Weddingbee Blog

One of my “wedding wants” is having a special wedding day perfume. I know it isn’t something that is essential for the wedding…but it is still something I am bound and determined to have! We’ll just call it a bad weak spot.

I have always admired perfumes (The pretty bottles! The exotic names! Oh yeah, and the smells!) but never indulged in buying any for myself. The one and only scent I own is “Light Blue” by Dolce and Gabbana.

Mr E bought it for me at Christmas two years ago and I love it. Since then I have longed for another opportunity for a new perfume, and, of course, the wedding fits that bill perfectly. I love the idea of associating a specific scent with your wedding day.

Mr. E doesn’t want to be left out of the action either, so we have come up with a plan: I will pick three favourite perfumes, and he will pick three favourite colognes. Then, I will pick one of those colognes for him, and he will pick a perfume for me, without the other knowing which one we bought.

So, a couple days ago, we went out on the scented trail and created the following two lineups for our wedding day scents.

Each of the contenders has its own pros and cons, but they all have something we really like about them. Now, I’m no professional at describing perfume scents, but I judge a perfume on how it makes me feel and what it reminds me of, so bear with me and hopefully you can get an idea of each scent.

For Her:

(1) (2) (3)

1) “Flowerbomb” by Viktor & Rolf

This first is so sweet that it is almost too sweet—but I kind of like that for our garden wedding, because it connotes light-heartedness and romance. It makes me think of floaty dresses, sunshine, and cupcakes (which is perhaps why Mr E was fond of it ). I think it would blend well with the other floral smells of the day as well. I tried it on and it lasted for aaaaages, and the smell just got better (less sugar-coated, and more developed) as I wore it.

2) “Mademoiselle” by Chanel

What I liked about this one is that it is still a floral, romantic scent, but it has an underlying sophisticated edge to it. It doesn’t have the frouf and frills of “Flowerbomb.” I felt very elegant while wearing it, and it lasted well too.

3) “Love, Etc.” by The Body Shop

The Body Shop is one of my favourite places to shop for beauty products. The bonus of this perfume is that it is much, much more affordable than the other two. I find that it didn’t linger as long as they did, but it has a very light and citrusy scent, and basically it just makes me feel awake, happy and excited for the day.

For Him:

(1) (2) (3)

1) Narciso Rodriguez “For Him”

Mr E liked this one because “it doesn’t smell like a women’s perfume pretending to be a man’s” apparently. It is a scent I can imagine smelling when I snuggle up to Mr E…very woody, almost piney.

2) “Allure Homme” by Chanel

We both didn’t like this one straight away. It was only after Mr E wore it on his left wrist for awhile that we started to like it. It smells quite strongly of sandalwood, and, like the Chanel I tried made me feel, this one made Mr E feel quite dashing and sophisticated.

3) “Arber” by The Body Shop

We just can’t stay away from The Body Shop. This cologne has all the woody smells Mr E is drawn to, but with a cheaper price tag.

Mr E isn’t totally sold on any of the above three though…it takes awhile for new things like that to grow on him. If anyone out there could suggest us another male cologne that could be described as “earthy” and “not girly in disguise” (his words) then feel free to mention them! As for me though, Im really happy with my selections and cant wait to see what Mr E picks in the end.

There are two things we learned in our perfume hunting escapade:

1) Smell a variety of perfumes, and if the salesperson suggests something you might not normally try then give it a go. You might be surprised. For instance, I didn’t think I was into vanilla scents at all, but I loved the hints of vanilla in “Flowerbomb.”

2) You won’t get the whole idea of a scent by just smelling it on a bit of testing paper. Pick a couple that you think you like and spray one on each wrist (remember to note down which wrist has which perfume on it!). Then wear them for a couple of hours, and see how you feel about each one afterwards.

If you are going to have a special wedding day perfume, which one did you pick and why?