The Dress...

Now I know everyone keeps the dress a 'big secret' which is fine, but I am planning to alter my mums wedding dress...and I am planning to quite dramatically alter it so I figured I'd pop up a few pics of 'before' the alterations, also so I can try and keep track of what alterations need doing.

So here is a shot of my mummy wearing her designer dress on 7th September 1985 outside St Pauls Church Quarrington Hill, Durham (sadly the church is no longer there)

 

 



It is layers of lace with frill around the neck going up to a collar and has long lace sleeves (very in!)

 

I am happy to say that the dress pretty much fits me perfectly...and here is 2 shots of me wearing it, completely unaltered in 28 years after that photograph above.

 

 

 

My plan is as follows...I love the lace and the ribbon around the waist and I love the sleeves, I am less than keen on the neck frill...not to mention that the lace collar is rather scratchy and feels like it is choking me :/ so I plan to remove the frill and collar - keep the sleeves but possibly tighten them around the arms and maybe lengthen them with some lace or wide ribbon around the cuff's. Shorten the whole dress so it is more of a 50's style just below the knee or maybe calf-length dress and add lots of underskirts to make it stick out more and give it a 'rockabilly' or 50's feel. - at there is plenty material on the bottom of the dress nothing should need adding - just shortening.

 

Joyful shot of me and my mummy taking of the frill lace around the collar...

 

 

 

All we have done so far is remove the collar...but here are a few shots of me wearing it minus the collar and frill

 

 

 

To add to the purple theme I may replace the white ribbon around the waist with a purple one and add a purple underskirt (And wear purple shoes!) just to add hints of purple, you should only be able to see the underskirt as I walk.

 

Below is a pick of the underskirts with the link to the ebay sellers page, the underskirts are relatively inexpensive and should give a perfect length to the dress.

 

 

 

And finally a very quick pic of the dresses that inspired me with the vintage look...both of these dresses can be found on the 'House of Mooshki' website along with plenty of other amazing dresses for you ladies to drool over...link: http://www.houseofmooshki.com/

 

 

 

This first one has more of the lace skirt look that I like and I like the length and the good amount of 'poof' given by the underskirt.



 

And this second one has the lace sleeve look and again good length and good amount of 'poof' given by the underskirt :)







 

 

 

Cake...everybody loves cake...

So everybody loves cake...but deciding on a cake design/flavour is rather difficult...

Flavours...it is traditional to have a fruit cake...apparently it symbolizes fertility or something along those lines?!? so I have pretty much decided that regardless of the rest at very least the smallest top layer should be a fruit cake.

Having attended a few wedding fairs I am blown away by the flavour selections...Vanilla, chocolate, Banana cake, Red Velvet, Lemon, Marble Cake, Rainbow Cake, Carrot Cake...too much choice.

Then shape...circular, hexagonal, square, cupcakes, mini cakes, tiered, separates - its also very 'in fashion' to have a 'dessert table' and have a selection of cakes and French 'petit fours' type confectionary rather than just the one cake.

Check my pinterest...I have pinned LOADS of ideas... http://www.pinterest.com/missdragonflyj/wedding-brain-storming/

Well...I have hit upon the idea of these adorable 3 tier 'tea/cake stands' - as we are having an afternoon tea party rather than a traditional wedding breakfast. I figured these tea stands will link in with the tea party theme...

I am pretty much decided that the one below is the chosen one. The bottom stand holds a 12" cake, middle is 10" and top is 8".

I am thinking fairly simple cakes...but maybe 3 flavours...so the top 8" cake will be the traditional fruit cake. Then deciding on the other 2...vanilla sponge with jam? I'm kinda favouring a carrot cake...but I tastes a Banana cake at a wedding fair and it was lush...so was the red velvet cake...for now I think we'll come back to the flavours...

So decoration...well I'm toying with the idea of these button moulds, but rather than popping chocolate in them (like the pic) you could use them to shape coloured icing...

 

 

Then just pop a line of buttons around the base of each cake. Purple is the theme...so if you had plain white iced cakes with a line of purple buttons that could have quite and impact...or you could ice the cakes with purple icing and pop white icing buttons on? Or a combination? So have it white-purple-white varying per cake tier...

 

I also found these button moulds...the ones above would give a nice uniform line of buttons the same shape...if you use the ones below it would add a lovely rustic, vintage feel with all 'higgledy piggledy' buttons...

 



Or if we forget the button idea I do have a bit of a 'lace' undertone to the wedding theme...I could just simply pop some ribbon and lace around the base of each tier...

...hmmm....too much to decide!

Invites

With a year to go it is marginally early for the invites however I am planning to make them all myself, which adds on some work...so here's the test one.

Bought a stamp which says 'wedding invitation, not as easy as using the little stickers widely sold by craft stores but i think it will look a little more 'hand made'

I already have a selection of embossing powders to use with the inks from making Christmas cards.

Not easy to see from the pic, all clear ink with various embossing powders...the left one is iridescent, middle is silver, right is black with sparkles. 

On white paper, purple ink with iridescent embossing powder

On a tag purple ink with iridescent embossing powder

Got some scissors with decorative edging to trim the edge

Paper doily simple decoration with punch hole (I punched one too many holes in the right good job it's just a practise!)

Added a discrete button to tie in the button theme...

Bit of ribbon and attach the tag. You have to untie the ribbon to open the invite - possibility will look at using purple twine over ribbon...more experimentation may be needed.