Ashly Rae | Beauty, Lifestyle, Health, Fitspo and inspiration: I'm Going to a Wedding

Hi all, so this weekend I went to my cousins fantabulous wedding!

It was so lovely to see all my cousins and I have A LOT! We are pretty lucky and tend to have a reunion about every 5 years which I always look forward to.

This year things haven't been too great for me so far (minus the blog and new friends) it has been a little tricky shall we say. A few months a go I was actually sure I wasn't going to go to the wedding I thought it would all be a bit much for me with all the people and the travelling (it was in Newcastle).

But as the time got closer I knew if I didn't go I would feel so crap about myself and I really didn't want to be the one who misses out on a family occasion yet again (I feel like I have missed so many already in my life). So I made the decision to pack my wee case get Poppi ready and off we went on the long drive to Newc.

I have to say the first few hours for me were NOT pleasant if I could have jumped out the car and run away I definitely would have but I stuck it through and managed to relax.

In the end I had the best time. I am so so so so so so proud of myself for going. It really has raised my confidence so much.

With all the excitement I managed to take a whole host of pictures thinking I would do one blog about it all. But as it happens there is just too many pics for one post!! Soooo I have decided I will do a 'getting ready with me' type post and then one on the venue and the actual wedding (a wedding review if you will... ha ha not really I wouldn't do that to my cousin and his beautiful bride).

So without further a do I will shut my gob and get posting piccies for you....

First thing was first. It was time to make use of the wonderfully gorgeous bath in my room. The room treats were all Molton Brown, which is fab. So I used the lovely bath foam which smelt relaxing and helped to chill me out before the pandemonium of getting ready began!

I decided to half do my hair then started doing my make up because as usual I was running out of time. I was also assisting my mum with beautifying herself, while giving her a little eyeshadow tutorial along the way. I love doing my mum's make up :-)

So I had decided to do my hair in a classic 'Hollywood icon' look with 60's curls and a flower on one side. I made sure I took plenty of product with me. I find Styling mousse and hairspray together hold my hair very well in place. The curls ended up lasting for 2 days.

Makeup, I had my heart set on bright red lips so it was more of a muted eye with a semi winger eyeliner look. I am not great at using black liquid eyeliner to create this looks so I played it quite safe using a dark eyeshadow with a thin angled brush to create the same type of look. Of course I needed some powder to keep it all in place as weddings are quite a long day. So I chose my trusty Mac Studio Fix which I find amazing. I reapplied it once half way through the day as I was getting a little shiny after dinner.

On to the dress...

I actually had my heart set on a Lipsy Millie Macintosh dress which I managed to buy on ebay but when I tried it on I realised it was just too small for me.. boo hoo! So off I popped to town in a rush with the idea set in my head that I wanted a girly/prom type dress. Then I spotted this one and fell in love. I thought it was so classic and simple. The lace at the top is just lovely. And the best part? It was only £20 in the Topshop sale... seriously I couldn't believe my luck. Amazing!

With this style and length of dress I knew I needed a black court shoe and found these lovely ones for £19 in New Look. Not the most comfortable but I managed to keep them on all day and night!

So almost ready, on to the finishing touches...

My favourite perfume at the moment, Miller Harris Coeur de Fleur, which I reviewed here, a dollop of Laura Mercier body creme in Fig, and my jewellery. This ring I bought in the Primark sale for £1 and I love it's big bold design. The pearl earrings I borrowed from my mum as I felt pearls would finish off the 'Hollywood starlet' look perfectly.

So finally ready. I think it took me about an hour 20 minutes, not at all bad...