It's all about the... LIGHTING

For me, winter does it, the smell of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, the sound of bells chiming, the feel of snow (if we're lucky) and the sensual flicker of candlelight.


Candles are one indulgence item for me. I just love candles. Big candles, little candles, fat candles, thin candles - i don't discriminate, I just love them. Especially when they're scented. I plan to scatter candles around the room of our wedding reception, keeping the rest of the lighting low, and for full impact.

Photo: Boston Uplights

Recently, I've decided to 'step up my game' a notch... and invest in a lighting system for our reception. Now, I've not gone and spent thousands on any flash LED system that I can't operate, but I have called in the people in 'the know'. The genuises at Wedding Creative know how to transform a room with lighting, creating the exact ambience that you want for your special day.

In a large ballroom (or even, dare I say it,  conference room) like we have, we have to pull out the tricks to ensure the evening remains wintery, intimate and that every guests feels special. For me, as soon as I walk into a room, I have certain preconceptions of how my evening will pan out. For our wedding guests, we want them to feel the warmth and frankly the love that will be on display for all to see as we exchange our vows.


I'd urge you to check out http://www.wedding-creative.co.uk/ asap, to see just what they can do for you. They're incredibly professional and offer services to suit every budget and all tastes. Good luck!


N.B: We created a fantastic 'glow' in our wedding reception, but didn't consider how this might affect the video or pictures. The result was that we had to keep switching the main lights on and off to suit our needs....just something to bear in mind!

Au or Faux naturale? Bridal Hairstyles

At the moment, with it being Black History Month, there seems to be a lot of talk about race, intelligence and beauty. Always a thought-provoking topic! There are films like Chris Rock’s ‘Good Hair’, and Channel 4's insightful documentary series, ‘The White Beauty Myth’.

All this has got me thinking even harder about my choice of bridal hairstyle, and the possibilities seem to be endless. Nonetheless, I am finding it surprisingly hard to find inspiration for bridal hairdos for black women.


Do I go for a long, sleek and very versatile Caucasian style weave, afro-centric hair extensions, to give me that bit of length that I so desire, without necessarily conforming to the ‘straight + long = beautiful’ mantra OR do I figure out something to do with my own natural 1 inch head of hair.


Before I go any further, I just want to clarify that I think everyone is free to wear their hair as they please (sing it India!). On a personal level, I want my bridal hairstyle to represent the way I view myself at this stage in my life - and that is proud to be a black woman, very comfortable in my own skin and realising that I truly am not my hair and that I can wear it any way I wish and still be me. An empowering revelation! At the same time, I am no Whoopi Goldberg and sisterlocks are not for me. I simply want a bridal ‘do’ that is different and a lot more special than the way that I usually wear my hair – TWA (teeny weeny afro)…after all it is my wedding day! At the same time, it has to be tried and tested style that I know I like the look of! The big day is no time for beauty experiments, is it girls!


Aside from kinky twists and braid-outs, I can think of little else I can do with my, albeit beautiful, very short and rather kinky hair. Had I been brave enough to shave my head and grow out my natural hair a few years ago, perhaps I would have had more length to play with. If I did, these are some styles that I find really pretty and would definitely have considered.

This now leaves me with two options 1) Afro-centric extensions and 2) Caucasia-centric sleek weave…or is there a third option after all, a curly weave, giving me the length, without leaving guests wondering if it really is me beneath all the make-up and tresses!

Here are some styles that I am currently salivating over!

The Afro-Centric

The Caucasia-Centric

Afro-casia-centric?  is it ‘OK’ to just make up words…tehehe

...so many beautiful styles...so many decisions...only 66 days to go! Wish me luck...

Melvina

x

Biscuiteers!


Boy oh boy have I found a find!

Biscuiteers is this fabulous, and I mean fabulous little company which goes by the slogan - Why send flowers when you can send biscuits instead? I told you, fabulous.

http://www.biscuiteers.com/wedding-bells-tin

How does it work? Simply, the same way that you might order flowers online, you can order biscuits. The fantastic thing is, you can choose biscuits by theme. These are not just any old biscuits, these biscuits leave custard creams hanging their heads in shame! These biscuiteer biscuits are beautifully decorated, beautifully packaged and probably too pretty to eat!

And get this Brides-to-Be --- you can get wedding themed biscuits!!!! How very lush! I think these would suit a Bridal Shower just as well as they'd suit your actual Wedding Day, and I think would be a stunning alternative to cupcakes! You can personalise these biscuits too, so every guest could have their own bespoke biscuit favour! It can't get better than that right?

Wrong! You can even send a biscuit card to cookie loving husband-to-be on the morning of the wedding!

So sweet....literally!