6th April my wedding day (incl pics)
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daisiegg
Posts: 5,395 Forumite
So, having been back from honeymoon for a week I am finally getting round to writing up my wedding day! :)I hope no one minds me having my own thread - but I have really enjoyed reading other people's posts about their days in the past so hopefully no one will mind.
I am going to post some pictures but I will remove them after a little while so please don't quote any of my posts with pictures in. I want some of you lovely ladies who have supported me over the last year to see pics, but I don't want to leave them up on the Internet forever!
Apologies if this is a mammoth post....there is a lot to write about!
So, my wedding was on the 6th of April 2013. We got engaged on 14th Feb 2012 so had been planning for over a year and were really ready for it by the time it arrived! I was calm and collected for the whole year and then got very stressed in the week leading up to the wedding, which I wish I hadn't done now, as in the end of course everything was all fine. The night before the wedding, everything was getting into place. People had been arriving from near and far - Scotland, Manchester, Arizona, California....and everything was ready. We attended our rehearsal at the church and then I was dropped off at my parents' house where I was to spend my last night as a single lady!
All my dad's Scottish family were at the house for dinner and a bit of a party, although my mum enforced the strict curfew of 8.30pm so we could wind down. I am glad though that there was something going on the night before the wedding as I think otherwise I might have got really stressed and over-thought things. This way, I was distracted and surrounded by people who loved me
I managed to get some sleep and woke up in my old childhood bedroom at about 5.30am. Although my alarm was set for 7am I was too excited and got up............only for disaster to strike! I only went and tripped on my pyjama trousers, twisting my foot badly. It was absolute and utter agony, swelled up immediately and nearly made me pass out with the pain. My sister woke up to creep into my room and find me crying my eyes out on the bed - she was all prepared to do her MOH duties and comfort me if I was having second thoughts about the wedding, but no, luckily I told her it was 'only' my foot! As you all probably know, a trip to A&E the next morning confirmed that I had in fact broken my fifth metatarsal. However, my family did a good job of convincing me that I was fussing over nothing, making me spend the morning with my foot in ice and I walked on it all day!
The hairdresser arrived at 7.30am. I lounged around in my PJs while my sister was the first to have her hair done. We had prepared lots of yummy breakfast/brunch things like pastries, smoked salmon bagels, pink champagne etc....but for some reason I just didn't really fancy very much! Maybe excitement or pain from the foot. So a lot of it went to waste.
My other two bridesmaids, my best friend and my DH's daughter, arrived during the morning and everyone had their hair done. The hairdresser did a fantastic job and everyone looked beautiful The make-up lady turned up at 11am to do my make-up and then it got a bit frantic. We had had bags of time all morning and been so chilled out, but the last hour or so got really rushed and panicked.
The car arrived and looked great, and the photographer turned up and took a few shots of us in the house, although there wasn't time to do any staged 'getting ready' pictures or anything. We were only having one car as we had used the rest of the money to put on coaches for our guests, so it took my mum and bridesmaids to the church before returning for us. We were running a bit late as my mum wouldn't leave early enough because she was worried about people seeing the bridesmaids too early - a bit stressful at the time but I couldn't care less now. I think the most stressful part of the day was when my dad and I were left at home waiting for the car to come back for us. We didn't have any 'touching moments' because the second he turned to me and looked like he was about to say something emotional I felt myself well up so I had to tell him not to speak at all or I'd cry all my make-up off! We did practise pacing up and down the living room so we knew we could walk down the aisle together
Anyway, the car returned for us, the neighbours were out in force photographing me which felt nice and a little weird, and we drove to the church. This bit is all a bit of a blur! I remember the priest coming out to have a few words with me before it all began.
I remember walking up the aisle and seeing everyone's smiling faces (and a myriad of phones and cameras pointed in my direction!) and just feeling a million dollars - even though my foot was killing me.
When I first reached the altar, during the whole first hymn OH wouldn't look at me and I was panicking thinking he was having second thoughts or something. He told me afterwards that he couldn't look at me as I looked so beautiful he knew he would cry
The ceremony and the vows was absolutely wonderful. I am so glad we had a church ceremony. It felt very special and everyone, even most of my guests who were not religious, commented on how lovely it was.
So...we were married! We led out of the church and the highland piper struck up when we got out, leading the procession around to the back of the church. It was wonderful and felt very special especially as my parents had got married in the very same church 26 years previously, and they had had a piper too. We did a few photos at the back of the church and then the guests departed in the coach for the reception venue.
The driver of our car poured us a glass of champagne and wandered off for 5 minutes to let us just have a breather by ourselves, which was very nice. He then drove us the scenic route to the reception venue (which seemed to take ages - and I was already getting slightly stressed that we were running way behind schedule!) We arrived to cheers and more champagne, and had a bit of time to mingle with the guests before doing photos. This hour felt like the most tense and stressed time of the day really - it was hard getting everyone in the right place for pictures and due to us running late we didn't really have time for all the pictures I had wanted. Still, we still have some lovely photos so it's all fine.
The receiving line going into the wedding breakfast was great and I'm so glad we did it. It was lovely to say hello and thank you to every person and it also meant we got a chance to see the reception room before it was filled with people. It looked AMAZING
The wedding breakfast was great, speeches were excellent and it all went very well. I did have a period of feeling really unwell when I just got very hot, felt sick and not very good at all. I think I was a bit dehydrated and I couldn't eat much of my meal. I was fine in the end though
The evening was fantastic - cutting of the cake and first dance was great and I even managed to dance two ceilidh dances, although to be fair I spent the majority of the evening with my foot up on a chair with an ice pack on it. Even that was kind of ok though as it meant people could come and talk to me, which was nice, and I could watch everyone enjoying themselves.
Overall, it felt like an absolutely perfect day - the happiest of my life (despite the broken foot). All the planning and preparation meant that everything fell into place and was just fantastic. It couldn't have been better and I will never forget a second of it.
I don't know whether it is due to everyone advising 'try to take it all in, as it will go past in a blur' but I do have very strong and vivid memories of the whole day. Yes, it went by very quickly, but I feel like my memory of it is very good so I would echo everyone's advice to just make sure you commit it all to memory as it is happening
On that note...I don't know if anyone would be interested, but a few other select words of advice for those who are still heading towards their big day....
- Don't go overboard making lots of plans for the morning of the wedding... you probably won't eat half the food you prepare or do half the things you imagine. I had high expectations of this lovely girly morning drinking pink champagne etc and the morning was not like I planned at all - but that was ok. It is never going to be like it is in the movies/or the staged wedding photos you have seen online, so just go with the flow and enjoy being with the people you love.
- Don't underestimate how much of a panic the last hour before the wedding will be, and try to give yourself even more time than you could possibly need. We thought we had given ourselves loads of time (hairdresser arrived at 7.30am!) but we still ran out of time in the last hour.
- Think carefully about photographs and how you want your day to be.
We have some lovely photos, but we don't quite have all the shots we might have liked as there just wasn't time. However, discussing it with my mum afterwards we decided we got the balance right. The photos look lovely and they show what the day was like. The day was about celebrating and confirming our love in front of friends and family - it wasn't about being fashion models and posing for endless photos. We spent £800 on our photographer which is, believe it or not, the lower end of the scale. I suppose if you had spent £2000 you might have different priorities.
I feel really torn about this because part of me wishes I had some of the shots I have seen in other people's pictures and dreamed about - but the other part of me thinks I had a wonderful day and it felt like enough time was taken away from our guests to do photos as it is, without having spent even more time on posed shots. I think it is a decision everyone has to make for themselves, but definitely one worth being aware of and considering in advance.
- Don't try to control everything (or anything!) on the day. You have done all the hard work to get to this point and on the day it is time for other people to be in control - just relax and go with the flow.
- Try to keep hydrated. It is easy to forget to drink water but I had a period in the evening when I felt really unwell and I think it was due to getting overheated and dehydrated.
- Don't have high expectations for your wedding night...you will be exhausted but hyped up, and will want to talk everything over a million times but may not feel quite like doing any other marital activities!
- ENJOY YOURSELF! I had so many comments on the day about how I was beaming every single second and just radiating happiness. People said they had never seen such a happy bride. That was nice to hear
- Finally - adrenaline can get you through anything! Even a broken bone.. :rotfl::rotfl:
On that note, I will post some pictures in a minute. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has offered advice/support/general chat over the last years, ESPECIALLY the amazing April 2013 brides. I will miss you all and this board a lot, now that I have to settle down and just be a boring old wife! It was so much fun being a bride-to-be and having this board to discuss everything on made it even better So thank you
I am going to post some pictures but I will remove them after a little while so please don't quote any of my posts with pictures in. I want some of you lovely ladies who have supported me over the last year to see pics, but I don't want to leave them up on the Internet forever!
Apologies if this is a mammoth post....there is a lot to write about!
So, my wedding was on the 6th of April 2013. We got engaged on 14th Feb 2012 so had been planning for over a year and were really ready for it by the time it arrived! I was calm and collected for the whole year and then got very stressed in the week leading up to the wedding, which I wish I hadn't done now, as in the end of course everything was all fine. The night before the wedding, everything was getting into place. People had been arriving from near and far - Scotland, Manchester, Arizona, California....and everything was ready. We attended our rehearsal at the church and then I was dropped off at my parents' house where I was to spend my last night as a single lady!
All my dad's Scottish family were at the house for dinner and a bit of a party, although my mum enforced the strict curfew of 8.30pm so we could wind down. I am glad though that there was something going on the night before the wedding as I think otherwise I might have got really stressed and over-thought things. This way, I was distracted and surrounded by people who loved me
I managed to get some sleep and woke up in my old childhood bedroom at about 5.30am. Although my alarm was set for 7am I was too excited and got up............only for disaster to strike! I only went and tripped on my pyjama trousers, twisting my foot badly. It was absolute and utter agony, swelled up immediately and nearly made me pass out with the pain. My sister woke up to creep into my room and find me crying my eyes out on the bed - she was all prepared to do her MOH duties and comfort me if I was having second thoughts about the wedding, but no, luckily I told her it was 'only' my foot! As you all probably know, a trip to A&E the next morning confirmed that I had in fact broken my fifth metatarsal. However, my family did a good job of convincing me that I was fussing over nothing, making me spend the morning with my foot in ice and I walked on it all day!
The hairdresser arrived at 7.30am. I lounged around in my PJs while my sister was the first to have her hair done. We had prepared lots of yummy breakfast/brunch things like pastries, smoked salmon bagels, pink champagne etc....but for some reason I just didn't really fancy very much! Maybe excitement or pain from the foot. So a lot of it went to waste.
My other two bridesmaids, my best friend and my DH's daughter, arrived during the morning and everyone had their hair done. The hairdresser did a fantastic job and everyone looked beautiful
The make-up lady turned up at 11am to do my make-up and then it got a bit frantic. We had had bags of time all morning and been so chilled out, but the last hour or so got really rushed and panicked.The car arrived and looked great, and the photographer turned up and took a few shots of us in the house, although there wasn't time to do any staged 'getting ready' pictures or anything. We were only having one car as we had used the rest of the money to put on coaches for our guests, so it took my mum and bridesmaids to the church before returning for us. We were running a bit late as my mum wouldn't leave early enough because she was worried about people seeing the bridesmaids too early - a bit stressful at the time but I couldn't care less now. I think the most stressful part of the day was when my dad and I were left at home waiting for the car to come back for us. We didn't have any 'touching moments' because the second he turned to me and looked like he was about to say something emotional I felt myself well up so I had to tell him not to speak at all or I'd cry all my make-up off! We did practise pacing up and down the living room so we knew we could walk down the aisle together
Anyway, the car returned for us, the neighbours were out in force photographing me which felt nice and a little weird, and we drove to the church. This bit is all a bit of a blur! I remember the priest coming out to have a few words with me before it all began.
I remember walking up the aisle and seeing everyone's smiling faces (and a myriad of phones and cameras pointed in my direction!) and just feeling a million dollars - even though my foot was killing me.
When I first reached the altar, during the whole first hymn OH wouldn't look at me and I was panicking thinking he was having second thoughts or something. He told me afterwards that he couldn't look at me as I looked so beautiful he knew he would cry
The ceremony and the vows was absolutely wonderful. I am so glad we had a church ceremony. It felt very special and everyone, even most of my guests who were not religious, commented on how lovely it was.
So...we were married! We led out of the church and the highland piper struck up when we got out, leading the procession around to the back of the church. It was wonderful and felt very special especially as my parents had got married in the very same church 26 years previously, and they had had a piper too. We did a few photos at the back of the church and then the guests departed in the coach for the reception venue.
The driver of our car poured us a glass of champagne and wandered off for 5 minutes to let us just have a breather by ourselves, which was very nice. He then drove us the scenic route to the reception venue (which seemed to take ages - and I was already getting slightly stressed that we were running way behind schedule!) We arrived to cheers and more champagne, and had a bit of time to mingle with the guests before doing photos. This hour felt like the most tense and stressed time of the day really - it was hard getting everyone in the right place for pictures and due to us running late we didn't really have time for all the pictures I had wanted. Still, we still have some lovely photos so it's all fine.
The receiving line going into the wedding breakfast was great and I'm so glad we did it. It was lovely to say hello and thank you to every person and it also meant we got a chance to see the reception room before it was filled with people. It looked AMAZING
The wedding breakfast was great, speeches were excellent and it all went very well. I did have a period of feeling really unwell when I just got very hot, felt sick and not very good at all. I think I was a bit dehydrated and I couldn't eat much of my meal. I was fine in the end though
The evening was fantastic - cutting of the cake and first dance was great and I even managed to dance two ceilidh dances, although to be fair I spent the majority of the evening with my foot up on a chair with an ice pack on it. Even that was kind of ok though as it meant people could come and talk to me, which was nice, and I could watch everyone enjoying themselves.
Overall, it felt like an absolutely perfect day - the happiest of my life (despite the broken foot). All the planning and preparation meant that everything fell into place and was just fantastic. It couldn't have been better and I will never forget a second of it.
I don't know whether it is due to everyone advising 'try to take it all in, as it will go past in a blur' but I do have very strong and vivid memories of the whole day. Yes, it went by very quickly, but I feel like my memory of it is very good so I would echo everyone's advice to just make sure you commit it all to memory as it is happening
On that note...I don't know if anyone would be interested, but a few other select words of advice for those who are still heading towards their big day....
- Don't go overboard making lots of plans for the morning of the wedding... you probably won't eat half the food you prepare or do half the things you imagine. I had high expectations of this lovely girly morning drinking pink champagne etc and the morning was not like I planned at all - but that was ok. It is never going to be like it is in the movies/or the staged wedding photos you have seen online, so just go with the flow and enjoy being with the people you love.
- Don't underestimate how much of a panic the last hour before the wedding will be, and try to give yourself even more time than you could possibly need. We thought we had given ourselves loads of time (hairdresser arrived at 7.30am!) but we still ran out of time in the last hour.
- Think carefully about photographs and how you want your day to be.
We have some lovely photos, but we don't quite have all the shots we might have liked as there just wasn't time. However, discussing it with my mum afterwards we decided we got the balance right. The photos look lovely and they show what the day was like. The day was about celebrating and confirming our love in front of friends and family - it wasn't about being fashion models and posing for endless photos. We spent £800 on our photographer which is, believe it or not, the lower end of the scale. I suppose if you had spent £2000 you might have different priorities.
I feel really torn about this because part of me wishes I had some of the shots I have seen in other people's pictures and dreamed about - but the other part of me thinks I had a wonderful day and it felt like enough time was taken away from our guests to do photos as it is, without having spent even more time on posed shots. I think it is a decision everyone has to make for themselves, but definitely one worth being aware of and considering in advance.
- Don't try to control everything (or anything!) on the day. You have done all the hard work to get to this point and on the day it is time for other people to be in control - just relax and go with the flow.
- Try to keep hydrated. It is easy to forget to drink water but I had a period in the evening when I felt really unwell and I think it was due to getting overheated and dehydrated.
- Don't have high expectations for your wedding night...you will be exhausted but hyped up, and will want to talk everything over a million times but may not feel quite like doing any other marital activities!
- ENJOY YOURSELF! I had so many comments on the day about how I was beaming every single second and just radiating happiness. People said they had never seen such a happy bride. That was nice to hear
- Finally - adrenaline can get you through anything! Even a broken bone.. :rotfl::rotfl:
On that note, I will post some pictures in a minute. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has offered advice/support/general chat over the last years, ESPECIALLY the amazing April 2013 brides. I will miss you all and this board a lot, now that I have to settle down and just be a boring old wife! It was so much fun being a bride-to-be and having this board to discuss everything on made it even better
So thank you 0
Comments
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Ok...I will include pictures when photobucket will play ball!!0
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Stay on here daisiegg! Help out those of us who want a wedding
It sounds like you had a fabulous day - looking forward to pics - and remember, you will only be a "boring old wife" if you allow yourself to be.
Chin up, and lots of hugs!
HBS x"I believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another."
"It's easy to know what you're against, quite another to know what you're for."
#Bremainer0 -
Hope those have worked and are not huge
They are not all professional ones, a couple are just phone ones but I like them!
I have tried to avoid ones with other people in as I don't feel comfortable posting pics of people on the internet without their permission...there were many guests and a beautiful wedding party but I won't post pictures of them without their knowledge or consent! 0 -
Aw lovely, its nice to see you in the flesh! You look beautiful x:j I love bargains:jI love MSE0
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Aww congratulations Daisy. It sounds and looks like you had your perfect day. Thank you for sharing :j0
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Congratulations and thanks for sharing - as a bride-to-be, it's lovely (and sooo helpful!) to hear how someone else's day panned out in detail.
Looks like an amazing day - wishing you a very happy future together xxx MFW 2017 #123 2018: £1,852.64/£39,200 (4.7%)0 -
Ahh what lovely photos! Looks like a fab day
HBS x"I believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another."
"It's easy to know what you're against, quite another to know what you're for."
#Bremainer0 -
Mrs Daisiegg - the photos are wonderful!!! You both look so happy and I hope you have a fabulous and long life together.2024 Fashion on the ration 32/66 used0
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Thanks for all the comments on my photos, you are all very kind I must say I love looking at them! 0
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Thanks for sharing your special day with us, you looked beautiful in your dress.14 Projects in 2014 - in memory of Soulie - 2/140
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