the details

I've been hooked on the Intimate Wedding blog for the past few weeks now. We're going the el cheapo but stylish way and the site has been great inspiration! Apart from my sporadic freak outs of getting married 11 months earlier than planned, I've been really excited in planning the details which isn't very much.

We've decided to make it a picnic-styled ceremony. Quite fitting seeing as it's not meant to be very formal and we're in a garden. There's going to be some colourful picnic rugs and nibblies from The Gumnut Patisserie down in Berrima which have yummy yummy cakes and pastries and Moet in plastic champagne glasses, which remind me, I gotta go hunt them down. I'm so excited!!!

For my dress, I'm tossing between this delilah dress by camilla and marc which I bought at a sale a few months back, a bridesmaid dress I wore two years ago which is similar to the delilah dress or a red cheongsam dress which I thought would be different seeing as I''ll be wearing a white dress next year at the wedding. Still deciding....

Ryan's just going to wear his jeans and a collared shirt. Guys are so easy, it's not fair!

Instead of hiring a photographer for our ceremony, we've decided that our guests can be our photographers. Along with everyone's digital cameras, we've also bought the Fuji Instax and Zumi digital camera which have arrived. Yay!!

Music... is it weird if we don't have music??

Our free invitation. From here. You know how when you're hard at work but you're still thinking about wedding details and what has been done and what needs to be done? Work was really hectic last week and I think my brain would have cracked if not for me day dreaming every few hours and I thought having some wedding invitations would be a lovely idea. Yup, for our 6 guests. The cottage we'll be staying in has been decorated in French Provincial style and so I've been thinking french inspired invitation all week and found it when catching up on my blog reading. It is so easy to use, it's crazy!!

And then the flowers, which I'm probably just going to get from the shop in the morning. Whatever's on display. I'm quite carefree about them and am not willing to spend a fortune and hey, flowers from the shop are still special.

That pretty much sums it up. Except maybe we still have the readings to do, that is if we want to incorporate them into the ceremony. And picnic rugs, I gotta find some nice picnic rugs. Yay!! Two more weeks!! Can't wait!!

jewel thong

I bought this exact pair of thongs from Witchery in my last year of uni and wore it absolutely everywhere. Back then, I swear it was about $59.95. Couldn't be much more because I was a uni student on a budget and wouldn't be able to justify it if it was any more. Now it is like $89.95! Shows you how much price has inflated over the years! Sadly, the straps finally came off last year and I had to retire them. I figured though, they are a pretty darn good investment since it lasted me sooo many years! So, I'll be stalking the store this season and getting myself another a pair.

weekend adventure

It was the perfect spring condition on the weekend. The 'in laws' have arrived and thus begin a jam packed November. It actually started two weeks back - I had a friend visiting from Singapore so when I'm not at work or at home catching up with the housework, I was out with her.

My aunt and cousin are in town too but they are staying with my parents. I will be seeing them here and there but will be primarily spending my time with Ryan's folks.

Talk about crazy busy.... Anyway, back to the weekend: We walked around Darling Harbour, drove out to the water, made a pit stop at Sydney Opera House and had a feast of fresh seafood from the Fish Market and awesome Thai just down the road. It was the perfect weekend. :)

monday surprise: when i'm 64

this other wedding

We've now started putting things into motion, him telling his folks that by the way, we are 'getting married' 11 months early and me putting in my leave form and telling my boss (Ryan didn't have to because he had already took that week off for his parent's trip). The Notice of Intended Marriage form are in, the garden is booked and the time has been set. So yup, the wheels have started turning and the knots in my tummy are turning even more. I'm getting married 11 months early and geez, you know what, it feels like I'm getting cold feet. It feels like I'm being rushed into it. And all of it is just scary!! Don't get me wrong. I love Ryan whole heartedly and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with this guy. This was the kinda wedding we wanted in the first place and if we haven't already sent-out-half-of-our-save-the-dates-put-a-deposit-on-our-venue-ask-our-bestest-friends-to-be-our-bestman/bridesmaid-bought-the-white-frock-and-the-suit-and-most-importantly-have-our-heart-set-on-next-year's-date, then we would probably just register and be done with it. But we have. So that's that.

Yup, I have been having freak out moments like this whilst I'm planning this other 'registry wedding'. And other times, giddily enjoying the idea that we're getting two weddings and planning the details (which isn't much) and trying not to get too carried away.

This registry wedding is going to be soooo cool! It's going to be like a super casual intimate wedding with the family. Not only that, my superb boss has given me the week off and since we're registering on a Monday, that means we get to spend the week as 'husband and wife' with both our parents around which is ultra fantastic. Right now, I can't wait to pull that surprise on Ryan's parents about our ceremony and see their faces!! It's going to be priceless!!

lensbaby

I don't know what it is but I've been wanting a lot of things lately. That beautiful dress in the window, the gorgeous pair of soft leather shoes I tried on in Paddington on Saturday, maybe a new bedside table. And these creative lensbaby! It gives your pictures a "sweet spot of focus surrounded with ungraduated blur". The great thing about them also is that you get a lens and you can change the optics to get even more different effects! How cool is that??? I want!!

I was THIS close to getting one before deciding that I should build my collection of proper lenses first instead of getting a creative fun lens. Awww... I'll just have to wait until I'm much better at my photography skills before going all fancy schmancy.

But... that Control Freak lens sure looks tempting!! And the Composer.... and the Muse. :)

monday surprise: i promise

I Promise
Dorothy Colgan

I promise to give you the best of myself
and to ask of you no more than you can give

I promise to respect you as your own person
and to realise that your interests, desires and needs
are no less important than my own

I promise to share with you my time and my attention
and to bring joy, strength and imagination to our relationship

I promise to keep myself open to you,
to let you see through the windown of my world into my innermost fears
and feelings, secrets and dreams

I promise to grow along with you,
to be willing to face changes in order to keep our relationship alive and exciting

I promise to love you in good times and in bad, 
with all I have to give and all I feel inside in the only way I know how

Completely and forever

This reading's been saved in my folder for ages!! I love it and somehow feel it could also work as a vow. It pretty much reads like a vow to me and it encapsulate everything we are now and everything I want us to be when we get married. If I use this as a vow though, do I have to replace the "promise" with "vow"??

source: wedding cabaret