Dreaming of a white wedding

Doesn't time fly? At one point you're picking up barbie in one hand and Ken in the other saying: "Daddy my dollies are married" and then next minute you're 15 years older and planning your own real life wedding. Weddings aren't as easy as they're shown in fairytales. We're shown this dream ending where she disappears off with a prince, but we are never shown all the planning that goes ahead of it. That's why when you finally start planning your own special occasion, it seems like somewhat of a reality shock. 

Well I'm happy to say that I've finally got myself into gear and the wedding planning is starting to commence again after a long break. Today I finally secured the band for the big day! They're a local band called 'Suicide Blonde' and they will be serenading us with rock hits through the evening. I'm a massive fan and I know they will probably exceed all my expectations. 

The next step of the planning process is to finally attend a few wedding dress stores. I'm a picky mare when it comes to normal clothes shopping, never-mind my wedding day. That fact that I've gone for a 1950s/60s theme has made life even more difficult as I'm more inclined to go with shorter dresses and they are currently a rarity in my area. I know eventually I'll find the right dress, but I'm well aware that I may have to broaden my search and go further a field and maybe even shop on-line. I know for a fact that I would like a shorter wedding dress, because of my height. Being five foot nothing means that a long dress would give the illusion of me being even shorter. I get panicky wearing maxi dresses for the exact same reason and I don't want to be having anxiety on my big day. I spend my life wearing 50s style dresses as they suit my hour glass shape and that's exactly why I want one for the most important day of my life.

I've noticed that short dresses appear quite popular abroad and quite a lot of American sites have plenty of variety. Of course ordering from America is too far a field for me, but it's great for the research. These are a few dresses that I stumbled across on evening and wedding dress website Dress First.

I love the bow design on this first dress and the retro design. The fact that it nips in at the waist and goes out at the hips will compliment my hour glass shape and the bow design will detract from my slightly unflattering stomach.

I have slightly broad shoulders and a dress like this second one would elongate the neck and give the illusion of thinner shoulders. I love the waist band and the puffed up skirt - it's so cute.

This final dress is by far my favourite so far. It looks like something a princess would wear. Elegant, pretty and yet so simplistic.  The flower detail on the front really channels the vintage vibe. 

So there's my current wedding dress inspiration. Now all there is to do is to finally go shopping!

Which wedding dress do you like?

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London: The Big Surprise

The weather in London was absolutely beautiful this weekend, the sun was shining and the skies looked crystal clear. Me and my partner went down for sight seeing and a weekend away to celebrate my 21st birthday, little did I know, a surprise was lurking around the corner.

We arrived in London after a 6 hour travel at 10am Friday morning. James had never been to London before, so I decided to take him on an open air bus tour.  The tour gave him a thorough insight into the city of Westminster, the City of London and all the sights - it was a perfect day for the travelling.

During the tour we stopped off at a few places, one of which being Buckingham Palace.  The area was incredibly busy and bustling with different personalities and accents. One thing I adore about London is the multi-cultural society. I love hearing accents from around the world combined into one city and most importantly, I love to learn about culture. 

Whilst away we spent a lot of time at Hyde Park and Kensington Park. It was lovely to walk around the scenery alone, holding hands like a hollywood romance - I loved every second of it.

Before heading back to the hotel, we went on the London Eye. The view was beautiful and it was great to spend some more quality time with James. 

We stayed at the Shaftesbury London Hyde Park hotel which was beautiful. The service was impeccable and the room was cosy. Whilst getting ready for a night out, my partner was getting slightly agitated. I kept asking him what was wrong. He started telling me how much he loved me and I told him I loved him more, he then got down on one knee and I giggled. I really didn't think he was being serious, until he said: " I heard that diamonds are a girls best friend, will you marry me?" The above picture was taken several minutes after the proposal.

We then went to the Roof Gardens restaurant, Babylon in Kensington High Street. We celebrated with a special meal and cocktails!

Here's a picture of me and my fiance on the way back from the meal.

This is my fiance, James McDonnell. I met him when I was 14 and i've always had a soft spot for him. Our love for 50s/60s music brought us even closer together and 7months ago we began to date. We've been through so much together in a short-time and even though some of the experiences we have haven't necessarily been the best (Being in hospital for one), I wouldn't change them, it brought us even closer together. I love him so much and I can't believe he proposed to me for my 21st birthday, it's the best present he could have ever given me.

Here's the ring:

We are having a long engagement, but I'm already starting the planning. I really can't wait for our special day. Feel free to check my Wedding Inspiration board on Pinterest!

http://pinterest.com/jessycalouise/wedding-inspiration/

What have you been up to lately? Any good news to share?

    ♥♥♥

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