small moments of beauty

To combat the rapidly building stress of wedding part 2 (two days to go, still so much to do! eek!) I would just like to run away and hide in a cupboard somewhere and escape from everything ...actually, that wouldn't really work seeing as I have a very real fear of small, cramped, dark spaces. I would in fact preferably like to be doing any of the things depicted in these beautiful pictures. Or even just staring at them and losing myself for a while would do. But no time for that, four hair decorations for the bridesmaids still need to be created, along with the table names and the ceremony programs still need to be printed. Help!!

Hope these dreamy images brighten up your day (images are all via the amazing tumblr sites Tree Castles and Sparkle & Fade ).

wedding part 1...snapshot

So stage 1 of our marriage- the civil ceremony, took place on Saturday and I'm pleased to report that it was a glorious day. We went to a local restaurant and shared a meal with close family members and a couple of friends and then all headed to the registry office to do the legal thing. We all came back to our garden for champagne and a delicious French wedding cake. Little Miss Lila held up remarkably well despite a lack of naps during the day and happily shouted 'hello', 'hello' continuously throughout the entire ceremony!

Well no time to sit back and relax as we've still got the 'actual' wedding celebration on Sunday to prepare for. I'm driving up to my parents house tomorrow evening to spend the last few days helping to get all the last minute preparations sorted so things will really shift into full gear then, but it's all very exciting :)

i will be here

For our civil ceremony tomorrow (eeek!)- aka wedding part 1 (see previous post for details), we are keeping it all very low key. I’m not having a processional song as such but Curt and I will walk into the room together to the song ‘First Day of My Life’ by Bright Eyes. We will sign the wedding register to the song ‘Forever’ by Ben Harper and when it is all over we’ll leave to the sounds of ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Amstrong. We chose this because Lila loves it and does a little dance when she hears it :)

We are just having one reading, a poem which my sister will read for us. I thought I’d share it here because it’s really beautiful.

All images in this post are by the wonderfully talented sea shanties over on flickr.



I Will Be Here
By Steven Curtis Chapman

If in the morning when you wake,
If the sun does not appear,
I will be here.
If in the dark we lose sight of love,
Hold my hand and have no fear,
I will be here.

I will be here,
When you feel like being quiet,
When you need to speak your mind I will listen.
Through the winning, losing, and trying we'll be together,
And I will be here.
If in the morning when you wake,
If the future is unclear, I will be here.
As sure as seasons were made for change,
Our lifetimes were made for years,
I will be here.

I will be here,
And you can cry on my shoulder,
When the mirror tells us we're older.
I will hold you, to watch you grow in beauty,
And tell you all the things you are to me.
We'll be together and I will be here.
I will be true to the promises I've made,
To you and to the one who gave you to me.
I will be here.

wedding: part 1

As I have no doubt mentioned before, our upcoming wedding is taking place in the grounds of my parents farm, up in the north west of England- pictures above. As neither me nor Curt are regular church goers, it didn't really feel right to opt for a church wedding. Instead we wanted an informal, outdoor ceremony in a beautiful setting (though bearing in mind the English weather, the outdoor part is by no means guaranteed!)

The gardens of my parents farm offered the perfect setting- the grotto pictured below which is on one of the front lawns is where we will hold the ceremony with a marquee for the reception and as a back up venue for the ceremony if it rains. I think my mother has actually secretly been planning to hold the weddings of my sister and I there since we moved there when I was about 8 years old!



However the first stepping stone was the staid, somewhat outdated English law that only allows non-religious wedding ceremonies to be held in in 'licensed' premises or structures. My parents didn't really relish the idea of applying for a licence for our home/gardens so that all and sundry could get married there so we've got around this problem by deciding to get 'legally' married a week before the actual event.



On Saturday our parents and a few close friends will accompany us to our local register office in London (which by chance is a beautiful old country house set in gorgeous parkland- picture above) and there we will have a short civil ceremony and say the necessary words and sign the necessary papers that will mean we are legally husband and wife. We are doing it with the minimum fuss and ceremony as of course all that is being saved for our 'actual' wedding next weekend, when we will in front of all our loved ones, family and friends say our own vows, listen to our carefully chosen reading and songs and exchange our rings. And then eat some amazing food, get tearful at the speeches and dance the night away.

Although we will legally already be married at our 'actual' wedding, the bonus of this arrangement is that we have had a total free rein with planning and writing our ceremony and are not bound by anything as far as our choice or words, structure or music are concerned. Oh and we in effect get to have two weddings which is double the fun!

On a completely unrelated note, this is my lovely dog Skye (or as Curt calls him- 'Tripod'), who lives at my parents farm. Just found this picture in a folder of pictures of the farm and it made me smile. He got hit by a car a couple of years ago and had to have one of his legs amputated but he does so well on just three legs now and is the sweetest creature I have ever met.

risks

This poem below has stayed with me for many years since I first heard it when a teacher read it out in an assembly at high school. Whenever I'm unsure of something or have faced a big life decision I always find myself coming back to it, so it has definitely impacted on my life. And no regrets so far! I hope you will find it as inspiring as I do.

Risks

(author unknown)

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your dreams, ideas before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.

They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.

Chained by their certitudes, they are a slave: they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is truly free.

All images are by Susannah Conway, check out her etsy shop unravelling to see more lovely pictures and purchase prints.

soon my love

In 15 days, this super dooper man will be my husband :)

I'm so unbelievably excited about the future we have ahead of us with our beautiful little girl. I can't stop smiling about it. So many places to go, things to try, people to meet, milestones to reach, dreams to be shared and it's all just beginning.

the selby

You probably know about The Selby by now but if not, then head over there for some awesome inspiration and a look into the homes, lives and the possessions of some of the world most creative, cool people.



Recently featured was the home of Nic Briand and Susien Chong (above)- the very talented design duo behind the hip Australian fashion label Lover. I'm a huge fan of Lover and it was great to have the opportunity to see where all of Nic and Susien's ideas and inspiration come from. Here are some of the shots from their home.

Another of my favourites over on The Selby is the home of the designer & creative director of the street/surfwear label Insight, and another Australian, Natalie Wood. I'm loving how she displays all her jewllery and her vast collection of various trinkets and random cool things. This is excellent proof that clutter can be beautiful! ...Curt take note please :)

my creations

So it's been quite some time since I posted anything about my own creative efforts and my fledgling line of hair adornments. While I've just not had the time to keep my etsy shop updated with new products anywhere near as much as I'd like to (slap on the wrists!), I have been busy making custom orders which has been so much fun.

The alice bands shown above were commissions- gifts for two little girls which I'm really pleased with. A childrens range was something I was keen to look into and after the sucess with these ones, I'll definitely be making more to put in my etsy shop.

Below are some more of the hair decorations that I've done recently, I also decided to experiment with making a couple of bracelets with some leftover bits 'n' bobs and they ended up being quite sweet. I'm looking forward to having more time to devote to all of this post-wedding (which by the way is now in under 3 weeks!!) At the moment trying to juggle planning a wedding with caring for a boisterous 1 year old child, holding down a part-time job and creating hair accessories is proving to be quite a handful!

axel honey

I love these beautiful illustrations by Melissa Contreras. Gorgeous bright colours, Pocahontas style girls and some very cute animals! Some of her work is available to buy on her etsy shop.

a place to call home

When one day we get a house we can call our own, I like to imagine that Curt may let me make it look something like the rooms in these images (all found via the insanely inspiring mypeterpancomplex on tumblr). The chances of this aren't incredibly likely as his ideals of design and decoration sway very heavily towards the minimalism aesthetic.

So as understanding as he is of my ridiculous hoarding tendencies and urgent need to cover every available surface and wall with beautiful things, something tells me I will probably have to compromise on the amount of romantic, feminine details, florals and decorative items (what he calls 'clutter') it will never stop me dreaming of it.