Weekend Wedding Love: DIY

I did a post last year about our wedding monograms which I designed in PowerPoint! They were my first DIY project and I hoped to use them on our printed material.

Since then I have got a lot more familiar with Photoshop and decided to update our monograms, as the others I did felt a little stale.

Our invites are now finally on route to guests, so I present to you the 2010 editions…

This one went on our wedding invites

Haven’t made up my mind where I want to use this one

For the reception:

Fonts used:

Freebooter Script – our names in the last monogram

High Tower Text – all the main text

Fleurons {Dingbat} – for the image behind the ‘E’ in the last monogram. It is lower case ‘m’

Edwardian Script – for the swirly ‘E’

What do you think?

Weekend wedding love: Remembering the end game

Here is something I wrote a couple of weeks back, when I was having a bit of a rough day. Sometimes through it all, you need to remember the end game!

The Road to Marriage…

The road to marriage is hard. There are fights, there are tears, there are laughs, there are more fights. This whole period of time is about evolving, taking two very separate people and making them one.

There are bits of my personality that are coming out which I don’t like. I mean who is this person I see in the mirror. Sometimes I don’t recognise her.

The road to marriage opens old wounds, old hurts, old regrets. Things I thought had gone away, come back to the surface. Never forgotten, but gone away and it has be incredibly scary having to face them again.

The road to marriage has helped me appreciate so many things that before I didn’t really notice or even pay attention to before.  In sickness and in health, For richer for poorer. Till Do us part. How real these words are to me, right now.

The road to marriage is highlighting to me that it is no longer about me, but it is about us. Wedding starts with ‘we’ right!

The road to marriage is about redefining boundaries. Boundaries with your parents, boundaries with your friends, boundaries with each other. My love for my family has not changed but my loyalties have to and that has been hard. Marriage is about building a new family and just like a new baby it needs to be nurtured, taken cared of and protected.

The road to marriage is not what I expected. It isn’t always smiles. It can be incredibly frustrating. I have cried. I have laughed. You have to compromise and you have to pick your battles. It’s also not about taking sides but about doing what is right, for us.

On the road to marriage, it can be so easy to forgot why we’re doing all this.

I know it will be worth it in the end.

Have a great weekend!

Photo {Jide Alakija}

Weekend Wedding Love: Joy, laughter + Plan B

When all is said and done, I know that on the day there will be some things that won’t go 100% to plan but we’ve made the decision to just enjoy ourselves regardless and laugh about it later!

In the grand scheme of things will it really affect our marriage if one particular aspect of the wedding is not perfect?

Not.one.bit.

What is marriage anyway?

Marriage is about joy…

Marriage is about laughter…

Marriage is about sharing…

Marriage is about caring…

Marriage is about commitment…

Marriage is about love…

‘Clothe thyself with love, which binds us all in perfect harmony’ - Colossians 3:14

Have a great weekend!

Photo {Jide Alakija}

Weekend Wedding Love – Looking pretty

"On your wedding day you should look like yourself at your most beautiful." ~ Bobbi Brown

The bible tells that Esther spent 12 months making herself look beautiful for the King. Now while I won’t be dousing myself in myrrh, I will be spending the next 8 weeks focusing on ‘being my most beautiful’.

Presently I am…

- taking vitamins which include: ‘hair, skin and nails’ and Omega 3 Fish Oils which I hear is good for your skin

- drinking lots of water

- cleaning my make up off at night {should be a given, but I am very lazy and don’t do it every night}. Also not a big fan of facials since I had a major allergic reaction last year, so tend to do my own stuff at home.

- conditioning treatments on my hair every fortnight

- weekly manicures at home

Now I recognise I need to start exercising. So I will be getting my running shoes out.

I’m also practicing wearing contact lenses as I don’t want to have to wear glasses on the big day.

Any other useful things I can be doing over the next two months?

Photo {Jide Alakija}

Weekend Wedding Love - Family

Love this picture. ..

Weddings are about family and I am thankful that all my immediate family will be able to be there, by God’s grace. Even my brother who is at college, will be back from the States – yay!

There will also be some distant relatives who I haven’t seen in ages, who will be present.

Will be like a little family reunion!

Photo {Abi Yeni-Rotimi}

Weekend Wedding Love – The ‘Dress’

Finding the ‘perfect’ dress is on every brides wish list.

Here are some of my tips for those of you dress hunting:

- you know your style. If you would never wear strapless in the everyday world or it doesn’t suit you, things won’t be different because the dress is white. You want to be you, but a better version and ultimately feel comfortable on your wedding day.

- if you’re between sizes always go for the bigger size when ordering. It’s easier to take a dress in than to take a dress out, plus you don’t need the added pressure of having to lose weight.

- go with people you trust to give an honest opinion. Never rely on the Sales Assistants because while the majority of them are honest with their feedback, ultimately they are a business and want to sell you a dress.

- following on from that if the SA are rude. Just leave. You are a customer who in some cases is about to make a purchase of several hundred pounds. If they can’t be polite and professional, they don’t deserve your business.

- when trying on styles, take a similar pair of shoes that you will be wearing on the day. This will give you an idea of height and whether you need to order extra inches.

- if the bridal shop will allow, bring a camera and take pictures of yourself. It’s one thing to look at yourself in the mirror, but you get a more realistic image looking at yourself in a picture. It will help you see what you will look like to others. You can also take pictures of the back and see how that looks, as your guests will spend a lot of time looking at your back!

- don’t be afraid to haggle negotiate with your bridal shop. More often than not, they will be willing to throw in some extras. I got a free veil worth £100 {£100 for a net – but hey that’s another matter} when I bought my dress.

- depending on when you’re getting married, have a look at the big department stores who have bridal sections. When the store has their sale, it will include wedding dresses as well and you can often pick up a bargain.

- finally enjoy the process and have fun! Don’t stress over finding the perfect dress. Whatever you decide to wear will be beautiful and perfect for you.

Any more dress shopping tips ladies?

{Photo - Tunji Sarumi}

Weekend Wedding Love: Kids

Ah! The big kid debate.

Should they or shouldn’t they be invited.

I love children and have been to weddings where they were present and weddings where they weren’t. When your battling with huge guest lists, cutting out children seems like an easy option {and something we did consider in the early days} but having thought it through it’s not something we felt 100% comfortable with, forcing our friends to have to leave their children at home. When we floated the idea, a number of people made it clear that they wouldn’t attend if their kids weren’t invited or that they would just bring them anyway {the latter scenario I witnessed at an event last year where a guest had blatantly decided to ignore the ‘no kids’ rule and there were these two children sat at table in a sea of adults}.

I love the innocence that children bring to weddings. Their laughter, their questions, their boldness. The cute lone ranger who is the first onto the dancefloor and encourages the ‘big people’ to get their groove on. There is an atmosphere children bring that you just can’t recreate. Plus weddings are about family, children are family. It’s good for them to be there.

On the attendant side we are having a flower girl and a page boy, both of whom are under 6 years old, we cherish them dearly and have good relationships with their parents.

What’s your take on children at weddings?

Photo {Jide Alakija}

Weekend Wedding Love – Daddy’s girl

I'm not really a daddy's girl but I am looking forward to my dad walking me down the aisle and giving me away.

We have a family friend who told me he dreads the day he will have to give his daughter away {he only has one}. Not because he doesn't want to see her get married but because he loves her very much and it will be such a big thing to let her go. He just wants to make sure she will looked after.

I often wonder what it must be like for a father {or mother} when the time comes for them to let go and give their daughter away to another man.

It must be tough.

{Photo - Tunji Sarumi}

Weekend Wedding Love – Girlfriends

Every Saturday I plan to post my favourite wedding photo found online with a little comment about what the picture means to me.

This week we’re looking at Girlfriends.

Crossing over from Miss to Mrs, it is a time when friendships change and evolve.

Some friendships deepen, others fall by the wayside and new ones are formed. It’s not a time to be sad, that is just the way life is.

Girlfriends are important and while not all my friends can be bridesmaids, I plan to honour and recognise them all on our special day, as they have been by my side through thick and thin.

What does girlfriends mean to you and any tips on how to handle the changes throughout the wedding planning process?

{Photo - uber talented Tunji Sarumi}