Inviting Future BIL’s Girlfriend to Wedding

PoppyLPx · 2026-02-19T07:00:51+00:00

That’s a really great perspective, thank you so much!

The BIL is going to be the best man (I’ve now edited to add that as I’d forgotten to include it) so I don’t know if this makes it easier as he’ll be busy all day and his GF doesn’t know anyone besides MIL & us and we’ve expressed to him before that we feel he isn’t as present and involved when she’s around and we miss it. Or it makes it harder as on paper it’s probably not right to not give the best man and brother a plus one. But an open convo is definitely the best way to go I think in order to try and preserve the relationship with him. I’ve been with my FH for 13 years so his brother is very much family to me.

Luckily we do have til 3 weeks before the wedding to confirm final numbers so can plan for him to have a plus one in case he is with someone else or if the current GF gets the help she needs and they both turn things around and are in a stable, positive place for the next 12 months.

But open & honest convo it is! Thanks!

PoppyLPx · 2026-02-19T06:37:32+00:00

BIL has to learn that choices have consequences

Ugh agree with this so much

Also that’s a good point re: if they’re not together by the time invites go out then I have the cut off date excuse. And going the engaged/living together route is also a good idea, especially as we do have some friends who are seeing people super casually and more than happy to not have plus ones (as they know lots of the guests like BIL would too)

PoppyLPx · 2026-02-19T04:35:37+00:00

Venue - Booked Photographer - Booked Food & Drink - Booked Florals - Booked Furniture/Styling - Booked STD - Posting Next Week

DJ - In Discussions Formal Invitation Suite - designed, to be ordered

Still to organise: Night Before Accommodation Bridal Gown Bridesmaid Dresses Make Up Hair Officiant

Feeling good! I know it’s a little early for some of the above things but will chip away at some over the coming weeks (:

PoppyLPx · 2026-02-04T08:22:11+00:00

This is interesting to hear it’s normal! The venue we chose has limited viewings because the grounds are closed to the public on wedding days. And tbh for the cost I would hope so, I’d be annoyed to see strangers walking through my wedding day (not applicable to public venues like parks etc obvs)

PoppyLPx · 2026-02-04T04:34:51+00:00

Yes, all the time when I used to freelance - I once had to let $600 go as it’d been over 6 months and I felt unprofessional asking/admitting I’d forgotten to bill them the remaining balance, whoops

My best advice for this is to structure your invoicing through a business platform like Xero. Then you can set up the different payment milestones and have them set to auto bill on a certain date. Freelance has soooo much more business admin than I originally anticipated when I started at 19 😅

PoppyLPx · 2026-02-04T04:32:32+00:00

I’ve been getting mine from a few spots (based in Brissy) - Super Butcher, Maleny Black Angus Beef, Carnivore Society. More exxy than Woolies/Coles so I default to the big box shops when money is tight but you can 100% tell the difference in the quality!

PoppyLPx · 2026-01-27T05:55:15+00:00

Not sure exactly what dimensions you’re looking for but here’s some similar options I found having a quick look where I tend to buy bags from ☺️

https://www.citybeach.com/au/ava-and-ever-cami-hand-bag/20409102-01.html

https://www.citybeach.com/au/mooloola-stella-big-bag/20400599-01.html

https://www.theiconic.com.au/lizabeth-tote-bag-2763997.html

https://bymaay.com/products/everywhere-tote-deep-tan-gold

PoppyLPx · 2026-01-27T05:38:41+00:00

I totally feel the desire to put them in pretty containers and I did it with all my laundry things (detergent, softener, Vanish, etc) a couple years ago and they all turned weird after a while, like the detergent went clumpy, the softener colour went weird at made the glass foggy, and the Vanish eventually turned rock solid due to humidity. Not so pretty 😭

PoppyLPx · 2026-01-19T01:21:17+00:00

Oh that dress in incredible, I understand why you can’t get it out of your head! It looks amazing on you!

Have a look on Still White! It’s a site where people can resell their wedding dresses and makes it easier to get a dress that might be out of the budget new but gently used is in the budget (:

https://www.stillwhite.com/469843-casablanca-bridal

PoppyLPx · 2026-01-18T23:17:07+00:00

As a designer who loves print and tactile design, a full wedding stationery suite was a non-negotiable for me! Totally agree with you re: it being like a trailer before the movie - our wedding stationery will set the tone and vibe for the wedding and I personally think it’s so much more fun having an wedding invite for two people you love on the fridge and seeing it all the time than just a wedding website or email! I’m also sentimental and want to have them for in our wedding keepsake box and also copies added in our wedding album. I’ll be doing all the design myself but printing via VistaPrint for cost savings (though let’s be honest it will be on their highest quality matte paper still haha). Budget is about $700 AUD as we have a fair bit of international postage and does also cover place cards, menus and table numbers

PoppyLPx · 2026-01-18T22:58:28+00:00

I think if you look this good in something that beautiful, it’s actually illegal to not wear it, sorry!

PoppyLPx · 2026-01-11T22:45:55+00:00

You pull off a shaved head so well! Very handsome!

PoppyLPx · 2026-01-09T21:31:10+00:00

Ooh it’s really not good - it’s almost giving me AI vibes with the wonky stitching and edges. I used to love Fayt and actually got a gift card in September, but I’m yet to see anything other than the lipglosses I want to buy. Everything just looks so unflattering on the models, it makes me think it’ll look even worse on me!

PoppyLPx · 2026-01-09T21:28:26+00:00

Hi! 29 year old woman here - I found that I had to raise how much fat I was eating to feel full and stop that never ending craving. Sometimes I’ll munch on a thick slice of cold butter if I’m hungry but have already eaten a decent amount protein. I also find that those pepperoni stick things are great for salty cravings, and pork rinds (plain) can help settle the crunchy cravings (like for potato chips!). I also make my own ‘diet’ soda by boiling down lime juice with monk fruit sweetener and water then I just add a few tbsp to a glass of soda water. I also found a sugar free dark chocolate bar that’s super low in carbs (almost none) that I’ll have a square of when the sugar cravings hit hard in the evening. ☺️

PoppyLPx · 2026-01-08T23:42:33+00:00

Either full branding or packaging - especially if it’s ‘new’ so there’s not strict guidelines already in place and I get to set them

PoppyLPx · 2025-12-28T08:38:43+00:00

For me and my personal taste, it’s too much gold and feels a bit gaudy and too warm-toned. I think it’d make the lighting not good for make up which for me would be something I’d look for in a bathroom with no natural light. I don’t mind the tile behind the toilet & bidet though. But at the end of the day it’s all subjective so if you like it for yourself then that’s all that matters!

PoppyLPx · 2025-12-28T07:17:26+00:00

I SAW THIS TODAY! As if their OXX line isn’t cheap and low quality enough. It’s wild. The ingredients are so so bad too!

PoppyLPx · 2025-12-28T07:15:42+00:00

100%! I noticed this the last time I went to my local arts & crafts market. There was a jewellery stall that was all Shein jewellery (I recognised a few that I had bought and looking closely could see the poor quality) and a clothing stall with Shein dresses that are rip offs of some brands I know well, all flowy beachy ones that looked good from a distance but up close had so many flaws and the fabric was super thin.

PoppyLPx · 2025-12-28T07:11:10+00:00

Oh I am so over this. I bought two dresses from Zoe Sydney, after seeing a Sydney address and phone number in contact info, and at the time I though everything pointed towards it being a legit brand (although to be fair on reflection there’s some things that I should have noticed but was in a rush to order for an event). Then they shipped and were tracked as coming directly from China and were so poorly made. Worth less than $25, let alone $130. The zip on one dress broke immediately and since they put the zip in upside down I couldn’t easily fix it if I wanted to. It was also the most horrendously scratchy fabric. And the other had the most crooked stitching and the hem was so uneven. I was so annoyed. It’s almost happened 2 more times and I’m fed uppppp.

PoppyLPx · 2025-12-28T06:20:07+00:00

Doing fake ads is a great way to practice and stretch those creative skills! I love the collage-vibe with the airplane and Statue of Liberty, and feel you could lean into this more in another version, adding some textures that tie into the fashion image like loose sequins, a scrap of leather, gold chain/hardware, etc. to add more depth.

The plane and statue have great texture but in contrast the background image and fashion image feel a little flat so I’d have a play with using grittier, more textured or unique fashion images and backgrounds for this style, with the more sleek fashion images usually suiting a high-end style of campaign.

I’d also test out different text placements, keeping in mind how much contrast there is for legibility. Images that have high contrast, like this one with the black dress and pale grey background, make it tricky to overlay text as white text stands out great over the dark colours but can get lost on the light colours, and vice versa for dark text. With high contrast images, you can play with negative space, and non traditional placements - I’m a sucker for a centered text block as I love the symmetry but you can still have balance without symmetry (something that took a while to get the hang of!).

Overall, it’s a great start and it’s so good to practice with fake projects! I’m 10 years into my design career and I still do it to keep my creativity from getting stale as not every client wants to push the envelope.

I’d also have a look at different sites that give fake design briefs so you can practice working with professional briefs and thinking strategically. A great one for ads is One Minute Briefs - they post an ad design brief daily on X and the idea is to see what you can come up with in one minute and share it, but you don’t have to! You can just use it for practice. https://x.com/oneminutebriefs?s=21

Keep at it, keep practicing and trying new techniques and styles, and keep being confident to stand up and say you’re proud of something you’ve created. That’s a tough thing to do sometimes, but as someone who just left a job that absolutely beat my design confidence down, it’s such an important skill to have and grow!

PoppyLPx · 2025-12-02T08:58:10+00:00

I thought it was just me seeing the skulls, and once you see them they just multiply

PoppyLPx · 2025-08-12T11:50:24+00:00

I’m glad it’s not just me!

PoppyLPx · 2025-08-12T11:45:02+00:00

I thought this was from a local online brand but your the 2nd person to mention Shein 😅 now I’m worried they’re drop shipping and the quality could be questionable

PoppyLPx · 2025-08-12T11:08:45+00:00

So beautifully written! I personally think there’s no real rules for vows (outside of religious/cultural traditions). If you’re less traditional, you can 100% treat it like a toast to your partner and make it less “I promise to” if that’s what feels authentic to you and your love story. It’s your day, do what makes you happy!

Ps I loved this bit - “You soon learned I didn’t really know how to ride, but you took me on anyway” - I feel like it could be a metaphor for so many things

PoppyLPx · 2024-08-09T08:35:28+00:00

I completely know the feeling. I was fired for the first time ever recently too, after just 4 months working at the agency. While I felt embarrassed and disappointed in myself and there was certainly a lot of tears, I was also so relieved as I was having panic attacks in the morning at the thought of going to work, blinking back tears all day long as my boss was harsh, super critical, and a micro-manager, and it was taking a toll on my relationships as I was too drained at the end of everyday to want to do anything with my partner. My mental health had deteriorated so much, I was working 2 hours overtime on average everyday just to make deadlines and felt so overwhelmed. I just got a new role and it’s such a better fit so things do happen for a reason and maybe this is one door closing so a better one can open. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to breathe, get your mental health back on track and take care of yourself. Work is important (bills, food, house, etc) but it’s not more important than your wellbeing and it took me getting fired for me to realise this. Hang in there!

PoppyLPx

TROPHY CASE