From This Day Forward

Cuffs are linked.

2011-07-30T11:26:00.000+01:00

I received the superhero cufflinks I ordered from Hong Kong this week. They arrived super fast. I've got Captain America, The Flash and The Green Hornet for Simon and two of his Groomsmen. Another usher (his brother) is getting acoustic guitar cufflinks, my Dad is getting vintage tractors and Simon's Dad will be getting chef hat ones. I know it's probably not stylish to have so many kitsch things but at least I know they represent their wearers.

Stir Crazy

2011-07-29T16:13:00.000+01:00

I finally got around to making the drink stirrers for the welcome drinks. They're a selection of peach, silver, green and ivory grosgrain ribbon on wooden stirrers. Super easy to make! They'll go brilliantly in the Pimms and alongside the retro stripey straws I bought.

The straws I bought came from Pipii. I got them in green and silver. They do them in all sorts of funky patterns and colours. P&P is £3.95 which seemed a bit much for my small order but I think it's the same price no matter what you get. It was super quick delivery though and you can pay via Paypal which I love.

Suited and Booted

2011-05-15T17:04:00.000+01:00

Finally booked the suits yesterday. We're going with the hire from Greenwoods. Simon is useless at helping me pick anything but one thing he did mention was that black looked a bit odd. Therefore we are going with slate grey and an ivory/silvery waistcoat. Measuring happens in August and then suits are collected a week before.

I have to say, not all that impressed with their customer service (not that friendly) and we were left waiting for a fair bit (A group that came in to see about wedding suits after we did were actually seen to first). Still, the choice is good there and they offer the right sort of sizes we need.

Love blooms

2011-05-15T16:58:00.000+01:00

I am actually very excited about our wedding flowers. Met with the fabulous Helen of Bel's Flowers on Thursday and cannot stress how fantastic she is. I'm using her through Kim at Fine and Funky events. Helen did Kim's flowers when she got married so I know she is going to be an excellent choice.

Here's the inspiration I had when I went to see her:

Obviously these aren't all suitable colours but she knows what I'm aiming for. It was great to be able to turn up with some pictures and have her tell me all the names of the flowers in an instant. It made my work a lot easier because I didn't have to spend hours trying to identify them myself.

I really cannot wait to see my bouquet! She's even leaving a space with ribbon so I can tie on a locket (when I find one) with wedding photos of mine and Simon's parents in. We also talked about Lavender and bringing that little bit of Norfolk to the wedding despite not actually getting married there.

Eat, drink and be married...

2011-05-04T11:34:00.000+01:00

I made another wooden sign...may possibly even use this one for the wedding! My fine brush has just about had it so the lettering isn't so wonderful.

And it was written...

2011-04-07T20:13:00.000+01:00

First attempt at handpainting a wooden sign.

This type of sign seems to be really popular at the moment. I kept thinking, "I could probably do that myself". So I did. I grabbed a piece of wood laying around in the garden, whitewashed it and handpainted the letters with a teeny tiny brush and some black paint. Then I went over it all with some fine sandpaper (a little more aggressively on the edges) and 'voila'!

Not too bad for a first attempt. Probably won't be using it for my own wedding though because I'm not sure it goes with the signs my sister made me. To the back of the cupboard it goes!

Save the Dates v.2.0

2011-04-04T15:44:00.000+01:00

I finally got around to sorting our replacement Save the Dates. I came away from the original styles completely as I felt that a new venue needed a new design. What do you think?

Still the same magnet casings from Ebay as before but this time utilising my love for vintage looking birds and exploring some free fonts.

Why do two colours, put one next to the other, sing?

2011-03-30T11:31:00.001+01:00

I had been having a hard time with envisioning the colours of my wedding as a whole. The sagey green, cadbury purple and ivory. As time was passing I was feeling it was too bold a contrast. I wanted something softer, more romantic. So, without further ado...

With this selection I get to keep the green I'm using for the bridesmaids...although my green is perhaps a bit softer and paler. I also get to keep the ivory and the idea of purple, except it would now be aubergine. This would then be teamed with peaches and pinks. I think the flowers are going to cover the peach, pinks and whites really well and it will mean the bouquets will lift the bridesmaids dresses. I'm totally in love with it and just hope it all goes to plan with someone like me being involved in picking things that match!

Come dress yourself in love...

2011-03-30T11:19:00.000+01:00

I have found THE dress. Well, I have found a dress I feel I will look least silly in.

It was confirmed yesterday and a deposit paid. Just got to spend the next 3 months paying it off now!

Be our guest...

2011-02-24T14:33:00.000Z

I am trying to think of an EXCITING way of presenting our guestbook. I've seen numerous sweet ideas such as polaroids, wish trees, typewriters etc but I'm trying to think if there's anything different around. I do have a small, brand-new guestbook that my mum found at a bootsale for a pound (I think!). If I don't use it then that's not much money to lose or I could pop it on Ebay/give to a friend.

Hmmmm...the cogs are turning! Can you see the steam?

Have I told you lately?

2011-02-22T13:02:00.000Z

What I've been up to?

I've had a couple of new craft-related ideas for the wedding including a fab ring "cushion" which isn't a cushion at all. Seeing as we don't have any kiddies to carry one I'm making something for the Best Man to hold onto. I just need to find a suitable item to transform and I haven't seen one at a cheap price yet. Curious? My cake topper idea seems to have transformed from birds into people and I hope to be able to reveal that soon.

Most of the suppliers are able to move to our new date which means that our cars, flowers/centrepieces and photographer are the same as before. The Edge salon has just confirmed they can transfer to our new date so that's the hair sorted. My gorgeous friend has offered to do the make-up...she's a freelance make-up artist.

Invitations still need to be sorted out but I have finally gotten around to redesigning the Save the Dates. Now I just need to go and steal everyone's old ones and stick the new slips into the magnet. I've changed the look of them...I'm not sure why. I suppose I feel that they went with the old venue. Photographs to come once printed.

Oh, and I have started the dress search. Mum visited to go to a few appointments with me and I'm headed back to two shops in early March with my bridesmaids to show them the shortlisted. One of my bridesmaids also booked another appointment at the place she got her wedding dress from. Three in one day! I think I'm being punished. I look like a wally in all of the dresses!

"I bring to you lavender with spikes of blue"

2011-02-12T19:56:00.002Z

How adorable is this heart-shaped lavender wreath?

Found at All About You.

Sew Fiddly - Take 2

2011-02-09T15:34:00.003Z

I like this attempt infinitely more than the last. I just stitched a regular lace flower and beaded the centre with some seed beads and faux crystals. The rest of the process (wrapping the stem) was pretty much done in the same way as the first attempt - with floristry wire and ribbon. Whilst I like the feathers I still feel it's missing something. Whether it really does need a leaf of some sort or perhaps a spray of pearls, I don't know.

I managed to finish off the end of the stem a lot neater this time by using a bead and headpin as opposed to overwrapping with ribbon and floristry tape until the wrapping stopped slipping off (and the air was blue).

What do we think?

Sew fiddly!

2011-01-28T18:33:00.004Z

I spent about 10 minutes this afternoon trying to create something that looks remotely like a boutinniere. It didn't go so well. Obviously the colours are all wrong but it was the process I was testing out. I do not like the felt. I feel vintage lace flowers would be nicer. I don't like the leaves but was struggling for green fabrics and all my feathers are bright colours so I couldn't put those in. Vintage buttons I have my fair share of, however.

It took me ages to get the stem to look finished (wrapped in vintage navy lace). Underneath that is some floristy wire and tape I had in stock. I wrapped that with yarn to make it thicker then wrapped the lace over the top.

Back to the drawing board.

The big reveal...

2011-01-27T12:04:00.005Z

*cue red carpet and paps*

*opens envelope*

The new venue isssss...Gisborough Hall.

I swear people are going to assume that's a typo on the invites because it's Gisborough Hall in Guisborough.

Given that Gisborough Hall is Jacobean in style I've been researching some images that might come in handy at some point. Seems Jacobites were big on embroidery which I can't imagine myself being fantastic at. The basic patterns are quite pretty though.

I actually have a stamp that's almost identical to the second image there (the oval). From what I can gather, these images would often be paired with stripes as a base. I might be wrong but, hey, it looks good!

Expect I'll probably spend the remainder of my afternoon doodling Jacobean style borders now.

Light of my life

2011-01-21T20:38:00.002Z

There's something utterly magical about fairylights, don't you think? I love the look they give draped across the ceiling like this. Sadly, the new venue has massively high ceilings that don't lend themselves to hanging or draping.

Read all about it

2011-01-19T12:53:00.002Z

Here are the links to the articles we were in. I also had to talk on live radio which was super scary!!

Evening Gazette
Northern Echo

Avoidance

2011-01-19T12:49:00.002Z

I've been avoiding this blog for fear I will have some sort of rage attack.

Trying to find a replacement venue for our original date has proven problematic and we are now considering changing the date. For me, this is most disappointing. However, I would rather be 100% happy with the day than try to cobble something together that I will worry about just so I can keep the original date and suppliers.

On the upside...two extra months of dress shopping. Is that even a plus? Er.

These things are sent to try us...

2011-01-11T00:33:00.000Z

My venue rang this evening to CANCEL.

*meltdown*

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

2011-01-09T19:45:00.003Z

Picked up my fabric for the bridesmaid's dresses yesterday. 23m of it. Off the roll. They literally just shoved it in a bag so now I have to put it all back on the roll. I know they meant well when they checked the length and quality but it's chiffon and it's going to crease if I don't get it back on soon.

Grrr.

If music be the food of love...

2011-01-04T11:27:00.007Z

My mum found a HUGE bundle of vintage sheet music at a bootsale. Guess who has it now? *muahahahaha*
Much of it is dog-eared but since I intend to recycle the pages into something else it's not too great a bother. Having taken the photo I've noticed my camera has glorified the condition. They have a rather brownish hue in reality and I find that ever so endearing. How fitting that the page sitting atop the bundle is a piece titled "Love's Old Sweet Song". I've just looked it up on The Oracle (Google) and thought I'd share the video I found.

I'm unsure as to what I shall be using this sheet music for as of yet. I have ideas to cover regular cardboard cupcake stands and coat with varnish spray, or perhaps make confetti. There's plenty of it to go around though, so watch this space!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

2011-01-04T11:14:00.004Z

Look what colour ribbon my sister used to wrap her Christmas gifts this year:

Look familiar? It's pretty much an exact colour match to the fabric we're utilising for the bridesmaid's dresses and men's accessories. I firmly believe that I can find a purpose for this ribbon whether it be tying bows on a birdcage or making ribbon flower corsages. Now, it may seem a little obsessive salvaging used ribbon scraps on the morning of Christmas whilst a pile of brand-spanking new presents is sat in the corner but I'm not one to pass up an opportunity to add some homemade embellishments to my wedding.

Sign me up...

2011-01-04T11:00:00.006Z

If you refresh your memory with this blog entry - made back in September last year - my post now will make more sense.

Talent. My sister has it. Look at what she made me for Christmas this year:

She found a plank of wood somewhere, coated in with white paint and the wording? HAND painted. Look how neat it is!! There's not a brushstroke over the edge. It's a really substantial size (it's quite a big sofa) and has a solid, lengthy chain to hang on.

The previous sign came the day after I was given my belated birthday presents:

Again, handpainted, except this time onto canvases. The ribbon detail adds just the right amount of a term I've now coined as 'wedding pretty'.

Beautiful, aren't they?

uhhh

2011-01-02T22:51:00.000Z

Oh dear. I'm getting married THIS year.

Cuff it up

2010-12-10T10:49:00.001Z

How sweet are these vintage cufflinks? I may search out something similar for Simon.

A twist to tradition

2010-12-03T17:08:00.004Z

Sienna Grace-Designs is a page I stumbled across on faithful Facebook (I'm a fan of alliteration, ok) although there's also a main webpage. The company, based in the Midlands, deals with venue styling. They provide everything from the traditional table centerpieces and chair covers, to the more unique aspects of floating flower curtains and hanging pom-poms. What really caught my eye recently with Sienna Grace is this twist on the usual chair dressing:

Isn't it beautiful? Go check out their website and friend them on Facebook. They update their Facebook page very regularly with new ideas and frequently post links to other services that might be helpful!

Songbirds

2010-12-02T10:09:00.005Z

I love this idea for a cake:

Found this at Martha Stewart! In fact, there is a whole host of bird related ideas over at that website including these fantastic place cards:

How cool would it be to have your centrepiece flowers in faux birdsnests?!

Pom the second

2010-11-25T23:29:00.002Z

I'm having a train of thought following on from the pom pom idea. Pom pom trees! Like bay trees, but pommy. I can't find any pictures online though and I think they would be seriously complex!

Fringe Benefits

2010-11-19T23:45:00.001Z

I actually found some fringed wedding styles!

Not sure how much I'd suit them myself but it's progress.

A rant!

2010-11-14T11:59:00.004Z

There are two aspects of my wedding that I am NOT looking forward to sorting. These are the dress and the hair/make-up. Actually, there are probably three in total considering I'm already having anxiety attacks about being photographed in the dress and wearing the hair/make-up. Our photographer is lovely and we're going with him on recommendations from friends that have used them but I still loathe photographs of myself. DWP Photography for those interested in finding a local photographer. He and his wife came out to our home with all their album styles and they were so chatty and relaxed. I get a really good feeling he'll give me more of the candid shots that I crave rather than the staged ones.

Anyway, back to the problems.

1. The Dress.

Urghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I have been putting it off continuously despite the best efforts of my MoH who reminds me regularly that some dresses take 6-8 months to order and I have less than 9 until the wedding. You would think that would be an OK time frame but I also have to find it before I can order it. I have been completely put off wedding dress shopping since trying on a few when I first got engaged. NOTHING suited me and I couldn't pick anything I liked because they were all too small. I was struggling to get into a size 24! I think I need to go to an army style bootcamp and shed all the weight I put on at the beginning of this year if only I wasn't still too poorly. Dieting + long-term illnesses = uncomputable things. I'm sure Simon is turning into a feeder.

I can't find any dresses I like with sleeves (cap sleeves are too short- I want half or 3/4). Even with a slimmer frame I would still want sleeves for coverage and the fact I dislike the top of my left arm. Some of the ladies I've chatted to at wedding fayres insist I won't want sleeves because it'll make me look even bigger and if I do I'll have to go with a shrug. I've seen some with full sleeves but they were completely plain dresses with high necks.

I've said I'll look after Christmas (yes, after too many mince pies) but it gives me palpitations just thinking about it.

2. Hair & Make-up

No matter how I wear my hair, it looks awful. I have a fringe so I can get away with wearing it up but my fringe goes sparse and weird after a few hours. One hairdresser told me to grow it out because no wedding styles suit fringes but I think it stops my face from looking as chubby. I cannot wear my hair down as it's too fine (but there's lots of it) so it's flat as a pancake at the roots and frizzy at the ends. No amount of volumising on mine or the hairdressers part can rectify this. It looks like lego snap-on triangle hair when I wear it down. My hair does NOT hold curl at all. I've been avoiding the hairdressers altogether. Haven't had it cut since last November - eek, that's a year now isn't it - and I hack away at my own fringe to keep it short enough to see. I also need to sort the colour before the wedding day.

Make-up wise, I'm so pale I could use tippex for foundation. Also, I have really piggy eyes so I look squinty in photographs. I had on full make-up last night and looking at a photograph that was taken I look like I'm wearing none. I want the make-up on the wedding day to give me a really lovely bridal glow but it just seems like make-up slips off me. I want it to be noticable but not clownish.

I had a make-up trial done at the MTH wedding fayre which looked nice when it was first done but ran within about an hour. I wasn't even as hot and bothered as I'll probably be on the day!

I was hoping to have hair and make-up sorted before Christmas but it doesn't look like that will happen. I think I'd like to use someone who does hair for more than just weddings so I can go to them between now and the day for colours and trims.

The reason I'm fretting about this is because I'm aware that time is passing and I'll end up not getting booked with anyone at all. August is a busy month!!

You're invited...

2010-11-14T11:56:00.001Z

I love the sumptuousness of these vintage-look wedding invitations:

Are you talking to me?

2010-11-13T11:09:00.006Z

I've been contemplating the idea of 'conversation starters' for our tables. I want something that isn't going to take up a lot of room on the table as we're limited to space there, but something more than the generic trivia boxes I've seen on Ebay (pictured below):

This sort of thing looks great but isn't very practical:
Social Sticks (£7 for 80 @ OhSoCherished) would fit the space contraints but they don't look very vintage:

It would, of course, be entirely plausible for me to craft something for this purpose but it's just deciding the style that I want and I don't think anything I could make would look as neat. Have you ever seen those wooden coffee stirers in Costa? I suppose questions could be written on those?!

Button up

2010-11-13T11:00:00.003Z

I am obsessed with buttons in regards to my crafting (I should really start a craft blog) and I just came across these few inspirational pictures. Buttons on invitations look so cute and unique.

I'm also in awe of the buttonholes and bouquet. A vintage brooch finishes the handtied bouquet beautifully and the incorporation of different textures like feathers, fabrics and ribbons is just exquisite. Something more than just flowers. *love*

Not just for your Gran!

2010-11-11T10:21:00.002Z

I think this doily inspired table plan looks really vintage. Delicate too!

Found here.

Pom!

2010-11-09T09:54:00.005Z

I can't take the credit for having the Pom Pom idea. That's Kim at Fine and Funky Events again. Her head is like an idea pinata. Anyway, I came across these variations today which I thought were pretty:

I imagine the second (white) ones use up less materials which could possibly overcome any budget constraints if you have them.

Ceiling Candle

2010-11-09T09:42:00.001Z

I think this recycled glass chandelier is a really lovely idea:

This one looks like the glass is suspended on string but I could imagine it would be even more unique with strings of pearls.

Badda-big-badda-bloom!

2010-11-05T22:07:00.002Z

I want a giant flower for photographs!

Starry eyed

2010-11-05T21:58:00.003Z

Such a sweet inspirational picture:

I love him like that.

Is it a bird? Is it a crane? Well, yes actually!

2010-11-05T21:45:00.006Z

In my craftiness I have actually been making origami peace cranes into mobiles. They're in abundance all over my study waiting to be suspended in some way. I've got some on their strings already (different sizes) and used some seed beads and similar to give a bit of glitz. I'd never considered using them for the wedding until now!

Oh, and 'ohmygosh'! PINWHEELS! Adorable.

Blooming lovely!

2010-11-05T21:41:00.002Z

I love how striking these flowers are against the white:

The wild flower look is fantastic and perfect for a summer wedding.

This next one isn't quite statement colour enough for me to liven up the sage/olive but I adore the mix of shapes and blooms:

Possibly a little too uniform but pretty colour contrast:

Let them eat cake...

2010-11-05T21:37:00.002Z

I'm having far too much fun looking at various cupcake designs.

Sweet Tweet

2010-11-04T12:48:00.002Z

I really like the style of these invitations. I already know we're going to need a pocketfold though.

Top it off

2010-11-04T12:34:00.004Z

I've been taking a look into cake toppers considering we will still be having a small cake to cut (for traditional purposes) despite wanting cupcakes. Such choices but I still seem drawn to lovebirds.

Found at Heather Donohue Crafts.

Found at Cottonbirddesigns for Etsy

Bands of Love

2010-11-04T12:19:00.004Z

Following on from our appointment with the lovely girls at Smooch Wedding Rings, I highly recommend you take a look. They were brilliant and came over on a Friday evening with trays upon trays of rings to try on for us both. They listened to both our ideas and provided us with a good quote for Simon's ring. I'm not sure if that's where we would get mine from as I've seen some high street ones for similar prices but Simon's palladium one would be an excellent saving from there. I cannot fault the friendliness of the girls and they were such fun!

We also had a visit from another ring by design company which, in comparison, was really rather terrible and despite the fact that the guy was marginally cheaper, he didn't offer us so much choice and pigeon-holed me into a ring without even letting me look at more than three of them and asking me to make decisions based on things I hadn't even seen! We definitely won't be giving them our custom. Oh, and he was also an HOUR late.

So, Smooch may well be the way forward for Simon's ring! You also get stuff like free resizing and polishing for life! After being asked for Smooch's phone number I thought I'd edit to put it in here: 01895 825900 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm or e-mail on sales@smoochrings.co.uk. They're based in Middlesex as a head office but they have sales people all over. Catherine was our consultant for the evening but I met a few more of them at the fayre!

Pretty bubbles in the air...

2010-11-04T12:14:00.002Z

Mum bought a bunch of these at Poundland:A few placed on each table should keep the few children and couple of babies happy. Possibly a few of my friends, too, actually!

By the way, if you're trying to do your wedding on a budget I suggest you check out Poundland regularly! They get in cake boxes, wedding streamers, placecards and bubbles all the time!

Pick a number

2010-11-04T12:09:00.003Z

Simon and I came across a full (12 in total), brand new, box of these at a bootsale at the beginning of October:

The best part? £4 for the lot! The lady selling them had bought them for her own wedding and not used them in the end. I don't know if we'll definitely use them or not but it was too good of a bargain to pass up.

Sweet Treat

2010-11-04T12:04:00.003Z

We haven't got many children coming to the Wedding Breakfast. In fact, by the time the wedding arrives we'll only have three below the age of 16. I love the idea of getting them one of these each:

Might make the adults a little jealous perhaps?

Light the way

2010-11-04T11:50:00.002Z

Part of my concern about having the reception in the marquee is that there is no significant change over to the evening part. The other concerning matter as we have already established is that the marquee is a large, white, blank canvas and I'm frightened it'll look bare without adequate decoration.

We are having the walls uplit with LED's on the evening provided by Ace Entertain. Hopefully this will give the walls a nice wash of colour. Whilst I've decided that the bar and walls should be uplit, I've yet to make a decision on colours.

Here's an example of what uplighting can look like:

I thank you

2010-11-04T11:38:00.003Z

Another USave find here. I'm using these cute ceramic tealight holders as favours for the ladies. I won't tell you exactly how cheap they were but let's just say they were on sale for an insane price. I intend to buy colour co-ordinating tealights for them I think. The jury is still out on how to present them on the tables but I think it'll end up being a cellophane bag and ribbon job.

I feel like organza bags would take the prettiness away from them (although they are mega cheap on Ebay and very useful) and they are too large for a standard favour box. I tried looking into larger ones but then you get into muffin boxes and the dimensions are all wrong. I kind of like the cellophane idea (as suggested by my sister I might add) and whatever favour we end up buying the men (probably chocolate) can go in cellophane too.

Place your bets

2010-11-04T11:19:00.002Z

Simon and I saw a casino table at the Tall Trees wedding fayre. I must admit, even I was entertained. They don't bet with real money, of course. Every guest gets a token at the start of the night with so many tokens. The guy taught me how to play Roulette but I lost all my chips. Simon kept winning and he had that boyish grin on his face that made me certain he wants it for the wedding. However, it is a large cost of £450 for 3 hours and you get both a Roulette and Blackjack table. It would, however, provide something to do for those not wishing to dance. I'm a little paranoid that we have such a big space to fill in the marquee and not enough entertainment.

It is an on-going conversation and because I'm pretty certain it'll be a "no" on my part I'm having to work hard to justify everything extra that I want there. Eek!

Wrap it up

2010-11-04T11:17:00.003Z

If you recall my post here about the wraps for ladies on the evening, we found this basket at another bootsale:

It was a bargain so we snapped it up and it's rather large so should hold plenty of colourful wraps. See, I can be colourful!

Tweet?

2010-11-04T11:10:00.003Z

Most of you already know of my love for the fabulous shop that is USave (Portrack Lane for locals). We were in there last week and browsing the Christmas aisle (shut up - I'm festive already) and I came across these adorable clip on birds. I wish I'd bought more. I intend to clip them to the receiving box/birdcage (which we still need to sort). We want to buy rather than hire a birdcage for the card box as we can then keep it as a reminder of our day.

Ignore the lamp, I was lacking something to clip them to for the photo. They had them in a really vibrant purple and I am KICKING myself for not buying them. Simon's mum went there a few days ago for something else and they were sold out.

I have an obsession with vintage style lovebirds. I'm ok with that.

Mum find, Daughter like.

2010-11-04T11:05:00.005Z

My mum picked these up from a bootsale (we're trying to add a bit of thriftyness - did I just invent a word?!) in the summer. As you can see from the pictures, they need a little bit of TLC in the form of some glue but they're still pretty! I can imagine them with ribbon tied around the handles and confetti (possibly dried rose petals) in so people can grab a handful. I keep having ideas that rely on it NOT raining. I'm doomed.

Sidenote - I have also heard horror stories about people that use coloured confetti only for it to get wet and have the dye run out onto the wedding dress.

It ain't easy being green

2010-11-04T10:40:00.006Z

I finally tried to take photos of the fabric I've decided on for the bridesmaids dresses. As a reminder, this is the dress we're having made for our three bridesmaids:

Now, the photo of the fabric I've chosen isn't really true to colour. It's kind of an olivey/sage and it's chiffon. We've got it ordered from Dainty Supplies in Washington and it's code G75. As with all things I seem to choose, this fabric is discontinued now but yay me for getting one of the last rolls. It was pure fluke we saw it, too.

I know what you're thinking. Pea soup, right? Or other yukky colour. I swear it's a lot nicer when you're holding it and looking at it. Plus, remember the green satin that I posted when I was looking earlier in the year? It's the exact same colour code as that so we've ordered the satin from Anglian Fashion Fabrics (as, surprise, surprise it's discontinued) to use for the men's cravats and maid's wraps. It really lifts the colour even if the following photo suggests otherwise:

Now, I am fully aware that our wedding is in August which has all the potentional to be a summer month. I have noted I'm using a "dull" colour for the dresses. I think it's just a nice natural colour which will suit all of my maid's, no matter what hair colour and green is timeless and fits with the venue. However, I do realise I'm now going to have to try very hard to liven up the colour scheme a little. I'm almost certain I'll be going with ivory (to match waistcoats and my dress - which I still haven't found) and a nice rich "Cadbury's" purple!

Drive on!

2010-11-04T10:19:00.003Z

Photos of our (mine and the bridesmaids...did I mention Simon could walk?) cars:

Hired from Millenium Limousines in Marske. Really lovely people to deal with there and they were exceedingly helpful with my endless questions and phonecalls.

Good Fortune...

2010-11-03T20:51:00.003Z

This is a very sweet idea and there's a free tutorial for them at Intimate Weddings.

I'm in love!

2010-11-03T20:42:00.002Z

Simon and I went to yet another wedding fayre on the 31st and we came across a stand run by the lady from Fine and Funky Events. Well, I downright wanted to go with her on the spot! I'm having to do some convincing to Simon on my part but 'ohmygosh!' SUCH fantastic ideas.

Start your engines...

2010-10-19T14:04:00.001+01:00

...the cars are booked. Well, I say "the cars" but what I mean is "my cars". Simon will still have to figure out a way to get there. We have them for two hours. Everything is in the same place so it's only got to get us there...a 5 minute journey...but they're sticking around for photos after the ceremony. It'll probably rain!

MTH Fayre

2010-10-13T21:56:00.003+01:00

Simon and I will be attending a wedding fayre on Sunday. I'm hoping to clear up a lot of indecisions on my part. It's supposed to be quite a large event and I'm optimistic that we'll see more suppliers than we have done previously. At the smaller fayres you tend to witness the same two competing companies moving around them all, whether it be florists, stationers or cars.

There's also a catwalk show although I'm not interested in that bit. I hope I can muster some enthusiasm about wedding dresses fairly soon or I'll be saying the same thing when we're in July. There are no appealing dresses with sleeves!

Take a stand...

2010-10-13T21:47:00.005+01:00

I'm pretty much decided on having cupcakes but still want to have the traditional "cake cutting" photo. I know I'll regret it if I don't do it. Simon and I were in USave this weekend (which is a brilliant shop for amazing bargains sometimes) and found this cake stand. The picture doesn't do it justice and it catches the light beautifully. We decided to get it and use it for a small cake to cut for pictures. That way we can have the cupcakes on seperate stands either side.

USave DID have cupcake stands but they didn't match and wouldn't hold enough.

In the frame...

2010-10-13T21:43:00.002+01:00

I've been thinking about the seating plan arrangement and I like the idea of having each list of people (making a table) inside various frame designs. I came across these yesterday and really like the style:

Cup-a-Load-of-This

2010-09-25T18:29:00.005+01:00

Whilst originally thinking I would run with a bog-standard 3-tier cake, today I visited a cake decorating shop. They had such wonderful cupcake cases and decorations and I was in love. I think I'd still have a small cake to cut (as is tradition) but have the remainder as cupcakes. That's even doable by buying in bulk at Asda.

How cute are these cases? I can't seem to put the image into this post.

I like the idea of topping them with various things like cocktail umbrellas or little signs.

From pinkcherrymama at Etsy.

From Vintagetwee at Etsy.

Ideas Pitch(er)

2010-09-25T16:38:00.003+01:00

No wonder wedding planning is such a stressful job. I'm completely indecisive.

Went to browse a vintage store this morning and came out with the idea of putting flowers in vintage pitchers. They don't even have to match...that's the beauty of it. One pitcher is enough to do each table. I've come home to look them up and I can only find enamel ones. The shop had a lovely ivory ceramic one with a flower design. I'm hoping it's a doable idea with regard to cost.

(Even finding pictures is hard!)

All because...

2010-09-16T14:33:00.003+01:00

I wonder if I could make something like this:

I adore it AND the wording. Hmmm. Possibility of incorporating that wording into our table plan.

For those of you less happy to paint everything in sight (including yourself) whilst attempting to recreate something similar, the original is £35 by Maggi Wood Art Signs and can be found at Not on the High Street.

Colour Watch

2010-08-08T21:01:00.004+01:00

I think I might possibly have decided that the olive green goes with just about every colour, ever. Sadly, I don't think it's a popular choice with that many people. I do feel, however, that using the non-satin side would mean I wasn't using the best side. Putting the matte side with a black suit could end up being a bit dowdy.

My favourite matches are with (not all at the same time, promise) aubergine, plum, teal, chocolate, silver, gold, orange(!), peach(!), lilac. Obviously the third colour would be ivory.

It has so much potential. With purple I just feel like I'd be stuck in a rut with colour matching (silver on purple and purple on purple) whereas the olive green could even look vintage.

*sigh*

Sleeved dresses

2010-08-05T19:52:00.002+01:00

Sleeved wedding dresses are difficult to find but today I came across this one. I think the neckline and off the shoulder saves it from being too dowdy. Only £180 too.

With flowers in her hair

2010-08-03T21:46:00.004+01:00

I love these ivory flowers. I think they'd look lovely as hair accessories for the bridesmaids, especially with the olive green fabric.
It's sometimes quite hard to tell the sizes of things on Ebay but these show perspective. I could probably get them cheaper than £6.99 though if I search around.

Flowers for olive green

2010-08-02T18:53:00.003+01:00

Colour Meltdown

2010-08-02T18:21:00.005+01:00

I finally went to the big fabric shop up in Washington. It's the main place for fabric in the North East. I was able to take my mum with me which was brilliant as she'll flat out tell me if she doesn't like something. Anyway, after being dead set on purple, I found a beautiful olive green. These pictures really don't do either colour justice.

This is the shiny satin side...a possibility my bridesmaids might well loathe:

This is the reverse of the fabric. It can be used either way.

You see, with the green, I have visions of ivory flowers with dark purple/aubergine accents for the bridesmaids and olivey green with ivory and dark purple/aubergine accents for me. Whilst I am aware olive green goes beautifully with gold, I would prefer silver. I'm unsure as to what the consensus is for pairing olive green and silver. I've put the reverse side up against my silver shoes and it doesn't look bad in my opinion. Make-up would be neutral earthy tones.

The men would wear black suits with matching olive green cravats in the same fabric as the dresses with ivory waistcoats. The boutonnieres would be an ivory flower. I think my Dad would prefer the green.

For the purple, my vision is silver accessories with flowers in a range of purples and ivory, whilst I would carry the same with some green accents. Make-up, unknown.

The men would wear grey suits with matching purple cravats in the same fabric as the dresses and an ivory waistcoat. The boutonnieres would be a purple flower.

I can think of lots of reception decoration ideas for the earthy tones whilst purple would lend itself to sparkle. After obtaining the samples yesterday I was putting them up against bridal dress fabrics and flowers. Everything I put up against the purple seemed really brash whilst the green complimented everything. I also feel that olive green is more suitable for the manor house setting. With the purple I might be more inclined to go with sticking to purple for things like hair accessories and decorations whereas with the green, I feel I could branch out a bit.

Still...I think purple suits a summer wedding more than the olive green spring or sometimes autumnal colour matching that I have in mind. Do people really stick to the "right" seasonal colours? Green might also be a miss against my bridesmaids skintones.

Wedding Cars

2010-07-24T22:12:00.003+01:00

We're probably going to go with a Chrysler 300 for the wedding car. It's one of the cheaper (yet still stupidly over expensive) options. I looked into a Rolls Royce Phantom but can't justify the cost as it's not sticking around all day.

The Chrysler we're looking into comes in a package with a matching stretch which seats 8. It'll be an easy way to get 3 bridesmaids, my mum, my sister's boyfriend and possibly the make-up artist to the venue whilst my dad and I can go in the saloon. We have an appointment to view the saloon on Tuesday 27th. I have to go and check I can get a dress in the back. I'm sure I'll be able to as they hire it out exclusively for weddings.

Best foot forward

2010-07-16T15:54:00.004+01:00

Finding flat wedding shoes might be an issue. Simon and I are the same height (he's actually a little shorter) and I don't want to tower above him. I'm flitting between ballet pumps and flat sandals. Unfortunately it's quite hard to find sandals that aren't gladiator or too informal flip flop wise. I'm not opposed to wearing flip flops as I've seen some really pretty ones. I just wonder if they'll stay on my feet.

I'm quite fond of these as they're something additional to the basic ballet pump. It says they're ivory but they look distinctly creamy to me. £42.99, too. Expensive.

Found at Perdita's Wedding Shoes.

On a pedestal

2010-07-16T11:12:00.001+01:00

I love this cake stand!

Peas in a Pod

2010-07-07T16:38:00.003+01:00

These ceramic salt and pepper shakers are so cute and I'd love them for favours. Sadly, they're too expensive.

However, I've come across a candle version on Ebay which are at a lower price and equally as quaint.

All tied up v3.0

2010-07-07T12:46:00.003+01:00

Hang on a mo!

I've just checked the Cox & Cox (expensive) ribbon again and it's £14 for 20m. NOT 2M! Even with discounts applied to the 'cheaper ribbon' it would work out more expensive than the Cox & Cox one.

Cheaper ribbon - £21 as it's £1.05 per m when ordering 20m or more!
Cox & Cox ribbon - £14 for 20m so it works out at 70p per m!

All tied up v2.0

2010-07-07T12:40:00.003+01:00

My sister managed to find some personalised ribbon that's so much cheaper than the one I posted before. It's a shame that they have limited fonts and don't have one that matches the more expensive ribbon.

Still, it's £1.40 a metre (plus discounts for bulk) compared to £14 for 2m for the Cox & Cox one.

Defeated

2010-06-03T15:44:00.005+01:00

I am a fat bride. *sigh*

First appointment trying on dresses today and they were only able to do one up fully...one that is about 2 sizes bigger than I wear in other clothes. Argh. Diet.Diet.Diet.

One positive thing that came out of today was that I know I want an ivory dress. It suits my colouring well and the champagne one I tried on was hideous on me, beautiful as the dress was on the hanger.

I also liked the sweetheart neckline on this dress:
Apparently, I don't have enough of a bust to fill the straight across necklines.

A-line is also a plus! The fishtail was too heavy and netty. However, I only tried one fishtail on.

All tied up

2010-05-28T20:02:00.000+01:00

I love this ribbon from Cox & Cox.

If it wasn't £14 for 2m I would be all over it! There's not even a knock off version on Ebay. I had it in mind for tying around favour boxes.

Dresses, dresses, dresses!

2010-05-27T13:30:00.000+01:00

I've just booked my first appointment to go and try on wedding dresses. It's not until 13th July, though. I could've gone sooner but she's getting new styles in at the end of June so I said I'd wait.

I'm both excited and worried. What if I look hideous in everything?

I spent yesterday being driven around - by the mother-in-law and father-in-law to be - trying to find fabric shops after I had a reply from the seamstress about the bridesmaids dresses. I am definitely going with this one

The fabrics she said I have to look at are chiffon (what the dress in the pic is), georgette, crepe de chine, crepe or a very soft satin (though I doubt I will subject my bridesmaids to a clingy satin). She correctly predicted that I might not know these fabrics very well so I'm going to see her on Wednesday morning to see some samples. I also need to ask about linings as she didn't mention how much fabric I would need for that. She's also making the men's tie things (do I mean a cravat?) and some wraps for the bridesmaids. However, the fabrics she's mentioned all seem very sheer. Too sheer for the ties?! I'll ask her on Wednesday.

Back of hair

2010-05-08T20:18:00.000+01:00

Mother-in-law to be just sent me the photo she took of the back of my hair when I had it done last weekend. Such pretty curls. So sad they dropped out!

Hair Raising

2010-05-02T10:56:00.000+01:00

I thought a friend's party last night would be a good opportunity to try out a mobile hairdresser. She curled my hair entirely with straighteners and some spray! It was the first time I'd ever had it curled. My hair is notorious for not being able to hold a curl. I felt a bit poodle-like to begin with but that's partly because I'm not used to having curly hair. My hair ended up fairly short with the curls so I would've needed to make sure it was no shorter than my current length if at the time of the wedding if I went with this style. It did look good and felt really neat and tight at the beginning of the night. However, within about an hour, the bottom layer of curls was starting to drop and by the end of the night the front was dropping out too. Although it lasted an evening without too much worry about the curl drop, I doubt that it would last the day AND evening of the wedding. It's no fault of the hairdresser, just my heavy hair. Next time, I think I'll try a pin-up. An "up-do" would probably work better with a veil anyway.

Pictures for evidence...

Chair Covers

2010-04-20T11:17:00.000+01:00

I'd like to have chair covers in the marquee (the service I'm not bothered about because, essentially, we're only in there for 20 minutes and the chairs are that close packed they bows would get in the way) so we went to see a lady about a chair. Whilst there is no denying that Simply Bows and Chair Covers can offer us a very pretty set up, the price was just too much. She had some lovely sash colours and a different style of tying them but by the time you factor in her putting them on, the sashes, the runners (which if taken out of the total cost only save you £40), 70 chair covers and the little brooches she puts on the back it was getting to stupid money. Also, any stains they can't remove incur the full cost of a replacement cover.

The venue offers them but they didn't have the right colour sash. I suppose there's the idea we could provide the sashes ourselves.

Pretty Sleeves

2010-04-07T11:09:00.000+01:00

I get annoyed when prices aren't available like for this dress.
Still, the sleeves are pretty (though not long enough to cover the parts of my arms I don't like) and it has the button detail on the back that I seem to be drawn towards.

Table Decoration

2010-04-05T19:47:00.000+01:00

We went to a Wedding Fayre back in February and a florist had placed flowers inside a decorative birdcage. Such a pretty idea. This woman was very expensive and Simon already knows a florist (a customer of his) where all my flowers for sucking up purposes have come from so I think if we went with the idea I would hire them. It looks like you can get some decent ones from around £5-£8 depending on size. Of course, the flowers would be on top of that...though I quite like them with Ivy.

The candles are pretty, too. However, I'm thinking that wouldn't make as much impact for a daytime wedding breakfast as it would for an evening soiree. Our marquee is very light and airy!

Good grief!

2010-04-05T11:36:00.000+01:00

Wedding cars are expensive.

I looked at this package (Rolls Royce silver cloud and a Daimler) from G.W Holmes & Son and was quoted £645 for one car to take Simon and the other, myself and bridesmaids. Bear in mind that I will be travelling less than 2 miles in that car! Kind of makes me think I'll do without but I want to do the whole travel in style. I was adamant I was going to get ready at the venue but I've always been one of those people who gets stressed if they aren't around their own belongings.

Our other option is this package from TPJ Prestige & Classic Cars. I love the MK II Jaguar and the S-Type is just a nice car. If I remember rightly the deposits are £150 for the MKII and £100 for the S-type. I'm pretty sure the deposits are half of the value so it'll be £500.

I have seen lots of Mercedes available for slightly cheaper but they're not as roomy and white; I'd like silver.

Bridesmaid's Hair Accessories

2010-04-02T16:47:00.001+01:00

I adore the idea of having a vintage side-headband sort of accessory for the bridesmaids. I imagine they'll suit well to the one shouldered dresses. Unfortunately, a lot of the ones I've seen so far have been fairly expensive. Well, expensive in the sense that I need to buy three of them. My sister works in H&M and has mentioned that sometimes similar things are available in the shop and she also echoed a thought I'd had about making them by finding a plain band and some sequin appliques or similar.

'Alexa' by Rock 'n Rose

£20 each

Rock 'n Rose is a brilliant site anyway, by the way. SO much I'd like from there.

'Annalise' by Rock 'n Rose

£30 each

A little premature

2010-03-30T17:19:00.000+01:00

It's too early to be looking at dresses and I need to lose weight.

That said, I am in love with this dress. I found it in a Google image search just after we got engaged and it took me to a French forum where I could make head nor tail of where it came from.

Then, whilst browsing another site, I came across the same dress. It appears to be a Chinese site selling replicas of the picture shown. Still, it's like $189 which is pennies in £. Also, I had never seen a picture of the back. It's gorgeous and I love it so.

I think it would be too difficult for the seamstress to make due to the lace.

More Inspiration

2010-03-29T15:36:00.000+01:00

This site was recommended to me by a friend who knows the photographer. Yes, I know we've already booked a photographer and this one is in the USA but her site is phenomenal. She's taken pictures of the interesting things she's seen at the weddings she does and catalogues them all.

In particular, I love this idea:

Colourful shawls/wraps in a basket for the guests who venture outside in the evening. Given there is a seating area outside the marquee I thought it would be a brilliant idea. I'm sure I've seen these wraps on the market for about £1 each!

Bridesmaids Pt. 2

2010-03-27T22:20:00.000Z

My mum found the dress in the previous post at Divine Bride in Chelmsford so I'm now aware of price. £225!!! £225 x 3 is way too much I fear.

Bridesmaids

2010-03-27T12:31:00.000Z

I have three bridesmaids; Jo (friend and Maid of Honour), Kate (sister) and Emma (friend - over the moon for this friend at the moment as she got engaged yesterday).

I'm unsure as to whether the dresses will be bought from the shop or made based on a design I like. My Maid of Honour had her wedding dress, four bridesmaids dresses and all of the cravats made by a woman just around the corner from where I live and all for much less than the price of the wedding dress she had tried on in the shop. This woman works out of her house and was very flexible to when Jo needed people fitting. I didn't live in the area at the time and one of her bridesmaids was pregnant so she fitted her right at the last minute. My sister also lives miles away.

Anyway - I saw this in a magazine and looked it up online at Jasmine Bridal:

I can't find a price for it so I suppose you would have to go to the stockists. The colour on the left is actually "Bordeaux" which I pictured in my head as a deep red. The colour on the left is "Exotic Fushia" and a little too light possibly. Given that it's a drop from the bust (is that a princess or empire line?) I think it could suit all three bridesmaids. The back of the dress is quite low so I think if I had it made to similar specifications I would alter it to be higher and more supportive for optional bras. (Sidenote - When Jo got married, she and all four of us bridesmaids were adamant we would need a bra. The woman making the dresses was saying we wouldn't and we would be surprised! We remained sceptical to the point of searching for the perfect strapless bra and none of us needed one in the end. The dresses were very supportive, though boned, which this dress is not).

For some reason I can't add the picture showing the back so you would need to click on the link to see.

Save the Dates & Evenings

2010-03-25T13:32:00.001Z

As our wedding is next summer I decided I wanted to send some Save the Date cards. I also wanted to get them out before people book their summer holidays for next year.

I looked into magnetised STD's (Yuh, nice acronym) on Ebay and found this company http://i4image.co.uk/. They didn't have what I wanted on Ebay so I sent them a message and they were really quick in responding and were very helpful. I also wanted Save the Evening magnets. I'm hoping this is going to avoid any initial confusion as to who is attending which part of the day. In some instances, we have a couple of people from the same household attending the day and then others attending just the evening. They were able to mock up a design for me and sent me some proofs which were lovely.

Trouble is, we wanted about 30 STD's and 50 STE's and we were quoted £80. A pound each might not seem like much to some, and if you can afford it I'd recommend the company above, but for us it was too much. I also thought that we would need to know exactly how many of each we wanted which is easier said than done.

My mum (she of the "neverwrongs") came up with the idea of getting these from Ebay instead and making our own:

I think it was about £30 +P&P for 100 jumbo magnets (60x90mm) plus the cost of ink and some card. I fit 8 designs on a page so I used less card and ink usage was minimal. The magnets are also available in smaller sizes but for the information we wanted on them, the larger ones were more suitable. I suppose you could also make keyrings if you wanted considering Ebay sells the blanks in bulk!

The magnets will hopefully help avoid loss or damage of the STD/STE cards once they arrive at their destinations. I think it also gives it a personal touch and we have the added bonus of being able to make the exact right amount and make more if we need them at a later date.

I used DeviantArt (helpfully recommended by a friend) to find backgrounds and did an internet search for any free fonts to download. At one point I had about 40 designs to choose from but again, friends helped me to whittle that down. Being unable to choose between two of them, we decided to go with both. One design for the STD's and another for the STE's. I like to think the dark design on the STE's helps convey the evening message, too. The STD original image was actually black and white but, as this looked a bit like "a funeral notice" according to some, I popped it into a photo editing programme and changed it to purple.

Another friend pointed out that I could use the same design on placecards etc. if I wanted to and the design would be tied into the day.

The font used was "Little Lord Fauntleroy".

Looking forward to sending them out!

Floral Inspiration

2010-03-25T12:41:00.000Z

Having thought I wanted royal blue for the colour scheme I promptly changed my mind and went with purple. It'll most likely be plum/aubergine colour purple. I've been looking at flowers for bouquets and have fallen in love with mixing flowers and colours.

I'm currently trying to assess if it looks too old fashioned.

I love this site!

2010-03-25T12:23:00.000Z

Dotcomgiftshop

The amount of things from there I'd love to use as favours. These especially:

Bird Ornaments

They're too expensive to consider seriously but food for thought none-the-less.

I've also been looking for a scrapbook for my cutouts of images and when I print things off the computer. I already have this wedding planner which is nifty with all it's little pouches and list space but it doesn't really have much room for cutting and sticking.

~~I'm seriously considering getting~~ I just bought this Romantic Images Scrapbook. It's only £3.95 in the sale on the dotcomgiftshop site.

Photographer (BOOKED!)

2010-03-25T12:08:00.000Z

We also have our photographer. We investigated for ourselves and were stunned at how expensive this part would be. One wanted £2000 for just the day time. Of course, that included albums, but still!

In the end, one of our friends told us about the photographer she had who she couldn't fault. We called them up and they came out to our house almost immediately. They're a lovely couple and he does most of the photography but she comes to help out too! They were really friendly and I told them about my "staged photo" concerns. Namely that I look like a muppet when I know I'm having my photo taken. I want to go with the more candid shots. We will be having the basic set-up photos as I think I'd regret not having any at all but I told them it will be "just follow us around and see what you get". They are nowhere near the £2000 mentioned above by the way.

When they came over we were able to look through albums from previous weddings and they showed us all the sizes available. We also get all the proofs in a box, a couple of framed prints and a DVD set to music (not as bad as it sounds and I'm a sucker for a montage) as well as our albums. The best bit is that they'll be with me when I'm getting ready and then go ahead to the venue to snap Simon beforehand whilst I finish up and they'll be there right until we tell them to go home at the end of the night!

I liked that they came to us! We had to scour the streets for some of the galleries we had appointments at.

The Venue (BOOKED!)

2010-03-25T11:38:00.000Z

Pinchinthorpe Hall

This is our venue. It's not to everyone's tastes but we like it. It was one of the first ones we saw and the moment I walked in the door I felt comfortable. It's a country house and it's just over a mile away from our house and under ten minutes for Simon on the day.

Unlike so many other venues we had looked at which hold more than one wedding a day, I will be the only bride. We also get the run of the place. The ceremony will be held inside the manor and the wedding breakfast and the evening reception will be held in the pretty marquee. The guests will also have two bars available. One inside with the snug rooms and one in the marquee. There is no change-over issue and having to find places to go whilst they do it. The grounds are lovely and plenty of photo opportunities can be had.

The wedding co-ordinator is a doll! He reminds me (well, Simon) of this guy:
Franck from Father of the Bride! I think he is almost as excited as I am for our wedding.

The wallpapers are epic in the bedrooms and nothing matches. There are stuffed animal heads on the wall but it's a country house! I'm sure some people will wonder what I was thinking when I booked it but it's got the "feel-it-factor", people. Everytime I've been back since my first visit I've loved it even more than before.

Bullet points:

Distance - 2 miles max for me, about 8 miles for Simon.
Cost - Average, plus we get two complimentary rooms on the night of the wedding and Simon and I get a complimentary room there on our 1 year anniversary! We also get a DJ in with the price.

Local B&B's/Hotels - Only 6 rooms in the house but close to a Premier Inn and other sources of accommodation.
The size - The ceremony room is fairly small and we will have to extend into the room behind it, but not by much and you'll still hear the vows and everything. The marquee is very large and we also have use of the outside seating areas (as it's summer) and the snugs in the manor.

The food -Good selection of menus and we get to pick two options and have our guests pick. We had seen so many venues where one option was for everyone.

The "feel it factor" - I feel it. I feel it good.

Did I mention the wallpaper is epic?

The Venue - Potentials

2010-03-25T09:47:00.002Z

Simon and I knew we didn't want a church wedding from the very beginning so we've gone down the civil service route.

For those of you not in the know, a civil service is defined as: a legally approved marriage ceremony that contains no religious aspects. A civil ceremony is conducted by the superintendent registrar or deputy and can take place in a register office or a licensed venue.

We also made the decision to hold the civil ceremony and the reception at the same venue rather than go from registry office to venue. This was to avoid lost time and the transport/parking issue for guests.

When looking for venues we considered the following things (everybody loves bullet points):

Distance from our house* and from the place Simon will be leaving from
Cost and what it includes
Local B&B's/Hotels in the area for guests' accomodation (my family and some friends have to travel)
The size

The food**

The "feel it factor"***

* We live in Guisborough which is 220 miles away from my parent's house so we won't be keeping up the tradition for the bride to go from there on the morning of the wedding. Simon will be leaving from his mum's or his friend's in Middlesbrough.

** Simon is the fussiest eater in the world...that might inspire another blog someday!

*** When it just feels right!

So, knowing the size of the wedding we would have so far in advance would be a challenge. a rough guest list was drawn up. It's amazing how quickly the small wedding you have in mind actually amounts to a large number simply by including close family and friends. The guest list is an issue for another entry. However, intial counts put us at about 50 for the day. This later increased to about 60, then 70. We counted 120+ for the evening.

The Viewings in Brief

The Treebridge Hotel

On our initial numbers of 50, I came across this place. It looked pretty judging by the photos on the website. I really had my hopes up.

Rookie-Bride error!!

Of course, a website can pick and choose which pictures it shows you. There were none on there of the actual room the ceremony etc would be held in. I sent off for the pack which had menus in and costs which was helpful.

We thought we would go and try out their restaurant to get an idea of food quality and book to see the room at the same time. The outside was covered in snow when we went but the building still looked good to us. However, the outside space consisted of a car-park and a patio. Not many places for photos. Giving it the benefit of the doubt we went in through the restaurant. The restaurant itself was STUNNING. Amazing atmosphere and beautiful decor. The woman decided to show us the room for the wedding before we ate so we dutifully followed her through the restaurant (both of us thinking it was a very nice reception meal location) and straight out the other side to the conservatory. Not helped by the fact it was freezing in there, it was a plain white walled room with beige curtains and a not so nice carpet. There was an exceedingly small bar in one corner of the room and a split level floor. She showed us were the ceremony table would be and pointed out my entrance door and how the chairs would be laid out (on a weird angle). Then she said that everyone would stand outside the doors of the conservatory whilst they changed the room over for the wedding breakfast (yeah, I'm still not over the fact they call it a breakfast when it's the meal in the afternoon). Knowing the minimal space outside, there wasn't much to do for them whilst we had photos taken on the patio. The guests wouldn't even be able to make use of that space. So, all the day would be in the conservatory and we wouldn't get to use the restaurant. After that we went into the restaurant to eat. The food was well-presented and tasted good and we couldn't fault the service.

How do we weigh up against the bullet points then?

Distance - 5/10 mins from us both.

Cost and what it includes - Just below the average costs we were working out, but not the cheapest we considered.

Local B&B's/Hotels - A hotel itself (reasonable prices) and some other local B&B's.

The size - Good indoors size for what we need though outside space limited.

The food - The example menus are very basic but have opportunity to upgrade by paying more money...plus we know it tastes ok.

The "feel it factor" - It just wasn't there. I couldn't see myself getting married in that room.

Grinkle Park Hotel

When this pack came through the post I was pleasantly surprised by the costs as it looks so grand. When we visited it we were certainly not disappointed. It truly has lovely grounds and the inside is the no different. The ceremony room is very large and there are some beautiful views of the coastline. There's also plenty of room for photo opportunities outside and if it rained, there would be photo opportunities inside too.

I didn't particularly "click" with the designated wedding co-ordinator. He didn't seem like he was very confident and that worried me a little.

We were told, however, that we could have any food we wanted for our reception and they would work it out. This pleased Simon as it was mentioned that we could have parmos!

Bullet points?

Distance - Now, this place is far out! It would be about a 30+ minute drive each way which could be problematic for guests. No quick taxi!

Cost and what it includes - Just above average costs for us.

Local B&B's/Hotels - A hotel itself (though expensive) and in the middle of nowhere so little option for those not wanting to pay lots. My family will already have to pay to travel let alone stay!

The size - Massive! Possibly a little too big. I would be worried people would empty out of the main room.

The food - Whatever we want!

The "feel it factor" - I loved the scenery but was a bit paranoid about the wedding co-ordinator and the distance. Also, there was a snooker table...I'd lose my new husband to it!

Guisborough Hall Hotel

A beautiful venue from the outside and impressive grounds. Aside from the epic staircase (think Disney's Beauty and the Beast as they walk one from either side) inside the main room, it was actually pretty standard as far as venues we had seen go.

I had a pack through the post for this place (they took 3 weeks to send it. My wait had been 1-3 days on average for everywhere else) and the prices weren't as bad as I imagined. However, my maid of honour used to work there and she mentioned that the prices at the bar were sky high (and that was a number of years ago). People expect to pay more at a hotel but I don't want to inflict that on my guests if I can help it!

Cue bullets:

Distance - 2 mins for me, 10 for Simon.
Cost and what it includes - Average costs for us.
Local B&B's/Hotels - A hotel itself (though expensive) but others in the local area.
The size - Massive!
The food - Good choices though fairly expensive on the menus.
The "feel it factor" - Nice venue, gorgeous scenery and I wanted to play princess on those stairs so much! However, I wasn't feeling the love from the staff and when they looked at me they had "£" signs in their eyes.

This is by no means all we looked at for "potentials". We had a lot of places which were either too far away, they never got back to me or they came to a price that was average without any benefits or "wow" factor.

Our final, and now confirmed, decision shall be in the next entry.

Pee.Ess: I wish I knew how to add a cut on this thing so not everything is displayed at once!

Woo-eee-ooo (Dr Who theme)

2010-03-25T09:38:00.000Z

Seeing as I didn't start this blog at the "true" beginning, I have a backlog of things to share. This blog is about to time-travel to the past...only I don't have a blue police box and can't fiddle with the dates. It'll just be a series of new updates about things I've already done but, hey, it will give me an immense sense of accomplishment to have it all listed.

So I said "Yes"...

2010-03-24T22:09:00.000Z

...and here we are.

Simon proposed on the 31st December 2009. I won't go into details but, to me, it was perfect. Personal and perfect.

This blog is really here to act as a catalogue of my ideas and inspirations on the journey to walking down the aisle to marry the man I can't do without. For those of you who choose to follow; "welcome" and "fasten your seatbelts".