Chicks and Hen

This blog was written quite some time ago but through some new age computer fault it never posted. I cannot of course miss out the incredible hen do so we shall squeeze it in to the appropriate place.

Hen do's - some people love them, some people hate them, some are just plain terrified of them.

I've only ever been on one hen do to Alton Towers so when it came to my own bash and knowing those closest to me there was certainly an element of fear. However, I must say now the girls nailed it. I had so much fun and it was tailored perfectly to me!

When I thought of hen do's I made it very clear to all of those around me that under no circumstance did I want a stripper - it would be a waste of cash. I also wanted no tat, and do not dress me up as a slut!

With a guest list of approx 20 strong my girls had a challenge on their hands.

After a slight slip up from one - not saying who, I knew Leeds was the destination. Having never been out in Leeds I was very excited !

Everyone travelled from far and wide but for the majority of us a bus of 10ish set off drinking fizz and giggling our way up North. On arrival we met everyone else. Cocktails were consumed and of course my mother couldn't let the opportunity go by without feather boa's for all. I also received a badge and crown which was rather fitting for someone who has always classified herself as a bit of a princess! Then up the stairs I went and I was greeted by numerous masks with Luke's face on, followed by an inappropriately dressed (nude) blow up doll, also with Luke's face on. GREAT ! (Many a dance happened with him later in the evening)

With the promise of no more crude surprises we headed off to a gorgeous restaurant (the wine cleared the name out my head i'm afraid) that served the best steak I've ever eaten.

Where to next... Are we going clubbing...

Not quite! The surprises mounted up and I can say Luce and Paz you were incredible !!!

I walked through a bar that wasn't really my sort of place panicking like mad, then we got to the back, then we went through to a room and into a private booth. THEY HAD ONLY BOOKED ME A KARAOKE BOOTH!!!!

All my dreams came true as I was handed a mic and I was off, Bohemian Rhapsody eat your heart out. What a great time. We all sang our little hearts out as the gin flowed.

When time was up we headed to a bar and continued to drink the night away and then all made our way back to the hotel where I was bunking with Beiber! Sorry Paz but you certainly were my Beibs lookalike in bed that night!

The next day was perfect, sun shining, a roof top terrace bar and mocktails (no more gin!)

Ladies it was an honor - you did me proud. Just you wait till it's your turns :)

Six and a half weeks to go!

6 and a half weeks !!! (I started writing this at the 7 week marker, therefore having to change everything).

Ladies and gentleman we are entering the period where every morning I wake up I feel like the wedding is tomorrow.

Meetings are getting finalised, cash is being spent (and we are not just talking deposits anymore) and  I've just moved into a period where I'm no longer panicking. It's done, and what's not done isn't worth thinking about.

Even as I'm writing this I can't believe the sense of calm I feel.

How have a got to this stage? Well believe it or not it's because of the hair! For those of you who are particularly close to me you know I've always got an issue with my hair. It's huge, it's curly, it's frizzy it's the one part of me that if it's not right it ruins my confidence. It's no different when it comes to the wedding, I may have the dress and nice makeup but for me it's my hair that needs to be perfect.  Recently I had my bridal hair trial with 'Hair by Kate' oh my goodness Katie did an amazing job. I explained how nervous I was and she was so professional and listened to every detail I wanted. Katie gave honest opinions, and expert advice and with some style arranging, she got it - this idea in my head became reality.

That was it the moment where I confidently realised there is nothing to worry about. Isn't it funny one element can make the entire thing fall into place.

The wedding industry fascinates me and personally I find it somewhat of a desirable sector to possibly one day consider working in. Hats off to the professionals that are helping us organise our wedding, every single person has given their undivided attention to us. I've a new found respect for those who make us feel that our wedding is the most important event to them, when in reality it's wedding season and they are working with hundreds of clients.

This blog is to thank them ! You are making my life easy :) (You can find a list of some of our main suppliers listed below).

As people keep reminding me, 6 weeks will fly by. Within that time we have to fit in x6 family birthdays, a stag do, x3 hen parties, x2 weekends of work events and find time to erect a marquee. This is all easier said than done!

With this comes the excitement, the time to enjoy getting married and the fun it brings with it. Bringing so many people together for our special day, all the time knowing that in just over 6 and a half weeks I will be on my way to Mauritius.

I'm keeping this blog short and sweet - some may say like it's author ;)

Thank you to those who are helping to make our wedding possible.

Listed suppliers :

Xquiste Bridal - Leighton Buzzard - dress
Hair by Kate - Spalding - hair
Cakelicious - Peterborough - cake
Infuzion - Northamptonshire - band
Orton Hall - Peterborough - venue
Ambience Weddings - Stamford - chair covers
Keepsakes of Yaxley - Yaxley - flowers
E K Bridal Flowers - Hemel Hempsted - candelabra
Moss Bros - Suits
Kirith Richards Photography  - photos

For any that i've missed out my apologies - but fear not there will be many more blogs.

The subconscious takes over.

My last blog was highlighting the 6-month marker count down and so I decided to start this blog on that 5month marker, however we have somehow seen the 4month just pass by and I’m only just posting this.

We are now entering the summer season, and the weather is currently displaying that perfect English indecisive summer. We've seen a change from shorts to wellies in the space of five days. To me summer also represents time and how it is now ticking away rather quickly. Our wedding is taking place in late September and to me that represents the end of summer and the beginning of Autumn, new season new beginnings.

From the delays in posting my blogs I've realised that we also seem to have skipped the entire season of Spring.

Spring allowed us to make great progress with wedding arrangements and I'm really happy to report that I'm feeling extremely calm now that our 'important bits' are sorted. We still have details to iron out and now have sufficient time to enjoy the process of adding finishing touches.

Throughout the process of planning the wedding I've mentioned previously that finding Bridesmaid dresses were challenging, however I've found a new stressful knotch to add to my belt and that is the Invitations. I won't go in to detail but making sure you've got your list, worked out where everyone is going to sit, and the capacity for the evening reception is exhausting.

These are certainly just a couple of issues that have played on my mind but nothing to split hairs over. In the day I'm fine and too busy with work to be able to worry - the evening however, is another matter for some reason that's when the nightmare demons descend.

I am being extremely over dramatic here as I've only had 4 wedding nightmares, but to me even 1 is too many, how pathetic! It would seem that the Bridezilla that we often all joke about seems to be living in my subconscious and she's not my favourite person. I have always had very vivid dreams and many times I have woken up pretty sure that the mystical nighttime world was in fact my reality. When I find myself waking from a bad dream I'm sure I am like most people, maybe a bit of yelping, occasionally trying to throw a punch or in other circumstances sobbing and not really too sure why. That sense of waking though and being able to breathe that sigh of relief leaves you lying in the dark feeling rather embarassed.  

These nightmares have been staggered throughout this year. Though pretty ridiculous, at the time you tend to stress. So far those that I have come across have included, not having time to make my wedding nail appointment, I've arrived to the wedding on the wrong date with no one there, I've forgotten to book a hairdresser and I've had the wrong wedding dress delivered. Notice these all seem to be bride related!!

Each of these night time unpleasantries have woken me up in cold sweats almost in tears, which is strange because all are very improbable and I wouldn't really care that much if I didn't get time to get my nails done. But this does make me ask the question why is the subconscious so powerful? What part of my daytime brain has flagged this up with my dozed state to make sure I acknowledge these issues?

I would love to hear from other budding brides to see if this happens to them. When I did a bit of research 1 in 2 adults are said to not grow out of having nightmares. Bad dreams happen when we enter that deeper stage of sleep known as rapid eye movement (REM), which is why they can often be harder to wake up from. According to BridalGuide.com they already have an entire feature on PreWedding Nightmares and Number 1. The Wedding Day Arrives, and No One is Ready pretty much covers a few of mine. I'm glad I’m not the only one.

Am I overreacting - Yes, I know the general theme of these nightmares are no big deal, no one dies - however, I classify a nightmare as a thought that makes you upset, feeling unsettled, or generally stressed out. We don't go to sleep to stress!

I have clearly had these bad dreams because there is a part of me that wanted all bits for the wedding sorted like yesterday. I don't eat cheese before bed and I don't watch horror movies so in terms of remedies there is not much I can do, however I’m fortunate enough to have a circuit of people ready and willing to help maybe I just need to use them a little bit more.

So I guess my point to all those who know someone getting married soon is to just check in with them. Asking how's things going? The answer will always be fine, or busy. Try to be more specific, "Did you get your table centre pieces sorted" they may just turn around and need a bit more help than you think.

The 6month marker

When you are planning a wedding you have a constant fizzy, bubbling feeling in your tummy. You can't be 'on it' all of the time but you find yourself gently chipping away at it as and when you can. I started writing this post two days ago and already things have changed.

These past two months have been incredibly busy for me at work and finding the time to iron out those little details surrounding a wedding is rather difficult.

Are we getting there though? Of course we are !

We've booked the band, finally !! For all those planning a wedding, make sure you check all those finer details, will they fit in a space ? How long do they take to set up ? Sound levels? Trust me there is a lot to think about it. Not helped by scrutinising every set list and making sure there is a decent amount of Pop, Motown and Classics - yes 'Play That Funky Music' & Johnny B Goode will be making an appearance.

Our wedding band are already being so helpful and answering all of my nit picky questions. I'm looking forward to them kick starting our wedding reception with a some well known, dance till you drop music.

We have also made progress sourcing decorations and yesterday the draft of our wonderful invitations were delivered. Dare I say there were tears. So, Mr 6 month marker, hit me with whatever you've got because in a few weeks I will be sending out those glamorous inviations BOOM.

Another element that must be considered when planning a wedding is the hen do and over the past  week discussions have been had about mine - Eeeeeeeek. I have decided to respectfully decline all knowledge, the fun and slightly terrifying surprise will be worth it. I've handed responsibility to my gorgeous bridesmaids and from what i've been allowed to catch they are doing an amazing job and I want to thank them so much.

So now I quiz you, take a minute now - when you think of hen do's what comes to mind? I have to be careful here as I have no idea what's in store for me but for some reason I always think of a bunch of ladettes hollering, with a cheap greased up stripper grinding his way towards anything that moves and some rather cheap costumes. It's only when you start to think about the details of a hen do that you realise there is such a fine balance. Would I  be opposed to certain fancy dress, no. Some humourous artifacts of the male appendidge, it's probably going to happen, a slightly larger consumption of your average alcohol intake - yup you can count on it. So A LOT of laughter is expected, but lets do it with dignity girls. The Thor lookalike stripper can stay at home on this one ladies.

Kay i'm warning you!

It's so difficult to understand what to do, who might want to come and when is an appropriate time to do all of this? In addition when's your groom going on his?

I shall be henning it with the chicks during the last weekend of August, as to what we will get up with - watch this space.

It's fair to say most people still go on their hen and stag do's. Even the celebrities are still doing it, although I believe Angelina Jolie's may differ slightly to Kim Kardashian. Kate Moss took her hens to a Gypsy themed festival in the Isle of Wight whereas back in the day Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise opted for a joint hen/stag do.

Unfortunately in the real world I can't pay for a private jet to whizz me and the girlies off to some tropical paradise but I'm looking forward to whatever they throw at me. Well as long as it's clothes and doesn't smell of Johnson's baby oil.

A bit of sunshine does the world of good.

When I last wrote a blog we had just begun 2014 and the reality of the wedding was becoming ever clearer. In the past few weeks we've booked our honeymoon, organised our stationary, viewed and arranged a florist and begun the hunt for decorations.

We've certainly moved into the period where wedding magazines are no longer needed. I no longer need to read about other bride's marvellous weddings because we barely have time to try and arrange things for our own.

The incredible progress we've made in the last few weeks is because of our complete change of attitude. We are now both focusing on the 'book now' concept. Rather than spending hour upon hour not getting anywhere; the active approach seems to be working.

Booking the honeymoon comes as one of the more expensive items that we pay for when arranging the wedding, so to have one now organised is one of the more exciting parts about the wedding.

For those who are newly engaged or thinking about when to book a wedding may I kindly put you off September. Once we booked our wedding we realised that September is highly undesirable when trying to book a honeymoon. Whether it's hurricane's in the Caribbean or monsoon's in the Indian Ocean. Your choices are limited and we were left with Europe, Bali or Mauritius.

MARITIUS it is!! Well it's not all that bad hahahahaa.
After a scrupulous morning of going over all details with the poor chap from Virgin Holidays we were left very confused. A slight difference in opinion originally split our thoughts and whilst I have an attitude of - I love Bali lets go to Bali, Luke rather wisely suggested to have lunch first. This shows just how clever my fiancé is as clearly the only thing that's going to distract me is food.

Once away from the office, I was able to think a little more rationally and decided to go home and research both resorts in Bali and Maritius that we loved. For us trip advisor was that little window into real people's opinions. Whilst our Bali choice still did get nice reviews there were some similar themed comments that put that tiny dot of doubt in my mind. Mauritius however had the most amazing reviews. My mind had been changed. It was booked the next day! Told you it's this new 'book it attitude.'

So the Monday after the wedding we will be jet setting away to our honeymoon destination and I can't wait.

People need to give us some credit though as this was a tough decision. The perks of Mauritius, the food, on the beach cinema, free activities etc... ok so that sounds epic... there is one downside for me though, one which really does warrant a big place in discussing whether this is the right place for us, that key point .... SHARKS.

I won't lie I'm terrified of sharks. Though I like to credit myself a strong swimmer I am constantly suspicious in any water. That's right I still believe a shark is lurking at the bottom of Spalding diving pool. I also believe that sharks are the reason you get so called 'wave machines' in pools (they just let them thrash a bit). This issue was a tough one but if I smuggle a knife from the restaurant and keep it in my flipper I'm sure I will be ok. I mean look at it - this is where we are staying...PARADISE!

 

What can be more attractive ?

I've already begun buying my honeymoon clothes, because lets face it, I won't be able to afford anything later in the year.

To some people a honeymoon isn't necessary, to other's they go later in the year, but for us it represents the beginning of our married life together. Don't get me wrong the wedding is the most exciting thing in my life, but the idea that we will be able to have time to reflect on that day with the perks of sitting on a beach sipping a cocktail are rather appealing.

No time soon will we consider indulging on a beach holiday like this. We've got far too many adventures planned such as, travelling Japan and across USA to think of a luxury beach holiday. So we are taking the bull by the horns and using our honeymoon as the perfect opportunity to indulge. It's not like these occasions come round every day.

Our year has begun.

Happy New Year to one and all.

Today is the first day of 2014 and I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful New Years Eve. Champagne being drunk, auld lang syne being mis-sung, we all know there are words we don't know! 2013 was a year of mixed emotion and though we saw it in with the most overwhelming excitement and anticipation, it was definitely the most difficult year of my life. So now we enter 2014 and this is our year, in less than 9months time we will be married !

Over the Christmas period you see friends and family you've not seen all year and it's that great time to discover who's doing what, catch up on local gossip and realise that younger cousins are actually all grown up and are no longer still in school (time flies). The question me and Luke have had this Christmas are 'How are the wedding plans coming along'... When this question gets asked I realise that the world starts to slow right down and that the loving relative sits there opposite, smiling at you in slow motion whilst your racking your brains for a response and the realisation hits you every time that your getting married. That event you've been planning for the past year is actually for a wedding. The general response to the question is the eye brows raised nod of the head ... "Yeah, not bad" - how simple minded.

I've realised this new epiphany has started to make me worry, small moments of hyperventilating and the idea of people watching me walk down the aisle makes me wish yet again that I owned 'Bernard's Watch'. However when welcoming in the new year last night with my future husband I couldn't believe that knowing by New Year's Eve 2014 I will be a wife!

Looking forward, we have now entered a period of decision making and actions and for me the first being a New Year's diet.

Have you ever tried a certain diet, was it Weight Watchers, Atkins, the one where you only eat cabbage ? How stupid.

I've always been quite successful at my own diets as I'm not calorie counting and I don't get myself so depressed I have to binge at the weekend. Moderation, smaller portions, lots of water, wholemeal, and always add one snack to your day (healthy obviously). It's now begun. The dreaded but enjoyable first dress fitting will be coming up in a few weeks and the aim is for the Xmas pounds to be gone. Do you realise that almost every bride will always put herself through this?

But 2014 has meant a kick up the bum and most of my day has been spent making spreadsheets, flicking through magazines and wondering what else needs to be done? 2014 where do we start ?

Everyone's now making their new years resolutions and I'm usually one of them with a list as long as my arm about being a better person, have a new hobby etc.. ( i've still not learnt a new language and that's been on my list for the past five years) but this year I'm going to say sod it. We've got enough to do and lots to squeeze in over the next 9months so we will stick to our main goal this year.