The Wedding Assistant : February 2014

Wednesday 12 February 2014

On The Road - Wedding Ring Shopping

Yesterday was my 6 year anniversary. To celebrate we went shopping for our wedding rings.
We both went with a clear idea of what we wanted. I wanted a white gold wedding band quite plain and engraved. My Fiancé also wanted a plain wedding band engraved.
I really liked the idea of matching rings and I wanted mine to be quite classic.
We went to a large town centre that had a wide range of jewellery shops so we could have a look at as many different options as possible. We decided not to rule anywhere out and to just wonder into every jewellers that we passed.
We started by going to F Hinds. The majority of the stock was displayed in the window so you had to shop from outside.
We walked into the store and asked to take a look at the wedding rings as we had trouble spotting them. The response from the sales assistant was welcoming but lacking any kind of service. She explained that the rings were on the bottom row... We gave up and moved onto the next jewellery shop.
The next Jewellery shop was Goldsmiths. We had a warm welcome and the team member gave us her full attention. She encouraged us to try on different styles and suggested different rings that would sit nicely with my engagement ring. They had a really good product range on display and catered for a wide range of budgets.I enjoyed the experience but wanted to visit other places so we said thank you and went carried on shopping.
The next shop we went to was H Samuel. A team member introduced herself and showed us the range of rings on offer. They had a good selection from lower budget to premium rings, which is something that I was not expecting. I used to visit H Samuel for little stud earrings when I first got my ears pierced and wrongly associated it with just that.
The service was very informative and I liked that the team member had enough confidence and product knowledge to give her own opinions. This was my favourite experience so far and we both left feeling really happy.
On to the next shop... Ernst Jones. My approach was delayed and the service I received was very minimal... I feel that even if my dream ring was there I would of thought twice about buying it as the experience and care was not what I expected...
We looked across the way and there was another H Samuel which was a lot larger than the other one so we popped in to take a look at the product range. We were greeted and given a warm welcome. The lady took us over to the wedding rings and asked lots of questions to try and see what it was that we wanted. She was full of suggestions and ideas and you could tell she really enjoyed her job and the products. We tried on a lot more rings on and finalised our ideals. The lady was really friendly and the whole process was a really happy experience.. I would recommend them to anyone looking for wedding rings as they really do cater for all budgets from the very small to premium and the personal touches can be introduced along the way.

When you are shopping for rings be sure to set your budget before you go and stick to it.. It is very easy to get caught up in the moment and over spend.
We had a 10 minute break after visiting each store to make sure that we discussing our options and had some time to reflect.
Consider what look you are going for, what metal your engagement ring is, what shape your engagement ring is and any engravings or personal touches you would like to add.
Have a look at each retailer on-line so that you have an idea of what each store stocks and the price ranges they cover.
Do not panic if the ring you want in your mind doesn't look right in reality... I wanted a plain white gold band and ended up getting a completely different ring which is also the exact opposite to my fiancés. I would compare the feeling to wedding dress shopping... you will try on a ring, fall in love and then you will stop looking!! Just keep looking until you get that feeling.
Make a day out of ring shopping. It's a personal day and should just be about the two of you.

Please share you wedding ring experience below. It would be lovely to hear a few more stories.

Have a nice day

The Wedding Assistant x

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Product Review - Benefit - They're Real Mascara

I have used a few benefit mascara's before. My favourite being Bad Girl Bad Lash mascara.

I have oily lashes and I find that a lot of mascara's glide off of my lashes and onto my face creating a not so glamourous black eye look. For this reason I tend to choose waterproof mascara's as they tend to have a stronger staying power.

Whilst purchasing my normal Bad Girl mascara the assistant recommended that I try the new They're Real Mascara. I was a bit unsure as it is not waterproof but as it is smudge proof I thought I should give it a go.

The packaging is really informative and explains how the mascara should be applied to achieve the best result and also shows a before and after photo.

I really like the silver mirror effect mascara tube. It makes a nice change from the regular black tubes and makes it nice and easy to find in the depths of your make-up bag.

The brush is a good size although the bristles were shorter than I expected. The head of the brush is flexible which was different to the mascara's I normally use. Both of these features allowed me to coat my lashes close to the lid and gave me greater control of curling and separating my lashes.

The mascara was a nice texture. My lashes felt thick and full of volume. This feeling lasted throughout the day.

4 hours after application I took a photo of my eyes and the mascara had stayed in place - No black eyes!

I would recommend this mascara to someone that wants a dramatic lash effect that will last all day. It now has a perminant home in my make-up bag.

Monday 3 February 2014

Stylish ways to keep warm / dry / cool on your wedding day

1) keep warm - If you are having a Autumn / winter wedding here are a few ideas on how to keep warm.

I Love this cape by Gilly Gray. I the feather detail is beautiful.
£160 from Notonthehighstreet.com

This shrug is from a great website. They specialise in discounted wedding dresses.
Samples Worn Once or New
this shrug is a brand new real feather discounted shrug priced at £99
http://swoonweddinggowns.co.uk/feather-bolero-i3444.html

BHS Have a wonderful selection for affordable items.
This shrug is priced at just £39.99
http://www.bhs.co.uk/

Ivory faux fur long sleeve jacket shrug bolero FB001-Ivory

This long sleeve shrug is from Etsy which is a great place to pick up unique pieces and one off bits and bobs. Priced at £62.59
http://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/62215970

2) keeping dry
There are lots of pretty umbrellas about. You can get personalised one's, lace, and all different colours and styles.
Here's a few of my favourite picks...