For those who have been waiting to find out what my maid of honour dress and my sister’s wedding dress looked like, here they are! I’ve provided a link to my sister’s wedding dress so you can see what it looks like: Allure Bridals in Style 9068 (Ivory). My maid of honour dress was After Six by Dessy Collection in Style 6704 (Sapphire). I took off the bow at the neckline because I didn’t like it.
Since I was the only bridesmaid, C let me choose whatever dress I wanted and I would definitely wear this again. I absolutely love the colour of the dress and the flowiness of the chiffon. I was always planning to have an updo for my hair because it’s so hot in Mauritius and didn’t want my hair to stick to the back of my neck. Also, in my opinion, having your hair in an updo is an absolute must with a mock halter neckline. The one thing I wasn’t crazy about is that there’s a seam at the bust where the inner satin material comes together and there’s a bit of pointiness in the boob area. There was nothing the seamstress could do to make it lie flatter across my chest. When I originally tried this dress on, it was about 5 sizes too big, so the pointiness wasn’t noticeable because there was a lot more material and also it was clipped in a way that pulled it tighter.
My makeup looked flawless and I got a tiny breakout on my chin which the makeup artist was able to mask.
I’m not really sure what happened with my updo, it wasn’t exactly what I asked for, but as long as the front view of my hair looked good, it didn’t matter as long as it stayed up the entire night. I hate hairspray, my hair felt like a helmet because there was so much of it. Also, I prefer when the top of my ears are covered with hair, it looks more relaxed/romantic.
Save
For the reception in Toronto, I wore the blue dress for the first half of the reception. The right picture above is from the Toronto reception, I liked my hairstyle much better this time. I don’t know why I’m holding the microphone so awkwardly, my wrist is at a weird angle. I changed into my second dress for the shoe game and dancing. Unfortunately, that meant no professional shots in the purple dress because we took pictures before dinner. It also means that most of the pictures are a bit fuzzy in my second dress, so I don’t have any good ones of me wearing it. The second dress was by Alfred Angelo (which went out of business- the store I got both dresses from is also out of business). I got the style 7359S in Viola. Pictured below is the dress in a wine shade.
For accessories, I wore a pair of simple crystal earrings, a sparkly bracelet, a criss cross ring that my sister got for me on Etsy as my bridesmaid gift and Michael Kors T-Strap Berkley Sandals in Silver.
Sorry I haven’t been posting very much in the last month, but we were preparing for our trip to Mauritius where my sister tied the knot at the Hotel Sofitel Mauritius L’Impérial Resort & Spa! My parents and I didn’t stay for very long in Mauritius, but the beaches were absolutely beautiful! As Canadians, we definitely weren’t used to the heat especially since it is summer in Mauritius- even their winter time is warmer than Canadian summers, so you can imagine how hot it was for us. Thus, the reason for our short stay of one week (technically, it was 5 days when you take into account the two full days of travelling there and back).
The Sofitel was paradise, as soon as we walked in, we were blown away (see photos below). They definitely made the right choice in picking the Sofitel for their beach wedding. Especially since they basically chose the venue based on pictures. You know how you look at pictures and then you go somewhere and it’s not what you imagined (in a bad way)? Well, the Sofitel’s pictures did not do it justice; it was even more beautiful in person than the pictures.
For the first half of our trip, we stayed at Le Méridien Ile Maurice (pictures below), which was beautiful as well, but obviously not as breathtaking as the Sofitel (since Le Méridien is a 4-star hotel and Sofitel a 5-star). Regardless, the view of the water was equally breathtaking at both resorts. Each day, we got a buffet breakfast, the danishes and croissants were to die for, as well as the salted butter from Australia. For the three days we had breakfast at Le Méridien, I had the potatoes (which they served differently each day- potato wedges, fried potatoes with onions, sliced potatoes with chives). My parents said that the banana croissants were also tasty. At breakfast, they served oatmeal, omelettes, pancake crepes, congee, fruit, etc. One day, they even served noodles with meatballs (I’m not used to eating breakfast so that was way too heavy for me at 8 in the morning). We decided not to get dinner each night since we didn’t know if we’d be eating out or not. I would highly suggest getting breakfast and dinner included because the buffet was very expensive at dinner time. Since you probably want to be back at your resort before dark, you’ll be back in time for dinner anyway.
It gets very dark in Mauritius- it started getting dark around 7pm and our resort was pitch black by 8pm. Their streets are very different from Canada and they don’t have street lamps, so the only source of light is coming from the car. I’d say it’s best to be back by your resort earlier than later if you have rented your own car.
I didn’t get to tan very much because we arrived a few days before the wedding and I didn’t want to get a sunburn. The day after the wedding, we went on the beach, but it started to get a bit cloudy by the afternoon. I may have gotten a slight tan, but it’s not super noticeable, the most tanned parts of my body are my feet. Don’t forget to slather than sunblock on! I used SPF 110 and SPF 60 (face). Also, make sure to bring insect spray especially if you’re going to the botanical gardens or seven coloured sands! In the travel guide, it says that insect spray is expensive there, so make sure you pack some in your suitcase! We didn’t buy a lot of souvenirs, but I brought back about 10 bug bites (all on my legs).
We heard that the lychee jam was delicious, but didn’t have time to try it in Mauritius, so we bought some at the airport and have yet to sample it.
I’m still recovering from the time change, so I will slowly be uploading some pictures and writing more posts on the wedding and our trip, so stay tuned for more!
When it comes to my wardrobe, I am kind of boring, I love black and if you open my closet door, you’ll mostly see darkness (with random bits of colour) because I have so many dark clothes and so few brightly coloured clothes. I’m doing my best to buy brighter colours (or just colours, period!). Similar to my wardrobe, my shoe collection is mostly blacks and nudes. I’ve always loved coloured shoes, but was never brave enough to purchase one until now. Blue is my fave colour (especially cobalt blue), so I took the plunge and bought a bright blue pair of shoes. Maybe my next pair of coloured shoes will be red or purple!
When I was working at Hudson’s Bay, they had this pair of blue/purple suede pumps that I absolutely loved: Vince Camuto (Style: Kain) that I absolutely loved. Back then, I didn’t have a reason to buy them, so I always stared longingly at them.
I decided to ask my parents for a pair of blue pumps for my birthday, so we started the hunt for those blue suede pumps. Of course, back when I worked at the Bay, they were on clearance…I missed my chance to buy a pair in my size in that beautiful blue colour. We went to several Hudson’s Bay stores and could only find them in size 9 or larger.
I was starting to give up on my dream shoes. I even searched on American websites and department stores to see if they had them, but none were to be had in my size. I was about to give up until we went into the Vince Camuto store. I found a pair of Louise et Cie electric blue d’orsay pumps. They were even prettier than the Vince Camuto ones! Also, they were on sale for more than half off! I couldn’t contain my excitement and did a little happy dance in the store as I told D they were on sale. He smiled and said, “excellent!”
They are a pair of Louise et Cie D’Orsay ‘suede’ pumps (Style: Hermosah in Tulum Blue) with a 3 1/2 inch heel.
It’s almost prom season! Most ladies will probably be looking for their prom dresses or have already found one. It’s been a number of years since my prom, but I’d like to share my experience at prom. I wish I could say that I danced the night away, but it’s not like the movies or tv shows you watch. Especially since Canadian proms are different from American ones- we don’t have a prom court where we vote for Prom King and Queen. Maybe other schools in Canada do, but ours didn’t.
Prom is a rite of passage for finishing high school, so even if I don’t sound like I enjoyed it, I had fun with my friends and got to dress up. It may not seem like it, but prom is expensive. You spend hundreds of dollars for one night. Now, I know what you’re thinking…a wedding is the same, you spend thousands of dollars for one night too, but at least at your wedding, you’re the centre of attention. At prom, you just get mixed in with the rest of your classmates. For my prom, I think I spent about $500-700…or rather, my parents spent $500-700. Thanks mom and dad! I’m sure other people spent a lot more. Some people spend that much on their dress. The following is a list of costs that I racked up for my prom:
Category
Cost
Dress
$380
Shoes
$30
Accessories
$30
Hair and makeup
$0
Mani/pedi
$15
Prom ticket
$100
Limo
$45
Total
$600
I bought my dress from BCBG MaxAzria. I had a hard time finding shoes. I wanted silver ones. I would’ve spent more if I could find a pair that I liked, but I found an okay pair for $30. I already owned the earrings I wore, but I bought a silver clutch. I did my own hair and did eye makeup with some concealer (this was before I used foundation). The limousine was $45 per person with a group of 14. Our school held an after party on a boat. I didn’t attend and I can’t remember how much it was (maybe $20-50). My date chose not to wear a jacket, so I didn’t get a boutonniere for him. He let me order the corsage (for which he paid me back, that cost about $12-15) so I could choose what I wanted.
The Dress
The search for the prom dress took a while, I dragged my mom to multiple stores for two months. Originally I got a black tulle strapless dress from Mendocino, but it was a bit loose and I was afraid it would fall down. Also, after some thinking, it wasn’t really my style. I think I started getting desperate and settled for it. I ended up returning it.
We even went to a bridal store and considered getting a custom one, but by the time I started looking, there wouldn’t have been enough time to order one. So we went everywhere else. I first saw the one at BCBG and I liked it, but wasn’t absolutely in love with it, so we kept looking. After a few weeks, we couldn’t find anything and it was cutting closer to prom, so we went back to BCBG and I bought the dress.
In the past few years, it’s become more popular for girls to choose long dresses. For our prom, more of the ladies opted for short/tea length dresses. Only a handful had long ones. I used to think I was too petite for long dresses and they’d make me look shorter. Now I love maxi dresses, especially after wearing a long bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding (check it out here!). You just need to know how to accessorize and flatter your shape.
I wish I accessorized with a necklace. Since my dress was strapless, my shoulders and neck were pretty bare. The selfie below is from when I recreated my makeup look. Surprisingly, I didn’t take any full-length solo shots at prom. The selfie is a better quality than cropping a pic with my friends.
Back when I was in high school, promposals weren’t a huge thing like they are today. Originally I was going to just go with my group of friends, but it seemed like most of them were getting prom dates. Plus, I thought it’d be nice to have a prom date anyway, so I asked a fellow classmate. I asked him on MSN- I’ve always been more outgoing when communicating with people online. I tend to open up more to people because I’m more of a writer than a talker. Plus, I was shy and didn’t know if I would get rejected or not. I remember I was talking to my friend and asked if I should ask him or not…she said to go for it, so I did. Either way, I would’ve been going with my friends, so it didn’t really matter if he said no. One day during English class, my classmates and I were chatting about prom and I found out that my prospective date wasn’t planning to go to prom. Later that day, I asked him if he would go to prom with me. I told him that I understand if he didn’t want to go. It was close to the day and he’d be shelling out $100 for a ticket and other expenses. To my surprise, he said yes! My closest friends knew I invited him and when we got to prom, I think some people were kind of surprised that we showed up together. We weren’t in the same friend group and we were probably only seen talking about schoolwork by our classmates. We had multiple classes together and we would chat on MSN.
The Day
On prom day, my friends and I went to get manicures and pedicures. I’m very ticklish, so I just got a manicure. I’ve always had the fear that I would be getting a pedicure and accidentally kick the lady in the face from being too ticklish.
Everyone came to my house to get ready together and take pictures. I don’t have a pool like most prom pictures include, but we took pictures on my front lawn and porch which was good enough for us. My friends plus dates were a group of 9. I think it was an awkward number to have, we either had too many for a smaller one or not enough for a bigger one. So we asked another group of friends who lived close by to share a limo with us.
Our prom was at the Design Exchange– it was really nice and the food was okay (chicken, potatoes and veggies). I think I was the only one to finish my plate- I was hungry after the hair and makeup prep. We didn’t really dance that much at our prom, but we mingled with other friends and took lots of pictures. We got the professional prom date picture that everyone takes.
After Party
The school rented a boat for our after party. A lot of people went to the after party, but two of my friends and I decided not to attend. We had a sleepover instead. We watched some movies and played games. I think we had more fun than if we had gone to the after party. Some of my friends went. I remember they quickly got changed and rushed over to get to the dock on time. Parties aren’t my thing and I didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of the water with a bunch of drunk classmates.
It wasn’t like proms you see in movies like She’s All That and Never Been Kissed (lol those are really old references) but I still enjoyed myself because I was with my friends. So if you’re on the fence about going, I think it’s something that everyone should experience, even if it’s not what you expect!
Did you go to your prom? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!
Love
The Day
On prom day, my friends and I went to get manicures and pedicures. I’m very ticklish, so I just got a manicure. I’ve always had the fear that I would be getting a pedicure and accidentally kick the lady in the face from being too ticklish.
Everyone came to my house to get ready together and take pictures. I don’t have a pool like most prom pictures include, but we took pictures on my front lawn and porch which was good enough for us. My friends plus dates were a group of 9. I think it was an awkward number to have, we either had too many for a smaller one or not enough for a bigger one. So we asked another group of friends who lived close by to share a limo with us.
Our prom was at the Design Exchange– it was really nice and the food was okay (chicken, potatoes and veggies). I think I was the only one to finish my plate- I was hungry after the hair and makeup prep. We didn’t really dance that much at our prom, but we mingled with other friends and took lots of pictures. We got the professional prom date picture that everyone takes.
After Party
The school rented a boat for our after party. A lot of people went to the after party, but two of my friends and I decided not to attend. We had a sleepover instead. We watched some movies and played games. I think we had more fun than if we had gone to the after party. Some of my friends went. I remember they quickly got changed and rushed over to get to the dock on time. Parties aren’t my thing and I didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of the water with a bunch of drunk classmates.
It wasn’t like proms you see in movies like She’s All That and Never Been Kissed (lol those are really old references) but I still enjoyed myself because I was with my friends. So if you’re on the fence about going, I think it’s something that everyone should experience, even if it’s not what you expect!
Did you go to your prom? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!
Back in January, after my older sister got engaged, I started looking on Pinterest and websites for bridesmaid dresses. I say ‘started’ even though I probably had tons of dresses pinned already. I mean I started to seriously browse the dresses now. I probably looked at each site about 10 times, hoping I might find a dress I had overlooked. I think I scrolled through thousands of dresses. Since I am the only bridesmaid (Maid of Honour) for the wedding, my sister let me choose whatever dress I wanted in whatever style and colour. Obviously, I asked her what she liked when I tried the dresses on, but we have very similar styles. I knew I wanted a blue dress (I was thinking of a cobalt blue since baby blue would wash me out and dark would be too hot in the sun). The wedding is a destination beach wedding in Mauritius, so I wanted something flirty, flowy and breathable – chiffon. In the back of my mind, I was sort of looking for other dresses that would work for the reception we would have in Toronto. Since the wedding is in Mauritius in the summer time and then the reception in Toronto would be in the winter, I considered getting two dresses because a summery, bright blue dress would look out of place during the winter. I looked at dresses by Vera Wang, Alfred Angelo, Watters, Bill Levkoff, Hayley Paige, Bari Jay, etc.
I absolutely loved some dresses in the pictures online, but sometimes it doesn’t look as good in person as it does in the picture. We went to a local bridal shop to search for dresses. I didn’t think it would be so quick, but since I had been looking for a few months by that time and knew what style I wanted, it was easy to find dresses we both liked. I tried on about 7 dresses at the store and we took pictures to show our parents. I also sent the pics to my friends to get their opinions, but I think we had already chosen which ones we liked. Of course, the sample dresses they had were sizes 10 or bigger, so hopefully the dresses fit well because the consultant has to estimate your size based on your measurements. There’s tons of time between now and the wedding, but I figured it’s better to get it now just in case adjustments need to be made or we need to re-order for whatever reason.
Originally, I hadn’t considered getting a full length dress because I’m petite and the fact that it would be hot in Mauritius. I tried on a dress that my sister suggested and we both really liked it. The plum-purple dress pictured above was one of the styles I saw online. They only had the full length version, so I tried it to see if I liked it.
I ended up choosing the full length dress that my sis chose for the wedding and a short tea length dress for the Toronto reception. I know what you’re thinking…it would make more sense to wear the long one here and the short one there, but the neckline of the long one is more summery and it’s lightweight. It works out anyway because my grandma and aunts liked the short dress better than the long one and they won’t be able to attend the wedding in Mauritius.
Full length After Six chiffon dress with a mock halter neckline in sapphire (style 6704)
Tea-length Alfred Angelo chiffon V-neck dress in viola (style 7359S)
The colours of the dresses on the websites don’t accurately represent what they look like in person- they’re much more vibrant in person.
If you’re a bridesmaid, don’t forget about the price for alterations (if needed) on top of the dress price. The After Six dress was about $300 and the Alfred Angelo was about $225. It was less than $100 for both dresses to be altered. I only got the length adjusted on the full length dress and I got the straps adjusted on the tea-length one because it was a bit low for me.
Don’t forget to have the right undergarments! I bought a bustier which was almost $200 and some seamless underwear ($20-30). Luckily, you can wear those again, so they’re an investment. I bought a bustier because I was worried a strapless bra would keep slipping and I also noticed a bit of a tummy when I was wearing the full-length dress. Since I was concerned about the bra situation, I decided to get a bustier to solve both problems – stays in place and sucks in the tummy. I bought an off-white bustier from a local boutique and I bought some Knixwear seamless underwear (read my review) so I didn’t get any visible panty lines!
UPDATE FROM AFTER THE WEDDING: in Mauritius, I think they tend to wear full-length dresses at weddings. My brother-in-law’s sisters and mom were wearing full-length dresses.
About this time last year, my parents, sister and I were planning for our two week trip to Paris and London. It was our first family trip since 2000. It was also the first time I was travelling outside of North America. I loved Paris and London and would definitely go back to both cities. The food was yummy and the sights were beautiful.
We visited the usual sights in Paris and London- Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Sacré-Coeur, Champs-Élysées, multiple bridges in Paris and London, Big Ben, London Eye, and Stonehenge.
I wanted to get macarons while we were in Paris. Before the trip I looked up the best places and we decided to go to Pierre Hermé. I guess when it comes to certain things, I’m a simple girl. I prefer simpler flavours like raspberry, matcha and hazelnut. We got an assortment, but some of them included rose, lemon and salted caramel. Since there’s four of us, we each had 3 (so none of us tried all of them), and if there was a good one or one we didn’t like, we split it in half to share.
In London, we visited Madame Tussauds Wax Museum where we rubbed elbows with the celebs: I sat with George Clooney and stood beside Tom Cruise, photobombed Benedict Cumberbatch and posed with the other Sherlock…Robert Downey Jr. My sis and I got a little creeped out during the Spirit of London ride, but we powered through. We went on a GoldenTours bus tour to Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge and the Roman Baths (where we actually tasted the water from the fountain…it was lukewarm and tasted like metal). By far, my favourite excursion was to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour for Harry Potter. If you love Harry Potter, I would highly suggest visiting the studio. My sister, dad and I geeked out (My mom wasn’t as excited, but still impressed). We mostly went sightseeing on the trip, but we did manage to visit Oxford Street in London.
My family indulged me in visiting multiple filming locations from TV shows and movies. In Paris, we saw the bridge from Inception (Pont de Bir-Hakeim). In London, we went to Baker Street, and multiple Harry Potter locations: the building used for the exterior for Gringott’s Bank, and the location for the muggles’ entrance to the Ministry of Magic. We planned to visit the location where they film BBC’s Sherlock, but didn’t have enough time and also thought it was a bit too far away from tourist areas and didn’t want to get lost.
Drink- Butterbeer from Warner Brothers Studio Tour (Leavesden)
Lunch in London- Roast Hog Roll from Roast Hog (Borough Market, London)- pic above
Lunch- crepes from Crêpe Brocéliande which are made with Buckwheat and they don’t look like the thick ones we have in North America, but they are just as filling- don’t let it fool you (Montmartre, Paris)
Dinner in Paris- Magret de canard rôti (duck)- the potatoes that came with the duck were to die for (Café du Trocadéro)
Dinner in London- Fish from Poppies Fish and Chips– we didn’t have the chips, but they are probably delicious as well (Spitalfields, London)**
**Warning, they use groundnut oil (peanut oil), but can use vegetable oil if you tell them you’re allergic (we didn’t know this, and my sister is allergic to peanuts, luckily she didn’t have a reaction)
on Amazon.