Week 12 - Hear the church bells ring

My last blog was securing the wedding venue. But as a new bride to be i was faced with the mind boggling thought how do you arrange it all for the same day without the worry that one of the other elements is going to be booked.

Luckily for us girls, venues, churches etc have already thought of this and they offer a simple solution. Before a deposit is required most places will hold the date for you for two weeks. Phew.

This makes life so much easier and we were lucky enough to put both the venue and the church on hold. It's quite amusing just how much stuff you can get done in a mere two weeks.

When we first got engaged Luke mentioned that he would like to get married in a church, ok sounds good with me. I think church wedding and i hear an organist, i imagine walking down the aisle and it all being perfect.

So we set our mind to the church wedding, how hard can it be organising a church wedding - UM..... Did anyone know there are rules! I respect the church and their religious ideals of marriage but i wasn't prepared for the RULES!

If you want to get married in a church here are the rules - You/Your partner
* Must have at any time lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months
* Was baptised in the parish concerned
* Was prepared for confirmation in the parish
* has at any time regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months

Or, that one of your parents
* has lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months
* has regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months
* was married in the parish

After finding the venue, there was a clear and obvious church that we wanted to get married in...the church next door. It was quaint, idyllic bowers and a short walk away. Our problem was that we didn't comply with any of the rules.

After contacting the church to discuss the possibility we discovered there was one option. An option that we are now going to look into at our first church meeting on Saturday 13th April. For us to get married in the church we have agreed to attend one church service every month for a year. Make way mother Theresa, Luke and I are coming to pray!

When faced with the option it was quite an easy decision for us. Why not, we are using their venue, we get to learn the sanctity of marriage through religion. It does make me wonder what i'm supposed to wear though? Am i allowed to wear heels? Does Luke have to dress in a suit like they do in the Simpsons? Are we expected to sing the hymns, because i don't think they're in my range (they go very high). We will be heading into uncharted territory and to be honest i'm quite frightened. I guess it's all for the greater good.

Week 11 - It's booked!

This blog is slightly delayed from when I usually post. It’s been a frantic couple of weeks and not for the better.

But we don’t dwell on the bad and so I focus on the good and with the wedding it’s been very good.

After a second look at the venue – the feeling came flooding back. Smiling from ear to ear I can feel this is it, this is where I can feel like a princess and I can marry my prince J

 We got to look around the rooms and visualise everything. It’s perfect for us. So mid discussion of size (which was a concern) it gets flagged up that the capacity is 120 and not 150. SHIT!

 Once we’ve left here’s how it plays out, Luke sits there a lot calmer that there isn’t going to be such a squeeze, and I start to cry !

 After deliberation in Frankie and Benny’s over a burger and a plate of pasta as to whether we can cut 30 places the verdict is YES we can (memo to self Luke can be ruthless.)

 
The very next day I called and booked. So this will remain short and sweet but we are getting married on Saturday 20^th September 2014 at Orton Hall. So excited !!!!

Week 10 - Last weeks trip to the wedding fair

Last week was a wedding themed weekend, therefore this weeks post will focus on last Sunday. After an action packed Saturday venue hunting Mum came to stay Saturday night ready for our Sunday adventure to the National Wedding Show at the NEC in Birmingham.

I guess this was our type of mothering Sunday a week early. Getting to the MK train station was a mission in itself. Armed with a broken sat nav we realised common sense was going to play a rather large part in getting there. The one problem with Milton Keynes is all the bloody roundabouts! After driving past the train station a couple of times we finally managed to park up and set on to the NEC.

It was busy. I'm sure a lot of you have been to some sort of shows in the past (food shows, outdoors exhibits etc...) and this was just like all of those - the difference is everyone in the room was with a highly charged  bride-to-be who knew exactly what she wanted.

Unfortunately i wasn't as clear in my mind. Frantically me and mum got stuck in. Something i wasn't prepared for was the wedding dress saga. Thousands upon thousands of dresses. Picture the scene from Friends, there is Monica, Rachael and Pheobe with whistles battling it out for the best offers. That was the wedding show. Don't get me wrong these dresses were incredibly discounted and quite decent and i can imagine if you don't mind the scrambled experience then it's a great way to do it. Lets strip down in the middle of a ginormous room to try on these dresses while others are oggling and critiquing (lets face it - i did make comments along the lines of urgh i don't like that). I've noticed that i am quite a traditionalist in this wedding planning drama and the experience of trying on a dress in a store with just nearest and dearest and no one else around me is more my thing. I would get quite bashful with thousands of people looking at me.

Saying all this there was a brief period where we did succumb and a quite enjoyed the pushing and shoving to grab a dress and judge it. It was nice, gave me some ideas, we moved on.

We were able to watch the fashion show, i like to think me and mum got more out of it than others watching. Whilst most would judge the dresses we decided it was more fun to judge and take the mickey out of the models.

One model we did encounter was in a slightly more unusual circumstance. Strolling through the endless maze of stands we happened to pass ANOTHER dress stall and the initial thought was a girl was trying on a dress. No it turns out this girls was a life model, paid to stand in heels, in a wedding dress all day. After a quick comment from me and mum we were pounced on by ladies from the stall opposite.

Their response was "Oh my god, she has been there for three days and just stares." I believe these ladies just needed sympathetic ears to rant to, we were happy to oblige. Hearing us talking about her, on cue she turned and stared. Her doll like features reminded me of something at a standard American thriller - we decided to quickly move on.

The entire day was fantastic and as everyone warned "careful you will come back with too much stuff" PLEASE SEE PIC BELOW ... WE DID

For all of those new brides wondering if it's worth going to the National Wedding Show my answer would be absolutely. Enjoy a day out with your mum and the fun-filled opportunity of having a completely wedding themed day. Enjoy some drinks, mock models in dresses and get some great ideas for your day. We even bought comedic cake toppers, but they're a surprise for another day.

Week 9 - Getting somewhere

This weekend has been fun-filled with wedding ideas and plans. Whilst i know i'm going to hit a period where everything calms down this is certainly not it and it's not stopped. Therefore i'm going to spread this last weekend over two blogs one about Saturday and then next week shall cover Sunday.

Saturday me and Luke took mother and mother-in-law-to-be venue shopping. I have been getting a little edgy recently, i'm well aware that i'm not only contending with this years brides but all those who didn't want to get married in the 2013 year.

We crammed in three venue viewings and the result: We provisionally booked one! I have decided to go through the three although i don't think it takes a genius to understand who we went with.

Venue Number 1: Orton Hall
We pulled up to a beautiful 17th century looking house and was shown around by the charming duty manager. We were escorted through to the orangery, where welcome drinks would be held and then viewed the outdoor terrace and grounds. This was followed by the main room, where the feeling was maybe snug but stunning. I'm a person that grew up visiting stately homes on family days out, i loved it. I still do! It's a little part of me (be it slightly nerdy) that appreciates the history. When i see the striking fireplaces, pieces of art and thick draped curtains i try to see past the smaller room an the character it brings. It could mean a compromise.

Venue Number 2: Haycock Hotel
Situated in the prettiest village i have ever been to. Beautiful church travelling over quaint bridge - the drive to the Haycock was certainly exciting and the images in my mind for photo's on the day were on creative overdrive. The Haycock had a class, and we were fortunate that a wedding was happening a few hours later so we could see it all set up. Walking into the main function room you could certainly appreciate the effort. Much larger than the last place the room had fairy lights and drapes. However, the set up was for 120
seated and there was still a lot of room - too much ? The gardens were lovely and quaint with bowers draped although it's difficult to imagine how it may look when it's bloody cold outside. It was a fairly dark room but do we choose space over the za za zhu?

Venue Number 3: Barnsdale Hall
Wow what a drive! Situated on Rutland water there was a concern about distance, but pulling up we were welcomed by lake views and a beautiful country house. Breath taking. Unfortunately that's about as far as it went. Firstly, we didn't get the most welcoming greeting however, to make sure i don't speak to out of term and don't judge on someones character i will focus purely on the venue. It turns out that it's was a holiday campsite and you don't get married in the beautiful building nope, round the back in a Butlins style camp. Oh and the second room that was an option - noooope can't show us as there was a conference (we bloody booked to look round) this was attached to a spa and as Luke put it "we love our wedding with a side of chlorine"

So out of the three - drum roll please. We have decided to provisionally book venue number 1. This gives us two weeks to make a decision so stay tuned.