Wedding Wednesday: And now for something completely different

It's time for the final instalment in my mini-series on colourful wedding nails, and today we're looking at nail art and embellishment. I recognise that this will be a lick of polish too far for most brides and as a result it's hard to turn up very many (nice, non-tacky) examples of bridal nail art in action at real weddings.

Still, if the recent enquiry I had from a bride-to-me looking for some awesome handpainted nail art for her big day is anything to go by, there are those who do want something genuinely different when it comes to wedding nails.

I reckon that one of these manis might just fit the bill.

{this design is now available for purchase here}

And yes, that last one is of a real bride with a "pow!" headpiece and matching accent nail in her coral gradient mani. Respect.

{images via: 1. Me!; 2. My Pinterest board - original source unknown; 3. Me; 4. CND; 5. Landmark Report; 6. The Illustrated Nail; 7. Offbeat Bride}

Wedding Wednesday: Something blue, mostly

Another Wednesday, another little lot of non-French manicured, non-natural bridal manicures - and indeed pedicures - to show you! Today's are a bit more out there than the reds, pinks, and corals of the last few weeks, but don't let that put you off: you might never in a million years want to wear blue polish on your fingernails for your wedding day, but it makes a gorgeous choice for toes as your "something blue".

Let me know if any of these take your fancy...

{images via: 1 & 2. Rock 'n' Roll Bride; 3. Inspired By This; 4. Love My Dress; 5. Rock 'n' Roll Bride; 6. photography by Stephen Brace; 7. Inspired By This; 8. Project Duo; 9. Love My Dress; 10. Inspired By This}

Wedding Wednesday: Pretty in pink and peach and coral

Who's ready for some more lovely inspirational images of colourful wedding nails? I know I am, so we'll dive right in to this week's instalment of pink, peach, and even coral bridal fingertips.

Mmm. Gawjus!

{image credits 1. user KatNYC2011 on Weddingbee; 2 & 3. Love My Dress; 4. Gladys Jem; 5 & 6. Inspired By This; 7. Love My Dress}

Wedding Wednesday: In the red

Wearing colour on your fingertips on the big day isn't for everyone, but I love colourful bridal nails. They really pop against the dress and, of course, help pull focus to that all-important ring finger. Over the next couple of Wednesdays I'm going to show you just how gorgeous coloured polishes can be on brides and hopefully prove that a lick of polish can work with any style of wedding. If you're undecided whether to wear colour or not on your wedding day, well, I can pretty much guarantee that this little series will put you firmly in the pro-colour camp.

Let's kick things off with a selection of reds. From apple to coral to vampy, red is far and away the most popular choice for anyone looking for an alternative to French or nude wedding nails - and with good reason. Red polish is an out-and-out classic, well within most people's comfort zone, and is very versatile, as showcased by these glamorous, retro, rustic, chic, informal, and traditional brides.

Oh, and it looks amazing in photos.

Any takers?

{image credits 1. Kate Benson Photography via Salt Lake Bride & Groom; 2. Eliza Claire via Love My Dress; 3. Lizelle Lotter via Love & Lavender; 4. Annamarie Stepney via Love My Dress; 5. Emma Holder; 6. Aaron Snow via Inspired By This; 7 & 8. Brooke Courtney via Inspired By This; 9. user Ladytron on Weddingbee; 10. via A Perfect Celebration} 

Would you Tie The Knot in Topshop?

Today, there is just one question that I want to ask you.

Would you get married in one of these dresses?

Topshop are hoping the answer is a resounding "YES!" - these frocks are part of the brand's collaboration with British designer Richard Nicoll to create an affordable, fashion-forward capsule bridal collection called Tie The Knot! for budget-conscious modern brides.

The long apron-alike number on the left is the collection's most expensive at £350, while the lacy short dress on the right clocks in at £170. Prices actually start at just £75 and the colour palette includes blush pinks in addition to the more traditional white.

I love Topshop and I'm definitely a fan of the idea of a cool high-street dress for your wedding day, be it specifically bridal or not, but these... Let's just say that the £75 short white dress looks like the most expensive rag of a slip I've ever seen.

What say you? Are any of these dresses calling your name?

Just another Mani Monday: Vintage lace

Himself and I did our first proper joint wedding-y thing yesterday: we took ourselves off to The Vintage Wedding Fair at Chiswick Town Hall. It was a pretty small affair, with about 40 suppliers spread across a couple of rooms, but it was a suitably gentle introduction to the world of wedding shows for a reluctant bride.

Although I hadn't intended to fit on any frocks (and was therefore wearing entirely unsuitable underwear for the makeshift communal changing room that was shared between all the vendors), I did try 3 dresses from Luella's Boudoir in Wimbledon while we were there. They were all around the £3,000 mark, which I didn't realise before I fitted them on, and if I hadn't been so shocked at their price tags I would have laughed in the assistant's earnest face.

I didn't feel like I was having anything close to a THREE GRAND dress experience in a communal changing room with 6 or 7 other birds in their knickers with a mirror and a half between us; the last time I was in a communal changing situation like that was about 16 years ago in super cheap 'n' tacky No Name on Dublin's Henry Street (and even it had loads of mirrors.)

Anyway, I think all the wedding stuff and lace and vintage palettes that we were surrounded by yesterday inspired today's manicure: the classic China Glaze shade For Audrey embellished with hand-drawn white lace detail.

I think it turned out really nicely - what do you reckon?

 

Products used:
Orly Bonder base coat
China Glaze For Audrey
White nail art pen
Seche Viche top coat

The Reluctant Bride says hello.

I don't intend to turn this into a wedding blog; I couldn't have given a toss about other people's weddings up until last October and I'm sure lots of you are the same! However as it's sure to take up a lot of my headspace in the coming months, I hope you'll put up with me as I introduce an occasional series where I share my take on the experience. 

I used to think they were complete mentalers but since getting engaged, I have actually become quite jealous of women who have spent their whole lives dreaming about their wedding day. It has to be easier than spending your every waking moment (and some sleeping ones, too) being dead set against convention in general and weddings in particular for the guts of 30 years only to have your lovely very long-term boyfriend become your new fiancé in the flash of a sparkly ring.

I feel completely at sea, somewhere in the middle of an ocean more terrifying than the Atlantic in a blow-up dinghy with one oar while the sort of towering waves last seen in The Perfect Storm threaten to crash in on top of me and spill me into the waiting arms of a giant Kraken. 

Not being in a position to whip out a shoebox or scrapbook crammed with the building blocks of my ideal wedding as soon as the diamond dropped, I am watching copious amounts of Four Weddings and Don't Tell The Bride and - very gingerly - dipping my toe into wedding websites in an attempt to get acquainted with that world so that I don't have to breathe into a paper bag every time I think about mine.

I have even gone so far as to try on a couple of dresses!

So far, in spite of my epic bravery, I have made exactly no progress. Although I have managed to rule out both the wedding dresses I tried on, so I suppose that's something. 

{the offending garments}

As for venues or what sort of day we want, neither of us have very much of a clue at the moment (and as an emigré whose pragmatic best girlfriend is the other side of the world in Oz, I am not relishing the prospect of planning what will probably be a wedding in Ireland from London.)

I have suggested a Wiccan ceremony, for the purpose of enjoying Mam's total horror at the idea, but I do long for something a bit different - actually genuinely different, as opposed to the girls on reality TV who use the word to describe the princess/fairytale/cookie cutter days they're planning - that's a good reflection of our tastes and what we enjoy.

At least Himself is interested in the gig, unlike some grooms who ban the "w" word post-engagement - if you don't want to hear about wedding planning, guys, DON'T PROPOSE!!! - and since he's actually been giving the whole thing quite a bit of thought and organised wedding fairs and run wedding receptions in a previous job, he probably has a better handle on the whole thing than I do.

Especially since my current idea of getting organised mostly involves sticking random wedding pictures that I quite like onto a virtual pinboard.

Well, I do have 30 years of wedding scrapbooking to catch up on...