Advice I wish I’d had before walking down the aisle, wedding guest dresses I love and a mind-boggling podcast.

It’s been a busy old month(s) and my adrenals are feeling like they’re reaching their limit. Try as I might, I’m that person who seems to be in a cycle of cruising along at 100mph, feeling good, until suddenly my anxiety presents itself in all its full, physical force and I feel entirely burnt out and the urge to run away and not speak to anyone for a month which alas, is not an option.

Slowly but surely I feel like I’m learning more and more about myself and my limits and I’d love to write more about mental health and my experience with GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder) one day. But for now, I’ll just say, I’m thrilled summer is finally here… Something about warmth, light evenings, Vitamin D, and some more time out in nature does wonders for stress levels and resetting our nervous systems a bit doesn’t it?

And with summer comes the wedding season.

Depending on who you are, this will either fill you with excitement or dread but regardless of where you are on the spectrum, you might need something to wear and I’ve gathered up some ideas below as well as some very random tips for brides to be I wish I’d paid head to on the big day. With the sun finally shining in the UK, our gardens are suddenly getting some use.

I love the idea of adding a little portable table lamp to our outdoor set-up this summer - I have my eye on this lantern-style one from Tala - and need to invest in a parasol for our garden table to make it usable when the sun is beating down. My absolute dream would be one from Sun Bean Jackie, made from vintage floral textiles and tassels but I do love this striped number from Finnish Design Store and this is a simple, more affordable option, you’d just need a garden-centre stand to go with. If I could have the entirety of Business and Pleasure’s Laurens Stripe range at my disposal all summer I wouldn’t complain. I love this little folding beach chair (relatively easy to transport too) and we have one of their coolers that comes with us to Cornwall/Wales every year. Just don’t ask me to choose a favourite colour because couldn’t choose.

1: disa fabric - 2: sun protection - 3: salad servers

Ok fine, there are six…

Think about what lies beneath. I think I bought about 5 different nude thongs ahead of the wedding just in case one was marginally better than the other. Those braver and bolder than me would probably go commando but just the thought of being knicker-less in a white dress gives me heart palpitations so that was not an option. I thought Commando and Hanro ended up being the best options on the market (always cut every label out) and if you’re changing into a different dress for dancing make sure you have whatever underwear you need ready and waiting and think about flash photography; I’ll never forgive myself for letting my nude thong shine bright under my chainmail disco dress having got changed after 4 Moscow Mules.

Try your dress on with the shoes. Loved my shoes, loved my dress but turns out they didn’t love each other. I really wanted elegant, pointy-toed shoes for the ceremony and found the dream pair from Jimmy Choo. However, having a fine layer of long tulle over my dress meant within 5 steps I realised said pointy toes went straight through the tulle and I had a stumble walking down the aisle that elicited a few clutching-pearls moments from our guests. Not ideal so always do a little try-on with the whole look, whether you’re wearing a dress or a suit, just to check you can walk smoothly.