What a whirlwind of a week, I barely know where to start.

Just a quick disclaimer – I’m not going to “reveal” any of the fashion choices *coughdresscough* in this post, so don’t be disappointed!

The Sophisticate and I drove up from Melbourne to Canberra on Thursday to spend the night with my Dad, then went the rest of the way to Nowra on Friday.

As we drove into town the heavens opened, and it started to pour.

Our venue Terrara has an excellent, and exceedingly pretty “wet weather” plan, but The Sophisticate and I had particularly wanted to get married under the sun and the trees so we had our fingers and toes crossed that the weather would clear by the following morning.

The day dawned grey, but Terrara’s in-house wedding organiser Jody gave us the all-clear, and by the time the bridal party arrived for the rehearsal the sun had shown its face.

And from that moment on, everything was perfect.

I’ll talk about the day in further detail later, but for now I just want to share some photos of the venue.

We’re enormously indebted to my Uncle and his partner for making it possible for us to have our special day in such extraordinary surroundings. Terrara looked beautiful; the marquee was light and bright, open and welcoming. The flowers were stunning. We’ve had nothing but rave reviews about the food (special mention to the 10:30 supper ham, which was so popular it warranted more than a few mentions in our guest book!).

Mostly I can’t say enough good things about the staff. The Sophisticate and I are a pair of wedding-rookies, and neither of us really knew how the day was supposed to progress. Jody and the rest of the Terrara staff run the venue like a well-oiled machine, and the whole day was seamless for me.

So, without further ado – some venue photos…

We went with Vicci’s recommendation (guys, guys, check out her wedding. It’s so beautiful I could cry) and set up our own “photobooth” in one of my new Mother-In-Law’s vintage hatboxes. Costumes, a mini polaroid camera, and a pen, and we have a GREAT illustrated guest book for a fraction of the cost of the real deal.

Another hit on the night was the vintage typewriter that my Mum sourced for our “Advice for the Recently Wed”

Our Place-cards/favours came from RecycledIdeas on Etsy. The keys are made of recycled card imprinted with flower seeds so that guests could take them home and plant them.

 I promise I’ll do a dress-reveal the moment I have a suitable photo. Sorry to make you wait – I don’t want to fudge it!

something new

something borrowed

something blue

and a silver sixpence in her shoe

wish me luck

xx Lilli

Skirt: City Chic

Shoes: Wittner

The bags are packed, the vows are written, Suki’s gone to stay at her Cat Getaway Retreat, and the countdown is on.

The wedding’s this Saturday, and The Sophisticate and I are as ready as can be. I have time for one, last, super quick blog post before I tuck myself up in bed in preparation for the Long Drive North tomorrow.

I’m so pleased to have found another top that this City Chic skirt can be worn with - that makes two! – I think it works because the stripes from Fifi Lapin’s sleeves mirror the stripes on the skirt. I’m playing it safe with nude heels and no jewellery, but looking at the photos I think this outfit would work well with a kick of colour. A bright belt, some plastic bangles, maybe some hot pink shoes. Not that I own a pair (yet).

I am sporting some outstandingly red lips, though. My beautiful Bridesmaid Callie is also acting as my make-up artist for the Big Day, and we were toying with the idea of some bright lipstick. I decided to go with the safer option of plummy pink as I always feel vaguely carnivorous when I’m wearing red lippy, but the shade that we sampled was too eye-popping to turn our backs on, so I bought a tube for special occasions.

Long day tomorrow, so I’ll sign off for now – hope everyone’s enjoying their week, and I hope my fellow Australian’s enjoy their mid-week holiday tomorrow!

Skirt: Target

Leggings: My Size

Shoes: Wittner

I’ve got a bit of a thing about sequins at the moment.

A while ago I saw Tanesha from A Girl With Curves wearing the most kickass ensemble of thrifted sequin top with full skirt, then a few months later I saw Jay Miranda wearing an equally outstanding outfit where she paired a voluminous sequinned top with skinny jeans and a cardi. The jig was up, I decided my wardrobe needed more sequins, stat.

Fortunately for me, sequins are EVERYWHERE in the shops at the moment, and though a lot of them succumbed to my pet peeve of having embellished fronts, and bare backs (why God, why?) there were one or two that fit my a) rack and b) price point.

Of course, once I tried a few on in shops I got all shy and ridiculous about wearing what amounts to being a big mirror ball out in PUBLIC, and ultimately I decided that I couldn’t rationalise wearing one in day-to-day life.

Until I saw this top at Dream Diva, at least.

The perfect combination of my Remixed Dorothy Perkins Heart Top with a not-at-all-OTT sequin bonus!

It came in pink and blue, but I wasn’t really loving the salmony pink colour, so I bought the blue instead. It’s casual and comfortable, and dresses down really well, but when the light hits it just right it turns the room into Studio 54.

Shoes: Wittner

Necklace: Tu

I woke up this morning, and realised that I was now, officially, two weeks from The Big Day. Exciting!

We finally knuckled down our seating plan, and I started writing the place-cards today while The Sophisticate is at (another!) Buck’s Party (not his own).

The lead-up to the wedding has not been without its hiccups, we’ve had some reception issues and some family issues (really, what wedding is complete without those, right?) but considering we’re two weeks out and I only have a few big jobs left to do I’m feeling pretty relaxed about the whole thing (touch wood).

I realised earlier today when I was putting away a few bits and pieces, that pretty much everything I’ve sourced for the wedding has come from online stores. Jewellery, lingerie, shoes, makeup, bridesmaid dresses, bridesmaid gifts, my hairpiece, place cards. Even my knickers and pantyhose came from online. I don’t know if that’s indicative of the kind of shopping that I do, or the fact that I was so apprehensive of what the folks at A Practical Wedding refer to as WIC (Wedding Industry Complex) that I just avoided shopping in store fronts like the plague.

To be honest, I did look in a few windows, but everything seemed so fussy and lace-covered, and they all seemed to have extra zeros tacked on at the end of the price tags. The pieces I found online were much more my style, and certainly much more wallet-friendly

As ever, shopping online is not without its perils – especially when you’re trying to put together an entire ensemble and have no idea whether everything will work with everything else. As a result I have two extraneous bracelets, a spare pair of earrings, one too many hairpieces, and six unwearable bridal basques.

Enough about the wedding, though – I’m sure you’re all sick to death of hearing me bang on about it. Let me tell you about my new dress instead!

My WONDERFUL friend Jessica from Eliza Parker was sadly not about to join me at my, er, thing in two weeks time, but she sent a couple of treats in the mail, one of which I’ll definitely be packing for the honeymoon, so she’s kind of there in spirit.

This is the (sparkly!) purple version of Eliza Parker’s Sofia Dress, which I also have in the plum.

It fits just as beautifully as the first, with a slightly snugglier fabric – excellent for the bewildering cold snap that Melbourne’s subjecting us to in the middle of summer.

I do love the way the gathered neckline on this dress curves around the contours of my, um, bosoms. It means I can wear the higher neckline without suffering from the dreaded mono-boob, and my adorable Balloon Dog necklace nestles nicely in the valley

I bought the necklace at a craft market a few months ago, from a shop called “Tu”, but I can’t see it on the site anymore. Have a bit of a google though, and plenty of other versions show up.