Category Archives: Victoria & Simon
What Victoria Did… Got Ready To Marry Her B.F.
It’s time it’s time It’s time!!!!!
Last week I had my final final final (after accidental weight loss) dress fitting and it all got a bit real folks! I woke up this morning bubbling with excitement and adrenaline, goodness knows what I’ll be like by the time you all read this! I can’t quite believe that this EPIC journey has come to an end and before I say anything else I just need to say how much I’ve enjoyed writing these posts and sharing the experience with you all, it’s a rare and wonderful bubble of a world to have joined and it really has added to the excitement and fun of it all – those of you wondering whether to enter the new RMW “Real Brides” competition DO IT! You’ll get to know so many awesome people and be met with such support, inspiration and enthusiasm, and at the end of it you’ll have a record of all the amazing fun and effort you and your loved ones have put into your special day.
It’s been an exciting few months of getting everything finalised – I have made the BIGGEST spreadsheet you’ve ever seen with to do lists, to buy lists, timetables from three days before the wedding to the day after, packing lists of who is taking what, jobs to do per person, table planning, meals out planning, who’s on the coach, where’s the dog going to sit….you name it, it’s gone round in my head and it’s on paper!!!… View the full post.
What Victoria Did… Drama In A Dress
Hello lovelies! {waves}
I’ve sort of been saving this one up for you all, as the whole dress shopping humdinger was one of my favourite parts of wedding planning, in part because it was such a bizarre and luxurious thing to try on gowns that you will only wear for one incredible day. Is this what an Oscars experience is like?? I also remembered fondly playing dress up in my Mum’s handmade dress when I was little, she made it herself! Amazing!
After several blissful hours scouring blogworld and trying to get a sense of shapes and styles I liked – I fell head over heels in love with Stephanie Allin’s creations. Not long after getting engaged we had an annual trip planned to Wales as Marathon Man was indulging in his favourite hobby – haring up and down cliff paths, with some like minded nutters, in a Welsh November! (Each to their own). So this time I took the family with me for the trip because I had discovered that Stephanie Allin’s original store was in the Mumbles in Wales, about 20 minutes from where the marathon was! It smacked of fate and I was delighted when I called to make an appointment and found out Stephanie herself would be there that day. It was the most wonderful first dress shopping experience. I had the shop to myself, it was absolutely gorgeous and full of light and air, and I had a wonderful time trying on about 8 different gowns together with accessory heaven.… View the full post.
What Victoria Did… Sharp Suits & Vintage Vision.
Wowee it’s been an exciting start to the year in wedding world. Not only have I just celebrated my birthday but now we are only THREE months to go!! Can’t quite believe how suddenly time is flying and spreadsheets and lists are my new best friends…seriously. I realised in January that I was actually lying awake listing in my head all the things that needed doing/organising/finding out. It was exhausting. So using my old trick of exploiting trapped-in-car time to help with wedmin, Marathon Man and I spent a good three hour journey back from the rentals reviewing the wedding weekend and build up from start to finish – when would everything we have ordered arrive, who was bringing what, what time can we decorate that…..and so on. There’s nothing quite like a good list. Currently I have 71 ‘to do’ items but I’m not going to let that phase me just yet.
I have a date for my first dress fitting. I think my heart actually stopped for a beat when I booked that in. Things just got that bit more real. Most entertaining part of that call though was arranging the date of the second and hopefully final fitting, as it was accompanied by the question “well it depends, is your weight stable?”…errrmmmm fingers crossed! Although dammit there is Easter in the middle….. So to counteract future chocolate bunny intake I’ve been hitting the gym with enthusiasm and have even started boxing classes with one of my bridesmaids..although husband-to-be is not entirely sure we should be actively teaching her how to punch things/people….… View the full post.
What Victoria Did… Winter Kisses
Hello lovelies!
Now then. I was going to write to you this week about THE dress. The one. All the pretty, a crying Mother, and the whole shopping extravaganza. And maybe shoes (plural). Even wedding wellies… BUT a couple of weeks ago we managed to meet up with our stunning photographer, the gorgeous Naomi Kenton and we had our engagement shoot in London, and well we’re really rather chuffed with it all so I’m going to be a little bit brave and share it with all of you lovelies. (*brave because I maintain I’m not as rock n’ roll as Karen – coolest eshoot ever -, nor do I have the ‘I-look-like-Disney’s-inspiration-for-Belle’ quality of lovely Lolly!)
It was an astonishing winter day with bright blue skies and sunshine. It was also absolutely FREEZING but somehow Naomi has managed to remove any hint of hypothermia from the resulting pictures, clever girl. I even went for a run in the morning in an attempt to put a rosy glow in my cheeks and remove any clues that we’d been out on the lash the last three nights…. probably should have invested in more duvet time instead. We visited the woods near home to play with Costa (who eats leaves) and then walked around Crystal Palace, visiting the antiques market (where much wedding ‘tat’ – according to Simon – has been sourced from) and headed into the park as the sun set over London.
Curious here – Did anyone else find it funny explaining to friends/family about the whole engagement shoot “thing”?… View the full post.
What Victoria Did… Found Her Flower Power.
It appears that winter has well and truly set in…boooo! it’s dark when I leave the office now, and last week it was so misty we couldn’t even see the River Thames from the window! It was a little like being in a Dickens novel for a couple of days, but after the distinct lack of summer I am officially not enjoying the return to cold temperatures!!
So I thought I’d attempt to brighten up the day for all of us with some flowery inspiration! I’d done a fair bit of research on florists in Cornwall and it was tough to choose a company from a distance, all the various chats I had had with different companies had been great. I then stumbled across a wedding on another blog (slapped hand) and fell in love with the ideas, colours and flowers that jumped out from the pages! So many things to love…the epic woven hair, the red SHOES and the fact that they coordinate with a campervan!
….On a little aside….those green and cream vintage coaches are going to be ferrying our families and bridal party to the church on our day! I expect to hear there have been sing-a-longs!
Anywho…I tracked down the florist who had put together the lovely displays and arranged to meet with gorgeous George Mackay when we were in Cornwall in May. Her deeply cool studio at Jubilee Wharf in Falmouth was a great location, I loved that her pooch was at our meeting and even more that Marathon Man was actually quite fascinated by the whole thing and took very good notes!… View the full post.
What Victoria Did… Delectable Decisions.
It was actually this rather lovely post that made me decide what to write today’s little post for you all on….mmmmm FOOD! Afternoon cake time ladies…
Since I last wrote, Marathon Man and I have had a little visit to sunny Cornwall for a lovely holiday in a little caravan by the sea in Mullion. We had a perfectly timed mini-heatwave to enjoy and managed to fit in lots of nice walks and coastal running – not quite sure how our Cornish adventures have turned into endurance breaks, I ran 53 miles that week!!! LOOK this is how tired Costa was at the end of the week….
Happily though, I did manage to fit the running around lots of foodie fun, largely in the form of pasties and ice cream, and topped off with some lovely Cornish ales and wine… and all in the name of wedding experimentation! So I thought today I would share (and tease the future guests) with a few of our foodie plans…
Great food was a priority from the start, and early on we found The Round Kitchen. Run by the fabulous team of Lucy and Sarah, they were lovely and adaptable from the get go, we loved the look of previous weddings that they had done and had seen some great reviews both personal and in the press. After a few email conversations we took the plunge and secured the booking, although we hadn’t even tasted the food yet! We had every confidence they would translate our ideas into something delicious.… View the full post.
