We Have Chosen a Florist!
(Again!)
As I said in a previous post, I was let down by a florist we had already chosen.
I suppose the problem wasn’t really a big deal. I’d asked for an updated quote and the florist took almost a year to send it. I felt that meant the florist was somewhat unreliable and I decided to cancel.
However! We have now found a florist who seems 
A Florist
Again!
Dad and I are off to see another florist tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes.
I really liked this one, they were really friendly and they’re even on Facebook! They are right round the corner from my parent’s house so they’re on hand if I need to pop in with some questions.
Wish me luck!
Stamp Your Personality
Lets face it, in principal, all weddings are the same.
There’s a ceremony, be it civil, Christian, Islamic, Indian, Chinese, registry office or naturist. Then there’s a reception where you serve your guests a meal.
This is true for pretty much all weddings.
The interest is in the detail.
What will your guests be looking for?
The Dress
While every bride wears a wedding dress of some description (or not in the case of a naturist bride) each dress is different. I haven’t been to a wedding yet where the bride was wearing exactly the same dress as another bride.
The male guests at your wedding may not notice that your dress is fantastically unique and special to you, but the female guests certainly will!
The Flowers
Every bride has different flowers because every florist is different. Guests will be looking to see what colours you’ve chosen, which flowers you’ve had and where you’ve put them.
Little Lolli!
I received this email today from Little Lolli who do Bespoke Candy Buffets:
Hi Fran
We pride ourselves on being fair and honest with our clients and this is the underlying ethos behind our business.
We could sell you some eggs but it would mean us getting them from the wholesaler and then selling them on to you at a profit.
You can purchase large 3kg bags of eggs from ebay for £23.95p on the site pickandmixture. This would be your best option and would be cheaper for you
I’d met Little Lolli at a wedding fayre and had asked 
I think it’s so nice! Not only did they tell me it would be cheaper to buy it myself but also set me on the right direction! How many people, in a recession, would be that honest and nice and show that much integrity in business?
It is for that reason that I recommend Little Lolli to all brides who are interested in candy buffets!
When you’re stressed about your wedding and you need a supplier that is reliable, full of integrity and just really really nice, Little Lolli is the place to go!
I’m just so impressed and touched and think that was so nice!
Little Lolli specialise in catering for all styles of weddings, christenings and funerals. The spread they did at the wedding fayre was certainly very impressive!
Book Little Lolli for a fantastic candy buffet!
A Lovely Way to Spend a Saturday!
I went to the best wedding fayre I’ve been to 
I think there were a number of reasons why it was the best wedding fayre:
I came home raving about the fantastic wedding fayre I went to. It was really successful and I had heaps of ideas that I wanted!
Magic by Mark
Thinking of a bit of entertainment at your wedding? I recommend Magic by Mark.
I think I’m famously not a fan of magicians at weddings however I was really impressed with Magic by Mark.
He was amazing! Mark specialises in close up magic, and he’s just brilliant with it!
Communicate with Your Mother-in-Law
You might feel a bit shy around your 
However, as wedding fever reaches it’s highest pitch it can be easy to forget to include your MIL.
To stay on her good side, as you marry her little boy, follow the tips below:
Lots of Updates
Whenever you get a quiet moment, give your MIL a quick ring to know what’s happening with the wedding plans 
If you don’t want to call, send her a text!
She’s going to be thinking about the day as much as your mother is so try to keep in touch with her.
Get Together
Start inviting your MIL out on shopping trips with your mum to buy your dress. Buying the wedding dress is serious bonding time and you could stop for a quick bite to eat along the way (and a glass of wine!).
Happy Hens
Pink penises and getting blind drunk isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time so try to include your MIL in something a bit more tame in your hen do.
Are you going out for a meal before hand? Are you doing some fun, non-alcoholic activities? Invite your mother-in-law!
A Guide to the Groom’s Speech
Imagine sitting on the head table. Your face is aching from smiling for all the photos, and your belly is full of delicious food. You see the MC enter the room to announce the speeches and that’s it, you’re up!
The difference between being terrified about your speech, or being quietly confident will be the following tips!
Do the Research! Be Prepared!
Websites and books are a fantastic resource for nervous speech givers. Most groom’s speeches follow a typical pattern (the thank you’s, what a beautiful wife you have) so that there is an enormous amount of help on the internet and in books.
I’ve picked out Making the Father of the Bride’s Speech to buy for my dad to help him with his speech writing.
And, I also have Confetti’s Wedding Speech book, which I think is really good.
I cannot recommend iamstaggered.com enough! The quirky, fun way of writing on Staggered is fantastic inspiration for anyone wanting to give a speech.
I really like Wedding Speech Builder but you can only access 2 tips per section before you need to pay to use the website.
And, of course, I have heaps of tips on writing your wedding speech!
Where Do They Come From?
Your wedding dress is going to be one of the toughest decisions you make as you plan your wedding. I went famously went to seven wedding dress shops and tried on a whopping twenty-eight dresses before falling for The One!
Along with your christenings and funerals, your wedding is the one time you will be seen at a special public occasion. Historically, these kinds of public events have required special outfits.
Origins
Colour, style and ceremonial importance of the wedding dress varies from culture to culture.
The Middle Ages
Marriage in the Middle Ages was more to do with sealing the relationship between two families, towns or even countries. It was expected that the bride would dress in suitably as befit her position.
Brides were dressed in fine fabrics and amazing jewellery (given as part of their dowry) to display her family’s wealth and importance. Brides usually wore bright colours, velvets and furs, to display wealth.
The purpose of the wedding dress was to say, ‘I’m richer than you.’ The bride rarely chose her gown but was given it, sometimes in her family colours.
Over the Centuries
Brides continued to wear fine dresses made from expensive fabrics that followed the height of fashion. Brides from ordinary families wore their Sunday best.
Keep Checking Back!
You may have noticed a lack of new blog posts… Unfortunately, with it being the beginning of term, things have been manic at school and my evenings have been filled with laminating, cutting
Things have also been a bit lax on the wedding front. Dad is working on finding us a florist but other than that, there’s nothing else to report!
However, over the next few weeks we will be having some blog posts about
and many more!
Keep checking back for more blog posts, and of course updates for my own wedding!
Only 6 months, 22 days to go! (29 weeks 1 day!)
My Thanks
I just wanted to write a quick post saying a big thanks to everyone who has been leaving comments on the blog. It’s good to know that the post are helping brides and grooms with their weddings!
If you have any questions you’d like me to look into, or require further information about any subject I’ve written about, please feel free to leave a comment or write a question.
My dream is that every bride and groom have the wedding they want and if I could help, that would be fantastic!
If you would like any photos from your wedding to feature on my blog, feel free to get in touch. Make sure that you check who owns the copyright to your photos before you send them!
Good luck and best wishes for your weddings and many years of happy marriage!
Being Different
Some lucky people are able to go to a lot of 
But what if you want to be different? What if you’ve had enough of white weddings and want to make a stand for individualism?
I think it is very important for every bride to have the wedding that she (and her h2b) wants. Forget convention, forget what other people want, just focus on what you (and h2b) want.
Here enters The Theme Wedding.
Theme Weddings
Theme weddings are unique in that they are all different, depending on your theme.
How to Get Your Spark
If you’re not the type of lass who has dreamt about her wedding for years and years, even before meeting h2b, finding inspiration for your wedding may be difficult.
All of your wedding suppliers will suggest looking to magazines for inspiration.
Literary Inspiration
Wedding magazines are fantastic for finding inspiration. Wedding Ideas Magazine features up to 9 or 10 real weddings with photos, as many of the wedding magazines do.
When looking at flowers magazines, try to choose the magazine that is showing flowers in the season of your wedding.
Make a scrap book of ideas, cut out pictures that spark your inspiration and glue them into your scrap book. Look at the colours and styles you’ve chosen.
My Two and a Half Year Check List
A check list will keep you on track and will put everything into perspective. Planning a wedding is a bit like keeping lots of plates in the air. And while juggling so many things, it’s easy to forget something that you want. My check list will help you to keep everything in order.
[If you would like to download this checklist, left click on the image to see the full size check list, then right click on the enlarged image. Select Save As or Print to use this image.]
My Check List
As you all know, I famously planned my wedding two and a half years in advance. Consequently, my wedding check list is slightly different to the normal.
A Smile That Could Be Seen From Space!
I went to be measured today, for My Dress!
I was very excited, as I always am! My mum wanted to come along with me so I made an appointment with a different branch of Francesca’s than the one at which I had already bought my dress.
I had asked for my dress to be sent over so that I could have another try on, but they didn’t have it.
The lady measured me and she was really nice and super quick. We’d got completely and utterly lost and turned around finding the bridal shop, we spent more time finding it than we did being measured! It was all good though and the lady was really really friendly.
The only thing was, I really wanted to try my dress on again.
So, mum and I decided to drive over to the branch that had my dress just to check the sizing. (Also, I just wanted to try on my dress again!)
We found the next branch really easily and I got to try on my dress! It was even more perfect than I remembered! I just loved it! I didn’t want to take it off!
I was so happy, my smile was so huge it could have been seen from space! The ladies in the shop said I ‘beamed’!
I didn’t want to take it off! That’s how you know you’ve found The Dress, isn’t it? That you don’t want to take it off? It’s such a pretty dress! I feel like a princess when I’m wearing it!
A Quick Post
It’s just a quick post this morning, I’ll write a longer post this afternoon but I’M BEING MEASURED FOR MY WEDDING DRESS TODAY!
As you can tell, I’m just a little bit excited about it.
In preparation, I have been avoiding any food that will make me bloated. So, yesterday after I had my breakfast I only ate salads and fruit to stop myself from being too wide.
Although I hate the idea of a wedding diet, as h2b asked you to marry him before the diet, and he loves you just the way you are, I have been wedding dieting.
