Aaaaah, back to my favourite topic – sweets!

I love fondue, so imagine my delight when chocolate fountains appeared on the wedding scene. Oooh, a waterfall of cocoa’ey goodness! If you’re not much of a cake fan, this is a great alternative for dessert. Your guests will be encouraged to get out of their seats and mingle and they’ll have so much fun dipping into a sea of sweetness.

I’ve been fortunate enough to devour Wickedly Good‘s chocolate fountain at various Bridal Expos, they offer platters of marshmallows and a mixture of fruit. I highly recommend using Allens Lollies - the bananas, snakes and frogs are the best!

Concerned about Augustus Gloops, tiny fingers or splatter on that fabulous frock of yours? Never fear, most suppliers offer an operator on the night to keep everything under control.

Mmmm, chocolate. Forget the skewers, grab a straw!

I have many a man crush and Jack Johnson is one of them. Gosh I love him – his music, his face, his laidback surfer charm. **swoon** His music takes me to a happy place where I picture myself surrounded by sand, sea breeze and sunset.

There are numerous songs of JJ’s that I could call my favourite, however I just adore Angel -  so much it makes my heart flutter and makes me go “Awww!” without fail. If I had my way, this song would have been on repeat throughout our wedding day.

Angel – Jack Johnson
(Sleep Through The Static)

Supposedly Jack lives in Hawaii, perhaps I’ll have to track him down during our upcoming trip! **squuueee** Unfortunately hubby doesn’t share the same excitement, he doesn’t understand how I can enjoy “ukulele music”. This coming from someone who loves Hip Hop only. Pfft! Hehehe…

Wedding season is here, I can feel it in the air! ♥

A few weekends ago I celebrated a good friend’s Hen’s Night at the Intercontinental. I didn’t expect anything less, it suited her to a tee – sophisticated and classy. All guests were given an Yves Saint Laurent lipstick each, that’s how the Bride-to-Be rolls. She is super generous and kind and I’m so lucky to call her my friend.

We enjoyed a delicious seafood buffet, I have never eaten so many prawns in my life! The dessert buffet was to die for, I completely gorged myself and can’t remember how many pieces of cake I ate or chocolate mousses and crème brulees! Great food, great conversation, great company equated to a great night. It was such a pleasant evening, especially for a grandma like me who doesn’t have the stamina to go out anymore!

I am filled with such excitement as my friend’s wedding day is almost here – 1 day to go! I remember when she first announced her engagement, it has come around so fast and I’m amazed at what she’s organised in such a short timeframe.

The wedding is going to be large with approx 350+ guests, although my friend tells me it was going to be more but the numbers were cut back! A traditional tea ceremony is being held in the morning which I can’t wait to be present at. Despite my heritage, this will be the first tea ceremony I’ve seen performed.

What I am looking forward to the most is seeing my friend walk down the aisle, looking like the stunning Bride I know she will be and marrying her best friend, the man who has always been by her side and taken care of her for so long. Just thinking about it makes me want to shed tears profusely.

Congratulations K (KB) & T, we are so thrilled to celebrate with you and share your special day! Love you both, xox…

Hello, my name is Katrina and I’m addicted to weddings.

I have known the above for quite some time now, however it becomes more evident when I unearth treasures like this:

I’m married, but I still can’t resist buying Bridal magazines! HELP. I completely forgot I had these lying around. I can’t believe I haven’t read them as yet, I’m usually busting to have a flick through!

This collection has grown over time as I regularly visit newsagents, eagerly searching for the latest Bridal magazines that have been released. I purchase the magazines, then store them away in my secret hidey-hole. This is to spare hubby the heart attack, but he is aware that a pile exists and my excuse of “I’m researching for the blog” seems to be biding me some time…for now. Tee hee!

Oooh, I can’t wait to sift through the hundreds of pages that await! The Real Weddings are my favourite by far, I love looking at all the dresses and reading about the signature touches of each couple’s day.

Time to savour these magazines and give them the attention they deserve! Perhaps I’ll establish a “Brides Anonymous” group while I’m at it. Hehehe!

Inspirational Magazines

Brides of Adelaide*
Barossa Bride*
My Wedding Magazine*
Cosmo Bride
Bride to Be

* Proudly South Australian

It’s the first day of Spring (YAY!) so it’s timely to share another fabulous product with you, thanks to Nutrimetics. To celebrate the change of season, Nutrimetics have launched the limited edition nc Grandiflora Colour Collection.

Just as my skincare regime is non-existent, my makeup regime is too. Most days I will simply wear foundation to even up my skin tone and that’s all, I don’t have much time in the mornings and honestly can’t be bothered with anything else! I do make more of an effort if I’m going out, I’ll add some powder, blush, eye shadow and mascara. So when I received the nc Grandiflora Colour Collection, my initial reaction was “OMG, what am I supposed to do with all of this?!”, however I had so much fun using the products and became more adventurous with my face.

The first thing that caught my eye was the packaging – it is so fresh and colourful, a perfect reflection of Spring. I just love the bright colours! The Collection consists of 2 makeup essentials – the nc Grandiflora Colour Palette and the nc Grandiflora Lip & Eye Kit. All products are compact in size, suitable for your handbag so touch ups can be made throughout the day.

For eye shadow I use darker shades of silver and grey, the nc Grandiflora Colour Palette provides a number of shades I would never have considered. The array of vibrant colours doesn’t end with the packaging, as I opened the Palette I was pleasantly surprised by the choices – Alyssum (Peach), Marigold (Yellow), Hyacinth (Pink), Angelica (Green), Poppy (Brown) and Petunia (Mauve). Aren’t the names adorable?! Each colour is teamed with another and I found them so complimentary. One is a softer shade, ideal for daytime wear and one is a more striking shade for that bold look when you want to hit the town. The Palette also includes a blush in Carnation (Coral Pink) so you have an all-in-one. Nifty! I loved the velvety feel of the eye shadows and the shimmer, my favourite combinations were Poppy & Alyssum and Petunia & Hyacinth. The colours were very subtle and didn’t make me feel like I was too made up during the day.

The the nc Grandiflora Lip & Eye Kit contains 2 lipsticks and 2 lip pencils combined into 1 tool. Everything you need at your fingertips, no rummaging through your makeup bag or handbag to find a matching set! The delightful colours are Tea Rose (Pink) and Azalea (Coral). I rarely wear lipstick as I find it so thick, but these were light and smooth, not to mention easy to apply and made my lips glisten. I did prefer the Tea Rose as it looked quite natural, the Azalea was a bit too ‘orange’ for my skin tone. The Kit also includes 2 eye pencils, Wisteria (Plum) and Iris (Teal). Once again, I don’t wear eyeliner, but I loved the colour of Wisteria and how much it defined my eyes, I’ve worn it a few times now! I’ve never mastered applying eyeliner, but I think I’m improving and having such great products on hand obviously helps!

Overall, I loved the variety of looks I was able to achieve with the colours being interchangeable. There is such a combination of colours to go with every outfit, mood and occasion. I feel so fortunate to have trialled these products as they have livened up my makeup bag, taking it from drab to fab!

To get your own fresh look, contact www.nutrimetics.com.au or 1800 802 151. The nc Grandiflora Colour Collection is available to buy as separates until 31st October 2010.

nc Grandiflora Colour Palette (8g) RRP $59
nc Grandiflora Lip & Eye Kit (3.59g) RRP $45

A massive thanks to all of you who entered the competition in my previous post regarding the incredible C24 Skin System. I love reading about your current beauty regimes and your tips and advice are invaluable!

1. Olivia
2. Kellyansapansa
3. Kylie M
4. Ames
5. Lauren
6. Lorraine
7. Annie

I am so happy to announce that the 3 winners are:

Annie

Kylie M

Lorraine

Congratulations ladies, your very own set of Gel Serum and Cream Serum will be on its way shortly! I’ll be in touch via email.

I have plenty of upcoming product reviews and giveaways in store, so watch this space for your chance to be a winner too!

Following on from my previous posts about cake, I have another design I’d like to share that featured on Cake Boss. I’m a bit cake crazy at the moment!

On Season 1, Episode 10 (Chinese Culture & Cannolis), Buddy made his wife a replica of the top tier of their wedding cake in celebration of their 8th wedding anniversary. It was such a beautiful gesture, he handmade the roses, hydranias and eucalyptus himself and the best part, the cake was checkerboard! Awesomeness.

Have a look at the following footage to see how Buddy created this effect (fast forward to the 2:00 minute mark and watch until approx 4:00 minutes):

He makes it look so easy, doesn’t he?! If you’re like me and don’t have the skills or patience, never fear, you can purchase a checkerboard cake set to make life easier. I’m all about cheating! Hehehe…

I feel a baking frenzy coming on. Now where did I put that apron of mine?

I received a Facebook message from Jen a number of days ago with a link to the most adorable Save The Date magnets on Etsy.

How cute is the blue bird? My favourite motifs are of birds, particularly love birds and swallows because of what they represent. Both species choose a mate for life, this love and loyalty is quite symbolic and fitting for a marriage, don’t you think?

Have a browse through the rest of AngelEllie’s Shop as she has such a range of designs to choose from, all beautifully hand stamped and painted. I love these too:

Matt and I were well into our wedding planning when I discovered Etsy which was such a shame as I would have used this site for everything! I am completely enamoured by all the handmade items, I spend hours sifting through the thousands of pages.

Throughout my posts I’ll share with you what I’ve previously bought and what I’m lucky to find during my daily stalks of the website. Did you know there is an Australian equivalent called Made It? Uh oh…

Get those credit cards ready!

My beauty regime in the morning is non-existent. I’ll rinse with soap and water, exfoliate and moisturise. So when I’m provided with products to trial from businesses such as C24, it makes me realise what my poor skin is missing out on!

C24 offers a natural skincare range including a skin serum system. One system consists of a Gel Serum and a Cream Serum. It is these 2 products I have been trialling over the past couple of days.

The first feature that caught my attention was the packaging – the stylish silver and slimline shape. The containers are easy to grip and super light, perfect for slipping into your handbag to use throughout the day. The containers are airless and the serums are dispensed through pumps, designed this way by C24 to ensure there is no cross contamination by finger dipping and no product wastage on the inner walls. I found that 1 – 2 pumps was more than enough to cover my entire face, 2 pumps was probably a little too much in fact. The serums spread so easily, I was pleasantly surprised as it didn’t look like much within my hands. If this is all you would use per day, imagine how long the product would last and how many dollars you would save! The serums have 330 pumps combined and a shelf life of nearly a year.

I trialled the Gel Serum first as I just loved the colour! I’m odd, I know. It also assists with oily skin which I have patches of, I fall under the combination skin category. To be honest, I thought the Gel would be quite sticky, however as soon as I applied it to my face, it absorbed instantly. I could feel it draw the oil from my skin, like a slight tightening sensation. I thought it may dry out my skin too much, but my face was still moisturised and I was able to apply my makeup smoothly. Throughout the day my face tends to develop a shine in some areas, however the Gel helped reduce this. With extensive use, I can only imagine this improving.

Some moisturisers I’ve used have been greasy and sat on top of my skin like a film, eeew! This was not the case with the Cream Serum. Just like the Gel, it was easy to apply and absorbed instantly. My skin felt so hydrated, supple and plump! What I also liked was the fresh citrus scent, a mixture of Orange Blossom and Jasmine fragrant. I’m not usually a fan of perfumed products, especially if they’re being applied anywhere near my nose! I find it overpowering and get sick of the lingering smell, but this was subtle and energising – exactly what I needed in the morning.

What I love most of all is the use of natural ingredients. C24 have included 24 top prime active ingredients that benefit the skin. After reading the back of the containers, the serums seem good enough to eat! I particularly like the sound of Macadamia Nut, Kakadu Plum, Green Tea, Pomegranate, Blueberry, Fig and Guava, just to name a few. Yum!

I give these 2 products a big thumbups and I’m so glad I still have 326 pumps left!

For 3 wonderful readers, I have sets to giveaway so you can trial them yourself! How generous of C24 to share their state of the art skin system with us! The best part is, the products are suitable for all skin types and not just women, men too!

So don’t delay, all you need to do is share your beauty tips & tricks or Bride-To-Be’s, tell me what your beauty regime is in preparation for your Big Day. Leave your comments below or send an email to kat@beyondthebride.com.au

Competition will close at 11:59pm (AEST) on Friday 13th August 2010.

The 3 winners will be drawn by a Random Number Generator.

Goodluck!