Unique boutonnieres and cute boutonnieres

I'm quite a fan of these non floral boutonnieres and like the rise of the bow tie I think we're going to see more and more creative ideas when it comes to button holes.

Which one's your favourite and have you seen any other cute ideas?

Girl power. A cheesy title but some awesome songs by girls...

That's right folks, it's Friday, so it's time for my latest mixtape masters entry for Hi Fi Weddings weekly collective playlist.

I'm a big fan of a wide range of music. I truly am one of those annoying people that says they like all sorts of music. And I actually mean it. I am in fact a bit of a music snob.

But I also LOVE cheesy tunes from pop classics to 80s ballads. And so I thought today I would create a playlist of songs by women (although Willow doesn't really count as a woman seeing as how she is 10).

These 5 songs always get me in a good mood and I hope they have the same effect on you!








For more Mixtape Master madness, peep the playlists on these blogs:

Hi-Fi Weddings | Tylre. | Ten Thou Bride | Fashion Under 100 | Jo, Rooting | Craft My Life | another damn life | Fancy Notion | Dead Flowers | Casa De Kaloi | Bunnies’n’Beagles | My San Francisco Budget Wedding | Existing Between Reality and Dreams

Be a Mixtape Master. Email Angie or Ashley to get in on it.

The power of positive thinking

Oh my god I'm so stupid?
I look fat in this.
Why oh why am I so useless?
Could I be any more boring?


When you see this written down it looks kind of shocking and dramatic. But I bet you've felt and said at least one of these things to yourself before.

If you're a regular follower of my blog you'll know I sometimes tread off the beaten path of blogging about weddings into 'life' territory. It's just that wedding planning isn't a job to me, it's part of my life and as such this blog feels like the perfect platform to wax lyrical on other topics. See here, here and here for some of my other musings.

After a long chat recently with a friend who has by her own admission low self esteem, I've been thinking about the power of positive thinking. Now I don't want to get all spiritual or lecturing here, I just think it really works and want to share.

Most of us are way too mean to ourselves, too critical, too unkind and don't even begin to show the same mercy and understanding we show others. We tell ourselves things that if a friend said to us about themselves we would vehemently deny and point out the positive or contradictory viewpoint. Okay so we're crueler to ourselves because we know ourselves. But we're also massively biased. Even with something as innocent as a spot on our chin say. We all think people notice soooooo much more than they do, because of course they're all concerned with their own problems.

So nothing I'm saying here is groundbreaking granted. But I do think, one of the keys to a happy life is to train your 'inner voice' to have the same tone and say the same things a kind friend would say. That doesn't mean tell huge fat fibs to yourself in order to have an easy life, just that the instinctive way you speak to yourself might not be as honest as you think. And we've heard this voice all our life so it almost goes unnoticed.

I'm not claiming this is a quick fix for those seriously and clinically depressed. But for the rest of us, we can all benefit from taking the time to hear what that voice says and begin to question whether it really has all the answers.

I know the days I feel overwhelmed or blue are often the result of a bad day. But sometimes I catch myself thinking ' why did you do/say/wear/think that - you idiot!' And whilst it seems like harmless berating, I try to argue back ' no, you're the idiot actually, I'm just fine'. Or just generally be aware of what I say to myself so I can check if it seems too harsh or not.

Which may mean I'm going crazy, but also means I'm a damn sight happier.

What do you think? Are you guilty of being harsher on yourself than your friends or even strangers? Do you think you can 'talk' yourself 'happy'?

As always, I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Style crush on...emma watson

I know, not original and I don't normally go for such wholesome style - preferring a little bit of edge but there's something about Miss Watson in these editorials, especially now she's gone all elfin, that I quite admire...














What do you think? And are you a fan of her short crop?

A few of my favourite things

Welcome to a brand new week people. I hope your weekend was relaxing and fun. I've had a relatively quiet one which was definitely needed!

Here's my Monday Medley of things I've found interesting and/ or pretty...

read...

this article in The Guardian by journalist and bride to be Jude Rogers about bridezillas and the royal wedding. Is an interesting read and gives Rock n Roll Bride a mention. Let me know what you think.

the dress

I think I'd go so far as to say this is one of the finest wedding dresses I have ever seen. It's irridescent, sparkly, floaty and just damn gorgeous.

click on the images to see more






wedding hair inspiration

I've got a bit of a thing for plaits although now I have a fringe they don't look so good. They're perfect wedding hair however, unfussy yet keep crazy wayward hair like mine in check so they're perfect for brides that don't want to worry about their hair all day long.

These styles are fairly mental - I'd love to see a bride wear her hair like this...



or like this, although you might have to use fake flowers as real ones might look a bit wilted by the evening...



Who says your wedding hair style has to be predictable eh?

cheap and cosy lighting

This time last year I blogged about this rather awesome fairy lights in bottle idea. I love cheap and inventive ideas like this. Must get round to trying to make these this year.




interior design

Oh how I would love a bookcase like this...




xmas card

And finally, I'm not really a sending cards kind of gal but if I was, I would send this little bad boy out.

Hi-Fi Weddings Mixtape Masters!!

Happy Friday people! This week, for no particular reason I have decided to do a rather French orientated playlist. French as in some of the artists are French but sing in English, one's from Belgium and sings in French, another is Canadian and sings in French.

So, not truly French per se but jolly good songs nonetheless I think.

There's something insanely delicious about the French accent. If I spoke French I would talk even more than I do now, just so I could hear myself.

Check out my other playlists here.

Anyways I hope you have a lovely weekend, are you doing anything exciting on this last weekend in November?





For more Mixtape Master madness, peep the playlists on these blogs:

Hi-Fi Weddings | Tylre. | Ten Thou Bride | Fashion Under 100 | Jo, Rooting | Craft My Life | another damn life | Fancy Notion | Dead Flowers | Casa De Kaloi | Bunnies’n’Beagles | My San Francisco Budget Wedding | Existing Between Reality and Dreams

Be a Mixtape Master. Email Angie or Ashley to get in on it.

Sparkly things...

...in honour of the fact it's nearly ish my birthday, it's Friday tomorrow, I'm feeling Christmassy AND it is Anna's (of the ring fame) wedding this weekend. Yippee!

If I was having a winter wedding I'd want it to look (and be) totally, shamefully decadent. Glitter and sparkles would rejoice...


















Oooh makes me want to run out and buy a head to toe sparkly outfit. How do you feel about in-your-face sparkles?

And have a super shiny weekend my lovelies!