A Cinderella Night – the Love My Dress Soiree

In case you haven’t heard of it yet, Love My Dress is an amazingly beautiful wedding blog which is run by the equally beautiful Annabel. When she announced that she was going to throw a glamorous event in Gateshead, just a stone’s throw from me, I knew I had to be there. I even arranged my holidays around it! And it was absolutely worth the wait.

First, to what I wore: the dress code was ‘Glamorous, Gorgeous & Vintage Inspired.’ I knew I wanted to do a full-length gown but only had a select few around the house and no funds to buy a new one. Instead, I dyed a dress that I’ve had since I wore it to my grad ball, four years ago. As much as I love the dress there are almost no photo’s of me that night so it was nice to give it another airing. The major problem with the dress is that it was a full length, satin, ivory dress. It was almost impossible to wear it without looking like I lost my bouquet on the way to my wedding day. So I bought some grey dye and went for it in the kitchen sink!! I paired it with some teal shoes and bag that I bought for P’s sister’s wedding. I was really worried about the fit as any diet plans went out the window when I was at home on my holidays, well you can’t refuse your Mammy’s cooking, can you?

I got my make up done in the Mac counter in Fenwicks and I had the loveliest girl, also called Sarah, applying it. She encouraged me to go bolder than I would ever normally go for and I even got some false lashes for the occasion! I do not suggest wearing them while driving, between the contacts and the lashes my vision was seriously impaired! But I loved my dramatic look and it lasted all night.

My good friend and work colleague, James, put up my hair, with the benefit of added fake hair! I had scraped back and secured the front of my hair prior to going to get my face done, so he put it up in a large bun with a cute curl to the side and a hairpiece that he had created. Although I’m not a fan of my hair scraped back (it emphasises how round my face is and isn’t the most flattering on me) I loved the back and I got several compliments on it.

Two points – excuse the crap photos, I just can’t seem to work anything today and excuse my TERRIBLE posture, the halter was really tight and if I didn’t have a little hunch the thing popped open. I only discovered this on the night!

Scroll down to the next picture if you don’t want a bit TMI: I didn’t wear a bra with this dress. This is the first time since I was about 14 that I went out in public without some support but the dress was too tight around the bust with anything. Instead I used some nipple covers and a lot of tit-tape. I even danced and nothing fell out. In fact, the extra tape meant that even with the clasp on the halter snapped I didn’t get exposed before I got it back together.

And on to the main event:

The soiree was held at the Baltic, an old flour mill converted into a contemporary art gallery that sits right on the Tyne, beside the ‘blinking eye’ Millennium Bridge. I’ve even dug out some old photos of the area for you. The quayside area of Newcastle/Gateshead won’t be familiar to you if you’ve only ever visited on a hen or stag. It’s a gorgeous area that used to be the hub of the city when it relied on the ships and is now restored to it’s former glory. The glorious Sage is nearby, as is tons of gorgeous architecture and the other four bridges spanning the Tyne.

All pictures in this post by me unless otherwise stated.

Anywho, enough of the tour guide. I descended the steps to the courtyard outside of the Baltic and was guided around the side by a lovely lady in black, clearly I looked like I would fit in better around there than with the scruffy teenagers sitting on the steps! On the balcony I was greeted by a glass of bubbly provided by one of the three girls in fabulous flapper dresses, was given my name tag on a lovely peachy ribbon and – glorious!- I was on time to snatch a goodie bag! (More on the contents to come.)

The day had been one of the best we’ve had all year so the balcony was already full of glamorous people. I don’t have any pictures of the out door tables, but they were glamorous, elegant and fragrant, of course. Lots of hydrangeas. Inside was a treasure chest of lovely details, chaise lounges and gramophones.  And this hella-wonderful table:

I had some of the cherry cake pops later and they were to die for! Honestly, the best thing I tasted in aaaaages.

I was as nervous as a cat because I didn’t know anybody. Obviously I had kind of forgotten that it actually wasn’t Twitter in real life. I wasn’t sure who was who and I am a hell of a lot shyer in real life. So I wondered around for a while, just generally in awe of every thing and everyone. I felt like a kid who had sneaked into a grown-ups party, trying to see as much as I could before anyone spots me and tells my parents to take me home. The benefit of actually being a grown-up? The cocktails. There was a specially created cocktail menu and, although I’m normally nervous when presented with such a thing, I gave a few of them a go. My favourite was a ‘Raspberry Romance.’ Similar to a Kir Royale, but it had a raspberry liquor and was gorgeous. Also a tip for the wise: if you are clumsy do not drink a coloured drink out of a martini glass while attempting to walk and watch a burlesque show at the same time. You will spill pink drink all over your pretty grey dress.

Aha, yes, burlesque. Not only was the very talented Charlotte Thompson painting the very gorgeous Scarlett Daggers in a sexy feathered ensemble but the incredible Vicky Butterfly put on two fan-tastic performances. I think burlesque is a fabulously sexy art-from and was so delighted at getting to see it live as I would never be brave enough to go to a club on my own.

There was a live band, then a gramophone DJ (which was awesome, if I were getting married in the UK I would have them at the reception. If there is anyone similar in Ireland I would love to know) then later, another DJ spinning some tracks.

At the bar one of the first people I bumped into was Dominic from Cutture. The writing on the name badges, though beautiful, were hard to read so it took me a few moments to realise who he was. And then I squealed in his face. Yeah, not elegant. But I am such a huge fan of theirs. I eventually regained a little bit of composure and we talked for a little bit then went our separate ways. I also did my first bit of proper networking with the guys from Minty Slippers, a cinematic duo who seemed to be finding the whole networking thing a bit nerve-wrecking. Then we promised each other that since we did it once now, we could do it again. I started meeting loads of lovely people, including the glamorous Frankie from Love Audrey. I’d spoken to Frankie loads over twitter and have been a keen reader of her blog, so meeting her was almost like meeting an old friend. Only one I hadn’t actually seen in real life.

Me and Frankie in the Snaparazzi photo booth – aint she pretty?

I met so many wonderful people that night and I’m afraid I can’t remember everyone’s names, but Andri from Always Andri was an absolute godsend. She completely took me under her wing and even made sure I went to speak to Emma/Cloggins because I said I really wanted to. It was great to bump into a fellow TWIPS member, Bridal Musings on the dance floor as well Fifties Weddings and some crazy ladies from Manchester, Emmylou from LilyBud and Davina Vernizeau. Alex from The Bijou Bride is absolutely hilarious as well as being envy-inspiringly beautiful. Her purple (designer) dress was delicious.

There was much dancing underneath the disco-ball, which is unsurprising to anyone who knows me. The only down point was that the DJ refused to kick the beats up a notch so the boogying stayed pretty low-key. However, there were still some dancing round handbags. The most random point of the evening was definitely the two random guys who appeared on the dance floor and soon revealed themselves to be crashers! They reckoned they had just been passing by and decided to try their luck coming in, but you do not just pass by the Baltic! Thankfully they soon left again and all too soon it was time for me to leave as well. I decided to walk Frankie and Alex home and ended up leading a chip-hunt with them, Louise from Oh My Honey and… someone else, sorry! I’ve forgotten her name!

Before I left I managed to get a hug from the lady herself, Annabel. She was the perfect hostess and even though she was in constant demand, she had time and a lovely word for everyone. She also looked stunning and has the cutest children. When I’m a grown up I will throw beautiful soirées and have beautiful children and look beautiful and act beautiful.

Until then I will hopefully attend beautiful soirées, dance in beautiful dresses and go on chip-hunts with beautiful ladies!

PS: One of my favourite bits was when someone said ‘oh yes, you’re on my google reader list!’ I was floating on air, sad I know, but it’s a true story.