Sea green and pearls

I recently bought a new outfit for a family wedding and I love the sea green colour and the details of the sparkly beads set off against the simple white, creamy pearls.

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I really enjoyed wearing the outfit on the day and feeling the fabric swish as I walked

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I hope to be able to wear this again at a family party or dinner soon

WPC: Orange

I thought I’d have a go at the weekly photo challenge for this week – the theme ‘orange‘.

My photos showing pops of ‘orange’ are: baby oranges for my baby niece; a pretty flower with a bokeh background; and sparkly beads from a gorgeous necklace – I’d be interested to know what you think

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015

Well, we’ve reached the end of 2014, and it’s been an interesting one for me, in terms of family related events and photo opportunities, both of which I hope have allowed me to grow in my skills and as a person. I would like to share below my favourite photos from this year, and to also wish you all a happy New Year wherever you are and whatever you decide to do to welcome in 2015. I hope its a happy, healthy adventurous 2015 for all of us

My sister’s wedding

So, I’ve guided you through all the preperations and pre-wedding parties and events that have been leading up to the ‘Big day’, and I can now finally share some of the pictures. The weather was nice and bright and although the wedding was indoors it really helped put everyone in a good mood. The room we hired was set up by the venue and it looked really good. The stage was ready for the bride and groom, tables set for the guests and what I especially loved were large rose balls of vibrant red on the head table

There were other nice touches that we added too (aside from the fruit and sweet tables). My sister picked out her favour boxes which whilst took us ages to put together and then fill with tasty treats, I thought looked elegant and really pretty. There were also welcome drinks for our guests to help themselves to while they socialised

But the thing that really stole the show (apart from the bride of course) was the beatiful wedding cake made my talented sister. She made the cake and the edible lace to go onto it and also made some matching cupcakes to help set the cake off. My sister’s friend made the swirly cupcakes to add to the cake table to help fill it out

My nieces and nephews looked really cute; tuxes for the boys and white flouncy bridesmaids dresses for the girls. (I don’t have great pictures of the girls as they didn’t stand still long enough). The rest of us were smartly dressed too; suits for the men and pastel coloured outfits for the ladies

In South Asian culture the bride traditionally wears red on her wedding day and in keeping with this tradition my sister spent weeks designing her outfit. She decided to make her oufit in a deeper shade of red but to make it look more modern and show some of her personality she added stripes of bright colours at the hem of her skirt and around the edges of her scarf.

On the day, dressed up in her beautiful outfit and made up by the professional makeup artist and hair stylist, my sister looked stunning. I can’t show you pictures of my sister’s face but here’s how her outfit looked with gorgeous accessories

And with her groom, they made for a handsome couple

All the preperations leading up to the wedding were really stressful, but it was worth it, as on the day everything went well and the bride and groom looked happy and seemed to enjoy the day, with everyone else looking like they were having fun too.

I wish them both well amd may they be really happy together and enjoy the adventure that lies ahead of them.

If you’d like to see the really good, professional photographes of the wedding then you can see them on my sister’s blog

For my other posts on my sister’s wedding see the links below:
Bridal shower – Vintage
Bridal shower – 1920s
Henna party
Fruit tables

My sister’s hennaed hands

I’ve been trying to post more frequently but things have been super busy over the last few months with Eid, weddings and birthdays, (not to mention dodgy internet connections which hasn’t helped either!), but hopefully it seems a bit calmer now which means that I can get up to speed with my posts.

I wanted to share more pictures from my younger sister’s wedding that took place a couple of months ago. In Pakistan and other South Asian countries it is tradition for the bride-to-be to decorate her hands and feet with henna/mehndi a couple of nights before the wedding. The design my sister chose was intricate and very delicate and with the steady, skilled hands of the mehndi artist it came out beautifully

These patterns soon became much more complex and full, with henna being applied on both sides of my sisters’ hands and parts of her arms. You can click on the pictures below to view larger images, and close ups, (maybe if you look close enough you’ll find the name of the groom which he is supposed to look for on the night of the wedding).

henna

I didn’t get a chance to have any henna applied to my hands, but a number of the guests did, including my baby niece who had a butterfly pattern applied (and which lasted about 10 minutes before it got smudged).

I think the finished result of my sister’s hennaed hands was beautiful, reminding me of lace gloves with intricate, delicate patterns. My sister kept the henna on until the following morning before washing it off to make sure the dye was as dark as possible, which you will be able to see soon in photos that I am hoping to post of the wedding

1920’s bridal shower

You may have wondered where I’ve disappeared to this last week; I haven’t forgotten to post I’ve just been super busy helping with preparations for my younger sister‘s wedding which is coming up fast. In the last couple of weeks my family have been celebrating and having lots of fun with parties and planning for the upcoming event.

My sister-in-law threw a 1920s bridal shower and as we all had fun at the last one we were looking forward to it

The colours to go with the theme were red, white and black and my sister-in-law’s lovely house was the perfect setting

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There was also some tasty food to eat; chicken skewers and fruit tarts and my other younger sister brought along a lovely chocolate cake she made

My older sister made a pretty banner to add to the decor and there were also pearls and feathers which looked great. Even the babies wore flapper dresses and puffy dresses that looked cute (my niece pulled the feather out of her hair in this pic)

We played ‘pin the moustach on the groom’ which was fun and I came pretty close to winning but I think the babies enjoyed themselves the most, getting lots of attention and running around together

Next is the Henna (Mehndi) party which will have lots of colour and which we are all really excited about. Pictures coming soon

Vintage bridal shower

Wedding season is in full swing at the moment and this year we have a big wedding in our family too; my youngest sister is getting married. To get the ball rolling with the celebrations my older sister decided to throw her a bridal shower, the theme; vintage, which means florals, pearls, pastels and polka dots. We held the bridal shower in the garden so we can enjoy the good weather, the extra space and also have my mum’s pretty flowers to add to the theme.
To add a bit of shade and colour we hung some pretty, flowery scarves from the fences, across the garden and added my sister’s handmade banners. We also added lots of other little touches to make the garden pretty

We each made some food for the day; my older sister made macaroni salad, my younger sister brought along chicken sandwiches and my sister-in-law made a pretty trifle. My contribution was chocolate dipped strawberries, plates of cut summer fruits and old fashioned lemonade which I thought would add a nice touch to a summery party. Our guests also brought along food and other tasty treats to share so we had lots of variety

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For fun my sister-in-law arranged a quiz for my sister who is getting married where she asked her fiancé 20 questions and asked my sister to see if she could guess how he answered. For each question she got wrong she had to put to put a piece of chewing gum in her mouth – I think she got about 2 right so she got through several packets!

Overall, it was a lovely bridal shower and everyone was able to enjoy the good weather, food and company. I think it was my baby nieces and cousin though, who stole the show with their pretty smiles and polka dot and flowery dresses, who got away with being cheeky and running off with numerous biscuits and cakes

Next up my sister-in-law is hosting a 1920’s themed party for the bride-to-be which we’re all looking forward to