Here It From Me! Wedding Party 2012

Wedding Party 2012 from Well Spun Wedding Films on Vimeo.

Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion

From the Victoria and Albert Museum
 London

Presented at The Museum

of New Zealand,

 Te Papa Tongarewa

Te Papa is situated in the heart of Wellington, New Zealand

Romance

Glamour

Extravagance

Dita Von Teese on her wedding day, 2005. Dress by Vivienne Westwood, hat by Stephen Jones. Photograph by and courtesy of Odessy Barbu.

On Now until 22 April 2012
Admission charges apply

If you are in New Zealand or visiting New Zealand before 22nd April 2012 taking a visit to this exhibition is well worth the effort.

Experience the evocative world of weddings through this extraordinary collection of wedding attire from the 19th century to today. See outfits inspired by tradition, practicality, fashion, fantasy – and, of course, love.

Wedding dress and coat designed by John Bates for his Jean Varon label, London, 1966. Cotton gabardine trimmed with silvered PVC. Worn by Marit Allen for her marriage to Sandy Lieberson in London on 10 June 1966. ©Victoria and Albert Museum

Embroidered silk satin wedding dress by Norman Hartnell, London, 1933. Commissioned by Margaret Whigham for her marriage to Charles Sweeny on 21 February 1933. Given and worn by Margaret, Duchess of Argyll. ©Victoria and Albert Museum / V&A Images

Highlights include celebrity gowns by stellar international designers such as Norman Hartnell, Vivienne Westwood, and Christian Lacroix. Also on show are special commissions by New Zealand designers WORLD, Lindah Lepou, and Jane Yeh.

How is it that the traditional western European white wedding dress has become the garment of choice for brides in many countries and cultures? And what do wedding dress styles say about the social and economic conditions of their day? You'll learn some of the answers from this magnificent display.

Embroidered silk wedding dress by Christian Lacroix, Paris, Autumn/Winter 1992-93 Haute Couture. Given by Christian Lacroix. Photograph by Guy Marineau © 1992

Silk brocade shoes purchased from Peter Robinson, London, 1914. Worn by Phyllis Blaiberg for her marriage to Bertie Mayer Stone at the Bayswater Synagogue, London on 9 September 1914. Given by Mrs B. Rackow ©Victoria and Albert Museum / V&A Images

Francis Hooper, Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, and Benny Castles discuss their inspiration for the outfits that appear in Unveiled. Plus, we peek backstage as the dress is prepared for its debut at New Zealand Fashion Week. 

More pictures, videos of interviews with designers, recordings by the curator of the museum and much more is available on their website. Even if you can't make it to Wellington to see this exhibition it is definitely worth a visit to their website:

http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/WhatsOn/exhibitions/WeddingDress/Pages/default.aspx

Fit Healthy and Fantastic!

Looking for that healthy and fit look for your weddingday that will have all eyes on you?

An early focus on increasing fitness or beginning yourpath to a realistic and sustainable weight management plan can optimize yourhealth and ensure you are looking fit, healthy and glowing on your wedding day.

Developing agood fitness level does not start or stop at the gym door, it involves being more active.

In general suchas climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator, moving around instead ofsitting still, sitting up instead of lying down as well as showing someexcitement and enthusiasm instead of boredom. Every mile starts with a step.

Now that we got our first step right, lets move on tothe next one. This preferably involves a personal health assessment with yournaturopath or doctor, then a visit to your personal trainer for an exerciseplan & goal setting session. A personalized approach rather than a genericone is most likely to bring successful outcome. A lifestyle counselor or life coach can also be of help with goalsetting and positive reinforcement. 

If you think you can achieve your goal using those ‘fancy’starvation diets as a way to control your weight, think again. People who diet without exercisingoften gain weight with time. Although your weight may initially drop while ‘dieting’,such weight loss consists mostly of water and muscle. When the weight returns,it comes back as fat.

The right wayto avoid gaining weight over time is to increase your metabolism by exercisingregularly. When you exercise especially during long lowimpact sustained activities such as walking, your body creates a fat-breaking enzymecalled “hormone sensitive lipase”.

Studies have revealed thatthis fat breaking enzyme is active for up to twelve hours from the momentit has been triggered. The same enzyme is also involved in cleaning all bloodvessels of fatty plaques and deposits. So, no amount or type of dieting willproduce all the positive results you are looking for, unless you exercise.

Start a fitness & diet journal to keep track ofyour food intake and exercise schedule.

Do not skip meals - skipping meals lowers yourmetabolism, decreasing energy, slowing weight loss and also decreasing yourability to use food to your advantage, you may even gain weight by skippingmeals. Regularity is the key here, your body likes rhythm.

Make food fun and exciting; eat fresh, small regularmeals. Breakfast on sensational ‘energy smoothies’ with fresh fruits or ½ cupof porridge.  After breakfast give yourself an half an hour break than head to the gym or local park for a highenergy/power or tone/muscle focused workout, start your day with power!

Lunch on salads, fruits or soups, eat fresh cheese ornuts for protein, try to avoid breads and pastries, for beverages use water(your body is 75% water), fresh juices and supplementation. Seek support foryour weight management journey, whenever needed use your team of professionals- no need to ‘go it alone'.

Late afternoon or evening, go for a walk or jog,attend a class or visit your personal trainer before preparing a healthy dinnerwith plenty of fresh vegetables.  Dinneris a great chance to share achievements of the day with a friend or chroniclethem in your fitness journal.

Regular exercise will not only have you looking goodat your wedding today but it will have reaching effects right through your lifeas it will prevent

·              Obesity          

·              Mental IIlness                      

·              Breast Cancer                                 

·              Injury

·              Cardiovascular Disease

·              ColonCancer

·              Osteoporosis

·              Early Death

Daily group classes can fast track results - Utilize acombination of aerobic, resistance & yoga exercise.

Flexibility training (stretching)helps balance muscle groups that might be overused during exercise or physicalactivity or as a result of bad posture. Flexibility is a joint's ability tomove through a full range of motion, include cardio-aerobic workouts,martial arts for increased coordination, power & stamina.

Resistance based exercise (weights)  for toning and strengthening tired muscles –suitable for all levels of fitness and strength.

Make sure you have a rest day each week for your bodyto recover and power through the following days….

The motto isflexibility, agility, strength and balance.

Fun and active outings and exercises like bike ridesand walks at the beach, decrease boredom and time available for snacking orgrazing during the day.

At the completion of your pre-wedding program, youwill benefit from the increased energy & have the skills & motivationto keep moving forwards towards your long term Health & Fitness goals &stay looking Fit, Health & Fantastic into the future.

When it comes to good healthand weight loss, exercise and diet are inter-related:

More muscle =more active metabolism.

Higher metabolic rate reduces the chance of weightgain.
Exercising withoutmaintaining a balanced diet is no more beneficial than dieting while remaininginactive.

 

Gregory Damaskos is a Naturopath, Analytical Counselor, PublicSpeaker, Health Educator and a Writer for several national and internationalpublications.  He has appeared on TV andradio programs on health matters and is the Director of Authenticity Health& Wellness Retreat, Port Elliot SA. His work is based on the merits of Nature Cure (Naturopathy) Yoga,Philosophy and Psychotherapy , with food, life style and a state of emotionaland mental well-being the main means by which he aims to balance and restorethe natural functions of the body mind and spirit.

Gregory would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Just send your question to us at info@styleguide.com.au