It’s time for another Brides Seeking entry!
Here’s how it works! If you can help on of our Brides Seeking out, leave a comment on this entry! Hopefully we can get every bride the answers she needs!
Bride #1 is looking for feedback for anyone who has held their at Warrawong Woolshed in Melton, VIC.
Bride #2 is looking for a bride to share flowers with and the cost of the arrangements! She’s ordered $1000 worth of flowers (There are white roses as bridal bouquets, red roses as bridesmaids and white tulips as the centrepieces. Garden roses for the powder room. White roses as lapels.) She’s marrying on Friday, 16th of April 2010 in the Royal Botanic Gardens in South Yarra, VIC at 11am followed by a reception at Lynch’s Restaurant, VIC. If you know of someone who would like to go halves in floral fees, leave a comment!
Bride #3 is looking for shorter wedding dresses available in Australia. She lives in NSW so would love to be able to find them locally!
Bride #4 is looking for green artificial flower brooches. She needs four, they can be any kind of flower, and they don’t even need to be brooches (she is happy to attach a safety pin)
Bride #5 is marrying in Maleny, Queensland on 21 May 2011. They’re having a cocktail function and would like to arrange some hire lounge chairs for a “chill out” area for guests. She’s seeking a company that can hire her said lounge chairs.
Bride #6 is looking for “Rose & Ruby” style dresses. Another sad fan of the beautiful gowns, she’s seeking mismatched bridesmaids dresses in neutral shades of french lace and silk and would love to go to the one place to find them!
Bride #7 is looking for Indian-style indoor tents (similar to Raj Tents in the US)
Bride #7 is also after florists around Sydney who do vintage/country/messy styles (hold the frangipanis and orchids!)
Bride #7 is also looking for terracotta/coral 1950s style bridesmaids dresses
Bride #8 is looking for a sale price, cheaper version or someone who can make something similar to the Lisa Brown Poppy dress for bridesmaids (currently $550- budget is $320)- based in Sydney
Bride #9 is wondering “We are doing a dessert buffet of all our favourite sweets such as little lemon tarts, Portugese custard tarts, baklava etc. This will be the dessert for the evening. We have approx 100 guests coming and I was wondering how to best cater for this i.e do we need to get one of everything for each person?”
Bride #10 is looking for a venue for her wedding! “Somewhere in Victoria with beautiful gardens. A large property where you can hire the entire thing out for a few days. around 8-10
bedrooms and the ability for it to just be us – no staff etc. We want to be able to cater ourselves and decorate ourselves as well. It also needs to have a little personality.”
Bride #11 is looking for any kind of white on white polka dot fabric available in Australia, Swiss dot preferably!
Bride #12 is looking for a website that sells used or inexpensive veils. She needs a cathedral-length veil (with blusher) with a lace border and would love to purchase it pre-loved to save some dollars.
Bride #13 needs to find shoes for her bridesmaids and junior bridesmaids, they all will be wearing the same colour, the dresses are 3 quarters, in which the colour is a soft lemon, and pink around the waist and with soft pink net showing on the bottom of them. She needs shoes to match, either soft yellow or soft pink. Have you seen any?
Bride #14 has recently bought a beautiful Akira gown for her wedding dress. She’s now in a complete pickle as to what colour her bridesmaids should wear. The dress is a red slip with white embroidered linen over the top, so it looks pink.
Bride #15 is trying to find antique wooden chairs for a wedding in Byron Bay. Does anyone know a furniture hire place specialising in antique/vintage inspired furniture?
Bride #16 is trying to design her own invitations but wants them to look professional when they’re printed. She’s on a very tight budget and wants to know if there is a cheap way of doing it? Does anyone know of somewhere she can take them?
Bride #17 is looking for large round paper lanterns in orange and grey, she’s also after brown kraft paper tin tie bags (for lollies). She’s planning a Melbourne wedding and trying to stick with local suppliers.
Phew! I know Polka Dot Bride readers are a resourceful bunch and I would *love* if we could help out each one of these brides! Have you seen anything, heard anything that might help our brides out?
Bride #12 – We have inexpensive veils available on our website, http://www.priorengagement.com.au, bridal accessories, veils. We have a Cathedral Length veil in White or Ivory for only $44.95. Hope this helps.
Bride #4 – check out etsy.com and search for flower broches or flower pins. Almost any etsy designer will switch material colours for you. So find pieces you like and ask for them to be made in green instead. You might find the best flower pieces are designed to be hair pins. Again just ask for them to be made with a broach pin instead.
Bride #5 – Try Valliant Hire http://www.valiant.com.au
Bride #7: Get in contact with Villa Kula http://www.villakula.com.au/index.php and see if they can help with tents.
Bride #5: Depending on the types of lounges you are after I can find suppliers either from Brisbane or the Sunshine Coast which may be more cost effective in regards to delivery.
Bride #9: I recently organised an event with a dessert buffet. At the back of the table we had various lollies/sweets in brandy balloon vases & at the front we had platters of mini pavs & tarts. We catered for approx 3/4 of the total of guests & had heaps left over. Not everyone will have one of everything so you don’t need to cater for 100 of each dessert type.
Bride #14: Since you haven’t chosen a traditional wedding dress you could always dress your bridesmaids in cream! Depending on the shade of pink, other neutral tones may also work. Alternatively, if you have a colour scheme that your following through from your stationery you could look for dresses in these colours.
Bride #15: I’m a wedding planner based in Brisbane but service the Byron Bay area as well. If you would like to contact me so you can give me a little more information I may be able to help you out.
Bride #16: Try the chain printing stores. For quick print jobs in the past I’ve ducked down to my local World Wide Printing & that was fine. As this is for your wedding though…make sure that you print on a good quality paper & do a test print first (with your chosen printer) to make sure you’re happy with the outcome.
I hope this helps!
Bride Number 6: I too am after vintage/lace “Rose and Ruby” styled gowns for my 5 bridesmaids and would also love to know where to find them in Sydney! I will keep searching and will be keen to read the comments to find out where to get some beautiful gowns!
Bride#6: I too love vintage style dresses and finding it hard to find rose & ruby styles. I think I’m going to choose a designer who uses fabrics I love (e.g. Alannah Hill) and find my BM’s different dresses from the one place. Can’t wait to read the comments on this query! It’s definitely an un-tapped market in Sydney:) goodluck
Bride #4 – Try http://www.etsy.com!! they have amazing stuff!
Bride #5 – Try http://www.pabs.com.au
Bride #17 – Try http://www.etsy.com or specifically Flutter Paper Lantern – they are really really cute!
Bride #6 – i’m also looking for just the same thing for my Bridesmaids, but in Melbourne. I will watch the comments with interest!
Bride #10 – have you seen the Boyd Baker House? It’s not everyone’s style but I love it, and it can be hired out for several days for a wedding.
http://www.boydbakerhouse.com.au/
Bride 9#
We did a dessert buffet in a very similar way. I can’t remember exactly how many pieces of slices etc we ordered, but there was at least two pieces of dessert per person total plus wedding cake and we had TONNES left over. Definitely don’t go a piece of each dessert per person.
Bride 16#
My sister designed my invitations and printed them on her ink-jet printer. She’s an artist and drew the design (a chrysanthemum) then photographed it and manipulated it in Photoshop to create the design. You could use a image you liked to do the same thing. We just used one colour and printed onto matt textured cream card (not shiny or pearlescent, which helped with the professional look). I ordered a custom stamp with our names in calligraphy to do the return address on the envelopes. They were DL sized, which fit three to a page of A4 card. She then took them to Officeworks to be sliced. They looked very professional (in my opinion). We ordered the paper from http://www.amazingpaper.com.au/index.html and the stamp from http://www.etsy.com/shop/emililies
Bride 14#
What about a cream or ivory? Something very simple and plain would contrast nicely with the texture, pattern and colour on your dress.
Bride #16 – try http://www.emmasmith.com.au. I offer a printing service as well as design. Happy to work with your designs and you will save on printing. Am also happy to offer advice to DIY brides. As per comment above, if you’re going to do it yourself, make sure you have a few spare sheets of paper and test, test, test! If your using a home printer, do not let the paper pile up in the output tray of your printer, spread them out where ever you can to let them dry properly.
Bride #6
Ms.Polka your Brides Seeking entry is a fabulous idea!
At Ava Madison we create classically elegant bridesmaid dresses using exquisite fabrics such as, silk satin, chiffon, dupion, georgette and tulle. We have a vast selection of colours available and all our gorgeous gowns are made locally!
We are launching our new website this week and it will showcase our beautiful designs, http://www.avamadison.com.au. If you would like to contact us or arrange an appointment at our North Balwyn showroom, please fill out the contact us form on our website.
Michelle
Bride 16:
We did our own invitations on our printer, FH is a graphic designer and although our invitations weren’t your traditional metallic paper, curly font style they looked professional and very unique. Perhaps invest in a good printer and a great idea? And dont be afraid to think outside the box!
#16: For online printing you could use the site http://www.vistaprint.com. They’re super inexpensive professional printing and let you upload your own design or use one of their own.
try helen – she was brilliant – and very good price. plus she meets at your place.
comment 16 is intended for Bride 7#
http://www.flowersbyhelenbrown.com.au/ – highly recommend Helen – as do my friends who have also used her.
Bride #2 – what date?
Bride #3 – it’s hard to find them in Australia, I’ve been looking for tea length dresses myself and have found I need to go to an international site like http://www.lightinthebox.com or http://www.spotvogue.com – the dresses are really good quality and if they need to be adjusted when they get here, then it’s still cheaper (by far!) than buying the dress retail here. (I went ivory for the ceremony and the same design in red for the reception!)
Bride #4 – Etsy is absolutely the way to go, they’ll do most anything you want!
Bride #8 – see advice above for Bride #3, these sites do a range of dresses and styles.
Bride #10 – check out the Whitehall Guesthouse (can have up to 75 with exclusive use!) or the Station House in Daylesford also has the room!
Bride #14 – maybe black tea length dress with soft pink tie around the waist?
Bride #16 – try snapfish, I’ve always found them good quality and relatively inexpensive. Make sure you go for the best paper though!
Great idea- Polka Dot Bride!
Bride #10 I think Hazeldene in the Yarra Valley is worth checking out. I think it fits all your requirements. I photographed a wedding there recently, and all these photos were taken on the property http://bit.ly/aHmAWs
Good Luck!
Zappos.com has free shipping and you can search by color.
Bride number 6 – when I was looking for bridesmaid dresses I wanted exactly the same thing, and I found them at Sami and Sita, which is literally two doors up from where Rose and Ruby is / was in Paddington. I have three bridesmaids and they are wearing three different shades of mid-shin length silk gowns that tie up 8 different ways (biscuit, pink and rose). Maria is the designer there, she is great – you should definitely check it out.
http://www.samiandsita.com/
Bride #7
http://www.rubyandjoy.com.au/be-beautiful.php#
Nicola from Ruby and Joy does some lovely work, very soft and whimsical.
Bride # 3 – I have two shorter dresses, both ivory in colour. One is a chanel, just about the knee in length, thin straps, jewelled bodice, fitted at the bodice and waist (high waist) then falls away. I wore it on my hen’s night. Dress no. 2 I wore at my reception because my wedding dress for the ceremony was too diffcult to dance in! It is slightly longer (tea length, so sort of mid/calf just above the ankle.) Lace bodice, sweetheart neckline, full skirt. I’d be willing to part with either of them. Both are small size 8 (one is a US size 2 which I think is like an 8 australian. If you are interested send me an email and I’ll send you some pics [email protected]
Sarah- my mistake on leaving out Bride #2’s date – 16th of April 2010
Bride 6 – Check out Morrison Clothing http://www.morrisonshop.com/ I too loved the Rose & Ruby dresses. I found some great neutral tone ones at Morrison – they’re a Perth based company but you can order online & I believe theu have stores & stockist in the east.
Bride #4 Try some of these!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/percyhandmade?section_id=6190651
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43716050
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43592588
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43703377
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43673280
Bride #3 try Harvey and Ella bridesmaid dresses. They come in white and my Fiancee is wearing a ‘slightly higher than knee length’ one for our wedding in August.
They have a store in Bondi Junction (i think) but for a picture of a dress check out here: http://www.brideandgroomstore.com.au/whatsnew.html
Bride # 6 I am a Melbourne bride and was struggling to find something that was not your standard polyester dress. My wedding is in June at Ripponlea and we went with Ava Madison 3 different dresses all in the same colour. The pics of the dresses are not online yet but if you contact them they send some through. And more importantly they have been wonderful to deal with and very reasonably priced.
Bride #5 – I am a sunshine Coast based decor and furniture hire business and can help with any of your hire needs. please feel welcome to contact me on
[email protected] or http://www.clweddingsandevents.com.au
Bride #16 – do you need chairs for the ceremony or for reception decoration?
For Bride #16 – a few tips for great results (if you are opting for taking your artwork into get printed at a copy centre, online or at an office supplies store), make sure your artwork is a decent resolution if you are using something like Photoshop to create your design, as this will make a huge amount of difference to your print quality, regardless of where you are getting it printed. If you are not sure about what ‘resolution’ is, there are many great explanations on Google if you do a quick search. A minimum of 300dpi is usually okay, or if you can, 600dpi for photos and graphics (if you are using any): increasing the ‘dots per inch’ of your artwork will avoid that pixel-ly look when printed! Always be wary of using graphics from off the internet, as they are far too low resolution to print in the manner you would expect (they are usually around 72dpi, which is fine on screen, but very pixel-ly when printed on paper). Most online print sites will have a FAQ section which will list artwork specifications that they require, and if in doubt, you can always email them first to find out how to prepare your file for best results.
If you are using relatively light-weight paper (think paper like the printer paper you’d buy in a ream), most household printers can print on this easily, so don’t rule out your own printer! Laser printers can print well on most thin stocks, including some vellum, and inkjets can be good for textured/watercolour paper, although be careful if you plan to use a seriously textured, thick, opaque or transparent paper as they can disagree with home printers sometimes. As another helpful person suggested before, always buy more stock than what is required, as a test print (or two!) is a must, and you want to have enough in store just in case there are printing irregularities or errors.
If your paper is more like cardstock, it may not feed through your printer quite as well as regular paper, as many printers have limits as to the thickness they can feed through their mechanics. If you fear this may be the case, you could investigate printing on a lighter-weight stock, and then sticking it with spray adhesive or glue-tape* to a heavier stock which achieves a similar effect and also adds a nice, weighty handmade feel to your invitations.
*Glue-tape helps immensely when putting together multiple invitation pieces, it’s a lot less messy than regular glue and you can achieve very professional results quickly. Who ever invented glue-tape is a genius! 🙂 But be careful as it can be costly if you need to buy several. Many shops have an alternative, a double-sided tape on a roll, which you can buy a little cheaper and will do a similar job but is just not quite as quick and easy.
A medium weight stock (around 200-250gsm or thereabouts) will fold nice and neatly if you score it first with the dull side of a butter knife and a metal ruler, and then fold with even pressure. Heavier stock is more difficult to fold by hand but there are many tools available from stationers or craft stores to make this a little easier. Always try to use sharp scissors, scalpels or paper trimmers to give your printed products a professional edge, or your professional printer may be able to trim your pieces for you with the equipment they have in store (if this is a reasonable option, go for it, your wrists will thank you!)
And if you are trying to keep to a small budget when printing, never rule out the idea of using a basic coloured paper with one colour ink, such as black, printed onto it. There’s been some absolutely beautiful invitations designed as of late which are just the one colour ink on a really vibrant paper or cardstock, looks a treat and is super budget friendly.
Best of luck Bride #16, I hope you are very happy with your results, I’m sure it will be lots of fun!
Bride #11. I’ve having a 50s inspired gown made and will be having a white Italian organza with white dots over white silk. I found the Italian embroidered silk organza is 150cm in length and is $149.99 per metre (expensive – but gorgeous) from Gardams Fabrics in Brisbane. The fabric is sheer see through and the dots are about just shy of a Aussie 5 cent piece. Good luck!
Bride 6 What sizes are you after as i have 3 rose and ruby’s in my wardrobe and was thinking of listing them on ebay. All wedding bridesmaid worthy, however they are second hand.
I went through a rose ruby stage and bought 3 of them within about a month on impulse, with no where to wear them.
All three are knee length or a little longer (im 5″5)and in perfect condition.
let me know if your interested 😉
Hi Roxann, I’d be interested to see what dresses and sizes you have available if Bride#6 doesn’t get in contact with you:) Let me know.
Do you still have those dresses?
Leag? sorry i cant read the name properly. That would be fine. Not sure who contacts who but im fine if polkadot give you my email address if bride 6 isnt interested.
I will keep watching this 🙂
Bride #11: I too was searching for white on white polka dot fabric (I was chasing organza). I ended up getting a white dot tulle from Fabulous Fabrics in Perth. It was about $36/m and is 3m wide.
Bride #11 – Fabric Collections at 80 Sumners Rd, Sumner Park (or Selective Fine Fabrics on North Rd at Underwood) both in Brisbane, have the most amazing selection of fabrics. I’d be surprised if you couldn’t find what you were looking for – just stay focussed!
Roxann, Yes i would be very interested in those dresses of yours! What colours are they? I would mostly need size 8’s but could alter any bigger! How can i contact you?
Hi Jess, i think polkdaot has messaged me requesting my details to be passed on to you.
Size 8 would be great as rose and ruby are in-consistant with their sizing across their styles.
Colors are 1. tea stained vintage color (ecru i think its called)The other 2 are in vintage/muted shades of pink. Nothing bright! They all match together and probably would suggest the maid of honour be in the tea color one and the other 2 in the pinkish shades. Ecru one, is the smallest. Im a 10-small 12 with hips and bust and found it a little too tight. dress 2 is quite adaptable to any figure as its more a baby doll style with a sash around the waist, very flattering. 3rd one is from last years summer collection and is completely lace with a beautiful sweetheart type neckline (great for a bust or good shoulders) gathered at the waist, bit like a 50’s style dress.
I will say that i did notice a discoloring on the bottom of the ecru one but you have to look hard.
Oh and the first 2 have silk slips the last one a cotton/polly more stretchy type.
I cant see there being a problem with a dressmaker adjusting them to fit, they are quite simple flattering styles.
I was looking at doing the same thing for my wedding, but that seems such a long time away and having these sit in my wardrobe depresses me, i would love them to be out, worn and making 3 lucky women look stunning
XXX
Thanks Lauren, Danyane and Sweet Libertine!
Bride #7 http://hookedonflowersnsw.com.au/ The lady who owns it (Michelle) Is wonderful. Her eintire home is in the styling you say you are looking for in your flowers so I am sure she will make a fantastic florist for you. She’s also reasonably priced and travels.
Bride #14: Congrats on the Akira dress! I recently tried the same one on, so I know what you are talking about.
I’d probably go for a dove grey, with some of the red / pinky accent.
Even a dusty mauve might work…
I don’t really see how a cream, white or beige would work it here, the tone of the dress is cool, not warm.
Have fun!
Bride #16: I printed my own invitations. I work with photography and design, so designed my invites in Photoshop. Definitely do not use your own printer. You want to print right to the edge of the page – and to do that you need to go to a professional printer who uses oversize paper (they then trim it back for you). Also, if you want to print on the back and have it properly matched, you need a professional printer.
I ended up designing an A5 invite, with an A6 directions card and A6 rsvp card. They all fit together on one A4 sheet. The invite, directions and rsvp all had designs on the back too. So I had two A4 images to print, one either side of the A4 sheet.
I went to Kwik Kopy in North Melbourne. They printed these for me on A4 oversize off white parchment card for $2.00 per A4 Sheet. This included perfectly guilotining the paper so I was left with three piles – the invites, rsvps and directions, ready to be posted. I can’t recommend doing it this way more highly — their service was great, the printing very professional.
Bride #5 try http://www.clweddingsandevents.com.au for furniture and decoration hire
Bride#11 – i recently purchased a beautiful English hail spot tulle from Fabric Collection – Sumner Park – ph 07 3279 6620- for my wedding dress .I was considering a beautiful silk white pokla dot fabric as well .
Bride #3 – Shorter Wedding Dress
I am 5 ft/152cm bride-to-be, so there was no way I was prepared to pay full price and cut off half the dress! My dress is knee length and I decided to have it custom made by NelderJones. I had my first fitting yesterday and it worked out to cost me half the price of any conventional wedding dress and they have over 25yrs experience in wedding and formal dresses. After yesterday I’m convinced they could tailor a motorbike out of vintage lace. I would recommend popping your head in and having a look at their shop as they have all different styles that they would love to tailor to your height without the added cost.
Nelder-Jones: 214 Oxford Street Paddington, Sydney, NSW, Australia
ph: +61 (02) 9331 5118
Hi – there are a couple of size 2 Ruby & Ruse dresses on missmoneypenny.net.au – saw them this evening (22/6/2010). Good luck finding something. I’m also looking for one but need a size 3 – if anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated!!!
Bride 6 – I too am looking for a Rose & Ruby dress – in particular the “A Time in Tuscany” dress in Ecru, size 8. Have fallen in love with it but can’t find one anywhere. Please keep us updated through this site if you have any luck finding what you’re looking for. Would love it to be brand new, but would be happy with a pre-loved one if it meant I could get it. Thanks!
bride #8: i am also looking for a cheap version of the lisa brown poppy dress. have you found one yet?
#6 did you have any luck with the rose and ruby dresses?
i am chasing the ‘fleur di lys’ in size 8 if anyone has any info of where i can buy from (preloved is fine!)
Thank you!!
Roxann, Did anyone take you up on your offer?
Bride # 16 – My boyfriend is a graphic designer, I’m sure he could work out a deal for you and he gets all his printing wholesale etc. Feel free to email me at [email protected]
Bride #3 we have a shorter dress in our collection in a tiered chiffon, or we can probably make you a shorter skirt to order if you’re after a corseted style. See our website and you’re welcome to mail or call me if we can help S x
Bride #15: Try Imbue Weddings. They hire out some beautiful vintage looking pieces from furniture to vases.
Bride 10# Try Providence Gully, not sure if they do accommodation as well as venue hire but, they are very helpful. They are located in Central Vic near Daylesford
Bride 10# We are after the same….is hard to find!!!
Boyd baker house in bacchus marsh is a lovely place. More bush setting then manicured garden though.
Good luck
Stacey
nice and popular.
Bride #5 & Bride #15 – Check out these guys ‘Little Gray Station’. They have a large range of vintage and modern furniture for hire, and i’m sure they service those areas you have mentioned.
Do you accept brides from the UK?
Bride #5 try http://www.amazingrentals.com.au/