Wedding Dress Shopping in London

Organising a wedding, I have read, is either the most fun and exciting thing you'll ever do, or the most stressful, torturous experience. Or both. My friend K makes it looks so easy. Last week, on a Sunday, I tumbled out of bed and dragged myself to Wimbledon under the promise of free coffee. My friend K had asked me to join her on her first expedition into wedding dress shopping for her upcoming wedding in France next year. (seriously romantic story there, I'll have to fill you in another time though).

K had made two appointments for the day with a gap for lunch in between. The all important coffee in hand we made our way to the store. Before heading inside K stopped me and handed me an envelope. Cool, wedding invitations!! But she shook her head and told me to just open it. Inside was...

I was shocked, surprised, touched, happy, honoured, speechless and almost in tears as I hugged K and said of course I would be!!! Ive never been a bridesmaid actually, what are you supposed to do??? *Googles "bridesmaid duties"*

Inside the store K had a chat with the attendant about styles she was interested and where she would find the dresses in the store before being handed about 5 tags to place on the neck of hangers of dresses she wanted to try on. When K stepped out in the first dress, I have to confess, I got a bit choked up. She was beautiful and I was almost in tears again!!! But you'll be glad to hear that I pulled it together and was a bit useful. K looked simply stunning in every dress she tried on. She had picked two styles that really suited her and she ended up with quite a few dresses she liked from both places we went to - I don't envy her deciding which one to pick in the end!

These are some of the styles she tried on...

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So what are K's top 5 tips for Wedding Dress Shopping in London?

1. Take someone you trust
2. Have an idea of what styles you like, but,
3. Do keep an open mind
4. Know your budget and stick to it
5. Have fun!

And from what I was able to gather on the day, here are a few extra tips:

1. To book a weekend appointment, call at least two weeks ahead - maybe more if the place is very popular
2. Keep in mind that London is super busy so you are likely to have to wait 6 to 7 months for a dress to be made if you are not buying 'off the rack'

What are your tips for wedding dress shopping?

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Moving to Sydney - A Locals Introduction

When I moved to London, there was so much I didnt know and wish I did. It was everything from how to find a place to live, to where I could buy work clothes, to how to navigate the every day (post, transport, phone and internet, money). After 2 years, though I will occasionally still ask people about where to find this or that, I feel I have finally gotten a grip on living in London. These thoughts however have spurred me on to launch the #LondonExpatLife chat to help others.

In reverse though, giffgaff have asked me to share a few things about my home, Sydney, should you be thinking of moving there. As a local, there is so much I could tell you, but you would be reading forever. So, to make things easier, here are some introductory tips for moving to and living in Sydney.

Where to stay
I grew up in Sydney's western suburbs - it is suburbia to the max, and takes forever to get anywhere. Unless you are planning on living in Sydney long term, stick to the inner city suburbs or along the beaches. There are lots of popular spots, and other travellers who would be looking for housemates. Places along the beaches like Manly, Bondi Beach, Coogee, Cronulla, Bronte and surrounding areas are popular. In the city, for a trendy vibe, try Paddington, Annandale, Surry, Leichhardt, Balmain, or Glebe. But bear in mind these places do attract a premium rental price. Good websites are www.realestate.com.au and www.domain.com.au. Both of these sites do listings for flat shares as well.

The famous Bondi Beach

Street art in Glebe

Finding work
The most popular jobsite is www.seek.com.au so start your search there. If you are signing up with a recruitment firm that specialises in your industry, you can expect an interview so they can find out what you are after and to get to know you in person in order to better place you. Don't be afraid to sign up with more than one. It's also a good idea to find the names of companies you would like to work for because often they will do their own recruitment.

Sydney CBD skyscrapers

Where to shop
Pitt Street in Sydney city is the most popular shopping strip with a Westfield newly opened. In your local area you will most likely find a grocery shop (Woolworths - aka "Woolies" - Coles, IGA, Aldi) for everyday food essentials. For basic homewares and basic clothing, there is Kmart, Target, Big W. The two main department stores are Myer and David Jones. For electronics, try JB-HiFi or Bing Lee. Furniture, electricals, etc: Try Ikea, Harvey Norman, Fantastic Furniture or The Good Guys.

Where to eat
Sydney is not lacking in good places to eat, so there is no point in my listing all of them. But here are a few things I'd like to pass on. Coffee is amazing. You'd be hard pressed to find a bad cup of coffee. Also, you can get amazing asian food here, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese: You name it, it's going to be amazing. If you are a fan of seafood, you should try the Sydney Fish Markets at least once! Be sure to get there early though. One of my favourite cafes in Sydney is Sappho Cafe in Glebe. Newtown is also home to lots of good affordable eats. If you are a fan of good Sushi, then you cannot go past Sushi Rio on the corner of Sussex and Liverpool streets in the city. (Thanks to my lovely friend Amanda for this one!)

This post has been sponsored by the international phone network giffgaff as part of their campaign to share insights by locals into their hometowns for anyone heading there on an adventure. I usually talk so much about London that it was a nice chance to share a bit about my own home and hopefully inspire you to visit, or ease you into living in Sydney, if you happen to be moving there.

If you live or have moved to Sydney, what is your top tip about moving there?

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Expat banking - 5 Lessons Learned

I have just had a bad experience with Westpac Bank. This is a bank that claims to be "Proudly supporting Australians for over 196 years"...if you live in Australia that is, and you are not an expat anywhere...if you can contact them during Sydney hours of operation...if you can be contacted on an Australian number.

If you would like to know details about what happened to me to prompt this post, stay tuned. I raised a complaint with Westpac yesterday morning and they have just under 24 hours remaining to respond. I will be posting the full story tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some sage expat banking advice and tips i learned due to this incident.

Expat banking - 5 Lessons Learned

1 - If you are going to be an expat or will be travelling for a long period of time and would like take your credit card from home with you, make sure your bank has the support infrastructure in place. For example, check the customer support times, if the international support number is different to regular local support etc.

2 - As much as you like your bank, it is worthwhile taking out another secondary credit card just in case you run into issues with your main one. Your loyalty and clean credit history will, apparently, mean nothing to the banks so there is no reason to not have an alternative.

3 - Review the bank's support, a simple Google search will show if anyone has encountered any issues with support while living/travelling in another country. I'm sure I'm not the only one to write about my negative experience.

4 - Make sure your account details are up to date and that your international number is your primary number. If this cant be done, make sure there is a note on your account to ask all communications go to your international number.

5 - Find out about your bank's policies in various scenarios. Not only will this tell you if they have good support, it gives you an understanding of what you need to do if disaster strikes.


If you have any other expat banking tips, I'd love to hear them, drop me an email, comment or tweet me :)

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