It is less than three weeks until the wedding and I am absolutely shattered! Ever the optimist though it’s less than three weeks until the honeymoon too, which means three glorious weeks in Thailand (or ‘possibly the bestest most beautiful place on the planet’ as I call it).

Now that doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to the wedding, of course I am that goes without saying, but am I looking forward to having my life back and not feeling as though I am boring people to tears by talking about the wedding? Yep! I can’t wait to have time to myself at the weekends, to amble around antique shops, and homeware shops, and clothing boutiques (err ok so Primark is a clothing boutique of sorts). I can’t remember the last time I actually did some shopping that wasn’t online. Ebay, Etsy, and Ocado are my new best friends. I simply don’t have the time (or the inclination) to deal with busy shops and slow people, and I suspect I may have become addicted to the thrill of arriving home to brown paper parcels on the doorstep!

Anyway my time is consumed with final dress fittings, bridesmaid fittings, hair trials, paying people, organising people, collecting jam jars, making menus and place settings, buying even more ribbon from hobbycraft, and pre wedding shoots. All this is done completely sober too, jeez I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a nice chilled glass of sauvignon blanc…. **dribbling slightly at the prospect of wine** I make myself sound like such a wino I know, but sometimes life is more enjoyable when tipsy!

I have been speaking to my bestest friend Em in Aus, and can’t deny a small part of me clings to the hope that she is coming afterall and will make this grand entrance and surprise me at the church service, but deep down I know she is a new mum and it simply isn’t realistic to dream this way. I will just have to settle for another cardboard cut out (much to her entertainment, this will be the second wedding that cardboard Em has attended, despite being completely harassed and violated at the previous wedding!)

Nerves wise I think I slot into the ‘calm as a cucumber’ box at the moment. I really am cool and collected. I am organised, everything is ship shape and ready to go. Sometimes I wonder if there is something wrong with me, for not being riddled with nerves and stress. My time on this planet has taught me well over the years, and stressing over something as wonderful as a wedding really isn’t worth the energy, not this far down the road anyway! It’s all about the cementing of love. Blimey that doesn’t sound too glam does it! Perhaps I meant celebrating love, or confirming love, I’m not sure anymore! My brain is addled. To summarise; Jens nerves are fine, but she’s as scatty as a bag of balls.

And here’s rather indulgent treat for my WJD followers…. Some images from our pre wedding shoot, captured by our photographer Kim Hawkins….

Introducing the fabulous Mr O, I think you’ll agree he’s pretty good looking (she says with a Zoolander twang)

We ambled round Shoreditch and Hoxton for the afternoon, on possibly the windiest day the UK has seen in like a million years. Still, impressive images and I’m looking forward to seeing how amazing our wedding images will be!

The countdown begins, 17 days to go.

Jenny xx

*Hi there Lovelies, Charlotte here. I just wanted to say that I love Jen’s writing – I often laugh out loud whilst formatting the posts! …..but this particular piece is my favourite so far. Real, honest and tug-at-your-heart-strings beautiful. Hankies at the ready folks.

Why I’m Looking Forward To Being Married

I’m not sure when it happened. I suspect it was when Mr O was down on bended knee proposing to me, when time slowed down and my surroundings had that blurry yet crystal clear ‘Matrix’ effect going on. I think it was that point, and that point alone that I considered life as a married couple.

I guess I had always known I would be with him, for as long as our relationship lasted. Sounds pessimistic but growing up in a single parent family only prepares you for independence and to be competent at being on your own. Who needs men eh? So marriage was never talked about, time frames were never talked about, we both share a love of travel, music, films, books, politics and our lives were happily intertwined. We had a good thing going and although time together hadn’t always been roses our relationship was tested on many occasions and we always managed to stay close and stay together. That’s life! Anyone who claims being in a relationship is easy sailing, is a big fat fibber. Life throws things at you and if you come out of it the other side able to heal and move on you know your relationship is very grounded. I never applied any pressure on him to make an honest woman of me, we were happy the way we were. I didn’t want to be one of those women who manipulated their man into getting wed. So when he produced a ring, and a speech, and the seed of marriage was planted on my finger and in my head, I embarked upon a journey of change and felt absolutely thrilled at the prospect of becoming a proper partnership with someone who I feel is my equal.

Love is a state of mind that comes from time and experience together. It isn’t being ‘in love’ that makes me want to marry Mr O, Ok so that has a huge influence on why I am doing it, but it’s what happens after you fall in love that makes a marriage. It’s the partnership, the friendship, the ability to know each other well enough to support each other through lifes ups and downs. He still makes me laugh, until my ribs hurt. He still tells me the same old stories and I still love hearing them. He knows which buttons to press to get me really riled, we keep each other very grounded. He encourages me to do things with my life, like when I sang in my favourite ska/reggae band 20 Dead Camels, he told me that because I knew all the songs already I could sing them in the band no probs – it would be great fun, and it was great fun I can’t believe I had the bottle to do it! He encouraged me to go bankrupt because despite working two jobs I was in dire straights when I met him and you know you’re in trouble when you can’t even afford the bus to work every day, let alone run my car. Best decision I ever made that was. He encouraged me to start my blog because he knew how much I loved to write, and he encouraged me to become a make up artist because that is what I am good at. He supported me when I had to care for my Mum when she was terminally ill. He put a roof over my head and food in my tummy when I was too depressed to function like a normal human being. He met me for lunch every day when I started my new job in London, because I didn’t have any friends there yet and I was nervous. We jump around at festivals and get totally mullered together, we travel and see the world together, because that’s what we like to do. When I think about ‘us’ I feel like it’s the greatest love story there ever was….. But then, I can imagine we all feel that way about our relationships.

We’ve worked hard to get where we are today, we’ve (almost) got the perfect life, and the perfect home. We make a great team and for that reason I can’t wait to say I do and become Mrs Oatham!

Love

Jenny xx
(photo courtesy of Me)

**in case new readers are wondering why the random photo of the Taj Mahal, see my first What Jenny Did post here, should clear things up a bit

The Hen do came after possibly the busiest week I’ve had since I started planning the wedding. Mr O was out of the country working, the invitations had turned up and after a few extremely late nights collating all the invitation bits and bobs I was in need of some raucous laughter and silly drunken behaviour, and that’s exactly what I got.

Bristol was the location. I initially opted for Brighton, but changed my mind (as I tend to do!) I booked the event through chillisauce, I literally told them what I was after, and once a price was agreed I booked it and got numbers confirmed! I think 2010 is THE year to get married because trying to find a weekend where everyone was available was hard, and we all have an abundance of other weddings and hen do’s to attend so I had to plan my own hen night quite far in advance of our wedding. This didn’t bother me in the slightest, I love a good hen do and was more than happy to have it sooner rather than later! The theme went without saying, 40’s glamour and Cocktails. Who doesn’t love a cocktail?!

Being the control freak I am, I had total control of booking everything, confirming numbers, getting payment etc, it is a pain in the backside and I wouldn’t do it again! In the end I enlisted the help of my Vegas bride friend Chloe, who now that she was married had a whole heap of spare time on her hands and happily obliged with overseeing things! What a star she is!

We stayed in 4* serviced apartments in the city centre, which really were a home from home and once we dropped our bags off we went to a gorgeous café/art gallery in Whiteladies Road called The Picturehouse. Once seated at our table I marvelled at the beautiful piece of Marilyn Monroe artwork hanging on the wall behind us, enjoyed a rather large chilled glass of sauvignon blanc, some tapas and opened possibly the most thoughtful present I have ever received! My sister presented me with a beautiful lilac photo album, inside which were memories of me from birth, growing up (with dodgy ginger hair and a huge forehead) right up to the present day.

There were messages and poems from all of my friends, including my very close friend ‘EJ’ who due to having moved to Australia two years ago was unable to come over (she’s recently given birth too!). There were some lovely/dodgy/funny/filthy photo’s to treasure of me, my friends, family and my late Mum, and feeling rather overwhelmed I couldn’t read the words written for me so I promised I would read them all once at home, with a nice cup of tea and a cup cake of course. It was the perfect café to chill out in, and the fact Marilyn Monroe was everywhere I looked I felt hugely grateful to Chloe for booking us a table there. You all know how much I adore Marilyn!

We then moved on to Revolution Bar for our Cocktail lesson. I love a cocktail, I love how they look, how they’re named, their presentation, and I love watching them being made. I didn’t bank on there being a ton of other hen parties there so we had to wait our turn but we were plied with complimentary drinks until they were ready for us! So after consuming my body weight in mudslides, cosmopolitans, mojitos, strawberry woo woos, Long island iced tea, and flavoured vodka shots, we were ready for a party and headed back to our apartments so I could present my friends with their gift boxes, get our glad rags on, drink Prosecco and head off to Aqua Restaurant to line our tummies with some carbs!

We didn’t get to Reflex in time for our guest list entry, so they wanted to charge us for entry, I thought sod that I’m not paying to get in so we found a few other bars and clubs to visit – Bijou was one of them, and I’m buggered if I can remember where else we went…. Tis all a wee bit hazey… I remember jager bombs, and plush seating areas, I remember hairy chests and my sister swinging me around the dancefloor, I also remember doing press ups (?!) and laughing, a lot of laughing!…… I remember a bare bum (you know who you are….) and talking in my dodgy herts/bristolian accent to any local that would listen!

We got to bed at about 4am with sore feet, a few of us wounded from falling down stairs/slipping off poles but we all lasted til the end and I can honestly say it was the best night of my life! I loved being a hen, and can’t wait for my friend J’s hen weekend in a fortnight’s time so we can do it all over again.

Love

Jenny x

Bit of a brief, yet positive post for you this week, it’s not really about anything in particular but is rather an update of sorts, of where I’m at with this Wedding malarkey. It’s tricky at times to know what to post about, because there is so much I want to keep under wraps so that I can reveal all to you after the big day!

I don’t know about other couples planning their weddings, but Mr O and I have reached a rather lovely stage in our relationship. Yes he still nags me for not doing enough cleaning (really, I work, I blog, I shop, I wash, I plan – I clean when I need to!) but we’re co habiting well and I actually feel as though we are a partnership, a nice place to be in considering we are going to be husband and wife in 11 weeks time! I’m not one to gush, but have I told you how wonderful he is? He isn’t perfect but he’s pretty darn wonderful.

Admittedly I am doing, and have done 99% of the wedding planning. But then what does he know about home made confetti cones and bespoke boho chic table plans? In fact rewind back about six months I can safely say I wouldn’t have known anything about home made confetti cones or table plans! This time last year I was practically wetting myself about the fact we were getting married, and longing for the time to hurry up but now I would be happy for a few extra weeks just to get everything done! I’ve taken to spending money like it’s water, and I might be keeping Hobbycraft in business I’ve bought so much over the last 12 months!

This week I am mostly planning for my Hen night! This Saturday we’re hitting Bristol City in 40’s glamour style! Pics to follow in next fortnight’s instalment! I have finally received delivery of my beautiful bespoke invitations! UPS have a lot to answer for, delaying the delivery by making a cock up, I’m starting to wonder what UPS actually stands for (Utter Pieces of Shizz?) It’s all hands on deck now putting them together and getting them in the post. They are just so lovely though, I am over the moon!

I’ve started buying bridesmaids gifts, and found a gorgeous bag to match my wedding shoes. We’ve booked our pre wedding shoot with our photographer Kim, and I’ve chosen the music for our ceremony. The dress issue is all sorted, I’m not giving anything away yet you’ll have to wait for my wedding report to see what I went for! We have a menu tasting to look forward to, and planning meetings with our venue. I’ve had a hair trial and decided to have a very natural boho look. Up do’s with twirly bits and tiara’s just isn’t me so I am sticking to what looks good on me. I’ve been back to Julia Boggio and picked the boudoir photo’s that will go in my gift for Mr O and I am bowled over by them! I’ve been to our jeweller to see our rings now they have arrived, and I love them! I’ve found a lovely pretty, floral focused blog too, which I had to share with you http://misspickering.blogspot.com I check it everyday it’s really entertaining and makes my mouth water.

So pretty hectic is my life at the moment. But hectic with good stuff. Which is quite nice. I’ve really impressed myself with my wedding vision. It’s going to be unique, full of laughter, and and abundance of Love.

Now I need to crack on with these invitations!

Lots of love,

Jenny x

I have never been what you could call small. I come from a long line of tall women, my Mum was some sort of beautiful blonde Amazonian who turned heads wherever she went. In school I was always the tallest, until the boys caught up with me that is! I have generally always been ‘the big girl’ of the group, and yes at times this bothers me, and after ballooning to a size 18 after my 21st birthday I vowed I would never ever let myself get to that size again. So I lost over 3 stone and enjoyed being a nice slim size 12 for a few years!

So you’d think once the engagement ring was on my finger, I would drop a few stone in preparation for the wedding. I’m still waiting for it to drop off me! 12 weeks to go until the wedding day people! I wake up in the morning and look over my shoulder at my backside and the ‘junk’ is still most definitely in my ‘trunk’. Mr O has managed to get rid of his puppy fat, and is looking rather muscley and svelte. Which only emphasizes the fact that I haven’t managed to shift any weight. Bah. Not good. The added pressure of being the bride automatically means that people expect me to all of a sudden drop a ton of weight and become some sort of uber slim vision in ivory, as if it’s some sort of crime to walk down the aisle in a size 14 wedding dress.

I hear and read stories of brides losing weight, and looking fabulous because of it, so why on earth have I not managed it yet? And I may be paranoid but I’m sure I’ve copped a few looks of ‘hmmm she’s gonna be one of those big brides’. Perhaps it’s just me and my insecurities, it probably is just me being paranoid, ordinarily I couldn’t give a tiny rats arse about what people think, I’m me, genetically I will never be a size 8 (unless I’m dying of starvation), so don’t judge me society, if I want to tuck into a nice pot of houmus with some pitta and wine I will god dammit! My Mum always taught me to love myself, and my food.

My other pet peeve, (and girls those of you who have ever battled with your weight will understand this) is when slim girls, who have never ever experienced having a fat arse, or bingo wings, complain they resemble a heffa yet give you tips and advice on how to lose weight, what to eat, and what exercise to do! Thanks for that! I am what I am, I could do 3 hours of exercise a day and live on spinach leaves and be a size 10 but what will happen after the wedding? I will drink wine, tuck into some houmus and pitta and bam! Back come the curves. It’s just not realistic. And I want to look like me on my wedding day, not some starved miserable version of me. The last time I was stressed and dropped some weight people told me I didn’t look myself, and that I looked unwell. So if that’s anything to go by pass me the vino and olives please!

I’m happy with the way I look, I’ve accepted who I am and I exercise and eat healthily, this post isn’t me digging for compliments from you all either I promise – yes I would love to try life as a size 8 but right now I can’t be bothered I have far more important things to get on with! Something a little more achievable like half a stone is within my sights though. I’m not daft I want to try and look my best on my wedding day, I guess my weight has always been a bit of a sore spot.

And I don’t have any interesting or relevant photo’s to support my post this week, so here’s another picture of my cute little chunky cat ‘Miss Molly’, and a lovely image taken from my birthday celebration last weekend – my favourite Vivien of Holloway Dress!

Another waiting issue is the invitations…. We eventually got to a point where we could agree a final proof, and Kristy Rice’s team are currently beavering away for us to get them shipped over so we can get them out to our guests! I had hoped to have them in the post by now, did I mention it’s 12 weeks til the wedding? Everyone else I know who’s marrying in September has theirs out and the RSVP’s are flooding in, which makes me feel as though I should have pulled my finger out a little sooner! I’m trying my hardest not to have a cow about that. Mr O keeps telling me it will all be ok.

And finally, after seeing how easy Gok Wan made it on tv last week, I attempted to create my very own birdcage veil. It was beyond easy, if I can do it anyone can! I found a few online tutorials but to be honest, it’s quite simple and once you get ‘hands on’ it soon becomes clear what needs to go where. I wasn’t sure whether to do a tutorial on the subject, seeing as I have decided not to wear it after all, but I’ve included some photos for you to see, and please excuse the dodgy self take! The netting was from John Lewis and cost me about £2.00. The diamante hair comb was bought from www.nieve-couture.com and comes as a set of three, although you can pick up a plastic hair comb from the haberdashery for about £3.00!

I have a little secret with regards to the dress… all will be revealed soon. I can’t wait and I am pretty useless at keeping things quiet but I think you’ll all be pleased with my decision.

Yours creatively craving houmus and wine,

Jenny xx

I have always been a little obsessed with Marilyn Monroe. I can’t rave about her enough the woman was just breathtaking and I know I’m not alone in having spent many hours as a youth trying to copy her make up, or pour over photo after photo of her. For those of you who’ve followed my story from day one of Rock My Wedding you’ll know she’s the top of my guest list when it comes to fantasy dinner parties (as well as Jeremy Clarkson, yes my weird old man crush continues).

Part of the reason I fell in love with her was seeing grow from a rather plain, yet naturally stunning brunette who married at 18 years old, into the blonde bombshell we all know and love. And it’s the famous calendar image below that inspired me to find my inner Marilyn, and phone Julia Boggio to book in for my Vintage Pin Up Boudoir shoot!

I wish I’d done it sooner. Julia and her team are miracle workers. Fact.

I got the train and arrived a little late, pesky Victoria line, but within two blinks of being there I had a nice chilled glass of Prosecco and was sitting ready for hair and make up. Now this was the part that didn’t make me nervous, I couldn’t wait for Kaz Fernando to get her hands on me because I’ve seen her work (she does Wedding make up check out www.kazfernando.co.uk) and I’d seen the amazing RocknRoll Bride’s Vintage Boudoir shoot and being a newby in the industry I practically hopped down to the studios that day!

So while I had make up and hair and generally got fluffed and preened, Julia went through costumes, poses, props (oh my god the props!) and after donning my vintage stockings and high heels, I was ready! Nerves were manageable, Julia’s a pro and knows how to get the best out of you. I knew I had to channel my inner Marilyn and with the help of the prosecco we were all very relaxed and I felt very at ease.

It’s every womans born right to feel and look amazing, and I genuinely felt amazing. Yes the whole experience was initially inspired for me by other brides to be, who wanted to get their man a coffee table book of photo’s of themselves looking like an FHM model, but it turned out I did it for myself. Mr O will benefit from many of the other images that were taken, I had about four different costume changes, using great props and and am literally chomping at the bit to get my hands on these pictures! Julia has really captured the essence of ‘me’ and how I am feeling about myself, and life at the moment. And when I look back at them I will remember it as being the most amazing time, where life is being kind to me and I am surrounded with happy loving people.

Julia Boggio is a wonderful lady, with a wonderful team behind her. It would be a crime NOT to make an appointment for some portraits. She’s internationally famous but she’s not financially out of anyones reach, and her perfectionist nature will only provide you with shots that are nothing short of breath taking. Having seen some shots on her studio wall of cute teeny tiny little babies I have decided to pay her a visit with Mini Mr O’s. When they decide to come into our lives that is

Contact the studio on enquiries@juliaboggiostudios.com, ooh and check out her Wedding website at www.juliaboggiophotography.com I’m forever nosing through the galleries for inspiration!

Love

Jenny x