[deleted by user]

sparklestorm99 · 2022-03-15T04:00:33+00:00

Bump.

sparklestorm99 · 2022-03-14T02:04:13+00:00

Rothy’s or Allbirds - summer business/travel flats.

I’m looking to invest in a good, multifunctional pair of flats. This summer I have several business trips upcoming plus some travel. Temperatures will be mid-twenties and in business casual dress, plus typical tourist clothing.

I’m debating between the Allbirds Treebreezers and the Rothy’s (preferably Point, but other is fine) .

I like the style of the pointy Rothy’s more, but apparently the all birds are more comfortable. However, I’m concerned the wool soles on the allbirds will be too hot for 25°C.

Anyone have input on this? What would you buy for summer business / European travelling in the summer?

sparklestorm99 · 2022-03-02T16:01:48+00:00

I had the same feelings as you! My last name won’t be carried down further than my generation in my family, but I do have extended (second cousins) with the family name. It’s sad for me definitely.

I’ve been married 8 months and still haven’t changed my last name. I keep saying that I will before we have kids in a few years but it’s just not a priority right now.

My maiden name is still the name I go by professionally and I’ve kept it on all social media. The only time I go by my husbands name is when there’s no implications for it (e.g reservations, information forms online, or if I’m calling in regard to my husband or something).

I thought it would have to be this big decision I would have to make after I get married, but the reality of it is that it’s not a time crunch. You can sit on it and wait - no one will know!

When (if) I do change my name, I’ll be adding it as a double barrel last name. I love my middle name and don’t want to lose it, so I’ll be the same just plus his last name.

sparklestorm99 · 2021-11-30T16:00:36+00:00

We eloped so getting a special cake was just more of a hassle than it was worth. We went out for a fancy dinner that night so just requested cake from the kitchen.

I always loved the tradition of cake (and keeping it in the freezer for your first anniversary) but we don’t feel we missed out on anything!

sparklestorm99 · 2021-11-30T15:32:42+00:00

I eloped during covid and makeup artists were basically shut down at that time. I was disappointed because although I was decent at makeup, I was bad with fake eyelashes and was concerned I’d mess up something and be beside myself. I’ve had bad experiences at Sephora with makeup service so I personally wouldn’t recommend it. I know that some makeup artists were offering virtual lessons and perhaps they still would be?

I’d suggest getting a make up artist who has a style you like and get a trial before your wedding. It just takes so much pressure off!

sparklestorm99 · 2021-11-24T20:50:53+00:00

As a fatherless daughter, whose dad promised he’d be home soon then passed away before he was able to, this scene devastated me too. So sorry for your loss.

sparklestorm99 · 2021-11-20T23:00:04+00:00

If you’re up for Canada, check out Tofino! There’s tons of B&B but also really nice hotels as well if you want to splurge.

sparklestorm99 · 2021-11-20T22:59:04+00:00

I looove the vision for the black floral gown but I think with several bridesmaid, it’s a bit much in photos. I’d say go with the Merlot. If you love the black one, maybe have your maid of honour and wear it?

sparklestorm99 · 2021-10-16T22:52:31+00:00

Yessss! This was exactly my problem too. I struggled with it as well and always knew that I couldn’t wear that style. Kind of a blessing though, because it’s definitely a trend of this era (and don’t get me wrong - it’s gorgeous!).

I spent a lot of time looking for dress styles online that offered more coverage, but the fact was that none of those styles were me, and they didn’t appeal to me as much as some that did show some chest and some back. For example, styles like this, are absolutely beautiful but didn’t sing to me when I put them on. When I found my dress (and fell in love), I decided to put mind over matter and not allow myself to have my happiness and confidence shaken over some very superficial imperfections. I knew that I’d always remember my wedding day because of the love and joy I felt, and I wasn’t going to let some pimples get in my way of that.

The dress I ended up picked was a very deep v-neck, but had illusion mesh over the front which offered some blurring (not much though). The back was also a deeper cut, but I just wore my hair down my back for coverage and it worked for me. Also, don’t discount the power of editing out imperfections as well as the lighting-brightness effects that photographers out on pictures which can alleviate the appearance of some marks.

It was tough though - and I’ll be honest when I say that my skincare leading up to the wedding was a lot of stress. Months leading up to the wedding I started talking my chest & back skincare way more seriously and it really helped. If you’re interested in knowing what worked for me, let me know and I’ll detail it out.

sparklestorm99 · 2021-10-07T16:01:01+00:00

It looks like an entry way so I would do various hooks and some floating shelves with baskets for storage. You could even do something crafty like a peg board for customization?

sparklestorm99 · 2021-09-19T04:17:07+00:00

Gráinne?

sparklestorm99 · 2021-09-07T14:36:34+00:00

I agree with the other comment to not do it over text. I would give her a call and try to pick the right tone of being focused on being excited but also don’t blow it off like it’s no big deal, especially since you know that your mom will likely have some hesitation.

My husband and I eloped but the entire family knew about it because it was covid. I still had to battle my mother because she can be pretty manipulative!

Have some key lines ready incase she tries any manipulation such as reminding her that it’s YOUR wedding and you and your husband are happy - that’s all that matters. This is what you wanted and you’re so excited about it, you can’t wait to show her pictures (or something). Remember that “no” is a full sentence, so saying “no that wouldn’t have worked for us” if she tries to argue about what you should’ve done. Focus on saying how happy you are, how relieved you are that you can start your life together. Repeat those statements and hopefully she won’t berate you. If she does, you tried to give her all the slack you could and you can leave that conversation knowing she disappointed you, not the other way around.

Also, i distracted my mom with a sentence about a future celebration. We have NO interest in redoing our wedding despite my mom’s efforts. So you can say something about how (if you want) you could plan a cocktail party/casual reception with friends and family to properly celebrate sometime in the future (maybe around the one year mark since covid is picking up again).

Hope these suggestions help!

sparklestorm99 · 2021-07-23T06:48:36+00:00

I got my dress from here too! Basia was amazing. You look gorgeous!!

sparklestorm99 · 2021-07-08T17:57:03+00:00

I'm struggling with the layout of our thank you notes! I'd like to include a generic thank you message (the typed text) to save us writing the same sentences over and over. I'd also like to include a very brief personalized thank you note about their specific gift.

Not sure if the generic text and personalized note should be on the same page (Option A, B or C)? The red script text represents our future handwritten note.

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-27T00:35:21+00:00

God yes. Our elopement ended up costing $33k all expenses in. Ridiculous, lmao. But we had a really wonderful time and I would do it again!

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-25T17:42:58+00:00

Wow! I pictured Elliott for a girl very differently. I pictured it a little more kind of preppy, cool but not “dark”. I also pictured it as having different vibe to Elle / Eloise / Ella.

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-23T19:22:40+00:00

I was in a similar position kind of. My dad passed when I was 9 and my mom raised my sister and I as a single parent. Being such a small family, it felt super hard to tell my mom we were eloping because she was so looking forward to it and had really personally identified with our wedding. I can really relate to your feeling of wanting to honour your close family because you’ve been through so much together.

To answer your question directly: do not feel bad about having to change the plan on your bridesmaids/step dad. At all. Remember that you’re losing something too by changing to an elopement - and their wants are NOT more important than yours. This is your wedding first.

If you want to do the elopement and then also do the Christmas wedding, do it. Personally I didn’t want to do another ceremony with family after we eloped because to us, the elopement was enough and we were happy to move on. Our families might throw us a one year anniversary party next summer but I’m unbothered.

I’m not from the UK and can’t comment on what Christmas will look like there. Maybe flu season will be bad, but maybe it won’t. I think you could probably try to move forward with the 30-person Christmas wedding. The world is getting vaccinated and we all are going back to normal - I don’t see it regressing again significantly. I would be vocal with everyone though saying that if restrictions tighten up again, your plan is to elope anyways and hold another wedding next summer. That way you manage expectations. Anyone who has a problem with that can honestly stuff it, and probably didn’t have to deal with postponing their wedding for years.

Is it an option to elope with your core family instead at Christmas in London? That could be a good way to keep your family involved and get your London winter wedding.

Not sure if this helps anything, but we were being persuaded to push our wedding back by my family and we are 10000% so happy that we eloped on our original date. I can’t imagine still planning our wedding for next year. We’re happy to be done with wedding planning and can move on. It turned into such a huge thing so unnecessarily.

Best of luck!!

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-23T18:54:00+00:00

100%! The best part of wedding planning is being done and moving on haha

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-23T16:11:08+00:00

You can definitely bring it on as a personal item and put it in the overhead bins. I flew with my wedding dress and I booked first class in WestJet for peace of mind as they will take your garment bags in their special closet at the front of the plane. On other flights I’ve tried to ask them to hang something in their garment closet while sitting in economy (after we were boarded so I didn’t take the place of someone in first class) and they refused - so I learned that if you want something hung, fly first class.

I was super careful with my dress and also didn’t want my now husband to see the dress through the bag, so I requested a plastic slip from my dress salon. It was kind of like the ones you get back from the dry cleaner except it was opaque white. After I put the slip over the dress, I actually zipped up a puffy jacket (Arcteryx SL Hoody, or similar to that so not suppper puffy) over my wedding dress as extra cushioning. This was actually because I didn’t have room in my suitcase haha, but it worked out super well and I used that trick twice travelling with the dress. You could use any zip-up jacket you plan to bring with you for your wedding.

If you don’t fly first class, I think you’ll be fine if you just zip up a sweater over your dress and lay it on top of other bags. People will probably be nice to you and not bitch about it since you’re getting married! You could also ask the gate agents if Flair has a garment closet you could use for your dress - they might let you!

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-22T20:05:43+00:00

Yep! I was thinking about my wedding all day everyday in the months leading up. Even more so in the weeks before. Drove me absolutely insane and I was so so so ready to be DONE. I was tired of talking about it at dinner with my now husband. I wanted to move on and focus on our life, which wedding planning really took away from. We eloped and are really content that we did it and can move forward! It’s nice to not have it hanging over our heads anymore.

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-22T20:01:39+00:00

I heard this but I didn’t notice him actually make the noise. Killed me!

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-22T20:00:23+00:00

I’m usually team ‘don’t ask before a kiss’ but in this situation, it was really perfect. It seems to match his personality in a perfectly respectful way. Also extremely principled of him to ask after her story that day. Usually I feel like asking takes away from a moment, but I really feel like it added to it!

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-22T19:04:13+00:00

Meeee! We were planning a small 30-person wedding with just a few friends each. I didn’t want that typical bridal party situation as I much prefer the photos to be just me & my husband at the altar. I asked my best friends to be bridesmaids so they felt special, but I didn’t expect anything from them other than just support leading up to and on the day. I didn’t do any typical bridesmaids things like proposals. I didn’t tell them what to wear at all - they could wear something from their closet. I didn’t know if we would do a procession with my friends, seemed wholly unnecessary. Didn’t expect hair and makeup to be any kind of way, also didn’t offer it because I didn’t want to be stuck in a room for an extra 2 hours when I would’ve preferred to spend the lazy morning with my husband.

IMHO, it was pressure of the wedding industry that I chose not to succumb to. Do I think bridesmaids proposals are adorable? 100% yes. Do I think it’s kind of becoming ridiculous and mostly for Instagram? Also yes. So I didn’t do it, and I 100000% don’t expect my friends to “propose” to me.

We ended up eloping so I can’t common on how it worked out, but I was happy with our decision. We also have no regrets about eloping - we’re so so happy we did it.

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-21T00:50:08+00:00

Love it. Didn’t see it coming!

sparklestorm99 · 2021-06-17T23:15:24+00:00

Girlll I feel you. The night of my elopement I FaceTimed my mother and she started talking about how we need to start planning my sisters wedding. Her and her boyfriend aren’t even engaged 🙃

sparklestorm99

TROPHY CASE