Wedding Planning

So I am now only a few short months away from my wedding day. Do I have a dress yet? No. No I don't. Am I concerned about that? Yes, yes I am. However I thought I'd scribble a little something to continue documenting my wedding planning process and wanted to discuss the tools I've been using to plan my wedding beyond wedding specific Whatsapp groups and Facebook pages/bridal forums. Everyone always said to me that wedding planning was going to be so stressful but thus far, I've remained stress free... 

Notebook

I've been carrying a notebook around with me everywhere which is now totally full of wedding budget planning and matrimonial note taking. If a thought about the wedding crosses my mind whilst I'm on the go, best to jot it down and not forget it. I also like to write notes in my 2018 Diary and allocate tasks to myself each week to ensure planning is on track and that we are making progress each week.

WedHappy

I've been using an app on my phone called WedHappy and so far it has been brilliant. The app takes some basic data from you starting with your wedding date and whether both parties in the marriage are wearing a suit/dress and then sets about creating tasks. It sets out basic tasks for you and spreads them out between the time you sign up and your wedding date. You can add your own tasks as well if there are any specific things you want to do for your big day. You can invite your spouse or bridal party to plan with you and everyone can access the task board. I really like that it sends you push notifications to remind you to get certain tasks done and really keeps you on track. My favourite feature is that it shows you, in percentage format, what % of your wedding is planned so with each completed task you can see/visualise how everything is falling into place.

The Knot

The Knot offers you the ability to set up your own wedding website free of charge. This allows you to create a space for FAQs for your guests, post menu choices, provide details of local hotels for your guests, share important information and guests can even use it to RSVP! It just gives people a place to visit in the run up to the big day. I've just updated mine and RSVPs are now coming in!

The B430 List

So I turned 26 last month. If you know me, or have read this blog before, you may know that I wrote up a list of things that I wanted to achieve before I was 25. Some I achieved, some I tried, some I totally didn't get around to.

I have decided to write another list. This is a list of things that I want to achieve before I'm 30. Some are going to be really big things, some little things. I really enjoyed having a list of aspirations and looking back over it years later to see how much I had actually achieved. In reflecting, I saw how much more I got around to doing. So here we go, some things that I, as a 25 year old, want to achieve in the next few years ahead of turning 30. Once I'm 30, you can bet your ass there will be a new list.

Here we go.....

• I want to slim down and lose weight - especially before I have kids

• I started drafting this list when I was 25, about a year ago, and then forgot about it. This bullet point stated I wanted to buy a house. Well, within a year, my partner and I actually bought our first house! So now, I guess I want to make it feel more like a home. I want to throw on some coats of paints, buy the perfect sofa and really claim this space. We're almost there already. 

• Have a child (at least just the first one, but once I'm married)

• Go to New Zealand

• Get another book published - I don't mind if it's poetry, a graphic novel, fiction, non fiction. I just want to get another book out there...

• Try veganism for a month

• Get married... just a few months to go!

• Try to learn how to make sushi

• Take up bellydancing

• Learn to drive and buy a car

• Once I have a car - road trip. Anywhere. Doesn't matter where. I just want to go for it. 

• I want to write and record some music and put it out there. It doesn't have to be a serious musical pursuit. I just want to put some music out into this noisy world. 

• I want to write something for film or television - some kind of screenplay. I'm more used to writing novels or poetry. It might be nice to write something different.

• Go to a gay pride event

• I'd like to be an extra in a film or TV show.

• From now on, I want to plant a tree for every year I've been alive. So, I have already planted a few trees in my lifetime, but I think this year I will try to plant 26 trees and I will plant another tree every year - perhaps it's something I will continue to do until I die. It seems a nice way to give back to the earth. 

• Take up meditation

• I'd like to be a voice actor in something. It seems like a really fun line of work to be in and it's a dream of mine to be the voice of a character in a Disney animated film. Even if it's not Disney, it's something I would like to achieve.

• Study a language. Even if I pick up one I've studied before or pick up something new, either way is good.

• Try yoga

• Go zorbing/zorballing

• Get a tattoo

• I want to see baby turtles hatch. I've always wanted to see that moment. I've even considered volunteering as part of a turtle conservation project. So I'm adding it to the list. I'd love to see tiny turtles hatch and flock towards the open ocean.
• I want to find a job I'm satisfied with that I can sink my teeth into for years to come. A job that I can be proud of when I'm talking about what I do.
• I would like to visit at least five countries I've never been to before. Between now and then that works out to one a year, so it's absolutely possible. For example, at present, I'm already planning on New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark and Japan. If I can visit those countries then that covers four out of five new destinations. 

• Visit Ireland

• I want to take a trip abroad on my own. I just like the idea of vanishing for a weekend somewhere without anyone else. I've seen a lot of people say it can be a daunting prospect but a liberating experience and I've always been very independent. 

• Visit Copenhagen

• I want to see the Northern Lights

If I think of anything else, I will add it as I go along. I have four years to do all of this so fingers crossed I can get it done :) 

Say Yes To A Dress... Literally ANY DRESS

Within the last 48 hours, I have purchased two bridal magazines. One is my favourite, Rock and Roll Bride, a magazine that almost makes me wish that my wedding was ages away because I will be sad when I no longer have a reason to buy this glorious publication. The other is Unveiled which I have never read but I spotted it in my local corner shop and honestly, I only have so long left to really enjoy and indulge in all things bridal.

I am now less than five months away from my wedding, a thought which hit me like a ton of bricks when I woke up today and panic texted my mother. I live in Yorkshire. My mother lives in Essex. My sister is in Gloucestershire. Trying to get all three of us into the same room so that I can do the classic trying-on-dresses-with-your-family thing is a little bit difficult. I am now five months away from my wedding and I have yet to try on a single wedding dress. 

The fact that I've not even tried a wedding dress on seems to be a serious thing in the wedding industry. Bridal shop sales people will instantly start chirping about how you need to get your orders in now, by the time you buy you're not going to have time for fittings, blah blah blah....

Now, with about five months left to go, I've had my first twinge of concern. I'm still not even 100% set on a particular style. Whilst I'm learning more towards a laid back, boho gown there is a part of me that may be tempted to a white, A Line number. It all remains to be seen so watch this space and hopefully I won't be walking down the aisle to my partner in a dress made of stapled-together white Kleenex sheets
....