Civil Wedding Ceremony Attire (pics)

We opted for a very simple and intimate civil wedding... I did not have to go shopping for too long to find a dress that would be acceptable. The dress is a white greek style single arm knee-long dress. It also cost me a whoooooping...$19.99!!!!

My shoes were from a local store; got them for less than $35... I love the gold and the little diamonds, and I also really like the little glittery stuff under the shoe.

And finally my little creamy gold purse that I stole from my auntie's closet...

And here is the final result... (I had to do my hair myself since I only had about 45 minutes to get ready after coming back from work. I ended up doing my hair the evening before and just added the hairpiece when I was getting ready).

Traditional Wedding Attire - Inspiration (pics)

So before I chose the gold and blue as my theme colors, I was pretty much set on green and brown (green is my favorite color). But as I was constantly searching and browsing for some inspiration, I came across some pictures from a traditional wedding outfits on www.bellanaija.com.
Here they are...

Third and Last outfit (Light Gold top and blue lace)
I just thought the combination of colors was so beautiful and elegant that I decided to do something similar for my last outfit. So here is the fabric that I bought from a store owned by a nigerian lady about half an hour from where I live. It was relatively cheap compare to how pretty the lace is (or at least so I thought).

And I purchased a light gold/silver fabric for the top. And would like it to look it something like this (the woman's top of course).

Second outfit: Purple and silver dress
My second outfit inspiration came from browsing the internet and facebook. The fabric I purchased is a purple and silver ankara. I stumbled upon this and I am doing the exact replica. (The lady who is posing is also the designer, she does excellent work, and sells fabrics too. Her website is on the picture and you can also find her on facebook under the same name "T n T Fashions).

Except that the black belt will be silver in my case and I am thinking of not wearing a headtie with this (only with my last oufit), other wise what is the point and paying somebody to do my hair if it's going to be all hidden huh?!)



First Outfit: Green outfit
I purchased a green ankara for my first outfit and I saw the style in which it will be sewn at the tailor's. Not sure if I can find something similar online, but when I go for my trial I'll make sure I take a picture and post it on here. It is a fitting top and a long mermaid style skirt... and I am kinda short of words to correctly describe it. Sorry lol....

Decorated Table: the silverware (pics)

So like I had mentioned, I had bought silverware from an online store. They are the plastic silver-looking type. I got them because for 1, they are cheap, 2 they look like real silverware and that look I thought was important for an overall feel of elegance, 3 they are convenient, when we are done, all goes to the trash, not cleaning involved, and no complications with the rental company (deposit, counting etc. etc.). I realize I wouldn't have enough of them when the store rep called and told me that they had some of what I wanted on back order. I just drove to Costco and added what I needed.

So following the same Gold and Blue theme, I got some blue and gold sating lined organza ribbon. Not sure how exactly it was going to work I just kept browsing the internet for ideas until I found this

and this

So I thought I would reproduce a hybrid of both ideas. Since my tablecloths would be white, blue and gold ribbon-wrapped silverware would definitely be an added plus in terms of color on the table and the overall look.

So here is my version.

and Voila!!
There will be more blue than gold because I have more gold decoration than blue so I would like the colors to even out (even though royal blue is a little "louder" than gold especially on white).

Don't you think it's pretty and elegant and definitely less boring than lonely silverware?

The Invitations -- Did it myself! (pics)

Just like everything else I tried to stick to the royal blue and gold theme and after browsing countless templates and samples invitations, I decided that I could do my own. You probably read somewhere that it is mostly friends and families so I am not trying to have my invites look like you are going to a royalty event since that is not the case lol. I'm on a tight budget...
Anyhow, here is the process and the final results at the end of the post. Enjoy!

So I got gold cardstock from Staples. There was 8 sheet per pack and I got 3 packs. They were regular A4 paper size and I wanted my invitations about 8 per 6. So I cut 3 cards out of each sheet of gold cardstock.

I also bought some ivory linen paper from Staples and typed out what I wanted the invites to say. I typed it into 2 columns, then printed, and cut it to be smaller that the gold card.

Finally I used royal blue satin ribbon to line the invitation wording and slightly larger gold organza ribbon to make a bow at the top of the invitation.

Final result !

My sis and I doing the invitations

I also purchased ivory envelopes from Michaels (the craft store) and I got some gold spray. I sprayed the envelopes with the spray, let it dry for a few seconds, then put the invitations in there with a little RSVP card that directs the guests to our wedding website for RSVP. I close the envelope with a little gold flower with I found where I was not looking for anything like that at Staples. I thought it could be of some use. I will have to add a picture of the final envelope front and back.

 The invitations project took us (my 2 lil sis and I) about 3 evenings (I usually get home from work around 6pm). It was a fun project and I did not feel rushed at all. We came up with about 80 invitations, but we only need to send/give about 50, which are all ready.
I hope this can serve as an inspiration; it does not have to be annoying or time consuming if you planned ahead. I hate to feel stressed out especially knowing that I am doing 90% of the things on my own. So I tried to do most things way ahead of time so I know it's out of the way!