Wedding Etiquette & Traditions

Monday MoodBoards

Rose Pink, Peach and Tangerine
[Inspired by Amal Alamuddin’s post-wedding day dress by Giambattista Valli]

Navy & Gold

Sage and Lavender

Burnt Orange, Peach and Stone Grey

Misty Slate Grey

Coral and Poppy

Emerald

Elegant Lace

Indigo

Enchanting Ivory

Turquoise

Navy Blue, Peach & Blush

Peach

Black & White (Formal)

[Images from Pinterest]

Lemon Yellow

[Images from Pinterest]

Greyed Jade

[Images from Pinterest]

Placid Blue

[Images from Pinterest]

Hemlock

Groom Attire: Formal, Informal & Quirky!

I definitely lean more toward informal Groom attire (and informal weddings in general), but I do love the black or navy tuxedo (and bow tie of course!) look for a formal wedding – cravats, silk waistcoats and top hats feel far too common and ‘old-fashioned’ to me, and there are so many interesting choices for Groom attire these days.

Here are some formal and ‘less’ formal ideas for the Groom’s wedding attire, as well as a few fun accessories to play up the look with!

FORMAL ATTIRE:

 

[I had to include the silk cravats and waistcoats really, as it is still a popular choice among couples]

         

 

TIP: Want to wear something formal but worried it might be boring and ‘common’? Try out a brighter coloured suit and match it in with your theme.  Green? Burgundy? Royal Blue?

 

TIP: Try pairing a plain suit with a coloured or fun, patterned tie/bow tie/cravat, pocket handkerchief to add a little bit more detail without detracting the attention from the overall look.

 

 

‘LESS’ FORMAL ATTIRE:

    

TIP: Make the Groom stand out from his groomsmen! Try adding a suit jacket if the others are wearing waistcoats (or just dress shirts); wear a tie, whilst the other men have bow ties; wear a waistcoat if the groomsmen are just wearing dress shirts. There are endless possibilities, but it is a nice idea to let the Groom stand out just a little bit by wearing something slightly different.

 

TIP: Using your wedding colour scheme, play around with different patterns and slightly different shades of the same colour (or your colour palette) and have each of the groomsmen wear a different bow tie or waistcoat.

 

 

TIP: For a semi-formal look – without having to wear a full suit – pair a smart, tailored, dress shirt with a pair of chinos or suit trousers. Add a waistcoat to dress the look up!

 

TIP: Beach wedding? Try out a pair of khaki chinos (or linen trousers) and a crisp white shirt – smarten it up with a waistcoat, or dress it down by kicking off your shoes in the sand!

[ Any excuse to squeeze Jake Owen into my blog!]

 

TIP: Something a little more fun and quirky? Pair a smart shirt and suit trousers with a fun bow tie and a pair of braces!

 

10 Fun Bridesmaid Gifts

1. NO UGLY CRYING HANDKERCHIEF – a partially polite way of asking your bridesmaid’s not to cry?

2. TEAM BRIDE – Add a fun touch to your bridesmaids’ heels with some ‘Team Bride’ stickers!

 

 

3. BRIDE’S LITTLE HELPER – A little something to help your girls get through the big day – these can be personalised with their names too!

4. PERSONALISED WINE BOTTLE LABELS – who doesn’t love a glass of wine? Grab your favourite vino from the shops and add on a personal sticker to show how much you care!

5. PAINTED WINE GLASSES– When you don’t feel like drinking straight from the bottle….get your BM’s a personalised glass with their dress colours!

 

6. HEELS ABOVE -A helpful little gadget to pop on your heels and stop your Bridesmaid’s from wobbling their way down the grassy farm yard aisle – great for outdoor weddings!

 

7. MY FRIEND GOT A HUSBAND AND I GOT A T-SHIRT – A fun, light-hearted t-shirt for your BM’s!

 

8. ‘I SAID YES’ LIPBALM – A fun little something to give to your besties when you ask them to stand by your side! This would also be great as a lipstick for your Bridesmaids to wear on your big day.

 

 

9. THE BRIDESSENTIALS KIT – The perfect emergency kit for every BM, ready to save the day at the Bride’s time of need! TIP: Choose exactly what you think your BM’s would love/need on your wedding day and make your own DIY emergency kits.

 

 

10. ‘YOU’RE MY PERSON’ CHARM – Specifically for the Grey’s Anatomy fans out there – a cute little charm to remind your BM’s how much they mean to you.

 

Designing Your Own Wedding Dress – Yay or Nay?

When I decided to start looking for my perfect wedding dress, I must have scrolled through millions upon millions of websites and photos to get ideas for exactly what I wanted. I had so many ideas, and dresses I loved but I was faced with a bit of a dilemma – living overseas and unable to easily try on dresses, (continuous appointments to have the dress altered, fittings etc.) I decided to have my dress custom made by a seamstress and designer on Etsy.

In fact, I didn’t even try on a single wedding dress before I ordered my own dress ( although later on, shortly before my wedding, my maid’s of honour took me for a fun day of trying on wedding dresses, just so I was able to have that experience! FYI – I do not advise trying on dresses after you find ‘the one’, as you’re likely to find another ‘one’, or two or three. Luckily, getting married in a warm climate gave me little choice on the type of dress I could wear –  without fainting mid ceremony – so I didn’t let myself be tempted by other dresses).

So often Brides talk about ‘the one’ – the perfect wedding dress that you fall in love with immediately, the second you put it on, and you feel like a princess and you just know. I didn’t really have the whole crazy wedding dress shopping extravaganza, so I never felt this  – and to be honest, I think it is very difficult to find the perfect dress, as there are just so many different styles that may all look beautiful on you, and then you have to decide on ONE (or you can justify buying two by wearing the other one to the reception!).

I did love my wedding dress, but like so many other Brides-to-be, I did have my doubts every now and again and kept finding other dresses I loved (probably because I hadn’t exhausted myself dress shopping, and it didn’t really help that, aside from having numerous fittings, my dress was still a bit too big for me on my wedding day)- but I kept telling myself it was just too late and pried myself away from wedding websites, magazines, apps – you name it.

However, what I did and do LOVE about my wedding dress is that it is entirely unique and is mine – no one else will ever have another like it (until they read my post and copy my designs!) and I love knowing that I designed my very own wedding dress, and it was completely me, my style and my personality.

My dress was made by Fay from PandaandShamrock (on Etsy) and I then bought a beautiful, beaded belt from Yve Young (Yves Bella Brides).

[Final design of my wedding dress by Fay – PandaandShamrock – on Etsy]

……and the final outcome

[Photography by Charalambos Iacovou – Fotokinisi and Bouquet by Jayne Pugh- Flowers By Design]

Bespoke Wedding Dresses

Nowadays, it is far more common to have bespoke bridal gowns made – something personal to you, and designed exactly how you want it. Tulle & Chantilly is a great website, that has some beautiful bridal gowns, and they have shared stories about their customers – it’s really intriguing to read the process, starting with the Bride’s visions of her dress, and seeing the final outcome. They also design bespoke bridesmaid dresses, prom dresses etc. Many bridal shops today will also offer a bespoke service.

Another fun website is –Design Studio, by Dornink – where you can design your wedding gown in a virtual design studio online!

 

I definitely suggest that if you do decide to have your wedding gown designed and handmade just for you, that you first go and try on wedding gowns so that you know the style that you like (and more importantly, the style that suits you – you would be surprised at how often a Bride’s final dress ends up being something entirely different to the style she initially went looking for. Again, this is something that I never did and wish I had!)

 

Find the perfect dress for your body type – HERE!

The DO’S & DONT’S of choosing your perfect wedding dress – HERE!

Get The Look: Page Boys & Ring Bearers

Braces, bow ties and chinos -this is such a popular look for this season, and perfect for a casual summer wedding! Not only is this an adorable outfit for page boys and ring bearers, but it is also smart, and entirely age appropriate.

A little bit of inspiration…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHOP THIS LOOK!

[Please click on the images to go to the website]

There are a limited collection of ‘suit sets’ available to buy – if you can’t find what you are looking for, why not put the outfit together yourself and match the bow tie and/or braces to your colour scheme.

Or smarten up the look with a waistcoat or suit jacket…

{Here’s an idea: for a farm or rustic wedding, why not try pairing a checkered shirt with chinos, braces and a plain bow tie, or add a checkered tie – for a beach wedding, dress down the look with sandals and shorts}

Saying Yes to the Dress…

There are endless beautiful wedding gowns hitting the catwalk – here is just a glance at some of my top picks of Bridal gowns, including: Maggie Sottero, Elie Saab, Pronovias, Temperley London, Monique Lhuillier, Roberto Cavalli, and Phase Eight.

If you could have any wedding dress in the World, what would your dream dress be?

[ Leave a comment (above), and tell us what your dream wedding dress would be!]

 

 

Gorgeous Flower Girl & Baby Dresses

There is such a huge range of flower girl dresses on the High Street at the moment – my personal favourites are House of Fraser and Monsoon –  as well as a beautiful range of peaches, blush pinks and pastels –  a refreshing change from the traditional white.

….and how CUTE are these?….

[Please click on the images to go to the website]

 

And because I can’t resist….check out these adorable shoes!

 

 

Bridesmaid Dresses Under £50

Wow – what an incredible response to yesterday’s – ‘Bridesmaid Dresses under £100’ – so here we go again,  with dresses under £50!!!

To keep up to date with the latest from my blog, you can ‘follow’ Emily Annandale Weddings, or ‘LIKE’ my Facebook page. I will be doing a series of ‘Bridal Attire  Under £££’ – including attire for Grooms, Flowergirls, Page boys and more – so please FOLLOW and LIKE so you don’t miss out on anything!

TIP: When searching for Bridal gowns or bridesmaid dresses, you don’t always necessarily find the biggest choice of dresses when you label them as ‘Bridal wear’. If you are on a budget, try just searching for white or ivory maxi dresses (for your bridal gown), and for bridesmaids – just maxi dresses or cocktail dresses. You will find that when items are labelled as ‘Wedding’ the £££’s are added on!

[Please Note: Many of these dresses are on sale, and may have limited sizes – click on images to be taken to the website]

         

 

Changing Your Name After Marriage

This is definitely a popular topic of discussion for future Brides-to-be, and after coming across questions about this numerous times on the Cyprus Brides To Be chat group  on Facebook( future Cyprus brides – check this group out), I decided to put something together to make it easy and simple for every Bride or Groom to know exactly what you should change (should you wish to take your partner’s surname)!

Remember, you don’t HAVE to change all of these things – only if you wish for your married name to appear on them.

There’s quite a chunky list of things to change so don’t feel overwhelmed if you can’t do it all straightaway, as much of it involves sending off your marriage certificate and waiting impatiently (I’ve been married for about 9 months, and still yet to have changed anything except social media)!

[ This information applies to UK brides/grooms only. Please always double check the information on reputable sites, such as http://www.gov.uk. This list is merely to give you an idea on what to change after marriage.]

– PASSPORT

– DRIVING LICENSE

– HMRC (TAX & N.I.)

[ Please find more detailed information on these at the bottom of the page ]

 

Once HMRC has been updated with your new details, you can continue notifying other companies.

– BANK (CREDIT CARDS, DETAILS ETC.)

– LOCAL AUTHORITY (COUNCIL TAX)

– INSURANCE COMPANIES

– EMPLOYER (OR PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE/EDUCATIONAL FACILITY)

 

The main changes are done….now for all the nitty gritty ones, if you really want to get down to details…

– TELEPHONE/INTERNET/TV PROVIDER

– TV LICENSE OFFICE

– UTILITY SERVICES (WATER, ELECTRICITY, GAS ETC.)

– LOYALTY CLUBS/ GYM MEMBERSHIPS

– DOCTORS/DENTIST

-VETS (if applicable)

-MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS

-WILLS (if applicable)

– MOTORING ORGANISATIONS

-PREMIUM BONDS OFFICE

-CLUBS/SOCIETES/ASSOCIATIONS

 

Changing Your Name on Social Media & Online (the easy ones!):

– FACEBOOK

– TWITTER

– LINKEDIN

– PINTEREST

– EBAY

– AMAZON

– HOTMAIL/GMAIL (EMAIL ADDRESS)

….and any other online accounts, should you wish!

 

 

1.  PASSPORT

This is a tricky one, as majority of passports are issued for 10 years (and if you have recently renewed your passport – do you really want to be paying again just to change your name??) – so this is really personal choice. However, it does make it slightly easier to present proof of identity with your new married name when trying to change other legal details (i.e. bank).

Cost: Passport renewal will cost roughly £72.50 (please be sure to check this at www.gov.uk)

Remember: You will need to send off your marriage certificate – so I suggest  you get extra copies of your marriage certificate (you can usually organise this at the town hall or registry office before/after you get married).

Bonus: you get up to 9 months of extra time on your new passport to cover time left up on your old passport (not so helpful if you still have 9 years left on your passport – but at least it’s something!)

Want to Honeymoon on your lovely new married name? You can change the name on your passport up to 3 months before your marriage date – your old passport will automatically become invalid from your wedding date, and your new one will become valid. All you need is to fill out the application for newlyweds and civil partners, and have it signed by the registrar or religious minister that will be conducting your ceremony.

For more info, go to GOV.UK

 

2. DRIVING LICENSE

You can quite simply change the name on your driver’s license, by sending your marriage certificate by mail, along with your current driver’s license and counterpart.

CLICK HERE to order your application form (at no charge). Once received, you can fill out your application form and post it to DVLA.

 

3. HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS

You will need to fill out a very lengthy and detailed online form, so be sure to have all of your details handy (i.e. NI number, taxpayer  reference, employer name, pension number etc.)

CLICK HERE to go to the HMRC to notify them of a change in personal details. Once the application is successful, your details will be updated, and you can begin notifying other private companies about your name change (i.e. utilities, banks etc.)

 

 

All information can be found on WWW.GOV.UK, or HMRC website.