One, yes just ONE month to go!...

I can't quite believe I'm writing this but yep, there's just one month to go, four weeks on saturday until I get to marry my most favouritest man in the wholest, widest world!

So, what's left to do?

Not a lot at all to be honest! This last week we've paid for the car, the church and then the hotel at our 'final details' meeting today. The timings have been agreed for the running of the day and all that's left to do is enjoy the rest of the run up.

And then there's my hen weekend, this weekend in London and I can't wait to have a girly weekend full of fun & surprises (nice ones I hope lol!)

Until next time xx

Is it time for another update?...

It's been a while coming but I can actually see everything coming together now and it's exciting...so ridiculously exciting! So exciting, that if I think about it too much I start to feel sick, you know like you did as a kid before Christmas?!

Just me then? ; )

I've just spent this morning listing and sorting and listing and packing and listing everything. Yes, I'm a huge fan of lists as you may have already gathered, so much so that I'm going to share my updated "To Do..." list with you in a bit! You lucky lot!!

We now have boxes and boxes of stuff...24 to be precise. All neatly arranged into three piles - Church, Daytime & Evening. Hubstobe is going to think I've completely lost the plot when he gets home from work tonight lol.

So, the earlier mentioned updated "To Do..." list? It's here:


The Order of Service

• meet with vicar to finalise hymns, readings & Order of Service (21st Sept)
• order 10 extra blanks 
• order paper for inserts
• make up extras
• print inserts
• assemble them 

The Church

• give readers copies of their readings
• type up & print 'posh' copies for the day
• finish pew end decorations
• sort confetti bags & orders of service into baskets for 'bride' or 'groom'
• pay for church 

Daytime Reception

• decide on cupcake designs
• finalise and put names on table plan
• fill favour boxes
• print labels for favour boxes
• write names on placecards
• sort all bits into a box for each table
• make up pom poms for wall
• print photos for wall
• assemble 'bunting' for wall
• make up pom poms for vases on top table, cake table & guest book table
• paint stems on stars for above vases
• draw up layout of room and give to wedding co-ordinator
• buy ribbons for wall display
• buy pegs for wall display 
• make up pom poms for tables
• paint welcome sign 
• buy frames for welcome table
• print photos for welcome table
• print inserts for menu's and assemble them 
• buy decorations for reception xmas tree 

Evening Reception

• paint signs for dress up box
• type up 'instructions' for dress up box to go in frame
• buy a few more hats for dress up box
• put sweets into jars for candy store
• label jars
• sort items into separate boxes 
• find a dress up box
• pay for DJ
• paint frame for dress up box
• pegs for dress up 'smile' bunting 

Photographer

• arrange meeting to discuss ideas etc
• pay for photographer

Other Bits

• complete gift list at John Lewis
• make up H2B's waistcoat
• paint 'thank you' sign
• buy gifts for best man, ushers, bridesmaids, flower girl, parents & readers
• pay for car

See! There really isn't a lot left to do at all so, fingers crossed, the three days I have off work before the big day will hopefully be spent pampering and generally enjoying the excitement of the build up...I did say fingers crossed!!
; )

I'm feeling quite calm about it all now it's all been listed and sorted - if only you could see how anal I have been lol - so I can now look forward to the things we've got happening before the big day...

• supporting hubstobe in the Birkett Relay 6hr race at Silverstone
• bonfire night & fireworks (I'm such a kid!) 
• my hen weekend...woooohoooo!!!
• hubstobe's graduation ceremony
• christmas shopping

And on that note I'm off to write up my list for the reception co-ordinator : )
Until next time xx

2 MONTHS TO GO!...

Wowsers! There's just two months left to go before the big day! Really cannot wait to be a Mrs now : ) xx  

Time keeps ticking!...

After a couple of major panic sessions I feel like I'm back on track with everything...at last! The 'To Do' list is slowly but surely becoming smaller and to be completely honest - it wouldn't majorly affect the day if those things weren't completed.

The meeting with the vicar went well - all of our hymns, readings & music are sorted  - just waiting on him to agree the draft of our Order of Service and we can get those printed and made up. This is where I start getting frustrated...when I have to wait for other people before I can continue with what I need to do...impatient should be my middle name!!

All of our RSVP's have been returned with only one 'no'...which I'm amazed and incredibly honored at to be honest! So now to the table plan...
This has not been as problematic as I thought it would be, at all, we're very lucky in that we don;t have the usual 'oh they can't sit with so and so' and 'ooh they don't like each other really' so fingers crossed all of our guests will be happy with where they've been put!

My next task is to lose a stone before the wedding! I always thought that having to get into a wedding dress would be all the motivation I needed but it appears I was very wrong! All I want to do is eat - and not healthy stuff either. I'm craving sweets & chocolate all the time...what is wrong with me?! Will keep you posted with how I get on over the next few weeks though!

Until next time...
xx

Three months to go! : ) ...

It doesn't seem five minutes since I was writing the 'four months to go' post! Any way there's now just...

...months to go!!

Time for a quick update? Well, we're pretty much sorted! There's just a few little bits to make up, a few RSVPs to chase up and the table plan to sort & put together - can't wait for that one lol!

We went along to a wedding fair at the hotel last week which although was no use to us in terms of suppliers it was great to see the room properly set up for a wedding...very exciting!

The mini-moon in Edinburgh is paid for and we can't wait for a few days away together as Mr & Mrs.

The preparations for our hen & stag weekends are in full swing and the suspense is killing me, I'm not gonna lie! I love and hate surprises in equal measure!

I think that's all, we're having a wedding-free weekend this weekend...just lots of rugby and a bit of shopping...heaven! : ) xx

Things I've done before I'm 30...

I know, this has absolutely nothing to do with our wedding, however, it's quite a milestone in my life. I had got a list of things to do before I'm 30 and I'm fully aware that with just seven days left as a twenty-something the chances of me fitting it all in are pretty much nil!

So after tweeting pretty much this, a lovely fellow tweeting bride-to-be the @weddinghunter

 suggested I compile a 'things I've done BEFORE I'm 30' list starting with 'learnt to talk'. Fab idea I thought, so, I started my list, bear with me as it's only in the order it popped into my head and if you know me, you know that'll be no particular order lol!

So here goes...

• Learnt to talk
• Learnt to walk
• Learnt to read & write
• Visited various places on holidays...France, Devon, Cornwall, Canada & Australia
• Fell in love with Nando's
• Failed two driving tests - my project after the wedding!
• Went to my first football match Cov City v Man Utd aged 13 and fell in love with David Beckham...yep I still would ; )
• Learnt to knit - thank you Granny x
• Learnt to sew
• Achieved such high results in my Richmond Tests at Primary School that they moved me up a year (did anyone else do these?!)
• Achieved 9 GCSEs, one A, four B's & four C's a year early
• Achieved 2 A-Levels, two B's a year early
• Went on a rollercoaster, Nemesis and hated every second...I'm more than happy to hold the coats : )
• Went to Disneyland Paris and met Tigger...boing!!
• My first job was as a waitress while I was doing my A-levels
• My first full time job was at M&S as a customer assistant for my year out - I never did get to uni!
• I had a place at Staffordshire University to do a degree in Sports Journalism
• I moved stores to work in Visual Merchandising for M&S
• I moved stores again to become a Visual Merchandising Manager
• I now manage Menswear, Kidswear, Home & Visual Merchandising, as well as the Gift Shop at Xmas
• My little old Gift Shop has been NUMBER ONE in the business in terms of sales growth on the year for the last two years running!
• Fell even more in love with Krispy Kreme's...yummy!!
• Went to my first rugby match at Franklin's Gardens - Saints v Wasps and haven't stopped going or supporting Saints - you can't beat a pint of Guinness, a chicken & mushroom pie and a good game of rugby on a cold afternoon!
• Saw England v Barbarians at Twickenham
• Saw England v Wales in the six nations at Twickenham
• Took up scrapbooking
• Took up baking and have developed a love for creating cupcakes of all shapes, designs & sizes
• Went up Snowdon on a steam train
• Shared a lift with Toby Flood in a hotel in London
• Had dinner with Matt Milburn of Hollyoaks fame
• Fell in love with Take That & Mark Owen at the age of 11, I still am and I still would ; )
• Have seen Take That, Boyzone, Blue, Girls Aloud, Peter Andre, Sean McGuire, Bon Jovi, Duran Duran, Westlife, S Club 7, Wet Wet Wet and Pink in concert
• Started a collection of Disney DVDs
• Nearly blinded my brother...twice...once with polish, once with a bath pearl : s 
• Started a collection of the cars from Disney Cars
• Found some amazingly fabulous friends along the way...you know who you all are : )
• Went to see Glee Live, Matilda the musical and Joseph & the amazing technicolour dreamcoat
• Had a passenger ride in a Lotus Elise
• Went to countless motorsport events with the boy - my favourites being the old classic escorts, cortinas etc
• Saw Russell Howard live
• Learnt to swim
• Learnt to ride a bike with and without stabilisers
• Learnt to snowboard (of a fashion!) in Whistler
• Learnt to bodyboard in Adelaide
• Kissed a lot of frogs before I found my Prince ; )
• Aforementioned Prince asked me to marry him...eeek!
• Moved in with aforementioned Prince
• Have started a countdown to what I hope will be the best day of our lives
• Have started to practice my new signature : )
• I was photographed on the front cover of the local paper with the Queen when I was five

Well, there we go! My mind's gone a bit blank at the moment but I will add to this as and when I remember bits & pieces. It has made me feel a bit better about not achieving everything on my original to do before I'm 30 thirty list - think I might just compile a 'in this lifetime I would like to...' list instead.

Thank you @weddinghunter - you can also follow her trip up the aisle over on twitter at the link at the top of the page.

I'm off to enjoy the last days of my 20s! : ) xx 

Lazy sunday browsing...

Even though everything, and I mean everything, is now booked or decided on for our big day I still enjoy having a nose at all things wedding...usually on a lazy sunday afternoon. So, I thought I'd share a few of my findings with you...

I am in love with the etsy site - so many gorgeous things designed and created by hugely talented folk. My first sunday browse is by Dawn at Dawns Craft Store
She creates beautiful wooden & wire hangers for your wedding dress in a variety of colours, I've added a couple of pictures to show you...

you can have your new married name

or both of your names...love this!

little ones for your little ones - flowergirl hangers

 Aren't they gorgeous? I couldn't resist and have bought myself one that says 'kirsty loves oli' but you'll have to wait for our wedding pics to see mine! ; )




My second sunday browse is the gorgeous website for Angels Face Pettiskirts and features some really cute skirts that little flowergirls would look fab in. The range of colours is fantastic and prices start at £35 with free postage & packing, and they all come packaged in a gorgeous hat box!

 Imagine these with some sparkly converse...cute!




Check back next Sunday for some more wedding loveliness! 13 weeks & 6 days to go! xx