Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Hearing our banns being read on Sunday 19th December in St Mary's Buckden was a really special moment for me and Tom.  It was very strange and surreal, weird and wonderful to hear our names being read out and for them to say a little prayer for us as we prepare for marriage.  I'm not too sure how but it took the 'realness' to another level again.

It's now just over two months until the wedding and it really is coming up quickly.  Things have really quietened down now until January, when the final planning will start.

We had a lovely weekend with our mums and dads and mums and dads - to be!  Despite being the snowiest day of the year (and maybe the coldest too!) Mum and Dad drove up to stay with Tom's mum and dad, they came up to see South Farm, visit some of mum's family, spend some time with Tom's mum and dad and then to hear our banns on the Sunday.

I'm sure that mum and dad loved South Farm, it feels very familiar and homely to me and Tom now and it was good to show them round so that they know where they are on the wedding day and can help direct people if they need help.  A wedding was taking place that afternoon so we got to see it set up again for another wedding which is always useful.  Here are some pictures of our gorgeous venue in the snow!

In the evening, Ann had cooked us all a delicious roast pork dinner, and we'd taken up the weddings wines for everyone to try as well.  It was quite a nice moment for me to see our families eating together and we chatted about lots of different things - wedding and non wedding related.

On Sunday we all headed out in the snow to St Mary's - it looks stunningly beautiful in the snow and everyone was so welcoming to us being the visitors.  I got to light the advent candles and our banns were so special.  Mum was crying and I felt very emotional hearing them.  Goodness knows what we're going to be like on the actual day! 

So now my thoughts turn to Christmas and the New Year.  We've got mum and dad coming to ours on Christmas Eve and then Victoria and family coming over in the afternoon.  We'll all go to Rachael's on Boxing Day.  I really can't wait to have a bit of a break, spend some time relaxing and enjoying my families company.

There are a few bits that we're planning to do over the break, we've got to sort out the music for the reception and coffee drinks, go through our engagement photo shoot to decide which images we'd like to use.  Finally we have to pay South Farm - so a very merry Christmas from them!!

January sees us enter into the final stages of planning and I can't wait!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas - Here's to the most fabulous 2011!

Mrs Elliott to Be!

xxxxxx

Ho Ho Ho!

It's been a fairly quiet couple of weeks wedding wise for us as we're kind of now in that limbo stage between the big things all being booked and we're not quite ready to do the detailed sections as we're waiting for things like numbers.

It looks like we're going to be able to have a nice non-wedding related Christmas which is what I'd hoped for, mum and dad are coming to our house and we're cooking for the first time on Christmas day.  It's the first year that Tom is not going to be with his family this year and it's going to be quite strange with just mum, dad and us two - but we're starting our own traditions as we're going to be a new family of two next year, so it will be really nice to do it this way this year.

Wedding wise - we're just sorting out final payments which is very scary but will be nice to get it out of the way.  We're also really enjoying all the RSVP's coming in - it's so exciting to hear that people are looking forward to coming!  Other things that we've got to sort out before the end of the year is men's suits, finalise all the wedding wine and Champagne (which we've VERY much enjoyed doing and almost there with!)  We're also going to spend some time over Christmas sorting out music, table plans and guest book.

We've also set up a little gift list for those of you that might want to contribute instead of giving us money.

Click below

Helen and Tom's Gift List - 30527

In other news, my passport arrived on the weekend and it was quite a surreal, yet special moment for me - despite the most hideous picture (may give Tom second thoughts it's that bad!!) seeing my new name in print and all official was just another thing that makes this lovely journey even more real for me and Mrs Helen Carissa Elliott is getting closer and closer.

Come January it will be all go again I think as we'll then be starting to come onto our supplier's radars and we can get the fiddlly bits finalised.

Under 11 weeks to go now, we'll soon be on the 10 week countdown!

Love

Mrs Elliott to be

xx

Just back from the Post Office...

Invitations - Done!

Please come everyone...

xxx

Kissing and Tasting

We had a gorgeous wedding filled Saturday which started with an early Macdonalds breakfast (note to self: This will not help you looked toned and beautiful in your wedding dress!) and then drove, in the absolutely freeeezing weather to Hampton Court Palace for our Engagement photo shoot with our Best Main: Iain and his photograph buddy Greg.

 

Iain is an extremely good photographer, he has all the kit and has done lots of photographic work for a variety of different clients.  He'd never done this before and him and Greg are looking into doing weddings professionally so we were more than happy to be guinea pigs.

 

We chose Hampton Court Palace as it's a beautiful location and it's also somewhere we went to fairly early on in our relationship with Mum and Dad.  Tom's mum and dad used to bring him there lots as a child and I'm really interested in Kings and Queens of England - so it was the perfect location for us. 

 

I'll give you photos later but suffice to say that it was so much fun!  We took several changes of clothing and just messed around.  I was quite nervous at first as it's a strange feeling to have a camera pointing at you the whole time and kissing and hugging in front of it - but it didn't take too long to relax and start to enjoy the experience (kissing and hugging Tom for hours isn't too much of a chore actually!)

 

Iain and Greg did a GREAT job - we've had a sneak peak at some of the photos and they are amazing, I'm really happy with them and it will be so lovely to keep them for the future.

 

In the evening Iain and Jenny and our neighbours Rob and Heather came over for a wedding wine tasting evening.  At our tasting night, we bought a selection of their reds and bubbly so that we can decide on what to drink for the meal, reception and toasting drinks.  We'd also bought a selection from various supermarkets so that we could decide if we wanted to pay corkage and bring in our own choices.

 

The results were really surprising and we've now decided on our bubbly selection - the reds need a little bit more trialing but I don't think that will be too difficult for us at all!   I think we're almost there with the whites too so that's another tick on my list.

 

Helen xx

 

 

Three months and counting!

Friday 19th November in the afternoon was spend with a large mug of tea and Lettie - one of the South Farm wedding planners and we went through all the little details about our big day - from the napkin choice to canapes to arrival times to disco details.  It was a really excellent opportunity for me and Tom to visualise our day, think about how things will work in terms of timings and feel reassured that we're on the right track and really getting there in terms of our plans.  We had one of our last sneak peaks inside the barn which is still so beautiful and then headed back to Ann and Tony's in the seriously foggy weather.

 

We left feeling really confident, happy that the South Farm team know what they are doing and on the day, we can leave all the worrying to them (and prob a bit for Iain too!)   We then had a bit of a break from Wedding Planning for the rest of the weekend and spent some lovely time together watching Harry Potter at the movies, enjoying some cheese and wine with Ann and Tony's wine club (A rock and rock finish at 2am!) and Chinese take away with a film on the Saturday night.   Here is me at Harry Potter with a VERY large tub of popcorn and drink!

 

I think that the planning meeting has put me into a bit of a detail frenzy as now I'm really thinking about the finer details like what to take on the day, what needs to be done the days before in the run up, what info we need to give to our bridesmaids and groomsmen and just thinking about the whole day as a whole, rather than each little bit in isolation, I'm really enjoying this bit as it makes me hugely excited to think what we'll be doing in the hours and days beforehand.

 

Invites going out before the end of November and I THINK that Tom's booked the honeymoon today - yay, yay, yay!

 

Other bits to now start thinking about are, table centres and decorations, other stationary items, My new 'Mrs Elliott' Passport (loving my new signature!)  timetables for the day and then a lot can be left until January - when we really get to the nitty gritty!

 

Love

 

Mrs Elliott to be

xx

My Very Original, Last Single Lady Birthday

It's 100 days to go today!

This time 100 days ago we were just getting home from our holiday where we got engaged. so we are half way though our engagement. I can't believe that in the same amount of time again we will be Mr and Mrs Elliott, it's quite scary, I'm feeling more and more excited as the days tick by and also have a strange nervous, excited and ohmygodimgettingmarried feeling in my tummy every time I think about the big day.

It was my birthday on Saturday, and what a gastronomic experience it was!  It was our menu tasting at South Farm, so a really original celebration for me this year.  Tom's lovely mum and dad drove us to the venue, we'd never seen the venue in the dark before, driving up the drive, the trees were all lit up with little sparkly fairy lights, it just looked beautiful.  We entered to Elderlini's and Canapes and sat down to talk to two other couples, lots to discuss, compare and contrast and the night started well.

We then moved on to the barn where it was all set up as if it was a real wedding.  It looked so welcoming, warm and friendly and we sat down to the first course.  The way that the evening worked was that each couple were given two tasting plates, each with four mini dishes on them, coupled with a glass of wine with each tasting plate.  At the back of the room were demonstration plates so that you could see how each dish would look in a full portion size.  So all in all, me and Tom sampled 8 different starters, 8 different mains, 4 different wines (as well as house wines on offer all night) and 8 different desserts.  As well as two buffet tables set up with lots of other bits and bobs so that you could see how a buffet table would look!

It was such a feast and some of the dishes were absolutely gorgeous, others were surprising and not what we would have thought or anticipated.  There were some that were not our thing (mainly the fish for Tom) and others that we loved but maybe were not right for a wedding party.  It probably gave us more questions than answers but in a really good way.    We have our planning meeting on Friday which should sort out a lot of our queries and we can nail down the finer details

We had a nice chat with a couple of the people round our table and really tried to get lots of people's opinions on the dishes, rather than just our own.  I had a couple of 'moments' being in the barn really made me think about our special day; the next time that we'll be doing that - I'll be married - scary stuff!  It was really lovely to spend the evening with Tom, we had such a laugh and mostly agreed on everything, which was helpful.  We bought a few of the potential wines at half price so that we can sample them later, we need to make a decision on wines and Champagnes: whether we get them from the venue, or source them ourselves and pay corkage - I don't think that will be too much of a chore!

Here is a picture of me; the birthday girl with my yummy cake, made by my mother-in-law to be!  My last birthday as a single lady.

Until next week 

Helen xx 

Another week ticks by

Happy Tuesday!

We had a lovely birthday weekend for Tom, which involved lots of family and friends, burst tires, 70th birthday celebrations, cheese and port, a fab Nigella recipe, a killer 31st hangover for Tom and two exhausted people by Sunday evening!

It also involved a little bit of wedding stuff as well (surprise surprise)  We bought Tom's wedding band, its a very simple palladium court ring.  It's a timeless, classic ring and I think it's beautiful.  I also bought Tom a very special wedding gift, which I can't talk too much about on here, but suffice to say that I really hope he likes it - I've been saving for a very long time to be able to get it for him and hopefully it will make up for all the gorgeous gifts that he's given me.

Our Invitations, Order of Service, Menus and Thank you Cards are currently with a fantastic printers that I know will do a great job.  They have been designed for us by Stu, who did our logo as well (his work is still not done but that's another story!)  Hopefully they will arrive in the next few weeks so that we can send them out to all you lovely people - then there really will be a wedding!

It's my birthday on Saturday and it's going to be one like no other that I've ever had.  Tinged with a touch of sadness as it will be my last one as Miss Helen Amos.  We've got the tasting evening to attend, where we get to see the venue set up for a wedding, see the Front of House staff in action, and taste all the yummy food and wine that we can choose from.  The venue have told us to arrive hungry as it's going to be a feast!

Next on the list to get ticked off is Honeymoon, sending out the invites, confirming final guest list and evening guest list, and then I think we might have to start thinking about Christmas - which we are hosting this year for Mum and Dad.  I don't want our wedding to spoil our Christmas celebrations and hopefully we'll have been very organised and up to speed with everything so that we can take a week off to relax and enjoy Santa.

Love Mrs Elliott to be
xx

I'm a little bit excited today...

Tom bought my wedding ring last night!  Its the most beautiful Pavé Diamond Ring in Platinum to match my engagement ring, it's got 18 little round cut diamonds around the top and I'm absolutely in love with it.  In the last year I've gone from no diamonds to quite a few now, I'm such a lucky girl - Thank you Tom xx

I also arrived into work this morning to a really exciting email from my big boss at work.  He often goes to Bangkok and Thailand and the only bit of the holiday that Tom is involving me in is this first part so I wanted to ensure that I get us somewhere really perfect for the start of our honeymoon.

He's pulled some strings at The Grand Hyatt hotel in Bangkok and managed to get us a fantastic rate, upgrades and VIP status at the hotel for three nights of our honeymoon!  It's got a magnificent Spa, outdoor pool on the rooftop, gorgeous views over Bangkok and we've got access to their club lounge which means we get canapes and evening drinks in the evening before we go out!

I'm looking forward to this bit so much now!

Coming up in the next few weeks; booking the rest of the honeymoon, purchasing Tom's wedding band, shirts and tie.  We have our tasting evening at South Farm as well as our planning meeting the week after.  We're getting ready to send the invitations out and we're starting to think about the remaining fiddly bits.

Love

A very happy Helen

xxx

Yay Yay Yay

Four. Months. Today. That is all I have to say.

The Journey Continues...

I thought I'd start with a favourite photo for me to remember my amazing engagement holiday.... no real reason except for that!

After a bit of a wedding lull, which was actually quite refreshing and gave us some time out, we've got back into it a bit more in the last few days, its becoming easier now that the big decisions are made, although still lots of fiddly bits to sort out and decide - but these are the good decisions like how many diamonds I'd like on my wedding band and what dessert we'd like to have!

Reality is starting to hit now and I'm getting really excited about the actual day.  I'm getting used to becoming Mrs Elliott - although that still looks very weird in print!  I'm walking myself through the day and many things are giving me big butterflies.  When my school friends booked their accommodation and when people talk about travelling up to the venue and what they are going to wear; it's really making me believe that this is actually happening and I'm getting married!  Its such a lovely, nerve-wracking, exciting, poo-in-my-pants scary feeling!

We've chosen the ties for the Groomsman which are really stylish,  We've got a good idea about what wedding rings we'd both like and we're moving forward with our invitations now ready for send out late November/early December. 

Tom is going to sort out the honeymoon details, as this is something that I would like to hand over to him and trust that he'll choose us somewhere fantastic, which I know he will.  He did an unbelievable job with the engagement so I know I'm in safe hands (Tom - no pressure!)  It's going to be so amazing just to get away from it all for a couple of weeks and totally relax as newly weds.  I'm going to change my passport before we go so that I can travel as Mrs Elliott - I can't wait!

We have our menu tasting on my birthday!  The venue have a really cool way of doing menu tastings as they invite everyone who is having a wedding in the next 6 months to the venue for an evening, where the barn is set up for a wedding so you can see what it will look like, decorated etc.  They then lay out lots of different dishes from canapes, starters to mains and desserts for us to look at and try.  The wine flows freely and you can buy any other wines on their list for half price to try at a later date.   They have warned us not to eat much beforehand as its a massive feast.  I can't wait for this birthday treat - very original this year.

Helen xxx

Woooooooooooowwwwoooh - my planning is on fire.....

We are on fire at the moment, with regards to planning that is! All the important things are booked or in progress - I think! My dress is being made as we speak, it’s going well and the clock is ticking away. Less than five months to go until our big day!

I got a beautiful invitation through the post yesterday from Rachael and Victoria for my Hen Party - I don't know any more details as I've just handed it over to them and left myself in their hands; I cannot wait!  It will be really nice to spend some girly time with my friends and family.

I've become the haggling queen and I don't think that me and Tom have booked anything yet without asking for a discount or added value and we've got some absolute bargains - It really is true that as soon as you say the W word that prices are just hiked up for some reason.  Asking for a discount isn't as bad as I thought it would be and Tom has given me some good tips on things to say and do.

We've found a lovely florist that will do the majority of our flowers.  Everyone seems to think that it's hilarious that I want a giant white pouffy ball bigger than my head.... but that's what I'd like and apparently as I'm the bride - that's what I can get!  Our flowers are going to be hot pink gerberas and white roses, we're not too sure in what combination yet but it's a definite work in progress.  Hair and Make up is also sorted.  Tom's found me one of his old school friends; Sam, who is a make up artist to the stars - I've had to cut down on hair budget to afford her but she looks great and I want my make up to last all day so hopefully she'll be good.

We went back to the Church and to the Venue and it reconfirmed our decisions; they are both so beautiful and its going to be magical spending our wedding day at them.  We tried some of their delicious canapes and had a chat to some of the staff at South Farm, everyone was really friendly.  We had a look round the cottages and the bridal suite took my breath away - gorgeous!

So left to do now:  Honeymoon, Men's suits, Rings, Flower girl dress, lingerie and honeymoon outfits, (of course!) Gift List, Invitations and then the fiddly organisational bits which can mostly be done in January - we are well and truly getting there.....

The nightmares have also begun!  Anyone who’s been through a wedding of their own will know what I mean. I can only imagine they’re going to get worse too! Others have been having them to apparently:  Vic told me that she dreamt that Tom's mobile rang during the ceremony and she got told off when she had a go at him for answering it - hilarious!

Love Helen xx

No Going Back Now!

I've just returned from the Post Office where I paid and posted out some very special deliveries for our special family and friends.  It was a really nice moment, and I pushed the beautiful envelopes into the post box with a big smile on my face!  Lets hope they all arrive safely and the date is noted in everyones calendars.

Me and Tom have now spend quite a few hours going through all the bits and bobs - at this stage some key decisions have to be made and we seem to have a lot of admin and fiddly bits to confirm/sort out.  Its fun in stages but not so fun in others as it involves lots of reading and talking through and differences in opinions and I guess this bit is the tricky bit and after this we can concentrate on the more fun aspects.

Tom's been great though, I think at times my inner Bridezilla comes out and if I find that difficult to deal with then Tom has no chance!  I often think that Grooms get overlooked in this process and they are taught to say 'whatever you want dear' and I absolutely don't want that.  Hopefully there will be lots of little 'Tom touches' as well as 'Helen' ones too.  We're learning how each other makes key decisions and, just like buying a house, we differ quite a lot, but I also think we complement each other too.

We went to Sandown Wedding fair on Sunday with Karen and Ellie - it was really nice to see Ellie (and Karen!) so excited about different things and also really enjoyable to get them involved too.  We had lots of tastings of cake and chocolate fountains, saw a wonderful fashion show.  Ellie took round a little notepad and pen and even noted down a few dresses that she liked too - what an organised little flower girl she's going to be!

I'm now on the search for a good florist and hair and make up artist/s - seems to be a tricky process as how do I know if they are good or not when I'm not from that area - have to do a little bit more research on that one.

Another bit of lovely news is that the Amos family have booked their cottage for the wedding weekend!  It's where I will wake up on the morning of the wedding and rather than an impersonal hotel, we decided to try and find a cottage that we could rent for the seven of us (and Fred) so that we could relax all together the night before and do things the way that we wanted.

After much trawling (seven is a difficult number!) Rachael found this little gem for us: White House Cottage - a very cute cottage sleeping eight with a lounge, kitchen, four bedrooms with a family room and a nice outside area.  It looks perfect and will be really special to spend that time there with my family before the wedding and getting ready with them in the morning.

We're going back to South Farm this weekend as it's their open day.  It will be great to see the venue again now it's all booked and we can hopefully chat through some other bits with them too.  I'm also hoping to meet a florist there and also go to Church on the Sunday so that we can begin to form a little relationship with them which I think is important before the wedding.

Helen xx 

... and the winner is....

Drum roll please.....

 

Saturday 26th February, 2011 will be the date that I become Mrs Elliott and marry my wonderful and gorgeous fiance Tom!

 

We'll be married at 1pm in St Mary's Church, Buckden and have the reception at the glorious South Farm in Royston, South Cambridgeshire.  The venue really was part of my fairy-tale, with the rustic barn and the elegant house, stunning views and grounds and a great attitude to food and wine that was a must for us.

 

After a long few weeks of planning and a total of 21 venues in total it feels really good to have a date and a countdown to work towards. As you can see from the top of this blog - there is a countdown calendar which is currently at 155 days!!! and that does not sound long!

 

We've also main a few big decisions about photography and videography.  We found the most wonderful videographers ever - Gorgeous Film Productions - their videos look amazing and we're really excited at having them shoot our wedding day.  They will be providing us with a day of filming and then also 'stills' from their repertoire from the day for us to make into photographs.  We will have a photographer for a few hours during the drinks reception to take a selection of 'set' shots which leaves us the rest of the day to enjoy ourselves!  We've got a few excellent photographers amongst our guests so feel that we will have a really nice selection of photos throughout the day, without having to compromise on a videographer too.

 

Our DJ is also confirmed,  we've been told he is a great DJ for our evening reception.  For all our guests reading this - if you have any particular song requests then please comment below so that I can ensure that you are ALL up on the dance floor shaking it like a Polaroid picture!  Yes there will be Take That, Bon Jovi and a bit of Justin, you know what we are both like people!!

 

So now there feels like a plan in place, I already seem to be a bit embroiled in paperwork and admin but we've got a main chunk of the suppliers booked now and its beginning to take shape.

 

This weekend we're off to a Surrey wedding fair with my chief flower-girl and Karen, it will be good to take a look at some more suppliers, maybe get a few ideas and will be really nice to spend some time with everyone.

 

I think that's all to update you on for now.

 

Helen xxx

The Last Leg: Cambridgeshire

The third and last leg of our venue search was in Cambridgeshire and we had seven of them to see including a 'mystery' venue that Tom's mum and dad sorted out for us.

We arrived on Friday afternoon and had a lovely evening with Ann and Tony, some sparkling red wine, steak and lots of cheese - a great start to the weekend.  We chatted lots about the wedding and it was a really enjoyable evening.

Up early on Saturday morning to see the first batch.  We started with Hinchingbrooke House; Tom's old school.  It's a beautiful Tudor country house and homed Queen Elizabeth I, Richard and Oliver Cromwell and The Earl of Sandwich - well if it's good enough for them then it's good enough for the Elliott/Amos Wedding!

There was one problem and that was whether Tom could get over the fact that it was his school.  He was worried that throughout the day he's be distracted by memories - the place where we'd have the evening buffet was where he took his Maths A Level for example and it's hard to get past that fact I think.  So we put this to one side to make a decision on it once we'd visited everywhere.

Next up was Bassmead Manor, a rustic barn really near to Tom's mum and dads - I had high hopes for this, having really liked Cripps Barn in Gloucestershire but we felt let down by it to be honest.  The actual barn was gorgeous, a good shape and size but the gentleman showing us around really wasn't interested.  Basically they just hire you the barn and expect you to do everything else - which is fine, but would leave me feeling nervous and just not in control.  They also didn't have a bar licence for the evening which would mean we'd have to pay for all the guests food and drink - all day and night.  With our guests that may turn out to be costly! - so that one was out.

We then had a meeting with Revered Ally Barrett in the afternoon.  She is a really nice, a bit scatty, but friendly and approachable vicar.  I say approachable because when you are going for tea with the vicar you are never too sure what it's going to be like.  Was she going to grill us on our religious preferences?  Ask us why we don't attend church regularly?  Preach to us about the importance of marriage etc.. We didn't really know what to expect.  So we were a little bit relieved when she was really lovely - talked us through the marriage service, what we need to do next, we chatted about hymns and readings and music and it was a very pleasant hour.  She's penciled us in for the dates we requested and we'll take it from there.

The Old Bridge hotel at Huntingdon was our last venue visit of the day - better than I thought being a hotel but not right for us.

We had a lovely evening with Dave and Kim, they got married in July this year so it was great to catch up with them, get their thoughts on their special day and advice on the run up to our day.  They looked so happy as Mr and Mrs Sacker and it was very exciting to think that we'll be next!

Sunday came and was a beautiful sunny day - perfect for driving round Cambridgeshire.  South Farm in South Cambridge was our first visit and we were in for a treat!  A privately owned, beautifully restored country house and barn.  A working farm since the 19th Century, South Farm is a little bit different.  It really had the WOW factor as we drove up to the venue.  They grow, rear and catch, harvest vegetables, fruit, eggs and poultry, geese and pigs from their fertile gardens and paddocks, monster trout from the lake, and game from the surrounding estate!  Its a complete little gem and we both adored it!

I won't mention too much because we haven't decided yet but it's very high on our lists.  We left, veggie bag in tow, (how cool!) feeling very excited!

We still had three venues left to see.  Ann and Tony's mystery venue turned out to be one of the hotels that had cancelled on me earlier in the week and they had managed to get us in to have a look.  We saw this and another hotel and, although they were both lovely venues, I think it confirmed me and Tom's decision that we just wanted somewhere a bit different.

The last place we saw was Kimbolton Castle - another stunning country house!  For us however, it was a bit too school like, unlike Hinchingbrooke it was a bit too formal and school-esque.  Although how cool would it be to get married in a castle!!

So that concludes our venue search!  For us there are two clear leaders and now me and Tom have to sit down, glass of wine in hand preferably, and go through numbers and options - then we can finally book and have a date!

Helen xxx

The One

Don't want to say anymore really except that i've found my dress!  I went back with my mother in law-to-be on Saturday and she agreed that it was the one.

I love it so much, it's beautiful and I really hope that Tom likes it too.

I can't wait to wear it on my wedding day!

Wedding Dress: Done

Helen xx

Venue Hunting Leg 1: The Cotswolds

We travelled down to Mum and Dad's on a sunny Friday evening, had a yummy dinner (thanks Mum!) and then stayed up talking to Mum and Dad for a few hours. It was nice to talk to them about our wedding plans, let them know what sort of things we want and don't want and also to give them the opportunity to tell us their thoughts and expectations. I think by the end of the weekend, they both realised that it is going to be an expensive day for us but we want to do this right, to only compromise on the bits we need to, and that we will have something and somewhere special and that they will be a big part of that.

So Leg 1 started early Saturday morning with a visit to two Barns: both completely different - Cripps Barn and Kingscote Barn. Cripps Barn near Bibury is a gorgeous, rustic, traditional farm house barn, it had a great feel to it as soon as we walked in. Outside was a lit bonfire, cooking four whole lambs! It smelt amazing and I could really imagine myself there. The food sounded really nice and different and they don't charge corkage which means that we could pick and choose our own wines and bubbly for the day - a big advantage!

Kingscote Barn was completely different - still very pretty indeed, a beautiful Barn, very elegant, clean and modern, but it was this that put us off it a bit - it was almost too clean and modern for a barn - it lacked a bit of rustic-ness and charm. Still a possibility though as they do a great Winter Package.

What does everyone think about these two venues?  I've linked them to their websites - any comments gratefully received.

The other five venues we saw over the Friday and Saturday were just not right for one reason or another. Two of them looks stunning from the outside but quite old fashioned inside with gross carpets and just not right for us (seriously Emerald Green with white shields??!)  Another had the main reception room split into two parts so effectively, you'd be relegating half of your guests to a separate area which wasn't ideal.   One venue was so rude that we didn't even get as far as the function rooms so that one was out straight away.

So we've come away from Leg 1 with one definite possibility and one big maybe - not too bad really.

Onto Leg 2 - which is Surrey - we've seen two of these already and have another 3 to see on Saturday - then the following week is the final and third leg in Cambridgeshire and then it's decision time.

We're both really enjoying it so far, this weekend was great to drive through the Cotswolds in the sun and its all still very exciting.

Helen xx

Navy Blue and Hot Pink

Our Colour Scheme

We've decided on a Navy Blue and Hot Pink colour scheme for our wedding and I love it!  These colours will go really well with the grey suits for the men and white (obviously) as well.

There were a few reasons why we chose these two colours:

1) We wanted something a little bit different than the usual 'wedding' colours and these two really stood out, they are nice bright colours that reflect our personalities
2) I love pink!
3) They are remarkably similar to a certain football teams away colours....!

Bridesmaid Dresses

Now we have colours other things can start to take shape.  Rachael found two gorgeous Bridesmaid dresses for her and Vic - and they were in the sale so under budget!  They are not your typical bridesmaid dress which was also important to me so that they can wear them again afterwards.  The dresses fitted them both perfectly and they look gorgeous wearing them.  Teamed with a bright pink flowers they will look stunning!

Venue Search Update

We've seen two venues so far, both in Surrey:  Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking and Greyfriars House just outside Guildford.  Both venues were really interesting and both ticked our requirements of a 'different' kind of venue, rather than your chain hotel - working at The Ritz means that I'm not massively keen on a hotel wedding, unless the hotel is a little bit different.  We really want a venue with soul and character.

We're not sure that either venue is right for us just yet and have loads more to see so we'll keep searching and see what we come up with.  We want to get this booked up by mid September.  We're happy to define certain things like numbers and other elements by the venue so it's important that we get this right.

A date also means that we can start to source other suppliers like Photographer, Videographer, Florist and we can also book the church.  It also means that I can start counting down the days until I'm Mrs Elliott!

We've got a really busy Bank Holiday weekend back in Gloucestershire so I'll update after then.

Happy Friday!

Helen xx

Here Comes The Bride

I’m one of those girls who has dreamt about getting married probably since I was knew what a wedding was. I can specifically remember a discussion with my sisters when I was about six, where we discussed dresses, colour, shape, veil etc… We even used to play weddings and take it in turns to be the bride with tea towels on our heads! (I was usually the bride though – eldest child’s prerogative – or just bossy-ness!) So when Saturday 21st August – dress shopping day- approached, you can imagine how excited I was, coupled with massive expectations!

Rachael met me at 8:45 and I drove us to our first bridal store: Mamfii Bridal in Knaphill, Surrey. On a small digression, I felt it was really important for me to drive there. It’s the one part of the day that Tom can’t get involved with and therefore I wanted it to be about me and that meant driving too. I’ve not done a huge amount of driving since I passed in November last year, enough to become more confident but not a huge amount without Tom, so it was a big deal for me to drive Rachael and Victoria during the day and also to park the car too. I was really proud of myself for doing it and it was another one step on my journey of achievement in this area.

We arrived at Mamfii Bridal for my appointment and it was really surreal entering the shop, which was very white, pretty, and had lots of dresses lined up ready for me to try on.

Cheryl the lovely shop assistant came and sat with us and said:

‘So which one of you is The Bride?’

It still hadn’t really hit me that this was it – I was The Bride! It was my turn to try on these dresses and this meant that I was getting married – and to the most amazing man too!

Therefore I don’t think it was a big surprise that when I came out of the fitting room wearing the first of what must have been about thirty dresses that day, saw Victoria’s beaming face, that the tears started to fall, I couldn’t stop them.

My sisters were amazing, I just loved seeing their faces when I came out of the changing rooms, getting their opinions on elements of the dress and just spending some time with them was so nice. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Vic without Freddy and although I love him to death – it was nice to have her back for the morning as my sister rather than the mummy.

I can’t talk too much about the actual dresses here as currently my only follower is the one person who can’t know anything about it! Suffice to say that it was just amazing to try on lots of different styles, shapes, fits etc. I truly felt like a princess and I hope that the one that I eventually choose knocks Tom’s socks off!

The search is on...

Sooooo - where I'm up to so far... I've booked appointments with 18 different venues (Yes 18!!) We're looking in three locations - Stroud, Surrey and Cambridge. All three locations have pro's and cons so it's just a case of keeping an open mind and seeing what we like, what we can afford and the best thing for us and all our guests. I think that we are going to get married in Church so we have to coordinate that as well. We visited Denbies Vineyard in Dorking, Surrey on Saturday so the search has already begun. As we want to do it early next year the key things for us to book asap are the venue and then get my dress sorted out.

Saturday is dress shopping day, I'm having Rachael and Victoria as bridesmaids and also Tom's 7 year old niece Ellie. Freddy is going to be my Page Boy! We're going to three bridal shops, one in Knaphill Surrey - which is where Vic got her dress from, One in Walton and the other in Weybridge, you get an hour and basically try as many dresses on as possible. I have no idea what I want yet so going to try on lots of different styles and see what I like and what suits me. I seriously have to pinch myself when I think that I'm going to be a bride - its really quite overwhelming!

So that's kind of where we are at so far. We had a family engagement party at our house on Saturday and it was really nice to see everyone together, mum made us a cake and also instead of a normal bouquet of flowers she bought me an actual bridal bouquet - which was actually really scary (but very lovely indeed) I've been sent/given 6 bouquet's of flowers so far from friends and suppliers so I'm feeling extremely spoilt at the moment.

 

Oh and I forgot to mention before that when we arrived back from our holiday, our front door was decorated with loads of balloons and Happy Engagement banners - Kaz had sneakily done it on the day we came home.  A little embarrassing but hilarious and a really thoughtful touch.  We're starting to feel like mini celebrities - Thank you Karen!

Helen xxx

I'm engaged!!!!

It's day five of our holiday to Icmeler in Turkey and today I got engaged!!! (Cue lots of whooping and cheering, tears, smiles, shock, excitement, jumping up and down and more tears!)

We'd booked a boat trip and boarded it at 9:30am, it must have been the most humid and hot days so far, therefore I was really pleased when we set sail and the gorgeous sea breeze started to wash over us, I felt much better and settled onto my sun lounger to enjoy the start of the day as we sailed towards our first destination.

Our first stop was Paradise Island (I can't remember all the names of the Islands but will tell you the ones I do remember)

Paradise Island talked to us! The sounds of the Island were incredible as we approached the island. There is no other feeling like stepping off the boat into the refreshing sea, just wonderful. We swam around for a bit, checked out the fishes and then boarded again for destination two.

It's so peaceful in the water and Tom and I did some basic snorkeling in all of the bays, seeing a varying variety of different fish and underwater life. I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would and would like to do some more.

The third place we stopped in was our lunch stop, we had a few hours on this Island and the crew lit a BBQ on the back of the boat and cooked us lunch. It was yummy; consisting of meats, pasta, salad, bread, chips - very tasty.

We had another stop before we docked in Amos Bay. I didn't notice at the time but as we approached the bay, Tom couldn't sit still, he was the only person not chilling out on their sun lounger. I had an ice-cream at this time so was quite oblivious! Arriving in Amos Bay, I got out into the water first, Tom checked with the Captain how long we had, 30 mins, and we decided to swim to a large set of rocks on the bay. I didn't notice that Tom was nervous but he tells me that he really was!

Amos Bay was already my favourite Bay. It was stunning. On our short journey to the rocks we saw some really nice fish - Tom thinks they were Jacks - but they were quite big, silver and disc shaped - very pretty.

We got to the rocks and Tom helped me up, we then spent a few moments taking in the view.

Then Tom turned (as much as he could on the slippy rocks!) and said to me just how beautiful Amos Bay was. I heartily agreed and said that it was perfect. He replied that there was only one problem with the Bay and that was that he didn't want Amos anymore. To which I, stupidly, replied 'Well what am I going to do then?'

Tom replied 'I love you so much in a way that I never knew was possible, so I want to ask you - will you marry me?'

And then I think I stopped breathing...

I stared at Tom for what seemed like eternity, tears rolling down my face and eventually I managed to get the words out 'Of course I will!'

'Well you need to say goodbye to Amos then' was Tom's reply. At this stage, the fact that I need to say goodbye because I would become an Elliott had not really hit me - that realisation didn't come until later!

After then we had to swim back to the boat in time, I don't know how I managed it as I was shaking so much, the euphoria mixed with shock had set in and we both couldn't stop smiling as we boarded the boat. We had some pictures taken and then we really had to say goodbye to Amos Bay - my favourite place ever and I was only there for half an hour. We'll go back some day maybe!

The feelings that I experienced for the rest of that day (and still experiencing now to be honest) are excitement, security, surreal, magnificent, happy and everything else in between. I'm going to be Mrs Thomas Elliott and I couldn't be happier!

We disembarked from the boat around 5 - feeling euphoric, very hot, a bit sunburn and sweaty but couldn't be happier. We headed straight back to our hotel for a cold shower and the lush air con! I called mum to tell her the great news (even though she already knew as Tom had been back the week before to seek my dad's approval)

We had booked an amazing restaurant called Cafe Del Mar for the evening - all part of Tom's well executed plan. I wore my new long black evening dress and diamond necklace. Tom had told me that he couldn't bring the ring as it wasn't insured - which I was totally fine about, in fact, a ring hadn't really crossed my mind at that stage.

Cafe Del Mar is a little way up from the bay of Icmeler so the views are incredible. We could see across to the route that we had travelled earlier that day and as we were dining, the sun was setting. It couldn't have been more romantic.



Sadly no Champagne in Turkey. so instead we chose a very nice bottle of chilled red, we had garlic bread and calamari to start and I followed that with a pepper steak and Tom had chicken schnitzel (not particularly interesting to anyone but I want to remember everything about that day!)

After the meal was over we began chatting about our forthcoming wedding and marriage. I can't remember how but the subject got round to rings and I think I was saying what I liked and disliked. It was at this point that Tom walked over to my side of the table and said 'Would you like it if the ring looked like this?'

He got down on one knee and kissed me.

My ring is absolutely perfect, it's so sparkly and stunning and exactly what I would have picked - even better in fact - I didn't realise there was so much to consider when it comes to diamonds and the best ones to purchase - Tom did so much research into this and I'm so proud to wear it on my finger so tell the world that I'm going to be his wife!

When I'd put the ring on my finger - a perfect fit! - Tom said that it was then that he got his first flutter, seeing it on my finger.

The lovely waiter brought us over a peach cocktail for us to enjoy and we drank that after our wine. Emotionally shattered, we took a stroll along the sea front and had a last drink in a very fun bar that we'd been to earlier on in the week. Sounds really funny to say but we watched a very bad Tina Turner tribute act and we just could not stop grinning like loons at each other.




I didn't want the day to ever end!

I'm the happiest girl in the world.

I can't wait to marry Tom!

... now the wedding to plan........!

Helen xx