Sunday 22 April 2012

I've been shredded...

I am determined that I will win my battle with the biscuit tin which I now refer to as 'Mission Wedding Dress' and so with this in mind I have embarked on the dvd phenomenon (or so Amazon says) that is Jillian Michaels '30 Day Shred'. All you have to do is complete the dvd for 20 minutes every day. This to me is perfect; get home, put nice tea in oven, jig around living room for 20 minutes, eat nice tea, relax.

Now lets re visit the 'jig around room' part. My god is it hard! It's like having a military trainer in your front room with you, I swear at times she is going to reach out of the TV and kick my butt herself during the 30 seconds of (you guessed it) 'butt kicks' and just as I'm about to collapse in a heap and miss the last press up she shouts 'Don't you dare give up, you want to work out in just 20 minutes? You got to work HARD' so now I feel guilty as well as being bright red with jelly arms.... but....strange at as it seems, I actually quite like it, so will keep going.

If Jillian thinks I'm progressing to level 2 though, she can forget it, that's what the mute button is for :0) .

Saturday 21 April 2012

Shoes, shoes, shoes...

For those not crazy about shoes, stop reading now. But if like me, a portion of your brain is dedicated solely to your footwear get ready to feast your eyes on my next post; bridesmaid shoes. I want to spoil my bridesmaids with some lovely shoes for the day, I also need to stay within the strict budget my Dad has set, so I've been trawling the net for inspiration and here is what I have come up with.  Initialy I was set on silver, but when I tried silver next to the dresses it looked really harsh and not nice. Bum! The shoe portion of my brain began to shed tears, silver is my fail safe go to, what now?! Not to worry, Mum came to the rescue, she had in her cupboard (some actually very nice...I owe my shoe addiction to her) ivory shoes, we put them next to the dresses and yay! Crisis over....so anyway....here is what I have found as possibles so far...I've tried to find different shoes that I think will suit the different girls so they can choose which they like and not all have the same :0)





PS....I'm not posting an image of the dresses, that's for me and my VIP girls to know and everyone else to see on the day ;0)

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Not strictly wedding talk...

But I just had to show you my gorgeous co - wedding planner....

Say hello to Archie Belle Pooh Stevens, soon to be Archie Belle Pooh Eastwood... (or just plain old Arch for short).

I've just found this cat bow tie on http://www.poochieheaven.com/blacktieaffair-catcollar.html ... chances of me getting him in to it, and myself and dress arriving at church in tact?

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Putting pen to paper...

Well, I've just about calmed down about the 'choir' incident. (Although as yet, the problem is not solved, my bridesmaids have offered to hunt down a kayak to push me down the aisle in...) ... SO... I thought I would post something nice :0)

I searched high and low for my perfect invitations, but could just not find them. Whilst ribbon and crystals are lovely for some people, it's just not 'us'. So off I went and attempted to make my own. I'm pretty pleased with them, what do you think?







Sunday 15 April 2012

Sack the choir...

So, I said in my first post that from here on in it may get stressful...

The choir master rang me yesterday. I had requested to walk down the aisle to 'The Rose', have 'Annie's Song' during the signing of the register as a nod to my (adored) Nanna who sadly passed away, and for us to leave to The Beatles 'All you need is love'. Easy?

The conversation went as follows:
Choir master: Well, there is no problem with 'The Rose' but we usually sing it before the bride arrives...
Me: mmmmmm
Choir master: The last wedding we did was lovely, the bride entered to 'I am sailing'
Me: I am Sailing???? As in, by Rod Stewart???
Choir master: Yes it was lovely, and the couple exited to 'World in Union'
Me: The rugby world cup anthem?
Choir master: Yes it was really nice, and I'm not sure about 'Annies Song' we'll have to look into how complicated it is...
Me: It's the 'you fill up my senses' song....
Choir master: mmmm, yes, I'll see how complicated it is....
Me: It's the 'you fill up my senses song....' .....anyway, if you could do it I would be really grateful it's in memory of my Nanna; Annie....
Choir master: For the signing of the register we usually do 'Rythym of life' how about that instead?
Me: Are you trying to be ironic?
Choir master: I'll email through some ideas...I don't think we'll be able to do The Beatles, but 'World in Union' is lovely...
Me: I only want the chorus, you know 'All you need is love, all you need is love, all you need is love, love, all you need is love....'
Choir master: Yes I don't think we'll have time to learn it by August really...I'll email some alternatives for you to think about...
Me: Ok, but I would like to walk down the aisle to 'The Rose' rather than it be sung before I arrive, and if you could look into 'Annies Song' and 'All you need is love' for me I would be really grateful..


Cut to email:

(Bare in mind we are paying £250 for this...and that my wedding will be in the middle of the Yorkshire Moors, miles away from the sea...)

Email as follows:

Suggested repertoire:
Arrival of guests: The Rose & Les Mis selection
Arrival of bride: I am Sailing
Signing of Register: Rythym of Life
Exit: World in Union


???????????????

Maybe I could wear a life jacket and people could throw water instead of confetti as I walk down the aisle? And on the way out, Gary could lift me above his head to emulate a line out....

unbelievable....

Wednesday 11 April 2012

With this ring...

So our other job was rings, and eeek I am so excited by my ring! My engagement ring is from a New York based designer Barbara Michelle Jacobs http://www.etsy.com/shop/bmjnyc?section_id=7537004. It's absolutely beautiful; a white gold band cast to resemble a tree branch with a solitaire ethically mined sapphire in the middle, it really is stunning. AND Gary chose it all by himself, how impressive is that?? Well, I was impressed anyway...



To buy our wedding bands we visited 'Element Jewellery' in Hebden Bridge. http://www.elementjewellery.com . It's a gorgeous shop featuring simple contemporary designs. Originally we were just going to get Gary's wedding ring there but whilst there I discovered a local designer called Anthony Blakeney, he creates beautiful rings based on rose roots. So...he is making my wedding band, it will compliment my engagement ring wonderfully and it's also nice to support a local designer.

Let them eat cake...yum...


We had two jobs this week; cake and rings. Gary threw himself whole heartedly into both (...I am a lucky bride to be..) although...could it be that I had arranged the rings appointment to fall on the way to a cake tasting? mmmmmmm.....
So...off we trotted to 'Three Tier Cakes' in Halifax armed with my lovingly but shabbily put together mood board and the 5 cake stands I seem to have acquired over the course of planning my big day. First of all we tasted cake, and it was goooooood cake! There was chocolate fudge, madeira, carrot, fruit, chocolate orange and lemon...cake heaven! I could have had them all, but in the end we have gone for chocolate fudge, chocolate orange and lemon drizzle. I tell you what, so many people have said they never have a slice of their own wedding cake, after tasting those I will be trampling over anyone in my way to get a piece!
So what will it look like? Well apparently, I am ahead of the crowd! (well, in little old Halifax anyway). We are having a shabby chic/vintage/rustic 4 tier creation spread across 3 of my 5 cake stands. (maybe I should get some fondant fancies for the spare 2?) They'll be different colours, cream, white and shell pink and whipped to perfection with icing. Yum!

Sunday 8 April 2012

Pretty flowers all in a row...

I have selected Helen at The Willow Garden to do my flowers. The shop is like a fairy wonder land! I love going in and looking in awe at all of the beautiful creations and pretty nooks and crannies. Just walking in I knew Helen was the florist for me, the shop screams shabby chic vintage country garden...perfect!




I really want my flowers to be loose and natural looking, nothing too structured or 'matchy'. Tightly packed pink roses or long structured lilies, though lovely for other people are just not me. I asked for a mixture of peaches, creams, pinks and greens...Helen suggested my bouquet have the herb Rosemary in as it represents remembrance, I love this idea because it will represent my Nanna...see, I told you she was perfect! My final flower mood board looks like this :0)







I can't wait to see them on the day!

Saturday 7 April 2012

Doilie Days - My Etsy Finds

Thinking about my venue decor I created a treasury on Etsy this morning of all things doilie that I would love to include! Check it out, there are some beautiful things for sale on there, see my favourites below...or go to http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTAwMDk0MzR8MjY5MDAyNjEzNA/doilie-days


Friday 6 April 2012

The devil's in the detail...

I love the laid back country vibe of our venue and to decorate want to keep it quite informal as well as tapping into the vintage theme. I've been collecting cut glass vases in all shapes and sizes and crochet lace doilies from charity shops and jumble sales for months now, which will be arranged on the tables with single stems and teeny tiny bunches...I can't wait to see it all together on the day!





Location, location, location...

I've been thinking, I only have 4 months left to go and plenty of fine tuning to complete, but lot's of the big things have already been sorted, so I'm going to make my next few posts about the things I've already decided, a sort of retrospective of my wedding planning. And where best to start but the venue? We've chosen the gorgeous Turnpike Inn nestled on top of Rishworth Moor and directly opposite the Boothwood Reservoir, it's everything I could have dreamed of...a cosy country pub, traditional yet contemporary decor, a laid back atmosphere, stunning Yorkshire views and comes with Amy the most helpful coordinator ever...yay!

Here are some pics I took on my Holga camera, enjoy :0)









You will find him next to me...


Last night Gary took me to see Emeli Sande at Leeds O2 Academy...she was amazing! I can honestly say I have never heard anyone sing so beautifully live, her voice was just perfect. I love all of her songs, but the song that really got me into her was 'Next to Me'....if you haven't heard it, check it out here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nwdjQmc_N8&ob=av2e . The first time I heard it straight away it made me think of Gary (I know, pass the bucket) so I am hoping to feature it in the wedding somewhere.

Really gorgeous lyrics:

When the money's spent and all my friends have vanished
and I can't seem to find no help or love for free
I know there's no need for me to panic
cause I'll find him, I'll find him next to me

Thursday 5 April 2012

Smile for the birdie...

What prompted me to start my blog this week? We had our engagement shoot in Blackpool on Monday!


Last week, we had full sunshine to the point I was sat outside in my shorts and rubbing in suncream, but come Monday it was bitterly cold! Ah well...our photographer Andrew Scott Clarke still got some fantastic shots...here is one he sent us as a sample. I've had a mess with it in a vintage photo app 'Vintage Scene' ... what do you think? Is the original perfect as it is?
Or is the vintage one more 'us'?

128 days to go...

So..this is my first ever blog post!

Last year I watched the film 'Julie & Julia' in which 'Julie' blogs about her quest to cook all of Julia Childs recipes...I fancied having a go but couldn't get my head around what I would talk about. That is, until I got engaged.

I've been dreaming of my wedding for approximately 29 years (I'll be 32 in May) and now, I have just 4 months until the big day arrives. Up until now I have loved planning every aspect of the day; trying endless dresses on (and buying two along the way), visiting gorgeous venues and picking pretty flowers...I am sure that now I am on the 'homestrech' it's going to get more exciting, maybe stressful, maybe tearful...but I'll love it all the same...

If anyone reads this, I hope you enjoy my big day journey with me, or maybe my blog will just become a nice diary I can one day show my children (fingers crossed). Either way, let's wait and see!