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!

I will not be sharing photos of brides though as I haven’t asked for their permission and I just don’t feel right about posting them on a public site.

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.

 

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.

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.



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.

I loved how it made me look slightly slimmer and feel more confident. I didn’t blind anyone with my pastiness or look washed out in photos for a change. It was definitely worth getting a professional Tuscan Tan.

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