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Floral dresses and family wedding fun
I am extremely behind on
blogging due to difficulties with brain fog, physical and mental fatigue, and
depression. I seem to be slowly getting my mojo back now though (praise the
Lord!), and have finally been able to work out a feasible routine that enables
me to get a tiny bit of writing done each day, so I am determined to catch up
over the coming months. I have so much to write about!
After my last post I
thought it would be fun to blog about the last couple of weddings I attended
and what I chose to wear.
These blogworthy weddings were those of relatives that took place in December 2013 and March 2014. I told you I was behind on blogging!
My Uncle’s Wedding,
December 2013
My Uncle’s Wedding, December 2013
My uncle had a stunning, small and intimate outdoor garden gazebo wedding. Fortunately the weather was glorious – not too hot, not too cold.
It was such a bright and cheery
summer wedding with a short and sweet ceremony, surrounded by gorgeous flowers
and magnificent trees which provided a perfect romantic setting. It was just a lovely
place to celebrate, enjoy some finger food, and have a laid back afternoon
outdoors with family and guests.
I thought it would be
appropriate to wear the latest addition to my wardrobe, a Jump floral print
dress from Myer. It caught my eye while I was flicking through Myer’s spring catalogue
a couple of months prior to the wedding, and I decided to order it online.
When it arrived I
immediately fell in love with the soft pleats and its slimming effect. Given
that Humira caused me to gain a fair bit of weight, making me feel frumpy, I
wanted to wear a dress that made me feel fabulous. This dress did the trick.
It concealed all of my problem areas while retaining a classic and feminine fit. I received compliments and some of my confidence back. It was the perfect dress for a garden wedding.
It concealed all of my problem areas while retaining a classic and feminine fit. I received compliments and some of my confidence back. It was the perfect dress for a garden wedding.
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| My mumma got a new dress too. Floral dresses are the best kind of dresses. |
While I was confident
with my choice of dress, I wasn’t too happy with my choice of makeup. I
foolishly decided to forgo a practise makeup run and wing it on the day; a very
bad choice considering I had to get up and get ready early when my brain usually
doesn’t function at its best. In addition to brain fog I also had to battle a
bad feeling sick/fatigued day. This combination heavily contributed to a
slapdash job of my makeup.
You think I would have
learnt by now to seriously take these things into consideration, but no.
Sometimes I still think like the old healthy me did.
In hindsight, given how
pale I was that day, I think it would have been better to ditch the red
lipstick. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day I enjoyed celebrating.
My Auntie’s Wedding,
March 2014
I was ecstatic about my
auntie’s wedding. She has been through a lot, so it was beautiful to see her so
radiant with joy on her special day. I am very happy that she finally met the
right man to marry and spend the rest of her life with.
The lead up to the wedding
was super exciting. I really enjoyed going wedding dress shopping with my
auntie and mother and helping pick out a dress; it was such a special
experience.
My auntie settled on an
elegant dress with a beautiful buttoned train, which wasn’t the type of dress
she had in mind, but it just suited her so perfectly.
I also worked very hard
on putting together a handmade wishing well and couldn’t wait to give my auntie
and new uncle a beautifully decorated table where guests could leave their
gifts and well wishes.
It was the biggest and most challenging craft project I have undertaken, but I had a lot of fun planning and making it. I put a lot of time and love into it as it was a special, one of a kind wedding gift from me.
It was the biggest and most challenging craft project I have undertaken, but I had a lot of fun planning and making it. I put a lot of time and love into it as it was a special, one of a kind wedding gift from me.
I took great delight in
contributing to their wedding in a small way; it gave me a purpose and made me
feel useful for a change.
The wedding was held at
Nathania Springs, a venue nestled in the Dandenong Ranges. It was a typical
chapel ceremony followed by a convenient on-site reception.
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| Doesn't my mother make a gorgeous bridesmaid?! |
The chapel and reception
rooms were nice enough, although a little too dark for my liking. The forest
backdrop, however, did provide a tranquil atmosphere, and the chandeliers in
the chapel added a nice romantic touch. Outside was picturesque and perfect for
photos.
I was really impressed
with the service at this venue. I thoroughly enjoyed the reception; the
speeches were beautiful as was the food, too. Inevitably I overindulged as the dazzling
selection of warm and cold desserts made it impossible not to. I even had some
sparkling wine which is a rare occurrence.
I always feel like such a
rebel when I do have alcohol given how many of my medications come with the
warning label: THIS MEDICINE MAY INCREASE THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL. But I know I
am usually fine with one glass on occasion; I just can’t make drinking a
regular social habit (which is probably a good thing!).
As this was another
family wedding, I didn’t want to wear the same dress that I wore to my uncle’s
wedding. Wearing the same dress for family wedding photos is a no-no in my
book. And besides, to my surprise, I managed to lose weight before my auntie’s
wedding, so the Jump dress was a couple of sizes too big anyway.
I had to find a new party
dress.
Initially I wanted to
find a stunning semi-formal maxi dress to wear as I wanted to hide a stubborn
uneven tan line on my shins from the summer. I looked in a few stores and
didn’t find a dress that I was happy with.
As I wasn’t up for hours
of dress searching, and considering that there wasn’t as much choice with maxi
dresses, I decided to get the next shorter length dress I liked and apply fake
tan to disguise the tan line.
So as a reward for my
weight loss I treated myself to this chic, figure flattering, summery ‘Grace’
dress from a Review clearance outlet. It was my first purchase from Review and
I was elated.
I had been wanting to buy
a dress from the store for many years and actually wanted the Grace dress when
it first came out, but for some reason I decided to wait until I lost some
weight.
When I walked into the
outlet store I wasn’t expecting to find the Grace dress as I knew it was an
older style that had probably sold out. So I was very surprised to find it on
the first rack of dresses that I looked at, even though there were only two
sizes left.
One size that was left
was a few sizes too big for me. The other size left was my pre-sick dress size
and I thought I would be certainly pushing my luck to have it fit me. But I decided
to try it on anyway, just on the off chance that it did fit.
I nearly squealed in the
changing room as I was completely shocked and over the moon to find that I
could finally fit back into my pre-sick dress size again! It was just meant to
be. I am convinced that God saved that dress especially for me.
I’m glad that I waited
until I lost some weight and didn’t have to pay full price as it made the
purchase more special and exciting. It’s a dress I am now proud to have in my
wardrobe. It reminds me of how far I’ve come and how much I have overcome. It
gives me hope.
To conceal my pesky tan
line I first tried fixing it myself with some tanning lotion, but unfortunately
the tan turned out too blotchy, so I scrubbed it off and resigned myself to the
fact that I needed professional help.
I ended up opting for a
Tuscan Spray Tan at my local beauty salon. I took a risk and got sprayed the
day before the wedding.
While I was excited about
getting my first professional tan, I was also a little worried that it would
turn out orange and that I would have to go to the wedding looking like an
oompa loompa.
But I was right to trust my beautician, the tan was
amazing! I was very happy with the colour; it wasn’t the slightest bit orange
and it looked really natural.
Oh I do enjoy getting glammed up.
After my auntie’s wedding I found myself feeling a
little sad that her big day was all over, as I had been excited about it for
months and then, suddenly, there wasn’t much to look forward to.
However, I also do like that the weddings I have to
attend are few and far between, as they exacerbate my symptoms and take me
weeks, and sometimes even months to fully recover from.
*** FYI: this is not a sponsored post
*** FYI: this is not a sponsored post
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