This is my first real post from long distance wedding planning, and I’m pleased to tell you it’s going surprisingly well! So far most communication with suppliers has been via email, so no change there really. Mostly it’s just really exciting to be doing this wedding planning thing together again. There is something rather lovely too about being back with Andy, and being able to crack open a bottle of wine on a Sunday evening and start searching you tube for the wedding playlist. We inevitably end up stuck in the 80s and it’s all down hill from there!
Today though I’m going back to some of the planning that happened before I left England. First up, the color scheme.
When I was younger I was never one of those girls who knew exactly what their dream-wedding day would be like. I did, however, always know I was going to have a red color scheme. It would be a dark red wedding, with bridesmaids dressed head to toe in burgundy (probably inspired by a red velvet party dress I had at the time – oh so very 90s!), and huge arrangements of red roses.
Now though, as much as I do love a red wedding, I much prefer softer colours, especially for the summer. This is the one part of wedding planning so far, except for the dress of course, that Andy has given me complete free reign with. With full permission to do as I choose I got stuck into mood board creation. My initial thoughts were towards a white wedding – Bridesmaids in white, white roses, and enormous bunches of Gypsophila everywhere. A full on white scheme though has quite a sense of elegance about it and, really, we’re not exactly elegant people.
What I’ve finally decided upon is a very English country garden palate. Think blush pinks, soft creams, summery sage greens, and a splash of gold glitter. Does anyone else feel a bit pretentious talking about color schemes? It’s not pink its blush, don’t you be giving me any Barbie tones. Its sage green, lets be very specific on this one!
Pretty, summery goodness.
Hand in hand with the color scheme decision, came the bridesmaids’ dresses. The bridesmaids’ dresses were something that had been worrying me from the very start. I’m lucky (or greedy?!) enough to have six lovely friends who have agreed to be my bridesmaids. I’m lucky too, and incredibly thankful, that they’ve all been very relaxed about their dresses. At the moment they’re scattered across the globe: 3 in England, 1 in Scotland, 1 in Hong Kong, and 1 currently on her way between Eastern Europe and New Zealand. It didn’t take too much time comparing diaries to realize that the next time they will all actually be in one place is the wedding itself. There was never going to be a date when we would be able to shop together. With one of the girls away traveling until next summer, asking them to pick there own dresses didn’t seem fair either. The only real option was for me to get the dresses, and cross my fingers they all fitted and suited the girls.
More color scheme inspiration, plus the Two Birds dresses that didn’t quite make the cut.
Finding the dresses took a few shopping trips with my UK based maids. At first I had my eye on pink and cream floor length Two Birds gowns. I liked the way they could be wrapped in so many different ways, so they could match without actually being matchy-matchy. As they come in a ‘one size fits all’ style, they seemed like the perfect solution too for the girls that wouldn’t have the chance to try on the dresses until a few days before the wedding. When I actually got two of the girls to try them on though, I was a bit disappointed. When my friend Lucy tried one on, I could tell from her face that she just wasn’t comfortable. With each dress carrying a £250 price tag, I couldn’t justify anything less than amazing. The Two Birds dresses were out of the running.
The dresses that have made the cut are nothing like my original thoughts, but they are ones which the girls are much more comfortable in. They were also considerably more budget friendly, much to Andy’s relief! In fact I found them in the sales, and had a few stressful hours of should we, shouldn’t we, with the only bridesmaid I was with at the time. After going away, and coming back again, we decided to risk it, and bought as many as we could, guessing the sizes and hoping for the best. Luckily a panicked Internet search that night managed to provide the sizes we were missing. So far 4 of the girls have been able to try them, and I’m very relieved to say they fit perfectly, and everyone is happy so far.
Fingers crossed the final two fit…!
Has anyone else bought dresses for absent bridesmaids? How did it turn out on the day?
Jennie x
