Growing up, I remember watching movies with my mother and whenever there was a wedding in the film, we’d “ooh” and “ahh” and discuss future wedding plans very excitedly. I couldn’t believe that my own wedding day had finally arrived and now I get to share all the wonderful moments with you over the next few blogs. As there’s so much to say about the wedding itself, I’ve decided to split the day itself into three posts, followed by some crafting posts and other information. Today I am sharing my getting ready process which actually started a few days before the wedding.

Friday night, I had my bridal party come over and we sat around, drank tea, laughed way too loud and painted our nails. I thought about going to a salon to get them done but most were booked up so I decided just to do it on my own. I was going to paint my nails a traditional pinup red but oddly decided to go with a bit of a nude tone instead. I also put on a layer of shimmer to give it some extra sparkle and then glued on some gold stars and moons. It was actually a lot of fun doing each others nails and although none of us were particularly skilled, it was a lovely bonding moment that I cherished.

Come Saturday, or Wedding-Eve, I had nothing to do but pack, bring in the flowers, say goodbye to my Fiancé who would be spending the night at his parents, and go to the magical salon known as Cherrybomb. For those unaware, Cherrybomb have been involved with much of the beautification for the entire wedding process and I have a full blog of the services I’ve received here. I was scheduled to meet my bridal party at the salon for a final wash, blow-dry and set before we would have our hair styled on the day. We were beautifully surprised by Michelle, Cherrybomb’s owner, who brought out a tower of home-made fresh treats just for us to enjoy. There were pesto muffins, strawberry jam filled cupcakes and a Japanese Cotton Cheesecake (my absolute favourite) not to mention champagne and tea!

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I spent my last evening as an un-married lady having dinner with my parents and then going home to watch my favoruite movie in a very hot bath with all the delightful bath salts and oils that my body desired. I took time whilst washing and got very excited for the day ahead. I was in bed by 10 and very excited; it took me a little while to fall asleep but eventually I drifted off into the land of nod. When I woke up on Sunday morning, my wedding day, I was very happy and excited. I messaged the bridal squad to make sure they were all doing ok, I set up some tea and breakfast for when they were to come over and had a cup of tea with my furbaby Brian.

Since we started dating, my partner has been bringing me a cup of tea in the morning for me to drink as I wake up. He was a little sad that on the day of our wedding, this simple task could not be performed…or so I thought. I heard a knock at the door and thinking it was one of my bridesmaids, I swung open the door to be greeted by my partners Best Man (thank goodness I wasn’t in my daggy underwear and had changed into a dress). Jack, on my partner’s request, had brought me over a full pot of English Breakfast tea, milk, honey and a giant tea cup. My heart melted and I made myself a fresh cup of tea immediately.

The morning plan was that Laura was getting to Sheereen’s house to start on makeup before heading to mine where Caitlyn would also arrive. Our makeup was to be very classic pinup; natural eyes with a touch of shimmer, winged eyeliner and red lips. I thought the girls all looked so beautiful and we may have almost fully converted Laura into a pinup. Eventually, both Laura and Sheereen arrived at my home, we had some tea and breakfast as we continued doing our makeup. When Caitlyn arrived, we started on her face as well preparing what we needed to pack into the limo which would eventually arrive to take us to our venue. Me being me, I already had a list of things we needed so it was pretty easy to bring everything.

Our limo was supplied by Belle Classic Limousines who are a wonderful company which I have had the pleasure of working with on several occasions. On this day, we were all very comfortably packed into a Jaguar MK5 Limousine and whisked away to our destination. We also made a quick detour past my Mum’s house and she was very excitedly waiting for us out the front, camera in hand. I was so grateful that this little detour could have been done as it meant I could see and wave at my mum on such a special day especially after the hassle it was getting her back into Australia from overseas during quarantine.

On the ride to the venue, Brookleigh Estate, we all chatted, laughed, drank more tea and champagne and some of us, not naming names (Miss Vintage Orchid), let her potty mouth slip much to the amusement of our driver. I really enjoyed the ride to the venue, I spent most of it thinking about how much I love my partner, all our adventures, our quirks and what magical things our future will hold. I got quite carried away in thought as the 45 minute trip felt like it was just around the corner.

Once we arrived at Brookleigh, we clambered into the bridal suite, got set up and continued with our makeup and hair. I got all the girls personalised robes with their names on the front and a special memory written on the back. Seeing their faces when they saw the robes was such a highlight followed by scream laughing and sharing of said moments. I also got each girl a special Bridesmaid cup so we could drink tea from with re-usable straws so our lipstick wouldn’t smudge. We were very lucky to have Michelle and Chloe from Cherrybomb style our hair; it was lovely to chat, relax and soak it all in. We were spoilt with delicious snack boxed from Forage and Fromage which were full of delicious treats that we munched our way through throughout the day. I drank a lot of tea, spent some alone time with my wedding dress, and was lost in thought amongst all the excitement.

I also found it exciting to swan about in my new Nylon Swish champagne robe, drink tea from my new bridal mug and chat with my wedding planner who looked pretty calm. Not sure if she was just pretending, but everything was working out just fine, things were getting set up just how we wanted them and they were on schedule. I couldn’t help but laugh when people questioned why I was so calm; I didn’t see anything to be nervous about, I was going to marry the love of my life, I was more excited than anything. When I saw my partners parents, I was a bit sad to hear that my partner was very nervous, unable to calm down or get much sleep and had been a bit ill in the bathroom. Meanwhile I’m skipping along in my fancy gown drinking tea. Poor baby.

Now, much like all bridal parties, we fell a little bit behind on time but our wedding photographer, Mel Silva, did an amazing job on the day and I love all the images she captured during the day. I’m kind of struggling deciding on which images to share as there are so many I love. During the morning, it was a joy spending some time with my bridal party including my fourth bridesmaid who was Zooming in as she was stuck in Dublin and unable to be there physically. It’s not the same, but it was nice knowing she was there for the whole day and we even had a plan to carry her down the aisle.

One of my favourite moments of the morning was when my niece came into the suite to see me. She saw my sparkly robe and said, “Aunty Monica I really like your wedding dress! It’s so sparkly!”. I beckoned her to come forward and I told her that I wasn’t wearing my wedding dress, this was just my robe. Her eyes widened with excitement; I told her to go down the hallway into the bedroom where the dress was hanging up. She ran down the hallway and we hear a gasp… she races back into the room I’m in and yells “It’s so beautiful and big and sparkly I love it!”. I’m so glad she did and she also looked very cute herself. Now, I really don’t like being late so I felt myself start to get a bit frazzled and stressed at this point. I was hoping to have some more time to do proper photos of me getting ready but we just ran out of time. I also planning on doing a ‘first look’ so a few more minutes to compose myself would have been great but alas, the show must go on.

Once I was deemed ready by Michelle who coiffed my hair into perfect waves, I was dressed in the bridal suite. For my something old, Fraukje (my bridesmaid from Dublin) had sent me a pair of vintage earrings from my favourite jewellery store in Dublin which came from the 1930s. I absolutely loved them and they were perfect for the day. My ‘something new’ was my dress and veil. My something borrowed was my petticoat from my maid of (dis)honour who wore it for her wedding day. Finally, my something blue was a pair of blue seamed stockings from What Katie Did. I remember looking into the mirror for a split second after I was dressed, despite all the issues and dramas this wedding had caused, the day was here, I was dressed and about to get married.

Now I know many people are wondering, “didn’t you say you were wearing a vintage wedding gown?”. Yes, I was going to but I’ll save that for it’s own blog post because it is quite the story dear friend. I will go ahead and say, I loved my modern dress even though it is far from my vintage dream. I thought it was a stunning dress and the details all fit the theme absolutely perfectly. I, of course, will have more details on the dress in a future post so please check back again soon.

For the first look, my partner waited outside, I walked up behind him and then he turned to see me for the first time. As someone with anxiety; I am very good at pretending everything is ok when I’m actually stressed out inside. I didn’t want to not experience any true feelings for my wedding which is why we did the first look. It was completely worth it as I could have a few minutes with my soon-to-be-husband, I could tell him I love him and we could hold each other right before the most important ceremony of our lives took place. This space also allowed him to ugly cry when he saw me; I didn’t think I could love him more but in that moment, when he cried over how beautiful I looked, I did manage to love him just a little more. I felt so showered in love that it actually was one of my favourite parts of the day.

We didn’t have much time together as I was soon whisked away back into my room, had my crown and veil shoved into my head and before I knew it, I was pushed out the door and down the aisle…

To be continued…

More in my vintage wedding series:
Part One: Bridal Shower
Part Two: Getting Ready
Part Three: Ceremony
Part Four: Bridal Photos
Part Five: Reception

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.