thoughts on details, with many brackets.

my head is full of wedding thoughts again. (When was it ever not). I feel like I'm mentally working on about 5 different parts of it at the moment, so I'm hoping that by writing this down again (to compliment the lists, you understand) my head may de-fog a bit.

Current thoughts:
headband - how to make/what to make/ custom order on etsy?
stationery - specifically invitations, and maps to go inside.
My ring - I have one design stuck in my head since the lovely R put up with being trooped round many many ring shops selling all the same rings last week. I'm going to my jeweller man tomorrow to talk about getting a similar one made.
that elusive 3rd umbrella - I know I can get it online, but it annoys me that its double the price of tkmaxx.
clutch bags for the girls - this should be underway next week, I've done a trial run following a fantastic tutorial online, I'm just waiting for the paycheck to go into my account so I can buy the purse frames for the real things!

oddly, transport is not on my mind, this seems to have gone onto a back burner, and we really must get it sorted.

Its odd that its the details that currently concern me most about the wedding. I know that on the day, I'll likely not notice most of them, but it satisfies me to know that I accomplished something. I've read many posts on details mattering, not mattering, being the single most important point of the day, and so on. I have to say for me, right now, they do. I'm an arts graduate for heavens sake, I spent 5 years at college being taught about colour and composition and style. I know that it makes me no more married at the end of the day, and that I will enjoy my wedding because I will be surrounded by love and friends and smiles, but I can't help, right now, carrying the strap of a bridesmaids dress in my wallet so i can check it matches ribbons and ties and envelopes.

I think James understands this better than my parents some of the time, hes understood my need to buy umbrellas for the bridesmaids (its called preparation), he even participated in the choosing of colours for them, instead of telling me I was mad (I am a bit). He let me take him round tie selling establishments til I found ones that somehow, wonderfully, match every colour in the bridesmaids dresses.

I'm also learning to say no. to cross, rather than tick things off my list, because really, its going to stress me more than please me. making pashminas for the girls has gone this way, even though I am a weaver, its much finer than I'm used to working, and there was the aspect of sourcing materials too. I've seen some in monsoon that are the perfect colour instead. I thought I would find it hard to cross, rather than tick that one off, but it was actually a blessed relief. The venue gave us another small get out clause the other day too, they told us specifically NOT to do a table plan (unless we really want to).(which I don't).

I seem to spend my time mentally flitting from one of these thoughts to another, its actually quite tiring! I'm hopeful that in the next few days, I can get a couple more ticked off, odd how a little mark in a box can be so fulfilling!

eeeeep!

just ordered James wedding ring :)

and sent off the deposit for part of the honeymoon :)

church music.

I want to tell you that we chose our entrance and exit music last week. I want to put a youtube video here of each piece. I can't find the entrance piece on you tube. this annoys me. We are (as long as the vicar and my cousin the organist are OK with it) going to walk in to Arthur Bliss' wedding fanfare - apparently what princess Margaret walked into at her wedding. When dad played it for us last week, I got goosebumps.
We are going to walk out, to this:


Vidor's toccata is the piece of music that the cathedral organist played at the end of every term service at school (I went to a cathedral school, so we got big end of term services there) so I have a lot of fond memories of this piece. It goes on for a while, so don't feel you have to watch it all! We were worried that the length of the piece would mean that my poor cousin would be stuck inside the church while everyone else was outside, so we think that James and I will maybe do an unofficial welcome line in the church porch, to slow the exodus from the church, and allow everyone (including us!) to hear my cousins amazing organ playing skills. That also leaves us at the back of the queue if we're allowed confetti!

one track mind.

(and not the one you think)

for the last two days, James has been wearing sample wedding rings from here. they will send out silver versions in the exact size and shape you want for you to try before you buy. this has been invaluable since James has never worn jewellery in his life. I keep catching him looking at it oddly, like an insect has taken up residence on his ring finger. In fact, I keep looking at it oddly. its nice to see him with it on. (don't tell me if its bad luck, I don't want to know).
Anyway, last night, as we were turning out the light, I was playing with it on his hand.

James: 'don't do that, I'll take it off'

Me: 'no, its nice, its a symbol of our lunch!'




Seriously. I think about food, all the time.

Oh dear.

I just turned into that bride.

stop the train, I want to get off.

over shoes!

I've never been a shoes girl.

oh dear.

going to work now, I will return later a calm and sensible rational being like the one I met yesterday :)

place card holders

I was going to do the cork thang, to hold the place cards for the meal,

project wedding

but I just saw this on dog 'n' bird, from etsy: aremarkyoumade

I think the two might look good alternated too, they're both wood after all!

6 months out, 1 year older.

I fully intended to post this yesterday at some point, and then failed. oh well, if you can't fail on your birthday, when can you?

yesterday, I hurtled not only into my 26th year of being, but also headlong into my 6 month pre-versary for wifedom (yes, those are words - it was my birthday don't argue with me). For my birthday, I got a hell of a lot of milk tray, and flowers. 3 vases worth to be precise! I also got a subscription to country living and selvedge magazines too. reading for a year! :)

as a 'celebration' of the 6 month marker, lovely bridesmaid decided it was high time we re wrote the list of doom, as I wasn't completing things on it anymore, and more needed to be added. We split most of the points up so that it is easier for me to tick things off the list (procrastination in its truest form!) so now, instead of there being 'Rings', it is divided into 4 points: ' 1-order James samples, 2- Order James ring, 3- decide on my design, 4- and order my ring'. simples. or mental however you want to look at it! Obviously it works though, as I've already done one thing on the list.

And then, just because I like laying things out and sorting them, I unpacked my boxes of wedding paraphernalia, and laid them out on the floor. GEEK.

there are:

2 umbrellas (I'm trying the find the 3rd one still), doily envelopes, 11 bowls, 7 vases, lots of lace, 13 candles, 4 hankies, 3 fat quarters, 1photo album, 7 jamjars, 12 wicker hearts, and 8 ties.

so at 6 months to go, we have:

venue: booked

church:booked, and cousin as organist, and aunt saying final prayers, and friends for readings chosen, although no readings yet!

florist: booked, vases for church, bought( - 1), pew end decorations, bought.

photographer: PEONIES!

dress: ordered

bridesmaids:chosen, dresses bought, shoes nearly there, clutch bags, about to be made. jewellery, in progress

men: chosen, outfits booked and paid, ties bought.

table centres: bought, just need dried stuff to sit in them.

mother of the bride outfit: bought, just need fascinator

cake: sister in law making, fruit/Madeira/chocolate

cakestand: in progress, a friend making me a ceramic one.

hairdresser: found, booking trials for mum and lovely bridesmaid in the summer.

there's probably other things I've done, of far less importance, but I can't remember them now!

p.s. can you tell lists are calming me at the moment?!

banana bread.

seriously people. go out there, buy yourselves some bananas, leave them a week, and then make this. it is so worth it. only Nigella could get bourbon into a banana bread recipe and make it work. (don't correct me if I'm wrong on that).

nom nom.

Pew ends.

(I'm sure that title sounds vaguely dodgy, but hey ho...)

I've had these ages now, but keep forgetting to post about them. In fact, I've had them since THE BIG SNOWS. remember that people? seems ages ago now the sun is out, anyway....

I wasn't ever too bothered about having flower decorations for the end of the pews in church, since we'll be there for such a short space of time, and I saw these in a shop in town. In the end I had to buy them online because I was assured they were discontinued, and the lady I got them from was so much more helpful and threw in a reel of ribbon for free! They're hanging from some of the lace we got from ebay, I think we will add some thin plum ribbon too just to give it a bit of colour. I like them because they wont die, and I can either give them away, or use them at Christmas! hurray for recycling. ouf I'm in a funny mood...

P.s. my time off for the honeymoon and wedding has been authorised, so I can get booking on that :)

meh.

I've reached a 'blah' point in all of this. I'm sure it will go again, I'm also sure it will return before the next 6 months are out, and I think a lot of it is down to hormones. I hate to write such superficial things but its true. Next week will be better. I feel like, instead of ticking things off my list, I'm currently unticking them. I know things could be far worse in my life, so I'm not going to moan and moan, but neither is it light and fluffy, so I wont pretend it is!
Here's to next week, a week beginning with sun, ending with my Birthday (and the 6 month marker to the wedding, but we'll ignore that) and hopefully lots of things good and fluffy and tasty and successful in between.

lace necklace

a while ago, some of you asked for 'neck action', whatever the heck that is, and I finally found a patch of light in my house at the same time as i had the camera and the necklace.

Ruth 1:16-17

While on the hunt for wedding readings for a friend, I came across this one on a forum. I've not been sure about what we could have as our bible reading, but I like this. As the person who posted it on a forum where I found it said, its more about familial love than husband and wife love, but thats important too.

"See now!" she said, "your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god. Go back after your sister-in-law!"

But Ruth said, "Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! for wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Wherever you die I will die, and there be buried. May the Lord do so and so to me, and more besides, if aught but death separates me from you!"

Naomi then ceased to urge her, for she saw she was determined to go with her.

(p.s. the friend can't have religious readings at her ceremony, so this isn't technically stealing...)

wedding rings. (plea for help!)

We started the hunt for our wedding rings last weekend, I did *not* think I would find this so dificult. perhaps its because out of everything to do with the wedding, its one of the only things that will be with me, I'll carry on me, and see, every day for the rest of my life.

James found the style he likes fairly quickly, plus he doesnt have an engagement ring to work around! we are going to order some samples from a shop online, they send you out replicas in silver I think, in exact sizes/shapes/styles so that you can see for comfort and fit what works best. We've got to be sure on size for him, as he wants his ring in titanium, which can't be resized.

I've been to a couple of jewellers now, and tried quite a few on, and I may carry on doing so, but I was just wondering if you lovely ladies have any hidden resourses of beautiful jewellery that you'd like to share? I'm not saying I'm going to go there and buy the very ring you show me, so if you want to keep your little jeweller craftsman a secret feel secure, I'm just trying to get ideas. That also means if you'e in the USA and want to share, you can :)

The only ideas I've had so far are that I'd like something delicate(ish), I'm interested in the idea that it look almost like wirework perhaps. I'll probably use two colours of gold, as I have my grannys wedding ring which I would like to incorporate if possible. and having tried on several wishbone rings, I dont think I want anything that extends beyond the point of the diamond on my engagement setting. I like it when things lock together nicely. Also I'd like to be able to wear it without my engagement ring if possible, in case that day ever comes when I take this baby off. sniff sniff. (that looks more picky when its written down, I promise I'm not really!)

Therefore, although major kudos to R for finding it, this wouldn't work. I still think its super cool though!

link

I am a little bit in love with this ring.

all right, a lot.

serendipitous shopping.

The magic combination of finding anenomes at a florists while also having money - tick

Finding probable perfect bridesmaids/bridal shoes in unexpected places - tick.

Having both lunch, and dinner out with friends - tick

Rug that I couldn't find anywhere on display in metro centre M&S - tick.

Letting me buy it for £50 instead of £150 - super tick.

I love it when a plan comes together.