Fabulous freebies: magazines

Fabulous freebies: magazines.

Beautiful birds nests and other such crafty things

Beautiful birds nests for beautiful bridesmaids maybe?

I adore these gorgeous necklaces featured on Sarah Ortega’s fabulous blog. Some DIY jewellry seems overly complicated and I can’t contemplate trying- but these are both simple and delightful!

The raw materials are really cheap too- so the final pieces should literally cost pence not pounds- fitting in with any budget. The value in these is the look and the thought that goes behind it. They are unique and thoughtful gifts that people will treasure.

Check out her blog for a full how to and maybe make your bridesmaids/friends smile with a little bit of classy homemade bling.

Lovely locks by ‘hair romance’

A few weeks ago, I blogged about how to look a million dollars on a budget. I mentioned there that I had a talented friend to do my hair- but, bride or not, what if you want  to get a stunning look yourself for free?

I’ve found this fabulous blog for any girls (brides or otherwise) wanting to get the perfect twist and pin look for a special occasion.

From http://www.hairromance.com

Aussie, Christina takes you through hundreds of chic styles step by step in her easy to access ‘hairromance’ blog. Even if you dont fancy doing it yourself there is tonnes to inspire any bride to be- especially as it doesn’t major on ‘wedding hair’ and just covers simple, beautiful styles.

I can’t wait to try some of them out!

Bridesmaids’ dresses

cut-price style from http://www.lightinthebox.com

A few years ago I was a bridesmaid for a good friend of mine. Whilst she chose the fabric/ colours of the dresses, she let us chose the style- and ordered from an online company. I really appreciated not being stuck into any old thing and having control over the shape of the dress.

So, for my 5 lovely ladies, I wanted to do the same thing. I found a company called light in the box online, who you can order multiple designs from all in the same fabric.

If I was doing things again, I think I’d order my wedding dress from them too- I love that you can see reviews and photos from other customers so you have a good idea of what will arrive, and their customer support has been pretty good too.

My girls range in size from UK 6- UK 22 so it was important to me that they all felt comfortable, gorgeous and unique in their outfits. They all chose 2/3 designs they liked, then I made the final choice so that everyone was in different styles. They also came in really reasonably at around £50-£60 per dress, plus an added £15 each import duty/shipping.

When the dresses arrived, we were definately not disappointed. All the girls look amazing, and the dresses are well made- with a heavy lining, and gorgeous material.

The dresses are all in this gorgeous royal blue satin/chiffon