Reflections

Well... the big day has been and gone. It's all been a bit of a blur. Last Friday, the preparations were frantic, what with the dress still unfinished the day before the wedding (THANK YOU, mother-in-law!!!), the favours still not decorated, family and friends all wanting a piece of our attention and just general, last-minute panic. I admit my nerves were thin, worn and when the DVLA decided that that day was a good day to yet again annoy me with their inefficiency I broke down in tears.

By 8pm all was done and ready.

The favour idea got thrown out of the window and instead, I decorated the lot with piping icing in lots of different styles, from the abstract swirls of black with roses in the centre to cheesy phrases like 'love, love' love' and one or two that actually showed a picture of cheese with the caption 'some cheese'. Now I have approximately 80 pizza box holders here, ready to be crafted into something entirely different.

The dress has been finished with the help of my mother-in-law and it has been the first occasion I have ever heard that woman swear like a sailor. We went for the easy option in the end - loops made from ribbon, silver decorative ribbon to cover up minor faults at the back opening and a new modesty panel as the original one was nowhere to be found, and when I did, it was too short anyway.

The guest book got spiced up a bit with some card prompts I stole from the internet (questions like 'What are your 3 top tips for a happy married life' and 'What should we definitely do in our first year together?') and a variety of cheesy stickers, which, to my surprise, actually worked very well. Our guest book is about 2/3 full and most people have taken the time to fill in an entire page full of good advice and well-wishes.

It had been a lot more work than anticipated, but we got it all done in the end.

As you can see, I am now waiting for pictures. Our photographer has given us a glimpse only, with one beautifully captured picture of the cake cutting process, in which the Husband and I shared a moment of oblivious joy in the form of a broad grin on our faces.

What few pictures I have have been added here, but hopefully, over the coming days and weeks we will have a big selection.

I will keep this blog up and running, occasionally, with a few updates and possibly more ideas, should I have the opportunity to participate in other people's weddings in the future. There have been a few things I have probably missed, which I will also post when the time is right.

However, I will not give up crafting, and the wedding preparations have shown me just how much joy and, yes, relaxation I get from dabbling in various arts. I have just opened up another craft blog here, where I will post regularly on whatever it is I am making in our newly-wed household, from Christmas cards (upcoming!) to wall-art and the many cakes and bakes that make life just that little bit more interesting.

Please do visit my new blog, The Crafty Times, leave comments and enjoy.

Hen Night

Sooo. A DIY hen night. There will be 2 crafts involved in that evening: staying awake long enough for the children to go to bed and being able to mix cocktails. That's right, while the men go out to party us women will stay at home and have a girly night in.

The idea is as simple as it is practical - we will get all the cheesy movies out that we'd never normally get to watch, put on some gruesome face masks, paint nails and drink home-made cocktails.

I've spent the last 3 days putting together a list of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, making a shopping list, using a major supermarket chain to work out the estimated price and I am now slowly going around different shops to put together all the items at a reasonable cost. Any leftovers from the budget (at the moment around £250) can be used towards face mask ingredients and morning-after breakfast.

I'd recommend to everyone to learn the basics of EXCEL. Not only is it a brilliant program to organise lists, but it has also helped me keep track of our wedding budget and now the hen budget. You really don't need to be a genius to work it, after all, I've managed. The two price columns add up the cost of all the items (estimated and actual) for me and the box to the right of the table helps me keep track of how much money I have saved from the estimate. The box stays green so long as money is saved and goes red if I go over budget. Simple, really, and I've done something similar for the wedding, with the sheet counting up all our savings and deducting every bill from it.

As you may guess from the list, our cocktails include, among others, Pina Colada, Mojito, White Russian, Cuba Libre, Long Island Iced Tea as well as non-alcoholic Fireside Flamer, Cranberry Cutie and Chocolate Cocktail. My cocktail-mixing days have been a while, but I am sure you can't unlearn these things.

Guest Book

As one of our many, little accessories, we will ask the guests to write a little something into a guest book, as a wedding keepsake. Of course, the hope is that as the night goes on and the guests will become ever more intoxicated, that the entries will be somewhat more interesting by the end of the night.

Guest books cost £15 pre-made. They are essentially blank pages in a note book saying 'Our wedding Guest Book' or similar at the front.

I found that a little insulting (the price, that is) and bought a note book for £2.50, blank pages and all. The ribbon was already attached, so all that was needed was some marker to write at the front and a few gemstone stickers to make the flowers. 30min work, if that, and £12.50 saved in the name of beating that wedding price tag.

Dress the First

Phew. I've finally done it. I've started on the big dress. No toile; time is precious enough as it is.

The dress I've chosen as my basis for the top is the one shown above. There are so many advantages to it, including being able to lace it up two ways (three when I have had my way with my dress), so that any misjudgements in size could be forgiven, provided that I see myself as too fat rather than too thin. So good chance it'll go well :-)

There are a fair few things that will have to be altered. There are the sleeves. I love the dress, always have done, but always had to cover up the sleeves as they just didn't fit. There is elastic band at both ends; I will remove the one on the inside and make the sleeves larger to cover my shoulders completely.

The top will be shorter. It will finish at the hip and then the dress will flare out from there. If there is one thing the trial dress from the previous post had shown me it is that a frontal shot of a longer-than-waist top will make me look huge.

The skirt may include some layering. I haven't decided that yet. I have an underskirt if I decide against that, but if not, the layering will add volume.

After a curious measuring session, I have drawn the first two patterns onto squared paper. That, in itself, didn't prove too challenging, although exactly what the shape of the ruffled bit is, is a bit of a mystery. Again, I rather err on the side of caution and go too big rather than too little.


I then pinned the patterns to the silk and started to cut. Satin is bloody hard to cut! Or my scissors need some sanding. There will be some fraying, but hopefully the large seam allowance of 1.5cm will more than make up for that, given that it will only be worn once.

 Am I a fool? Maybe. But it will be fun while it lasts.

Frustrated!

Why oh why is it so hard to find a simple, plain corset? I am not buying online. I have tried every single lingerie shop, clothes shop and brides shop in the area. It's not that small. Really. But nothing.

So I got fed up enough to decide I'll have to make that myself, too, despite the fact the very thought scares the hell out of me. I have, however, one advantage over the skirt issue: I have found a decent sewing pattern online.

So off I went to Halfords in weather that told me that today, even the sky couldn't be bothered to decide whether to snow, rain, or just be done with it all together and decided on a measly compromise which got me wet and miserable.

In Halfords, there was nothing even approximating steel ribbon to be found, but then, I had a brainwave! Steel rulers! They're durable, stiff enough to last the evening, but just bendy enough to be shaped into corset bones. And, looking at pictures on the internet now, they appear to be just the right size.

I also got a Sainsbury's TU Shapewear dress in hideous nude (does the inside matter? I needed stretchy material and Hobbycraft is shamefully short on those!), in L rather than S for the extra inches of fabric.
There is enough satin to cover the corset, inside and out, if necessary.

Dividing the Plans

Thankfully, we're both uncomplicated people. We have both decided that we're not wedding fayre people - frankly, the thought of spending hours discussing flower arrangements would make me just want to get the whole thing over with, and that is not the sentiment I would like to have attached to the big day.

We're both deciding on the venue together. We have separate guest lists, but we do talk about who we'd like to invite to which bit of the wedding. There are, however, some areas we're in charge of ourselves.

'I sort out music. You can be in charge of flowers and stuff', were the words he said. He does have a wider taste in music than I do, although I don't find much of what he listens to objectionable. When going through his playlists he asked me yesterday whether I'd like to pre-approve what we listen to. For a moment I was tempted, but I decided that it would be unfair as he had given me pretty much free reign with the invitations and decorations. So, instead, I told him I trust his choice. Plus, his mum will be there.

I may sort out some of the food. For the most part we will probably end up with catering as our oven is small and the landlord still hasn't got the grill fixed, but I am seriously considering making the cake. I am a good baker and it's really not that difficult to shape some icing. The real issue is the time. The dress won't need to be fitted, my hair doesn't take that long as I have the advantage of natural curls and I don't wear too much make-up anyway. But we'll get married on a Saturday by the look of it and it's likely we'll be up to our eyeballs in work during the week. So when would I find the time to bake? Having said that, I'm not a big sleeper at the best of times and may be too nervous. It's yet to be decided.

I wonder how many people make all decisions together and how many divide things up and just trust each other? I once had a colleague who got dragged to different fayres, shops and markets every weekend for months on end. My worst nightmare, really; I like quick decisions and let's face it, they're quicker when you don't have to compromise.

It does help we're not too fussed about the details. We are looking at life beyond the wedding day and what really counts is how we spend that time. Not so much the party itself. Over-planning can only end in disappointment.