Hello lovelies!

Ok, first things first - do not despair!! There is only one day left of the hellish month that is January, and hopefully I'm going to sort you out with a big dose of pretty today - accessories! But firstly, I must tell you about the biggest highlight of January for me - the amazing news that one of my bridesmaids, Baby Jo, got engaged over the New Year!! Wooooo!!! I'm so, so excited and happy for them both! Huge congratulations to my Baby Jo and her Simon, and all of you out there who got engaged over Christmas.

So with the arrival of Christmas Simon and I FINALLY got to go home to the UK. Not only did this mean I got to enjoy an obscene number of M&S mince pies (the less said about that, the better...) but I also had my dress fitting (pre mince-pie-binge, naturally). And the good news is, I LOVE IT! Hurrah! Yep, the wobbles that have been plaguing me for the last 6 months are finally over. Now I just have to accessorise that glorious gown!

M.A.C. Me Up

You may recall from back in my 3rd post that I'm lucky enough to have an uber-cool sister who works as a make-up artist for M.A.C. - if you're Manchester based, go say hello to her in Selfridges! Well, being the trooper that she is, Anna has very sweetly volunteered to do my make-up on the day of the wedding.

This Christmas we had a trial, and she even let me sneak in some of my favourite non-M.A.C. products; I thought I'd have a battle on my hands with that! So I figured, given that the RMW community has expressed a lot of product love on these pages, I'd share with you the results of her work. Here's what Anna used:

Eyes:

• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion over the eyelid.
• M.A.C. Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Groundwork over the eyelid.
• M.A.C. Eyeshadow in Kid applied to the socket.
• M.A.C. Eyeshadow in Mystery along the lash line and outer corner, blended out with Coquette.
• M.A.C. Eyeshadow in Patina on the lower lid, with Vanilla Eyeshadow to highlight.
• M.A.C. Blacktrack gel liner applied to the upper lash line.
• M.A.C. liner pencil in Ebony blended at the outer corner of the upper lash line.
• M.A.C. liner pencil in Ebony blended under the lower lash line with Ebony and Kid Eyeshadows.
• M.A.C. Espresso Eyeshadow to fill in the brow.

Face:

• M.A.C. Prep + Prime Natural Radiance all over as a base.
• M.A.C. Face and Body Foundation in N5 and C4, blended with a touch of Chanel Soleil Tan highlighter.
• M.A.C. Prep + Prime Highlighter in Light Boost under the eyes, followed by Pro Longwear Concealer in NW20 and NW25 for colour correction and to remove dark circles.
• M.A.C. Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark all over the face.
• M.A.C. Powder Blush in Harmony lightly applied under the cheekbone to contour the face.
• M.A.C. Powder Blush in Peaches applied as blusher.
• NARS Orgasm Illuminator applied as a highlighter along the cheekbones and under the brow line.
• M.A.C. Prep + Prime Lip Primer applied as a base, topped with lipstick in Kinda Sexy.
• Individual false eyelashes (product code 30) applied to the upper lash line.

And here are the results. Please forgive the bad pictures, I realise they are not much to go on; photographers, we are not! What do you reckon?

A Cinderella Moment?

So with a gorgeous gown in the bag and makeup sorted I just needed to make sure the rest of me was suitably accessorised...

...but I have a confession - I'm just not that into shoes! I can hear the gasps of shock coming from those of you who insisted on nothing less than Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo for your big day. Sure, I admire beautiful shoes but they've never really been a big deal for me (I can feel Simon rolling his eyes at that and pointing out that I have 24 feet of shoe rack (yep, he measured)).

I always assumed that I'd just go for some simple ivory courts, or perhaps I'd 'go crazy' and have a peep toe. But whilst I wasn't desperate for a Cinderella slipper moment, I still wanted something nice, even if just to avoid an embarrassing moment when some shoe-fiend guest (or should that be bridesmaid? Maria and Anna - I'm thinking of you two!) demands that I raise the hem of my dress to show-off what should be a killer pair of heels - I didn't want to disappoint.

After much searching I eventually found my way to Freya Rose, and the shoe lovers amongst you will be happy to hear that I suddenly really cared about shoes - a lot!

Freya is a British designer whose collection includes - I quote - "fresh-water pearls, couture Parisian lace and heels adorned in mother of pearl". Mother of pearl heels people!! How gorgeous is that?? For the first time ever I am seriously excited about a pair of shoes. Maria and Anna - be proud!

Pimp My Pea-Head

With such beautiful shoes it seemed only fitting to have an equally-as-fabulous hair piece to grace my bonce - you only do this once, right? I originally thought that I would keep this simple and just have flowers in my hair, but it dawned on me that this might not be the best idea given the potential heat in Italy in May - drooping flowers are probably not the best bridal look. Having seen many brides on these pages wearing the most beautifully ornate pieces in their hair I figured it couldn't hurt to have a look around.

Whilst I didn't know exactly what I wanted, I knew what I didn't want - bling. I know, I know, you kind of limit yourself if you want a head piece with no crystals, but it's just not me. I think they look incredible on other people, but my little pea-head would look stupid with something blingy on it. I needed something a little more delicate. Then I came across Erica Elizabeth, and oh my goodness I loved ALL of them!! Her pieces are a perfect mix of bohemian whimsy and timeless elegance. Cue a begging, pleading email to ask if this very talented lady would bring elements of all my favourite designs together into one custom piece. Luckily, she said yes! Whoop! I can't tell you how happy I am with how it turned out. I'm so excited to wear it!

To Blush Or Not To Blush...

That is the question for the veil wearing brides out there - how many of you are having a blusher over your face when you walk down the aisle? This has caused a good healthy debate amongst us Real Brides (clearly we have too much time on our hands). Some are of the opinion that it is the ultimate in bridal tradition, and that there is no sight more elegant than a bride gliding ethereally down the aisle wearing the veil over her face. Others believe that in this day and age it's inappropriate to honour a tradition that represents purity, chastity and modesty if you do not exactly... ahem... meet those "characteristics".*

It's thought the origin of the bridal veil is from a time when men would bargain with an eligible young lady's father for her hand in marriage, but it was only after the ceremony that the veil was lifted to reveal the groom's prize, at which point it was too late to back out if he wasn't all that pleased with what he saw. Times have of course moved on, and these days it is much more of a tradition for the right reasons than for the wrong - simply that they can be beautiful and the crowning glory for many brides. But I know some ladies are still put-off the idea of a blusher because of its origins.

So what are everyone's thoughts on this? Perhaps you're outright against them and find the concept of hiding your face demeaning, or maybe you are simply going for a modern look which wouldn't work with such traditional fancy. Perhaps you're having your arm twisted into it by a traditional mum, or having it requested by your priest/rabbi/imam etc. Or maybe you are simply in love with the idea and have dreamt of that moment since you were a little girl running around with a pillow case over your head! I'm curious to hear what y'all (sorry, couldn't resist a Texas-ism!) have to say.

Love Sophie x