We Got Married Part One

Hello Everyone,

Well I'm sorry for the lack of blogs, I wanted to do more but to be honest I found the run up extremely stressful.

So what I will do instead is talk a little bit about the week of, the and day after in two parts. I will talk about the emotions and the companies we used.

Week of the Wedding.

What I will say about this is prepare to spend your entire pay package, I did not expect the things I was having done to be so expensive, but for me it was somewhat worth it. So here was the week, starting with the horrific Saturday!

Saturday:-

Two weeks before the wedding it was decided that the Bridesmaid dress would not fit and cost far too much to alter buying new was the only way forward! I argued against going to Liverpool on the Saturday as the day of shopping was planned on the Sunday. I wish I listened to my gut as I was fine, not panicked but that was until I was in the Principles section of Debenhams, there I dropped my first tear. It was when I reached the personal shopper section I had a complete emotional melt down. The week before I had met a new Vicar and my wedding Coordinator had left, my Nan had been ill in hospital, it was all too much. I officially reached a new low! Followed by six assistants/managers running too my aid. I had cried all my make-up off and was was offered wine. I just simply did not want to do anymore, everything had gone wrong, was the wedding doomed? To make myself better I got a free make over from Bare Minerals and ended up buying powder and mascara. Back home we headed, with a Burger King for my tea.

Sunday:-

On Sunday I was not feeling it at all! I just thought you two better like something and yay they did.;  I got a chance to unwind over a Cafe Nero Milkshake Frappe and also met my best friends baby. I went back to my parents home a bit calmer, but sick! My mum had passed on her cold!

Monday:-

Monday, a.k.a Winge Day. Oh how my throat hurt! Of course I was getting ill, great a nice £10.00 spent at the pharmacy to stop this cold. I went to the wedding meeting with guns blazing, seriously another Wedding Coordinator left without informing me! Well at Crewe Hall, the lovely Clare might as well planned the whole thing! After the fifth Coordinator she stepped in every time and I met the manager of the event Nils, who was not going to have any shit, perfect! What I will say as a tip venues like organised Brides and treat you with more respect. We were treated with a free upgrade, which we were grateful for we needed the two rooms! Lots of gifts and cards. And Nils was not going to take anything from the Mother-in-Law, which is what we needed, some one who could say no!

Wednesday:-

Rehearsal day. Before we left I spent a few hours at Kim's Little Beauty Room being pampered by the wonderful Kim. I left looking all pretty, nice an relaxed from her heat spa bed, just a top up of make-up was needed to hide the red from my eyebrows being waxed. Off to Trentham Parish Church, a few weeks before I was told the Vicar could not do it, but a new Vicar was being sorted! The new Vicar Sarah Morris was fantastic! She really wanted to do our wedding, now the rehearsal was fun, I got the giggles and Mike took it too seriously, so the more I giggled, the more serious he became. Then the worse thing that could happen, I was upset, Mike was gobsmacked, my parents faces read WTF, the Vicar was furious. Yes my Mother-in-Law opened her mouth to make a dig at my Father-in-Law and called Mike's Step Mum a pretend parent. We hadn't even walked down the aisle and finished our practice run, for the Vicar to threaten "....if she says anything like that on Friday, I will be telling her to leave!" That evening I drank 6 Cosmopolitans at Frankie and Bennie's.  

Thursday:-

The day before the wedding was a mad rush blur! We went to drop everything off at Crewe Hall, which resulted in a hash brown and hot chocolate at McDonalds. We met mike, went to meet Dad at Trentham Gardens for a small walk and breather, Mike was alone at Crewe non of the Grooms party were joining until much later. Another pamper section, which I had a poor pedicure, a second healthy meal at Costa. A quick wash and blow-dry which the hair dresser highly recommends. Dropped the cars off at Crewe Hall before a large glass of wine at the Harvester, followed by healthy meal number 3! I made the best decision and I recommend to others, I had no one stay at my parents. Just me and them, we watched Great British Bake Off and a cheesy DVD, I feel asleep on the sofa at 10pm. I slept right threw until 5:30am, I felt well rested.

So here are my top highs and lows.

Lows

1. Emotional break down on a busy Saturday afternoon in Liverpool Debenhams - mortified
2. Mother-in-Law in Church - disgusting
3. Spending £250.00 on my vanity - ashamed
4. Getting a cold before the wedding - YAY
5. Week of the wedding loosing another Coordinator - Bloody Great.

Highs

1. I can truly say I am very well organised - CV, Check
2. Spending some good quality time with my mum - YAY
3. Being there for my husband when his grooms party let him down and letting him do it all alone - Love him
4. Not having or needing my crutches or leg braces week of the wedding - determined
5. Being so calm night of the wedding and sleeping well - Success

So I will now write up the day of the wedding. 

Lots of Love

xxxx

1 Week Until The Wedding, Youtube Video!

Hello Everyone,

I'm so sorry for not blogging as much as I promised, I returned back to work 3 weeks ago and to be honest Weddings take an awful lot of your time up!

I will admit I am a tad stressed and writing this small blog whilst working through my last lot on my To Do List, I hate to admit is making Order of Service.

But I thought I would share this lovely video my dad has made, of my journey to the wedding day, so enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUmnBpguPsw

Lots of Love

10 Things I've Discovered Planing A Wedding with 6 Weeks To Go

Hello Everyone,

Well as of today it is 6 weeks, 2 days, 19 hours until our wedding, (this count down is sponsored bu the Wedding Countdown app, which is free on Play Store, if you would like to remind people when they say "the wedding is ages away"!) Well I thought I would have a look back at what I thought I had learnt and give you an updated top 10. I did this blog first 13 months to the wedding with a reviewed version at the 6 month stage. I'm not going to re-write them, instead link is below, you can have a read and I'll just summarize
http://disneygirlgrowsup.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/10-things-ive-discovered-planning.html

1:- It's Your Day! LIES! BIG FAT LIES!

Well that situation has still not improved, but more of our friends are coming, I feel the frustrations in my voice 6  months ago and that is nothing!

2:- Everyone Has An Opinion

I just walk out the room now.

3:- Family Involvement!

Everyone still keeps on, about this or that, no one wants you to be stressed out but you will!

4:- The Tears and Arguments!

I will talk more about this in the new list!

5:- Being Emotional Crushed!

I have moments of wondering if I still care?

6:- Making It Yourself!

HAHAHAHAHAHA, it will be worth it right?

7:- Your Family Must Secretly Hate You!

Still believe this! Except it now includes your friends and businesses too! Love you all dearly.

8:- Everyone Has An Uncle K**b Head or 5!

So many people have recently earned this title! We have people coming we never intended on inviting, we have one uncle refusing to tell us who his plus 1 is, another wanting to give a speech and a possible bans on 1 Direction and other horrific music.

9:- Diet! HA!

Well this plan hasn't happened! Can't work out currently.

10:- On The Verge!

Waved the verge goodbye 2 weeks ago! Can't see it anymore!

So onto my new list. I will openly admit that this is not a happy/positive list, anyone who is extremely happy at this point are somewhat fooling themselves! So here we go......

1:- Bye, Bye Money

I bet you did not think of all those little details and extras did you? Well neither did we, now I just hand over my card no longer caring, for example I bet you did not think you wanted to upgrade your red wine, well that was before you tried the Merlot, goodbye £41.00 for an upgrade. Oh I've rand out of Lustre card bye, bye £20.24 and so it goes.

2:- Time To Start Looking After Yourself!

I will blog a bit more about this, but this also follows in the Bye, Bye Money theme. Because you want to look your best, i'm spending more money on this. But my number one suggest is do not hurt yourself before the wedding! I mentioned in a previous blog I have damaged my knee, nice bit of soft tissues damage there, plus needing physiotherapy until next year. Please look after yourself.

3:- It's Hard To Be Understanding.

We've had a lot of problems getting people to respond to our invites in the first place but had quiet a few people change their minds recently and i'm going to be brutally honest for all Brides out there and drop the bombshell! First off my response to people not responding to RSVP's, if we've had to chase a response  off you for you to say your not coming, but tell us your upset, i'm sorry for it being about your emotions! I want to be honest and say whatever your response you will sound sarcastic. Simple by saying "Thank you for letting me know", well no you didn't, I had to chase you! And trust me, hurts us more than you, it's our wedding your not attending. My advice is think carefully about your response, but if your the person not able to attend give a good reason (lack of reason is the worst) if you want sympathy, if not it's just a hallow reason which is difficult to respond too.

And i'm going to put it out there, changing your mind 8 weeks before the wedding is well impolite and discourteous! No matter what it is, it is hard to be understanding with so much money, emotion and organisation involved. But it's better to say something nice which isn't genuine than being rude in return.

4:- God Help Yourself If You Do Get Hurt!

I've officially been stuck in the house for 6 weeks! Which means I've done nothing but wedding arrangements and hospital appointments. I'm too far away from family and friends to expect any visits, so I have nothing to discuss other than the wedding and my knee. And if I am honest I am suffering from being low, today is one of those days, where all I want to do is cry. Planing a wedding you need a good distraction, like work, being able get out, socializing!

5:- Frosty Relationships

Everyone is stressed, or your at the point of not wanting to listen to their opinions means you feel like everyone dislikes you! The past few days, I've found myself not wanting to talk to anyone as either they're not listening or I do not want too!

6:- Herding Cats!

You'd think it would be easier getting everyone together being so close to the wedding, but nope! How dare people have a life outside of this wedding! I have recently found not only do I but Mike has also been doing the hand smacking thing.

7:- The Harsh Reality!

Everyone is looking forward to a good party but they are not really that bothered! The relations with close family and friends are already tested and on a fine line. It could be due to be me feeling down, but the reality is I'm looking forward to the wedding being over and just being married. I find it very hard to feel excited, I'm either feeling frustrated or stressed. Have I had a wedding break down?

8:- Battles Aren't Over!

They are just getting more intense and you feel pretty done!

9:- I've Ordered What?

Does Wedding Brain exist? Like pregnancy brain? I'm forgetting some of the things I have ordered and paid for! Nice surprise on the wedding day!

10:- I've Become The To Do List Queen!

I love a good to do list. I do a new one every week! Everyone is getting a to do list!

So what do you think? I wanted to be brutally honest with you as I could be! What problems you had? Agree or disagree?

XxXxXx

V&A Wedding Dress Exhibition 1775-2014 Review

Hello Everyone,

I went with two friends in May to see this exhibition, I was so excited the moment I heard about it, I wanted to attend, dates were arranged immediately so with this review I will be honest!

Recently I've been let down a lot by museums, just because you throw money at it doesn't mean it makes it better, for example Kenisington Palace. I'm really hoping the Imperial War Museum London does not let me down either. So here we go, the museum statement for the exhibition is:-

"The exhibition will highlight the histories of the dresses, revealing fascinating details about the lives of the wearers and offering an intimate insight into their circumstances and fashion choices."

Myself I do not feel this is the case for this exhibition. The exhibition is on two floors, the bottom being based on how tradition of wedding dresses started. With the first dress you see being from 1775, the bottom floor discusses in detail, with plenty of detail on the weddings, I particularly liked the detail for the 1933 wedding dress worn by socialite Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, as well as having her unique wedding dress, you get to see newspaper clippings as well as the news reel footage of her leaving the church. 

  There is also video footage of all the Royal Weddings that were captured, which is a nice sit down and watch what is interesting is you see clips of Lady Dianna Spencer's wedding to Prince Charles but no footage of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to Prince Charles, which to me is a huge faux pas, considering her wedding dress is on display in the upstairs section!

Right next to the film footage there is a small section of shoes and accessories on display, but you can easily miss them if your not looking.

Upstairs is more of a based on the Haute Couture wedding dresses. Which yes is nice and important, while being fascinating. There are also some celebrity wedding dresses and socialites on display, which makes you feel they clearly had far to much money, but taste is so individual, but what I felt through the upstairs sections is a real lack of connection!

While I do love looking at clothing and appreciating their design, I just feel like questioning the lack of personality in the upstairs, I love my wedding dress and I can tell you why I chose it, how it makes me feel, on top of the memory the first time my mum saw it. I would have liked to see more of that! 

It is a nice display lay out, some beautiful dresses, but what surprised me the most is that all these dresses are designer dresses, but not one designer has sponsored this exhibition, it's sponsored by Kuoni, Monsoon and Waterford. Where is Vera Wang? Ian Stuart? I also would have secretly liked to see a Gypsy wedding dress, simple because now a days they are everywhere!

The exhibition does come with a book, which you can buy for £30.00, but I did not buy it because I guess I didn't not really care for the exhibition.

My thoughts are it is a nice exhibition, but it's not something I would shout to all my friends to see. I guess you could say the V&A Hollywood exhibition has spotlit me!

Hope You Enjoyed The Read!

Bye

xxx



 

Bridal Shower and Hen Party

Hi Everyone,

Yet again I'm very sorry for the lack of blogging recently, been really busy doing things around the house and working full time! 

So I decided to have a Bridal Shower and a Hen Party, why? Because my Aunties and Mum did not like the idea of going clubbing not there thing!

No I was very clear about both, that I did not want any fake willies, I'm sorry I find them really vulgar, if you like it that's fine but not my thing! If you don't like them be clear about it, no one wants an unhappy Bride!

For the Bridal Shower, my mum treated me before and took me for a pamper session. So after having my nails done, back rub and to top it off I had my hair trial! 

What do we think?

Yes that is my mum, she also had her hair done, but was not as happy as I was!

So we went to the beautiful teashop in Stoke-on-Trent called Blondies Twisted Tearoom. http://www.blondiestwistedtearoom.org/party.html

It was beyond perfect, we had an afternoon, with a wide selection of cake and plenty of cocktail teapots!

Here is the crazy lot! They could not do enough for us! I recommend more than I can say!

Now for the Hen Party, we lived it up in Liverpool! It's where Mike and I met, so it only felt right and oh yes this had a theme too! 1980's!

He is a snap shot  of the dress I made! Yes I made an actual wedding dress from a vintage 1980's pattern.

And here's proof I actually made it! It was a crazy night, but it was made even more crazy as during the day time we went for a game of Crazy Golf. It was such a fun weekend and I'm glad I followed my heart and did both!

One bit of advice I have, It's your Hen! It is easy when around a bunch of people for there wants to take over but remember its your night and don't be afraid to say No I want to do this, or go here!

Speak to you soon

xxxx

10 Things I have Discovered While Planning Our Wedding

Hello There,

Well today we hit the 13 months away mark for our wedding, so while being at work I began feeling reflective and desperately trying to take my mind away from the house, still await the survey results grrrr. Before I began to plan our wedding I believe I was living in ignorance bliss, but even if I watch Don't Tell The Bride I get so nervous for the brides, even shed a tear! So I decided to put a list together of things I have discovered/learnt.....Here we go...

1. It's Your Day! LIES! BIG FAT LIES!

Anyone who says this phrase to you is lying through their teeth, it's the biggest contradiction I keep hearing again and again, EVERYONE has an opinion.

2. Everyone Has An Opinion

No matter who they are, they will tell you what would be good! I love my family dearly, but everyone and I mean everyone has something to say about what your doing, how it should be and what they think you should have! Their opinion MUST be considered. And before you ask 1 is different from 2, because with 2 if their paying you have to bow down to their request. This applies to my fiancee, I wanted a full band diamond wedding ring, i'm getting a half :-(

3. Family Involvement!

They might not be paying a penny to the wedding but they WILL make you feel bad in not giving them what they want and you WILL feel guilty that them purely attending is going to cost them money. Resulting in tears and arguments.

4. The Tears and Arguments!

You can never be prepared for this rollar coaster! Everyone in your wedding party will be subjected to this and if you haven't, your next!

5. Being Emotional Crushed!

I was even more unprepared for this......Last night I accidentally cut an invitation!!!! I'm FINE - but I just can't talk about it...............

6. Making It Yourself!

This is a wonderful process but so time consuming and emotional, yet soul crushing at the same time, especially when it goes horribly wrong.

7. Your Family Must Secretly Hate You!

Why is it the moment you plan a wedding your family gets even stranger! I swear every time I visit or talk to someone I get, I'm not talking to them, Don't sit them near me, I'm not having my photograph taken with them, just to list a few of many! Is it too much for world peace for one day? For us? Our families are going to clash, no matter what due to different backgrounds, so it could go either way....everything will be magically fine or arguments and amazement if no one gets kicked out. Might replace my dad's suit with a ref's outfit.

8. Everyone Has An Uncle K**b Head or 5!

The guest list, my god! Inviting people you are embarrassed by or just don't want near you, well tough because you can't invite them with out them, and they won't come if there not coming........ This discovery is supported by point 1 and 2. I have no comment.

9. Diet! HA!

Everyone at work keeps hearing me say ooohhh I need to diet before the wedding, well HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah no one who has actually said the words I need to loose a bit of weight before the wedding has generally began or attempted. I've given myself 6 months before the wedding as my diet cut off and lets face it, it's only half a stone. No motivation here, too much cake and meals to enjoy!!!!

10. On The Verge!!

Pretty much when I discuss or plan the wedding i'm dancing on that fine line of a mental/emotional break down or becoming Bridezilla. This is mostly tested when trying to arrange everyone getting together.

So how do you feel about my list? Do you agree with me? Should I employee Rhod Gilbert as my wedding planner?

I'll review this in a couple months time and see how I am feeling at that stage.

BYE
XxXx 

A Romantic Weekend Away And A Visit To My Third Love

This weekend I was whisked away by my lovely Mike to celebrate our 3rd Anniversary of being engaged! Normally we do not celebrate on a grand scale, I think last year we treated ourselves to some Steak and a bottle of Bubbly, most likely something that was on offer lol, but Mike decided we deserved one last treat and we might not get the chance next year. We also wanted to take the chance to spend some us time, as we've finding its really important to take the time just being us, together not worrying about others! All be it we spent most of the weekend discussing weddings and house, but we did it in 4* luxury in a very relaxing Jacuzzi. 

We came to be excited that were not on the final stretch of saying the wedding is 14 months away and soon will be say 1 YEAR!

While on our little trip to Derbyshire Dales, we visited a few places, enjoyed a few drinks but the highlight was visiting my third love, next to Mike and History.

CHATSWORTH HOUSE (www.chatsworth.org)

Before any judgement I visit this property nearly every year, generally around my birthday. Visiting this place reminds me, why I LOVE history so much (my second love) there is just an atmosphere around this place, something so familiar but it is such a beautiful place that is always changing.

While contemplating my happiness while walking around the property, I had to think of the once unhappy bride of this property, who has her very own new wing and you are unable to miss her presence, the famous Lady Georgiana Spencer aka Georgiana Cavendish Duchess of Devenshire. 

G, as she was nicknamed married William Cavendish the 6th Duke of Devenshire on the 7th June 1774, on her 17th birthday, believing that she was marrying for a love match, and the duke wanted her as his bride for love not for the Heir and the Spare. But she was put in a situation that was common for the ladies of the court, and indeed her dearest friend also felt this pain. No not Lady Elizabeth (Bess) Forster but a lady in a different country who managed to make a wonderful friendship and help aid each other threw the pains of their marriage. This lady would be the last Queen of France and Navarre, Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna of Austria or commonly known Marie Antoinette, married King Louis XVI, then the Dauphin of France on the 16th May 1770, at the very young age of 15.

G, Painted by Gainsborough

Maria Antonia aged 13 by Martin van Meytens

Both marriages ended in companionship but it took these great ladies a long time to find a way to love their husbands, who they married as part of a game played by the adults of court. historyandotherthoughts.blogspot.co.uk/, writes a fascinating piece on "What Did Marie Antoinette And Georgiana Duchess of Devenshire Have In Common?

But I find when looking back in the past, yes these ladies were lucky to be privileged, but in their rank they never knew the joy of marriage for love or knowing their husbands inside and out before committing to them.

Its is wonderful be reminded I might admire houses such as Chatsworth, but never own, yet I am lucky to be with a man who adores me and will not be worried if I have a boy to continue his name but will love bringing life into the world with me.