THE ONE WITH SOME WEDDING INSPIRATION

So, as I'm obsessed with wedding blogs, I come across loads of gorgeous pictures of weddings, wedding styling, wedding photography, wedding fashion... And I just save them so that one day, I can click on my wedding folders and say "I want this, that and those". Wedding planning, done. If only it was as easy as that, hey!

These are some photos I've saved today. LOVE.

 Note: Photos from Style Me Pretty, Monique Lhuillier, Martha Stewart Weddings and The Foundry.



Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH LOUISE & PETER'S WEDDING

I was a bridesmaid for one of my nearest and dearest friends, Louise. She was a stunning bride, one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen.

Her love story is quite romantic. Louise was spending a few months travelling around the world, seeing the most wonderful sights, when her then boyfriend Peter flew to the other side of the world to surprise Louise. It was on their travels that he proposed to her in Paris (oh la la). She said yes, they travelled some more and finally, they returned home to Melbourne engaged. It was such an exciting time, not only because Louise was planning a wedding and what is more exciting than that, but also because she was home again after being away for 6 months seeing the world. There was just so much for us to catch up on!  

Their wedding was held in Williamstown, in a gorgeous church, followed by a reception at Pellicans Landing. I've never seen Louise as happy as she was the day of her wedding, she is always such a happy person anyway, but on her wedding day, she just seemed so much happier, smiling and laughing all day, and just so in love. The ceremony was lovely but the reception, what a blast! We just danced the entire night away. None more so than Louise, who not only busted a groove with every guest, but she and Peter did a choreographed dance that was pretty damn amazing.

Some bits and bobs that I loved:

• The cake that Peter designed and surprised Louise with
• The first dance to Mary J Blige's song 'I Found My Everything'
• The amazing bouquet of tropical flowers that were just so different to your typical bouquet, they were just gorgeous 
• The husband and wife fish centre pieces which also doubled as presents for people to take home!

I've known Louise since we were in primary school. She was my first friend at a new school and we've remained besties ever since. We survived high school together, spent many years nightclubbing together (so many cringe worthy memories), spent holidays together and have shared pretty much everything in between together. The thing about Louise is that she has never changed, she has always been the same person all of the years I've known her, and that is truly wonderful.

Through Louise, I met Shanelle, and the rest is history. The three of us became amazingly close and for the past 12 years, we have been there for each other in good times and in bad. You could say that we're as good as married to each other. Best friends until death do us part.

Champagne while geting glam

Shanelle, Jenny, Louise, Kathy, Natalie

Besties!

The wedding party in Williamstown Gardens

the gorgeous bride

Mr & Mrs Grey

And so, Louise and I now count down the days until we celebrate with Shanelle at her wedding. Not only is she marrying the man of her dreams, but she is marrying the man she first met at Louise & Peter's wedding. Awww.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH NEW YORK

New York.

I've spent years watching episode after episode of Sex and the City. I could recite every line, tell you where they stood in every scene, repeat restaurant and cafe names they sat in. New York is romantic, exciting, jawdropping, unbelievable. 

The first time we were there, I honestly spent each and every moment with my mouth gaping open in awe of what I was seeing. I was speechless. Everything you've seen on television and in movies was there but bigger, brighter and busier. As soon as we stepped out of our TINY hotel room and hit the street, I just kept saying to Ryan "I love it, I love it, I love it". I literally ran the streets to the next amazing thing in front of me. Not very cool. Not very Sex and the City.

The second time we were in New York, Ryan proposed to me. Just when I thought I couldn't be in love with the city any more than I already was, it now has a beautiful moment of my life connected to it. During this trip, I discovered downtown Manhattan. No words. You're just wondering around Jay Z and Beyonce's playground!

And so on our engagement trip in New York, we quickly decided that we wanted to have our wedding there.

That being the case, we recently returned to New York on a mission to plan our wedding. We pretty much booked it immediately after landing. Gorgeous catholic church in Soho, booked. Cool rustic reception venue, booked. We met with event planners, we scouted florists, we found some cake stores we liked, we discovered a few little jazz bands (damn you Bon Musique for being so unbelievably fabulous but completely out of our price range) and now, I feel like I have the wedding plans slightly under control. So, on May 15th 2013, I will become Mrs O'Hare. SO excited.

Then, let's not forget my trip to Vera Wang.

VERA WANG

And just because I didn't think anyone would believe me, I took the sneakiest of sneaky photos in a store that has an uber strict no photgraphs policy. It was a very successful stealth mission. And so, I ticked the dress off my list too.

genius photographic skills by me!

There's just so much to fall in love with in New York, you need to go hundreds of times to see it all, and that is the best thing. No matter how many times you go to New York, you do/see/eat/visit something different every single day.
There is no denying that the top attractions are literally breathtaking, but the most amazing thing for me is that you can walk the streets and stumble across new little areas every few blocks. It's like you're somewhere else. Walk another few blocks and you're in a completely different village again. You discover so much in one day, that the days feel like weeks and yet you still feel like you need more time when it's time to fly home.

Don't get me started on the food. Eataly. Shake Shack. Lombardis. Billy's Bakery. Wholefoods. Manana Mexican. The Mercer. Food trucks. Meatball subs. Fried chicken. Balthazars. Blue Smoke. Bianca. The Plaza. Sliders. Pastis. Cafe Angelique. Chelsea Market. Murrays Cheese. Pizza, so much pizza.

I'm just so excited for all of our wonderful friends and family to come to New York for our wedding and fall in love with it just like I did. I simply cannot wait.

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH THE LOVE SHOOT

I'm obsessed with wedding blogs. I love everything about them; the gorgeous wedding dresses, the beautiful flowers, the breathtaking venues, the styling... I could go on and on, but the thing that makes me the happiest is when I see photos that capture beautiful and unexpected moments between people.

Snippet & Ink is one of my FAVOURITE wedding bogs. Love it, love it, love it. And I found so much inspiration from their blog on exactly the kind of engagement photos I wanted. Nothing too posey, nothing bridal. Just real moments.

The amazingly talented and super gorgeous Sally from Sally Goodall Photography did just that with our love photos and we could not be happier with them. Not only do we love them, but our parents were over the moon with each and every shot!

I love me some Sally Goodall - check her out - http://www.sallygoodall.com/

Love to you all,

THE ONE WITH THE FIRST BLOG

I'm so excited to finally have my blog, Girl About Love, up and running. Big day for me!


I've been desperate for some sort of creative fun, and this is it people! It is on my blog that I wish to share with you stories of a girl in love. Said girl being me; recently engaged to a gorgeous man named Ryan. Awwww.


I'm currently in wedding bliss... Planning my wedding, celebrating so many of my friends engagements and sharing all of their wedding joys with them. So far, no bridezillas, but as soon as the little devils start appearing, I'll be here blogging about all of the juicy details.


I'm not all about weddings though. Here, you will also read about my little adventures in life, awesome food finds, and my day to day musings. I hope I can bring a smile to your day.


Someone who has done just that for me is Cherie, at A Baby Called Max. Her blog makes me smile (not to mention feeling completely inspired!). I know a few new mums out there who should check it out. No doubt you'll be hooked just like I am.


I hope that Girl About Love hooks a few of you out there who are just like me! So, in honour of all the other brides-to-be in my life, this blog is for all of you; Wendy, Leanne, Kelly, Bianca and last (but certainly not least), Shanelle. No doubt you're all going to be stunning brides... But what will we do once the bridal fare is over?!


Love to you all.