Wedding Veil success!!

After choosing my dress, it seemed appropriate that i begin my search for accessories...

I decided to start with my veil, as I figured this would be easy as I knew exactly what I wanted.... how wrong was i???

I wanted a mid length, 2 tier veil, with crystals and some detailing on the edge.... simple eh? Couldnt find one i liked anywhere!!

I tried the 'design your own sites' but i wasnt sure if what i was designing was going to be the right length or design i expected it to be.

I stumbled across the UK wedding veil site (good ol' google!) and found a veil that i loved, but it wasnt quite right - it was missing the crystals -




I tried to recreate it using their design service, but wasnt happy, so connected to their 'live web chat' tool....
I spoke to a lovely lady called Dawn, and she said I would be able to add the crystals to this veil. I placed my order, and after payment (it was cheaper than the one on their site strangely enough!), we agreed it would be delivered in about 10 days as I would be around to receive it...

About 7 days later, a knock on the door - recorded delivery item for me.... yes, it was my veil!!

I ran upstaits and took it out of its packaging...... its gorgeous!! Exactly as i wanted it to look, and its just the right length and lovely!! I quickly put it on, and felt amazing!

I reluctantly removed it, then re-wrapped it and stored it away with my other bits and bobs...... cant wait to see what it looks like with my dress..... should be lush!!

More shopping.....

Yesterday, myself and my MAtrons of Honour, C & M, went shopping for their dresses. We booked an appointment in the shop where i bought my dress from, but I said that if we didnt find anything in there, we could go and look in other shops until we found something. It was also going to be the first time C & M would meet....

So, went around to C's, and we drove over to pick up M... C seemed a bit nervous, but seemed to relax as she realised M was lovely. They actually had a lot in common and seemed to get on really well.

We arrived at the shop, and we looked at some pictures of dresses - luckily, both girls wanted full length dresses. I said I would be happy for them to have different styles in the same colour as they are too entirely different shapes.

We selected a few to try on, and so the fun began...

We quickly discovered that shiny satin wasnt doing anything for them (does it do anything for anyone???), and narrowed it down to 2 dresses:

This one:




or this one:



C was a bit unsure of the 2nd one, but she looked great in it. She preferred the first one as I think she felt it disguised her lumps and bumps more. We said the dress was a little tight on her, and that her actual dress would be less figure hugging but give her a better shape. M loved the dress, and secretly, I wanted it too as it was similar to my wedding dress. But, I wanted the girls to make the decision themselves, so remained neutral.

C then tried on the first dress, and fortunately, decided she actually didnt like it as much as she had done before - result! I paid the deposit and thats it - dresses are ordered. We are having them in the Emerald colour which will match beautifully with the chaps cravats, and will look amazing in the photos - I cant wait am really excited!!

I have had to ask the girls to tone down their boistorousness though - the shop owner was ok with it (and the fact they were swearing a little), but she said the seamstress would be a little offended. Hopefully they will take note. We go back next year for measurements before we order, then they will have their first fitting 5 weeks before the day, then if another fitting is needed, it will be the week before, but the girls can arrange that for whenever it suits them.

Really happy, and I know we will all look fab!!

Actually.....

After rechecking with the shop, it seems i have actually NOT chosen the above dress!!! In fact, i have chosen this one:




the confusion arose as the shop renames the dresses, and doesnt actually tell you who its by! When i investigated, i realised it was actually this one! I love it, and am doubly pleased as it is by my favourite designer (Alfred Angelo)... and was one i picked from his site as a favourite!1 I get sooooo excited when i see it - cant wait to put it back on in february!!

I have made an appointment to go back to the shop in November with one of my matrons... i ahve asked both, but as usual, one is being really keen and positive, whilst the other is severly lacking. I know the she has a lot on her mind at the moment, but an enthusiastic text, or something would really mean a lot.

I have made a decision that if, after christmas, she hasnt changed, and is still a bit difficult to pin down, then i will have a chat with her and ask her if she feels its too much and needs to step down? I want someone there who is excited and helps me, rather than someone who just drifts about a bit and only occasionally gets involved. Fortunately, my other matron is just what i need and gets almost as excited as me! I think if the other one does decide to step down, i will just have the one matron, and spend a little more on her dress and gift.

Will keep you posted about this though!!

Its done...........!!!!

Well, I had an appointment today at a bridal shop about 1hr away from me....
Cant say i was really looking forward to it as i thought that i wouldnt be able to try anything on, that they would be horrible and that i wouldnt find anything i liked.

How wrong was i???

First of all, it was really easy to find the shop, and parking was absolutely no problem at all. The woman was a bit scatty, but pleasant enough. She seemed to have a wide range of dresses and wasnt pushy at all.
We went upstairs and she was really good with me being so self conscious. She passed a dress through and although it was nice, it didnt move me. Another dress came and again, it was lovely, but not me. A 3rd dress... and once i saw it in on me, well, i burst into tears..... guess thats the one then??

I tried on another 2, one was also lovely and is my second choice if something goes wrong with the first one. The final dress wasnt to my liking at all! She then asked me if i wanted to try on the one i loved... so i did, and it nearly made me cry again so i know its the right one for me!!

Deposit paid!!!

I feel so much better now - it was nice to see something that looked lovely on me, and i didnt want to criticise myself when i wore it, so its got to be pretty special eh? Its quite simple, but the detailing is amazing. The top of the bodice is covered with clear sequins, diamontes and small pearl like beads, which then scatter over the ruching and onto the a- line skirt. Its a lace up back, and the beading goes all down the side of the lace up.

I have ordered it in ivory, but this is the dress in silver as on the website of the designer (ALice James) :




I love it........ but now i am having wobbles about whether its special enough!! Thats probably cos its the most i have ever spent on a dress and its only natural!The woman was scatty, but totally lovely. She never made me feel ashamed of my size, or flab, and was really friendly without being over bearing.

Have booked an appointment to go back in Feb and get measured...... will need to go back before then and take my girls as they have got some lovely dresses in the emerald green colour for them to try on!!! xx

Outfits for the boys...... but what about me???

We went to a well known hire shop on monday and managed to sort out the groom's and groom-party suits!!
They have gone for the classic morning coat, sans top hat but with the striped trousers:






H2B has gone for a silver waistcoat that initially, i didnt like and thought it wouldnt look right, but when he put it on with the suit, it looked amazing:







We have decided on this for the Best Man and the Usher :










Dad has gone for a white waistcaot with small silver swirls on it similar to this one (they havent got his actual one on the website yet!)

I then came home and ordered the cravats and tie from www.thecravatcompany.co.uk - H2B and my dad will be in Emerald green, with the boys in Leaf green, and i am hoping it looks smashing together!


My dad very kindly paid for the suit hire, then gave us a fat wad of cash on top!! I was really amazed and grateful, but very overwhelmed as they havent got much money and it was really generous! Still, he wouldnt hear of us refusing or accepting it as a loan, so...... THANKS DAD!!!

So, thats the boys sorted.... .great, but i feel a little left out? My mum knows what she is wearing, and has it, H2B's mum also has her outfit, so its just me and my MOH's left with nothing to wear!!



I saw this lovely dress in Coast : (http://www.coast-stores.com///coast/fcp-product/2224682945#GBP)
I emailed both MOH's - one replied back virtually straight away saying she loved it, but i havent heard anything from the other one (are you surprised???) so thats an option.

As for me, well, nothing. I still feel to fat to go looking, but there is a part of me that is beginning to panic that i havent found anything yet? I know i have over 11 months left, but it seems everyone is ready except me and my MOH's?? I know that sounds really selfish, and of course, the marriage is the most important thing, but the dress is one of the main talking points isnt it?? And i cant bring myself to go and look. Thats probably cos of what happened the last time i went, and partly cos i am still heavier than i would want, but even so...... its not a helpful feeling!!

I feel a little resentful i guess and i am sure that will fade soon enough, but its still weighing on my mind. I have booked an appointment for October - hopefully i will have lost some more weight and be feeling a little more positive about things... I know there are some shops i can just walk into and try things on, so maybe i shall have to do that if i happen to be feeling more positive one day!??!

Still, at least I know the boys will look smart!!

Scary.... in more ways than one!!

Well, thats it.... its now official!!

H2B and I went over to the local registry office and gave notice on Monday!!
We were both intereviewed seperately and it was scary!! The woman seemed ok - a little bit dizzy but ok.
When Shane went in, he managed to forget my birthday - typical!! But the woman was ok as he got the right month and year and was only 1 day out!!

I didnt realise though that the Bride's father's name goes on the certificate and gets entered into the marriage book thing - i was horrified as I dont want him any near my day! Luckily, the registrar was happy to enter my (Step)Dad's name so its all good!!

After our single interviews, we went back in together. She said our music and readings were fine, and said a little more about what would happen on the day. She gave us a pack and a form to fill in and then we paid and that was that!!

So, its official. We are getting married on 13.8.11 @ 14.30!!

After the registrar, we went out for lunch to celebrate. Its funny, but i thought giving notice would make me feel that things were a bit more real, but it hasnt. It still doesnt seem real - like its happening to someone else? I dont think it will seem real until the actual day? Dont get me wrong, i am excited and everything and really pleased we have got the ok and everything is all done legal wise, but i thought it would make more of an impact??

MAybe it will hit home when i chose my dress & flowers???? Here's hoping!! Still, only 11 months and 26 days to go!!

xx

Hello again!!

Well, I cant believe its been so long since i last updated my blog - bad girl!!

So, where are we now? Well, its less than 12 months until the big day (I know,where did that time go???????) and so far:

I have managed to lose 15lb - thats over a stone!! Great, but i still have a long way to go yet! I am conscious that I need to begin looking again for wedding dresses and that I am no where near my target size! Hopefully, I will have lost another 10 lb before my first appointment in October - thats the plan so I best knuckle down and get back on the old cross trainer eh??

I have made an appointment with a couture boutique for the 8th October - I think this will be my first appointment following the previous disaster - I am hoping it restores my faith in bridal shops. I dont think i will be able to afford a dress from here as they make them to order and my budget is quite small, but i am hoping that their customer service lifts me enough to go to other shops. I have email a lot of shops in my area - the feedback from them has been mostly positive - a couple of shops say they dont stock anything over a size 16 but am welcome to come and see the dresses (is there much point if i cant try them on???), but the others seem ok. I have made a list in order of preference as to which ones i want to go to first...

Onto other news - I emailed my MOH's about dresses for them - one of my maids, Mandy, replied back within 4 days, the other hasnt and its been about 5 weeks now. I know she has a lot going on right now, but i need to know so we can book a date to get them together so we can go and have a look. Luckily, the dresses that Mandy said she likes are the same ones i like, and they are within the budget so thats lookiong promising. Hopefully, my other maid will come good soon - if needs be i will see if she thinks being a MOH will be too much for her with everything thats going on, in which case, i will increase the moh dress budget and just have Mandy. Will keep you posted. This is the dress we prefer:

We have also bought our wedding rings!! H2B got his from H. Samuel after deciding he didnt like the original one from Tesco (I know - Tesco do rings!!)!! Its heavier and obviously better quality than the Tesco one, and he says its comfortable and he is more likely to wear it (I know - WTF??? You WILL wear it!!LOL!!). Mine had to be especially made as my E ring has a shaped band.

We went to Roux Jewellers in Southampton, and they were lovely. They had templates of different band shapes as they recognised that a lot or rings (wedding and otherwise) are shaped and this saved a lot of time, and money in helping people to get a ring. So, we tried on some different shapes, and although none of the templates fitted exactly, one fitted in 4 places which i was happy with and so was David, the jeweller. I asked them to make it in 9ct white gold (to match my e ring), and flush set it with 3 diamonds on the head of the ring...... they said they could do this and it would take about 3 weeks....

2.5 weeks later, i had a call to say the ring was ready and i could come and collect it. I travelled back into Southampton, and picked up H2B's ring, then went and got mine. Well...... i nearly cried when i saw it and put it on! Its simple and elegant, and exactly what i asked for! Here it is:





We are going to see the registrar tomorrow and make it all official - we have provisionally booked the date with them, so tomorrow we are giving notice - woop woop!!

We have also chosen the menu for the day - we are going to have goats cheese, asparagus and something tartlet to start, follwoed by roast pork with calvados sauce, followed by white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake - yummy!

We are also going to go over and hire the suits next week so that will be all done.

We still have lots to do yet - get the dresses, flowers, gifts, cravats etc etc, decide on the honeymoon, finish the order of services and table plans and place names and menus, and of course, pay for everything!!

Still, with only 12 (sorry, 11months and 29 days to go) - I am sure we will make it...... maybe!!!

OOOO... new shoes????

Another loooong delay since my last post, but I have had nothing to report... until now!!!

I ordered some shoes about 8 weeks ago - a long time to wait, but the shoes are unique, in that I designed them myself!

Well, sort of! I had decided to go for green sparkly shoes (kind of like Dorothy's in 'The Wizard of Oz', only in green), but I couldnt find them anywhere. I posted on a wedding forum about my dilemma, and someone told me about a woman who makes them.

Her name is Rachel, and she has a website www.bespokebigday.com, where you can chose and design your own shoes!

I went on there, and found, to my eternal joy, that she could do something similar to my 'dorothy' idea. I told my fiance what I was planning as I began having second thoughts as to what the shoes might look like. To be honest, I was beginning to have my doubts as to whether they would look ok or not, and he agreed and said maybe all over green glitter would be a bit much??

Sooo, i went on bespoke and found that I could design a pair and have a different coloured heel... so I designed my own and they arrived today!!

Here they are::::







Hello wedding fans!!


I think maybe they would of looked better with a higher heel, but as I am already 2 inches taller than my fiance, I didnt think that would be a good look, and i want to be able to wear them all day!! They have good non slip soles as well so I wont be skidding on the dance floor!!

I am wondering about getting some shoe clips for the front to jazz them up a bit... maybe try and find a shamrock or something!!

Anyway, I love them, they are dead comfy and I cant wait to wear them!! My first wedding outfit purchase!!!

How amazing!!
xx

Gifts so far....

As its still a bit too early to buy anything major for our wedding, I thought it sensible to start buying gifts for the wedding party - (it also makes me feel i am actually doing something towards it as well as satisfying my spending urges!!)

I have bought these for my H2B:




I have also just got this lovely earrings and necklace set for my MOH's to wear on the day:



And finally, I bought this lovely pocket watch for my Dad:
I have had it engraved on the back as well. The company I bought it from, Tom Sawyer Waistcoats, were brilliant and its such good quality!

Now all I have to do is try to stop myself from giving them to the relevant people early!!

xx

Sparkly jewellery....... just window shopping at mo....

WEll, as I am being a little bit cautious with the ol' cash at the mo (spent to much on OOS/ Invite stuff this month - oops!!), thought I would go window shopping for some wedding jewellery!

I bought a wedding mag, and it had a Jon Roberts catalogue thing inside! He has some lovely stuff, and its all very reasonable too! These are my favourites though!

The top one is not by Jon Richards, but is available on vintage wedding jewellery.com!! Decisions, decisions!!

Invites..... made them....

Well, I have virtually finished the invites!

I have probably not made enough, but fortunately, I have made a few blank ones that can be either for evening or wedding, phew.

I am currently working on the stuff that will go into the invites, you know, map, list of nearby hotels, gift list (most important!!), travel etc, so its all good.

Only thing is, now I have made them, I am not sure if they look a bit cheap and rubbish??!! I probably should of just had them made......... still, H2B thinks they are smashing!???

First go at wedding dress shopping...

Well, Monday I went along to a local bridal shop to see what was available, and gain my first experience of it all...... disappointing is the word I would use!!

The lady in the shop began by asking what I wanted, and picked out about 6 dresses to try. I then was shown through into the back area of the shop and tried on the first dress. Not only did I feel really exposed in just my underwear, but the dress wouldnt go over my hips!! We managed to get it on over my head, and it looked quite nice. I didnt get that 'this is the one' moment,though :-( I was pleased though with the shape the dress gave me, and doubly so as it was one i had seen online, and didnt like the look of!! Its much better in real life!!

I then tried on another one, and well, i felt like i was being sucked in and a large hard pole shoved down my back as the style was so restricting! However, it did make me walk straighter and the detail on the back was amazing! Again, i was not blown away by it thought.

I showed the lady in the shop the picture of my dreanm dress, and she said it was lovely, but unfortunately, as i was short in the body, the boning would be uncomfortable and would be too long for me. Gutted!!

Although she had put out a few dresses, i only actually tried on those 2! She was very helpful, and when i said that i was planning on losing weight, and that my wedding wasnt until next august, she suggested that i forget about wedding dresses until later in the year as i would have lost weight and would have more of an idea of my shape, and there would be more dresses for me to try on.

I was gutted about the whole day really. It seems that designers only send samples of dresses in size 12/14, so that restricted what i could try on, and also discovering my dream dress wouldnt work on me was heartbreaking. I had no idea that dresses were so heavy though!! I could not believe the weight of them - definately need to work out a bit more to be able to wear one of those all day!!

I have decided not to bother looking again until june time, hopefully by then i will have lost at least 1 stone (some hopes!) and will be in a better frame of mind!

I am sure that my dress is out there somewhere, and its good to know that there is a dress that suits me, is nice and fits me just down the road,so i still have a sort of safety net..... but.. when I see so many gorgeous dresses around, I cant help but wish i was a size 12 with loads of money........
God, what a depressing post this is....
xxx

Where we're at...

Its been a while since my last blog, but what with Crimbo, New Year and being ridiculously manic at work, I/we havent had time to do much wedding-y stuff. That, coupled with the fact that every time I approached h2b about anything remotely wedding related, he pulls a face, makes a commment or switches off!!

The last time we did anything wedding related, up until yesterday, was the 31st December when we went to look at the suits....

After much deliberation, h2b has chosen to wear proper morning dress, with an ivory and silver wasitcoat, and probably with a dark green cravat.....

Dad is going to wear the same, but with a plain ivory waistcoat and dark green tie..

The bestman and usher will be wearing the same, but with ivory and green waistcoats, and pale green cravats or ties (we're not decided yet!)

The bridesmaids will then wear either dark green dresses, with pale green sashes, or pale green sashes with dark green accents..

I have sent away to a company for some fabric swatches and to see if they can match our ribbon to a tie/cravat, then we might use that for h2b's tie, but i think we will probably go with 'hunter' green....

I had also thought of having sparkling green shoes under my dress (think wizard of oz ruby slippers, but in green) and searched across the web for some, to no avail, until i was told about www.bespokebigday.com......

They can do my ideal shoe!! I asked h2b what he thought, as i was beginning to have a few doubts as to whether i should or not, and he thought they would be too loud, which i had though of anyway, so, i have decided on ivory shoes, with just the heel in sparkling green glitter!! They will be expensive, almost £100 including delivery, but they have to be worth it!!

I am also off wedding dress shopping today - i have an appoinment with a local shop today, and one with a different shop wednesday.. i will tell you about that one, and the saga with the dress at another time.

I am looking forward to trying some dresses on, as it will make it all seem real and provide me with more incentive to keep losing weight (have lost 4lb so far), but nervous as i dont like exposing my body to others. still, got to be a small price to pay eh?? My mum will come with me, and hopefully one of my matrons of honour will come too, provided she can wangle time off work. I wonder if they will let me take piccys of the dresses if i cant choose? Having said that, they do say that the dress picks the bride, so we will see....

Will keep you posted, speak to you soon!

xx