Monday 29 September 2014

My 1920s-Inspired Bridal Shower

 A week before all of the wedding festivities began, my sister-in-law threw me a 1920s’-themed bridal shower, which was mainly an excuse to have one last shins-up with all the girls in my family before the real party began. It was a really fun day, with my mum, sisters (minus my eldest sister who was absent due to the birth of my newest, squishiest niece!), cousins and a couple of aunts all enjoying the dress up, good food and silly games which made us all explode in girly giggles. I thought I'd post about this first because it was the first in about a fortnight of lots of wedding events, girly fun and dressing up - I wish I had more photographs and you can also see my post here, and my sister's post here, but I didn't get a lot of chance to take my own so credits to my sister for most of the amazing photographs!


You may remember reading about my vintage, floral, polka-dot and pearls themed bridal shower which was a few weeks before, so you can say I was already feeling a little spoiled!

My sister-in-law hosted the bridal shower in her beautiful home, and it was an amazing setting for a old-style, 1920s-slash-Great-Gatsby themed bridal shower which she decorated for and made some amazing food for.  Below is just a glimpse of the table setting – we didn’t get to put the banners up which we wanted, because all of us forgot to bring blu-tack or tape, and we didn’t want to ruin the wallpaper by using anything else! We told everyone to either wear 1920s themed costumes or just red, white and/or black to keep it simpler, and it was great to see everyone stick to the theme – I loved some of the make-up styles that some of the girls did too, dark red lips, heavy rouge and smokey eyes!

The costumes everyone wore were lovely, although as usual, the babies in the family stole the show! I had a really pretty black and white striped-and-circles maxi dress which I had intended to wear, but which I couldn't squeeze my oversized which I changed my mind about, and I ended up wearing a black lacy dress with pearl beads and bracelets was pretty perfect for me! You can see what I chose below, it looks quite simple but it was very comfortable, and I made up for it with matte, dark red lips and smokey eyes, as well as a feathered mini top hat which completed the look for me!

I wish I could post some of the other girl's costumes, but my pictures aren't great and I'd like to protect their privacy, but everyone made an effort with feather headbands, feathered-print dresses and red,black and white dresses!



The food was probably the real highlight of the evening - my sister-in-law and her mother are both brilliant cooks so it was going to always end in some very full bellies! I also was lucky enough to have two cakes - my sister-in-law made a beautiful red velvet cake, and my sister made a beautiful red, white and black cake with a yummy chocolate filling.  There were also some beautiful, miniature tarts, various dishes like chicken kebabs, finger sandwiches and to add to the desi mix, good old spring rolls and samosas!


 
 
I loved the decor, and I'll admit, I didn't really help out with it at all because everyone else did such a great job, and my sister-in-law's house was pretty much a perfect backdrop anyway. My eldest sister made Art Deco style banners, another sister added small touches like beads and coloured balloons, and of course my sister-in-law did the beautiful table settings, complete with matching napkins!

 


We ended the day with lots of gossip and a raucous game of 'pin the moustache on the groom' which was a little embarrassing because of all the teasing I got, but also very fun because we blind-folded all the older women and made them join in! The bridal shower was fun, intimate and very relaxed, and also perfect to set the mood for all the wedding festivities which started a week later (especially as we all had to run around after the bridal shower to get the preps done!) I've not been to a 1920s/Great Gatsby themed party before, and it was really lovely to have one for myself, especially as it gave all of us the chance to be creative and let our inner-drama queens come out!

 The babies of the family showing off their inner (and outer) divas!


What did you think of our party - have you ever dressed up for a 1920s theme? And what did you wear if you did?


Tuesday 23 September 2014

I'm back...Mrs Curly Fries!


“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” – Wuthering Heights


The events are all over, the stress is all done, I've moved into my new house and I'm also very married - and ready to blog it all!

I had a very fun wedding, surrounded by friends, family and plenty of good company (and food!), and it really was a brilliant experience, although it feels like it all passed in a blur. There were plenty of events in the lead up to the wedding day - dholki nights at home, a henna party, more than one bridal shower and best of all, a new baby arrival in the midst of it all, which was pretty amazing and also a wonderful time to spend with family.

I’m still sorting through hundreds of photographs and waiting for the professional ones from my photographers at the events, but I will be posting details, which I want to post in chronological order, so bear with me! Please do also read my other blog for more colourful details of the wedding and all the functions leading up to it as well : )

In the mean time, here's a sneak peek of some of the photographs to come (although to warn you, I have to censor some of my pictures due to privacy reasons, and also because I and a lot of my family members practise hijab).

I'll be posting more very soon, but I'm glad to be back (and settling in) - more details soon!!

-- Curly Fries xx