don't really know where to start!

Beetle_lover

hi everyone, thought it would be nice to get on here and chat to some bride and grooms to be!

got engage in June and its been a bit of a whirlwind since! loving the engaged life though. anyone that is interested the vid below is how my OH proposed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCg7xgBEhSw

I'm hoping to get married october 2012 but i feel so overwhelmed by everything and now worrying whether i can get everything done or not!!

i live in the north east and there are so many beautiful venues! i have ordered millions of brochures but not really got much further than that!!

also booked in for first dress try on next weekend which I'm really nervous about!!!! now worrying that maybe i should have lost some weight first, i hope they have some that i can try on in my size! I'm about an 18 at the mo! eek!

also a bit complicated as I'm from the midlands so 4 of my 5 bridesmaids and my parents and brother live around 200 miles away!

any calming comments welcome haha.

Scotsbride

first of all get quotes and complete breakdowns of all the venues you like. visit the ones you both like you need to allow plenty of time for each depending on the size. arm yourself with questions about number of wedding held on that day, paper work for example in my case the forms for the registrar go through the venue not us, what types of ceromies they are licensised for acess are any of you guests or you disabled? do they have lifts? parking? what happens if its wet? what get paid when, deposits how much? how long well they keep the slot open whilst you check availability for registrar etc. are there any items you don't need and can be swapped for other or dropped all together (potential MSE) if you book on a weekday can you get it cheaper (again MSE) time of year is also(mSE summer is popular). then think about ivites etc and then dress and other bits but don't forget to make sure you have your legal documentation in place.

NoAngel

Hi Beetle_lover,

Come and join the October 2012 board (though don't let the super organised ladies scare you too much!).

I got engaged in November but didn't get around to planning anything till a couple of months ago. I think you have absolutely loads of time to get planning for next October. All I've done so far is find the venue. Although this can take time, it's worth starting now as lots of dates were already booked up. Once you've got your date and venue then you're ready to plan!

My wedding is going to be 180 miles away from where we're currently living, so it's quite difficult to organise in some ways, just have to make the best of it though! And my bridesmaids are opposite ends of the country (and both over 100 miles from where I am!!)- but we only need one organised day to get their dresses sorted so shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I'm just enjoying the planning right now, you've got plenty of time, so relax and enjoy as this can be the fun part!!

clairus

Don't worry about dress.
Call your dress shops and ask what sizes they go up to. I needed an 18 too so I was relieved that all of the shops I spoke to had dresses well into the 26+ sizes.

The lady in the dress shop where I bought one repeatedly told me that size is just a number as I had to try on larger and smaller sizes in different styles. Incidentally my chosen shop actually caters for ladies up to a UK size 40 which made me want to buy from them even more.

johannalf88

Hi, I think I am one of the super organised ladies NoAngel was talking about! October 2012 is a very realistic time frame, it's still over a year away so definitely enough time. I live in London, and my bridesmaids are spread out too, one in Sheffield, and a couple down south coast atm. If you are looking to get married in the area you are living in now that makes things a lot easier, as we are not, so can only book/ meet suppliers etc when we are down there, (another reason we are so organised!)

I think the first thing to think about is whether you are having a religious or civil ceromony, although that may be a decision you don't even have to think about! Then bookmark some on the venues and go an see them, you will know when have found the right one for you!

Oh and Congratualtions!!

spoonymoose

Hello Beetle_lover!

Congrats on the engagement :j

I'm originally from Lancashire so my family live there, one of my bridesmaids lives in Brum, one in Lancs, one in Scarborough and one in Telford, but it'd do-able, you just send them links of bridesmaids dresses and get them to try them on and send you a pic... It worked for me (3 out of 4 liked the dress :T)

Also with regards to dresses, they have loads in different sizes, and with lots being lace ups you can get an idea of what they look like. My piece of advice would be to try on loads of different dresses - even the ones you wouldn't really go for cos you'll probably be surprised about what looks nice on. (Also a size 18 is just a size, nothing else, there have been so many beautiful brides on here who haven't been a size 0 so please do not feel under pressure to loose weight.)

With regards to venues

• have a rough date and time of when you want to marry (e.g. 3pm would mean you might only want an evening reception whereas 12pm you might want an all day event)
• have a rough number of how many guests you want to invite (this may help you sort through venues)
• budget - work out how much you can save by the date

• Once you've sorted a venue, you might be able to provisionally book the registrar (which some places let you do over a year before your wedding, but you need to know the place and time you want to marry.) Sometimes brides have had to change the time they want to marry because the time they want has been fully booked so please be aware of this.

Anyways, hope this has helped a bit. If you need any more help, just ask as we're all friendly here and we're all attempting to organise a wedding

double_mummy

YAY congrats beetle

i am on of the brides to be on the october 2012 boards and people like Jo are so organised i feel so far behind lol but they are all lovely and we have some great chats

i would say your biggest thing to do at the moment is your budget - use one of the wedding spreadsheets (if anyone could find the link!!)

once you have your budget then you can start looking at everything else

im in milton keynes 1 of my BMs is in Nottingham and the other is 16 (much more difficult to get hold of than the other one) one of the best men lives in Australia and the usher lives in Israel lol so it is do able - skype is my best friend lol

also there are loads of great threads and there is always someone around for some support when you need it

with the size thing people will be terrible i am a size 20/22 on top and a 30 on the bottom and some dress shops have been very rude and some even laughed at me when i asked for my size. do not kill yourself trying to lose weight just be happy!

xxxxxx

Beetle_lover

Thanks for all the positive words everyone!

Think I will feel a lot better once this first dress thing is over with!! I hope they don't try to pressure me into buying one as I want to try on loads!!! I'm not very good at making decisions! Lol.

Going to beretex (I know a few people will cringe at this!!) but I'm going to the same shop that one of y friends did and we both felt comfortable there. She has bright pink hair and is one of my bridesmaids and quite alternative so it was nice that the shop assistants didn't look down on us last time we were there some people can be a bit you know weird lol, ive have very heavily tattooed legs, nearly both completely filled and I fancy trying on some 50's style shorter dresses! Also hoping they will recognise Gem and it will make things a little easier hehe

xx

P.s anyone got a hen party thread going?

danksybaby

Wow congrats!! That proposal video is absolutely brilliant, I love it! It's daft but great!! Xx

Minimoo24

i love your video xxx

Hollie84

Congrats love the video
yes oct is plenty of time,i had everything booked within 3 weeks of H2B saying lets set a date.we had been engaged for 4yrs and ive still got till next august.im a bit OCD when it comes to organised.we vieded two venues and knew as soon as we walked into the 2nd it was the one.haggle with prices on the venue,dress and even the church.we did.i have my dress,it was in a sample sale so worth shoping around and finding out if any bridal shops have sales on