So we collected our rings...

{All images from Author's personal collection}

As you can see, I am new to photography like this. The images didn't quite work but I still rather like them...

Reasons I love My Almost-Husband II

On days when everything seems insurmountable he takes me to weird little organic pizza restaurants in Brixton where they dictate what drinks you are 'allowed' with your meal, buys me pizza, listens to me whine, cuddles me and pays the bill. Thanks Darling. You are the best.

Reasons I love My Almost-Husband I

When I am stressed he rings me up and leaves me beautiful voicemails which make me smile and forget all the reasons I was so cross in the first place.

T minus 1 month

And so this girl and her Boy reached the last of the monthly mile stones and with it this girl felt a little, no, a lot overwhelmed. And rather cross. Although that may have just been PMT. Yes, through some great poor planning, her period is due on the first day of their honeymoon. {I just mis-typed honeymoon as horneymoon. I hope that is not prophetic}.

Whilst it was true that the to-do list had shrunk in the last 10 months, there were rather a lot of things left. Including but not limited to: chasing guests who haven't sent back their RSVP cards or been in contact in any way; sorting out shoe issues which the bridesmaids have encountered and lots of other boring things...

*finish confirming details for the service and make the orders of services;
*finish all bridesmaids present projects (more nearly finished than they were, but not actually finished)
*Make Bride's accessories & veil.
*Make labels for the napkins
*Make seating chart and have signed off by my Mother
*Finish cake toppers.
*Scan childhood photos. Make photo display.
*Sort out glasses. Hire them?
*Ensure purchases shirt.
*Ensure groom purchases tie for BestMan.
*Flowers and buttonholes (all decisions made, just need to place final order).
*Delegate the design for the poster to advertise band and DJ.
*Ensure logistics for PA system and equipment are in place.
*Purchase presents for wedding party.
*Book hair cuts (both bride and groom) and general bride grooming including manicure and waxing.

She also wanted to add, that she has loved planning this wedding, their wedding, but there were some days when talk of shoes and water jugs and guest logistics just made her want to SCREAM.

M's suit

In getting married I have learnt a new skill: clothes alteration. Dresses and suits a speciality.

I was shown how to take apart the seams in M's suit trousers and then how to let out various parts (turns out M may have similar taste to his uncle but not waist size). I have then been reshaping the jacket arms to make them more slim line and to help the suit fit M's image of how he should look in a month's time.

I sat there, sewing machine illuminated in a pool of sunshine, the muted chatter of my two sisters and my almost sister-in-law floating down the hallway as they discussed my hen party, and realised how much I have enjoyed planning this wedding. Our wedding.

T minus 5 weeks

{M - on the off chance you're reading, don't scroll any further down}

So, 5 weeks left and just a couple more things to do... mainly logistic at this point to be honest. I am thinking that if law doesn't work out, wedding planning may just be my calling. Any takers?

Hhhm. The to-do list:

*Choose readings
*Finalise music to be played during the signing of the register.
*Finalise order of service and have printed.
*Make Bride's accessories & veil.
*Make bridesmaids' jewellery (components ordered & have arrived). Finish off their presents.
*Make labels for the napkins. Make seating chart. Assemble table decorations from peacock feathers (ordered) and wine bottles (collected).
*Finish cake toppers.
*Fill in details in guestbook and arrange for someone to ensure people sign it. Scan childhood photos. Make photo display.
*Finish making bunting to decorate marquee.
*Book transport for guests between church and reception.
*Taste and choose wine, champagne and beer. Sort out glasses.
*Ensure groom alters suit and purchases shirt.
*Ensure groom purchases ties for ushers and BestMan.
*Flowers and buttonholes (all decisions made, just need to place final order).
*Design poster to advertise band and DJ. Ensure logistics for PA system and equipment are in place.
*Purchase presents for wedding party.
*Choose and purchase wedding bands.
*Book hair cuts (both bride and groom) and general bride grooming including manicure and waxing.

And just because I took these (exceptionally poor quality photos) yesterday:

{Image from Author's personal collection}

you know, for those who may have been wondering whether it fitted or not...

My Boy Writes: The Wedding List

My Boy's 10th column for Elizabeth Anne Designs can be found here.

"Rach and I really enjoyed compiling our wedding list. It is a great pleasure to visualise your future together even from a very materialistic point of view. We both spent plenty of time trawling through household porn – glasses, pots and pans, mixers, rugs, bed linen etc. and debated / argued over the relative benefits. I was pushing hard for a list compiled solely of wine, a sneaky tactic which made my other suggestions seem less controversial. So… I have selected wine glasses, some dazzling copper pans and a selection of kitchen knives and quietly encouraged friends to buy us wine whereas Rachel has suggested a fabulous mixer, bed linen, a bread-maker and several other highly practical things. We also settled on plenty of things which we were equally enthused about including every decent cook book we could think of and a table for the garden.

{Image credits (from top): Kasumi knife via here; Kitchenaid mixer via here and Lyonnaise frying pan via here}

As fun as the process was we both felt a weight of responsibility for our selections. In reality there is nothing selfish about a wedding list but it feels like there is. Our hope is that the majority of people will have plenty of ideas about things to buy and will not even by aware of the wedding list (we are sending it out on request). Clearly we run the risk of duplication but this is balanced by the pleasure we will get from opening the presents without prior knowledge and tracing back the thought processes of our friends and families. Even getting a sense of how they understand us or at least what we are lacking. This is one of the victories of mass celebrations; the gifts take you back through your life to shared memories and enthusiasms.

We agreed early on that if there was to be a wedding list it needed to reflect our different tastes and the differing means of our guests. It was important to find readily affordable gifts which we would love to be given whilst providing a few things at the upper end for those who want to spend a lot of cash. We wanted the list to be specific enough to serve its primary purpose – to guide those who don’t know what to buy without being overly prescriptive. Our hope is that some people will look at the list, get a sense of our style and select something in that style. This way we will see them in the present and the list becomes something more than a shopping list.

The monetary aspect of weddings is a big one. The whole thing is expensive and at a certain point in one’s life you start getting inundated with invites. In many instances you will need to cough up for a stag / hen do, a present, travel to the wedding, hotel and so on. This is a great thing and to me these are mini-holidays. It is however slightly difficult to balance the books and 6 holidays each summer, no matter how mini, stretch one’s budget. We were determined that our wedding would fulfil all our hopes without bankrupting our friends and the wedding list is at the core of this. We do not expect people to buy presents. If you will forgive the cliché, their ongoing support (especially in putting on the wedding) is more than enough and we wouldn’t want people to be put off attending because of monetary constraints. We have tried to find decent places to stay for sensible money and to lean on all friends and relatives who live locally to put people up. Thankfully, Devon is pretty cheap… So they will have plenty to spend on presents. Yippee!"