Every girl dreams of becoming a bride at some stage growing up. The princess white dress, the stunning decorations, the perfectly styled day, you may have even envisioned white doves delivering your rings down the isle. This dream of being a blushing, loved up bride finally became a reality for me after ten years of waiting, planning and plotting (felt like I waited foreverrr). The funny thing about it all though, is that those “things” we dream about, don’t end up being what makes us the most happy in the end. The feeling of finally marrying your man is completely overwhelming, extremely elating- actually that feeling is indescribable. That heart melting, tear jerking, goose pimple raising feeling of becoming his wife- that is what ends up being the WOW moment of the entire day.

Instead of waffling on about how magical & loving it was (I honestly could go on for days #passthespewbucket), I’ll share my advice and photos so you can experience it yourself. If you’re planning a wedding, a part of a future bridal party or just know someone who is getting married, then boy do I have some great advice for ya’ll.

Scroll down to see our supplier list & incredible photos.

Advice…

My day went oh so smoothly and there wasn’t really anything major that went wrong. The biggest flaw was arriving to the ceremony too bloody early and watching our guests walk in (there was no air con in my car either so this made me a little cranky). Despite this only set back, our day was pretty much perfect because we were organised, my bridesmaids were lovingly dedicated and all our service providers were really reliable.

Relax & be organised!
1. I used a detailed spreadsheet to record every cent spent. This list was my bible, at a quick glance I could see how we were tracking budget wise and what was left to arrange (leave a comment below with your email and I can send the template to you).
2. Book everything well in advance, and I mean everything. Make sure you secure the things you want as it’s never too early in the wedding world. I booked everyyy-thanggg 18 months prior and suppliers were telling me then that they were already booked out.
3. Put your decorations into separate boxes for each table! Separate things into sandwich bags, label everything & put a copy of the seating chart into each box- anything to make you feel more organised.
4. Don’t be afraid to delegate. I am a complete control freak and this is one thing I couldn’t quite grasp- sharing sucks. I took on way too much and it really showed towards the end of the experience. If there is one thing you take away from this, it’s make sure you delegate and trust that they will complete that task perfectly. If you don’t have faith in the ones around you then you’re just going to be one giant, annoying, stress head.

Beloved Bridesmaids!
My bridesmaids were all fabulously enthusiastic and very attentive in the lead up and on the day. They would message me checking up on my crazy-self, always asking to help (even though I couldn’t share). They gushed and smiled over my choices, injected honest opinions to help make the day better, they loved their dresses and avoided drama at all costs. The night before we sat around drinking champagne, they made a delicious cheese platter and after mum cooked a healthy dinner, we watched a girley movie. It was the stress free lead up that I was craving. The day of the wedding they were even more incredible; jumped into bed with me in the morning singing wedding songs, danced around during the day showing their excitement. They made sure everyone was fed and watered, I don’t think I lifted a finger the entire day (they wouldn’t even let me put my own shoes on).

My advice to bridesmaids is make the brides day about HER. Make it relaxing, drama free, and attend to her every need. She only gets this day once in her life so fluff around, be attentive and make her feel special. Yes it might be OTT to fluff and fuss, and yes you might want to desperately do things a different way. BUT in the end this day is not about your wants, needs or desires- It’s purely about the brides and the grooms. My girls managed to make me feel calm and at ease which is what every bride deserves. There’s nothing worse than a whinging bridesmaid who just isn’t on board the “fun bridal train”- Don’t be that girl!

Get a videographer!
If I had a dollar for every time someone told me to “take it all in, it goes too fast” well, I would be one rich wife! The truth is though, I didn’t even have time to stop, breathe and take it all in. Taking it all in as crap, it’s crap advice because no matter how hard you try, YOU JUST CAN’T.  There is so much happening around you that you can barely keep up. I am truly grateful that we have our wedding video, that way we can watch it back, cry with laughter, reminisce on the day and take it all in whenever we want to (watch our video here).

Get a stylist!
I chose to hire a wedding stylist because I am extremely particular and needed it done to perfection BUT I wouldn’t have been able to set it up myself due to the distance. Although I had everything organised into individual boxes and individual sandwich bags per table, I still needed someone reliable to make it a reality on the day. That’s where Wedding Day Flair steps into it. I absolutely adore Mae, she nailed my brief and produced a breathtaking wedding set up. My vision was brought to life.

Get a fabulous photographer!
We decided right from the start to have a brilliant, show stopping photographer and that’s why we went with Kellie Sinclair Photography. Choosing an amazing artist like Kellie, is making a lifetime investment (sounds cheesy but boy is it true). The package we went with had two photographers for the entire day, to capture every angle and every emotion and this was really important to us. They followed us around while we got ready, during our ceremony and then for the rest of the evening. The thing is though, we hardly knew they were there!!! They were just like a part of the family and made Ben and I feel so comfortable (sorry about my brothers fowl mouth ladies aha). We will have these divine memories in print for life and this is more than I could have ever asked for.

Choose talented Makeup & Hair artists! My make up and hair were simply flawless and I can’t stress enough how important it is to choose wisely and to get trials done. Maurice Meade has some of the most talented hair stylists in Perth so I knew I would be in highly capable hands. From the very start of my hair journey to the very end- they were eager to make it magical, to get my hair into healthy condition and to make sure the final product was absolute perfection. They listened and understood my hair vision and their actual salons are total luxury. I know you can find “cheaper” hairdressers but quality was really important to me. My advice would be to ensure you budget for a really good hair dresser like MM so you know you’ll be taken care of. I’m only getting married once and the photos will last a life time so making sure our hair was bang on perfect was a huge thing to me. Maurice Meade- Dan, Claire and magical colourist Dee- I friggen love all of you.

I originally had a horrible experience with my first make up lady. I found the provider at the bridal expo, assumed she would be brilliant because of how long she had been around for and trusted she would work magic. How wrong I was! I went for a trial at the last minute and I left crying- I looked terrible. I didn’t feel special at all and I had to convince myself that I could just “touch it up on the day” SAY WHAT! A bride shouldn’t have to touch up anything on the day, that’s why you pay someone to do it right! That’s when I discovered Three Chairs Makeup. Eeeekkk I’m all heart eyed over here thinking about how AH-MAZING they were. Dan and Cheska made me feel like a real bride, it also helps that they have clear talent in their field. I found through my research that paying $120 per head for makeup was the going rate so I was more than happy to pay this. I knew I was paying for a quality service and a bloody good end result.

Remember WHY! Lastly but most importantly “remember why you’re getting married”. You’re getting married because you love the man who will be standing in front of you at the end of that isle- nothing else is even remotely as important. Not the decorations, not the weather, not the drama that comes with a wedding. And let me tell you some great advice that really helped me get through this journey. There WILL no doubt be crappy drama, there WILL of course be stressful times, there WILL be moments when you’re in tears because everything seems far too overwhelming. But when these moments occur, you need to slap yourself and be reminded WHY this day is even going to happen. It’s about you and your fiance. It’s about committing yourself wholeheartedly to them. Make sure you lock eyes with your fiance when you walk down that isle, don’t look at anyone else. That was one of the most intense, special moments of our day. It was as if all that stress and crappy lead up was faded away in an instant.

A huge shout-out to all my suppliers and service providers. You made this day come together smoothly and i’m truly grateful for that (I’ve listed everyone below to say a giant thank you).

Suppliers & Service Providers…
1. Wedding stationary, menus, welcome sign // Yorkelee Prints (I used Yorkelee to design custom stationary and I was so impressed. Kate is very talented)
2. Reception & Ceremony Stylist // Wedding Day Flair 
3. Photography // Kellie Sinclair Photography 
4. Videotographer // Launch Films 
5. Flowers, bouquets, cake flowers // Floral Army (loved how unique our flowers were, highly recommend)
6. Wedding Invitations pre wedding // The Ginger Kids Co
7. Cake // Cup Cake Cravers

Bride…
1. Hair styled & Coloured // Maurice Meade 
2. Make Up // MAC Three Chairs 
3. Dress // Tuscany Bridal (Brilliant service by Amanda)
4. Shoes & Clutch // Forever New (Didn’t want to spend a fortune but still wanted gorgeous accessories)
5. Earrings // Stylish Weddings (Great online store for wedding items)
6. Alya custom Lace/ Wifey robe $69 // The Bridal Room

Bridal Party…
1. Wooden dress hangers // Zilvi $20 each(I used these gorgeous hangers as apart of the girls gifts)
2. Custom made Flower Girl Dress // The Sparrow Collective (I wanted something custom made so she stood out from the rest)
3. Paige Boys outfits // Carrément Beau pant & Carrément Beau shirt (the most adorable clothes ever- The boys looked too darn cute in their chinos and white cheese cloth shirts)
4. Bridesmaids Dresses // Tuscany Bridal
5. Pearl Earrings // Michael Hill
6. Hair styled // Maurice Meade
7. Make UP // MAC Three Chairs
8. Pink satin Robes night before // Enrobe

Decorations… 
1. Wooden Cake Topper // Grain & Co (perfect unique accessory to our cake- i’m keeping this topper as a keep sake it’s that divine)
2. Just Married wooden Blocks // The Ginger Kids Co (a quirky touch to our decorations)
3. Welcome sign with hashtag // Yorkelee Prints
4. Table numbers wooden feathers // Zilvi
5. B+K Wooden Plaque and marble cut out // Zilvi
6. Copper Cutlery Set // Bloom & Co
7. Candles center pieces // E-Sential Scents
8. Custom Copper Candle gifts for both mothers // Joveaux Soy Candles
9. Giant white balloons used the day before // Lavender Honey & Co
10. Welcome wooden sign custom made  // Simply Type
11. Concrete diamonds // Raw Luxe Interiors 
12. LOVE Letters // Little Letter Lights Co
13. Love light sign at home // Love Struck Home Wares

Wedding Photo Gallery…