July 2013 Brides and Grooms

wendz86

Wow i feel really unorganised now , we have only so far booked our venue and paid deposit and booked the registrar.

I am starting to look at photographers now.

laura_hoggle

Hi everyone! How are you getting on? Wend how are you getting on with your photographer search? We are meeting with another one next week, will see how that goes! I had quite a productive day of wedding shopping today!!

I was trying on tiaras in BHS last week, and found one I really liked. I saw they had one of their discount weekends this weekend, and had 20% off wedding items. So mum and I had a bit of a trip today to a BHS with a wedding section, and got my tiara (although I changed my mind on which one I wanted once I was there!) and a garter. We also found a box of lovely glass sweet jars in BHS, 4 different sizes for the bargain price of £15 (£12 after the discount!)

Then we went to Ikea and I got the photo frames I want to use as the table numbers (79p each!), and a few more bits of glassware for the sweet buffet.

We went to a wedding last week, who said we could have what they had left of their sweetie jars, but we saw them being carried out by various people when the disco ended, so not holding out much hope on those! We did however quite like the disco they used so OH will ask them about that when they get back from their honeymoon.

I MAY be getting my dress next week. I tried some on in a shop a little while ago, and REALLY liked one. It was the first dress that caught my eye as we walked into the shop, and although it wasn't love at first sight when I tried it on, it certainly grew on me and I didn't want to take it off! It's also NOTHING like I thought I wanted. I have found somebody selling this exact same dress, in my size, for less than half the price in the shop, brand new with tags, and she is bringing it round next weekend for me to try. Quite excited!

OH and I have started to look at honeymoons as some holiday companies have started to bring their brochures out for summer 2013, but are still undecided as to where to go. July seems to be an awkward month in terms of weather with long haul destinations, so we are thinking maybe Santorini. Do any of you know where you are going or want to go on honeymoon yet?

Laura xxx

yimmie

I feel soo un-organised reading all this!!
We've picked the hotel, un-offically penciled it in with them (they only do half a dozen weddings a year)
we've met the vicar and picked the church...... yet to pencil it in though!
I've tried on a zillion dresses but not picked one! going to try my favourite shop and dress again asap.
found a local photographer online that has done the same venue, which is very important to me!
Going to go with a local florist and have hydrangeas but yet to speak to her! Asked my mum to get her number....... so don't even know if she's available!
we're having it where i grew up which is about 2 hours away which is quite daunting..... my mum is more exited about it all than me! she just stresses me out too much

mixenvixen

I know the feeling Yimmie! I am so not as organised as most on here!

This is my first post- I'm a bit of a moneysaving addict, however have yet felt the need to start posting anything myself till the wedding stress has kicked in!

I'm getting married on the 27th of July in my home town- near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. So far have booked:

*Reception venue. A beautiful winter garden attatched to a grade I listed building, that can fit 150 people. It's going to cost about £400 including usuage on the day, set up/clear down day after, day before. There is also no corkage fee and we can have any caterer we want.

And that's it! Have many other things in mind...

*Dress, seen a beautiful one on the website kitty and dulcie which I am contemplating buying for £295 or otherwise considering stillwhite website, for a second hand bargain.

*Catering, we are having an afternoon tea- which we are catering ourselves, within the family. A bit ambitous the day/day before the wedding I know! However after previously working in a sandwhich shop for a year- I have a pretty good idea of how easy a whole load of sandwhiches actually are to make and how much you get overpriced. So am going to get on it! My brother works for tescos, so hopfully he will buy the food and we can use his discount also!

*Drinks, we are not over complicating it. As we are having the reception in a corkage free zone, we are filling up on the Cava. Probably going to buy around 50 bottles (for about £6 each)- so about £300 (plus hopefully my brothers discount!), to go with the afternoon tea. I used to work in a posh hotel/castle for a year and found that giving people too much option means you are left over with a tonne of either red or white bottles of wine and not enough of another- literally depending on how sunny it is outside. The buying about £100 worth of bucks fizz for welcome drinks (at £3 a bottle, WAY more than enough for evening guests also!). Cask bar later on.

*Decoration. White table clothes (rented), chair covers (rented), chair bows (made from market material), napkins (rented), plates (rented), teapots ect (rented), cake stands (rented), tea cups (mix and match from charity shops, car boot sales- Also as wedding favours), bunting (made), various material (market), fairy lights (hopefully xmas sales).

*Wedding party- All given colour scheme to find suits dresses for and we are buying accesories (ties, hair pieces, button holes, bouquets) to all co-ordinated.

*Flowers- fake e-bay. 90% cheaper- last 1000000% longer!

*Entertainment- lots of friends play in bands, so hopefully have some freebies, then spring for a DJ later on.

*Wedding cake- M & S, intend to spend about £160.

*Photographer- going to look for a couple of student photographers who need the work for their portfolios (probably off gumtree or approach college).

ANYWAY, I think that about covers everything... apart from... oh yeah! the ACTUAL WEDDING!.

This is what is causing us the most stress... church, registry office, venue??? To many different prices/ requirments! Just can not decide!!

wendz86

I think we have found a photographer we like. Is tricky as our wedding location is down in southampton and we live in Hertfordshire and we only go down there about once a month so not sure whether to just book or wait till we are next down to meet up with them. I do like the photography style and the pictures i have seen online.

Laura - exciting about the wedding dress, did you like it?

I can't decide on honeymoon either, we are taking our daughter who will be 2 so don't want to go anywhere too hot or too far away but July/Aug is hot everywhere!

Yimmie - at least yu have started looking at things and getting an idea of what you like. The photographer I like has also done my venue which is good.

Mixen - you are the day after me :-). All your ideas so far sound great.

yimmie

Wendz! we're like the opposite I used to live near hertfordshire (Royston area) and now live just outside southampton!
we've picked where we're going for our honeymoon, when I was 17 i visited Malaysia with my granddad and have always wanted to go back and take the OH, so we figured in a very MSE sense..... it's like having 2 expensive holidays in one!
@minxenvixen..... aww winter garden sounds soo nice! the main problem with our venue is it's inner city with no grounds, which is partly why we're having the church (my family have harassed me into having the church my mum and her parents got married in) however i wanted in in an uglier church i have a link with..... never mind!
I think the m&s cake is the best way to get a cake, i just can't decide what to have as a topper!
Both of our mum's want fresh flowers which in a financial sense I was against lol! soooo cheap!
i have some time booked off work soon but don't know whether to focus on the wedding during it or have a holiday! decisions decisions!!

lisajane8482

Hey fellow July brides,

Wendz, yimmi, mixenvixen I wouldn’t worry too much about being “behind” in your organizing. I seem to be so much more organised than some of my friends/colleagues who are getting married this year. I’m a natural worrier/stresser and suffer from migraine when overly stressed/worried so have been planning and organising as much as possible as early as possible so that, in theory, the only thing I have to worry about is saving the cash up for the balances (which is already worrying me). Plus I’m super excited. I have recently started doing less, partly as there is less to do but also so I can spread out what is left to do.

How did the dress shopping go Laura?

So I went to my first wedding fayre which was held where we are having the reception. They had the room done up like they would for a civil ceremony, it was gorgeous but still didn’t make me want to get married there. Especially since it’s my local pub and only has a car park, no greenery. Oh and it would cost around £1500 for the ceremony alone :eek:, so after taking out the cars etc that wouldn’t be needed we would be looking at an extra £800 to get married in a pub. On the plus side I have found who will be doing our table decorations, we’re having balloons as that’s what OH would like and since I have decided pretty much on everything else I have decided he can have his balloons :rotfl:… although he may not be overly keen on what I’ve provisionally picked. I also found who will be doing our flowers hopefully. I’m torn between an eBay seller and this lady although I’m not sure what her prices are like.

I’ve ordered couple of Alfred Angelo material swatches to compare with my dress as I’m sure my dress is white and not ivory but I could be wrong. Which makes me worry that my shoes will look odd as they are a creamy ivory colour and my dress looks white (possibly diamond white). Besides that nothing else much is happening on the wedding front besides looking at ways to cut the budget should we need too.

As for honeymoons we won't be having one, I'm trying to talk OH into having a couple of days away just the two of us (we both have a daughter from previous relationships) and then saving for a nice hoiday away for the 4 of us. I think that since we'll have saved just under £6000 in two years (first year we didn't save that hard) that we could save up enough for a decent week away somewhere nice but he doesn't seem too fussed even though he's always complaining he could do with a holiday.

wendz86

Yimmie - we should just organise each others weddings!

Sounds like your plans are coming along nicely LisaJane.

laura_hoggle

Hey everyone!

I have my dress!!! The girl who was selling the one I liked in the shop brought it round, I tried it, and still loved it. We got it for the bargain price of £350, should have been £825 in the shop. It will need taking up nearer the time as it is currently about a foot too long for me, but there is a shop I've used before for dress adjustments that I'm happy to take it to.

We've also booked our photographer, a different one to the one we originally thought, but we like his pics, we've got a good deal and he's someone I used to work with, and we are comfortable with. So that's good!

We are in a similar situation to you two Yimmie and Wendz, I live in Hertfordshire (Watford) and we are getting married in Oxford. My OH lives in Oxfordshire (we will be living together by the time we get married - hopefully later this year!) So everything is planned when I stay with OH or my parents. I wouldn't have so much organised by now if I hadn't been at my parents for 4 weeks recouperating from having an operation last month, I had a lot of time to sit on the computer and make phone calls!!

LisaJane - I know what you mean about the white/ivory dress thing - when I tried on my dress in the shop, mum was adamant it was white, but I wasn't sure. Then when I saw it advertised online and it said ivory, mum said it wasn't the same thing. It just happened that we were at a wedding fayre where the manager from the dress shop was, so we asked her, and she said it was ivory! It really does look white until you put it up against something that is really white, like the bag it came in!

I've got a couple of weeks booked off in June when I'll be going to stay in Oxford and hopefully will be getting the flowers and the cars booked, then I think that's the big stuff sorted!

wendz86

Ohh Laura I live in Hemel so not far from you.

Glad you love the dress, sounds like a great bargain!

I have e-mailed the photographer as we have decided to go with them so just need to pay deposit and thats one thing sorted.