Manipulative is my middle name

It appears I've found a way to discuss weddings without it being a discussion about OUR wedding! *Rubs hands together evilly*

How, you may ask? Well, I owe it all to a little TV show on Foxtel called 'Rich Bride, Poor Bride'. I recently 'Series Linked' it so it would automatically record, to fuel my interest in all things wedding. And last night, I watched the first episode I'd recorded. The episode was on an African-American couple, who thought bigger is better. I think they managed to spend something like $100,000 on their wedding, which got us discussing what an absolute waste it was (and not exactly the classiest affair either).

So, in our discussion that ensued, we have established:

- small ceremony + reception (around 30 people), so we can
- spend up big on the honeymoon (tropical island, possibly Vanuatu)
- using our classic cars for transport to save money
- I'll be most likely DIY-ing invitations, bonboneries, table centrepieces (see below) etc.
- with a budget of perhaps around $10,000 (or pretty much as low as we can get it!)

I'm worried though. I don't have female friends. Well, I do, but they're almost more like acquaintances... partners of J's friends and whatnot. I actually don't have that many friends at all - they're all known through J, and he's my best friend. It'd be great to think I will make some great friends between now and then, but making friends ain't easy, especially if you're a home-body like myself. That means a hens night would be out of the question, and what about bridesmaids and a maid of honour?

I'm worrying about something that may not happen for years, so anyway...

I absolutely love this idea for table centrepieces:



Instructions can be found HERE.


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We went to the Airshow on Saturday. Anyone who was in Victoria on Saturday probably realises we chose the wrong day. It rained. It hasn'd rained all year. And we chose the day when it didn't just shower, but it poured.

By the end of the day, my feet were wrinkly from squelching around in my Cons. Six hours in soaking wet clothes (so wet I could wring water out of the jumper I was wearing) made me grumpy, tired and unbelievably cold. But...

It was such a fantastic day! There is something absolutely fascinating about planes. The highlight of my day was seeing the A380 take off just in front of us... it's such a majestic plane. I only took a few pics, but I'll be sure to post some.

The seed grows...

I mentioned in my previous post how my little seed of my obsession with weddings had recently been planted. Well, I'm watering it!

Last night, while lying in bed, J said to me "I've thought of something to motivate us in restoring our classic cars... so we can use them for our wedding." :O Hey, he said it, not me! (But those were my thoughts exactly).

A few months ago while looking through the What Katie Did forums, I came across a link to the Whirling Turban - handmade "bombshell dresses and pinup couture". And their wedding dresses are divine! I much prefer a full skirt to a wiggle skirt (I'm not going to lie, my tummy, butt and hips weren't made for wiggle dresses). I particularly love the leopard print dress as it's so different, but I'm not usually an animal print fan.



I'm just afraid that when the time comes to choose a wedding dress, I'll end up falling in love with a traditional gown (an odd thing to say, I know, but I'd rather not wear something white, poofy and beaded.)

You know you're getting old when...

it takes you 3 days to get over a slight hangover. And I mean slight... I had perhaps 3 bourbon + cokes, followed by 3 champagnes. I attended the wedding of my partner J's sister and her fiance, at the Vue Grand at Queenscliff (yes - the occasion to wear my Vivien of Holloway dress!)

It was a small and casual affair, with the bridal party arriving in a matching '39 Plymouth and Dodge (thank goodness for friends of the family being hot-rodders). Delicious food and a terrible DJ ended off the night.

I'm now patiently waiting on pics from J's family. I simply must mention that the bride looked A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Now, I'm sure that all brides look amazing, but this bride looked seriously A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. So much so, that when I first saw her, all I could say was "wow". No other words flowed.

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This coming weekend is the Avalon Airshow, which J is very excited about (I got sick of calling him 'my other half', so he's just J from now on). It should be a fun day - hopefully the weather is ok, seeing as we're going on the Harley so we can weave about the gridlock traffic and ultimately get a park right in front of the entrance gate. I can foresee a headache from the noise and a stiff neck from looking upwards, and possibly some sunburn.

Then, the following weekend, we're off to Bendigo to see the Golden Age of Couture exhibition! I thought I should probably get myself into gear seeing as that's the last weekend the exhibition is on show for! We're staying at an el-cheapo caravan park the Saturday night, then going bush-walking on the Sunday (I had to lure J there somehow!) It'll be a wonderful excuse to try out some quaint pubs in the area as well.

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I must confess (and I must also pray J doesn't read this), but I'm becoming slightly wedding obsessed. We've been together nearly 10 months, after being best friends for two years. I was never really 'into' weddings, and actually, for quite a while I was very anti-wedding. But something has happened. A switch inside my brain has been flicked. I am finding myself searching etsy for cute wedding invites and bonbonerie ideas, and paying much more attention to the Bride threads on VF. I daydream about what our wedding will be like, where it will be held, who will be invited, and more importantly, what I will be wearing.

Before I hear you tisking and tutting that I might be getting my hopes up, and J and my relationship may not last that long... Nope. Of course I cannot say for certain we won't split up, nobody can. But we both truly feel like we're going to be together indefinitely. I just had better not mention too much wedding-y stuff to J, as he has already asked me (to which I replied 'no') if I'll become wedding-obsessed.

So shhhh... it'll be our little secret.