Wedding bonbonnieres-Honey filled jars

I think I may have found our wedding bonbonnieres. They are from an etsy store called Mely's honey.
I love the shabby chic look of little containers of honey.

To reduce the costs, I'm going to see if they are happy to just send me the jars of honey but without the decorations such as the twine and fabric top. I plan on buying the fabric and twine myself from Lincraft. I might also buy some tags from etsy with me and Mr HSH's name on it.

This is very exciting! I have just ordered the above jar of honey and will just make sure I like the taste and look of it before bulk order 95-100!

The honey is sent from North Wales in the UK, I'm just not sure whether Australian customs will accept this...

Wedding invite welcome kit from Momental Design

Mr HSH and I are just in love with Momental Designs. They are such a fabulous company and we are loving the design process. Even if it forces us to use our non creative minds to contribute somewhat to the design of our invite.So far, Momental designs have put out two drafts of our invite but we are still making ongoing changes to various things on it.

Below are pics of the welcome kit we recieved from them. There were various invites, envelopes and upgrade options, menus etc for us to play with and, I suspect to also tempt us (into getting more products and upgrading) into spending more money! If that's the case, they have succeeded. We have also decided to have our menus (1 per table), table numbers and place cards done through Momental. We also wanted to upgrade to the pocket option to hold the content of the invite as shown in some of the invites below.

Stationary have never been my forte and I would have never thought I'd pay such attention to it. Anyway, regardless, I am enjoying the design process and how personalised it feels. However, I wonder whether the price we're paying (though balanced by the fact that we're having a reasonably small wedding) is really worth it. Will anyone even notice or care? I have gotten into the habit of collecting wedding invites from weddings we're invited to as a momental (no pun intended), but I wonder whether our invite will forever be destined for a rubbish bin or at the bottom of some dusty drawer, forgotten.

Bareboating the Whitsundays

Our Catamaran

The marina where the catamaran was "parked"

Hills Inlet

The magnificent Whitehaven beach

Interesting artwork, courtesy of resident crabs

Whale

For the 10 days in late August, Mr HSH and I and his parents chartered a catamaran named Tropical Sunset and bare boated around the Whitsundays.  For those who don't know, bareboating refers to renting or chartering a sailboat to live in, navigate and operate during the duration of the charter.

Mr HSH's parents plan on buying their own cat one day to sail the world during their retirement so this trip was one where they could learn, practice and get a taste of what their retirement may be like. Mr HSH and I tagged along, partly for the fun and unknown of sailing, but mostly because of the opportunity for some family bonding prior to getting married. Mr HSH and I are, for lack of better words, an interracial couple. He is of eastern European origin and my heritage is Chinese. For our parents, accepting us as a couple have not always been easy, and continues to be a prickly journey. However, we have always endeavoured to gain acceptance and even, dare I say, approval, by his and my family as they are both very important to us. From my point of view, this trip have helped to bridge some of the gap that exists between me and his family and I hope this continues to improve as they get to know me. I can't fault his parents during this trip. They have been nothing but accommodating and kind to me. However, it may be long into our marriage before we will see approval or true acceptance but at the moment, things are gradually looking more optimistic.

We basically spent the 10 days, sailing between islands and dropping anchor at designated spots so we could stop to explore the area, snorkel etc. Mr HSH's dad was the skipper of the boat whilst his mum provided valuable insight in navigation and potential hazards. She also controlled the use of water down to the last drop. We sailed for 10 days with 700litres of fresh water. We had the option of refilling the tank at some points but chose not to. Instead, we saved water by showering irregularly (every 2-3 days) and post snorkeling or swimming. That was very difficult for me as I shower every day normally. Imagine, salt, sunscreen and no showers....not pleasant. We also washed dishes but wiping excessive food off, washing in salty water before finally rinsing in fresh water. All our efforts mean that we got through the whole trip without needing to refill which is uncommon. During the trip, Mr HSH developed a healthy interest in sailing and I am proud to say that he took to it like a fish to water.

We saw many whales in the waters around the whitsundays as it was mating season for them. It was spectacular to see them jumping out of the water so effortlessly. We also saw lots of dolphins, turtles, various fishes etc. Mr HSH got bitten by some unseen jellyfish and may still be battling the consequences...(long story for another day but he's ok).

Anyway, a great trip and probably another one for follow in subsequent years as his parents want to return again to hone their sailing skills.

Wedding reception Qipao/Cheongsam

After many attempts (involving asking other bloggers for recommendations, various online website, getting family to buy from China)  at finding the right qipao for my wedding, I have finally bit the bullet and bought the above qipao.

Ironically, it was from the first online website (eaststore.com) I visited to look for qipaos and was one of Mr HSH's initial favourite. He did not want me to wear anything too red (as most brides of Chinese origin would do). I felt that this qipao was beautiful but had issues with the blue being too dark and too "old" for my age.

However, after looking around but always coming back to this particular qipao, I began to see the darker colour as a sign of elegance  and hope that this will actually look quite striking. I like the pink piping around the dress and the embroidery looks beautiful-detailed but not too "in your face".

East store is having a sale at the moment, ending tomorrow, and I have bought a custom made version of this dress. I hope to see it arrive in a couple of weeks! I have entered measurements which are 0.5 to 1 inch smaller than my current size...Dangerous move but I always felt that you gotta be slim to wear the Qipao well. Hence, I am beginning my rocky journey towards some minor weight loss.