Key learnings from Leeds festival

The August bank holiday weekend up in the north of England means only one thing for some people… Leeds fest!

I’ve personally never been to Leeds fest before as it always falls on my birthday weekend and I tend to do other things for it, but my sister convinced me to go with her this year seeing as she and a friend were flying over all the way from Sweden for it.

I had only been to day festivals prior to this, and my sister had only been to a really small reggae festival before, so the 80,000 crowd was a bit of a shock for both of us.

But I think we were as prepared as we could have been with our double tent and sleeping bags.

After 3 days of walking around in the alcohol soaked grass and mud, here are my key learnings for surviving a festival.

Go with the flow

Everyone is in the same situation, and no one will judge you for having greasy hair or dirty clothes, or for sleeping off that hangover in a camping chair in the middle of the day… so just let your hair down and make the most of it. 
You’ll have so much more fun if you just let loose and go with the flow. 
Messy hair, don’t care!

It’s all about layers

As we all know, the weather in England is extremely unpredictable, so make sure you plan what clothes to bring, and wear layers so that you can quickly take some off when the sun comes out, or pop a cardigan on when it gets chilly.

Shorts may be great during the day, but bring a pair of thick tights for the evening.

Some of the best items I brought were a cardigan, hoodie, scruffy ankle boots, thick tights, a fold-away parka and standard dark jeans. I also brought some comfy pants and fluffy socks to sleep in.

Everyone has to compromise on hygiene

Bigger festivals like Leeds fest do offer some showers, but they tend to be very basic (a single trickle of semi-cold water in a tent booth) so people often try to stay clean in other ways. Baby wipes and face wipes are your best friends during a festival, and the same goes for dry shampoo! If you, like me, like to wash your hair very often (I admire people who can get away with only washing their hair once or twice a week and still make it look nice and glossy on day 2, 3 or 4!) you may be confused as to what to do with your big but limp crow’s nest hair when you wake up in a sweaty (or freezing) tent on festival day number 3. 
Why not do a practise run of some simple hairstyles back home prior to the festival? 
Maybe some cool 70’s style braids? 
Or just bring a hat!

Stay safe

Never leave any valuables in your tent! 
Also, you may think backpacks are great, but would you actually notice if someone behind you in the crowd started digging out your stuff? Opt for a bag that is close to your body and that people can’t just snatch off you. 
A bum bag, or a cross-body bag are your best options.

Jazz it up

Even though you feel slightly disgusting, it’s a given that you want to look nice. 
Statement accessories is always a fun touch to a festival outfit – personally I went for big, bright blue sunglasses, an oversized metal necklace, and green feather earrings.

The new friends we made, and seeing Metallica headlining (from really close to the stage!) made it all worth it, and I already can’t wait to attend another festival next year! Download festival, perhaps? ;)  

 Have you ever been to an all-weekend festival, and what are your top tips and key learnings?

A French romantic country wedding - in Sweden

I've been to a few classic weddings in the last few years which have all had around 100 guests. I don't know if it's an English thing to make such a big deal out of your big day... I mean, I do understand that people want to go all out, but usually these types of weddings are quite samey, and when thinking back to them you can't really tell them apart.

Swedes tend to be a lot more low key when it comes to their weddings, and one that I went to last month was a really simple DIY style wedding with only 20 odd guests, but it's the one that I will really remember for the rest of my life!

First of all, it was my oldest friend who got married, which made it all very special. I've known this beautiful girl since we were 6 years old. That's 23 years! Talk about being emotional at the wedding, and on top of that I had promised to sing a couple of songs at the ceremony... I couldn't even look at the bride for the fear of bursting out in tears! 

Swedes don't tend to be very religious, and more and more couples have started swapping the church weddings for more alternative wedding venues with a wedding officiant rather than a priest. My friend Josefin and her Mr Right had opted for a very unique venue for their wedding - a historical floating house in the sea outside the coastal town of Kalmar in south east Sweden. The walls of the house are on stilts in the water, but the floor is simply floating decks. People came here back in the day to wash their rugs, and the wash house was built to protect them from the harsh weather - something that really came in handy on this rainy wedding day!

I absolutely loved this unique venue, despite the slight fear of falling in the water. I had stupid stiletto heels on that kept getting stuck in between the deck planks, and on top of that the floor wobbled. This was my wedding guest outfit by the way; a figure hugging mint coloured midi dress, a white lace bolero, and a pair of black strappy blingy heels that I found when going through my old stuff at my parents' house - I've only worn them once before, and that was at my college prom 10 years ago!

The rings! 

I'm not usually an emotional person, but seeing your oldest friend getting married and looking so beautiful was a proper teary moment. The wedding officiant was a friend of the couple, so the ceremony was extremely personal. So lovely! 

Josefin was wearing a stunning strapless A-line wedding dress with a choice of an additional lace top over the shoulders and bust to give the dress some more detail.

After the ceremony the couple took off in a classic car - a tradition in Sweden as well as in England. The blueish teal car really lit up this grey day, and the bride looked so stunning and happy when she arrived at the party. I absolutely adore this photo that I managed to snap of her - it's a clear favourite of mine!

The couple arrived at the wedding party in style! 

The wedding party was held in the couple's garden, which had been decorated with white tents, flowers, pompoms, and antique looking furniture and lace. Very rustic and shabby chic inspired, or perhaps a bit French romantic countryside. With it being such a small wedding it was really personal and just lovely overall, and it's a day I will always remember. 

Thank you Josefin and Fredrik for letting me celebrate your special day with you!

A simple and summery nautical inspired outfit

Is it not funny, and quite fantastic, how the nautical stripes come back summer after summer, regardless of the year or even the decade? For as long as I can remember, nautical themed fashion has always been a go-to style during the summer months, and I never get tired of it!

This white and blue stripy summer dress from Jack Wills is of a thin and summery material that is nice and cool, but still firm and of good quality. There's nothing worse than flimsy material that loses its shape after a while, but this won't happen with a Jack Wills dress.

What I really like about this dress is the thin spaghetti shoulder straps, and the waist band that you can tie any way you like. It adds the perfect amount of detail to the dress which makes it interesting, but still nice and simple.

I'm pairing it with my clever little brown "super organiser" leather clutch bag from Pia which I first featured last summer.

Red shoes are a must when it comes to going for a bit of a nautical theme, don't you think? These little kitten heel shoes with a bow detail have been in my posession for about 5 years now. I don't wear them often, but I think they're perfect for an outfit such as this one.

I'm wearing red heart shaped button earrings to match my shoes.

These were a find at a little craft convention a few years ago in Leeds. You can easily make similar ones yourself with buttons, super glue, and silver earring backs with a flat front. A piece of cake!

By now you already know that I'm obsessed with Ray Ban aviator sunglasses. You just can't have enough colours and variations of them. These classic black and gold beauties are from OCO glasses.

What do you think of my simple and summery nautical inspired outfit?