A couple of weeks ago we passed the 50 day mark, and now the days seem to be rushing by at a rate of knots. Just 4 weeks until the big day. That’s it 4 short weeks. Only 4 weeks of planning. 4 weeks until I’m a Mrs….
It really feels like we’re getting into serious wedding planning now. We’re not talking about dreams and wishes; we’re into the concrete facts. The timings we’re working out now with our caterer and photographer will be the timings of our day. The menu we’ve settled on will be what we’re serving our guests. It’s incredibly exciting, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t just a little bit scary, too. How is it possibly 20 months since we got engaged!? Seriously, where have all those months gone?! The days ticking by at an increasing pace have started to create a panic that certain things we thought we didn’t need, or could happily live without, or hadn’t even considered ever wanting, are now ABSOLUTLY VITAL to the day. If we haven’t got a videographer to capture the day in all its glory, is it really worth all the effort? How can anyone get married without a confetti cannon? Will our guests be disappointed if we don’t offer them a 1000 pound donut wall? Doesn’t every bride these days have a dry ice ice-cream stand!? You get the idea.
We’ve thought more about the service itself, trying to settle for the final time on music, readings and hymns. I’ve gone backwards and forwards over what music I want for my entrance, and I still can’t quite decide. We’ve found out the church will be getting a new vicar just 2 days before our wedding, so the church will be fully decorated with flowers, and we don’t have to pay a penny – hurrah! On the downside, we’ve discovered that because we’re living in Hong Kong we’ve got to get a Common Licence to allow our marriage to take place. This unexpected legal complication has been one of the most stressful elements of planning so far, and it’s still not yet sorted.
Another downside of planning from abroad is that planning over the past few months seemed to have mostly consisted of emailing. Emailing the church with details of the service, emailing the caterer to try and work out a final menu. Emailing friends who are making cakes for us. Emailing the marquee to work out when they’re actually planning to set up for us. Emailing the evening caterers to make sure they haven’t forgotten us in the year since we booked them…. The first thing I did when I wake up is to check for wedding emails, the last thing I did at night is to reply to them. Emails, emails, so many emails!
Last week we arrived back in England, and after being so far away for so long it feels so good to be back in the UK and ticking things off the list. It’s great to meet suppliers in person again. We’ve met with our caterer and finalised arrangements, and tasted wines and ordered them from Majestic. My Mum’s house has become wedding HQ. Half the rooms are now taken over by piles of collected wedding items. The conservatory is filled up with furniture my brother has salvaged, the sitting room is home to the (still growing!) jam jar collection.
I had my first dress fitting at the weekend, and it was such a good feeling to be standing there in my dress, the actual dress I’ll be getting married in. I’m pleased to say it fits almost perfectly, and I’m still completely in love with it. We had a venue visit and mini shoot with our lovely photographer, Rebecca, earlier this week. She came in the evening, and we were blessed with the most beautiful light. She had us dancing in the country lanes, posing in fields, and sneaking into cornfields. From my perspective the shoot was great fun. After initial nerves, Rebecca’s manner really put us at ease, and it wasn’t long before I was having fun in front of the camera. I’m not sure Andy would say he enjoyed it as such, but he found the shoot really useful. I feel much more confident that we’ll be able to do the right thing on the day, and get some pictures of us looking relaxed and happy, rather than stiff and awkward. Rebecca has already sent a sneak peek of some of the images, and I absolutly love them. I can’t wait to see the rest of the photographs from this week, and I’m even more excited to see what Rebecca captures on our wedding day.
Images by Rebecca Wedding Photography
The next big thing on the wedding count down is my hen do. I’m being whisked off today (edit: Saturday just gone), but I have no idea where we’re headed!
So brides and brides-to-be, how did you feel at 50 days to your wedding? What have I got to expect over the last few weeks?
Jennie xxx
