Bridesmaid Dress Shopping

We've booked in to a local bridal shop tomorrow to see their bridesmaid dress collection.

I'll have Suzie and Natalie with me to offer their opinions and maybe try on a few frocks.

Unfortunately Hayley is working so won't be able to join us. (I'm sure she's secretly relieved... standing in a dressing room in your smalls, whilst a lady you've never met before thrusts a giant mass of net and dress over your head isn't really anyone's idea of fun!)

I'm really liking this dress at the moment from Mark Lesley

style 1096

Hopefully they'll do it in a variety of purple colours for me to choose from!

I doubt I'll be able to take any pictures in the shop, but I shall report back on how the appointment goes!

Fluffy Purple Flowers

After yesterday's wobble and the kind advice and support from everyone I think I've come to realise it was the shape of the white bouquet that I loved.

If I can have a big fluffy purple bouquet I'll be a happy girl!

So flowers to make my bouquet fluffy.

Peony

Hydrangea

Chrysanthemum

Mr and Mrs E! - Part 4

Before going out into the reception area to greet our guests as husband and wife Rob and I had a few quiet moments in the separate room just to sit and enjoy. This was really nice, we drank Bucks Fizz and chatted with our closets family who were there with us. After about 10 minutes I was getting itchy about my guests and wanted to share my happiness so we ventured out of the room and into the reception and bar where they were all waiting and enjoying drinks!

It was a really great feeling to be greeting my guests with hugs and kisses as Rob’s wife! Robs wife!! WOW that is only just sinking in! What a wonderful feeling!

We had lots of candid photos taken in the bar before we rallied the troops together and headed outside for a couple of group shots! I was really excited to be able to get the whole gathering in the photo; I hadn’t thought we would get the weather to enable us to! The Wednesday and Thursday before the wedding we had had a great downpour of snow which had caused us a few problems, the main one being that Birmingham Airport was closed and ‘The Germans’ were due to fly in Thursday morning – their flight was cancelled!!! NIGHTMARE, they managed to get another flight out which arrived on Friday afternoon. I thought even if the snow clears it will be too cold for us to stand out and have photos taken in my strapless dress (brrr) but I can honestly say I couldn’t feel a thing – not once did I feel the cold.

It’s really great to be able to look back on a photo of all our guests looking so happy for us. After a few more photos with the family we headed inside where the ceremony room had been transformed into our wedding breakfast room. I decided if I was going to make it through the meal and speeches it would be a good idea to make a quick loo-stop! I grabbed the girls and we headed off. Now im not sure how many people realize when they are jumping for joy that they have been chosen by their dear friend to be a bridesmaid just what the ‘job’ entails, most of it will be dress shopping and cake tasting etc….. But one job in particular that’s kept quiet until a couple of days prior to the big day is your bridesmaid duty to accompany you to the loo and hoik your dress above your head while you pee!! CLASSY! This is something I had always assumed would be the case. Well as it happens I decided to relieve my bridesmaids of this task and opted for stripping off and going to the loo solo! I think this worked much better!! My dress had quite a simple fastening so it was easy to jump in and out. We went up to the room; I jumped out of my dress and did the biz. Rob and I decided to sneak off for a quick cuddle in our room before the breakfast started, me in my infinite wisdom thought…’I know instead of getting back into my dress now ill wrap myself in a towel and dash quickly up the 2 flights of stairs to our room, everyone will be downstairs, no one will see’ – WRONG I dashed in my undies wrapped in a towel and met on the way my now brother-in-law, my aunt and uncle and my cousin!!! 

Rob and I got about 5 minutes together to reflect on the ceremony and have a quick cuddle before I rushed back downstairs luckily only meeting my brother-in-law again on the stairs to the room where the girls helped my back into my dress. 

The tables were all set and people started filtering in for some food, Rob and I were the last to enter and were announced by the hotel manager, they flung the doors open everyone cheered and standing before us was a tunnel of our men saluting us with lightsabres! It was so great and a memory I will never forget! 

We took our seats and began the meal. We had chosen the following menu for our wonderful guests:

Starter
Roast Tomato Soup, with Basil Croutons

Main Course
Braised Shank of Lamb 

With garlic Potatoes, Glazed Vegetables and Cracked Mustard

Vegetarian Option
Spinach & Mushroom Pithivier
With garlic Potatoes, Glazed Vegetables and Cracked Mustard

Dessert 

Raspberry Cheesecake
With Mixed Berry Compote

Tea & Coffee, Petit Fours 

This seemed to go down very well, Rob and I went round the tables during courses to say a quick hello and were faced with smiling guests and empty plates! 

After we had all enjoyed the meal it was time for the speeches. Im not going to go into huge detail here but let me just say that they were all wonderful. My dad went first and even though he was very nervous he did a great job. Rob followed on with a very sweet and funny speech, he was so natural, like he was just speaking to his friend – and of course he was!! Rob’s brother Dan was the last to speak and Best Man – his speech was soo wonderful and funny, it had everyone laughing!

We finished up with some tea, coffee and petit fours (fancyyy!!) and then everyone cleared out for the room for a drink while it was turned around for the reception. The DJ and Band came into set up

The party was just about to kick off……

Wobbles

I'm sure it's something every bride goes through but I'm wobbling, nothing major - I still love my dress, I still love the venue and I still 100% want to marry Has!

No I'm wobbling over my bouquet.  I've mentioned before that I don't have a huge amount of knowledge in the flower world.  I know what I like and what I don't like and that's about it!

The bouquet I have discussed with my florist Jennie will look similar to this.

We had talked about having a mixture of blue moon and avalanche roses (lilac and ivory) freesias and lisianthus. All in different shades of ivory and purple.

However I keep seeing all white bouquets.  Fluffy, white, giant bouquets.  Like this one I posted a few weeks ago

Taken from Style me Pretty

If I had an all white bouquet I'd still have roses, freesias and lisianthus.  I can't decide which bouquet I like best, so I'm handing it over to you. Which do you prefer?

Thank you

Here comes the Squish... Part 3

The registrars invited the rest of the procession back into the little room while they went off to prepare the guests for our entrance. Mum and Jim (my brother) were the first to walk down the aisle followed by Beth and Laura and the last to arrive in the room would be me and my Dad! We all took a deep breath; you could feel the emotion and nerves in the room. By this time I was actually really excited, it would only be a few more moments until I was back with my fiancé. After living with each other for over 5 years it was strange not to have spent the night before our wedding together! I just wanted to see his face smiling at me!

The music started...

I had known from early into the engagement there was no way I would be walking down the aisle to ‘Hear comes the bride’. A few different ideas had been throw around including Pachelbel's Canon in D on classical guitar, an acoustic version of Stairway to Heaven, allsorts!! There was one song that had always been in the back of my mind, it never seemed like it would be possible as the lyrics to the song are quite sad and a little religious so would not be allowed at our civil ceremony. I searched the internet for weeks trying to find an instrumental version but nothing. It looked like it was going to be Pachelbel after all. UNTIL! My Bridesmaid Beth’s fiancé Jay came to the rescue, he and his friend Ben actually recorded me my very own version of the song ‘Hear You Me’ by Jimmy Eat World. It was perfect! There was no song I would rather have had – the version they played for me was perfect. I cannot thank them enough for what they did. As the track started to play and mum and Jim disappeared into the ceremony room I knew I was moments away from becoming a wife…

The girls were next! Now they shouldn’t have had any problem walking down the aisle in there little heeled shoes….i failed to mention this in Part 1 of my story but on Friday the 19th after my bridesmaids and I set up the room and arranged the candy table we thought it wise to practise our timings when walking down the aisle, well, we must have walked back and forth 15,000 (hehe) times and ohhh how chuffed we were when we had nailed it! All this ‘training’ went straight out of the window! Shortly after the girls disappeared behind the door the co-ordinator directed me and Dad down the aisle. So off we went…..

As I walked into the room I was beaming, everyone was looking at me and smiling it was magical, as I turned the corner and headed for my husband to be, my eyes met his and TEARS!!

Damn it!! Id done so well all morning!!!! As my eyes met the tear dripping eyes of my fiancé I had a little weep and sought refuge in my dads arm, as I quickly pulled myself together and un-scrunched my face I managed to smile again and there he was, I kissed my dad, handed my bouquet to Moo and hugged my fiancé for the last time. 

We took a seat and he registrar welcomed us, we began the ceremony proceedings, she welcomed all of our guests and outlined the importance of the binding contract we were about to enter into. After this we had our first reading, A Special Person, read by my auntie:

A Special Person
Author Unknown

Sometimes in life,
You find a special person
Someone who can change your life,
Just by being part of it
Someone who will laugh with you
And cry with you
Someone who can make you believe
That there really is good in the world
Love isn't the person
You can see yourself with
It's the person
You can't see yourself without. 


The registrar then asked us to stand and face each other and we would begin the contracting words, Rob went first and then I followed repeating after the registrar:

I declare that I know of no legal reason why I, Susannah Kate P, may not be joined in marriage to Robert Luke E 

We then had our second reading read by Joanna, Robs sister-in-law:

On Your Wedding Day
Author Unknown

Today is a day you will always remember
The greatest in anyone's life
You'll start off the day just two people in love
And end it as Husband and Wife

It's a brand new beginning the start of a journey
With moments to cherish and treasure
And although there'll be times when you both disagree
These will surely be outweighed by pleasure

You'll have heard many words of advice in the past
When the secrets of marriage were spoken
But you know that the answers lie hidden inside
Where the bond of true love lies unbroken

So live happy forever as lovers and friends
It's the dawn of a new life for you
As you stand there together with love in your eyes
From the moment you whisper 'I do'

And with luck, all your hopes, and your dreams can be real
May success find it's way to your hearts
Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys
But today is the day it all starts. 

It was finally time to complete our contracting words and make the marriage official:

I Susannah Kate P take you, Robert Luke E to be my wedded husband 


Rob had decided in his infinite wisdom to choose some additional vows to exchange to each other, I was only made aware of these in my registrar interview a mere 10 minutes before I would walk down the aisle and smack him!! Luckily, as the registrar explained to me, they are written on a card and it is handed to us each in turn to read to each other – Phew! Here are the words he chose:

I swear I will love you with my whole heart and think my life well spent if I can make you happy too. 

We were then pronounced Husband and Wife and we had a great big smooch!! There was a huge round of applause and everyone was smiling and beaming at us! That was it – all the planning and preparation for that moment right there! Now we could all relax, you could almost feel the mood lift in the room! Now the fun could begin! 

We had chosen the following music to play while we signed the registrar and had lots of photos taken

Signing the Register

Israel Kamakawiwo Ole' - Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Moldy Peaches – Anyone else but you
Jose Gonzales - Heartbeats
Jack Johnson – Better Together
Beach Boys – Wouldn’t it be Nice

In honour of Suzie's Hen Party we scowled like pirates!

We stood together as husband and wife about to exit the room down our red carpeted, rose petal sprinkled aisle to the following music from…..STAR WARS! Instrumental - The Throne Room and End Title – John Williams. 

Everyone laughed as the recognized the music, we walked past our guests and out of the room for our first married couple drink!

Read part 1 and part 2 here

Photographs by Razor Smile

Dessert!

We may have stopped by that shop I was talking about earlier and we may have bought Milk Duds and Junior Mints to monch on for dessert and we may have bought a nice cold can of mountain dew to wash it down with...

Yum!

San Francisco Wedding

Imagine a wedding backdrop like this...

To read the wedding story and see more photos from this gorgeous wedding visit Style Me Pretty

Cyber Candy

Has and I had to get the bus into work this morning as my poor car (Bebe) is visiting the garage.  The stop for our bus is the other side of the town from my office so I rarely venture that way.  It was a blessing in disguise, we stepping off the bus to see a shop we had never seen before, in Birmingham at least.

Cyber Candy

If you've never visited or even heard about Cyber Candy, it's a shop that sells sweets, chocolates, drinks, biscuits and loads more from around the World.  In particular (for us!) American candy!

Hershey's Kisses, Milk Duds (my favourites!), Lucky Charms, Mountain Dew, Twinkies, Jolly Ranchers, Twizzlers to name but a few of the things we over dose on when we're in the USA.

Hayley's sister Kirsty bought us back some Hershey's Kisses on her recent trip to New York and now if we think we need any more, we have a store right on our door step!  Depending on the cost it would be nice to be able to have a few more American treats on our candy table.

I was also thinking I could pick up a few treats for our ushers. I think they will go really well with the American lager/beer idea.

I also happen to know that one of my bridesmaids has a bit of a thing for Fruit Loops....

Saturday 20th February - Hair, Make-Up, Breakfast and Bowie. Part 2

As I said yesterday my alarm was set for 7am, I awoke slightly before this as well as my 2 bridesmaids, we stayed in bed until the alarm rang just generally have a chat about how much we couldn’t believe today was the day I was getting married! I felt strangely calm.

I was the first to crawl out of bed and I made my way to the bathroom for a shower. As I was daydreaming about how the day would go while the hot water ran down my back I could hear lots of giggling and banging coming from the room. I assumed the girls where have a bit of a tidy up as fair to say the room had taken a bit of a beating being home to us 3 for the evening!

When I got out of the shower and put on my lovely skanky jeans and slouchy David Bowie top (not quite a bride yet) and headed out to the room the girls had tidied up and made the beds and both stood grinning at me like Cheshire cats I think they were waiting for me to either scream or cry but we all just had a bit of a jump up and down and put the kettle on!

Beth jumped in the shower next shortly followed by Moo and we were about ready for breakfast! We met the parents and headed downstairs for some grub!

I had to eat breakfast pretty fast firstly because I was starting to feel a little nervous and if I didn’t throw some cereal and toast down my throat I would have never managed any and secondly we were a little late already for the hairdressers! Believe it when people say the day goes fast! It was only 8:30 and it was speeding by! Our next wedding day stop was Perfexion hair stylists in Dorridge, it’s only about 5 steps away from the Forest Hotel and the staff there are wonderful!

I was keeping my hair pretty simple for the wedding – this was not the plan first of all!! I spent a good year growing my hair out so I could have a luscious elegant up-do, I’d had a couple of trials and thought I was happy. WRONG!! I decided in a crazy Suzie-like flash to cut it all off again into a funky bob and that’s exactly what I did! I was soooo happy with my hair on the day; I really had made the right decision. The hairdresser washed my hair and I was treated to a wonderful massage – I started to relax again and the nerves disappeared, she then gave me a blow dry with lots of volume and set it with hairspray. The hairdresser would pop up later to put my veil in.

The bridesmaids had quite simple styles, I had their hair lightly curled and platted at the sides. I was really happy with their hair, they looked gorgeous! My mum also had her hair done. Everyone left the hairdressers slightly more glam and feeling good!

We went back to our room and Beth started to do my nails, I'd opted out of the traditional French manicure and instead gone for a midnight blue polish. Once Beth had given my nails a good file and buff, slapped me a couple of times on the leg for not moisturising my hands better, attached one little false tip to a naughty nail that had the nerve to break off just the day before she started to apply the varnish and finished my nails off with some little clear and blue gems on the thumb nails and the all important ring finger! They were looking lovely! God only know what Beth would have done to me if she’d realised I picked all the gems off during the speeches leaving chipped varnish.... Eep! Sorry Beth!

The next stop on the itinerary was the make-up artist! I used Liz Burrows from Beautiful Day. Liz arrived at our room about 10:30 and started on my make up, I wanted to steer away from the neutral traditional style make up and wanted all out drama (what’s new there!). After the eyelash incident that we are not going to speak of again….Id decided to go with some adhesive false lashed, Liz attached these for me and started to build up my look, she evened out my skin tone and made my eyes sultry and dramatic, she finished off my look with a bright red lip stick! I was started to look like a bride now! 

Just as I was saying my goodbyes to Liz my hairdresser returned armed with hairspray to fix my veil in place. She backcombed my hair a little so the comb would hold and put my lil’ burlesque style birdcage veil in place she popped 2 little bobby pins on to be super sure it wouldn’t fall off. 

So let’s have a look where we are…

Hair - Check
Nails - Check
Make up - Check
Veil - Check

So basically from the neck upwards I was a bride! Unfortunately from the neck down I was still in skanky jeans and a Bowie top!

It was time to put on the dress, the dress I had chosen and fallen in love with from first sight, the 1 and only wedding dress I have ever had on and the last dress I would ever wear as Suzie P!! I stripped down to my black slinky body and the girls helped me in, there was a row of hook and eye fastenings and then a zip. My dress felt wonderful, it was quite a heavy dress as the netting underskirt was attached but I didn’t care I felt like I was floating!

I should have had some lovely barely black seamed stockings to wear but unfortunately I had forgotten to bring them so I had to go without! I wasn’t about to let something this small bother me, anyway knowing me I would have ripped them in the process of putting them on!

The finishing touch was my garter, handmade by my wonderful bridesmaid Beth, it was blue to match my dress and had an antique brooch borrowed from my Nan and pirate cutlass charm added by mum to remind me of my wonderful hen night! So now id got my Old, New, Borrowed and Blue! I was ready to go! The time was about 1:50 (well 1:45 actually – we thought it wise to put the clock forward 5 minutes as not to be late). We were all getting nervous and wondering why they hadn’t called us yet! Beth being the most impatient one called the front desk and they said it wouldn’t be long….. 

Tick…Tock….Tick….Tock…..

We just stood there for a while not knowing what to do with ourselves feeling emotional and nervous – Beth suggested some music to ease the mood – she scurried off to the laptop and next thing I know we were all singing and prancing about to the legend that is…..David Bowie! This worked for about 4 minutes until ‘Let’s Dance’ had finished….

C’MONNN!!!

They finally called for us at about 2:05 and I almost sprinted from the room with bridesmaids in toe! We had a could of photos on the stairs where I met my Dad, I was starting to feel really nervous and emotional and seeing my dads face once he saw me in my dress I had to say something silly to lighten the mood…what could I say…..i quickly blurted out…if anyone feels like they are going to start with the waterworks just think about the fact that my pants are right up my bum and there is nothing I can do about it!!!!! Everyone burst out laughing – mission accomplished! I was then hurried off for my registrar interview, just to check over the final details and then it was time…..

Photographs by Razor Smile