Updates!

Dress- completely different from the original plan. It is currently on lay-by, and it is amazing! Off white, halter neck, backless dress with dimonte accents, and...a train! It sounds OTT, but on, it is lovely! I fell in love with it as soon as I slipped it on. I hear horror stories of brides trawling from store to store, looking for "the one". Me? I try on the second dress, and know instantly that it is "the one".
Veil- I am planning to wear my mum's. It was worn by my nanna, then my mum at her wedding, so I thought it only fitting that I carried on the tradition.

My wedding band- I recently inherited a beautiful gold and diamond engagement ring from my grandmother. It used to belong to my great-aunt. I am planning to have it re-resigned to be a little more modern and to suit my engagement ring- think engagement ring minus the center diamond, that is how I am thinking.

Bridesmaids- Have found "the" perfect style and colour for the dresses, and they're available at a store in Perth, so just have to take the girls in and try them out. Think flowy, full length dresses in teal.

Venue- I KNEW I'd (We?) would find somewhere with a little patience. After the disaster of the last idea, I got referred (by a lovely man at a winery in Roleystone) to The Enchanted Valley: Araluen Golf Resort. It even sounds lovely! Have a look at the website for an idea of how lovely it is. ( http://www.araluenresort.com.au/welcome/index.mhtml ) If we build in the area/s we have narrowed down, it will only be about 15 minutes from home. Which is great! It's pretty direct to get to, no matter where and which direction you are coming from.

Theme: Cocktail style reception, think finger foods, champagne and...Wedding cake! Roaming wait staff, very laid-back. Still going with a teal/off white colour scheme, but seeing as the sit-down reception is no longer a go-er, I don't need to worry about tables, centerpieces and decorations!

Photographer- A friend of a friend is shooting our pre-wedding/Engagement photos for us. I am really looking forward to it, because even though Royce and I have been together for four and a half years, we don't actually have any super nice photos of us to send to the family and all of that jazz. So that's what the engagement shoot is for.
I have almost narrowed the wedding day photogapher as well. Zoe and I went to the E-Bridal expo on Sunday, and spoke to a lovely photographer. He was open, honest and even said that photographers who charge to take the photos AND to print them for the couple was "bullshit". I knew I liked him then! All we are after is photography for the preperations, the ceremony, formal shots of us and our family etc, and then the beginning of the reception. Probably about 5 hours of work. All of it on a disc, all images high resolution for us to do what we wish with.
This photographer offers this at a well priced $900.
Have a look at CK Images.

Date: ALMOST have it! After chatting, we realised a weekend would be better. So we've (I) narrowed it down to two weekends in April 2013- either the 20th, or the 27th. Looking like it will most likely be the 27th/4/2013. :D

Honeymoon: Probably the easiest thing so far- 7 nights in Vanuatu for $2,500. Easy. Done.
Engagement Party- Ummm, that. Seeing as the whole wedding is planned, may need to get onto that one!

A change of plans...

So, bridesmaid #1 (Grace) and I took a trip to the potential Venue spot I blogged about previously.
According to the website, the place was open.
In a very abrupt fashion, we were quickly told that it was not.
So there went that plan.
Back to the drawing board.
I have stumbled across an incredibly lovely golf resort in the hills.
( http://www.araluenresort.com.au/welcome/index.mhtml ) Bearing in mind that I am *such* a fan of golf, I thought the surrounds were near on perfect.
We just have to finalise guest lists for both of us, and know roughly how many we'd need to cater for. Then, we can suss out the food situation and most importantly, drinks.
The cost of having a sit down recpeion following a simple outdoor ceremony is proving less expensive than I was first imagining.
Thankfully!
More to come :)
Emma

Dress

When I think of what our wedding could be, I think of something elegant, simple and classy. Something that dosen't cost the earth.
I have in mind exactly what goes with the idea in my head for my wedding dress. Something simple, un-fussy, elegant. I don't believe I will have a veil, however I do like the idea of wearing the same one that my Mum and my Nanna wore on their wedding days.
I am undecided about how I wear my hair, but I a thinking a low bun with a hairpiece of flowers that match the boquets, or a pretty decoration.
I think that this pretty much sums up what I would like to have, except in an off white colour.

I know that eventually, one day, we'll find the right dress!
Until then, I'm going to keep looking!
:)

Dates....

I have been planning an "official" engagement party for a little while now. It has been a struggle to find somewhere suitable, and somwehere that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg and a kidney.
I am beiginning to entertain the idea of having it at home, and in order to have the space, it has to wait until we move again in November.... So December/January is looking pretty good to us at the moment.

 We ( Royce, Zoe and I) have also had serious discussions about when the wedding will take place. 2013 is still a goer, but it was looking like October. Now, because of travelling/cost/kids for Royce's extended family, it is probably going to be in April. :)

More plans to be made!

Colour scheme- WORKS!

In my head, I knew I somehow wanted to incorporate my favourite colour, red, into the scheme of our wedding. I originally wanted red and ivory, but due to the skin tones of my lovely bridesmaids, I had to change it. I am not disappointed, but I am thrilled that I can do it! This is a sample of what I think we can do, and I love it.

The teal and red DO go together!

Bridesmaids Dresses

We are having 2 bridesmaids ( Royce's sister, Zoe, and my cousin, Grace). Anything more for the casual style of wedding we want, and it would look silly.
I think we all have horror stories of bridesmaids being forced into frilly, fluffy, hideous coloured meringue dresses at one stage or another in the name of holy matrimony.
Some that I have seen are enough to make you shiver!
I like to think that the style I have chosen is nice, but if the girls don't like it, then I am happy for a different style to be chosen! The colour has also been changed from red to teal-blue. I can see this colour on the both of them, and it will look stunning against ivory!

Style

Colour

Boquet colour (ivory/cream)

I am hoping that the style and colour is ok for all, and I am hoping that because of the design, it should be easy enough to find online/in store/be made by a dressmaker. Hair and make-up can be the choice of the bridesmaid! I'm really not fussed- so long as they're happy. We shall see what happens. Stay tuned for more. I think the bridesmaid's dresses were probably the easiest decision so far!

The Engagement

We got engaged on the 14th of February this year- Valentine's Day of all days!
We didn't have much planned,except for a nice dinner at Hillary's- we had planned Little Ceasar's Pizza place, but it was booked.
Royce walked in the door from work and gave me a kiss, did the "happy Valentine's day" thing and told me he had my gift upstairs for me.
Me, not suspecting anything, followed him into our bedroom where he told me to close my eyes. I did, but I was wary, as I was honestly expecting something like a book or flowers.
He put something in my hand, and I opened my eyes. It was a little gold jewellery box.
My heart honestly began to race at this point!
I opened it, and there nestled in the cream velvet, was a stunning gold and diamond ring.
"What's this?" I asked him.
He replied "Well, what do you think it is?"
"An engagement ring?? Are you proposing to me!?"
He nodded and smiled.
I am not an overly "cry at everything" person, but I cried as I took it out of the box and placed it on my finger.
I can honestly say that Royce's proposal took me by surprise, but the answer to his "Will you marry me?" was a resonating, definite "YES!"
We joke with each other that one day, we're going to trade each other in for a "hotter" model. At the end of the day, my happiness in out relationship is not because I am, or Royce is, the most amazing looking person in the world.
Neither of us take a person on face value, and for those who do- you need to take a good long look at yourself in the mirror, because lets face it- if you judge someone on their looks, you're pretty damn shallow.

He is so lovely to me, treats me amazingly, listens to me when I am having a bad day, supports me through the rough times, we celebrate the good times together, and above all- we laugh at each other, and with each other. We are honest, open and rarely fight. The most important thing is that we have RESPECT for each other. Without resepct, you do not have the solid foundation that all relationships should be built on.

I promised him I wouldn't begin to make plans, or even talk about doves/horse-drawn carriages/fluffy dresses until November. But mentally organising it isn't going to hurt anyone! :)

Why "Vanilla Shades"?

I wanted something punchy, something that would be easy to remember, something that combined my love of art with our wedding. I tried for "Shades of White", as I am trying to choose what shade will suit my skin tone the best in my wedding dress. But alas, taken. So the next choice was another word for white. And there you have it. A blog name that wasn't taken!
The process from engagement to wedding is going to be a long one. I have my degree to finish in November of this year, and Royce has his training to finish also- hopefully by October! So to even begin to think about it, and to afford it, we're thinking some time in 2013, but I'd love October 2012. Stay tuned for "THE DATE" announcement!
Concentrating our enerigies on this is what is important, but it dosen't mean I can't begin to plan!
It is an exciting,amazing time in which we begin to change and grow as individuals, but most importantly, as a couple.