The Dress....

Friday 8 November 2013

Mum and I went wedding dress shopping yesterday.  Best.day.ever! We only went to one shop as they do the style of dress I really like.  I tried on 4 and the first one felt like 'the dress' I loved it! My tummy went all funny when I looked in the mirror and I got goose bumps.  Mum cried (a lot) and the woman in the shop seemed to genuinely like the way it looked.  I couldn't stop smiling and it made me want to dance...which I did.  The shop assistant looked at me like I was a mad but c'mon I was in a wedding dress! How can you not feel so happy you want to shake your booty?

Mum was honest and said although she loved the dress she thought she preferred the second one. I liked the second one a lot but it didn't feel completely right.  Mum said to me to go with my gut and reassured me the one I loved looked amazing.  We decided I'd sleep on it as it's such a massive decision and I'd never rush into something like that, however, I've woken up this morning feeling just as in love with the dress as I was yesterday.  I felt so sad when I had to take it off.  I've asked the shop if they can change a few very minor details and she said it's not problem so I've arranged an appointment to go back next week so they can get my measurements etc and start making my dream dress!! YES!  I  told the designer I love the dress so much I feel like I miss it and she said it asked after me this morning because it missed me too! Lol!  The dress and I have a connection.

Afterwards me and Mum had lunch and got the bus to Selfridges to visit the shoes.  It's been a while and I'm sure Jimmy Choo was starting to worry about us.  We tried on the whole shop (obviously) and went on to visit Louboutin, Dior, Chanel and Vivienne Westwood then we left all sad that we couldn't buy any.  I'm not really sure why we torture ourselves so much!  We just can't go up to London without a de-tour to Selfridges - it would be criminal.

I was knackered after all the dress and shoe trying on (I didn't sleep the night before - I was FAR too excited!) So we decided to go home - tired and Jimmy Choo-less.  It was a bit of a weird day - I don't think we were prepared for how the dresses would make us feel. Mum got really emotional and I just felt really odd, like all fuzzy! I think it's a bit overwhelming.  I knew Mum would feel emotional but I didn't expect actual tears! At one point I thought she was gonna start sobbing uncontrollably!  Fortunately she managed to keep her composure.  It must be so emotional for a mother.

I can't stop thinking about the dress!!!!! It's quite unusual but I don't think anyone would expect me to wear a 'normal' wedding dress.  I think people will either love it or they'll think 'what the feck?' I don't care though because it's just so 'me' and I'd never get something that wasn't 'me' just to please other people.  Personally, I think all wedding dresses are beautiful though.  We went to 7 weddings last year and every bride looked amazing.

I think this is normal (well I hope it is) but I have been having some mad thoughts about the wedding , my new one is 'what if Sami hates my dress?
What if he thinks I look like a twat?
Others include:
What if no one turns up?
What if Sami doesn't turn up?'
What if I'm really ill beforehand and can't walk down the aisle? (For those reading this that aren't aware I have a chronic illness called Lupus which is very unpredictable) Or EVEN WORSE what if I have to go on a high dose of steroids and end up getting so fat I can't fit into my dress?

ARRRRRGH! Maybe my doctor's surgery should offer pre-wedding counselling for the mental bride to be.

Speaking of mental, I had my first wedding related nightmare last night.  I dreamt we arranged a wedding rehearsal a week before the wedding but for some reason I got confused and thought it was the actual wedding day so turned up in my dress...everyone had seen it before the big day! Then the photographer turned up! Noooo! And the caterers prepared food for a Jewish wedding with nothing I ordered! It all just went so wrong. I woke up with a huge gasp and could barely breathe! Lol! So silly.

Sami and I are meeting with our potential photographer this evening - the one that lives in the next road (so weird) so hopefully it will all go well.  I'm sure it will - I've a good feeling about him.

In other and totally non-related news Lupus Group Ireland have published a book 'Living with Lupus' and it features my story.  You can buy it here - http://www.lupusgroupireland.com/shop.html and you can read my Lupus blog to find out more here www.lupielu1.blogspot.co.uk

So all in all a good and very productive week so far.

Next stop will be my wedding shoes.....

It's booked!

The venue has been booked and the date set!  We are getting married on 18th October 2014 at Dulwich College in South East London and then on to the reception at The Rosendale Pub.  WAHOOO! Now the fun begins!

If you have read previous posts you will have read about some of the spooky wedding related goings on...well I have new one!  So a friend of a friend on Facebook mentioned a photographer to me and suggested I 'like' their page on Facebook as they are having a competition - the 300th person to like wins 20% off a wedding photography package.  I did it about 20 minutes after it was posted and I was the 300th person! Yipppeeee!  I checked out his website and really liked his work so emailed him and said I'm getting married next year etc and he said he would be happy to honour the discount.  I found out he covers all of South East London and thought great! I did some more research and didn't really like any other photographers as much so I contacted him and said I think we'd like to go with him.  He replied and suggested we meet up this week to discuss everything and it turns out he lives in the road next to mine! It's not that much of a coincidence but it did feel a bit weird.

Here's a link to his website - http://davidchristopher-photography.co.uk/

I feel like (and I risk sounding quite mad here) but it really does feel as though I have someone watching over me with regards to the wedding.  So many odd things have happened.  I feel like it could be my Granddad. It's a nice feeling and even if it is mad I don't care.

So I'm going wedding dress shopping tomorrow! OMG I can't wait!  I want today to hurry up so I can go and put some wedding dresses on! I'm going to try on ALL of them!  My Mum is just as excited as I am!  We're only going to one shop tomorrow (and hopefully that's it) and then we'll have some lunch after and maybe a celebratory drink - we shall see.  It's annoying that I can't tell you all where I'm going or what style of dress I'm hoping to get.  I wish I could.  I'm sitting here pursing my lips and itching to give you all the details.  Never mind - the wedding is only 49 weeks away. Gaaahhh! Seems like a life-time away.  I know, I know, it will go quickly blah blah blah.  I want to get married NOW!

I realised the other day that I need to be a bit careful with my opinions on here.  I have some very strong wedding related opinions and I don't want to upset anyone.  For example I wrote in an earlier post about despising chair covers -  this is just my opinion and I have been to many weddings where there have been chair  covers and I've still loved the wedding.  Also, I get it as if the venue's chairs are minging then what are you supposed to do? It just irritates the shite out of me because venues that cater for weddings should just have decent chairs that people don't have to pay £300 to dress with bows.

Weddings are very personal and I'm sure there will be aspects of mine and Sami's wedding that people hate or think 'what the feck is that all about?' and that's fine with me as we all have different tastes.  However, I still apologise in advance if you read this blog and I say something mean about something you had at your wedding/plan to have.  Feel free to criticise mine..within reason.

Time to get the bolero out...

OK, so where the hell is my Mum supposed to get her outfit for the wedding from? All we can find is weird satin numbers with garish prints and strange matching boleros:





The one on the left isn't too bad - a dress and a jacket is a lovely combo (not that dress though) but the one on the right - Really? What is with that?

Why would my Mum ever wear this sort of outfit when she'd never, ever usually wear something so odd? I don't understand??  There's chic and then there's just plain shit.

And what is with these boleros? It's like the unwritten rule that all mothers of the bride must wear them. Have you ever seen any Mum just casually wearing a bolero? No! So why all of a sudden does a wedding mean its time to get the one out? What is their purpose? Hmm actually, maybe their purpose is to hide bingo wings? Luckily my Mum doesn't have those.

Look at these little numbers:  


WHYYYYY?

I mean, seriously? BRIGHT blue with 2 kinds of pink?  And what the actual feck is the other outfit? Minnie Mouse gone wrong? What is happening here? WHO is responsible for this? I must find them and get answers.

I think finding the Mother's outfit is going to be harder than finding mine!  Ah well, we have a year so its OK but Jaysus I didn't know the above are the only kind of outfits you can find.  My poor Mum.

If any of you reading this can advise me on somewhere decent to shop then please do leave me a comment and let me know.  And if any of you know whom is responsible for the garish dress/bolero combo please let me know, I'd like to have a word.

The Rosendale Could Be The One!

Well we met with the wedding coordinator at The Rosendale and we were VERY impressed! We saw the rooms you hire (there are two, one large room and one smaller chill out room) the decor was great and everything fits in with my theme (more on that later).

We are viewing Dulwich College on Saturday to see if we'd like to have our ceremony there and if so, we are going to book both venues.  My parents have very kindly offered to pay for our reception so that's a massive and unexpected help.  I have the best parents!

I'm finding this blog hard to write because I don't want to divulge too much information.  I'm going to get my dress next week but I can't even say where I'm going as it will give the style away!  I don't even want to give away too much about my theme as I want it to be a surprise for our guests.  So I do apologise for the lack of information but as time goes on more will be revealed.  And at the end you'll know all there is to know!

After the wedding I am going to add other pages to this blog with recommendations and information on where I get my dress/venue details/cake supplier/photographer etc etc but obviously I can't do that just yet which is a bit annoying but you guys are on my journey with me and you will see how everything comes together.

I've pretty much decided on most things so once we have a date I will be able to get booking!  I'm feeling very organised and relaxed at the moment and I'm not sure this is normal? We'll see, I'm sure Bridezilla Faye is only just around the corner!

I'll update you all again over the weekend to let you know whether or not we have set the date!

Venue appointment

Monday 28th October 2013

Well hello there! I have some updates for you.....

Mum, Sami, Dad and I are meeting with the wedding coordinator at The Rosendale tomorrow evening to discuss prices etc.  I have no idea how much we are looking at so I've tried not to get too excited about having the wedding reception there as it could be a fortune and out of budget but at least we'll know tomorrow.  I will of course update you on that tomorrow.

On Saturday we have a formal viewing at Dulwich College.  We are going to see The Old Library to see if we want to get married in there so, all going well, we could potentially have a wedding date by Saturday.  I know both venues have the date we want for next year so hopefully we like both venues and both venues are affordable.

Weirdly, Sami and I were watching a comedy program last night (Toast of London) with one of Sami's favourite comedians and they were filming in The Old Library! Sami spotted it and I said Oh yeah! So we got to see the inside which looked very nice.

Lots of odd  things like that keep happening.  I mentioned in my Lupus blog about the song.  Basically my Mum rang me last week to show me my Nan and Grandad's song - Little Things Mean A Lot by Kitty Kallen.  We listened to it and cried because it's so lovely and I said I'll have to incorporate it into our wedding.  I showed Sami that evening and he liked it too then a few days later we were watching telly and when the adverts came on we noticed the song playing in the background of a new AXA advert.  I got all goosebumps because it's not exactly a popular song these days! It came out in the 50's and I'd never heard it before.  So now we absolutely have to have it played at some point during the day.

I've booked a wedding dress appointment for next Thursday (Eeeeek!) and I've decided I'm just going to go with Mum, no bridesmaids or mates.  I feel a bit mean not letting anyone else come but after much deliberation I've decided I want it to be a Mummy and Daughter thing. My Dad and I have our special time together in the car on the way to the venue when he then 'gives me away' so I thought this could be mine and my Mum's special bit.

I'm feeling quite calm about everything at the moment.  I've got the potential venues, got my colour theme, bridesmaids, I know what cake I want, I know what flowers I want, I've sorted my dress appointment (and I know exactly what dress I want) I've even sorted the guest list, I've found a photographer I like, I've found a wedding singer I like so all I need to do is actually get stuff booked! Once the venue is sorted I'll be able to get on it.

We're having an engagement party next month which I'm really looking forward to.  I thought it would be nice for our friends and family to meet before the big day.  I don't want it to feel awkward so at least if people have met once then they're not strangers.  Plus it's an excuse for a good ol' knees up! Why not?!

Ok well I'm going to go on pinterest now and continue to make my wedding board.  I shall update you tomorrow regarding The Rosendale.

xx

The Hunt for the venue is on!

Hey blogees,

I've been busy looking at potential venues....

We're both from Beckenham in Kent but we've decided we'd like to get married in Dulwich in South London - the reason being that 6 years ago we met whilst working at The Dulwich Estate (Sami is still working there) I was a secretary and Sami is a Surveyor. I started working there a month after he joined and shortly after we were dating and the rest is history as they say. 

We spent a lot of time together in and around Dulwich which is a very pretty part of London so it seems fitting to marry there and I hope it will be possible. 

The office where we met is in the centre of the very pretty Dulwich village and adjoining the office building is a gorgeous little chapel:

 
To the left are some Almshouses, then you have the chapel then on the right is The Dulwich Estate office

I had hoped to marry there - how cute would that be? And funnily enough 4 other couples who met at The Dulwich Estate went on to marry there so its almost a tradition. However this is not to be; apparently Sami and I don't have the right connections to marry there as we do not live in the parish. The other complication is that Sami is not religious at all and I come from a catholic background and If we were to get married at the chapel it would be a C of E ceremony which doesn't really make any sense. So we've pooed pooed that idea now. I was a bit sad about it but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter. The important thing is Sami and I getting married. 

We've now moved on to Dulwich college: 

My mum suggested it and what a brilliant suggestion! The building is gorgeous as well as impressive. 

Here is the little building on the side where they actually hold the ceremony:

Its called The Old Library

Mum has been amazing - she's so enthusiastic and has come up with so many fabulous ideas. We went along to the college yesterday for a little nosey and I loved it. We've booked a formal viewing of The Old Library next week and obviously Sami will come a long to that too. I'm hoping he likes it because from what I saw, I loved it!

You can have your reception at the college but its quite grand and right from the beginning we've said we'd like a relaxed, low key wedding where everyone just comes along to celebrate with us. We don't want it to be too formal or over the top. I'm sure a wedding reception at the college would be great but its not the sort of thing Sami and I are after.  

So where are we having the reception? Sami suggested The Rosendale which is a pub just round the corner from the college. I had a look at it online and I loved it! Mum and I went along for lunch yesterday and both agreed its perfect. The function room is lovely and it fits in with the low key theme:

Not a chair cover in sight! Thank God! I don't know why (and I think I am in the minority) but I have a very strong aversion to them.  If you're a venue that holds weddings then get decent chairs that don't require dressing or hiding! AAAAAAAHHHHH!

Yes:

 NO:

 I just want to know what is lurking under there? 

Anyway we have an appointment with the wedding coordinator at The Rosendale next week so hopefully they can provide a good package at a good price. We shall seeeeee.

We'd like to get married about this time next year and I really hope we both agree on the college and The Rosendale then we can get it all booked up and I can get down to the nitty gritty! And I can't wait to get my dress! Wahoooo!

Sami and I have agreed that I'll do the majority of the planning as he's working full time and I'm not working at the moment. Some of you may already know so I won't go on but I gave up work three months ago due to illness. I was diagnosed with something called Lupus and found it too hard to hold down a job (I have another blog called Lupus and Me if you'd like to know more on that) so now my job will be to organise the wedding. Plus, Sami's a bloke and I'm sure he doesn't give a shite about centre pieces, favours and colour schemes!

So there you have it, next week we could potentially have the venues and a date! I will let you know.

Welcome

Welcome to my wedding blog/diary!

Here I'm going to document the planning process from now right through to the wedding day. 

When we got engaged (5 weeks ago) i was ecstatic, emotional and elated but this elation was shortly followed by a full on freak-out - how do I plan a wedding? How much is it going to cost? Where should we get married? how many people do we invite? Who sits with who? What colour scheme do we have? Oooohhhh mmmyyyy gooooood! I don't fecking know!!!!!!

I took some deep breaths and started thinking about it all in a calmer manner. After some searching I found  wedding related blogs and thought hmmm maybe I could do one and help other brides to be. So here I am. 

I found out the other day you can turn your blog into a book complete with glossy pages, hard back and high quality images so I decided after the big day, I'll turn this into a book and put it away somewhere safe then if Sami and I have a daughter, I can show her when she is planning a wedding. What a fabulous keep sake too. 

I hope you enjoy reading this and if you are in the planning process I hope this will provide you with ideas/inspiration/recommendations and hope! 

Lots of love
Faye

Oh and on a separate note how annoying are the bridal mag abbreviations? H2B? B2B? Urgh!!! I can assure you this is an abbreviation free zone!