As my second career as a qualified bridesmaid comes to an end (see this post for more information), not only am I lamenting the passing of glorious weddings filled with excitement and colour, but also the loss of the rite of passage that is the hen night. It’s been my privilege to help organise five of these fun celebratory events, the most recent of which took place back in April. My lovely school friend Emma, who got married at the beginning of May, was whisked away for a surprise hen weekend in Oxford. We spent a glorious Saturday afternoon cruising along the river Thames, drinking wine and playing games, which was topped off perfectly by an hilarious outing to the Oxford comedy club (minus the mildly terrifying racist woman).

Alongside the traditional hen weekend games; establishing how well the bride-to-be knows her hubby, establishing how well the guests know the bride-to-be etc... I decided to include a more novel competition... working with the wonderful girls at Upper Street I created a shoe design studio for all the hens to design the perfect pair of shoes for the soon-to-be Mrs Hamilton! 

The Challenge...
All the hens were tasked with designing the perfect pair of shoes for Emma to wear on her honeymoon to Italy. The style of shoe, colour, material and embellishments were entirely up to them. At the end of the weekend Emma would choose her favourite design (without knowing who had designed it), the winner would receive a prize and (unbeknownst to Emma) the winning design would actually be made into a pair of shoes for her to keep.

I set up an area in one of the hotel rooms to be used as the design studio. Upper Street had kindly sent me some graphics which decorated the wall and offered some design inspiration. I downloaded their app onto my iPad, plonked a bottle of wine next to it (drinking wine and designing shoes - I can’t imagine a better combination!) and let the girls go to town on their designs. Here are the final six that Emma had to choose from:

On Sunday morning we showed Emma the final designs and she chose the winner... which was the amusingly named Monkey shoes! The winning designer was the lovely Jo and here she is with Emma and her design.

The shoes arrived about four weeks later and I was delighted to present them to Emma last night. The quality has to be seen to be believed. Both Emma and I spent an inordinate amount of time looking over the shoes and commenting about how amazing it was that they could custom-make them exactly to the design.

The whole process was really enjoyable and everyone relished taking part. That being said... a bunch of girls on a hen weekend... designing shoes... it’s never going to fail as an idea is it?!

The real beauty of Upper Street is the vast range of styles and designs that you can choose from, the options are essentially endless and I can get lost for several hours designing all manner of shoes. As a gift for a bride-to-be or even a mother-to-be, unique shoes designed by their friends and family is a wonderful idea and something they'll get to treasure forever.

It undoubtedly goes without saying that I'm a big fan of designer fashion, but buying designer items is something that I consider a once-in-a-while treat, rather than a daily luxury. Most of my actual clothes come from Mint Velvet the high street and fairly frequently from Sainsbury’s TU range. 

Sainsbury's is my local supermarket and TU is my favourite of all the supermarket established clothing brands. I have blogged about several of the pieces that I've picked up whilst doing the weekly shop, it’s all too tempting just to have a quick look whenever I'm there - my husband now gets concerned whenever I offer to nip out for a pint of milk! It was as a result of this little shopping habit that I happened across the Sainsbury's Facebook page a couple of weeks back. It had popped up in my feed asking for people to submit photos of themselves wearing items from the TU range to win £50 to spend at Sainsbury's. I jumped at the chance and quickly dug out my outfit photos and choose my favourites to upload. A week or so later I was delighted to receive an email to tell me that they had chosen my photo to be featured on their TU Styles Stars gallery and that a £50 voucher would be in the post shortly.

Shortly after my voucher arrived it occurred to me that it’s been a while since I did a challenge post and I saw a brilliant opportunity to challenge myself to get an outfit from the TU range for £50. I spent about an hour browsing the collection at my local Sainsbury's last Tuesday evening – the sales assistants began to look quite concerned when I made my forth trip to the changing rooms... Very conveniently they happened to be running a 25% off TU clothing and accessories promotion, which helped me to get the most out of my £50 budget. The first item that caught my attention was the geometric printed trousers, I tried them on, instantly loved them and decided to shape the rest of my outfit around them. The top was a complete bargain, already £7 in the sale, it came out at £5.25 with the 25% off! The colour of the cardigan is what drew me to that, a wonderful shade of perky pink that lifts the outfit without detracting attention from the trousers. The last item I chose were the turquoise wedges, I spent quite a bit of time browsing the footwear section and it wasn't until the last minute that I settled on this pair. I'm delighted I did as they look great with the trousers and complement the pink cardigan perfectly.

My spending tally looked like this:

Trousers - £22, £16.50 less 25%
Top - £7, £5.25 less 25%
Cardigan - £18, £13.50 less 25%
Wedges - £20, £15 less 25%

Altogether I spent £50.25. Slightly over by £0.25, but I'm not going to complain too much about that!

This month marks the end of an era for me, in more ways than one. Not only am I turning 30 at the beginning of June, but I'm also wrapping up my second career as a professional bridesmaid/maid of honour (I know I should really be a ‘matron of honour’ as I'm married, but I’d like to avoid any association to the word ‘matron’ this close to my 30th birthday).

Being a bridesmaid is an honour, not only do you get to spend the morning with the bride herself, but you get to enjoy the entire day with the happy couple, helping to make it as special as possible for them both. Since July 2011 I have had the pleasure and the privilege of being part of four wonderful weddings. First was my brother’s wedding to my now sister-in-law Faye, I was delighted when they asked me to share their day with them and I especially enjoyed getting to know Faye’s sister Rachel during the build-up and on the day itself. Second was my husband’s brother’s wedding to the lovely Lucy (who has popped up more than once in my posts and videos), a truly spectacular day and an equally brilliant party. This was followed by my friend from school’s wedding, at which I was delighted to take up the role of maid of honour. This was my first winter wedding and it was full of snowflakes and sparkles, which suited the bride perfectly. Last, but by no means least was my oldest friend Emma’s wedding on the Saturday just past. The weather was a concern, but we needn't have worried, the sun came out from behind a cloud and provided the perfect accompaniment to their gorgeous church wedding.

For the time being at least, that is my short-lived bridesmaid career over. From planning hilarious hen weekend activities (singing on the pier in Brighton, overflowing a hot tub and drinking pints of wine in a field…) to helping ensure that the wedding day runs as smoothly as possible (make-up touch ups, dress bustling and general ferrying), being a bridesmaid may not be a challenging occupation, but it certainly requires both passion and diligence.

Since this is predominately a fashion website, it would be wrong not to acknowledge the fabulous dresses that I've worn over the past two years. All from the high-street and all equally lovely. First was a dress from L.K. Bennett for my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding, bought in their Christmas sale it was a veritable bargain. Next up was the first of my turquoise dresses, this one was from Phase Eight and on top of being wonderfully comfortable, it was surprisingly resilient to creases (always helpful when travelling any distance for a wedding). My second turquoise dress was found rather unexpectedly while browsing through the rails of Marks & Spencer with the bride-to-be. Yet another beautiful dress costing a fraction of the price that you might pay at a specialist bridesmaid dress store. The latest addition to my collection is another sale bargain discovered by the bride in House of Fraser's evening dress range. A wonderfully elegant empire line dress in a delicate sage green colour.

I've been very blessed to know four wonderful brides that have all chosen beautiful dresses for me to wear and I hope I have proved equal to the task of being their bridesmaids. Thank you to Faye, Lucy, Claire and Emma for letting me be a part of some truly extraordinary occasions. Here's wishing each of you your happily ever after.

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With the summer season just a couple of months ahead, people are starting to look toward warm weather fashion trends to update their wardrobes. Of course, every year we see constant advertisements for the latest fashions and trends in basic clothing. But sometimes it is a trendy accessory or two that can truly put your summer image. For example, consider something like a nice new pair of designer sunglasses to pull your look together when the sun is shining.

The trouble with sunglasses, for many people who are generally very fashion-conscious, is that they can be tricky if you rely on corrective vision. A need for prescription eyeglasses can greatly reduce the number of options you have when picking out sunglasses! However, if you already wear, or may be inclined to switch to Acuvue contact lenses, you will unlock a whole new range of possibilities for fashionable summer eyewear. Here are five top trends for designer sunglasses this coming summer.

Stripes
Bright and bold sunglasses frames are very popular for spring and summer 2013, and within this concept, striped frames have been very present on the runways. Prada put out some particularly bold looks, and though the striped frames trend works almost exclusively for women, it will still be noteworthy once people are hitting the beaches in a few months. Specifically, white stripes on bold and bright coloured frames are looking popular, and inspire a sort of retro look.

Neutral Colours
While bold and bright colours are trendy in basically all aspects of fashion for spring and summer 2013, neutral colours were also prevalent on runways in early spring. Nude and cream-coloured frames can look very casual and classy with the right beach clothing ensemble, and a set of these frames is certainly a great accessory to have on hand.

All-White
Also in contrast to the bright and colourful style trends, all-white frames with dark lenses will always be fashionable, and have been on runways looking forward to spring and summer 2013. These frames, too, inspire a bit of a vintage, retro feel that can have you looking like a Bond girl, but are perfect for those bright sunny days by the beach.

Snake Skin Patterns
If you're looking for something a bit more unique this coming beach season, consider one of the many snake skin design frames that are making the rounds. Victoria Beckham provides a great example in an aviator style frame with delicate snake patterns, and a set of frames like these can certainly give you something a bit more original in your collection.

All-Black
Always a favourite among trendy men, all-black frames will never go away, and have certainly shown that they will have a presence in the spring and summer of 2013. In all different styles from all different designers, black frames will always be an option.

* Guest editorial *