Bridesmaids @ Wedding Bells Spa & Salon

Wedding Bells Bridesmaids at our spa & salon for their makeup and hair. Enjoy the photos. XOXO - The Wedding Bells Team

A precious gift for a priceless friendship

Thank your bridesmaids with Australian opals

The amount of time, money and effort your bridesmaids have invested in making your wedding a memorable event is absolutely priceless.

Having true friends who are willing to put up with your emotional outbursts and planning dramas for months is a true blessing when you’re a bride. Friends who have the patience to debate hydrangeas vs freesias for the bouquets; spending Saturdays driving around with you to find the perfect veil ... well, only soul mates will do that for you.

While wedding etiquette dictates these and more are just some of your bridesmaids’ informal duties during the lead-up to your special day, the truth is that bridesmaids today usually go far beyond traditional expectations to make your day memorable.

Throughout weeks and months of trials and tribulations, these special ladies can become your colour consultants, fashion advisers, design gurus, food critics and every now and then, your counselors, too. There’s no doubt that your bridesmaids’ untiring support and affection deserve a lot more than just a hug and a kiss on the cheek when it’s all over.

Give whole-hearted thanks with a unique gift

Besides being an honour and an opportunity to spend endless hours of fun plotting a wedding event with their best friend, becoming a bridesmaid is a long term commitment of their time and, very often, their finances. So when it’s the bride’s turn to express your gratitude, don’t cut corners.

Many brides treat their bridesmaids to a special girls’ night out close to the wedding day itself, using the occasion to finally relax and show appreciation for their help. It can also be the ideal time to personally reward them with a special gift.

The more personal that gift, the better. Jewelry is a popular choice as a bridesmaid thank you present. Opal stones in jewelry, by their nature, ensure that each gift is unique – a one-off symbol representing a one-of-a-kind friendship.

A symbol of appreciation from Mother Nature

For Australian brides, opal jewelry will not only add a stylish, contemporary touch to your gift but it will afford you the option to match the design and type of stone to each of your bridesmaids’ taste, sense of fashion, and personality.

Not unlike your friends, every one of these rare Australian gems are, quality gifts designed by Mother Nature to be passed on to future generations. Opals are not only rare because they display such vibrant, swirling colours. Found in three isolated area in the Australian outback, opals command prices similar to the finest emeralds, rubies and diamonds.

Opals can also be matched to a person’s characteristics and are said to even accentuate or improve some of the aspects of their lives. Legend has it that Common Opal, for instance, stimulates feelings of self-worth and helps improve relationships; Boulder Opal boosts mental lucidity, spiritual progression and enhances emotional security.

Selecting the perfect opal gift

Almost every wedding budget becomes stretched and challenged, the closer you get to your big day, but the good news for brides is you’ll find the right opal jewelry to present as thank you gifts, no matter how much or how little money you still have available to spend.

At Opals Australia, for example, you’ll find elegant and eye-catching contemporary pieces that make ideal gifts, from just $100. You’ll be able to consider your bridesmaids’ fashion sense with the piece’s design – whether casual or formal – and meet their preference for a setting in either silver or gold.

Whether your bridesmaids prefer pendants to earrings or a bangle to a bracelet, contemporary opal jewelry ranges will surprise you with their fashionable looks. When you’ve made your choices, take the time to include a hand-written personal letter to accompany your thank you gift and you’ll take a place in your friends’ hearts for good.

Modern range with something for everyone

Bracelets

Your maid-of-honour is the person who’s seen you through many highs and lows. She deserves a real treat and a special token of your appreciation. So, if your budget allows it, a sterling silver light opal doublet bracelet (as shown, for $498) – or a similar elegant bracelet from the Opals Australia range – is a fabulous way to give well-deserved thanks with style.

Rings

A gift of this exquisite Light Opal Doublet Ring is an ideal representation of your commitment to each other as friends. Just like the bond made by exchanging rings during your wedding ceremony, this piece demonstrates how you and your bridesmaid are bound by eternal friendship. This fashionable design is one of many in the range that is fresh, fun and versatile.

Earrings

At $128, these chic drop earrings are a quality addition to a friend’s collection and a gift your earring-loving friend will treasure. This contemporary design features a slice of precious light crystal opal enhanced by bonding ironstone to the back to give the stone a black or ‘boulder’ opal look. Perfect for either casual or formal wear, these earrings suit a vibrant personality who enjoys a dash of style.

Pendants

Your bridesmaids are sure to adore this contemporary and cheeky fishbone design, one in the extensive range of opal pendants at Opals Australia ($108).  Your bridesmaid can wear this bright and eye-catching piece formally or informally, as well as to work. The solid inlay light crystal opal pendant will be a conversation piece everywhere she goes.

Opals: a busy bride’s solution to saying ‘Thank You’ with style

Making the final decision on any aspect of your wedding plans is a relief that lets you move on to the next item on your full list of tasks. Selecting contemporary opal jewelry as bridesmaid gifts is a choice that won’t fail to satisfy all requirements – budget, taste and personal care.

Opals Australia

For classic and unique mementos of your wedding that reflect your gratitude towards those truly special friends, visit the Opals Australia website. Browse through their modern opal jewelry designs any time it suits your busy schedule. You can even buy direct, online, with free and secure shipping provided for orders valued at over $200. 

A Glorious Kitchen Tea

As many of you may already know, our very own Yasmin is about to get married! On the 23rd of November 2013, yes only 10 days time, she will wed the man of her dreams. In keeping with tradition, Yasmin's bridal party and family threw her an amazing surprise kitchen tea filled with colour, gorgeous flowers and lots of fun games. Her reaction to the surprise was priceless.

Losing 'Bridezilla' to find your inner 'Bridecess'

Yes we made it up, but ‘Bridecess’ is our new favourite word!

... February is upon us and it has prompted our thoughts turn to wedding trends and ideas for 2013.

Now this may be somewhat controversial given the society we live in, our love of good drama and the popularity of some TV shows, but it is our belief (The Wedding Gurus) that

‘Bridezilla’ is well and truly OUT!

Being a bride has always carried with it a certain elegance and beauty that those of us who have not been lucky enough to walk down the aisle can only dream of experiencing.

We imagine ourselves moving graciously down the flower adorned aisle or pathway to join our handsome waiting groom as all our guests and loved ones look on in awe and shed a tear in response to the heart warming exchange between the man and his soon to be bride - the love of his life.

With this in mind, how then did it ever become fashionable to transform into what we know as 'Bridezilla'?

The word itself brings to mind a horrific picture: A bride in a huge flouncy dress screaming and frothing at the mouth as others try desperately to tame and calm her outbursts. Is it really ever pleasant to have people see us this way on what should be our time to really shine?

Lets be real. Do you honestly want to be seen as an out of control, screaming, nasty bride to be, so feared by not only your bridesmaids, but also your friends and family that by the time the big day arrives they would much rather suffocate you than be part of your special day?

Or do you want to aspire to the persona of someone like Princess Kate Middleton who showed courtesy and good manners to all those around her and pulled it all off with such elegance and class?

We want to convince every one of you to aspire to be a gorgeous and glowing bride, one that is calm, in control and who leaves every person in the room thinking what a perfect choice the groom has made.

Let the single ladies wish they were you and the single men wish they had found you first. Let the elderly people comment on your manners and decorum, while the married women wish they had been so gracious on their wedding day. Let your parents burst with pride at what a great job they have done and your in-laws feel grateful for the daughter they are gaining. Let your bridesmaids feel excited and priveledged to have such a great friend and to have had an absolutely fabulous time helping you with this wedding. But most of all ,let your groom feel that he is absolutely the luckiest man alive to be the one standing beside you.

So......ditch that old Bridezilla (its so 2012) and find your inner Bridecess. Your friends, family, bridesmaids and soon to be husband will all thank you for it.


We’ve put together a few ways that we think you can achieve the true title of ‘Bridecess’

1. Accept the fact that things will go wrong, they always do but it is the way you react to it that will determine whether it complete ruins your wedding or is remembered as merely a road bump on the way to a perfect day.

2. Surround yourself with loving and supportive people who will be there to help you and remind you of the real meaning of the day.

3. Be organised, plan and work out every detail so that nothing can pop up and stress you out.

4. Scheduling 'you' time that does not involve wedding planning and is relaxing and uplifting.

5. Throw out all the old sayings you have heard –
"You cant please them all so just please yourself",
"You can pick your friends but you cant pick your relatives".
“Weddings are as stressful as a death in the family"
All of these statements carry some degree of truth, but if you approach wedding planning in this negative frame of mind you will feel nothing but stress and anxiety. Of course you have to think about your guests and wedding party, it’s primarily your day but they are all playing a part and deserve to enjoy it too.

6. Lastly but most importantly don’t forget that you are a couple and this is supposed to be the happiest day of both of your lives. Imagine how it feels to be a groom about to marry his true love only to see her go from being his princess to a total out of control train wreck.

Do you want your tantrums, tears and bad behaviour to be etched in the memories of your guests when they recall your wedding day or do want them to be using you as their example when they begin planning their day?

The Wedding Gurus
xxx