Odeliska Bridal Fashion Blog

So so difficult is choosing a colour scheme for a wedding! One of the greatest aspects is the colour for the bridesmaids’ dresses.

There are a few colours that tend to suit most bridesmaids. I asked a colour specialist (of seasonal colours school of thought ie summer, autumn, winter, spring) if there were any ’safe’ colours I could recommend. She named teal and a couple of neutrals.

I agree and would like to specifically add chocolate, black, royal blue (somewhere between cobalt and navy), blush and mink (something like a mushroomy-smoke-latte colour).

Remember, it is the harmony of the overall colour scheme/theme you are trying to achieve; the sum of the parts. So once you have flowers, makeup, hair, jewellery, decorations etc you will all look fresh and gorgeous regardless with a relatively sensible colour choice!

On the day, as the bridesmaid, the last thing you will be concerned with is if the colour suits your complexion . . . well I hope so anyway.

With my own bridesmaids, I purchased a few pieces of satin to decide from. We swathed these across the decolletage of the bridesmaids to see the affect on their faces and took photos outdoors (ergo - the wedding setting) as frames of reference, see the pictures below. We decided on the royal blue - the other bridesmaid was a strawberry blonde so suited her just as well.

Good luck!

I recently had a request for 5 bridesmaids in the same coloured fabric but different styles due to the women’s various shapes and sizes. This is a nice idea and invariably a more expensive way of trying to keep bridesmaids happy.

On the other hand you can sometimes save money by purchasing a large quantity of the same fabric. Some of my suppliers only sell 10 metre minimums, which is generally cheaper per metre. One of my clients is saving $4 per metre at the moment because of this.

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I tell bridal parties that quite often a bridesmaids dress can be nothing more than a bridesmaids dress; the style is often more feminine than you would wear to most other events - except maybe as a guest at another wedding or to the races. So trying to ensure you have a garment that is able to be worn again or suit everyone can be more headache than it’s likely worth, brides have enough on their plate as it is. Let’s face it, most special occasions require a new and particular style of dress.

Do not try this at home!…

Oh yes! I have had an number of enquiries for all manner of vintage inspired pieces to top off your wedding looks. In my quest to compile a list of online boutiques I came across Madaboochoo (a crazy Bris-vegas name - ‘mad-about-you’?).

So if you are after a shrug, fascinator, pearls, shoes or frocks check this site out. Madaboochoo’s bridal range is coming soon but I’ve included only a few pics of suitable things below.

I just had to include this hat

‘Real Bride’ submissions are great, they give you a chance to show off your wedding pics and promote the vendors you were happy with… and perhaps win prizes and money! My husband and I did not have a honeymoon so I was trying for that eventuality when I entered.

It can be hard work choosing out the ‘right’ images and optimising them for the web (as some comps have requested). It can also be quite invasive as the magazines and web directories request specific details of expenditure and your little secrets for pulling things off.

I entered a competition to get some exposure for Odeliska and got into the final for the month. They sent me a snazzy looking email to forward on to friends and family to get them to vote. So I forwarded it on and before I knew it I was receiving email back from family saying they had forwarded it on to everyone they knew. Mum was so proud and said she had received email back from people she had not spoken to for a very long time congratulating her on her daughter’s wedding and wrote “your daughter ‘looks like a chip off the ol’ block’.”

I did not win though. I believe the winner must have had lots of friends, with lots of friends, and have voted for herself every 24 hours.

Keep your eyes peeled when reading through Cosmopolitan Bride late in 2008… that submission might have been a winner…

Interested in giving it a go yourself?

Try:

True Bride

Cosmopolitan’s My Day My Way

Bride to Be

My husband and I made up 6 Bali flags for our wedding in 2008. I bought the bright white flags on eBay and then had to search around on how to make the poles economically, with the right amount of bend and make them transportable. The ones for sale online are not cheap nor are the hire ones from places like Hendies Hire. I have to commend him for giving me some tips on erection - cough*

Bamboo poles are not transportable either, really.

I now have 6 white Bali flags (Umbul umbul) and curved Bali flag poles for hire. They are very easy to erect now the ingenious crafting work is done — thanks Kai.

If you are interested please drop me an email.

I’m going to start transferring resources that I have found particularly useful to inform myself about the issues related to the global Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry. The link below is my old page with some great resources. I will be nullifying it as I will be transferring them over to these blog pages - http://www.odeliska.com/pages/ethical_fashion.htm. Check ‘em out!

The more we talk about this stuff and the more we ask of our suppliers the closer we will get to solving the issues.

If you are a designer, here is a good place to start - http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/7.html

Inspiration for stunning dresses can be found by clicking on the menu links on the right. Jenny Packham is my favourite - shazaam!

If you would like to view some pics of my client work ie. ball dresses, wedding gowns and bridesmaids dresses please go to www.odeliska.com/pages/bridal_fashion.html

Ok, aside from the fact that the fabric samples I have received are from America, I am excited to offer fabrics that embody the principles we should all be trying to weave into our everyday lives - sustainability!

Charmeuse is like satin but has a ‘grainier’ finish.

The hemp/silk (60%/40%) range is available in 7 shades

• Black
• Plum
• Aqua
• Natural
• Sand
• Espresso

There are some talented people in Perth that you may want to check out for your wedding preparations.

Some vendors are affordable for most and some are probably only for the finance-blessed.

I must start with a photographer I stumbled across during my own wedding preparations earlier this year (2008). Her name is Samm Blake. I’m sure it’s the post-work filters she uses that make her ‘art’ exceptional. Her blog is a good place to check out her work; http://sammblakeblog.com/category/wedding-photography/

Unfortunately for some, Samm fits into the splurge category.