Who is the ‘fayre’est of them all …?

One of the perks of being a bride to be (or a bridesmaid, mother, sister, relative of a bride to be for that matter!) is to go to the wonderful events that are Wedding Fayres!

They are like an incestuous little family of shops and businesses that intend to get you to sign on all their dotted lines and part with your hard-earned cash, all in the name of romance!

I love them! I love wandering round all the stalls, grabbing at any leaflets and freebies that may be on offer and then settle to watch the catwalk shows where wonderful bridal gowns are paraded in front of you – without their hefty price tags!

This weekend was the fayre of all fayres! Tatton Park Wedding Show! I was due to attend with my Mother, Sister and reluctant Partner (he was driving!)

My Sister-in-Law to be and Brother went on the Saturday (yes this fayre is so big it runs over 2 days!) and we were going on the Sunday.

These shows are great if you know what you are looking for, but if you are just starting out as a new Bride to be as my Sister-in-Law to be is, then they are highly confusing and exhausting places!

When I spoke to my Brother and his Partner on the Saturday evening they were very disheartened. They had not found it helpful and had spent time just wandering. They had paid the £9 entry fee (yes they charge for some of these things!) and had not been given any freebies and were disappointed by the stalls that were there.

You have to remember this was a Cheshire wedding show so Cheshire businesses were attending and they tend to charge more for location! Cheeky I know!

So they left with no new ideas and £18 wasted!

The day of our turn to attend dawned bright and ……. snowy! Yes it was tipping down with snow as I woke up early! As the fayre was being held in a field in a large marquee I was worried about whether it would still be on.

We picked up Mother and Sister and set off on our way. The sat nav took us down untouched snowy back lanes and we skidded and slipped our way to Tatton Park. Luckily the huge marquee was still standing and was in fact magnificent and I should never have worried about it being called off! It was carpeted and heated! Luxury!

We were bombarded with gift bags, leaflets and sales people as soon as we entered the exhibition hall! For some it would be very daunting but you just have to grab the stuff and walk on! We queued for the catwalk show that was fantastic – if any of you went then you will know what I mean when I say the men were the stars of the show! I was glad that I found the dresses in the show hideous as I had ordered mine the day before!

Partner and I had targets for our browsing! Photographers and Groomswear! We pinpointed these stalls and asked questions, took advice and then moved on to the next! All other stalls were given short shrift and we just grabbed and left!

We spent 3 hours in total at the show and were glad to escape!

They are like holidays in a way – nice to go but even better to come home!

Much Love

xxxxx

The Big Decision!!!

Well I bet you are all on tenterhooks about the dress? No? Oh well, tough!

I went back to the dress shop yesterday with Mother and Sister. We were early so spent time in the car chatting about bridesmaid dresses and other ideas. Time was killed then it was time to enter the shop.

Before I go any further, let me tell you about my week.

Had a busy week at work and also out of work. Had two dentist appointments, with one being at the hospital in preparation for having my wisdom tooth out! But whatever I was doing the dress was hovering in the background. Whenever my brain has not been engaged in work related things the dress has floated to the front of my mind and stayed there. It has even haunted my dreams! I have had several wedding related dreams this week, all involving the dress! My Sister said I must be serious about the dress if it was cropping up in my mind so much!

OK back to yesterday. we enter the shop and the dress is there hanging on the rack in all its glory. We enter the changing area and the dress is put over my head. Last week I was told this dress was a size 16. I am not a size 16. They managed to get me in it last week without doing it up at the back and without it falling correctly. This week the dress goes on a lot easier and they managed to do it up a bit at the back! I have not starved myself this week but been more sensible about my eating and done a lot more exercise and it has seemed to have paid off. Now that is motivation! If I can make that much difference in a week, what could happen in 18 months?

The dress was on and they allowed me to parade around again. I could not stop staring at the dress. The design is beautiful and the view of the back is amazing (still not giving it away sorry folks!) I took a deep breath and went for it – it is my dress!

Deposit paid, veil bought and measurements taken – a huge weight removed from several pairs of shoulders!

Will not see my dress until April next year! It will be stored at the warehouse until we need it for fittings and alterations.

Now I can concentrate on the beautiful bridesmaids!

Wish me luck with that!!!!!

Dresses, dresses! Decisions. decisions!

Hey been a while since I blogged last – apologies for that!

Went wedding dress hunting at the weekend. It was a lovely little shop in Altrincham. Little is a generous word for it! Tiny would be more accurate! When we walked in I was dreading the trying on bit, if the shop was this small what would the dressing rooms be like? As I have said before I am not the thinnest of girls and wedding dresses are large items of clothing! Would there be enough room for the both of us?

Luckily the dressing room was just that – a room. It meant getting down to my underwear in front of two strangers plus my Sister and Mother but they have seen most of it before, if not all of it!

I had picked out 3 dresses to try on – one being a £2000 designer dress! The first dress went on nicely and looked lovely, but was not what I was looking for. The second dress was awful! It had looked so nice on the rack!

I was just about to ask to try on the £2k dress when the owner of the shop said she had a dress that another larger girl had tried on and looked amazing in. She said I should try it on too. She had said it matched some of the criteria I was looking for but was slightly left field. I agreed and she brought in this dress. It was red! She told me not to worry about the colour, they did it in the perfect colour too. I put it on, there were certain details on the dress that I had not liked when I had seen it on the rack but when I put it on it felt right. It did not fit as it was a size way too small but they got me mostly into it (if you forgot the gaping hole at the back!) and I spent ages turning, twisting round to see all angles. They made me parade around the shop in it and then held up the perfect coloured dress in front. There was no way that would go on me as it was a size 8! It looked amazing (even if I do say so myself), I now have a dilemma!

This was the shop where my Mother had won 25% off if we ordered a dress before Valentines Day. Then the owner said there was another deal on the dress which took the price down by another £100. This made the dress a magnificent deal! Only problem is I need to make my mind up by next Saturday! No time in-between to try on more dresses! AAAGGGHHH!

I booked an appointment for next Saturday so I can try it on again – if I still feel the same way then I am gonna go for it!

Wish me luck

xxx

PS – I hope you noticed that through the whole of this blog I did not refer to any specific details of the dress! You will just have to wait and see!

Annoyance vs Excitement

Evening all! I got home from work just over 2 hours ago and have gone through a couple of high emotions!

Today was the day my Sister and Chief Bridesmaid was ringing the bridesmaid dress shop to chase up our requests. I have chosen the flower girl dress I want my niece to wear and the adult dresses. I have also chosen the perfect colours!

We found a local stockist and have been to try them on – see earlier blogs! My niece looks amazing in any dress she wears and my Sister modelled the adult dress.  We made a request to try on the adult dress in the actual colour so I can see how all my gorgeous girls will look. This was agreed and I even had a phone call the following day to confirm the colours and sizes I wanted them to get in.

I was told it would take up to 6 weeks and that would mean around Christmas, which was fine as the wedding is a way off yet. Christmas came and went and not a sound from the shop. This did not bother me as Christmas is a busy time and there may have been a delay. After Christmas came all that snow so I expected that would also delay proceedings! So today after all the snow has gone away I asked my Sister to chase it all up.

She rang. They told her they had no record or idea of the request that was made! Then they said they do not get dresses in just for trying on! How then, may I ask, do you get your Bridesmaids to try on the dresses in the correct size and colour? They certainly do not stock all sizes and colours and styles! My sister asked them this and they said they did not do it. My sister then argues as to why we were told we could order the dresses in to try on and even had a confirmation phone call? They said this was not their policy!

Cue one angry Chief Bridesmaid and one very angry Bride!

So angry I have lined up other stockists of the same dresses! And I will move my business elsewhere if I continue to be treated in a totally unprofessional way!

Rant over!

PS – on a lighter note my Mother has won 25% off bridal wear at a couture shop! Going to try on dresses at the weekend! Woo hoo!

Countdown starts now!

I know, I know! I said I would blog weekly but keeping an eye on the stats and number of people reading this has made me want to blog more! But what to write about? Then the idea came to me …

I am a bride to be. Those of you who may have read earlier blog posts I have spoken about wedding fayres, trying on dresses and my Partner turning into Groomzilla (which he still is by the way!)

Today marks just over 18 months until the big day! And I think it is time to start thinking seriously about how I am going to look on the day!

I am not talking about what dress to wear or how to have my hair. I am also not talking about the shoes or the accessories! I am talking about my body!

I am a big girl! I like my food! I LOVE my food! And my body tells that same story! So I think I need to try to make sure my body tells a slightly different story in 18 months time!

I am not talking about a crash diet, I do not have the will power to do that! I am talking about trying to maintain a healthy diet and doing some exercise so I can shift some of the weight and look more healthy by the time I have to slip into a certain white dress!

And also I want to make sure my face will match the new healthier body I hope to achieve! That means more moisturising and looking after my skin all over! Sorry for any blokes reading this!

So I aim to make Monday 18th January 2010 the day this all starts! Smaller portions, healthier choices, no take aways – ok then less take aways! More exercise (My fitness dvd can come out of its hiding place!) and taking care of my skin, hair and nails!

My motivation is clear – a white dress that looks wonderful on me no matter what weight I lose! I am being realistic, I don’t want to lose the weight and then put it all back on after the wedding, it has to be a routine I can stick to!

So wish me luck! I will keep you posted!

Now where are those mini eggs?     Hahahahaha!

New Year, New Start!

First of all there are some apologies I need to make! Firstly to those who I know and who have visited my blog and seen no new posts for a while! I do intend to update and blog on a more regular basis – probably weekly! Easier to keep to! Secondly to anyone I have mentioned in any of my blogs so far. I do keep people anonymous and use titles and not names. I hope this will continue to be ok!

So here we go!

The start to 2010 has been the strangest one I can remember! Partner and I had a great new year. We had family round for a party and we all had a great time! Cocktails, Singstar on the PS3 – I think you can get the idea! Bringing in the new year with fireworks, sparklers and party poppers as is family tradition was a lovely moment. Watching the Chinese Wish Lanterns fly overhead our house was spectacular, think we will purchase some next time! 2009 had been such a tough year for most of the family. Death of Grandma was particularly hard and the deterioration of Grandpa soon after has taken its toll.

Was not ready to go back to work on the 4th Jan but dragged myself up at 5.50am and off to work. Snow and ice at the weekend had been compacted and everywhere was slippery and dangerous. We could not let the kids out to play on that day as the playground was an ice rink! We all got through the tiring first day back and went off home as normal without a care in the world or without a thought as to what the next day would bring.

Snow! Lots of snow! I had woken in the night and seen the glow that normally accompanies snow and took a peep through the curtains to the street below. A nice covering of snow had fallen and was still falling. A  smile spread across my face as I crawled back into bed and I made a mental note to take my digital camera to work so I could take pictures of the children playing in the snow. A couple of hours later I woke with the alarm and another quick look out of the window to see if the snow had lasted! The snow’s depth had increased by double at least and huge piles of the stuff covered the surrounding gardens, cars, bins and garden toys. I muttered a quiet ‘Bloody hell!’ under my breath so as not to wake my sleeping Partner and got ready for work. I quickly slipped my camera into my bag and set off for the bus stop.

I trudged through the calf deep snow to the bus stop and expected it to be late or not turn up at all, but it was amazingly on time! I boarded the bus as the only passenger and the bus made slow progress along the route. We picked up a few other passengers on the way and the snow was still falling hard. We had got about half way when the traffic came to a complete standstill! And there we stayed for the next 45 minutes! To cut a long and boring story short, I finally made it to work an hour late. 90 minutes on the bus and then a trudge through the snow to school on a quiet untreated road was an experience I will never forget!

The school was closed for the rest of the week due to the health and safety reasons that were flying around on the news all week! I am not going to go into all that on here! Too political!

Four extra days of holiday was nice, got a lot of extra work done and chilled in front of some DVDs I had received for Christmas, and consumed more of the festive chocolates that had remained!

Normality was a craving by the end of the week, I just wanted to go back to normal and get on with work and life without having to think about health, safety, slipping and falling! Luckily Monday this week brought normality and I have enjoyed a lovely week of routine! Although the snow and ice have only just disappeared and yesterday was the first day of walking without slipping around, and with more snow forecast for the week ahead, it is time to get back to reality!

How long til half term? Ha ha ha!!

Groomzilla: A Monster Awakes!!!

Partner and I attended a family wedding this weekend just gone! It was a beautiful Scottish wedding held in the spectacular surroundings of St Andrews.

St Andrews is an amazing place, rolling green hills, beautiful yellow sands and a crystal blue sea, well that’s how it looked on the sunny day we were there!

After enduring a 6 hour drive from Manchester to Dundee, we also had a midnight hunt for some food after the trusty sat nav could not take us to the local tesco!

The next day dawned beautiful and sunny, a morning of preening and grooming to make us look wonderful!

The trip to St Andrews was lovely and the sun made a more prominent appearance. The place is so picturesque and looks like a postcard. The wedding was in a little catholic chapel and there were about 100 people there. The groom was wearing his navy uniform and looked fabulous but the bride was a stunner! A simple ivory dress with no embellishments – classy and sophisticated!

The service was lovely and ended with a guard of honour courtesy of the groom’s navy friends. The photos were taken on the courtyard behind the chapel and we were bathed in sunshine.

The reception was very nice and the food was scrummy! I tried salmon and haggis for the first time!

The whole point of this post is to warn the people I know about the fact that this wedding unleashed – GROOMZILLA!

My Partner now has taken a huge interest in our upcoming wedding! I suppose I should be pleased he is keen and interested!

Partner now wants to know the ins and outs of every aspect of the wedding and has an opinion on it all – even my dress – but he is not getting a say on that!

Watch out for more blog posts about GROOMZILLA! Coming to a bridal fayre near you!!!!

Much Love xxxx

Wedding Fever!

Well the day finally arrived! I was going wedding dress shopping! I suppose shopping is the wrong word as I was not going to be buying anything, I think browsing is the right word to choose!

I already have a fair idea of what kind of dress I want. Most girls do! I want a bit of sparkle but nothing too fussy! So being the organised and prepared person I am, I went online to look at the shop I was about to visit. I looked at the designers they stocked and went on the individual sites. I found a dress that looked almost perfect! But I am not the smallest of figures and my luck is NEVER in! I didn’t go with high hopes of seeing anything let alone trying anything on!

I have already picked out the bridesmaids dress style I want so my sister tried that on and it looked amazing on her and I am sure it will look as equally amazing on the other two bridesmaids as well! I also took my 4 yr old niece who will be a bridesmaid as well and she modelled some gorgeous dresses. She looked amazing in all of them, it was hard to narrow down ones we liked best!

Then my sister says ‘Aren’t you trying anything on?’ to which my reply was ‘They’re not going to have my size in here!’ After which my sister pushes me down towards the wedding dresses and says ‘Just look! You never know!’

So there I am, while my niece tries on the 10th dress of the morning, I am browsing the rails of white and ivory satin, silk and taffeta! Then out of the corner of my eye I spot a bit of sparkle. It can’t be! There it was! I checked the computer print out and low and behold it was the exact same dress I had spotted online! Then came the next hurdle – do I check the size label or not? Do I risk it? I squinted my eyes shut and reached for the tag – YES! It was in my size! Well a size below but still! It had a corset back so it could still be done up just not properly!

I silently beckon my sister and show her! She grabs it and rushes down the shop to tell the wonderful assistant that I would like to try this one on please – all this before I have time to breathe in!

So there I find myself – in a dressing room with a strange woman tying up a corset backed sparkly ivory dress (that’s all the info you’re getting!) I couldn’t believe how good it looked, Mum was choked, sister was choked, I was choked! My niece was too busy still admiring herself in the dress she was wearing! Then to top it all off my mum grabs a nearby veil and tiara and completes the look! I could not stop staring at myself in the mirror! I was a bride!

So there you have it, the ramblings of a bride to be! The first of many dress trips! Felt so overwhelmed!

By the way – the kitten is a lot better today!

Much Love xx