One day, two beautiful weddings

Sep16

The sun was shining on a fabulous June day and there was a sweet smell of lavender in the air as the guests waited in The Gardens, Yalding for the wedding to begin. The Gardens opened in 2016 as an exclusive wedding venue. The 12.5 acre site is divided into 16 distinct areas, representing garden design through the ages. There are also extensive orchards, in keeping with Kent’s long history as the garden of England. Five bridesmaids in cornflower blue and a beautiful flower girl sprinkling rose petals along the grass aisle, signified the arrival of the bride. She looked radiant in a classic style, satin dress with pretty lace bodice, on the arm of her proud father, who escorted her to the round pagoda where her beaming fiance awaited her.

The service was lovely with one particularly entertaining poem by Taylor Mali “How falling in love is like owning a dog”. Once pronounced man and wife, the happy couple were showered in confetti from pretty die cut cones and then they led the way to the barn, where Pimms and bucks fizz were on offer. While the adults caught up with each other and photos were taken, the children were amused by various traditional lawn games, including croquet.

Soon it was time to be seated in the two interlinked tipis which are connected to the barn, for the wedding breakfast. The sides of the tipis were rolled up, bringing the outside in and the flower/garden theme continued with the tables each named after a flower with said flower as a centre piece. Favours were seeds of the flower your table was named after which I thought was a wonderfully unique idea.

The cake was also in keeping with the theme and made by the bride and groom themselves. It was four tiers, topped with fondant roses and was sat on a section of tree trunk.

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Rather than just the usual guest book, they had also provided a camera and printer so that guests could put a picture of themselves in with their message.

We had to make an early exit, after the speeches sadly, as unbelievably we had been invited to two weddings on the same day! This does have a fashion bonus however as had they both been on separate days, I would have had to buy two outfits and therefore I could justify spending a little more on a dress and was able to treat myself to this amazing Ted Baker number that I had my eye on, totally guilt free! I accessorised with silver sandals from Dune and a silver clutch.

The second wedding was that of one of my best friends so I was gutted to have missed the main part of the day but pleased to be able to come and celebrate with them in the evening.

We arrived at the venue, a golf club in Shoreham, Kent, to see a number of classic cars in the carpark. The bride’s own white cortina had been used as the bride’s transport, while her brother’s rover had been used as the Groom’s car and one of her Dad’s army trucks for the bridesmaids.

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The theme of her wedding was festivals. Each of the tables had been named after classic albums, with the record itself serving as the table identifier. The individual name cards were designed as festival tickets. Favours were cleverly fitting with the theme and the couple’s married name – a travel coffee/tea cup.

The bride looked even more stunning than I could have imagined in a vintage style lace dress with low back and cute buttons, leading to the beautiful train. She had accessorised with a long gold and pearl necklace down the back – very Chanel. The bridesmaids wore long grey, embellished dresses that were 1920s inspired. The flowers in hers and the bridesmaid’s hair were fake but looked amazingly realistic.

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We arrived in time for the cutting of the cake. The cake was all marzipan with a lego bride and groom.

The first dance then followed; a classic Dire Straits number, Romeo and Juliet. It was beautiful to see them dancing and having fun together as man and wife.

They had a fab dress up box and polaroid camera, so guests could all do pictures and stick them in the guest book, similar to the idea at the earlier wedding.

Two beautiful couples and two beautiful weddings, I wish them both, all the happiness in the world. I will leave you with a quote by Mignon McLaughlin that I think sums up marriage perfectly: “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person”.

A Hollywood Wedding

Mar19

February saw one of my very good friends, Alanna get married. Her and her husband couldn’t be more well suited. Since we were in school she had always had a fascination with India and dreamed of visiting which she went on to do. Her husband’s roots are in Goa and he proposed to her at the Taj Mahal. Due to the Portuguese influence, many Goan people are Catholic so even the couples religious beliefs are aligned. They are both lovers of travelling and both selfless, giving people, a true Hollywood couple.

Despite being a cold February day, the sun was shining for them when we arrived at the church in Earlsfield. For the day I chose to wear a floral dress from Chi Chi London. I paired this with some silver sandals which I have had for many years from Faith and a silver clutch from Asos. For my hair I took inspiration from a newspaper who had done a spread on Hygge hair. Hygge was big at the end of 2016 and its popularity continues. Hygge is a Danish word and essentially means cosy.

The groom wore a white suit with a pale blue cravat and waited smiling at the altar without any of the usual signs of nervousness. When the bride entered on the arm of her father, she looked stunning, a true princess. The dress had a corset top embellished with delicate jewels and then there was a magnificent full taffeta skirt, finished off with a full length veil. Following her down the aisle were her two triplet sisters in stunning Karen Morgan dresses, accessorised with red shoes and a red flower in their hair.

The service itself was charming with well-chosen hymns and readings including ‘Give me Joy in my Heart’. Outside the church there was a confetti parade which was lovely given that many churches no longer allow this.

Me with the bridesmaids

The bride and groom’s transport for the day was the grooms lovingly restored VW beetle. Anyone who knows me well, will be aware of my life long love of these classic cars and seeing his brought back fond memories of my own car which I sold a few years ago due to it rusting away on our drive.

The groom being fanatical about films could have chosen no better venue for the reception than Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire. The studios were built in 1935 around a large Grade II listed Victorian house, Heatherden Hall where the reception was held. Pinewood has been the location of many films from Oliver Twist, to Carry On, to Bond to Harry Potter. It was named Pinewood due to the number of trees in the area and the connotations of wood to Hollywood – the US film epicentre.

The wedding breakfast was held in a grand room, complete with a tall, ornate Victorian ceiling. The tables were named after lines from films, such as ‘You remind me of the babe’ from Labyrinth which we sat on and ‘You don’t have to kiss me’ from Rocky which was the top table. I’ve listed the other names and I’ll leave it for you to work out which films they come from, let me know in the comments when you do!

‘What? Fuzzy Wuzzy was a woman?’

‘You are and always shall be my friend’

‘Hey you guys!’

‘Wax on, Wax off’

‘Luminous beings are we..’

‘What we do in this life echoes in eternity’

‘It’s not the years. It’s the mileage’

‘Get to Da Choppa!’

‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift’

‘Pop the trunk!’

All the stationery encapsulated the couples love of travel, designed like an airmail envelope with a background of a world map with hearts marking places they had travelled to together and love themed postmarks including one showing date and location of the engagement.

During the delicious meal of leek and potato soup, lemon and garlic roasted supreme of chicken and fruit crumble, the background music was all film anthems including tracks from Star Wars and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The speeches continued the theme of the movies with the best man speech being set out in episodes. The grooms speech almost brought me to tears as it was clear that he is totally devoted to her.

The cake was beautifully made by the Groom’s sister-in-law. It picked up the pastel blue in the grooms cravat in the icing flowers on it and was topped off with two doves symbolising everlasting enduring love being that doves mate for life.

The cutting of the cake is a significant part of a couples special day not least because it is the first task that the couple undertake together. For the cutting, the couple used a sword. They then fed each other some cake which represents them nourishing the relationship for the rest of their lives and providing for each other.

The cake cutting was followed by the first dance to Phil Collins’ ‘A Groovy kind of Love’.

The evening entertainment then got well underway and we all enjoyed lots of dancing and karaoke from some of the groom’s family.

It was a truly wonderful day, well deserving of an Oscar and I wish the two of them a very long and happy marriage. They are the proof that there is someone out there for everyone, who is their perfect match. Congratulations guys and enjoy the Italian honeymoon.

‘Cat’ and ‘Cowie’ tie the knot!

Oct30

It was a sunny September day when we arrived at Easton Grange for the marriage of my school friend Cathleen Kobylinski to Alan Cowie. I’m not sure whether the choice of month was intentional but Polish tradition (Cat’s heritage) dictates that months containing the letter ‘r’ will bring good luck to the marriage.

The venue was a working farm up to a few years ago when the farm moved to a different site and in 2012 the buildings were renovated to create this idyllic private venue. The refurbishment has tried to pay homage to the original use of the buildings and because part of the barn which is now the bar was used as a dairy – there are many cow pictures, which unintentionally added to the word play the couple were going with. Each invitation was decorated with a cow and a cat linking tails and this theme was followed through on the order of service and place cards.

For the day I wore a pale pink and cream A-line dress from Oasis accessorized with gold sandals which were purchased some fifteen years ago in River Island and were probably the first pair of shoes which I really splashed out on. A goldy cream satin clutch finished off the outfit.

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The groom fidgeted nervously as we all sat and awaited arrival of the bride who was fashionably late as tradition dictates. The aisle between the chairs had been scattered with petals in pink and orange which were the colour themes with one bridesmaid in each of the colours. She glided in on the arm of her father, looking beyond stunning in a white lace number with delicate diamanté straps and a corset back which was laced with peach ribbon to match the grooms peach tie. The peach was a good choice as that can be seen as a combination of pink and orange so tied the two colours together. We also caught a glimpse of her gorgeous blue shoes.

The service was non- religious but was beautiful. I particularly liked the two readings that were picked ‘The Promise’ by Eileen Rafter and ‘I Like You’ by Sandol Stoddard.

We showered them in confetti and had all the obligatory pictures just before the sun was replaced with drizzle. Reception drinks were Kir Royale which I adore and the canapés were delicious – especially the mini fish and chips.

The table plan followed a Rugby theme as well as entwining the couple’s backgrounds – English and Australian. Our seats were swiftly located and we had a beautiful favour of traditional polish gingerbread. The centre pieces on the tables included eucalyptus to represent her Australian birth country, roses to represent England and thistle to represent Alan’s Scottish roots. From the ceiling pink, orange and white paper lanterns had been suspended.

Speeches were given with the bride’s father making the toast in Polish and a very insightful and humorous speech from the best man. Dinner was then served. I must comment on the puddings which were amazing. There were 3 mini puddings – cheesecake, chocolate brownie and fruit with shortbread.

Feeling suitably fall all the guests retired to the bar area where the bride and groom had been very generous in giving a free bar. It was a wonderful chance for me to catch up with my oldest school friend who attended too and now lives in Manchester – I could have talked all night.

Evening food was served but to be honest I had no appetite left. Instead of the usual visitors book to sign they had opted for a large Mr and Mrs in black which we wrote well wishes on in a metallic pen.

The groom’s sister was responsible for the wonderful wedding cake – mainly cupcakes with one round cake topped with a peach flower. The cake was cut and then it was time for the first dance. I always await this point as I think it is so interesting to find out what song couples feel best represents them. On this occasion, ‘Your my best friend’ by Queen was chosen.

The party was then officially started. I liked the fact that they had a live band which is somewhat unusual nowadays. The band were called Shine On and were very good, performing a variety of indie and pop music. Guests danced into the night and there was added fun with complementary glow sticks.

I’m so pleased that two lovely people have found each other. The wedding was a beautiful day and I wish them a long and happy marriage.

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An Eastern Journey – Part 2

Jan17

Leaving Japan, I felt a bit sad, despite having seen all we aimed to apart from an Onsen, which is a traditional bath and a Geisha show. It had certainly been a whistle stop tour, as you can read in part 1 of this blog and I would dearly love to return.

Initial impressions of Hong Kong were not that favourable as it is such a stark contrast to Japan. Whereas Japan is ordered and exceptionally clean – Hong Kong is more like London with much hustle and bustle; after all it is the most densely populated metropolis in the world. I was however excited at the prospect of meeting up with our friends Pelham and Karina who had invited us here to celebrate their wedding – the away fixture as they called it – see previous blog of their English wedding

Hong Kong was under British rule for almost 155 years, until July 1997 when it was handed back to China (with the exception of about 4 years during WW11 when Japan occupied it). Hong Kong is on China’s South Coast and is split into three main regions – Kowloon, Hong Kong Island and the New Territories.

The name Hong Kong is believed to have its origins in a Cantonese phrase meaning ‘Fragrant Harbour’. This may be due to the fact that incense factories were all around the north coast of Kowloon and the produce was stored in Aberdeen Harbour for export, before Victoria Harbour had been developed. It is also nicknamed the Pearl of the Orient due to the way the skyscrapers in Victoria Harbour light up the night sky. Hong Kong has a kind of fusion culture which is a combination of both Chinese and British culture; however since its independence, their own unique culture is developing and people will proudly refer to themselves as Hongkongers. The official languages are both Cantonese and English.

We purchased an Octopus card which is by far the best thing to get on arrival in Hong Kong and is similar to the London Oyster card, in function but the similarities end there – the travel using it is incredibly cheap and the small initial outlay lasted us for our entire trip.

On our first night, the guys from England headed out drinking with Pelham whilst the girls visited ATUM; a dessert restaurant, with Karina. The restaurant was located in Causeway Bay and we boarded a tram to travel there from our friend’s hotel. The tram is an icon of Hong Kong, running since 1904 and the largest fleet in the world to be exclusively double decker trams. Once inside the restaurant we were bought an appetiser drink in a test tube. Then began the business of having a dessert designed in front of us. It was an absolutely amazing experience to watch the art works being created, especially when they made ice-cream with liquid nitrogen. Eating it all was even more enjoyable. We then joined the boys in a roof top bar on the IFC mall, overlooking the harbour.

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The following day, Karina’s uncle had arranged a busy day of sightseeing. It was fantastic to have a local to show us the highlights of the city and he certainly was a character. First stop was Nan Lian gardens in Kowloon. These were stunning gardens with koi ponds and I was able to capture the picture that had been used to illustrate the Hong Kong Lonely Planet guide – a golden pagoda! We then had lunch in the Chi Lin Vegetarian restaurant there that had a beautiful waterfall cascading down the outside of the building.

Golden Pagoda

We boarded the private mini bus, he had arranged and headed to the New Territories and Lam Tsuen wishing tree. The wishing tree is where you tie your wish to an orange and throw the orange into the tree – if it stays in the tree, your wish will come true. The old tree is now too unstable after a branch fell down in 2005, so there is a new tree and only plastic oranges are used, which can be bought from sellers on site. You can also buy a plastic lily pad with a candle, attach a wish and float it on a pond. There were statues of all the twelve Chinese zodiac animals nearby the tree, which was a great photo opportunity.

Next we visited Che Kung temple. The temple is dedicated to Che Kung, a military commander whom legend has it, ridded Sha Tin of the plague. There is a golden windmill by the giant golden statue of Che Kung which people believe spinning the sails of, brings good luck. I had my fortune read there, from a piece of paper selected by which stick falls out of the pot when you shake it, whilst telling Che Kung your wish and one of Karina’s friends kindly translated for me. I felt much better about the impending move after this when he said it would be a safe and secure home but wouldn’t bring us great fortune.

Our final stop was Victoria Peak, the highest point on Hong Kong Island, at 552m – what a view from the viewing stations and even better from the Peak Tower. Sadly we didn’t have time to ride the 125 year old funicular railway, so were taken up and down by mini bus.

Dinner that night was a marvellous experience that I will never forget. The Jumbo Kingdom restaurant is a floating restaurant, moored in Aberdeen Harbour which you travel the short ride to by boat from Aberdeen Promenade. There was an opportunity to dress up as a Chinese Emperor and his wife and have your photos taken which was great fun. The banquet meal was delicious although I declined to sample the thousand year old egg! This is a Chinese delicacy and whilst not literally a thousand years old, it is a chicken, duck or quail egg, preserved for several weeks or months in a mixture of either ash, salt, quicklime, clay and rice hulls depending on the method used. It certainly looks rotten as it is a dark brown colour.

The next day we had a much needed lazy day in the hotel before leisurely getting ready to catch a taxi over to the W Hotel for Pelham and Karina’s wedding banquet. I had selected my Oasis dress in V&A Appleby print as I felt that it had a sort of oriental feel and accessorized with gold sandals and a gold clutch.

Outfit at wedding

On arrival at the hotel, we were greeted by life sized cardboard cut-outs of Karina and Pelham. We were also able to peruse the album of their English wedding.

A red envelope was given to us which custom has it you place money in for the bride and groom. The red symbolises good luck. Opinion on the amount of money to be placed inside is divided; some say it should be digits that end in an even number as odd numbers are seen as bad luck whilst others suggest amounts ending in odd numbers are more favourable because they are harder to divide, hence meaning the marriage should be stronger. The figure should also not include the number 4 as this number is seen as unlucky due to it sounding similar to the word for death; interestingly lots of buildings don’t have a fourth floor because of this. When the bride and groom arrived in Chinese dress – they performed a tea ceremony welcoming their respective in laws.

Following the ceremony we all found our seats for the banquet. In each place was a square purple box with a photo of their English wedding on the front. The colour theme for both weddings was purple. There was much debate about what the contents of the box was, with many people suggesting that it might be soap, but it was in fact tea.

There was a lovely slide show of Karina and Pelham growing up, followed by photos of them together. Karina and Pelham both changed into their outfits from the English wedding. Karina sang a beautiful song to her parents, as well as singing with her Mum when she had changed into a cerise pink gown. There was an opportunity for karaoke and we all went up and ‘helped’ Pelham with a song. The banquet was delicious and seemingly never ending – course after course, after course was brought out. Karina had a final outfit change into a beautiful layered pinky peach taffeta dress.

The banquet ended at 11 so I, my husband, Pelham, Karina and other guests from the UK made our way to nearby Ozone Bar. This is the highest bar in the world at 484 metres on top of the International Commerce Centre. Inside is very futuristic with refractive glass.

On Wednesday following a walk in Kowloon park where we saw turtles and flamingos along with people practising taichi, we decided to add another country to our list and took a boat trip over to Macau. This is a peninsula of China, to the west of Hong Kong and is often referred to as Asian Las Vegas as it is the only legal place which the Chinese can go to in order to gamble. The country has Portuguese roots as it was a colony of theirs from mid-16^th century until 1999 and it is the most densely populated region in the world. It has its own currency of Pataca but Hong Kong dollars can also be spent there. I was most upset that immigration in general appears to have dispensed with the rubber stamp method on entering the country. For Japan, Hong Kong and Macau I simply received a tiny piece of paper (called a landing slip) like a receipt placed loose in my passport. I like my passport to document where I have been and having googled it since, I see no reason why I cannot staple these into my passport as a souvenir.

A local speciality associated with Macau is a Portuguese egg tart; naturally I had to try one from one of the many food stalls. This is an egg custard filled pastry case and I really liked it.

Egg tart

The main site to see in Macau aside from the neon lit casinos is the ruins of St Paul’s cathedral. Only the façade of the 17^th century church remains following a fire in 1835.

After exploring this and Monte Fort which ironically has a cannon pointing at Grand Lisboa Cascino as if it disapproves; we checked out Na Tcha Temple, built in 1888 and a tiny temple behind the ruins of St Paul’s; before indulging in some shopping. My husband bought my Christmas present which was a Pandora bracelet which although it is readily available in the UK came with a charm that is exclusive to Asia. We finished our trip with noodles at Cheong Kei, which is Michelin recommended.

Our return journey from Macau was far from plain sailing. We had to give up on finding the bus back to the port and get a taxi. Little known to us, we had been booked on a set ferry back and we struggled with the language barrier to explain our predicament to the officials. In the end we were forced to pay for a full price first class ticket if we wanted travel when we did. We did get a free meal out of it though.

We rose early the next day to travel on the metro to Tung Chung where we picked up the first departure of the day on Ngong Ping cable car over to Lantau Island. The cable car was officially opened in November 2006 but there was a soft opening that preceded this on 18^th September where only 1688 tickets, each priced at HK$88 were sold as the numbers were considered lucky in Feng Shui tradition. It is a 5.7km long bi-cable ropeway, the first of its kind in Hong Kong and offers 360 degree views of Lantau Island on its 25 minute journey.

The sights of the green mountains are truly beautiful but by far the best sight is of the Tian Tan or big Buddha, emerging from the trees and standing tall, watching over the Island. Upon disembarking the cable car, we took the short walk to the bottom of the 268 steps and climbed part of the way up to the Buddha which is a bronze statue, completed in 1993, weighing 202 tonne and the largest seated bronze Buddha in the world. It really is an impressive sight.

On our return to the cable car we stopped into some of the shops in Ngong Ping cultural village and I couldn’t resist this beautiful dress.

Chinese dress

Our next stop was one of the highlights of our time in Hong Kong as I am still a big kid at heart. We visited Disneyland. The park is small in comparison to Euro Disney but there is a lot of magic packed into a very small area. Even the MTR train that takes you there is decorated with Mickey.

We began by taking the little train around the perimeter of the park before having lunch and I couldn’t resist Mickey themed waffles for afters.

Next I purchased a pair of mini mouse ears before we assembled on Main Street for the parade.

We tried a few gentle rides as my husband is not big on scary rides. We both really liked the Buzz Lightyear ride where you competed against each other to score points for shooting Zurg (which I won) and afterwards had our picture taken with Buzz himself.

Buzz

disney castle

We watched the Lion King show which was fantastic. Before we left we checked out the gift stores and watched the evening light parade on Main Street.

After briefly stopping off at hotel we made our way to the nearby Temple Street night market. This bustling street bazaar sells all manner of trinkets, clothes and other wares and has often featured as a backdrop in movies. There are often impromptu opera performances and fortune tellers however we arrived too late to enjoy those. I did purchase a lovely set of chop sticks and a fake Jade bangle as well as a very cheap fake bag of a very sought after make. Jade is considered by the people of Hong Kong to have mystical qualities. What was even more fun was the haggling with the vendors. When we had had our fill of the pushing and shoving, we ducked into one of the many noodle bars and enjoyed a large meal, washed down with a local beer.

Our final day in Hong Kong had dawned. We headed out to see 10000 Buddha Monastery on Po Fook Hill in the New Territories. It was a very hot day and the hike from the nearest station up 431 steps which are lined with 500 life-size gilded Arhan statues was a very tiring one. Eventually we reached the temple which is decorated with some 13000 gold miniature Buddha’s. There are several other temples and a nine storey pagoda. On our descent from the Monastery we were met by two monks who put bracelets and necklaces on us and blessed us before asking for money; we declined and gave them back the things they had adorned us with.

We travelled back to check out and leave our cases before making our way down to the Victoria Harbour area, named after Queen Victoria. We decided to sample the famous afternoon tea at the Lobby of the Peninsula Hotel. We had to queue for about an hour to be seated and were lucky that they decided we met the dress code as we were casually dressed in preparation for the night flight home that evening. The Peninsula Hotel opened its doors in 1928 and is a bit like Hong Kong’s version of The Ritz. It is a mix of oriental glamour and traditional colonial Britain with beautiful white pillars, embellished with gold. The tea was called Peninsula in Pink and raises awareness of breast cancer and donates to local breast cancer charities for the month of October. There were some pink cakes and we also received a pin badge commemorating it. Whilst we ate we were serenaded by a string quartet.

Our bellies suitably full, we looked for the Avenue of the Stars but unfortunately it was closed. We walked past the Former KCR Clock Tower, a 44m clock tower which was once part of the Southern Railway terminus and onto the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry concourse where we decided to take a cruise on the Star Ferry.

The boat tours all the harbour’s stops and means you get a great view of the Hong Kong skyline, with the Bank of China Tower and the huge HSBC building being two of the sites. The HSBC building is a British designed building which was finished in 1985 and was at the time one of the worlds most expensive buildings. The original star ferry which takes passengers between Kowloon to Hong Kong Island which started passenger services in mid-late 1870’s, still runs and is still a very cheap way of seeing the Harbour.

We then walked back to our hotel via the Rosary Church, the oldest Catholic Church in Kowloon which was consecrated in 1905 and remained in tack during WW11. Since 2010 it has been a grade 1 historic building. Although the mass was all in Cantonese, you could still work out what bit of the service they were performing.

We killed some time over coffee in Starbucks before getting our transport to the airport. I will never fly the late flight again as the airport was so boring with all the shops closing up. As on the way out – I slept for most of the flight home.

I really enjoyed our stay in Hong Kong, despite initial first impressions, but feel I have probably seen most of what I wanted to see there – except for the pink dolphins. It has however aroused my interest further in a trip to mainland China. I really felt blessed to be able to celebrate Pelham and Karina’s marriage with them and wish them many happy years together. Karina’s family couldn’t have made us more welcome and her uncle was a fabulous tour guide. It was also lovely to meet their other friends and family from the UK who were able to make the journey too and I look forward to a reunion with them in London at the end of January.

An Oriental Affair

Oct12

As the taxi wound its way up the wide sweeping driveway and South Lodge came into view, it was clear that this was going to be a wedding of grandeur. South Lodge in Horsham is an impressive country house, which development started on in 1883 with final substantial additions made in 1911. It was used as a hospital during the Second World War and opened as a hotel in 1985.

The wedding was of an old friend of mine to his fiancé who is originally from Hong Kong. This was part one of their celebrations with the ‘away fixture’ as they are affectionately calling it, a Chinese banquet in Hong Kong, at the end of October which we are also attending so look out for a future blog post!

Inevitably as happens at these sorts of events where small talk is a plenty between strangers, the question came up of how I knew my friend. This is always an awkward one as we actually met on Facebook, when we were both single, but when we met up it became clear there was nothing remotely in the way of a spark between us, but we got on and so became firm friends.

For this special day I chose to wear a 1950’s inspired halterneck circle dress, in a red rose print design from Rocket in Rochester. My shoes were my red Sarah Jessica Parker designed heels which I bought some time back but had yet to wear. The outfit was completed with a red envelope clutch bag from Dorothy Perkins.

The ceremony was outside and it was thankfully a beautiful bright sunny September day, albeit a bit on the breezy side. We sat on rows of white chairs that were decorated with colourful pompoms, with a red carpet inbetween, leading to the stunning gazebo at the front. My friend looked the happiest I have ever seen him as he waited for his bride to appear. His suit was accented by a deep purple cravat and cummerbund, to correspond with the colour theme of the day.

We all turned to see the stunning bride in her gorgeous white dress, walk down the steps from the lodge and along to the gazebo. She had 7 bridesmaids which were a vision in their purple dresses.

The ceremony itself seemed quite short but I guess that is because I am used to church weddings. Whilst they signed the register, my friend’s sister played ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri on the piano.

There was then a drinks reception where the champagne flowed freely and there were a number of tasty canapes. Photos were taken whilst we all relaxed and got to know each other. There was an interesting take on the group photo-the photographer laid a rope out in a heart shape and got us to stand around the edge. He then removed it and took the picture – I always had wondered how they do these funky group shots and now I know!

Soon we were welcomed by the toastmaster inside from the gardens, to find our name on the ornate table plan that was a world map, with the tables named after places the couple had visited. It was also decorated in purple and with butterflies – themes that ran through the whole day. The travel theme was also incorporated in the guest book which had a watermark of world map on each page. We then entered a large medieval style room. Round tables were adorned with silver candelabra that had real candles and ivy wrapped around them. There was some debate on our table as to whether or not the candles were real but this soon became obvious when the wax started to drip down. The bride changed into a beautiful traditional gown for the meal, which her mother had worn for her wedding.

The favours were in red and gold silk bags and were Jasmin flowering tea. Yunnan in China is where flowering teas come from but it is unclear as to whether these are an ancient idea or a modern phenomenon. They are essentially dried tea leaves with a dried flower in the middle. When boiling water is poured on the bulb, the leaves open up, revealing the flower.

Following the meal, sweets were brought round with the tea and coffee including macaroons with the couples initials piped on the top. We then retired to the bar and games room whilst they cleared the tables to make way for the dance floor. There was a sweet table, with paper bags that were personalised with the couple’s names in purple text. We browsed the stunning pre wedding photo books – a custom of Asian weddings since the late 1990’s.

Once the room had been transformed, with a black and white checkered dance floor we entered for the cake cutting – the cake was also decorated in purple and butterflies. Following that was their first dance, which was to ‘Fly me to the Moon’. The bride and her bridesmaids who all met at dance class then treated us to a magnificent display of dance.

It was then time for what I had been waiting for – the mixologist! The names of the cocktails were personalised to the couple. The barman would make any cocktail you wanted. Particularly spectacular was the one he set light to. A few cocktails later and a box of props came out which made for some instagram worthy photos.

It was a day to remember; I wish the couple many happy years together and look forward to part two in Hong Kong. It is wonderful to see a couple that compliment each other so well.

A Greek Afternoon

Oct13

The last Saturday in September was my brother Rob and his fiancé Jade’s wedding day. It was a lovely sunny day and mild for the time of year.

I chose to wear this oriental inspired dress from Oasis and paired it with black pointy shoes from New Look and a bag which complimented the pink as well as the black also from New Look. The look was finished off by a salmon pink fascinator. I co-ordinated my husband by dressing him with a matching salmon pink tie.

Guests were taken to the quaint church by a 1970’s double decked bus which a friend owned and drove and they had decorated up with white bows and a mr&mrs garland.

The church itself, All Saints in Foots Cray dates from 1330, although there have been various modifications made since that date. It is a very pretty church with a nice meadow next to it where lots of the photos were taken. It was a church held dear by Jade as her maternal Grandparents were married there some 62 years ago – how lovely for them to see their Granddaughter married in the same church.

The orders of service were handmade and matched the heart theme of the invitations. I loved the fact that their choice of hymns took me back to school assemblies with ‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Whole World in his Hands’. I read a piece from the bible and the second reading was a poem from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and was the first nod of a Greek theme being that the film was set on the Greek island of Kefalonia.

The bride and her father arrived in a lovely Bentley and she looked stunning in her dress which was a beaded top with sweetheart neckline and a beautiful bow around the middle. She was followed down the aisle by her cousin, a last minute stand in for Maid of Honour who unfortunately was ill and 2 wonderful flower girls – Jade and Rob’s 3 year old daughter and their niece who was 2. The 2 girls wore champagne dresses from BHS and little shrugs made by Jade’s Grandma. The flowers were champagne and white roses and were all artificial but you never would have guessed – they looked just as stunning as fresh flowers would. The men in the bridal party had gold patterned ties.

Whilst Jade and Rob signed the register with their witnesses, my Mum’s brother sang ‘Ava Maria’, ‘All of Me’ and ‘How Long will you love me’. His performances were met with a round of applause, something he had not been expecting.

After the confetti and a number of photos, Jade and Rob joined their guests on the bus and we were driven to the reception at Shortlands golf club where we were welcomed with bucks fizz.

Each table had been beautifully laid out and this was where the Greek theme started to shine. The table plan was handmade with a Greek style border around each table. Each table had an olive tree as a centre piece with fairy lights twisted in them, a sign with the table name on and some old black and white photos of Cyprus. The tables were named after Greek Gods, we were sat on Zeus, the father of the Gods. The top table had a hint of my brother’s passion in it as the olive tree sat in a spring from a train that had been sprayed gold. Favours were cream boxes which had your name and a picture of the God whose name adorned your table. Inside were 5 sugared almonds with the relevant meaning, a couple of other sweets and an old Cypriot coin. Also on the table were butterfly social stirrers (something to stir your tea or coffee with a conversation starter printed on it), a quote/fact about marriage e.g. ‘In the words of Groucho Marx, marriage is a wonderful institution but who wants to live in an institution.’ There was also a card describing some of the Greek traditions for a wedding. They had painstakingly cut out heart confetti from Greek newspaper which was sprinkled on the table– tying together both the heart theme and the Greek theme.

The sit down meal or wedding breakfast was a quintessentially English afternoon tea. The company who did this supplied lovely vintage crockery as well as some vintage props and an old suitcase for any wedding cards. Postcards were handed out for guests to write some advice or a memory on for the couple – an alternative take on the guest book. The children were given glass milk bottles filled with lemonade and a traditional styled straw which added to the vintage feel.

The speeches followed and unusually the bride also said a few words as she handed out gifts to the relevant people of the bridal party. It was lovely that they gave gifts to both the fathers and the mothers rather than just the traditional mother’s gift. The father of the bride speech had clearly taken quite some preparation as he talked about the history of the ‘Baines’ name and that of the ‘Michaelides’.

The tables were then pushed aside and a Greek band arrived. Everyone had an opportunity to take part in the dancing and we were particularly amused by a dance the lead musician got my brother and his best man (my Dad) to do. Then it was time for the Greek money dance. It is traditional for the bride and groom to hold a handkerchief between them and guests take it in turns, pinning an equal amount of money on both the bride and groom.

The cake was cut which had been made by my Auntie and had cream roses and a kind of drape that to me resembled the traditional Greek robe. Then the couple enjoyed their first dance to ‘Everything’ by Michael Bauble – a favourite of Jade’s.

After the traditional Greek music there was a DJ and a fish and chip van came to provide the evening food which was a lovely novel idea. The couple really had thought of everything and provided a bucket of gold flip flops for tired dancing feet which I have not seen done before.

At the end of the evening, my husband and I left for the train station, both a little the worse for wear and staggering along with one of the olive trees that I was given as a thank you for doing the reading – we must have looked a sight!

The day was so quirky and unique and it was abundantly clear just how much effort each of them had put into the day. It shows that even when the budget is modest, a wonderful day can be achieved. Jade and Rob make a lovely couple and I wish them a lifetime of happiness.

Bride and Hen

Sep21

A few Saturdays ago, as the hairdresser straightened my locks I was much happier with the end result than I usually am as she went for more of a brown instead of a copper to contrast with the bleach highlights. Normally I wouldn’t indulge myself by having it blow dried and straightened but thought I would treat myself being that it was my brothers fiancés hen do that evening. Have you noticed how you tell your hairdresser more than you probably tell some of your friends? Going to the hairdresser’s is 2-3 hour gossip along with reading trashy magazines and being pampered – pure indulgence!

I carefully chose an outfit for the hen. 1950’s ‘A line’ midi skirts are making a comeback and this Harper skirt from Coast is stunning. I wore it with a plain black vest top to ensure the detail of the skirt was accentuated, some black suede heels and an old favourite – my black clutch with a butterfly embellishment from Faith.

We began at the hen’s home where copious amounts of wine were consumed before we headed to the local Indian restaurant to her called Shampan. Here we furnished Jade with a ‘Bride to Be’ sash.

Cocktails and wine flowed. My Mum tried her first curry and wasn’t overly keen I don’t think but we all had a fabulous night which was rounded off with the fateful shots. We walked or should I say stumbled back to hers, me clutching the half finished bottle of complimentary wine and managing to narrowly miss tottering over in my heels which was more luck than judgement. Once at hers we had more wine before my husband ushered a reluctant me out of the door.

Sunday morning came round all too quickly and I think I woke still drunk! Nonetheless I set about trying to make myself look respectful for the wedding of my husband’s friend in Suffolk.

I wore this green butterfly dress from Oliver Bonas and accessorized with gold heels from Oasis and a gold bag also from Oasis. I opted for green (graffiti) Urban Decay eyeshadow to finish my look. I bought my husband a tie to co-ordinate.

The wedding was held at Woodhall Manor – a grade II listed building near Woodbridge in Suffolk. The oldest parts of the manor date back to medieval times and it is simply stunning and set in vast beautiful gardens.

The ceremony was in these enchanting gardens – I had never been to an alfresco wedding before and they were fortunate enough to have a beautiful day for it. The chairs were set out with white covers and purple organza ribbon and white rose petals were sprinkled on the grass aisle between the rows of seats. The groom waited checking his watch by the archway at the front that had bird coups above. The bridesmaids, dressed in purple, a flower girl and two pageboys made their way up the aisle before finally the bride appeared on the arm of her father. She looked stunning in a beaded halter neck dress, carrying a purple bouquet and was clearly very emotional. After they had taken their vows; a white dove flew out from above where they were standing which was very romantic. White doves tend to symbolise love due to them being associated in Greek mythology with Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Doves also mate for life so are seen as symbols of monogamy and loyalty.

Whilst the photos were being taken, we chatted in the gardens with a glass of Pimms and a selection of canapés which included chicken satay, potato wedges, duck, prawns and cream cheese and smoked salmon tarts. Before long we were ushered inside for the wedding breakfast. In keeping with the medieval roots of the house the tables were named after medieval royalty. We found ourselves sat on the table called Lady Jane Grey. Lady Jane Grey was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey – the 1st Duke of Suffolk and great granddaughter of Henry VII. Edward VI nominated her to be queen on his death bed in July 1553, passing over his half sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. Mary claimed the throne some 9 days later and Jane was executed after some delay in February 1554 for high treason. The table plan, table names and place cards all had a purple swirly pattern on them, akin to what had also been on the invitations, to fit in with the colour scheme as well as giving a medieval grandeur feel to them. I sat for the first time at a wedding table with a place card with my married name on it which I was quite excited by.

The favours were small jars of hot chocolate, topped with white chocolate and marshmallows, which was different and they were decorated with a purple ribbon. As well as these they also had an old fashioned sweet table with little paper bags adorned with their names. The table was popular with both adults and children – you can’t beat a flying saucer or a fizzy cola bottle!

The meal was lovely and was followed by some very emotional speeches before we retired to the bar to start the evening do. They had a band which I thought was fantastic and quite unique these days. The band were called The Someones. The band formed in 2005 and have played over 700 gigs. They perform covers from 60’s up to the present day. They certainly made my day when they played Dakota by Stereophonics. The couple’s first dance was to Savage Garden’s ‘I knew I loved you’.

Much drinking and dancing ensued before we returned to our rooms in the manor. We woke in the early hours to find the light on so I guess we must have passed out when our heads hit the pillow. It was nice to wake naturally on a Monday rather than to the sound of the alarm. Breakfast was taken at the manor with all the guests and the bride and groom.

We wished them a happy honeymoon and then drove into Woodbridge to take coffee with a friend of mine and her partner who live nearby before driving home. Congratulations Adam and Esther – may you have a long and happy marriage.

Look out for another wedding blog soon on my brothers wedding!

Happily Ever After

Jul20

The day of our wedding arrived at last and I woke on 17^th May 2014 to sun streaming through the curtains, creating dancing rainbow patterns on the ceiling as it reflected through the crystal chandelier; a sign that mine and Phil’s weather magic still reined supreme. I ate breakfast whilst reading through the marriage service and felt like I would burst with excitement; I wondered how Phil might be feeling getting ready at his parents house. The preparations all went smoothly and whilst my bridesmaids and I were made to look our best by Emma Smission, http://www.emmasmisson.com/ the adults amongst us enjoyed sipping champagne.

My maid of honour wore a Coast baby pink dress whilst my 2 flower girls (my nieces) wore Ivory dresses with a pink sash from Demigella and pink satin shoes from Marks and Spencer. Their look was finished off with a tiara each from Accessorize and a basket with ‘happily ever after’ on it and filled with pink and cream rose petals. Along with the rose petals, the florist also delivered a tear drop bouquet of pink roses and white lithianthus’, studded with pearls for me and a slightly smaller matching bouquet for my maid of honour. All the flowers were paid for out of my paternal grandmother’s inheritance as a tribute to her, being that her passion was gardening.

I have blogged about weddings before as the avid readers amongst you will recall and now I finally get to write about my own special day and share with you all the details – big and small which made it the perfect fairytale wedding!

Order of Service

A traditional rhyme, apparently originating in England in 1898 states the things a bride should wear to bring her good luck ‘something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.’ My makeup completed and hair pinned half up with a pearl tiara; I now slipped into my wonderful Berketex gown with lace train (something new) and Mum and my maid of honour laced up the back. I then added the all important blue Manolo Blahnik shoes (my something blue) a pearl Tiffany bracelet, pearl stud earrings and my Mums pearl necklace (something borrowed). I slipped the garter onto my leg, worn by my maternal grandmother and my Mum on their wedding days (something old). As I caught my reflection – I could hardly believe it was me and I truly felt like a princess.

There was only one thing missing from my perfect day and that was my paternal grandmother but Phil being as lovely as he is, knew I would be feeling like that so left a little note saying that my Grandma would be there in spirit through a cream rose which my uncle would wear.

Mum announced that the carriage had arrived and was generating much interest from shop keepers and neighbours alike. As I stepped through the front door I felt like a star with people snapping away on cameras and mobiles and my Dad joked that they probably think I am famous, travelling in such a carriage. My maid of honour commented that it all felt like a dream. The white horses pulled away and we were off to the church – I have never seen my Dad looking as proud of me as he did that day. It was a surreal journey with cars beeping at as and more photos along the way.

My page boy (my nephew) carried the rings on a ring cushion which had the words ‘happily ever after’ on it and him and my bridesmaids followed me down the aisle. As Dad walked me towards my waiting husband to be, it felt like slow motion and it was an amazing feeling seeing so many people in the pews all filled with love for the both of us. I have never understood the concept of crying with happiness until then, when I felt myself well up. The first glimpse of my husband to be was wonderful – he looked so handsome and smart in the tails we had hired from Well Suited.

The service seemed to go by in a flash and included some beautiful readings. The priest commented on my manicure and said what a good idea it was to mark the ring finger with gems! Before I knew it, Phil was lifting my veil and we had our first kiss as husband and wife.

We then enjoyed another ride in the carriage to take us to the reception at Chatham Dockyard. Upon arrival we were handed champagne and then whisked off for photos whilst our guests enjoyed canapés. In true fairytale tradition, we were presented to our guests on the balcony of the Commissioners House and gave everyone a royal wave.

People found their seats on the table plan which I made from a mirror shaped like a fairytale mirror in Snow White. The Toastmaster then announced our arrival to the wedding breakfast as the newest Mr and Mrs Thompson. The tables had been set out more beautifully than I had dared to imagine. Each table had a tall martini glass filled with flowers and crystals draped around it. Every chair had a white cover and a baby pink bow around it courtesy of Ambiance. Each table was named something fairytale related with the top table being ‘Happily Ever After’ of course. Place cards matched the invitations and order of services with a prince and princess on, purchased from Confetti. Each person had a carriage shaped box as a favour which was filled with 5 pink sugared almonds and a note to explain the significance of them. For those who don’t know, they stand for health, wealth, happiness, long life and fertility. The meal was delicious thanks to A Form Catering with portions sizes which left no one feeling hungry. The meal was followed by speeches. My Dad, the best man and my husband all gave wonderful speeches especially given that they are all quite shy. I was truly touched by all of them.

More photos then followed and evening guests began to arrive – the day was flying past. Our cake was made by my aunty and was magnificent with a fairytale castle on the top. We had our first dance to ‘Because you Loved Me’ by Celine Dion. As we shuffled about (I say shuffled as the dance lessons never materialised) I felt like the luckiest woman on earth. I then also had a father, daughter dance to ‘Have I Told You Lately’ by Rod Stewart. Again I felt so happy to see my Dad so happy and full of pride. Later in the evening we had ‘Someone Like You’ sung by my friend which was beautiful.

It pains me to have to report that by the end of the evening my shoes had been abandoned as they weren’t that comfortable but I still loved them and being a die hard Sex and the City fan it seemed only right to wear the shoes that Carrie married Big in. I personalised the shoes with diamante saying ‘I do’. We didn’t leave until well gone midnight, ironically being that Cinderella had to leave the ball on the stroke of midnight before the spell was broken. The spell of love will never be broken for us two.

We asked for no presents as we really have all we need and just wanted people to enjoy themselves but people were so kind to us so I want to say thank you to all of them. Those who brought a card will have noticed another fairytale detail in the hallway, a card box shaped like a carriage. The guest book and pen also had ‘Happily Ever After’ on it and we greatly enjoyed reading all the messages people left for us.

People all tell you how quick the day goes and that is so true and I am only grateful that we decided to have a video of the day as that was wonderful to watch and take in things you missed the first time round.

A wedding is just one day but a marriage is for life. The wedding day is steeped in tradition but every bride aims to add an original, personal touch; I only hope I succeeded. The fairytale themed day was the best day of my life and one that I will look back fondly on until my dying day. Thank you to everyone who helped to make it so special but especially to Phil for becoming my husband. I look forward to many happy years together. “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” Mignon McLaughlin.

Heel Today, Gone Tomorrow!

May6

The countdown to the wedding has truly begun – only just under 2 weeks to go! I won’t bore you with the hours, minutes and seconds from my countdown timer!

The 12th April was my hen party. A hen party is a party given in honour of the bride-to-be and therefore is not hosted by the bride herself although she may assist in the organisation. The hen party stems from the stag party and its modern form began in 1960s and is related to gender equality. Before it meant a pre wedding party; hen party was used to describe any all female gathering and is mentioned as far back as 1897.

I cannot thank my best friend and maid of honour, Catriona, enough for the effort she put into the event which really was one of the best days of my life. I enjoyed getting ready and chose to wear my thyme Allure dress from Coast which I wore as maid of honour at Catriona’s wedding. I matched it with some silver sandals and some big silver hoops.

The party began at Hyatt Regency – The Churchill – a hotel near Hyde Park corner, awarded the Tea Guild of Excellence in 2012. I was furnished with the usual regalia – a baby pink sash with bride to be on it and my Mum bought me a flashing tiara complete with veil.

We took afternoon tea in the Montagu restaurant, named after Elizabeth Montagu – a writer who lived in Portman Square 1781-1800. We were ushered to our table by some lovely, impeccably dressed waiters and when I sat down and saw the menu – my eyes were drawn to the Sex and the City Par-tea without realising that that was exactly what was planned for me! The savoury treats were themed to New York with a mini hot dog and bagel. There was also a mini burger in honour of one of Carrie’s boyfriends in the series – ‘Jack Burger’.

Carrie and ‘Burger’

The sweet offerings included a cosmopolitan jelly, a sickly sweet iced cupcake, a mini New York cheesecake and a biscuit shaped as a shoe! We began with a Flirtini (a champagne and pineapple cocktail) which was most refreshing and then could choose a tea, each named after one of the 4 girls. I’m not a lover of tea but went for the one named Carrie of course.

After a most enjoyable catch up with friends and family alike – a few left and the remainder of us made our way to the tube to Liverpool Street. We were so packed in, you couldn’t have fallen over if you had tried. We then had quite a trek to the mixology event but it was well worth it when we arrived plus we burnt off some of the afternoon tea calories!

We were welcomed with a ginger cocktail. 3 more friends joined and the hunky teacher showed us how to make 3 different cocktails. He looked like Enrique Iglesias and the more we drunk, the more he looked like him. As he explained the method of making the cocktails he frequently dropped in a double entendre or two and before long we were all in fits of hysterics. He also punished anyone who talked whilst he did, with a shot of his choice. The class finished with each team making a cocktail and I had to choose the one which I liked the most. It was a tough call but in the end I went for the one that was the easiest to drink. He also showed us a party trick with lighting a cocktail and alcohol on the bar and then sprinkling cinnamon to make sparks. All I can say is he must have good insurance to trust drunken women with matches!

Hunky Teacher

Selecting the winning cocktail

Playing with fire

By the time we left we were all a bit worse for wear but although drunk I knew I wasn’t that drunk that I couldn’t walk properly – however I was struggling. Finally I realised that my shoe had in fact snapped and the heel was hanging off but it took me a little while to convince the others of that! The shoes were Ravel sandals which may explain why Ravel went into administration! Luckily Catriona had some flats with her so I changed into them.

We finally made it to Loop – a club near Oxford Street with a multi coloured rubix cube style dance floor. The girls treated us all to a mega large cocktail in a huge martini glass.

They then did a Mr and Mrs Quiz with me where for every wrong answer I had to drink a shot – I got more wrong than I should have done as it was too loud to hear all the questions properly. 2 more friends arrived and we all partied the night away. My fiancé picked me and his two sisters up which I am very grateful to him for as he found himself lost in London!

A truly fabulous day/eve and I am so fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family – thanks guys – you all mean the world to me.

Easter came and went, later than usual this year. It was a real challenge to not over indulge but the final weigh in showed I won the competition, losing an impressive 1 stone and 8lbs so that helps with the motivation; although the mini eggs are calling. I arranged an easter egg hunt for the kids which they greatly enjoyed complete with cute signs from Laura Ashley. Needless to say it wasn’t as big as the largest egg hunt in Guiness Book of World Records which was 501000 eggs searched by 9753 kids in Florida in 2007 which makes for over 50 eggs each – they must have been seriously hyper on all that chocolate! For more information on egg hunts and Easter bunnies please refer to my post ‘Loaded Spring’.

My Easter egg hunt

Over Easter weekend, I indulged in another afternoon tea with a friend who couldn’t make the hen. This time it was the Prêt –à-Portea tea at the Berkeley Hotel – perfect for all you fashionista’s out there! This tea started in 2005 at the infamous Berkeley Hotel. The Berkeley began as a coffee house in the 1700s on the corner of Berkely and Piccadilly, became known as a hotel 1897 and moved to its current location in Knightsbridge in 1972. In 1920s it became the first London hotel to offer air conditioning.

The treats are inspired by current catwalk trends so we enjoyed munching our way through the spring/summer collection 2014 which included Christian Louboutin pigalle spike turquoise shoe biscuit – complete with the signature red sole, a Mui Mui chocolate handbag and a wonderful representation of Dsquared mini strapless dress with hot pink lampshade hat which was essentially mango bavarois with blueberry compote. Also represented were Karla Colletto’s red swimsuit, Oscar De La Renta pistachio dress and many others. The tea was topped off with pink Laurent Perrier courture champagne. We were given a handbag shaped goodie bag when we left which included 2 of the sweet treats. A wonderful afternoon which made you feel just like an a list star at a catwalk show.

With our goodie bags in the Berkeley

Karla Colletto swimsuit

christianlouboutin-pigalle-3120159_U015_1_1200x1200

Louboutin pigalle spike shoes

Model 2nd from right wears Dsquared dress with pink lampshade hat

Designer sweet treats – Dsquared, Colletto and Louboutin

The other week, I waved goodbye to my beloved Beetle. It was sad but for the best as it was just rusting away and I didn’t use it much anymore but it’s gone to a good home and I cheered myself up with these pair of LK Bennett shoes in similar colours to the car with some of the money.

My beloved beetle

Right I am now going to continue adding to my honeymoon wardrobe – happy shopping!

Once Upon a Time…

Mar24

Hi Readers, so sorry I have been absent from the blogging world for the last 7 months or so – wedding plans seem to be consuming most of my spare time.

When we got engaged in July – we both decided we would get married in about a years time – plenty of time to plan you would think? Apparently not; as we made our way round venues and a wedding show people kept saying we had little time to plan and some venues get booked up two years in advance! We started to realise that July and August are very popular and so decided to bring our wedding forward and set the date as 17^th May 2014 – after all whenever you get married in the UK, sunshine cannot be guaranteed. After bantering some theme ideas around, we selected a fairytale theme and the colour baby pink to compliment that. My other half bought me a fairy snow globe with May written on it as a cute souvenir.

Funnily enough the first thing I booked was the horse and carriage with The Ostler, as when I made tentative enquiries with some companies, the dates were going fast. I opted for the pumpkin carriage with white horses to fit in with the fairytale theme – I thought this would be fabulous until a couple of people likened it to the one Jordan had at her wedding – that rather took the shine off it somewhat! Next we spoke to the church as it was very important to my other half to get married in the church he grew up in; it’s a shame however that most catholic churches are not very attractive from the outside it seems but at least our one is nice inside and of course it’s what it represents that is more important. We then viewed three reception venues – The Barnyard, Hempstead House and Chatham Dockyard. Hempstead House was our favourite until we saw the Dockyard and were blown away, therefore deciding it presented the best value for money and the best photo opportunities. A-Form caterers were selected from the approved ones and with our parents we enjoyed a lovely taster meal of the wedding breakfast. The chef at A-Form is a real character. We both then felt we could relax a bit, knowing the big things were sorted.

A word of advice for anyone planning a Catholic wedding – you need to visit the local registry office to apply to get married – we assumed the church sorted all this but clearly not because Catholsism is not the official religion of the country. Thankfully the Deacon mentioned it to us or the marriage wouldn’t have been legal! We went and were quizzed to check we were a proper couple and thankfully we passed, lol.

At the end of August I went to Rome and Pompeii on a girly trip with my Mum. We had a fantastic time – the weather was beautiful. We visited all the major sites – the Colosseum, the Forum, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. We were both told off at the Trevi Fountain for putting our feet in – we were trying to recreate a picture my Mum had had back in the 70’s when she visited with friends! I threw in a coin with my right hand over my left shoulder, as is tradition and made my wish, (sorry I can’t reveal it as I want it to come true). It is estimated that approximately €3000 a day are thrown in it.

The Colosseum

The Forum

Trevi Fountain

We also visited the Vatican city where we admired the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. We were also fortunate enough to see the Pope’s address to the people.

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

We travelled to Pompeii – it was amazing to see a preserved Roman town, which gives a wonderful historic insight. The town was buried in ash during the 79AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius and because of the lack of air; many of the artefacts had been perfectly preserved when it was first rediscovered in 1599. That same day we also walked up Mount Vesuvius – now a world heritage site. It was quite a trek and there was a distinct sulphur smell as you neared the crater. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last 100 years – it last erupted in 1944.

The ruins of Pompeii

Mum and I in Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background

We enjoyed some delicious Italian pizzas but the best meal we had by far was at ‘That’s Amouré’, a restaurant that was recommended to us, near to the Trevi Fountain. The atmosphere was amazing with pictures of many film stars adorning the walls and the food was outstanding. The restaurant was named after the 1953 hit by Dean Martin.

Once back in good old Blighty I rounded up a couple of friends and my Mum and we went in search of my perfect wedding dress. It was so much fun trying on different styles and I was amazed to find that the princess style I thought I would go for really didn’t suit at all – I felt as though I couldn’t put my arms down by my side. ‘The one’ was discovered in Berketex and genuinely made me feel like a true princess especially when the tiara was added, as after all, as my little niece says, ‘a real princess needs a tiara.’ I will say no more as I don’t want to give anything away when my partner reads this blog.

As a tribute to my very dear Grandma, we decided to buy the wedding flowers out of some money she had left for me – that way I can still feel she is part of our special day. I realised when the florist visited that I know very little about flowers but we eventually selected pink roses which are my favourite and some other complimentary flowers.

An added expensive that you don’t think about are chair covers for the reception; we sourced these from ‘Ambiance’ – white with a pink organza sash around; they are really so expensive for what they are but they do finish off the venue nicely. We are lucky enough to have my wonderful aunty who is making our cake as a wedding present and it will have a fairytale castle on it, just as I always dreamt. The photographer we are using is ‘Owens’ in Petts Wood as I have known the owner Jim for years.

It was time for me to purchase the most essential item in my eyes – my wedding shoes! I have known for some time that I wanted the blue Manolo Blahnik’s which Carrie wears in the first Sex and the City film. I located them on Barney’s New York website. When they arrived I was like a kid in a sweetshop, my hands shoke with anticipation as I opened the lid and unwrapped them from their dust bag. It was a real Cinderella moment as I slipped them on and they fitted perfectly. They were somewhat of an extravagance but shoes are my thing after all and a bride must have her something blue! My something old will be my Grandmothers garter that my Mum also wore on her wedding day and my something borrowed will be my Mum’s pearl necklace.

Christmas came and went and on 28^th December we attended my cousins wedding. I had long agonised over what was suitable attire for a winter wedding and eventually settled on a deep purple Coast dress, with a fur coat, silver sandals and a silver box clutch.

It was a crisp, sunny day and it was lovely to see the quaint church still decorated with Christmas decorations. The bride looked stunning and one thing that was so romantic and unique was that before the ceremony, a song with the bride talking about her love for my cousin over the top of the lyrics was played. Snowflake confetti was given out to add to the Christmas feel – only real snow could have made it anymore perfect. By far one of the most innovative ideas I thought were the table decorations. Each table had a set of white branches, wrapped in fairy lights with baubles on and on the baubles were the guest’s names. The Christmas theme also stretched to tables named after the reindeers and cutlery in stockings. We danced late into the night and my other half and I were the very last to leave the party, retiring to our hotel room.

January saw the start of the diet. The aim is to lose 1 ½ stones by the first dress fitting on 28^th March. This time there are no fad diets – just calorie counting, keeping to 1500 kcal per day wherever possible during the week – swapping chocolate for fruit. If I can’t lose weight for something as important as my wedding then I never will. My fiancé is also doing it so I have some support and his sister and her husband too. The winner gets £20. To date all of us are doing well but I think my weight loss is starting to slow so maybe time to incorporate some more exercise. Other important beauty preparations have also begun to try and ensure I look my best on the day. I am conditioning my hair with argan oil and using a Chanel eye cream and Clinique face moisturiser. I am also planning to start whole body moisturising and wearing cotton gloves and socks to bed on my hands and feet.

A few weekends were taken up with doing the wedding invitations. I think we were both breathing a sigh of relief when they were sorted – despite the numerous printer problems when we did the information sheets. It was such a stressful task – it was nearly divorce territory before we even made it to marriage! Lol! We chose a collection of invites named ‘once upon a time’ on the website Confetti which have a silhouette of a lady and a man. Just a few more replies to be received and then we can start on the table plan.

We went to get the groom measured for his suit a few weeks ago and after he went with the tail coat I wanted, I did let him off the top hat! The suits are being hired from a place called ‘Well Suited’ in Dartford and I highly recommend them as their prices are far more reasonable than Moss Bros. Last weekend we had the first of our 3 marriage classes with the Deacon which were quite interesting. This first one was around our family influences on our behaviours and what love means. Love is a word used so often in society but when you try to define its meaning it is actually quite difficult. The Oxford dictionary defines love as ‘a strong feeling of affection.’ CS Lewis said ‘love is not an affectionate feeling but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained’. My definition was caring for someone more than you care for yourself and I also made the point that love grows.

In the spirit of love and fairytales one can hardly resist Olympia Le-Tan’s Love Story book clutch – a limited run of just 32. If like me your budget doesn’t quite stretch to the £1050 price tag – why not opt for this black one from Aldo, a snip at £35.

My next blog will probably be after the hen night in April now so enjoy the early spring sunshine and perhaps dare to bare and get your feet into this season’s must have mules! I fell in love with these ones from Topshop.

blahnikgirl

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