Christmas!

A Tip For All Brides To Be - Don't start planning your wedding two weeks before Christmas!

Due to Christmas being literally just around the corner my wedding planning seems to have tailed off for a little while (and just as I was getting some momentum!) 

With a fresh year brings lots of planning to get excited about and lots of blogging to be done about it. I have already written a plan of all local (and not so local...) wedding fayres, and have roped Mark into going to them (I think he is only coming for the cake samples...) 

We also are speaking to the owner of our potential reception venue in January and I am planning on starting some sort of exercise class, just to tone me up a bit (groan) in time for what will hopefully be a late summer wedding!

I also am working on a secret little project, a tiny but important one, which I can hopefully share with you soon! Ohhhh the suspense!

Enjoy your Christmas!

My Church Dilemma!!

It's well known that getting married in a church is usually the cheapest place to get married. It also happens that sharing a car park with our possible reception venue is very beautiful village church.

So it would seem that getting married in the church, and then going next door for the reception would be perfect, doesn't it!

But me being me, it's not so simple. I'm an atheist and generally tend to avoid church as much as possible. I have nothing against religion or people who practice religion, it just very much isn't for me. I feel like getting married in a church would make me a hypocrite!

I need to do some research on church ceremonies before i make a decision. I can't help but feel very drawn in by the logistic and financial benefits getting married in that church would have but it feels like a moral line might be crossed there for me - is it okay to use a church for those reasons or is that offensive to what a church is there for in the first place?!

Its possible that im thinking far too much into it but before i make any decisions i would have a couple of questions to ask.

• Are we able to say our own vows in a church? This is important to me.
• Does the ceremony have to reference God?

Should I decide (Mark isn't fussed either way) that its not appropriate for us to get married in a church then we need to consider where we would have the ceremony (and what that would cost) and how we would get our guests and us from the ceremony to the reception venue. It would absolutely complicate matters and so i have to decide what is right for us. 

I shall find out the answers to my questions and go from there!

Venues!

The starting point for any wedding planning I suppose would be a venue! This is probably going to be the most costly part of the day and so it's going to take some serious research to find our perfect location. 

However...

Mark has a second job working in a pub local to us. He has worked there for a while now and the owners have offered for us to come and have a chat with them in the new year about possibly having our reception there!

Its a beautiful pub, with a fabulous garden that overlooks the surrounding fields and countryside. I would absolutely LOVE to have our reception here. Here are some pictures!

These pictures do the pub no justice, but give you a general idea of the type of place it is. They are from their website which you can find at the bottom of this post.  

I am hoping that we are able to come to a good deal with Paul (the owner) because i know we would be very well looked after here and also be given a bit of artistic license when it comes to decorating the space we use.

Obviously having your reception at a pub comes with its own challenges. Although we would most likely be having our reception in a marquee in the garden, the pub itself will be running business as usual inside. This means that the venue wont be closed off to just us and our guests. Mark has the attitude that he knows most of the people that come into the pub and so he wouldn't mind 'sharing' our location as a lot of the faces would be familiar. I'm happy enough with that too. 

So should we be able to agree on a price that comes enough under budget and both me and Mark are happy with it - then it looks like we have found our venue! Fingers crossed!

 The White Harts website: http://www.roydonwhitehart.co.uk/

Our Vintage/Country Theme

We have decided on a vintage theme, with a nod to where we live, Norfolk. It is a beautiful place to live and we are lucky enough to be surrounded with so much inspiration here for our day.

The above picture is my ultimate inspiration all in one photo. The dress, hair, flowers...it's all perfect. I have decided to take that photo and run with it. Its the kind of look I'll be aiming to recreate.

Sacrifice & Compromise

After the come down from the excitement that a proposal inevitably brings is the optimism that yes, YOU can plan your whole wedding cheaply and easily and not have to compromise on anything. So you do some research, wherein your smacked with a healthy dose of reality and all of a sudden those charming lace backed bridesmaid dresses suddenly appear very expensive, and the sad moment when you realise if you buy THAT dress, then you'll be walking to the reception because you wont be able to afford a car.

So then come along the compromises. Truth is, I'm fully prepared to make some sacrifices on the day. As much as i want the £3000 dress and £8000 venue, I want to marry Mark more, and not start our married lives with debt from one day. We already have a mortgage and are trying to put money away for our son and so compromises will have to be made. But my attitude is that as long as we are married, and us and our loved ones enjoy the day then I'll be a happy lady!

One big sacrifice we have decided to make is not to have bridesmaids or groomsmen. I will have a maid of honour and Mark a best man but thats it. Many of my closest friends live overseas anyway and the cost involved with getting them here, plus dresses, thank you gifts, and all the rest are just too much.
I have non-formally asked my sister to be my maid of honour but am currently working on a more formal request!

Another cost saving compromise we have made is to not have a sit-down meal. Mark used to work as a wedding co-ordinator for a big hotel and the cost of what you pay compared to what your getting is usually quite a disappointment in his opinion. We are instead going to have a hog roast type buffet after a late afternoon ceremony. There will be a dessert table (with lots of homemade and locally made desserts!) afterwards and a band instead of a disco. Im hoping this gives the evening a more relaxed, intimate feel without the formality of a sit down dinner.

It may seem to some that I'm cutting costs TOO much and losing too much of what i had envisioned for the day, but thats not the case. My plan is to do a lot of the things myself (flower arranging, making of favours etc) and to cut costs on the things that aren't that important to me (such as a sit down meal)

Fingers crossed it all comes together under budget!

The Big Moment!

First things first! How it happened!

2012 has been a crazy year for me and Mark (my fiance). We had a baby, bought a house and got engaged all in the space of 10 months. Its been a very interesting year and I couldn't be happier to end it knowing that I'm on the road to becoming Mrs Coleman.

On the 3rd of November we had organised to take our son Harry to see the fireworks in a display local to us. My family were coming along as well and despite the very cold temperatures and rain we went along. After going on some rides, Mark suggested we go for a walk. I didn't think anything of it and left Harry in his pram with my Dad.

I could sense some strange vibes from Mark and asked him what was wrong, and then out of the blue he pulled out a ring and proposed!! He said some lovely things about our little family and our futures and was very sweet and lovely!

After going back to my family and showing off my ring, we stood and watched the fireworks before heading home.

It was a special night that I will never forget!