Top tips for finding your destination wedding venue

Selecting an abroad destination to host your wedding is an exciting and daunting task all in one. Before deciding that I wanted to get married in a warmer climate I didn't really realise just how difficult it would be to find the right venue.

Weeks of trawling through the internet to find locations that were 1. the style I'm after and 2. within my budget felt like mission impossible after discovering venues that were just not right or hugely over-priced.

Having just returned from a short venue scouting trip with my mum and our wedding venue selected (EEEK) I think I've cracked the destination venue scouting code. If like myself you're hoping to not have to pay for a wedding planner I think these tips will help save you a lot of time (and stress!). Honestly though, who knew wedding planning could be so difficult even at the first stage.

Step 1: Select your location
This might seem like a really obvious statement but what I really mean is select an area within your location that you like. For me, I knew I wanted to get married in Italy but where exactly was the question. Once I whittled it down to Tuscany I thought surely this would narrow things down quite a bit but it turns out not really. Tuscany is such a vast region in Italy that spans miles across the country - it just wouldn't be realistic to visit venues across the entirety of it which is why I think selecting particular towns within your destination is important. Once you decide on the area you like best the whole process feels a lot less daunting.

Step 2: Choose your preferred style of venue
Again, it's all part of a process of elimination so knowing what style of venue you want can help narrow the search. In Tuscany for example, beautiful vineyards, stunning villas and elaborate castles are just some of the styles of venues on offer. Select one that suits your taste best and use this when searching.

Step 3: Search with different terms
One thing I found frustrating when looking for venues was how many websites I would find that showed beautiful pictures of venues without actually disclosing the name - useless to anyone like myself who's trying to plan on their own. The best way I managed to find venues via Google was by using more descriptive terms alongside my generic 'wedding venues in Tuscany' search. Words that suit the style of wedding your going for like 'whimsical', 'greenery', or 'sunset' helped produce different searches which were far more useful than the generic search term.

Utilising photographer blogs is also a huge help for finding venues. Simply search through local photographer websites - heading to their blog section - and you will find they share a lot more details on locations than anywhere else!

Step 4: Use social media
Social media was probably one of my biggest helps when finding venues and I used it in two ways.

The first, to see more pictures of venues I had already found. Looking through a venues social channels gives you a better visual of what it's really like than you can find on their websites.

The second is as a search tool. Head to Instagram and search through various hashtags and you'll soon find yourself stumbling across plenty of potential venues. I used hashtags such as #TuscanyWedding #MyTuscanyWedding #WeddinginTuscany, you get the gist. Once you find pictures of places you like I would then recommend looking through their checked-in pictures to see a whole bunch more. Once you have the name of the venue you like you can also use this in a hashtag search to see many more pictures!

I hope these tips help with finding the perfect destination venue for you! 

I'm planning on sharing all the deets on the venues we visited in Italy earlier this week very soon!

Until then.

xoxo

My Botox Experience: What it's really like

If you follow me on Instagram you may be aware that I recently underwent my first non-surgical cosmetic treatment at Therapie Clinic. That's right, I took the plunge and voluntarily signed myself up to get numerous needles pricked into my face in the name of all things beauty.

I knew I couldn't get botox and not share my complete and honest experience of what it's really like, especially for anyone out there that's considering the treatment. I also vlogged the experience (eeeek) so don't leave before checking that out below :)

Let's just start out by saying that I'm an absolute convert. Pre-botox I actually wasn't really sure I was ready or 'at that stage' as i didn't have deep ingrained wrinkles on my forehead however I can't believe the difference the treatment has given to my face in the most subtle way. Read on to find out why I won't be turning my back on this treatment anytime soon.

So WHY. Why botox at the tender age of 28?
Well, for me, I had considered it as something I would get for my wedding to make sure I looked and felt as flawless as I possibly could. I knew however that I would need to try it in advance to decide if I liked it or not, so now felt like the perfect time. Finally, and most importantly, fine lines and wrinkles had started to develop on my face, particularly around my eyes, and this treatment was one proven way of stopping them in their tracks.

Where did you get it done?
I headed to Therapie Clinic in Glasgow's city centre - based on St Vincent Street - and I couldn't recommend their service enough. Considering that this was my first experience of anything like this and I'm a textbook scardey cat, the therapist I worked with done wonders to put my mind at ease. Their experience and responsible approach to cosmetic treatments is exactly what you want when signing up for a treatment like this.

What was it really like?
As mentioned, I'm pretty much scared of any kind of pain. Don't even try to pinch me and expect me to not over-react about how painful it was. Seriously though, getting an ear piercing even scares me silly so the thought of getting multiple needles pricked into my head, BY CHOICE, was something I couldn't really process.

I was nervous about the treatment the entire morning leading up to my appointment. When I arrived I was sweating quite a bit and my nerves only heightened as I jumped onto the treatment bed. Thankfully the pain was not even a fraction of what I imagined it would be.

Firstly, my therapist asked me to wiggle my face around so she could establish which areas needed to be focused on before she rubbed some alcohol wipes across my head to give it a good clean. Next, she drew little white dots on the areas she was going to target and talked me over her approach to check I was happy with everything.

Now it was time for the dreaded injections.

The injection had the tiniest needle I have ever seen and the pain accurately reflected this. It basically feels like a tiny prick on your skin that stings for no more than one, maybe two seconds max. The sorest area for me was definitely around my eyes - apparently this is because the skin in this area is finer and therefore more sensitive to pain. I'd say on a level of 1-10 for pain, the forehead was around a 2 and the eyes were verging on a 4. It may even be less than that but I'll go with that to be safe.

All in all, my treatment lasted about 40 minutes with around 10 minutes of that being the actual injections. It really is a super quick and easy treatment and like myself, you can head straight back to work and get on with your day as you would normally. I had little red bumps across my head immediately after but these faded pretty quickly.

Over the next 24-48 hours it felt very obvious that I had done something to my skin. It's hard to explain but the best way I can describe it is that my forehead felt present. I was very aware that the Botox was sitting under my skin - definitely a strange feeling but thankfully this passes in a day or two.

How long does it take to kick in? 

My botox started to kick in after 3-4 days which is a little quicker than average. Generally I think this can take up to 2 weeks to fully take effect.

What are the results like? 

As expected, my head and eye area have 'frozen' to a certain degree. I say certain degree as I can still move my face as I would have before, the only difference is that my skin doesn't crinkle together and therefore doesn't wrinkle. I also look a little glowy-er which I LOVE. I mean, who doesn't want their skin glowing?! And lastly, I think my eyebrows have raised ever so slightly which makes my eyes look more awake.

All in all I'm obsessed with the results this quick and mostly painless treatment gives you. I couldn't recommend it enough and I've already convinced a few of my friends that it's something they will love.

And finally, how much does it cost? 

For three areas (forehead, frown line and around the eyes) the treatment costs £199. Definitely not a cheap treatment to get but it's absolutely worth every penny.

So there we have it - my complete botox experience. I hope you enjoyed this type of post (and my first video!), please don't hesitate to ask me any questions you have about what it's like to get botox.

Until next time....

xoxo

Hello Autumn: What's new

Hey, hi, hello! It's been a hot minute, eh? I feel like I've lost all concept of time recently. Somehow months are feeling like weeks and weeks are merging into long blurry days. Anyone else think September was the fastest month in all of history!?

I'm feeling ready to get back into all things blogging (finally!) and thought before I dived straight in I would give all you lovely readers a bit of a life update. Plus, I'm not gonna lie, myself and Victoria spent an hour last Saturday capturing some new blog pictures and I didn't really have a post in mind so here we are (hehe).

So, what's been happening since we last spoke. Lemme think.....

For starters, I've actually been spending quite a bit of time looking into wedding venues. It's been a long time coming but the wedding bug has settled in and I find myself following more and more wedding Instagram pages as the days pass. Venue hunting in a location you've never actually visited before is HARD but we're getting there. My goal is to plan a venue scouting trip in the next few months and (hopefully) book somewhere we love before March next year. That's it. The goal has been set. Better get to work...

I've attended a few fashion events over the last month and they've been the perfect way to get into the A/W mode. First up was the launch of the new Gretna Gateway Gold Membership card. If  like me you've never heard of/visited them before they're a designer outlet based in Gretna Green. Apparently the outlet is amazing for some real bargains. Victoria, Rachel and I are planning a Christmas shopping road trip here in the very near future so watch out for that post!

I also headed along to the intu Braehead A/W event. The centre set up a beautiful fashion hub (my best attempt at describing it) with the cutest blossom tree smack bang in the middle. We checked out some amazing bargains that I can't wait to update my wardrobe with. Check out my Instagram post from the event here in case you missed it.

I'm featured in this months Scottish Wedding Directory magazine and I couldn't be more excited about it. I contributed to a feature on feeling camera confident with my top tips for all brides-to-be. If you spied me in the magazine I'd love to hear about it :)

Last but not least, I tried something completely out of my comfort zone this month - botox! This was probably the most daring/edgy thing I've ever done so to say I was nervous is an absolute understatement. I don't want to go into too much detail on this yet as I'm planning on sharing a full blog post very soon but what I will say is that I'm in love with the results! I headed to Therapie Clinic for my treatment and the process from start to finish was brilliant. BUT as I said, more on that soon.

Oh, before I go, I just want to take a moment to appreciate my absolute new favourite jumper. I picked this up in H&M last week while they had 20% and have no regrets. I paired the jumper with my trusty Zara ripped jeans, Ego Gucci-inspired slip-ons and a borrowed baker hat from my sister. A really simple, easy but chic look and I love it.

Until next time.

xoxo