Wedding Planning Update*

It’s been a while since I posted about my engagement and I thought I would update you with some of the things I have planned, and what I still have to do before the big day, which is just over 10 months away now!

Venue
One of the first things I sorted was my venue, as there was no point in having a wedding without somewhere to go! I looked online to find the perfect place and browsed countless websites and price lists trying to find somewhere that stood out to me. In the end we narrowed it down to just a few and decided to go and look at them in person. When we found the one, we instantly knew it was perfect for us. Our first date was at the zoo, so we chose somewhere that was right next door to one – convenient or what!

Centrepieces
Carrying on from the zoo theme, we thought we would make our centrepieces to fit in with different animals. I started to source plastic animals and then spray painted them with gold. We are having a red/gold/silver festive type theme so thought they would go quite well in the middle of the tables. I still have a few different animals to get but I am getting there slowly. We will have these alongside some poinsettias which are really good value for money and readily available at that time of the year.

Dress
The dress was also up there with one of the first things I sorted and I am so pleased this is out of the way. I will talk more about my dress after the big day but for now I will say I have bought it, it is ready and waiting for my first fitting in April. Luckily this is only a length fitting so I still have some time to get to the weight I want to be before they start doing the width. I will be wearing converse on the day which I haven’t yet bought but will wear an older pair for my fitting to get the correct height.

Hair
Although I have no idea what I am going to do with my hair yet, I have got my hairpiece. My mum bought me this gorgeous winter flower arrangement from Etsy which will go perfectly with my theme. I also have a veil, so this will clip onto the top of that nicely.

Invites
This is something I have only just started as I wanted to make all of my invites from scratch. I have bought all of the materials from various places such as The Range and Hobbycraft and have officially made about 3. There are still a lot more to go but this is something I aim to do over the next few months so they are ready to go out at the end of the summer season.

Finishing Touches
Next on my list are a few finishing touches including, signs, banners and favours. These little things are all available in one place on the confetti website, which is really convenient for me. I think it is important to have little bits and pieces here and there to really set off a theme. It’s the finishing touches that can really make a difference on the day!

Are you getting married? What plans have you made?

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Being Engaged and How to Find the One?*

If you don’t already know, I recently got engaged and thought I would put into words a few things that I have noticed along the way over the past few weeks.

Firstly for the first week at LEAST you will not be able to stop staring at your hand. I found myself looking at my ring at every opportunity. Driving home I’d catch a glance at it, even at the printer at work I would be standing there admiring it. Everyone else will want to look at it too, I had to get my nails done purely as so many people were looking at my hands. You’ll think it’s fallen off so you’ll have to keep looking to reassure yourself. For the first week I would wake up in the night and check it was still on my finger! The first question people will ask is “how did they propose?” so be prepared to tell your story over and over again. I think in the end I copied and pasted it onto a word document so I could send it on if anyone asked.

Not my actual ring!

Everyone will want to know if you’ve set a date before you’ve barely settled into the idea. If anyone you know gets engaged and you are reading this, please just let them enjoy the moment and don’t pester them for dates! Saying that we booked ours after just a few weeks, but I had been secretly browsing for months so had a few ideas. People will also have an opinion on how you should do things. Just remember it is YOUR day, what you do is completely up to you. I only want one bridesmaid as I can’t afford to have more and don’t want to cause arguments amongst friends and whilst this is not particularly traditional I have to think it is not about anyone else. Don’t feel the need to invite people that you haven’t seen or spoken to in years even if they are family, at £45 a head on average it’s not cheap and I can’t afford to have anyone and everyone attend. You do what you want to do. I have started planning some of the finer details using my gorgeous Jardine of London Suffolk Leather Journal. I was lucky enough to win this journal in the East Anglian Wedding Magazine Giveaway! I am in love with it. It fits my wedding theme perfectly and retails at £75 if you were looking to get one for yourself.

Friends that are married (especially recently married) will become a god send for advice and tips. I wouldn’t have known where to start if it wasn’t for a couple of people who’ve just got married telling me all of the tips and tricks. Take all of their advice on board, it really is useful. Find out what they thought was worth the money and things that were not so worth getting. You will feel a different kind of love for your partner. No matter how long you have been together, being engaged means this shit is real. Someone actually wants to be with you for life. I felt a massive surge of love after I got engaged, I was on cloud 9 and felt like the luckiest girl alive. There’s no feeling quite like it.

Weddings are expensive. When you do start looking at different venues you will be shocked at how expensive weddings really are. I mean, sure they can be done on a budget so shop around where you can. I find myself thinking, do I have beans on toast for a year so I can afford flowers for my wedding? And it is a tempting option! You will find that friends and family with certain skills will be very generous in offering their services so grab the offer with both hands. I really do feel grateful for people that are willing to help.

Me and my fiancé know each other by association at sixth form but rekindled our friendship online. I think it can be a really effective way to meet someone, especially if you lack confidence talking to people face to face like me. If you are looking for the one then why not try out a dating site? Depending on where you live there are plenty of sites available such as Exeter dating, Highlands dating, Plymouth dating, Birmingham dating and for the more mature audience there is over 50s dating.

For those who want a ‘no strings attached’ relationship there is the option to sign up to an adult dating site. This site is more suited for people who want a quick fling rather than a long term relationship. It then leaves room for people who are serious about the long term to join the other sites I mentioned above. Why don’t you give it a go - you never know where it may lead!

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