10.10.10

Yesterday I got one of those 'remember this' notification on Facebook and it was of the pic above (first picture) of me in my original wedding dress. It got me looking over all my wedding pics and since it was nearly 6 years ago now I thought I might re-share with you guys.

For those of you that don't know I found my wedding in Saver's (those not in Australia that is an Op-Shop or Thrift Store). I used to use all my free time on weekends back then, hunting for vintage goodies in op-shops but I never in my life expected to find my wedding dress. I would never even usually look at the wedding dress section but I was getting married at the end of the year and still hadn't decided on a dress so I figured I might as well have a squizz. 

When I first saw it sitting there my heart stopped a little. It was shoved in-between a whole lot of 80's puffy shoulders and scratchy tulle so it was quite discrete sitting there amongst all that with its soft flowing layers and vintage lace. I pulled it out and instantly looked at the price tag... $200. That was a lot of money for me back then but $200 on a wedding dress would be unheard of so I did my self a little deal. I decided I would go try it on and if it fit I would buy it and take the risk of altering it, but if it didn't fit I wouldn't buy it. It fit... like it was made for me. I took it up to the counter, put it on my credit card and headed straight home to my sewing machine.

My mum helped me alter the dress after I discovered that the lace was hand made, meaning that each individual little flower and detail had been hand sewn on to create the overall look of the lace. I was too scared I would bugger it up so mum was the first one to take to it with the scissors. I was all about backless back then so I knew that was one thing I wanted to do with the dress. Although I loved the Victorian style lace sleeves and high neckline I had always envisioned myself in a backless dress. We completely cut out the back and took off the sleeves, then it was just a matter of details. We used the lace that we had cut off to create the little frill shoulders and then I sourced some lace trim from a local fabric shop to finish it all off. $232 later and my wedding dress was complete.

It travelled all the way to Switzerland with us where we married in front of close family and friends in a big Willow tree up the top of Lucerne. The whole wedding very was casual and spontaneous... We decided on the location to get married the day before our wedding, the reception we just had at our Hotel, the flowers we picked up from the local markets the morning of and the wine was 4 litre bottles of Shiraz from the local supermarket. I flew over a photographer from Adelaide, Elisa Mercurio, and she captured everything about our perfect day from my constant grin to the baby face, puppy love my husband and I still share to this day. 

I always feel sorry for brides that say things like 'I hated my dress' or 'I would change so much about my wedding.' I personally wouldn't change one single thing about our wedding and I think that comes down to not getting caught up in the bullshit. Who cares if the flowers are white and not off white, who cares if the MC forgot to announce the cutting of the cake and it doesn't matter two hoots if you have the perfect wedding underwear coz you will both be too drunk to even appreciate it anyway! This day is about you and your love. Take in every moment and make sure you kiss each other regularly thought out the day. My wedding was the best day of my life and that is the way it should be for everyone.

Danielle

xxx

BALLARAT WINTERLUDE

Recently I was asked to attend the Ballarat Winter Winterlude Festival and after I was done questioning them that they had the right person and pinching myself that this was actually going to happen we hopped on a plane and headed to Victoria!

After the little drive from Melbourne Airport to Ballarat we arrived at about 11pm at night and my god was it cold! We had been warned that it would be cold but this was something else. But not even that could trump my excitement as we rolled into our BnB at Greenfield Place who would be hosting us for the weekend. Not only were we greeted with a toasty room that instantly defrosted the tips of our noses, but we had been left a beautiful welcome package made up of all local and home made produce. So, after some negotiating with the promise of treats from the hamper the next day, Harper finally went down and Brad and I retreated to our bed (which btw had been kindly heated up by an electric blanket). So far my impression of Ballarat was extremely high and we still had the entire weekend ahead of us!

The next day we had a nice and slow morning thanks to Harper sleeping in till 9am so we were already off to a good start.... and then we discovered the cafe adjoined to our BnB (praise hands)!!! Great coffee, amazing organic food and the lady that ran 'The Local' was an absolute legend. On the Sunday morning they even delivered breakfast to our room so I didn't even have to brush my hair before downing my coffee and waffles!

The weekend itinerary was jam packed with family friendly places... we started at Kryal Castle where the life size dragon scared the absolute shit out of Harper and none of my telling him it was the just the Dragon from Shrek could convince him it was safe to walk past. We went to the Ballarat Wildlife Park where we got robbed by a pack of kangaroos of our food and got to roast marshmallows by the bomb fire. We had wood-oven pizzas and red wine by an open fire at The Forge Pizzeria (which btw parents is not only amazing service, even with a squealing child, but they have a huge wall that is a black board so you can just let your kids go nuts drawing on the walls)... And of course there was Sovereign Hill, which was an absolute highlight. 

I remember going to Sovereign Hill as a kid, panning for gold and dressing up like I was part of the town but it was a completely different experience going as an adult and showing it all to Harper. It was possibly the sugar high from the old school sweet shop that we hit up way too many times but Harper had an absolute ball running around the dusty roads, riding in the horse and carriage and trying out all the old school mechanical equipment. And then the snow came. Granted it was fake snow but that in no way took away from the magic of it. And when night set in and the light show began it honestly felt like we were in Disneyland. With the snow, the lights, the caroler’s and the elaborate Christmas decorations it was one of the best nights I have had in my life. And just so you know, I don't throw that saying around willy-nilly. It was amazing. 

So a huge HUGE thank you to Visit Ballarat for hosting us and to all the incredible businesses that made our trip an 11/10. Ballarat completely won us over and for any families wanting a little weekend holiday I can't recommend this place enough. 

Danielle
xxx