Picking the Shoes.....

Today, we thought we would do our first an editorial pick on some fabulous pretty things for the bride!

Starting with shoes:

Sara's Picks:

The yellow shoes are cute, a little over the top and add a pop of colour that I love under a simple wedding dress. The shoes are from ASOS.com
Over to the fantastic Jimmy Choo shoe boots, ideal for a fashion forward bride with style, I adore them although I am uncertain if I would be able to wear these for any length of time at all. Available at netaporter.com
The orange shoes with the gold sole are perhaps a surprising choice for a bride, however I truly believe there should be no boundaries where accessories are concerned. I can see these shoes teamed with a mini ivory dress or perhaps a structured modern dress. Find these shoes at asos.com
These fun flats would be ideal for a bride having a wedding on the beach, really feminine yet really comfortable and I am partial to a leather sandal under a flowing godess like dress. Again available at asos.com

Natty's Picks

This is not really my area of expertise! Although I love shoes, actually having to trawl through websites looking at them is not really my bag! To my mother’s dismay, I am not really a girly girl. I am more hands on and love creating things, organizing and designing. But here are some shoes that I rather liked!

I think that wedding shoes don’t have to be that conventional! What I like about these shoes (and especially the flats as I wore these on my wedding day!) is they all have their own character! I have restrained for the very vibrant colours as am sure Sara is going to cover that and as she is the one trained in fashion, felt that she is the better qualified out of the two! I love the Alexander McQueen pair (Number 4). Now I know they have a heart peep toe but they are sooooo cute! I think it is a nice touch without being too cheesy!

The White with the colour (number 2) detail is just plain cool! Would look great peeking out under a dress! They can be found at Dune

I chose the gold slops from LK Bennett as I cannot wear heels. My feet live in Ugg boots in winter and slops in summer. Basically I am a wimp when it comes to heels. I last 2 minutes. My dress was Grecian style anyway so they worked perfectly and I was comfortable for the whole day. Result!

SP & NY

Sara elaborating on her wedding theme

Natalia: What theme, if any, do you have for your wedding?

Sara: Well it is a blue, white and a little bit yellow, which is quite nautical, although I am not having any specifically nautical references except stripes. So it's a stripy wedding really!

Natalia: Was this always what you wanted or has this theme evolved from another?

Sara: It has evolved, after visiting the island, choosing the church and reception venue I realised that it was pointless trying to introduce new colours, themes that are just not suited to the venue. It was either a cream or white with blue as that is what surrounds you the entire time! I love stripes and dots, so I decided to go for a stripy theme with a little yellow added into the mix. It’s fresh which is what I wanted, to accentuate what is already in place

Natalia: How are you manifesting this theme? What details and touches are you incorporating into the decor?

Sara: This is a funny question for me today, as I am trying to find reasonably priced navy tablecloths, which is not easy! In an ideal world, I would have navy tablecloths, yellow napkins, stripy linen favours, and stripy ribbon on the invites. My centrepieces are small olive trees in buckets with lemons around the base. The bouquets will be tied with blue and white ribbon and some of my friends will wear sashes that are blue and white. I am looking at getting Niko and the best man stripy linen handkerchiefs as well.

Natalia: Will the friends be just part of the congregation or are they your bridesmaids?

Sara: Well, the best man's wife and close friend of ours will wear one, as will the young bridesmaids. Lot's of my girlfriends are choosing blue for their dresses, which I am encouraging! My sister who is the chief bridesmaid hasn't chosen a dress yet, so we are uncertain if she will wear a sash. We have only been shopping in Rhodes, which is not what you would call a fashion capital.


Natalia: Are you finding it difficult to find what you need in the whole of Greece or Just on Rhodes? The table clothes and napkins for example.

Sara: It is difficult. Not just in Rhodes but in the whole of Greece. I have found a blue fabric, but it's very bright and I am uncertain if it will look like a child's party. It is a common problem and renting in this country is a bit of a nightmare. I have tried several places today, but it will be cheaper to buy the fabric and have them sewn up than rent them. They don't seem to have understood the concept very well over here, it's almost as expensive as buying if not more. I mean who needs 20 round tablecloths after the wedding!

Natalia: Tell me more about your theme details. I love the idea of the olive trees with the lemons on the base.

Sara: Well the decor is going to be based on ambient lighting meaning many lanterns, candles and I am having tiny fairy lights in the olive trees. Actually after visiting the hotel this weekend, I really don't think it needs a lot of decorating.

Natalia: That is a very good point t make. Some venues really only need and accent rather than a full make over.

Sara: Yes, you work with what you choose. If it's a banquet hall, then more attention is needed. If it's a gorgeous garden, seaside venue then less is often more. My venue is quite large, so you either have to go ridiculous or accent it. So I am accenting. I am also creating a lounge area. This will be white outdoor sofas with a pale grey cover and stripy cushions. I will have more candles on the tables and the bar will be set up in the area

Natalia: A more chilled area to relax and chat?

Sara: Actually I want most people to move to this area after dinner. So we can continue in a more party like atmosphere. I didn't actually want a sit down meal at all, but have been coaxed into it by pure and simple logic; Guests cannot stand all afternoon and evening
We are going to cut the "cake" and have our first dance and we are giving everyone sparklers to hold for this. The dessert will be set up behind the lounge area, so in order to see the cake and eat dessert you have to get up and hopefully people will stay on the lounge side.

SP & NY

Choosing a wine

Images care of oenorama.com and semili-wines.gr

When Jubbs and I were looking for wine for the wedding we thought that there was no chance we were going to get a great Greek wine.  My family and I had obviously tasted some very special ones over the years, a lot of them not to our taste.  By chance Jubbs and I were in Athens at the same time as the Oenorama wine trade expo was on.  So away we went with my Aunt.  Poor Jubbs came off the starting blocks a little fast not realising that Greece has a large amount of vineyards and was two sheets to the wind by the end of the first room.  Only 3 more to go!  The variety was huge ranging from more conventional wines to the more Greek style wines.  I was amazed to find such a vast amount of choice and it was from here we decided getting the red from Greece was a must.  

Back to the red: Finding a Greek who has good knowledge of their wines is the key.  Get their advice and then try, try, try. If that is not possible, there are websites out there, which specialise in Greek wines, read up! If you can, try and make it out to Athens for Oenorama (www.oenorama.com).  It is a great opportunity to have all the wines in one area and maybe be able to haggle the price of a large order directly with the vineyard.  I must confess we dealt directly with the vineyard with a little help from my Aunt.  Although we had a contact I do believe it is worth a contacting the vineyards even if you don’t.

We sat down for a nice dinner with my father and around 20 bottles of recommended wine. We all tasted and rated the wines and then the overall favourite was the one we went with. After 2 hours we had a winner Semeli (www.semeli-wines.gr).  I must admit it was delicious and we ended up bringing back an extra 4 cases to enjoy at home.

The white we actually brought from the UK.  My mother likes only certain types of white wine, not helped by her allergies to some, so we thought it was best to bring over a wine we new was good and was one of her favourites.  I know that there are some great white wines too, we just never got round to look for them for obvious reasons!


NY