Good morning you lovely lot! It’s a brand new week and I’m a little bit excited to kick off with a brand new series for The Utter Blog. A few weeks ago I tentatively put out the feelers for an Uttering Bride to dust off her typing fingers, don her blogging cap and take us on her wedding planning journey, and I got some fab entries, I have to say. So fab, it was nigh on impossible to narrow it down to just one. I ummed and ahhed, I got some very important opinions and I went back and forth, but eventually it came down to two… And at two it’s stayed. That’s right- I now have TWO Uttering Brides. The next year and a half is going to be jam-packed full of wedding-y goodness and I cannot wait.
So first up to introduce herself is Paris, who I have to admit I am terribly biased towards as she may or may not be getting married at the same barn venue as me. Ahem. Clearly this is a woman with good taste. But, marvelous venue choice aside, Paris’ email to me exuded enthusiasm and warmth, and her Pinterest board was right up my street. You’ll be hearing a lot more from this lovely lady over the next seventeen months, so I hope you’ll join me in giving her a very warm welcome to The Utter Blog. I’ll be popping up in my usual irregular way, don’t you worry, but I have to say I’m very, very, VERY happy to have a wedding story (or two!) to follow again. Make sure you pop back later in the week for my second Uttering Bride’s Big Hello.
Paris, it’s over to you…
As I push open the sliding doors and take my first steps on to our balcony, it isn’t the clear moonlit sky and sound of the waves that I notice. No, I am noticing that all of the previously well arranged balcony furniture has now been hastily rearranged in a haphazard pile at one corner of the balcony. Why? My boyfriend of seven years is just about to propose. But before we get to the nitty gritty proposal details, a little about the bride and groom to be. I’m Paris and I’m a 25 year old paralegal and trainee-solicitor-to-be by day, and risotto extraordinaire, book devourer and keen yoga lover by night. Baked cheese is my weakness (any variety, I am not fussy) and cinnamon is my nemesis – are you noticing a food theme? I first met my now fiancé, Joe, when we were 12 and he was giving one of my friends a rather slobbery kiss outside my Saturday dance class. Needless to say, I was less than enamoured. But six years on he had finally won me round and after a heap of pirate impressions on our first date to see Pirates Of The Caribbean we became inseparable. Joe works in marketing and is a complete technology and comic book nerd, the most disorganized person I have ever met, and truly and genuinely hilarious.
- Plenty of colour! You will see from my mood boards that a color scheme is yet to be decided but that either way I want the theme to be bright and fun. It is so tempting to go “pastel” in a countryside wedding but I want to move away from that and go a bit more vibrant.
- Flowers galore. I absolutely love flowers, fresh or fake, and they will be a big feature at the wedding. My step mom owns a florist and has very very kindly agreed to do our flowers so we won’t be restrained by the cost. I am spending most of my time dreaming of floral arches at the moment (thanks Pinterest!).
- Handmade touches. I plan to customise a lot of the wedding myself. I have already roped a bridesmaid into helping make table runners and Joe has been sizing up a homemade bar. Along with invites, center pieces, all stationary, guestbook, table plan, hair pieces, signs and countless other things I am yet to think of, I am sure we have one hell of a task on our hands. I can’t guarantee that my homemade plans will end in success but we will give it a go all the same!
Paris xx