When it came to picking a venue for our wedding reception, we had no clue where to start. I knew what I didn’t want though, and that was anything over priced and pretentious!

My Mother in Law to be kindly stepped in and helped me out big time, she took me to a few places to have a look round, some we were impressed with, others not so much. Then we found our Venue – The Colonnade at The Manor of Groves in High Wych. I had such great feel for the place and the space was quite vast, bearing in mind that although we are having a small and intimate wedding dinner, we want a mahoosive party in the evening so space is top of the list! As you can see it is a beautiful place, quite Edwardian. The food menu they offer is really varied, and the drinks packages are flexible. They literally would take care of everything for us. Guests received a discounted rate, and they would provide a private breakfast for us all the following morning, fantastic!

I took the Fiancé along to check it out, he wasn’t overly enamoured at first. I think he had imagined something different for our wedding, in his mind he had conjured up a quirky farmhouse sort of wedding ideal, with spit roasts and such like. I initially had this sort of wedding in mind too, a really relaxed affair, something that was really just how we wanted it. But quirky farmhouses are few and far between around here, especially within our budget. And we had the issue of sorting out caterers, crockery, linen, tables, chairs etc. I just felt this would add on more stress!

Being realistic about it, The Manor of Groves is a convenient option. It is a fifteen minute drive from our Church, and easy for our guests to find. I didn’t want a venue in which the guests spent an hour travelling to from the Church. So after a few calls from the venue saying they had interest from other couples, I took it upon myself to pay the deposit to confirm our date. I rushed into it completely, it was a giant leap of faith really because although we thought it was a great venue, the only reason it was so great was because of convenience. Yes the alarm bells started ringing. Hammering in fact.

After (yet another) wedding related meltdown, I took a drive to where my Mum’s memorial tree is to get some headspace and do some thinking aloud. On the drive there I cut through a village we used to live in when I was a teen, and saw a road sign for a restaurant called ‘Coltsfoot’. I remembered an old boss years ago telling me what a great venue it is, so when I got home I looked it up on the net and gave them a call… the ladies name was also Jenny, and I told her about my venue meltdown, and that the village has such a special place in my heart because it’s where I grew up, and because it reminds me of my Mum. The poor woman basically got my life story! I had to go and look at it, but were they available on our wedding date? Nope. They were the week after though……

We viewed it on a really sunny day, and my heart flipped over in my chest when we pulled up outside. Coltsfoot Country Retreat in all it’s glory. I remembered from CAOS’s wedding report that she had also had Venue issues, and I knew that I had to trust my instincts. It’s so important to be in love with your Venue!

I loved it. It was totally what I had envisioned for our reception, and they would cater for us allowing spit roasts, bbq’s, bacon butties, ice cream vans and whatnot. We could have anything we ruddy well wanted! I actually hopped with glee. I had a lump in my throat about it (yes dramatic I know).

So here we had ourselves a bit of a dilemma. Plus points were perfect venue, perfect area, just perfect everything, and minus points were losing a hefty deposit on The Colonnade, and a 45 min drive from the church. Hmmm.

What the heck were we going to do….??

Love

Jen xxx

I’m on fire at the moment, with regards to planning that is! All the important things are booked, ideas are all on paper, dress is being made as we speak, it’s going well and the clock is ticking away. Only 7 months to go til the big day, and we’ve been engaged for almost a year!

I’ve started to think about my hen weekend in Brighton. Or ‘getting married party’ as I seem to keep calling it, I don’t mean to call it that it’s just I still can’t get my head around the fact that I am a hen! I don’t feel like a hen, I don’t want ‘L’ plates or naff tiaras or anything generically hen-like, I feel itchy just thinking about penis straws and dare’s! I sound like such a misery guts don’t I?! I can assure you I’m not. I don’t need ‘L’ plates and willy straws to make a complete show of myself I manage that just fine on my own thank you very much!

I’ve also started to think about getting a band booked for the mahoosive evening reception we’re planning. With only 7 months to go I’d better pull my finger out!

I’m at the stage of planning where things are just ticking over nicely. Budget is in check. The Budget Spreadsheet is in check (and looking really colourful) I am starting to feel as though this is the calm before the storm but I’m enjoying it as it is. I have done so much ‘budget bothering’ lately and recommend other brides haggle their backsides off, if you don’t ask you don’t get! We’ve still not chosen invitations, however we have been given a good price by www.loveweddingprint.co.uk but are still on the lookout for something a little ‘different’. I fell in love with these invitation tea towels from www.weddingteatowels.co.uk very eco friendly, and certainly different!

I have contemplated making invitations myself but am wary of taking on too much. I have loads of D-i-y bits and bobs from Hobbycraft, and am a lover of the Reeves watercolour paints, so may attempt a mock up this weekend. I also have a sample invitation on it’s way from www.zazzle.co.uk which I designed myself, this site is a little like Vistaprint but I found Zazzle has more variety (it’s a little like Primark you have to wade through the crap to find the hidden gems!) I do however keep having to remind myself not to spend money like it’s water!

Our lovely Church has put dates in our diary for meetings, to fill in questionnaires about our relationship and what not. We have to prove we are ready for marriage and that we agree on lifes biggest issues! It’s quite scary, but in a good way. Our Reverend is a really lovely man, with a big family. And although Mr O and I aren’t avid church goers they have really made us feel welcome, and as the time draws nearer I think (I hope) we will go along to Sunday morning services, so that it all feels a little more familiar and homely to us when we get married there.

The nightmares have begun though. 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! The last one I had was me in a dress from Woolworths, marrying a boy I used to play kiss chase with at primary school. He was still 7 and I 29….

Bit wrong?!

Love

Jenny xx

How do couples get through this whole planning period with their nerves intact? I’d had a heads up from some close friends after they married, letting me know that despite how laid back I am, it WILL be stressful. How I scoffed at such a thought. Me, stressed over marrying Mr O? I doubt that very much!

Well Mrs Bradbury you were right. I was wrong.

And there’s still 8 months to go.

I swore to myself I would just tread water and make it seem as though everything was going really smoothly, when really I felt as though the weights around my ankles were getting heavier.. and heavier… and was this really what it was supposed to be like? Wasn’t everything supposed to be so much easier?

You get so far into the planning that after a while the train of all things wedding gains momentum and has a life of it’s own. Even though (and I swear this is true) I have hardly been what you would call ‘Bridezilla’ about things. I’ve been to one wedding fair, two bridal shops, and I’ve knocked the wedding magazines on the head completely. I managed to convince myself that Church weddings were for girls with Parents to give her away, that the wedding breakfast was for Parents to give speeches and tell lovely stories, I felt a bit overwhelmed by the fact that although I was overjoyed at marrying the man I love, I didn’t have my Mum or Dad there to share the day with me. The lack of father I could cope with, why grieve for someone who was never there? Anyway, I had been inundated with offers of people wanting to give me away! But still, having to accept that Mum wouldn’t be there choked me. I didn’t and couldn’t see myself as a Bride, walking down a church aisle. This wedding would be the first time in a long time my family had all got together under pleasant circumstances, and I just felt the pressure of it all was getting too much. However, could I see myself on my favourite beach in Koh Phangan?

Heck of course I could!

Image courtesy of ‘Thai the knot‘

So with all these wobbles in mind, we looked into tying the knot abroad. I mentioned this to my lovely big brother (who is kindly giving me away) with trepidation, he works hard for his wife and two daughters – we rarely see each other so would they be up for coming away and joining us? Yes, they were! Stone the crows. I couldn’t believe it! So I got loads of info and spoke to Lisa at The Thailand Wedding Company and also went direct to a gorgeous boutique resort on my favourite beach in Phangan, and discovered we could have the wedding of our dreams for about £2k. After weighing up the costs it was a no brainer. We’d save ourselves a ton of money, and a fair bit of stress.
My heart leaped whenever I thought about it, it felt right.

Image courtesy of ‘Thai the knot‘

But when we looked a little deeper into the logistics of guests etc, we discovered that too many people would be excluded. Important family members wouldn’t be able to come, and this choked Mr O. We had to get some sort of plan together, we had to agree on a wedding day that was for us. Me and Him. Without putting anybodies noses out of joint.

Turns out that I want the church wedding afterall. I’ve gone completely full circle on myself! Why should I shy away from the fact that I feel vulnerable? We all have insecurities and wobbles about things, and my not having my Mum and Dad there isn’t something I am in control of. Nor is it something I should feel ashamed of, I had to have a quiet word with myself. I’m not the first bride to get married without the loving support of parents. And what really matters is what is right here, right now, in the present. I am marrying my best friend, my sister and my brother are right there with me. And I have their love and support no matter what I decide on. No pressure what so ever. They just go along with whatever crazy idea I have next, and they never question it. And I feel lucky to have them. So everything is good again in the planning process.

My advice to anyone having similar issues, or family issues – I’ve heard so many stories of the pressures placed on couples by their families – just do what you want to do. Do what feels right. Life is too short!

Love

Jenny x

I’m loving all the killer heels in the shops at the moment, I love wearing heels as at 5′9 in bare feet it is very empowering to don the heels and strut around aka SJP Sex and the City style.

The only drawback? Being 6′ tall in said heels… and being about the same height as my fella, Duncan from Blue.

So imagine my dismay when looking about for quirky wedding shoes, they’re all 4 inches high and so not a great match for my lanky self, or my dress. boo.

I bought some kitten heels from ebay, in a shocking purple colour, peep toe, lovely. But they made my toes look like squished up fingers – eek. Not a good look. So I sold them, on Ebay.

I then thought about buying a pair of Christian Louboutins, just for the wedding photo’s. I wouldn’t actually wear them to walk up the aisle in because Duncan from Blue would have a mild panic attack at the sheer size of me. I could make use of them though, when i’m out with my friends having cocktails, and such like.

Then I thought what a huge waste of money that would be, buying CL’s just for poxy photo’s??!

Seriously, this wedding planning brings out the material side of me I never knew existed!

I then fell in love with some vintage Vivien Westwood…..but they’re still too high! And I don’t think the style would really suit the dress i’ve picked. Oh I just want some gorgeous kitten heeled shoes that are a bright lovely colour, is that too much to ask?? I want to be able to look up at my husband on our wedding day, I don’t want to be eyeballing his forehead (albeit a handsome forehead). And although Mr O feels far from immasculated by me when I am trotting around in my high heels, I can’t deny I sometimes feel gigantic and hugely conspicuous. And I don’t want to feel anything but dainty and ladylike on the day I become a Mrs. So to narrow down the search, I’m after a one, to two inch heel max, in green, or purple, or gold. Or blue. Peep toe or pointy, I don’t mind. Can anyone give me any pointers?
Thank you!

Love

Jenny xx

I had the pleasure, and honour, of attending my best friend from schools’ Wedding recently. We grew up together, and from playschool age we have had a tight bond that nothing and no one can break. We have drifted in and out of each others lives over the years but we always get back to one another some how, it really is a true friendship (nearly made myself cry then!)

Charlotte announced last year that James had popped the question, and that it would be a rather short engagement! Knowing I am an aspiring Make Up Artist it sort of went without saying that I would at least give her a trial… considering the last time I did her make up, was when we were 11 years old and we’d just spent all our pocket money on the Rimmel counter in the local Chemist, there was no guarantee that my skills had improved!

Nervously I applied her make up, taking mental notes of what I was using, and how well it applied. I know her face inside out (sounds a bit grim that actually – but when you know someone 25 years you tend to know their gorgeous bits). Time whizzed by and after 3 hours there she was all made up, lashes extended, posing for my camera looking stunning. Slight problem with that though. Three hours is a bloody long time! Well it flies when you’re having fun – we nattered and chattered and laughed like hyeana’s just like we always do, but 3 hours? Seriously?

I believe Make Up is a tool in which to enhance natural beauty. I believe it should have a natural effect and be used to enhance big eyes, or luscious lips, or sculpt amazing bone structure. I am not a huge fan of using bright colours, mainly because colours tend to look so horrid on me I guess it’s all down to confidence, so I admit to playing it safe and using neutral, earthy colours on my eyes and using colour on my cheeks, or lips. This theory applies to Bridal make up, I think most brides want to look natural – not too ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ whilst they’re saying I do. This was definitely the case with our Charlotte. Lucky for her she is a natural beauty, (she will be blushing when she reads this) – a natural blonde, and she has the luscious lips and the bone structure – basically she made my job very easy!

She wanted to look natural, but glowing, and flawless (of course).

So she invested in some Bare Minerals make up. I must say this stuff rivals that of Mac Face and Body foundation (I’m like a walking advert for the stuff – I l-o-v-e it). It’s coverage is smooth, and creamy, and it blends well. I started by prepping her skin with Smashbox photo finish primer – a must have ladies it leaves skin smooth and flawless and your foundation will stick to it for hours. We used a smaller brush to apply the bare minerals as a concealer around her eyes, nose, and as a primer on the eye lid for eyeshadow, then using a large round brush I swished it on in circles gradually building a sufficient layer.

I used Mac Blushbaby to shade and contour her cheek bones, and temples, then Mac Well Dressed on the apples of her cheeks for a pop of shimmery pink colour. I then highlighted her cheek bones just underneath the eye area, sweeping upwards towards her temples with a shimmery gold eyeshadow – any gold eyeshadow will do! It reflects the light giving you a really gorgeous structure.

We used earthy charcoal colours on her eyes, highlighting the socket, then using an angled brush with a deep aubergine powder to line the upper lash line. Lined the inner upper eyelid with black eyeliner, lower inner lid with white eye liner to really make her eyes sparkle. I used a powder on her eyebrows just to give them some depth and definition for the photographs. Charlotte had lash extensions on so we only needed to use a tiny amount of mascara. I lined her cupids bow with a natural lip pencil, applied some Vaseline Rose Lip Therapy and she was good to go!

Voila! My gorgeous Charlotte on her Wedding day. It was a pleasure doing her make up and even more of a pleasure watching my oldest friend say her vows to the lovely Jim, I can’t deny a small part of me felt really proud watching her walk down the aisle – love you to bits Charlotte xx

Jenny xx

I love fresh flowers, I treat myself to a bunch every time I do a shop. I just can’t help but make a beeline for them the minute I step foot in Sainsburys.

When it came to wedding flowers, Duncan from Blue gave me artistic licence – he gave me a good idea of what he wanted though, and what he didn’t want, and thankfully we’re both singing from the same hymn sheet because our tastes are very similar. I just have to have sunflowers. I used to be scared stiff of them when I was a little girl – but having grown up (just about) I have a new found respect for them.

I also love peonies. And British Gladioli, and tulips, daisies, yellow roses and especially Daffs, because they remind me of my Mum. I love hydrangeas as they remind me of butterflies, and I even love Carnations – which is a bit risqué as they remind most people of funerals. I had the pleasure of attending a wedding recently (and of doing the Bridal make up too – cacked myself with nerves but everything went tickety boo!) where the bridesmaids posy’s were carnations, they looked beautiful, simple, and classic.

I knew I didn’t want red roses. Or any sort of rose for that matter. I love roses, and they are very weddingy – especially in the lovely vintage colours that are so fashionable at the moment but I just wanted a complete mismash of floral arrangements and lace ribbons. So I have decided on a large bloom sunflower for each of the bridesmaids. For my Sister and I, (inspired by none other than Charlotte RMW O’Shea) a lovely pouffy bouquet of hydrangea (yes, a Shrub!), lily green for me, and lilac for my sister. I think the lilac pouffyness will contrast nicely with her lily green dress. The BM dresses will be in differing shades of dusky lilac, and sunflowers really go well with lilac, just like peas go with carrots.

The loveliest idea of all though, suggested by my Mum in law to be, is to have a photo of my Mum and Dad in a locket, and have it incorporated into my bouquet so I can drape it over my hand when I walk down the aisle. What a beautiful and touching idea – and no one will know – well, unless they’re RMW followers that is!

And as for the reception, well lots of funky floral ideas – I don’t want to give too many of my ideas away just yet, suffice to say I am inspired by pictures like these:

And my collection of jam jars now exceeds 17. That’s a lot of jamjars considering there’s 9 months until the wedding. We seem to have an awful lot of Dolmio shaped jam jars…. And peanut butter shaped jam jars…. Still I think it’s quite rustic and they’ll look great in the garden area with tea lights or flowers in. How very Martha Stewart of me!

Lots of love

Jenny xx