Tuesday, 21 June 2011

Decoration

I went shopping for a rucksack and boots the other day, and wandered into The Range in Cardiff to have a little look around. The story ends with me spending an reasonable amount of money on a variety of lanterns. It's quite a pretty mix really; there are lots of vintage bird-cage type candle holders, some battery-operated polka dot paper lanterns (look better than they sound), multicoloured glass jars with wire handle things to hang them from branches... the works, really! Also went to Ikea and bought lots of little tea light holders to put on the tables- they were a real bargain. While I was there Mum started talking about flowers, so I bought two cheap plain glass vases. So that's that sorted...
I've also had some recommendations for a ceremony venue (still going to have the shindig-affair in R.E.N.E.W garden). Someone mentioned Rock Park in Llandrindod to me, and I thought that might be a nice place to have a wedding. Clearly need to discuss this with Liam though!

Sunday, 8 May 2011

Lanterns and things...

I found these: http://www.asianideas.com/birdcage-candle-lantern-and-place-card-holder.html. I was going to just bookmark them, but they're such a lovely idea I thought I should post it here.Also looking at paper lanterns, because I'd like a few strings of those. The website I've been looking at looks good, and apparently the ship to the UK too.
All I have to do now is get the money together to buy what I'd like. That's not going to be too hard seeing as we have nearly a year and the biggest things are paid for *super happy*.

Friday, 6 May 2011

Oh, and...

I changed my mind about the colour scheme. I'm thinking ivory (dress), brown (Liam's suit) and various pastel shades (i.e. floral bunting, pretty wild-flower-type-things, multi-coloured table decorations...you know what I mean).

Two things down... two thousand to go!

So I found the perfect wedding venue (or my Mum did, to be perfectly honest), and I have my dress. I'd go so far as to say that they're probably the two biggest things to get sorted; everything else feels like I just have to do it, rather than decide on it. I already have in mind what I want the day to be like, it's just finding the things that will make it happen. Finding is easy when the internet was like your left arm growing up. Always there, not always useful. Anyway, let's end that analogy there shall we?

So, venue. It's a relatively local sustainability project called R.E.N.E.W., which is located just outside Newbridge, Powys, on the way to Rhayader. One of my Mum's friends actually runs it, and while they were all sat around talking about my wedding plans (as you do) he suggested the project for the venue. They already do various fĂȘtes and celebration-type things, but never a wedding before.
Anyway, to describe it, it's basically a Victorian walled-garden, the top half of which is dedicated to growing organic food, while the bottom half is the clear ground for the marquee and fire pit, with plenty of space to run around in. You can get through a hole in the wall on one side, where you come out onto a path that either runs left through a forest, straight on to a river or around to the right to another (more beautiful) forest walk which takes you to a Victorian ornamental pond. He's said I'm more than welcome to decorate it however I like, with bunting and lanterns etc. The only reservation is sky lanterns if it's been particularly dry, as he doesn't want to cause a forest fire. Which is fine, because there's a river for water lanterns if I choose to do something like that.

I'm excited, I hope you can tell! And the best part- well, not the best part, but a good part considering our minuscule budget- is that because it's a not-for-profit, charity-run site, he's not charging me my soul for it. I really recommend looking into other things like this if you know of anyone else getting married.

My dress is beautiful. I'm not going to share any more about it because it's a secret! Shhhh! Well, only a secret to Liam.

So that leaves quite a few other things to do, like book the registry office (no church wedding for us heathens) and get pretty things to decorate venue and people. Currently searching Ebay for floral bunting and the likes, but Etsy will definitely get more than it's fair share of use I imagine. Especially now Paypal have made it easier to pay for things. I hate Paypal.

I also need some wedding invitations making... but an idea of designs would be useful first.

Sunday, 13 February 2011

More decisions...

We came to the decision at some point when Liam was visiting that we don't want a big wedding with all the bells and whistles. We want a small ceremony, followed by a small gathering. It's so much more us... and then we can spend the money that we haven't spent on a silly, big wedding on an amazing honeymoon :o)

Sunday, 23 January 2011

Giving notice of marriage or civil partnership

Taken straight from

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Registeringlifeevents/Marriagesandcivilpartnerships/DG_175717


It is a legal requirement to give notice in advance of marriage or civil partnership. Your notice is publicly displayed for fifteen days, after which the authority for your marriage or civil partnership can be granted. Each notice is valid for one year, but if you decide to change venue, new notices must be given.

If you are having a civil marriage or civil partnership, you both need to go to your local register office to give notice. If you plan holding your marriage or civil partnership in a different area, you should also contact the local register office for that area before you give notice, to ensure that officials will be available on the day.

This is where we plan.

The really difficult thing about planning this particular wedding (not that I've ever planned one before) is being so far away from each other. My intention is to make this a platform upon which we can pop all of our good ideas, and thus get ourselves a good idea about what it is the other person wants from this insanely complicated day!
From the really big things, like a venue, to the minute details such as what our invitations will look like... hopefully this way we'll be able to spend time discussing it while were apart, rather than have our short time together overtaken by wedding plans.
I'll get the ball rolling, then, shall I? It would be prudent to have a list of all the different things we need to consider. I've scoured the internet for such a thing, and have come up with the following:


  • Decide on a date
  • Decide what kind of wedding we want: big, small, outside, inside?
  • Who do we want to invite? Naturally this will have to be kept private, lest snooping family members stumble upon it and get their red pens out!
  • Do we want it in the morning, or the afternoon? Maybe even the evening! Let's go nuts.
  • Thinking realistically, how much can we afford? Just so I don't go overboard looking at ice sculptures and trained swans...
  • Book the venue and all the other bells and whistles that go with it, like someone to marry us and somewhere to have a reception.
  • Wedding invites!
  • Sort out my wedding dress and a suit for the bearded one!
  • Colour scheme? Egads! I suppose if I must...
  • Flowers and little pretty things for the tables.
  • Marriage License! How does one obtain one of those? An investigation.
  • Caterer
  • Photographer(s)
  • Apparently I can have a "wedding party" who will do stuff for me? Sweet.
  • At this juncture many people recommend buying other people clothes... You can all wear whatever the hell you like! Sorted.
  • Music for the wedding and for the reception.
  • Accommodation for anyone not local
  • Honeymoon plans, anyone?
  • I hear the "wedding party" would like gifts too. I suppose that's only fair considering all the things I'll have them doing.
  • Wedding cake
  • Decorations for the reception
  • Wedding day transportation
  • Wedding day hair and make-up and things.
Oh my god, this is ridiculous. There is so much more to do. I actually can't face writing it all in there; I'll just deal with it when the time comes! But this is a fairly solid start...

I know I'm going about it in all the wrong order, considering the above list, but I would really like sunflowers.


So there we go.