this is the feel we are going for: nostalgic, vintage, whimsical, ethereal & real. Oh, and English. Is it possible?

M bought himself a suit from e-bay last week. It arrives soon. I also found him a pair of boots just like the ones above, but it seemed silly to spend £250 on the boots and £10 on the suit. We shall keep looking. I wondered what the rest of his outfit looked like above so I searched Robin Kessler's blog until I found the rest of the images. I was disappointed by the rest of his outfit but she is called Rachel, so there must be something in it.

My sister returns from Australia at the weekend and it will be the first time in 3 years that we 3 sisters have been in the same place. It is also the first time we will have seen her since we got engaged. I will be back next week.

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A little update

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Image by Robyn Kessler via Style me Pretty
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Do not worry, my cold hasn't got me yet. I might be existing solely on lemsips and mouth-ulcer gel but I haven't forgotten the wedding. It has in fact been a rather busy week: M's brother turned 30 (with two parties, one to co-host), I had a meeting with the fab H who is my wonderful gorgeous hen party elf with envy-inducing-long-eyelashes (more on that later), sister-in-law-to-be survived the "we are going to make one of you redundant and give the other a promotion to do both of your jobs" fiasco, we met my sister's AmericanBoy and took him on a late night rainy walking tour of London, an Italian friend came to stay with 2 days notice and we went to our marriage course. Oh yes, and I went to work.

Have been doing a little research into table linens. After much consideration we have decided to purchase the napkins and tablecloths rather than hire them so we can embellish and decorate the napkins ahead of time. The ribbon is chosen, the theme for the labels decided and now, tonight, I purchased 130 white napkins. Off e-bay. For 20p each. I do so hope they are not a disappointment.

I know the photo above doesn't bear any relation to the post but I do love the idea of the groom in skinny trousers and pointy boots. So hot. But does it work in June in England? That, I am not sure.

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Honeymoon Daydreams

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Image from US Vogue June 2008 via A Desert Fete via This is Glamorous

This is what I am hoping the first week of our honeymoon will look like...

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HeadPiece Ideas

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Daphne HeadPiece by Sweetsnlo via Etsy

I was thinking I would make something to wear in my hair, but maybe I will just wear this instead! I am finding it impossible to reach a decision, about anything...

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For the Groom - Tie

Images by Toybreaker via Etsy

I have written about what I am going to wear, but what about the groom? Well, he would like to keep his outfit somewhat of a secret (although, if he wants it to be a proper secret he should not be using my e-bay account to watch things!) but I am putting my foot down. His shoes, socks, suit and so on can be a surprise for the day, but I need to know the colour and I need to know what tie he is wearing. (He needs to match the bridesmaids, although that is another story altogether).

Last week I bought him a dark green silk tie from e-bay. It is by Liberty and has a jacquard print of peacock feathers. It is beautiful and cost the grand sum of £2.45. I would love him to wear it but for that to happen we need to find two more matching ones (or the same but different colours) for BestMan and HeadUsher. I will be doing my best, but then I found the silk screen printed ties on Etsy...

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Hair Ideas

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Vintage Pearl Labrinth Headdress

by MillionDesign

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This is very similiar to the headband (and is by the same designer) that I liked so much at the wedding show. No, she hasn't sent through any photos but I finally managed to get the website to work properly. Gorgeous, isn't it. Would absolutely fit with my vintage theme and eco-credentials as the pearls are recycled 1940s ones...

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Close up of the Vintage Pearl Labrinth Headdress
by MillionDesign

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Engagement Party

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Image by Sedona Bride/Katrina Wallace Photography
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Some friends of good friends got married a couple of weeks ago. This isn't them. But I just loved the light in this photo that I had to post it as I would like a photo much like this of me and my boy (with less dramatic scenery, obviously, being England)

The photos of our friends wedding have started to trickle into sight, on mantlepieces and facebook, despite the bride and groom still being on honeymoon. By all accounts it was a wonderful, fantastic wedding and indeed seeing so many people I know as guests gave my looking through the photos extra meaning.

What it also did is make me nervous.

It is our engagement party this weekend, the formal one. I.e not the one where we invited friends round to our flat for drinks and a barbeque the weekend after we got engaged. This one is held by my mother-in-law-to-be, with champagne and guests and The Meeting of The Parents. Yes, after almost seven years, our respective parents still have not met. There will also be the meeting of the BestMan and Bride's Parents and various other relatives on both sides. It also means that there is only 1 week and 8 months until the wedding and 7 months until the hen and stag parties.

I must not panic. I must write lists.

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Bridesmaid Dress Inspiration

Top Row Left to right: (1) & (2) Dessy (3) vera wang/alvina valenta

Top right: niche by Suzanne Neville

Middle: Little Jo

Bottom Left: Pocket Venus

Bottom Row Left to Right: (1) vera wang maids (2) & (3) Ann Louise Roswald

Images from Bridesmagazine.co.uk & Dessy.com

Our Wedding Vendors: Venue & Inspiration Questions

Secret venue near our old university town (if you recognise it, don't let on!)

{All images from Author's Personal Collection}

Wedding Inspiration Questions from Snippet & Ink (them of the amazing mood boards!)

1. What season is it?

It will be early summer.

2. What is the mood of the event? Is it formal, casual, or something in between? Is it grand or intimate? Sophisticated? Playful?

The idea is to have a casual formal wedding, if that makes any sense. I.e. We are aiming to keep things in perspective. It will be lounge suits/cocktail dresses rather than black tie but I hope people will wear hats. More like a country garden party/tea party I suppose, which will go on into the evening. But with a hog roast rather than sandwiches and probably less strawberries. Although that hasn't been decided yet. Intimate, stylish, sophisticated but laid-back, I suppose.

3. What is the location? Inside or out-of-doors? How can I play up regional/local elements? Does the architecture/scenery inspire me?

We are hiring a marquee to be stood on the tennis court lawn in front of the house (which you can see part of above on the 2nd row down, left picture) with tables and a dance floor inside. We are having local produce and our friends are combining to make the music (ranging from DJ sets to a band).

A lot of the wedding will be made by my boy and I. We are proposing to hand-write our invitations on beautiful paper and to make the seating plan, posters, decorations, cake-topping thing, bunting and so on. We are proposing to make the most of it being held in a garden and beautiful outside surroundings. We shall have wellies, blankets and umbrellas on hand, just in case.

4. What single element can tie everything together? Is it a theme? A certain flower or fruit?

The single element which will tie everything together will be the peacock feather, hence also the name of this blog. The colours of the feather have and will influence everything from my shoes to my bridesmaids' dresses. All other decorations will most likely be white to balance the vibrancy of the colours of the peacock feather. The only flowers will be the ones in the church (to be transferred to the venue) and the bouquets/button holes (vases will be on the top table to pop the bouquets in. The only other floral decorations will be dried lavender.

5. How can I stretch this idea? What is unexpected but fits perfectly with all the other aspects?

The plates and crockery we hope to use will probably be the unexpected in this theme - they will neither match each other nor the peacock feathers but I think they will be a decoration in themselves and very much fit the country/very English theme.

I also especially like the colours of the doors at the venue: exactly what I would have chosen if they had asked me to paint them!

'Custom' Inspiration Board

Images previously credited here before except:

2nd from top left by Leigh Miller

Top middle by The Real Flower Company

2nd from bottom right from Peonies & Polaroids

Bottom middle from photo stock

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Apparently, people are prepared to pay quite a lot of money for customised inspiration boards. I, however, had great fun trawling the internet, saving the photos, noting the credit and then creating the board. This board is obviously inspiration for what I am going to wear. Next up, the reception venue.

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Oh My!

Images from Boring Sydney
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Just how fab is this fascinator/head piece? How fab would it be for my peacock theme? But just how to incorporate it with a veil I have no idea. I am so tempted to order it and wear it at the reception! I love it... (and I love etsy too)

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Inspiration Returns?

No sooner had I posted my insecure ramblings about my feeling squashed by wedding planning than my RSS feed popped up to say that Cara from Peonies & Polaroids had finally published something since she got married 2 weeks ago! I mean, even in a cafe with wifi access when checking the weather forecast I dropped onto her blog to see if she'd had a good day. So I was sad to read that something had happened to spoil or at least mean her day was less than perfect. But like all good blog writers she doesn't elaborate and we shall have to return over and over again to see what it was... Still, I wish her many congratulations and hope that it wasn't too traumatic and also to thank her for posting a link to some other blogs to lift my inspirations.

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BirdCage Veil Ideas

Still experimenting with ideas for a diy birdcage veil. I think the shape of this is nice but too bulky and needs more than a pin to hold the edges together and disguise the netting a little bit. I hope to use feathers and flowers together on mine. But we shall see...

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I think the netting needs to come down a little further over the face as it is essentially a hairpiece not a veil but doesn't the white netting look fab against her dark hair.

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All images from stylemepretty.com (I cannot work out who took them)

Dress Ideas I

{Dress by Temperley London via bridesmagazine.co.uk}

I love that this dress looks like a shell. Sadly it wouldn't show off my shoes so for that reason, not because it's too expensive, ahem, is the reason I shall carry on looking...

{Dress by Temperley London via bridesmagazine.co.uk}

What a fabulous feather head-dress

Dress Ideas II

{Dresses from The Frock}

Although both of these are rather out of my price-range, I am considering having a vintage dress instead of getting one made. These dresses whilst very different have something very appealing about the way the fabric falls in pleats. I am rather into pleats at the moment. I am not sure whether it will translate into an actual dress but for the moment I am enjoying looking at them.