Hen Party | Bridal

I can't believe that my hen party has been & gone. Time is flying by & I keep reminding myself to remember these last moments before the wedding.

The Countdown

So it's officially the countdown to the wedding... We've got five weeks to go & I know it's going to fly by. Who'd have thought that when we got engaged almost 19 months ago that we'd finally get to this point. It felt like a lifetime away & that it would never come around.

These last few weeks have flown by. Work is busy, we're renovating a house & the wedding is always there in the background & I wanted to write a post now before all the craziness starts as I know I won't have chance to soon.

The Wedding Rings

Choosing your wedding rings is one part of being engaged that you don't really hear all that much about to be honest. Maybe it's because the ring isn't as sparkly or maybe it's because people don't really mention this during their "engagement" activities.

That said, it's very important!

Whether you want to spend £100 or £1000, you need to choose carefully & enjoy the experience. 

If you've seen "Bride Wars" with the amazing Kate Hudson & Anne Hathaway then you'll probably know how they felt right about now. Stressed, tired, excited & not wanting to part with even more money.

DIY | You're Cordially Invited

As soon as I got engaged, I hunted high & low for various invitation styles requesting samples all over the place. It was a lot of fun but I just kept getting disheartened by the price. After a few weeks of being shocked & disappointed with how much people could charge for some paper, we decided that we'd be better off making our own.

Now believe you me, making your own invitations is a lot harder than you think! Especially when you're as creative as me. Which isn't an awful lot! I took to Upcycled Treasures to find some ideas & guidance for a wedding invitation as a "do it yourself'er" & came across an amazing free template. It also perfectly matched our colour theme so clearly, it was meant to be. 

Wedding | Guest Outfit Ideas

Have you got to that point in your life that each year, you're invited to more & more weddings? Having to decide what to wear for one wedding is hard enough, never mind more!

There are so many things you need to think about! 

What colour? What style? What length? Do you want to fit in with the theme of the wedding? Will the bride mind if you wear a creamy/beige colour? 

The list of questions is endless!! 

Menu A or Menu B?

A few weekends ago, Stephen & I went for a food tasting at the wedding venue.
I was really looking forwards to this but I was worried I might be disappointed with the standard of food. It's always hard having to choose your venue before you know what the food is like. Unless you're having your wedding at a hotel in which case you could always have a meal there beforehand.
I loved the structure of our food tasting. We were sat with other couples who would be getting married around the same time of year as us which meant we could have a good natter about all things wedding.

The Proposal

I had known for a long time that Charlie was the one woman I wanted to marry and if I am honest the decision to propose came quite easily. I know this may not always be the case because it can be daunting thinking that you are asking someone to spend the rest of your lives together but it is, however you do it, such a magical moment between two people.

My proposal came when I decided to ask my parents to go ring shopping with me. Again I was lucky because I knew exactly what Charlie wanted so that is lesson number one; always know what they want as it is meant to stay on their finger forever. My parents and I went to the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham as it is famed for its amazing jewellers and great prices, plus my parents had never been. It's also where Charlie’s parents and Uncle & Aunty got all of their wedding rings so it seemed like a good place. If you go don’t be put off by it’s sporadic, run down appearance because some of these Jewellers have been around for generations.

Before I went I knew what ring I was after and I set a budget. It is easy when you're there to get sucked into the sales speeches about diamonds and precious metals (which is extremely interesting) but that is all it is at the end of the day, sales techniques. They get you on things like the 4 C’s; cut, colour, clarity and carat BUT what is important to remember is what does your future fiancé want and what can you afford. If you go and decide you want a flawless diamond set on a platinum band then go home and save, do not be rushed into buying there and then on some of the finance schemes they offer.

I got my ring, it took about 5 minutes. We went to a place called Marlow’s and they had rings set out on trays that differed in style, precious metals, prices and then ranges of the 4 C’s. I knew which ring Charlie would want instantly (as much of a cliché as that is) but I spent some time looking at them all, inspecting them and also going to other shops, but ultimately I went back to the first ring in the first shop.

Now the proposal... 

Charlie will tell you I'm not a very patient so on the drive back to my house my parents asked me when I was thinking of doing it and my response was simple. "There’s no time like the present." Only snag to the story was that I hadn’t asked her Dad for permission, even though he’d been pestering us about it for about a year, so I cornered him that afternoon and he happily obliged. The next problem was my beloved Arsenal were playing on TV so I came up with the plan that we should go for a walk for some fresh air at half time and what a drama that turned out to be! Charlie was against it, her Sister was demanding help from her and dinner was almost ready but I persisted and got my way.

I used the excuse of walking past my house to see my parents quickly as the lane we live on disappears into the beautiful countryside so we walked in that direction. I was sweating. The Sun was setting and I couldn’t wait any longer so as Charlie continued to walk I got down on one knee until she turned around, it was a magical moment.

24 hours earlier I hadn’t planned on getting engaged the next day but it happened. The only thing I knew was what ring she wanted and that’s where I started, the rest happened because it felt right and that’s the biggest bit of advice I can give from this, if it feels right it is right.

See you at the Stag do.




(Pictures on this blog post are property of DaintyBride unless stated otherwise with an asterisk *. Any images marked with an asterisk * are sourced from the internet & are believed to be public domain & have no rights affiliated with DaintyBride)

An Engagement Party

A couple of weeks ago I went to my auntie's engagement party in Leeds :) it was a really nice evening & a good chance for some of the family to get together!

I was busy during the day & didn't have time to re-do my makeup so I had to do a re-vamp of my daytime makeup to make it appropriate for a party!

Here's my day to night makeup look :)

In the day, I tend to keep it quite natural with a small amount of liner & mascara 

Excuse the eyebrows - it'd been a long day & they aren't looking the best!

(Left eye)

I started off by applying 'half baked' from the Urban Decay Naked Palette.

(Left Eye)

I then added some definition to my crease & started to create the flick outline using a gorgeous glittery plum colour from a MAC palette I got as an Easter present.

(Bottom Colour)

I continued to build it up until I was happy with it!

Crazy flicks before I blended them out :)

I then added my MAC liquid eyeliner which is in my current favourites at the minute! I sorted my eyebrows out, added some more mascara & bronzer et voila...

The finished look :)

We then drove up to Leeds & quickly got changed into our outfits before setting off for the party. 

(Apologies for the lighting in the hotel!)

Dress - Miss Selfridge

Necklace - Accessorize

On our way home on the Sunday we stopped off for a Sunday lunch in a restaurant called 'The Cadeby Inn' It was really lovely & such a beautiful place!

We were sat in "The Conservatory" which was a beautiful open room with only 4 tables but lots of windows!

I loved this lamp shade & the wine displayed

Of course I had my favourite drink, cranberry & disaronno 

For starter I had a prawn & smoked salmon cocktail which was delicious. It was so light & fresh & came with a piece of warm tasty bread :)

I found this beautiful picture in the ladies toilets & just felt the need to take a photo of it :)

For my main course, I went with the pork loin & apple mash which was sooo tasty! 

If you have the chance to go for a Sunday lunch I would definitely recommend as it's pretty good value for money & is also really tasty :) The garden at the front also looked perfect for relaxing on a sunny day.

Thank you for reading

Love,

Dainty Bride xx

(Pictures on this blog post are property of DaintyBride unless stated otherwise with an asterisk *. Any images marked with an asterisk * are sourced from the internet & are believed to be public domain & have no rights affiliated with DaintyBride)