Finding Inspiration

I've been looking at wedding things for over 2 years now, basically since my sister got Engaged, so I have seen a lot of different wedding themes and ideas. One of the things that struck me the most was how important it is to pick a theme that works with your wedding location.

My favourite places to look for things at the moment are Pinterest, BHDLN and Etsy.

Pinterest is pretty awesome because other people practically do all the work for you! This is my Pinterest board. It is great because you can invite your bridesmaids and anyone else you want help from, and just Pin things you see that you like for later.

Finding the right Photographer

Finding a good photographer was really important for us. We chose Canada and the snow because it was different and beautiful. We wanted to be able to capture that, as well as our special day.

I imagined finding the right photographer would be really difficult, and one of the hardest decisions to make. Especially considering we couldn't actually talk or meet anyone. But it was one of the easiest decisions we had to make, and it was one of the first decisions we made (after picking a region of Canada of course). In fact, we had decided on using Kirstie from Orange Girl even before we had decided on a venue.

Orange Girl - Emerald Lake Inspirational Shoot

The wedding hand-me-downs

A lot of people get hung up on their siblings getting married before them.

Personally I don't see an issue with it at all, in fact I think it is better! My sister recently got married (it was lovely). As a result I have benefited in a lot of ways! I learnt a lot from her wedding, the planning and also managed to inherit some things that will make my life easier in the process.

Banff Wedding Venues List - Winter

These were my favourite venues from Banff region in Canada (No particular order):

The Fairmont Banff Springs
Known as the "Castle in the Rockies" The Fairmont Banff Springs is located in Banff National Park.

This place looks amazing in the winter, it looks phenomenal outside and inside and they have a variety of room options for small to large weddings. I also found their prices to be fairly reasonable.

Choosing a Winter Destination

Previously on Mandy's Bows and Bats Wedding Saga:
Dress has been purchased
Country of Wedding has been decided

Ray and I decided on Canada for our wedding because a) we have never been there; b) There is snow there.

What this means is, we had absolutely no idea where, in the massive country of Canada, our wedding would be.  Thankfully I have a sister who is a travel agent and a mother who likes to travel and keep brochures. So initially my sister sent me in the direction of Lake Louise, specifically The Fairmont Chateau:

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

The eBay Dress

The wedding dress can be the most important part for a woman on her wedding day. I wouldn't say it was the most important part for me, but I did have something in my mind. (This isn't it!)

Pronovias - Ulmen (This isnt my dress)

Winter Wedding Plan: The Intro

The weather here in Perth I must say, is pretty spectacular, even in winter we get blue skies, a warm sun. You would be hard pressed to find somewhere as spectacular as Perth as far as weather goes.

With such beautiful weather here, weddings generally work out to be pretty spectacular...that is if your into that kind of thing.

Smiths Beach Resort - Yallingup