Well, not much has been going on with the wedding over Christmas. However, I have updated the site with our Wedding list. I have also registered with Royal Doulton and Argos to make the management of our list a lot easier. So hopefully things will be easier to manage. I am going to print out a copy of it for Teresa to have as a backup and so the less internet connected relitives we both have still know what to get us. Other than that we are probably going to try and finish up the invitations before my parents come over.
Oh yes, we also got a good set of dinner plates at a charity shop. Unfortunately, it is probably not dishwasher safe. It's a pattern called Mayott, England "Royality." It's nice and we want to use it for everyday use, but that might be a bit of a problem if it is not dishwasher safe. It certainly doesn't look dishwasher safe with the gold painted pattern on the rim. We shall have to see. I certainly want some dishwasher safe everyday use dishware. *sigh* I was hoping to take that off the list with the purchase of those plates, but might need to keep it on now. Ah well, they were really cheap.
- Posted by Louisa
30 December, 2006
19 December, 2006
Onward towards Christmas
We've got a bit more sorted on the wedding. Andy should technically be writing this, but he's doing the ironing so the task falls to me in the meantime. We went and talked with Vince the vicar who will be preforming the ceremony. He has a very cute Westy called Poppy who kept us entertained. Vince wanted to know what an American wedding was like and how it was different from a British wedding. He gave us a sample order of service which looks like it would be acceptable. It reminded me a bit of Will and Heather's wedding. All we need to do is have another chat with Vince to sort things out completely in the New Year. We also need to decide on where in the service the hymns and readings should go and we've listened to some processional music samples on i-tunes.
I got my corset for under my dress. It's perfectit: gives me curves in all the right spots and is made of ivory satin so that it matches the dress. Now I have everything that I need and it's just a matter of making the dress. I will be contacting the dress maker after Christmas and hopefully we can get everything taken care of then. In the meantime I need to wear in the corset so that it is comfortable when it comes time for the wedding. I am going to try and wear it for a while each day so that it adapts and I can lace it tightly without worry that it will injure the boning.*
We also have purchased the wedding favours (scented candles) and the decorative bags to put them in. All that needs doing is getting the ribbon to tie them with. We'll need to talk with Claire again to see if she has any ideas for the table centerpieces. We have had a brief contact with the castle regarding the florist. She's apparently been trying to contact us, but for whatever reason cannot get through to my mobile. I have been wondering if there is something wrong with my mobile lately, so perhaps that is why she cannot get through. We are going to contact her again in the New Year to hopefully get the flowers arranged.
Other than that we are going back to Darlington later this week to get more supplies for the invitations. I am going to have a look at getting things to design an Order of Service booklet. It seems like everything is coming together well enough. I am sure there are things I have forgotten to do, but I will probably discover them as the day draws closer.
* note from Andy: she's more worried about injuring the corset than injuring herself...
- posted by Louisa as Andy's doing the ironing.
I got my corset for under my dress. It's perfectit: gives me curves in all the right spots and is made of ivory satin so that it matches the dress. Now I have everything that I need and it's just a matter of making the dress. I will be contacting the dress maker after Christmas and hopefully we can get everything taken care of then. In the meantime I need to wear in the corset so that it is comfortable when it comes time for the wedding. I am going to try and wear it for a while each day so that it adapts and I can lace it tightly without worry that it will injure the boning.*
We also have purchased the wedding favours (scented candles) and the decorative bags to put them in. All that needs doing is getting the ribbon to tie them with. We'll need to talk with Claire again to see if she has any ideas for the table centerpieces. We have had a brief contact with the castle regarding the florist. She's apparently been trying to contact us, but for whatever reason cannot get through to my mobile. I have been wondering if there is something wrong with my mobile lately, so perhaps that is why she cannot get through. We are going to contact her again in the New Year to hopefully get the flowers arranged.
Other than that we are going back to Darlington later this week to get more supplies for the invitations. I am going to have a look at getting things to design an Order of Service booklet. It seems like everything is coming together well enough. I am sure there are things I have forgotten to do, but I will probably discover them as the day draws closer.
* note from Andy: she's more worried about injuring the corset than injuring herself...
- posted by Louisa as Andy's doing the ironing.
03 December, 2006
My hand hurts....
We've been working on invitations today. I printed them and the RSVP cards (twice since the wording was wrong the first time). We then started assembling the cards. Andy put the decorations on the cards. I am writing out the envelopes. Hence my hand hurts. But it's getting done. Hopefully we can send the invitations out after the New Year.
Other than that, we got a few things for my bottom drawer when Andy's parents took us to Hexam. I got a few pie plates and some mixing bowls. They've got a brilliant junk shop there where you can get some really good deals. I will definitely need to go back there.
I shall have to have a serious go though the wedding gift list before it goes live again on the web site. I'm not sure how to list some of the things that I don't know the price or location of them. Perhaps I shall just have to have a general section.
Right, my hand's had a break. Back to addressing invitations. We're inviting more people than we originally intended, so we might need to order more supplies. But we shall deal with that when we get to it.
- posted by Louisa
Other than that, we got a few things for my bottom drawer when Andy's parents took us to Hexam. I got a few pie plates and some mixing bowls. They've got a brilliant junk shop there where you can get some really good deals. I will definitely need to go back there.
I shall have to have a serious go though the wedding gift list before it goes live again on the web site. I'm not sure how to list some of the things that I don't know the price or location of them. Perhaps I shall just have to have a general section.
Right, my hand's had a break. Back to addressing invitations. We're inviting more people than we originally intended, so we might need to order more supplies. But we shall deal with that when we get to it.
- posted by Louisa
20 November, 2006
Latest Progress Report
Louisa has been shopping on-line (again...) and has bought shoes, veil, and a sexy garter on e-bay. She's going to have a corset made to measure for roughly the same price as some firms wanted for off-the-peg. She has also ordered some little paper roses and ribbons to decorate the invitation cards.
We went shopping again this morning and found some paper to match the cards; we can now send a more personal note with the card. We also looked at wedding cake designs although our favourite is actually in the shop window! We confirmed our booking with the castle and will be posting our deposit to them sometime this week. Louisa left a message for the florist on the answerphone.
We also need to contact the regional registry office in Middlesborough; our local office won't do because Louisa is a US citizen.
I have been giving some thought to our honeymoon. Financial constraints apply but I know what I want. I can't say where because, if it comes off, I want it to be a surprise. I have started dropping cryptic hints about 'somewhere in Europe'* but Louisa's afraid that if she guesses wrong she'll be disappointed so I've been told to stop it!
* which is pretty obvious really as we can't afford anything else. I pointed out that 'England' is in Europe too but she doesn't entirely agree with me. I suppose we're sort of semi-detatched from the rest of the continent but we aren't in North America now are we?
Posted by Andy (with Louisa reading over my shoulder)
We went shopping again this morning and found some paper to match the cards; we can now send a more personal note with the card. We also looked at wedding cake designs although our favourite is actually in the shop window! We confirmed our booking with the castle and will be posting our deposit to them sometime this week. Louisa left a message for the florist on the answerphone.
We also need to contact the regional registry office in Middlesborough; our local office won't do because Louisa is a US citizen.
I have been giving some thought to our honeymoon. Financial constraints apply but I know what I want. I can't say where because, if it comes off, I want it to be a surprise. I have started dropping cryptic hints about 'somewhere in Europe'* but Louisa's afraid that if she guesses wrong she'll be disappointed so I've been told to stop it!
* which is pretty obvious really as we can't afford anything else. I pointed out that 'England' is in Europe too but she doesn't entirely agree with me. I suppose we're sort of semi-detatched from the rest of the continent but we aren't in North America now are we?
Posted by Andy (with Louisa reading over my shoulder)
19 November, 2006
Things are coming together...
Well, things are slowing falling into place. We booked the wedding cake here on Friday and have gotten a sort of appointment for fitting Andy, his brothers, and the two fathers for their suits in January. I also have a promise from the hairdresser down the road to devote the morning to doing my hair. I just need to book an appointment to see what she can do with it.
Andy and I went to Darlington yesterday with Briana to sort out some of the wedding stuff. We managed to get the photography booked. They will talk with us again before the wedding about the style of photography and they want us to come in again for a pre-wedding shoot to get used to the camera. So I am pleased with our choice, they seem very professional and we do get that DVD of all the wedding photographs for free.
We also managed to get the wedding invitations sorted out. I found the perfect size paper for the invitations, RSVP cards and decorations for the front of them, all for about £35.00. Compared to the £350 we would have to pay to get them done professionally, I think I can deal with a few hours of assembling invitations; particularly if I can get help with them.
Since we are saving money on the invitations, it means that I can put what we would have paid for them towards a corset which I am going to need to buy for under the dress. Unfortunately the shops in Darlington don't have anything that would fit me. Nor do any of the shops seem to have wedding shoes. It's rather depressing, so I hope that I can find something online soon. I need to take it all to the dressmaker in January so I can get her to make the dress.
We also asked Briana if she would like to be a Bridesmaid and she agreed which I am very pleased about. Although this will mean that we will be a bit uneven when we stand at the front, but to be honest, I could use her help.
Other than that I am now on a search for the shoes and corset and we still need to formally book the venue (hopefully taken care of on Monday) and then just get some flowers sorted out and we are pretty much done then. These planners seem to say it takes a year to sort out a wedding and everyone keeps thinking that 6 months away is too soon. Rubbish. We've essentially sorted the entire wedding out in a fortnight. Sure there are other things to take care of like hotels, honeymoon, and a few other things, but the main details of the day are pretty much sorted.
- posted by Louisa; edited for spelling by Andy (you should have seen it before!)
Andy and I went to Darlington yesterday with Briana to sort out some of the wedding stuff. We managed to get the photography booked. They will talk with us again before the wedding about the style of photography and they want us to come in again for a pre-wedding shoot to get used to the camera. So I am pleased with our choice, they seem very professional and we do get that DVD of all the wedding photographs for free.
We also managed to get the wedding invitations sorted out. I found the perfect size paper for the invitations, RSVP cards and decorations for the front of them, all for about £35.00. Compared to the £350 we would have to pay to get them done professionally, I think I can deal with a few hours of assembling invitations; particularly if I can get help with them.
Since we are saving money on the invitations, it means that I can put what we would have paid for them towards a corset which I am going to need to buy for under the dress. Unfortunately the shops in Darlington don't have anything that would fit me. Nor do any of the shops seem to have wedding shoes. It's rather depressing, so I hope that I can find something online soon. I need to take it all to the dressmaker in January so I can get her to make the dress.
We also asked Briana if she would like to be a Bridesmaid and she agreed which I am very pleased about. Although this will mean that we will be a bit uneven when we stand at the front, but to be honest, I could use her help.
Other than that I am now on a search for the shoes and corset and we still need to formally book the venue (hopefully taken care of on Monday) and then just get some flowers sorted out and we are pretty much done then. These planners seem to say it takes a year to sort out a wedding and everyone keeps thinking that 6 months away is too soon. Rubbish. We've essentially sorted the entire wedding out in a fortnight. Sure there are other things to take care of like hotels, honeymoon, and a few other things, but the main details of the day are pretty much sorted.
- posted by Louisa; edited for spelling by Andy (you should have seen it before!)
10 November, 2006
The Wedding Planning is Underway
We have done a lot of work this week trying to organise things. We decided upon Auckland Castle for the wedding ceremony and the reception. First we had to confirm with the Diocesan Registrar that we lived in the parish and could actually use the castle: fortunately we do, so we can. Then we contacted the events manager at the castle to arrange a visit. On Wedneday 7th November she gave us a brief tour around the chapel and castle and helped us to think about what we wanted. Today she sent us a projected costing which was roughly what we expected.
The plan is for the wedding to be on Thursday 31 May 2007. A Thursday may sound like an odd day for a wedding but on the more popular days (Friday-Sunday) they require a minimum of 80 adult guests! Even if our families weren't separated by the Atlantic that might be optimistic. So we had to go for a day without a minimum guest requirement. We have drawn up a guest-list of about forty people although they may not all be able to come. We're going to contact everyone sooner rather than later so that anyone who wants to come will be able to make the necessary arrangements.
Louisa contacted her two potential bridesmaids, both of whom said that they would be honoured to help out. Coincidentally they both own dresses of an appropriate colour, which is an added bonus as we can't really afford those as well. Louisa is going to have her dress made fairly locally sometime in December or January. She already has a design and colour scheme worked out but she still has to choose fabrics and go back to the dressmaker with her wedding underwear and shoes. We're probably going to have a matching waistcoat made for me and we have a good idea as to which suit hire company we're going to use. We will need five suits in total: two fathers, one groom, and two groom's brothers (one of whom will be the best man while the other ushers). That sounds like a lot but will probably only be half the price of Louisa's dress; of course the suits are only hired, we will have to give them back!
We've also looked at local photographers and cake suppliers. We are going to see a promising photographer next week and we have a good idea who we want to handle the cake; we're going to contact her next week as well. We also popped into a local art shop run by a friend of mine and she's going to think about table decorations for us. Talking of which, the castle recomended a florist and we need to get in touch with her as well.
Oh, and we went to look at rings too. What with keeping Louisa's parents 'involved' as well it's been a busy week...
- Posted by Andy
The plan is for the wedding to be on Thursday 31 May 2007. A Thursday may sound like an odd day for a wedding but on the more popular days (Friday-Sunday) they require a minimum of 80 adult guests! Even if our families weren't separated by the Atlantic that might be optimistic. So we had to go for a day without a minimum guest requirement. We have drawn up a guest-list of about forty people although they may not all be able to come. We're going to contact everyone sooner rather than later so that anyone who wants to come will be able to make the necessary arrangements.
Louisa contacted her two potential bridesmaids, both of whom said that they would be honoured to help out. Coincidentally they both own dresses of an appropriate colour, which is an added bonus as we can't really afford those as well. Louisa is going to have her dress made fairly locally sometime in December or January. She already has a design and colour scheme worked out but she still has to choose fabrics and go back to the dressmaker with her wedding underwear and shoes. We're probably going to have a matching waistcoat made for me and we have a good idea as to which suit hire company we're going to use. We will need five suits in total: two fathers, one groom, and two groom's brothers (one of whom will be the best man while the other ushers). That sounds like a lot but will probably only be half the price of Louisa's dress; of course the suits are only hired, we will have to give them back!
We've also looked at local photographers and cake suppliers. We are going to see a promising photographer next week and we have a good idea who we want to handle the cake; we're going to contact her next week as well. We also popped into a local art shop run by a friend of mine and she's going to think about table decorations for us. Talking of which, the castle recomended a florist and we need to get in touch with her as well.
Oh, and we went to look at rings too. What with keeping Louisa's parents 'involved' as well it's been a busy week...
- Posted by Andy
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