Outfit of the day: A Wedding in France

This weekend, I went to a family wedding in the South of France. I wore a blue dress, black belt, black fascinator, nude heels and matching nude bag. 

The temperature was 28 degrees, very warm for a wedding but I do like the heat so I wasn't complaining. It's a shame the weather didn't travel back with me! Let's hope this time next year the weather will be a lot sunnier in London for my big day...here's hoping! *fingers crossed*.

Dress - Tesco

Fascinator - Marks & Spencer

Bag - Topshop

Shoes - New Look

I bought this jumpsuit last year and haven't had a chance to wear it until now...

 Sunglasses - Forever 21

Polka dot jumpsuit - Clobber

Sandals - Primark

The wedding reception was held at the L’Abbaye de Sainte Croix, Relais & Château in Provence, South of France.  The venue is a beautiful 12th century abbey nestled in pine forest and rosemary in the picturesque setting of Provence.

We had the drinks reception on the terrace and then entered the great hall for the wedding breakfast. The table was decorated with fresh peonies, a great choice of table centre decorations.

 Wonderful table decorations

I love French food so I was delighted to try this fabulous five course wedding breakfast - what a treat!

Amuse bouche

 Ile Flottante aux Morilles sur une bisque de Langoustine au Cerfeuil

 Carré d' Agneau, Févettes au parfum de Garrigue, caviar d'Augbergine, Carottes fanes

 Sélection de Fromages affinés Mesclun

Mousse noire intense, dentelle de nougatine et glace à la Vanille de Madagascar

♥

Wedding Ideas Magazine Wedding Event

 At the reader event

Yesterday, I was invited to the Wedding Idea's magazine magazine reader event where I chatted with other brides-to-be over canapes and champagne and met some the UK's top wedding suppliers such as The Finer Details stationery, Blue Sky Flowers and FYEO Portraits.

At the venue..

I loved the mini beauty makeovers which had everything from a nail bar to eyelash extensions, the Olivier Laudus bridal accessories stand and the fantastic posture and confidence session with top bridal coach Michele Paradise. She showed us brides the top secrets of how to capture the perfect pose in your wedding pictures. I made sure I was taking notes!

We had also got a tour of the venue, Royal Horseguard's hotel, a 5star luxury hotel which had a beautiful display of a typical wedding reception with the prettiest table decorations and centrepieces of flowers and candelabras.  If I hadn't already chosen my venue this would be worth considering!

We also got to see the unveiling of the brand new Wedding Idea's website which will be relaunching in a few weeks. The new website looks great with lots of features on wedding fashion and planning, my two favourite areas! I really liked the idea of the wedding budget feature it has too, a must have for budget brides to keep on track on their spending.

At the end, we were treated to a wonderful personalised goody bag of bridal treats from suppliers including a beautiful woven scarf, a wedding favour cookie shaped heart from Millies and and my favourite of all the new issue of Wedding Ideas magazine!

My goodies

N.B Sincere apologies for the below average images, unfortunately I forgot to charge my camera so only had my iphone to rely on for the night! 

House of Fraser Wedding Event

I attended the House of Fraser wedding event to find out more about their wedding list service.

Guests were welcomed with a drinks reception, a thorough wedding list service presentation and bridal styling session on how to pose, take the best photos and most importantly stay calm on your wedding day!

We got to sample House of Fraser’s luxury wedding services. Models wore wedding dresses from Berextex and other designers in their stores. My favourite was the one shoulder Biba dress, a beautiful bridal gown and affordably priced for the budget bride.

Biba wedding gown



Thomas Sabo, possibly the world's favourite charm collection, had a pretty presentation of Necklaces, Bracelets, Earrings. I loved the pretty pearl earrings and matching necklace.

Thomas Sabo jewellery

Bridal makeup

Planning your wedding should be fun, exciting and stress-free and House of Fraser wedding list offers a wide variety to match every bride’s budget. You could choose from quality or well-established brands or the stylish exclusive lines.

I particularly like the sample gift lists available on their website. Choose from ‘Setting up home’ for couples in new homes, ‘Upgrading what we have’ to more well-established brands, or ‘Couples who have everything’ for the stylish exclusive lines.

So take a look and let me know what you think. Will you be having a wedding list? If so, what would be on your list?

♥

Tilly's Cakes & Bakes Cupcake Review

 Tilly's Cakes & Bakes

Tilly’s Cakes and Bakes, were running a competition on Twitter to win a box of cupcakes and I was lucky enough to win – hooray!

Based in Blackheath in South East London, Tilly’s Cakes & Bakes describe themselves as “home of the sophisticated cupcake”, who have developed the perfect cupcake combos of light, moist and sumptuous cupcakes so you don’t have to.

 Tilly's signature carrot cupcake - my favourite!

I was very excited to collect the cupcakes and see what delights I had won.  They were the Madagascan vanilla sponge, classic chocolate sponge and carrot, their signature cupcake.

 The cupcakes!

Placed in the prettiest packaging with a pink and white polka dot ribbon, the cakes smelled delicious and were decorated beautifully with cute edible flowers and stars. 

I was worried the cupcakes were going to be a case of style over substance, but I needn’t have worried because they didn’t disappoint!

 Vanilla

Each cake was moist and incredibly flavoursome, each frosting a bite of heaven, as they were so light.  I was looking forward to trying the carrot, Tilly’s signature cupcake.  I am not usually a fan of carrot cake but this was sweetly spiced sponge and super moist, just how a cupcake should be, with a velvety cream cheese toping. Definitely a new favourite!

 Carrot

Unfortunately I couldn’t try the chocolate sponge cupcake as I have given up chocolate for lent but luckily my fiancé was on hand to try them. A chocoholic like me, he thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate sponge and dark chocolate topping which he described as very rich and chocolately.

 Chocolate

I love that Tilly’s Cakes & Bakes use 25 per cent less sugar than standard recipes so we can feel that bit less guilty in indulging in these delicious treats!

 

So if you are looking for some homemade delights, then you should try Tilly’s Cakes & Bakes available for collection and delivery for all London postcodes. Full list available on the website here.

My trip to Edinburgh! (Reviews)

I was so excited for my first ever trip to Edinburgh for my friend's wedding, so I was keen to see as much as the city as possible over the weekend.

There is so much to do in this city and with so little time I made sure to visit some of the stores and here were my favourites:-

Jenners on Princes Street is the department store to visit in Edinburgh. I was wowed by the store's striking architectural features and inside was no different, six floors of fashion brands, designers, cosmetics, home interiors and portraits to just name a few. 

 Jenners department store

There is also a fab food hall but unfortunately I didn't have time to try it, definitely worth a visit next time!

 We picked up this lovely pink gingham wrapping paper in Jenners for the wedding couple's gift!

 I loved this display of cute tartan accessories in Jenners

Centotre is an Italian restaurant in George Street another beautiful grand entrance and interior where we had breakfast and what a delight!

 Hot chocolate at Centotre

I chose hot chocolate, waffles, fruit and cream whilst my boyfriend went for bacon and waffles and syrup. Of course I tried some of his, both were delicious! And the service was good too. We ended up in Centotre twice because the breakfast was so good!

 Waffles and berries...yum!

My other favourite place was Bibi's Bakery on Hanover Street. The shop was filled with cupcakes and tiered wedding cakes it was a cake fiend's dream! 

 Cupcakes galore!

I couldn't resist popping into I Love Candy, an old fashioned vintage store of Scottish sweets. I was mesmerised by all the sweeties from bonbons to sugared sticks to refreshers there was every type of sweet you could think of!

 

 Display stands in I Love Candy...spoilt for choice!

  
Have you visited any of these stores and restaurants in Edinburgh? What places would you recommend I visit on my next trip to Edinburgh? Let me know!

Outfit of the day Wedding Special!

This weekend I visited Edinburgh for my friend's wedding in the lovely Prestonfield House, a romantic historic house hotel.

 Fascinator - Marks & Spencer

Dress - H&M

Cardigan - H&M

Shoes - New Look

I was looking forward to wearing my fascinator from Marks & Spencers. It was the first time I have ever worn one so I wanted to make sure I chose the right one so it took me a while to find one that matched my dress. 

 My fascinator!

I loved this simple black one. It wasn't too big and worked well as a hairband.  It was the perfect finishing touch to my outfit! They have a great range of fascinator's in store at the moment, check out their range here.

Apologies for the blurry photo, my boyfriend took it!
 

Kanye West Designer Shoes on Sale for €4,420 Euros!

 Kanye West at his DW showcase at Paris Fashion Week 2012

Kanye West has unveiled his new range of shoes with Italian label, Guiseppe Zanotti, at Paris Fashion Week 2012

All eyes were on the eye catching heels modelled by the model's shoes on the runway of his DW showcase.

 Kanye West for Guiseppe Zanotti heels

Made of calf leather and embroidered pearls, the shoes are currently available to buy at the Colette store in Paris for 4,420 Euros - gulp!

 Models spotted in Kanye's designer heels at his shoes

So they might not be priced at a high street shopper's budget but would you be saving up for a pair of Kanye's heels?!

Amber Rose & Wiz Khalifa Get Engaged!

 Wiz & Amber on the red carpet

A huge congrats to Amber Rose who announced she was engaged to rapper, Wiz Khalifa, last week.

The video and former girlfriend of Kanye West revealed the news on Twitter posting a photo of the gorgeous ring too - lucky girl!

 Amber Rose's engagement ring

The couple have been dating since 2010 and have been working together on Amber's debut album which features her first single, Fame, featuring Wiz.

Amber is known for her unique fashion sense so I am looking forward to seeing her style of wedding dress.