Royal Ascot 2015

On Friday, I was invited along by Appletiser to the Royal Ascot; a prestigious yearly horse racing event which is attended by the Queen and other members of the Royal Family.

Neither of us had been before so we were all really excited but at the same time didn't really know what to expect. The drive was about two hours long but we was driving from Essex.

When we arrived, we were given a car parking allocation which made things a lot easier as there was people EVERYWHERE. Neither of us expected the queues to be as busy as they were when we arrived! Luckily however, we were given Grandstand admission tickets, so the queues weren't that bad and most people had already been admitted ready for the first race by the time we arrived.

Grandstand admission tickets involve walking in through the bar areas and then out into the arena. To get to the areas where the horses run, you have to walk down the steps.

There was six races throughout the day which the boys (Josh and his brother) put some bets on and they actually won a few of them which they were very pleased about!

So, what did we all wear??

Outfit preparations took a couple of weeks and it was definitely a lot harder to plan them than it should have been. Firstly, the original dress I had was strapless and then I found out you're not allowed strapless dresses at Ascot.  So, I then chose another dress from Chi Chi London which didn't fit properly so another size was ordered and it arrived 15 MINUTES before we left for Ascot. How lucky was that?!

The dress I wore is called the Rosa Dress*; a light pink bardot style dress with a gorgeous blue floral print, an A-line pleated skirt fit and a concealed side zip. It really brings you in at the waist giving you that perfect 1950's shape which I love! Amazingly, it's only £61.99 to buy which I think is a wonderful price as the quality of the dress is outstanding and will definitely be an option for weddings and other big occasions.

Dress: Chi Chi Clothing* | Bag: Topshop | Sunglasses & Heels: Primark

Josh went for a lovely blue suit, waistcoat, tan brogues and belt to match alongside a lovely royal blue knitted tie from Will McNally to match my dress.

Shoe details. Josh's brother went for some super cool printed shoes which got a lot of attention!

Josh's brother's wife (also called Ashleigh!) wore a very similar fit skirt with a yellow and ivory floral print, a high neck top tucked in and nude heels. So pretty!

During the last few races whilst the boys were placing bets, me and Ashleigh chilled on the grass with some wine as the weather was stunning so it was nice to soak up the sun and the atmosphere.

People watching is one of my favourite things to do - especially when everyone is so unaware!

Ascot finished up about 5.30pm. Ashleigh packed a picnic for us which we had when we headed back to the car... except we had forgotten a blanket so ended up sitting on car floor mats ha!

We then started the long journey back home and went for an Indian which was super yummy! A really good day and something I am very grateful to have experienced. Thank you so much to Appletiser for the tickets and Chi Chi clothing for the dress :) Royal box next year?