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Wedding Part Two #OurForever2016

Ok so now you’ve read my wedding part one post, it’s onto part two! We all went to bed feeling pretty proud of the marquee setup, it was a vision in white and red. A huge thank you has to go out to Talking Tables for their stunning lanterns which gave the final touch. All photography in this post (unless stated otherwise) is courtesy of my fabulous wedding photographer Camera Hannah. Hannah we couldn’t have done the day without you! It was captured with the theme and vision in mind so I will love you forever for all your fantastic snaps.

The Marquee

My sister and maid of honour Evie designed the table plan for the guests, if you have an occasion and need a designer then let me know!

The Aisle

This wedding vision took a very long time to pull together. Weeks of making flowers and designing the garden arch, plus I had to walk down a grass aisle too. We transformed Paul’s parent’s living room into the rustic backdrop you see here for the big day.

The Cake

Again this was something quite specific and I had just the man in mind for the job- Mr Cake! After reading all about Chris in the paper about how he quit his job and turned his written resignation into a cake I knew he was the guy we needed! I had my very talented step dad (Bulldog Vintage) create the wooden structure out of real wood and let Mr Cake design the rest.

Apples scattered at the base as a signature Twilight symbol.

My Hair and Makeup Team

Again I knew exactly where to go! I had worked with both makeup artist Hana and hair stylist Georgia before on other projects and so these ladies were my first and only choice for the big day.

I chose a dark lip with silver eyes, quite a bit heavier for a bridal look but I think I pulled it off!

Photo by Saharasplash

My hair was dyed grey five days before by the talented Limoz Logli in Chelsea, and Georgia braided it into a crown with berries on the day. My earrings were crystal apples from Corbico Jewellery– I wore these on the Saturday too and have them safely kept as a momento of the wedding weekend.

The Ceremony and Dress

Violinists saw us in as they played a thousand years by Christina Perri.

This is the first time my guests saw the finished wedding dress after seeing my first episode of Say Yes to the Dress UK. I had the Christine Dando dress modified with custom made sleeves and neck detail, so it’s very different to the dress you see in my first episode! My next episode of the actual wedding is coming out tomorrow on TLC- the 26th May at 9pm so please tweet me if you’re watching!

The Bridal Party

My six bridesmaids did me so proud on the day. They wore fabulous multiway dresses from In One Clothing and the colour matched so well with the surrounding theme and decor. The girls wore their dresses to their own unique style and it worked a treat!

My bridal bouquets were made from paper by the talented Beauty is Eloquent. They each contained red and white roses along with book pages from Twilight too! I get to keep it forever, just like the beautiful memories from the day.

We were lucky to have a very mild November day and managed to take some lovely shots just outside the farm house too.

The Speeches

Our best man’s son Harry stepped in to fill the shoes of the best man speech for our wedding day. Sadly he couldn’t be there, but luckily the speech was a great success and Harry did a fantastic job as best man!

By the time the DJ started, I whisked myself away to get changed back into my jumpsuit which was a very good decision. I could dance freely without worrying about ruining my fabulous dress. I let my hair down metaphorically, but I didn’t want my hair touched until the night was over!

We would like to thank each and every person involved in the wedding part two #ourforever2016 and we couldn’t be happier with how the weekend went. Everyone we loved helped make it a perfect and special celebration, and of course none of it would have happened without the Twilight author herself Stephenie Meyer- thank you for bringing us together!

Saharasplash x

If you missed part one of the story, read it here!

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Wedding Part One #OurForever2016

This post has been in the pipeline ever since my wedding which happened last November. I have been waiting for the right time to post this as a lot has happened over these first months of 2017. I’ve decided to split the wedding post into two parts- mainly because the wedding occurred over two days so it makes sense. The other reason is I didn’t want a super duper excessive mammoth post by combining the whole weekend into one! So thank you so much for the wait, and we are starting our journey off with a trip to Hatton Garden…

The ring- Hannah Rose Jewellery

I met the team from Hannah Rose at a bridal show earlier on in 2016 and I knew straight away that these were the ones who were going to design my wedding band. My engagement ring is my mother’s ring, and due to its rather odd shape, a wedding band was going to be custom made. We met them on a bright and sunny day in London to discuss colour, shape and all the incredible choices.

A few weeks later, my ring was ready! Engagement on the left, my brand new wedding band on the right. They fit together in perfect harmony, Hannah Rose outdid themselves!!

The nails- Nail Harmony

I felt incredibly lucky when I was invited to the headquarters of Nail Harmony for a day’s masterclass in how to use Gelish polish. We met the company’s fantastic family team behind the business- Jason, Georgie and their daughter Jazmine.

Georgie lead the class and taught us four keen bloggers all about the nail, how to safely use tools and products and applying/removing the gel.

If the day wasn’t amazing enough, it was about to get better- I stayed behind after class and then had my nails done ready for the big days (as there were two). I decided to go for an almond shape nail with a dark red polish and silver detail to match the wedding theme.

Look how amazing these nails are! Pure perfection, I cannot thank the team at Nail Harmony and the ladies at Cat Pr for making this all possible.

The morning

The morning of went by so fast, I was up, showered and by the time I had done my makeup and hair we were rushing out the door. But not before I got a picture with my best man-dog!

So the journey was a little rushed, it involved us having to travel about 70 miles in under an hour to get to the venue on time! Plus this involved a 3 minute pit stop to a service station for a wee and petrol. The CCTV must have picked up a very strange sight of me in my outfit as well as my mother running across the station to pay without any shoes on as she couldn’t run in heels!

But… we made it just in time! My jumpsuit was bought from Nasty Gal online and needed some minor adjustments to the waist area. I had a lovely local seamstress take this in for me and add a silver rope belt too.

The beautiful flowers were made by a family friend for us on the day.

We were married by one o clock on the 19th November at the Uttlesford District Council.

No sooner had we said our vows, I was off to Tesco (yes in this getup) to get the evening food for the bridal party which is something I won’t forget.

The afternoon

My wedding afternoon was spent with the lovely bridal team prepping the marquee for the second day (part two). We lined the ceiling with gorgeous paper lanterns from Talking Tables in red, white and silver.

The fridges were stocked with the welcoming drinks from Fine Cocktails. These were so well received on the day and a fabulous start to what was going to be quite a long wait for me!

The table decorations were made using real wood (thanks to Wayne!) and artificial ivy woven with string lights down the middle. My sister Evie designed the table plan, menus and the photo booth which you’ll see in part two. The theme was based loosely around Twilight hence the forest feel and red/white theme.

I cannot wait to show you part two! Thanks so much for being so patient for this post.

Want to see what’s coming up in part two? It’s going to involve Say Yes to the Dress for my customised wedding dress and a lot of dancing!

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LAHENDO2016 PART ONE

I have been so excited about posting this post, as this will no doubt have everyone jumping up and down. The time is almost upon us (in 9 days to be exact), and I am here to share some great moments with you from my Hen Party weekend extravaganza! LAHENDO2016 Part One will cover the theme, the journey, the place and also some amazing surprises too for the party. I invited along 15 girls (one of which I have to mention was very missed 🙁 ) for the #LAHENDO2016.  So for those who don’t know, my mother owns a motorhome. This was decked out- much to my surprise- with designs on the back and sides to let the whole world know of course that we were having a hen party. My sister Evie was in  charge of the whole thing from start to finish as she’s my maid of honour and the one with the design skills! She expertly took the colour scheme of the wedding (dark red, white and light grey) to decorate the motorhome and used a font very recognisable to those Twilight fans out there. The wedding will be based around Twilight in certain areas (I’m not giving away too much) as Paul and I met at a Twilight event, so very fitting! lahendo2016_ lahendo2016_-2

So we set off from Ipswich and were headed to Manchester. We had booked a luxury stay in a gorgeous house through Celebration Cottages. The house we stayed in sleeps up to 20 people and was ideal for the kind of thing I was looking for in a hen do. I am not a party goer nor a fan of excessive drinking and so I opted for the girly sleepover sort of vibe instead which I wouldn’t change for the world. lahendo2016_-137

This shot was taken on the last day but it shows the artwork from the sides so you can see. Plus some more hens too!

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We stayed in a house called The White House, and as soon as we pulled up after our 6 hour journey I knew that we were going to love it. The front of the house was made of glass (similar to the Cullen’s house in Twilight) so that made me very happy! The house itself was beautiful. It had a stunning design, more of which you will see later, and it had everything we could possibly need from the marble kitchen to the cinema room. Now I had been working very hard on something for all the hens involoved. As a blogger I wanted to make the most of this beautiful location and this special occasion, and so I had a little help from some of my favourite brands.

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Each hen was presented with a bag full of a variety of things for the weekend and they loved it!lahendo2016_-13 lahendo2016_-14

So in their gift pack they found:

Premier Estates Wine

I love the Prosecco from Premier Estates. It is crisp and so light and delightful. We all enjoyed this Prosecco throughout the weekend and you can see more of them in Part Two! The bottles fit right in with the designer kitchen and our glasses were at the ready!lahendo2016_-61

Mr Stanley’s

Mr Stanley’s went above and beyond for the hen. Each hen had a glorious selection on confectionary from chocolate moustaches to fudge and lemon fizzies. This was so perfect for the hen party as we had vegetarians, coeliacs and lactose free requirements so there were treats for everyone. lahendo2016_-63

Amie Skincare

I took advantage of using the master bathroom for this shot! Equipped with television et al, we really enjoyed a selection of treats from Amie Skincare who I am a big fan of. We had the best micellar water for our makeup removing needs, moisturiser and a selection of their new face masks which I will be reviewing separately on the blog.

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Sass and Belle

Sass and Belle are one of my go-to brands for gifts and homeware. They provided us with the cutest notebooks for our games and quizes which I shall be talking more about in Part Two! Their designs were loved by the hen party as each couldn’t wait to open these up and take a peek inside! lahendo2016_-66

KIND Snacks

KIND Snacks are the perfect snack for a big sleepover weekend, especially when you have a lot of guests with different diets. KIND snacks kindly sent us a range of flavours for the weekend which are all gluten and dairy free. My favourite was the dark chocolate and cherry bar- so delicious!

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So the first day/evening of the hen was fairly chilled. We explored every inch of our quarters, chose our bedrooms and took a lot of silly photos as we waited for the whole party to arrive. I have to give 3 hens a massive applause who came from Wales, and the journey took them 9 hours in a small car! Every hour or so we would receive an update from them in the form of a dubsmash song 🙂 lahendo2016_-20

Here we are having fun with our chocolate moustaches!

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Stay Tuned for LAHENDO Part Two, there’s so much more to see including games, knickers and jacuzzi fun!

Saharasplash x Bride to be

 

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Smoothskin Gold IPL 12 week trial

Quite a while ago (3 months ago actually) I went to a Bloggers Ball. Now at this Bloggers Ball I met a wonderful range of people. Friends, brands and the usual. But one in particular stood out for me, and I was lucky enough to have been working with these guys over the past 12 weeks on a 12 week trial. I’m talking about SmoothSkin and their very popular hair removal device. So continue reading if you want to find out all about my Smoothskin Gold IPL 12 week trial…

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I want to tell you a little bit about SmoothSkin. You can check out their website here and follow them on Twitter here. So how does the device work? So the IPL device uses intense pulse light technology to disable your hair follicle and prevent regrowth. Of course this doesn’t happen overnight which is why I’ve been doing a 12 week trial and the results are just fantastic. The SmoothSkin Gold is so simple and easy to use- you can use the glide mode on large areas like your legs, or single pulse for areas like your underarms or your bikini line.

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Before starting my Smoothskin Gold IPL 12 week trial I read all the instructions and the manual cover to cover to make sure that I understood how it worked. Unfortunately this doesn’t work on extremely dark skin and is not recommended for red, grey or extremely light hair follicles becuase they can’t absorb the light treatment safely. It is perfect for brunettes and for those with dark hair like me.

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There is a little light up bar system on the side of the device telling you if the area of skin is suitable. It’s best to hold it flat down instead of at an angle to make sure the target area is as good as possible. Once ready you look away as to not get flashed in the eyes (as that’s dangerouss!) and you push the button, et voila! Piece of cake. My legs usually take me ten mins to do, and bikini/underarms a matter of minutes so it’s easy to work it into a routine once a week.

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Now I know you have probably seen a lot of people on TV getting laser hair removal and they are in a lot of pain. SmoothSkin Gold really isn’t that painful at all. You can control how intense you’d like the device to work as there is a soft mode too, but other than being a little warm for a split second, that’s it. There were no tears and no putting me off using this brilliant machine- and the results are just great. Before my 12 week trial I would shave my legs every time I washed my hair, so every 3-4 days. Now I’m finding myself not being able to remember the last time I picked up a razor for my legs which is amazing. My thicker hair on my underarms and bikini line is also improved, though the best results are by far with my legs.

I’m so happy to say goodbye to my unwanted hair after my 12 week trial, now I’ll be taking a break and seeing if my hair manages to stay away for my wedding next month!

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If you’d like to try the SmoothSkin Gold for yourself, take a look at the website and see what happens after 12 weeks! Price wise the device ranges from £249-£299.

Saharasplash x

Thanks for reading! Why not check out something fashion related next? My London Fashion Week diaries is just waiting for you!

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The Bloggers Ball 2016

Where do I begin with The Bloggers Ball 2016? It is going to be really hard to capture the essence of this event I think as it was one of those ‘you had to be there’ events in my opinion. To sum up for you before I go into further detail, it was crazy, big, wonderful and addictive! So many bloggers and brands, so many bodies and booths to visit, I imagine it was something similar to speed dating but on steroids, and I still didn’t get to visit everyone and see everything! I’m going to talk about my favs that I did get to see and of course I have to shout out to Scarlett London for organising this grandeur affair at DSTRKT London!

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Selfie Glow

Selfie Glow are are cute company just perfect for bloggers who love a good tan! Cruelty and paraben free, these guys were the first exhibitors I visited. They are US based but making their way over to the UK market this year. I hope I can work with this lovely brand soon while we have some sun in London!

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Fei Liu Jewellery

Fei Liu jewellery really caught my eye. I love the elegant design of his pieces and I am still after something signature to wear on my wedding day. Fei Liu really stood out to me and the sparkle was just lovely!

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Bon Prix

I’m sure you have all heard of the longstanding brand Bon Prix. They had brought with them a few of their summer collection essentials which were fabulous! Definitely check out their site if you’re going on holiday or just feel you need to jazz up your summer wardrobe, I’m sure they will have you covered!

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Bravura London

Bravura London are a new find for me. It was great to meet them at The Bloggers Ball 2016 and talk about their different products meant for different types of skin. I chose to trial the Glycolic acid for its abilities to reduce fine lines and breakouts.

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Monin

I’m sure you’ve all had a taste of what Monin has to offer, whether you know it or not. Monin provide the syrups for Costa coffee, so those caramel lattes and hazelnut mochas are all down to this great brand. On the day, they had brought with them a lovely pitcher of lemonade which was fantastic. I didn’t know how many syrups they did until I saw the range at the Bloggers Ball- check out their site to discover all the amazing flavours, they have practically everything!

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On The Beach

On The Beach are an online travel agency who aim to deliver great holidays at great rates. They were there on the day to meet us bloggers and also have a beach party too! There were plenty of selfies taken at their booth and the OTB team were such great fun! Really hoping to take an On The Beach holiday if the wedding budget allows this year!

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Vatika Naturals

Vatika are another new brand I discovered at The Bloggers Ball 2016 and I’m so glad I did. I’ve been using the Argan Shampoo pictured below since the event and it’s honestly the best shampoo I’ve ever used. Not only does it smell amazing, it creates a fabulous lather without using half the bottle, and my hair comes away feeling so nourished my hair is like silk. Definitely recommended, and I can’t wait to try out their Black seed hair mask! Available at Superdrug.

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Tessuti

The last brand (and the most fabulous by far) is Tessuti. They are an online luxury boutique who stock both men and women’s ranges. I was immediately drawn to these guys as soon as I saw the Melissa shoes- you kow how much of a Melissa shoe collector I am! I’m really excited to be working with Tessuti after meeting them at The Bloggers Ball 2016 so stay tuned this month to see what piece I’m styling up from Tessuti.co.uk!

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What I Wore

I wore a bright orange cocktail dress courtesy of Solace London and I paired the dress with some rose gold lace up heels from Ego. On my nails I have Thumbs Up nail wraps!

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Saharasplash x

For more content and to find out about a fabulous fizzy drinks company called Karma Cola, click here.

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The Dubai Series: Day Three

So onto The Dubai Series: Day Three – the last day of our 72 hour holiday. Let’s start with some pretty awesome hair if I do say so myself…
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So I did a mixture of French braid to the nape of my neck, and then I tied them up and did fishtails to the ends. I really liked the results of this spontaneous do! I think it went really well with the look from day three.
Paul and I took a taxi to JBR, the Jumeirah Beach Resort on our last day to spend some time with each other. We had a sizeable lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, I absolutely love their raspberry lemonade! The marble table at lunch provided a perfect opportunity to show off my second pair of nail wraps from Thumbsup nails, on the Dubai Series: Day Three I’m wearing ‘Mars’.
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After that, we ventured out to find a great location to do some shooting.

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I’m wearing a biker jacket with chiffon fall from Her Boutique, I love how unique the jacket is with this extra bit of detail. I decided to pair this with some crochet trousers from Primark. They are super comfy and perfect for hot weather down at the beach.
We found a stunning staircase and so we took advantage!
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Underneath the jacket I’m wearing a bikini from Boohoo.com
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As we made our way down to the beach, we spotted some camels walking towards us!
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Here is the Boohoo.com bikini in more detail:
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Now this post is quite a special one, not just for the fabulous fashion, but because I have some news to share with you all…

 

On the beaches of Dubai on the 2nd May, Paul proposed to me…   And I said yes!!!

 

The Dubai Series Day Three

I know, so exciting- we are getting married at the end of this year and I am so happy! I’m ecstatic I can finally share this news with you all on my blog and make it a part of the Dubai Series: Day Three as it’s been killing me to keep it a secret!

 

And there’s more too! On to my final outfit of the trip, plus a close up of my ring…
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My pantsuit is from Primark, and my clutch is from Next. My engagement ring is courtesy of my mother.
I’m sure you can agree that this was a very special ending to a very special trip. I want to thank everyone mentioned in my five days of blogging, I couldn’t have done it without you. And lastly a shout out to my husband to be, thank you for supporting me, my blog and being the best camera man I could ask for!

 

Saharasplash X (bride to be!)

 

If you’re not caught up on Day 1 and Day 2, take a read to see the rest of my time in Dubai!

 

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