sister shortland

last week this incredible and very talented lady passed away and dozens of lds girls in wa felt the world grow a little dimmer. erica shortland made hundreds of dresses over the years, my wedding and bridesmaid dresses included.

all of the dresses in this picture other than my flower girl lauras (which was made by my mum) were made by this amazing lady. she managed to make so many, to all be exactly what we wanted and always made them happen, no matter the time restraints, your budget and how many you needed. she was quite simply a magician.

not only that, she was so incredibly kind. in the fifteen years i have known her, she has always found the time to say hello and ask how i am, even in the last few years when her voice hadn't been as strong as it once was.

i loved this dress and the lady who spent hours making it for me. she was just a wonderful lady and i will certainly miss seeing her at the landis get-togethers we are often invited to.

thank you for my dress dear sister shortland.

i will be eternally grateful. 

guess the dress: a relief society additional meeting

this week we had our additional meeting for may, our first (of hopefully many combined with the young women):

guess the dress

oh my word... it was a hoot! our activities committee collected 18 wedding dresses from sisters of all ages in our ward to be used in a catwalk show. our young women and recently married YA modelled them, and the rest of the sisters attending were given a list of whose they might be, to guess as we went along.

the ward young women president (one of my closest friends - made organising the evening a piece of cake!) and i introduced the evening with the following:

The focus of our evening is to mostly have some fun, and as we the older generation remember our wedding days, we also allow the YW to look forward to theirs. As you know, when you attend a fashion show, you receive a gift bag, so you’ll each find a gift bag on your chair with a few little items to help you through your day.

One of my favourite fashion bloggers: Corinne Stokoe is a member of our faith and gave a beautiful quote when interviewed for a piece a few months back. She said: “Modesty is important to me, not because I feel like I need to be a prude or even just because it was a part of my culture growing up. Modesty is something I choose because to me, it feels classy and timeless. I feel strongly that every time I dress modestly it means I’ll never have to look back on that photo and wish I had exemplified something different for my children, or grandchildren. It might not always be popular or put you at the best chance of succeeding in today’s world, but I choose modesty because it feels most genuinely true to who I really am, and who I’m trying to be, for my family and for my own self worth. Being a lady means to feel confident, classy and comfortable in whatever you choose to wear. Because I’m a lady I choose to dress modestly.”

As you know, we encourage the women of our church to dress modestly, and I couldn’t agree with that statement more. Modesty is not only about respect for your body and your appearance, it’s respect for yourself! I know each of the dresses we will see tonight are a wonderful example of modesty. 

In 2009 the YW general presidency added an 8th value, virtue. Virtue is behaviour showing high moral standards. In Proverbs 31:10 it says: Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. It also says in the 13th Article of Faith: if there is anything virtuous lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. 

Temple marriage or marriage at ALL may not be a possibility for everyone, but it’s something we as members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strive for. A marriage that lasts beyond this life, and remains for time - and all eternity. If we keep the Temple in our sights, we will achieve great things. A wise man once said, “keep your eyes on the prize and your mind on your goal.” Don’t wait for the right one, BE the right one. 

Thank you all for attending tonight, for the gorgeous girls who will walk down the aisle in our dresses and for you amazing women entrusting your precious memories to be worn by another.

sisters arrived,had a glass of “bubbles” and took a seat by the catwalk, each receiving a gift bag on their chair. (free printable for bag can be found here)

 

each sister also received a wedding favour as she left at the end of the evening, a bag with caramel fudge

after each round we had a reveal via a slideshow on a projector, with wedding photos of each sister, then refreshments (a grazing platter after round one 

and wedding cake after round two - we had our presidency cut the cake then handed it out). 

we also had someone throw a bouquet into the young women and single sisters.

we received one dress which the owner preferred wasn't worn, this was displayed on a mannequin, with a chance to guess the owner and year of her wedding.

it was honestly one of the best activities i’ve ever been to. it was a laugh a minute (especially as we discovered some of our young women had quite the dramatic streak) with memories galore. well worth the effort.

greenmount guess the dress

last night i had the absolute pleasure of being invited to the greenmount ward young womens new beginnings activity - "guess the dress"

my gorgeous niece laura called and invited me to be there and i am so glad i made the trip - as it was truly an amazing night...

the young women from the ward had approached the relief society sisters and asked to borrow some dresses from significant moments in their lives (wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses, ball gowns, debutante dresses) to showcase them in a fashion parade - where those attending would "guess the dress" from a list of names, for who had originally worn it.

it was such a thrill for me (and i am sure laura's mum donna - who is married to my oldest brother - and grandmother) when she was the first one out... wearing her grandma pam's 50 year old wedding dress. was so so cute and i couldn't help but snap a few pics of her in it to keep.

  

was such an awesome idea for an activity, i wish i had have thought of it when i was in young womens...

i then found out from pam (donna's mum) just after that their wedding anniversary for 50 years is next year and that a big as party is going to be in the works... can hardly wait - pam and bob have been friends with our family as long as i can remember, and what a milestone to celebrate! ♥ they were the first couple to get married in the dianella chapel (our ward - next to the perth temple!) which had not long been finished. little piece of history right there!