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Moneymoon.

January 9th, 2012

It’s been a while since we’ve included anything ‘moon related on RMW. And the reason for that is…no idea. It’s almost as if it comes secondary to us, which is not exactly surprising considering we are essentially a wedding blog. But here’s the thing you see, is the honeymoon not quite as important as the big day to the vast majority of brides? if I’m honest it wasn’t to me. And if I’m even more honest after the W-day spend I wasn’t sure how we could even afford to go on the “holiday of a lifetime”.

Well um… we couldn’t. And instead had a “mini-moon” in Mykonos which was mostly funded via our “gift list” – i.e. guests made contributions to an account set up by an independent travel company local to us that went towards the cost of flights and accommodation.

Not to downplay our week away (we had a super time ta) but we have actually never gone on what was supposed to be our proper honeymoon. Setting up a new business venture whilst working full time didn’t help obviously but still, after talking at length about the road trip across the US we were going to embark on some weeks after saying “I do” I am more than a little sad we never made more of an effort to make the necessary savings and sacrifices to just DO IT.

But at the time the wedding was more important. And we simply didn’t have the money.

Anyway what is the point of this post I hear you ask….well then, it’s to ask you gorgeous lot a few things that will be handy for Team RMW to know for future content (and anyone else who has a ‘moon/money dilemma and is in need of some advice)

Advance Warning: – there may be more than a few questions here, please don’t feel obliged to answer them all.

Overall would you say the ‘moon does come secondary to the big day?

From getting engaged did you allocate a budget to your honeymoon as per you did for W-day?

I know the whole contribution towards honeymoon as a gift list scenario is certainly more commonplace now but has anyone still got reservations on this option as per the whole “asking for money” debate?

Like me have you chosen a mini-moon and are you in favour of saving the pennies for the future where you are planning on doing the whole “BIG” trip?

Talking of BIG trip do you think there is a certain pressure/expectation that the holiday after your wedding should be some uber fancy gettaway when actually why can’t we have a more significant holiday whenever we want one?

Any of you favouring a budget friendly retreat in the UK rather than flying across several thousand miles of ocean for your break?

Have you deliberately not advised your travel agent it is a honeymoon to see if you can avoid the ahem premium that may be added on as a result?

And last but not least, would you like to see a wee bit more ‘Moon action on RMW in the future? and if so, what kind of things would be helpful/useful?

Your feedback is as always, muchos appreciated lovelies.

And just so I haven’t left you with a heap of text and absolutely no pretty have you SEEN the new spring collection on H & M?! so cool! so ruddy cheap!

Two of my favourite items:

Mesh Jumper - £14.99, looks ace thrown over a vest top with jeans, would look equally lovely over your swimwear I imagine. They also do it in white and pale grey of which I have both. (By the way – anyone know how you go about doing that sexy head scarf thing like the model without looking like Mrs Mop?)

Crochet Bikini - £19.98 for top and briefs. This is underwired, fully lined and divine. Seriously – one the nicest bikinis I own, so flattering. They also do it in white…. yes yes I have both colours. A little piece of advice – I find the bikini tops come up particularly small so I always go up a size.

Further warnings, making a visit to H & M on-line is a bit like a tube of pringles, once you pop shop you just can’t stop.

Big Looking Forward To Hearing What You Have To Say Love

Charlotte xxx

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Posted in Planning The RMW Way

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Little Miss Worry.

January 2nd, 2012

So… I’m only a month into planning and it seems to be going really well so far, got the venue, picked my dress, narrowed our choice of photographers down to two and booked our catering tasting. All of these things have been a breeze but I have a couple of things niggling my little brain….

1. Money – I just don’t know how we are going to pay for all of this….and we are making big cuts!! let’s just hope all of my DIY bits and pieces are going to look fabulous.

2. Family - As my Mum and Dad are divorced… and I am born worrier, I REALLY hope they get on well on the day and set my mind to rest. The day is about Malc and I so just for twenty four hours I want them to be friends again.

3. My bonce - One of our cut backs is hair and make-up, I am pretty nifty with a comb so I’m doing all my bridesmaids hair do’s and my own too. My sister is planning on waking me up at 4am (to get me back for getting her up on her day!) so I’m pretty sure I will have enough time but I hope I’m not having a bad hair day and it looks well… rubbish!

4. My wibbly belly – I hope I trim down and fit into my dress!

I think I’m probably a bit early to be worrying about these things but I just can’t help it, it’s such an important day and you only do it once so naturally I want it to go smoothly. Although as previously mentioned I am a born worrier, I do know how to brush things off and just get on so hopefully my laid back approach will shine through on the day…

(Fingers, legs, arms crossed…)

So how about you lovely brides to be, any niggling worries whilst planning? Or if you are in married bliss already, did you have any worries and did your day go as smoothly as you wished??

Lots of (hopefully) laid back love

Vix
xx

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Posted in Planning The RMW Way

Age Is Just A Number…….Right?

December 16th, 2011

My first pet name for Mr O’Shea was Manboy, this was because at the grand old age of 22 he had the 6ft 1″ height and broad shoulders of a very manly erm… man but was still very much the proud owner of distinctly boyish good looks. And for a laugh I used to sometimes sing that Britney Spears song to him but change the appropriate lyrics “You’re not a boy, not yet a maaaannnnn, all I need is time, a moment that is mine….”

Know the one?

No?

Oh.

Moving. swiftly. on.

Anyways, Mr O’Shea is a whole 18 months younger than me. He is my toy-boy boy-toy. My younger man arm-candy.

I’m kidding obviously, with such a small age gap I hardly ever give it a second thought and only yesterday I was out having cocktails with my friend Jo who told me that her husband was 3 years younger than her. A few months ago a young lady I recruited whilst at my day job informed me that her partner was 8 years younger than she. Can’t say I thought much about that at the time either. And never in a month of Sundays would I stop to think we are entering into some kind of Cougar territory.

So the question is, when does an age gap become questioned? when is an age gap deemed so significant that the media get a hold of it and label a relationship “disgusting” and the victims receive death threats on Twitter?

In preparation for the festive season I have treated myself to a bit of pampering of late, my roots are now newly white-blonde and my once flaking nails are now neat and tidy and a flattering shade of luminous charcoal. And whilst I was receiving these beauty treats I indulged in one of my guilty pleasures – a flick through the various celebrity gossip magazines.

There seemed to be two hot topics, the impending divorce of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher and the alleged romance between Xfactor presenter Caroline Flack and member of One Direction pop starlet Harry Styles.

The general consensus of the former is that the age gap (16 years if my sources serve me correctly) meant that Mr Kutcher was inevitably at some point going to go searching for a younger model. The latter has seen a whole host of journalists whip out the hot pokers for a good old prod at 32 year old Madam Flack and her 17 year old boyfriend of choice.

Some of it has been really really mean. And spiteful. And frankly all a bit unnecessary.

Yes I know if these people are in the public eye they are invariably going to get talked and written about at every available opportunity but death threats? seriously?

There was one particular piece on a newspaper website written by a female journo about Caroline and Harry that made me very angry indeed. It was just so venomous and nasty, and no – I’m pretty sure she had never even met either of the couple or had the first clue about their private affairs.

Who does except the people actually involved anyway?

I am a similar age to Flack, and to be honest I can’t imagine ever dating someone who was seventeen, when I was seventeen I didn’t want to date anyone that was seventeen but then perhaps the boys in my class were unusually immature.

The point I am making is that the above statement is just my experience, who’s to say Mr Styles isn’t the nicest, most mature, most charasmatic and entertaining male Madam Flack has ever had the pleasure of meeting? Perhaps they have a right old laugh together. Perhaps they spend hours discussing shared interests or the state of the economy, perhaps they exchange tips on what makes their chestnut barnets so darn shiny…. I really don’t know, and it’s none of my ruddy business.

What I do know is that if they are in a relationship then that is the choice of two consenting adults, who lets face it, could have their pick of many a groupie – similar age or not.

As for Ashton and Demi well, I don’t think age can ever be the only reason behind the breakdown of a marriage.

This topic caused a very heated discussion at the O’Shea dinner table the other night, there was much arm flapping (him) and fist banging (me). And although I don’t consider myself much of a feminist yes I did bring up the whole what-if-it-was-the-other-way-around-and-it-was-the-man-that-was-older scenario.

So folks, what are your thoughts?

Is your betrothed a toy-boy boy-toy?

Has any of the recent media coverage of the aforementioned romances made you mad?

And is age just a number or are there gaps that are just well… that bit too wide.

I think this could get interesting.

Big I’m Looking Forward to Your Thoughts Love

Charlotte xxx

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An Unexplainable Intensity.

December 13th, 2011

As I have probably mentioned before a million times, as much as we like pretty pictures here at RMW HQ we love a love story. Especially one that is honest, witty and makes us take a sharp intake of breath at the complete and utter romanticism of it all.

Dave and Laura were engaged after 3 months because they just knew. And I guess sometimes it just kind of happens like that.

Killer curves, carrot cake, Camden, the perfect floral print tea-dress and the most amazing lashes I have ever seen……Fall in love at first sight folks.

With thanks to Laura Babb for sending us this lovely Tuesday treat.

Laura: David and I met in a sticky indie club in Southampton called Lennons, in November last year. Our eyes met as we drunkenly sang along to ‘This Charming Man’ by the Smiths and boom, that was it, literally instant love. We got engaged after 3 months! I knew, within about 2 weeks that this was the person I was going to marry. Both of us have been in long-term relationships before without a sniff of an engagement, but we sort of crashed into each other with an intensity that you can’t explain unless you’ve felt it yourself.

We aren’t even particularly alike – I like tattoos, Led Zeppelin, trash tv and have a slight obsession with daschunds. David is cerebral, enjoys the outdoors, is a secret 80s cheese-music fan and former Tory voter (ok I admit it, I used to be too… ). Yet none of our differences, whether in taste or personality, mattered – in fact they highlight how much we fit together, like sticklebricks.

Oh, and we both have a healthy appreciation for Jagerbombs! We knew it was going to be somewhat unexpected to most. Maybe not to the people who really knew us as a couple.. but we had had many long conversations whilst walking between David’s house and mine about our future, and it was pretty much set in stone that it would be ‘when’ and not ‘if’.

My birthday is the 7th of February, the weekend before that we had gone ‘to look at’ rings. I fell in love with a beautiful old diamond ring, the very first one I saw, and though I tried on quite a few others, none matched up to it. So it was bought, but remade in exactly the same style, in rose gold, so it was a mix of the old and the new. Incidentally, the jewelers was the same that my parents and grandparents had got their wedding rings from!

So… I knew that The Ring was being made, but I didn’t know when The Actual Proposal was coming.

As it happened, it was on my birthday, over a champagne cocktail in a gorgeous bar in Southampton, before we met up with my family for dinner. I couldn’t understand why David was in such an odd mood before we got there!

The ring was presented to me in a tiny purse covered with daisies (my absolute favourite) as the final mini-present (I had been given flowers, a tiny knitted dog on a key-ring etc). David was facing into the room while I faced the wall and I’m told that the entire bar/restaurant staff had gathered at the bar behind me to watch!

It was such a surprise, and so thoughtfully done. I couldn’t have been happier, and floated on air off to dinner with all the family to proudly show it off”

We fit together…. like Sticklebricks.

*sighs*

Any of you lovelies embarking on a whirlwind engagement/wedding?

Big Sometimes You Just Know Love

Charlotte xxx

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Ask The Experts – Wedding Planning With Kim Neville.

December 9th, 2011

Happy Friday you gorgeous lot. This morning we have the opportunity for you to pick an experienced wedding planner’s brain (regardless of whether you personally are considering a planner for W-day or not) so get your questions at the ready (and I mean any questions – don’t be shy!) and Kim Neville from The Pink Pumpkin will do her best to answer them for you. In the meantime she also has some useful tips, tricks and pretty ideas (loving the hanging watering can and “eat me” crates) for you all to enjoy.

Kim Neville: A wedding….

The most magical of occasions, and a time to share your love and happiness with your closest friends and family, to shout to the world how much you love your betrothed and that you have decided to spend the rest of your days together as husband and wife.

Sounds like a dream.

Potentially, a complete bloomin’ nightmare!

It is likely to be the biggest party you have ever organised and when you take into account the hundreds of options available to you for every aspect of planning your big day, the minefield of suppliers and the sheer scale of the logistics involved, it’s no wonder that many brides-to-be feel overwhelmed and fearful of the journey ahead! I did when I got engaged, and I’d been planning weddings for over five years!

Fear not though lovely ladies; planning a wedding should be fun, and there are a few things I have learned over the years that will hopefully help you along the way and allow you to enjoy your engagement, the planning, and most importantly the wedding day itself.

This is Kim Neville looking ridiculously lovely on her own W-day in the summer, photography courtesy of Polly Alexandre. if you want to see the rest of Kim’s beautiful day look out for it in an upcoming issue of YAYW magazine.

Finding Your Big Day Style

There are so, so many places for you to find inspiration for your big day – blogs like these gorgeous polka dot pages, magazines, friends’ weddings; more than ever we are bombarded with imagery of beautiful weddings, quirky weddings, weddings in gardens, weddings in country houses, weddings in cities, weddings in the countryside (you get the picture!) and it can be hard within all of that to really think about what’s “you”.

As a starting point, look to your daily life and think about what you like doing as a couple; if you enjoy dining at fancy restaurants, sipping on cocktails in trendy bars and jetting off on a European city break in a hip hotel it’s unlikely that a rustic teepee in the middle of a field, bedecked with bunting and hay bales is very reflective of you as a couple. And vice versa. So make a list of all the things you like doing together and think about how you could incorporate these into your wedding day style.

Don’t just stick to the wedding world for inspiration. I often take inspiration from interiors magazines and blogs, as well as the world of fashion when designing and styling weddings. There may also be key elements of your wedding, your gown for example, which will then really help you get a feel for the rest of the wedding; my wedding dress skirt looked like frothy chiffon roses so I incorporated roses heavily into the design of the day – not in an OTT way though; sometimes small touches are the way forward.

Finally, don’t feel like you have to have a “theme” – I’ve seen many a bride panic as they don’t have a specific theme; you really don’t have to have one! If your wedding is full of things that you both love, designed and styled to reflect your personality and interests then essentially your theme is “us” which quite frankly is the best theme you can possibly have!


Images courtesy of Mason Photography and styling by Kim Neville

Getting The Most Bang for Your Buck!

First things first, you really need to be realistic about what you can afford to spend on your wedding.

A wedding doesn’t necessarily have to cost a small fortune, but you must spend what you feel comfortable with. If you need to have tricky discussions with parents about whether they will be paying or contributing to the wedding fund, the earlier you have them, the easier it will be for all involved and you can then let the fun of planning begin!

Use a spreadsheet to keep track of your expenditure and always remember to factor in extras such as VAT or service charges. Keep a contingency within your budget and if you overspend in one area, see how you can cut back in others to compensate. Every couple’s priorities are different, so think about what’s really important to you and allocate your budget appropriately.

Become Miss Organised not Dis-organised

Organisation is really key to planning a wedding; there are plenty of guides out there which give timelines on what to sort out when; often you can print these out and tick items off as you go along, or download to your computer or phone.  

Keep a wedding notebook where you can write down your to-do lists and also any ideas or inspirations you have when you’re out and about.

Keep the contact details of all your suppliers in there and this will then make it easy to copy out and distribute to ushers and your venue on the day itself.

It’s never really too early to book suppliers in and remember the earlier you book, the more choice of supplier you will have and the less you’ll have to do later on! Try to split your to-do list into manageable chunks and delegate some things if possible… above all, try not to freak out at the seemingly never-ending list of items to be ticked off; it will all be fine!


Images courtesy of Laura Dodsworth and styling by Kim Neville

Enjoy Your Engagement

Being engaged is such an amazing time in your life, so treasure that time and approach your wedding planning as a fun and enjoyable experience that you can have together. If you feel like it’s all getting too much, take some time out, go for dinner together or a walk, or whatever you enjoy doing and ban any mention of the “w” word!  

So enjoy your planning ladies, have fun and above all when the big day does come make sure you have the best time of your life… it’s all over far too quickly so make every moment count.


Images courtesy of Mason Photography and styling by Kim Neville

Any questions you’ve got ladies fire away, I’m here ready to answer them as best and as quickly as I can!

Much Love,

Kim x

*You can check out Kim’s website at www.thepinkpumpkin.co.uk

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Posted in Ask The Experts

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Done To Death….?

December 5th, 2011

Rock My Wedding and I’m assuming most other W-day blogs aim to inspire you, showcasing various fashion and styling ideas for you to take away, make your own and use for your own big day in any which way your heart desires.

I’ve been noticing recently that some planning brides seem concerned that certain details they would like to incorporate are being deemed “overdone”, “too popular” or “last year”. And this bothers me. A lot.

I am a wedding blogger. I see all kinds of weddings all day every day. About 99% of them have a white dress, a bouquet and bridesmaids. I never tire of looking at any of these things because no matter how “similar” a particular affair may seem if written down in plain old black and white they never ever are.

Photobooths for example. I had a make-shift photobooth at my own W-day and it was very flattering if not a bit surreal to see how many others were influenced by the way we did things (foam board captions, random fancy dress props, general hilarity)….. I noticed RMW Bride Katie had mentioned in her report that she had thought twice about having one because she’d witnessed so many already on these very pages, yet it was by far (and I’m quoting her exact words here) the “biggest hit of the night”.

And here lies the problem. If you are reading this post then I’m guessing you check out RMW pretty regularly as well as various other blogs and glossy magazines. You will therefore probably see a lot of bunting. And single stems in jam jars. And photobooths.

The question is, do you like bunting and single stems in jam jars?

Not really?

Well then, you don’t have to have any at your wedding.

You love them?

Excellent. Have as many as you want.

Because here’s the thing, I have never been to a wedding that has bunting. Or delicious blooms displayed in jam jars. Or (unless you count my own) a photobooth. And I would very much like to please. After all a picture – no matter how beautiful, is never quite the same as seeing the real thing.

You see the likelihood is your guests will not have seen many of the decor details you have planned, and even if they have so what?, it doesn’t mean they will enjoy them any less. And I bet your version will be a million miles away from anything else anyway.

Being a planning bride herself and of course contributing to RMW Vix and I had quite a legnthy debate about this subject over tea and cake the other day, here’s what she had to say:

Vix: As a new bride to be I am noticing that there seems to be a little pressure out there to be unique when planning a wedding, lots of people suggest things to you that they may have seen at other weddings that they think are great ideas or are a bit “different”. It is so hard to be completely innovative, chances are it’s been done somewhere before. I’ve reached the stage where I think: Does it really matter if certain themes or items such as a sweetie table have been done before? In reality, when I go to a wedding I look forward to seeing how beautiful the bride looks in her dress, the romantic-ness of watching people I know and love tie the knot, the meal (because as I keep reminding everyone I love food!) and then the music, dancing, having a laugh with our friends and family…. and that’s what I remember. I think being different isn’t the be all and end all, if you like or love some thing, then, if you can have it, HAVE IT. And you know what? Malc and I REALLY love sweets.

It’s true though isn’t it, as much as I look forward to seeing how a couple have personalised their day actually I most look forward to getting swept up in the joy and the happiness of it all.

(Oh and like Vix the food bit – especially dessert..)

So the point I am making is this people. We say do it your way because that’s exactly what we mean, whether that be a W-day that features many a RMW-inspired idea or a celebration that is just that – a celebration with absolutely non of the fancy frills.

Or even maybe something that is completely and utterly originally never-been-done-before 100% unique. Like um… a Star Trek theme for example (and let me guess, one of you has seen this before somewhere…. right?)

So then you gorgeous lot – let’s discuss.

Are there certain things you feel you can’t possibly have for W-day because you’ve seen them several times before?

Feeling the pressure to not only dedicate a significant amount of time to planning but also to become some kind of super duper innovator?

Has anyone said/have you read anything recently on this subject that has rubbed you up the wrong way?

I am REALLY looking forward to reading your feedback on this one folks.

Big Inspirational Love

Charlotte xxx

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Posted in Planning The RMW Way