From BluefishJD’s last post about choosing the wedding venue you’ll be up to speed and know he has the date, church and venue in the bag and with a little break in the planning process it was time to get back into gear and start looking at suppliers & services he and his bride would need to pull this wedding off. His first port of call was the photographer…

I have to be honest, initially we were a bit put off by the huge cost and I know as a professional offering a service myself that professional wedding photographers’ cost reflects their level of experience, skill, business expenses and their time not only on the day but in the editing suite after and hats off to them. A good photographer is worth his weight but in some cases we were looking at 2 months mortgage repayments just for photos which was a no go. Even some of the CD only packages were quite on the steep side – keep in mind I had started this process with a budget figure in my head and as we were paying for all this ourselves and want a life after our big day I had to be realistic.

Our Photographer Search

Knowing that we had not one but two semi-pro photographers (one who specialises in reportage photography which is what we wanted) on our guest list we knew we had a back up plan in those if all else was to fail. But the search continued, and as I consider myself an “alright” amateur photographer myself with a keen eye I knew what I was looking for. But then it happened… as like all these things by pure chance I came into contact with a local start-up photographer via work – I had seen some of her work previously, not knowing that it was her’s and was impressed. She had been working as an assistant photographer for a larger studio since finishing college, working mostly on weddings and portraits but had yet to do a full wedding on her own and was now breaking out on her own, starting her own business. So after a bit of chatting and bit of negotiating, we had our photographer.

At one of our meetings we went through her portfolio and her style was exactly what we were looking for – I knew that Bluefish Belle and I would not take too kindly to constantly standing and posing and smiling (you know those fake, forced smiles as you’ve been posing for so long your jaw hurts… just not us). We wanted a very reportage approach (with just a few of the typical generic “have to be done” poses – bare minimum) to capture our day and not only do we know she will achieve this but she couldn’t be nicer! I’m very excited for her to shoot our wedding, we already feel comfortable with her and she is so friendly so one thing we definitely don’t have to worry about on the day is “did the photographer get that?”!

Our Guest Photographers!

Going back to our photographic guests they have since approached us and said they’d love to capture the day in their own way as well as having the professional photographer there (which she is fine with too) and one of them gave me a great idea. He suggested writing a little note of welcome to our guests with a special request of passing on their photos to us via CD so as we can really capture our day from every angle! I love it – so we will have such a fantastic variety of shots now (I’d say the table ones towards the end of the night will be the funniest). I can’t wait to start creating our album…which I plan on designing myself.

Next on our checklist that we started looking at was the music side of things which I will get into next time here on so don’t forget to check it back again….

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community

We continue our groom’s wedding blog series with our Irish groom BluefishDJ’s search full his perfect wedding venue…

Still on a high, and just weeks into our engagement we started talking dates and more importantly destination! As Bluefish Belle is from Poland I suppose I automatically thought (& would have enjoyed) we’d go to Poland and as it turned out so did a lot of my family and our Irish guests who were looking forward to that something different, wedding wise, and a trip to Poland too!

The Destination

But after a good chat we realised as well as having more control over the wedding plans and the fact that we’d had our life together here for the last five years with all our friends living here it was just better to have it in Ireland. Another thing was that it’d be logistically easier to bring smaller percentage of our guests who were from Poland to Ireland rather than majority to Poland. We also felt we’d be “minding” our guests so to speak more if we did decide to have it in Poland. You can imagine my father – “what’s that, where are we going, what’s he saying, I won’t eat that” etc. etc. In the end all our Polish guests are beyond excited to be making the trip over here to Ireland and going to make a holiday of it, so all good!

The Date

So with destination chosen we moved on to the date. We knew we didn’t want a long engagement but also wanted to give ourselves time so as we could plan correctly and also save towards the big day. Straight away we ruled out a summer wedding – no offence to anyone having one, but let’s face it: Ireland hasn’t the best reputation for gorgeous summers so it would be very hit and miss, especially anywhere along the west coast of Ireland and summer is also hotel/reception venue peak season – so extra costs there! So we immediately thought September or March, after a little to-ing and fro-ing we decided on March 2012 – just over 13 months at the time of our decision – March stood out for us due to recent years its fine weather record around that time and also another big thing was the travel element for a lot of our guests, as not only would we have guests from Poland but also the UK and Australia, so we thought March wouldn’t be as expensive for flight tickets as other more popular holiday months.

March also is the month for daffodils which is one of Bluefish Belle’s and mine favorite flowers – they’re so fresh, burst of colour, the real essence of spring and their ability to grow in abundance! We have loads planted!! And we even got our family and friends involved with planting batches over the last couple of months, all of which will adorn the church and reception as decoration (another DIY element to our wedding).

The Venue

Confirmation of our wedding date being free with our chosen church we set about looking for a wedding venue. Living in the west of Ireland we were really spoilt for choice – a beach front hotel, a mountain Resort, an array of country manor houses, an elegant river side boutique hotel or even a castle! All capable of catering for our intimate affair but at our first meeting with our now chosen venue The Downhill House Hotel, in Ballina Co. Mayo we just knew it was for us! As well as the venue having to feel right for us we also wanted to have that personal connection with the person who’d be overseeing our big day.

We arrived late evening after viewing some other contenders, so twilight was setting in and immediately we noticed the beautifully lit landscaped gardens and the gurgling of what I now know as the Brosna River, tributary of the famous River Moy – photos, photos, photos rang around in my head. Upon arrival we were greeted by name and offered not only tea and coffee but a bite to eat aswell! As they say first impressions count and so far we were impressed – recent refurbishment to the hotel boasted such high end finishes as seamless marble flooring in the foyer with plush ornate floral designs running throughout the patterned walls, furniture and accessories.

The wedding coordinator was extremely pleasant and we found her extremely approachable and also felt (compared to previous meetings) a sense of connection/respect or something for us – maybe respect is the wrong word but there was just that personal feel, no fakeness if that makes sense! Due to these traits she put us at ease straight away, so with initial greetings over I got down to brass tacks – queue the A4 “wedding folder” – this is something I think you should all have when starting to plan – it holds a print out of the Wedding Checklist you can get off this site and also just great to keep the bits and pieces from other meetings or things you come across that is wedding related and as I pulled out my A4 ring bound folder I think she knew we (I) meant business and was organized

Questions For The Venue

From a little researching online I found a number of questions relevant to us as a couple, what we wanted of our wedding reception venue and just things that I thought would be needed to be asked that might have been forgotten if I didn’t have them written down, such as:

How many guests does your venue cater for?
Is there a reduction on mid-week / off-peak weddings?
What decorations and table settings are provided?
Bar extension?
Discounted Accommodation rates for guests?
When do we need to book rooms?
Is there/what is the Corkage charge?
When do you need final menu choice?
When do you need final numbers?
Is there an extra charge or supplementary charge for extra menu choices?
What time is band/DJ allowed to set up?
How much is the deposit?
When does the deposit need to be paid?
Will I receive a written contract? (Also remember to make sure you get a printed receipt of any deposits paid)

These above questions are just some of the key things I went with – I had 3 A4 sheets of questions that I thought were important and helpful on deciding on a venue. To get some more help check out The A-Z of Booking a Wedding Venue in the planning guides section of this site!

Surprise wasn’t the word when I asked if it was ok that she’d answer our questionnaire. She saw the sheets – she probably wasn’t expecting so much detail and questions never mind the fact that it was coming from me the groom!! But she did commend how well organised we were and thought it was an excellent idea and not something she had come across with other perspective wedding couples. So having her on side so to speak, we talked shop – having a number of years experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry I knew a bit about the food and beverage side of things and what we could get for say a set menu and I didn’t feel embarrassed by dropping this piece of information every so often so as to let her know I knew what I was talking about and with some more rapid fire questions and queries about decorations, red carpets, reception drinks, stage for entertainment we were finished. Having got a fantastic, very tailored to our needs and more importantly affordable wedding package we left feeling very positive about this meeting and the overall venue and said we’d be in touch! Always have the upper hand…

The Decision

Before we even got to the car Bluefish Belle grabbed my arm. ”I love it” she said, “but could you have been any harder on the poor woman, you drilled her”; and that I did in a professional, respectful manner I might add and knew what things to haggle on and what things to push for and of course others that were just best left as is; I didn’t want to push too much but a vein through my forum posts and my wedding planning approach and I’ll repeat it here – if you don’t ask you don’t get.

Taking everything into account – fantastic landscaped gardens, fully decorated ballroom, complimentary drinks reception, 6 rooms (including our bridal suite), corkage, hot food evening buffet and much more (some of which I have forgotten so must get out that email to remind myself) all for a fantastic won’t break the bank price per person! Plus a very friendly approachable wedding co-ordinator and a link with some of my family members having had their own wedding at this venue we decided that yes – the Downhill House Hotel ticked all our boxes and had the bells and whistles to boot!

I will add that we didn’t rush in to ringing them back as I felt we could get a little more haggling so in the end and after just one return call and a couple of emails we got the price we wanted which was within our budget and great value for all the extras that we were getting. Another factor that must be added here is the fact that we chose an off-season Saturday in March – I am sure if we had opted for a June, July, August Saturday wedding we would not be getting everything that is in our package for the price we are paying so think wisely about dates and months if you are budget conscious. You can have that fairytale day with all the trimmings without the huge cost. Do your research into a venue, best to be prepared and above all and this was definite in our case: embrace the venue itself, we really fell in love with the place both internally and externally and were very taken with the way we were treated by management venue and the wedding co-ordinator any time we were in communication with them and we know that leaving them to do what they do best – having 75 years in the business in this family run hotel – that our day is going to be fantastic and we have nothing to worry about as it will all be in their very capable hands….

Having secured the venue we were on a roll and had to start looking at the different services we would require for the day all of which I will bring you up to date in future posts so check back soon!

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community

Our regular blogger BluefishJD shares his insight into wedding planning from a groom’s perspective. This week, it’s all about the engagement – how he chose the perfect ring, and his New Year’s Eve proposal story…

The Ring

It started on a whim… ring shopping that is. Knowing Bluefish Belle was the ONE was clear in my mind from quite early in our relationship and I had thought about it – proposing that is but no definite timeline so to speak. It was a typical Saturday in July (2010) when I decided to wander into a local jewellers for a gander, just to see some rings, get an idea of prices etc. It was funny though as I stepped over that shop’s threshold I knew this was what I wanted and couldn’t wait to start looking. I was taken to a private room where the sales assistant started talking gold, white gold, cuts, clarity all initially going over my head but I nodded pretending I knew something.

Knowing Bluefish Belle’s taste from previous jewllery gifts I had gotten her (no rings I might add!) I knew straight away I wanted something in white gold but not decided on stones or the amount of them or a real budget in place to be honest – you hear things like, spend a months wage but to be honest I think it has to be something realistic that you can afford and I also think in the end no matter what the cost she is going to love it because it came from you. Bluefish Belle is still unaware to this day of the actual cost or worth of her ring, initially she thought a couple of hundred god bless her and even at that, too much, so I decided never to tell her as she’d kill me!

As the jeweller pulled out the third selection of rings, there it was, I knew instantly. I picked it up and just knew it was to be the ring that I would ask Bluefish Belle to marry me with. It was a solitaire diamond (0.81carat), on white gold with princess cut diamonds (making up the rest of the overall total 1carat) along the band, it was just perfect and of course very sparkly. Like always, I led with my heart and it was only after I had decided yes (in my head) this is the ring that I found out the price! Shock was an understatment, let’s just say more like 2 months’ wage but I just knew it was the one and knowing we wouldn’t be having a huge wedding – we did talk about these things from time to time – I wanted to give her that something extra special and knowing I had time to pay it off before I would propose I went with it.

There, it was done in one foul swoop, on just a notion I had picked the ring. In the following weeks I returned regularly to make sure it was the one and started doing my homework on engagement rings, as in, the 4 Cs, diamond worth etc. etc. so I did do it a bit backwards but I still knew that it was “the” ring.

Having chosen the ring the next obstacle was to get the right ring size! Challenging was not the word – due to work Bluefish Belle doesn’t wear rings – after numerous tries of directing coversation to rings in general and sizes etc. it dawned on me that one holiday abroad her sister had bought her a properly fitted ring which she did wear from time to time, so the hunt was on for that ring… upon finding it I brought it the jewellers for a fitting then came another obstacle she didn’t wear this ring on her wedding finger. So we guessed and the jeweller was happy to resize after the event if need be.

The Lead Up To The Proposal

We had already planned to spend Christmas (2010) with her family in Poland so I chose New Year’s Eve as the proposal date. It gave me time to pay off the ring over the next couple of months and I thought it would be nice as she’d have all her family around her due to the traditions on NYE in Poland with a big dinner and the all important fireworks – one key element in my proposal plan that I would not have been able to get over here!

Another thing was the guaranteed snow – but wouldn’t know, there Ireland goes and has its largest fall of snow and severest winter in recent history which caused the first major upset in project proposal – due to the heavy snow fall and ice here our flight got cancelled – tears a plenty as you can imagine as it was to be her first Christmas home since she arrived in Ireland 5 years ago, she was distraught and all I could do was console her, but (not to be selfish) inside I could see all my well laid plans – NYE, Poland, a snowy field, just us under cascading fireworks – perfect! – just crumble and burn. After huge delays and typical airport Christmas chaos we managed to get out and get to the nearest McDonald’s (due to all the cancellations and people trying to re-book their flights the Airport internet server was down so McDonald’s in Phibsborough was the nearest I could think of with free WiFi) to rebook our flights. Unfortunately all flights before Christmas Day were gone but thankfully we managed to get tickets for the 27th of December – project proposal was back in action. Second time lucky despite heavy snow again we managed to take off this time and on our way to Poland.

The Proposal

New Year’s Eve couldn’t come quick enough for me – I was like a child knowing that that night was gonna change both our lives… for the better. Despite a slow pick up from her – I had tried to get her out on her own before midnight as I knew everyone would be out for the main fireworks at 12, but she knocked it, saying to wait until later etc. etc., tried again and she said “ya and we will bring the kids (my future nieces and nephews) for a walk” Finally the clock struck 12 and we were all out – all the while I had the ring hidden in a pair of socks in my hand luggage since arriving (and throughout the 6 day plane delay back home) now discretly shoved into my pocket awaiting the right moment!

As the family and other guests started to return into the house I pulled her back to let them go ahead – I had my fireworks (with some help) all set to go – she had no clue. As we set them off I went down on bended knee and told her how much I loved her, but more importantly those all important words. She looked at me – surprise, shock, is this really happening? flashed across her face  - whilst I in the mean time was slowly getting frozen to the ground via my knee. I repeated “Will you marry me?”. Tears came to her eyes and “yes, yes” from her lips. Both of us overjoyed we had a little celebration of our own with leftover champagne from the earlier fireworks before rushing in to tell all!

Upon arriving back in Ireland we relaxed and took in all that was this special time at the start of our engagment and within weeks we started to talk dates and where we should have it, here or Poland, all of which I think is best left for another day, another post…

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community

Our regular male contributor to mrs2be’s discussion forums, BluefishJD shares his planning experience with us. The unusual thing about this groom is that is heavily involved in planning his wedding, and surprising, is actually enjoying it! In case you missed it, you can check out his first post: A Groom With A View. The countdown is on, with only 4 months to go. This week, he fills us in on how he met his belle, and the start of their wedding plans. 

So here’s the story so far…
We’re together 5 years this January, living together four years, three and a half of those in our own home – which was our first big step! With two kids …. and when I say kids I mean animals … we have a cat and a dog … at times the most loyal, loving, funny creatures you could meet … then there is the times when it is like having 2 three year olds running riot. I know this as I have nieces and nephews to compare, but we love them and at least I know the dog loves me back; the jury is still out on the cat!

Corny I know, but we met at work. At the time both of us were working in the same pub at weekends whilst during the week I was at college studying graphic design and she a hair stylist in a local salon. She was just fresh off the plane from Poland (not literally) and starting her first day when I saw her and new immediately I wanted to know more about her – it was her enchanting green eyes that got me – hook, line and sinker.  After scoping out the situation from her friends for a couple of weeks, I made my move at the work Christmas party (even more corny haha) but I can still remember that night – she was a vision in canary yellow and I’m not going to say I knew then I wanted to marry this woman but definitely knew there was something there (and even better for me as she had felt the same). It was about a year after whilst on holidays and she had been looking at rings and other items of jewellery and I made a mental note to myself – the first ring I buy her is going to be a diamond one – so like a typical Irish man I took my time and four years later popped the question – in dramatic fashion no less on New Year’s Eve – I even had fireworks and nearly a frozen knee, but that’s for another day.

Within 7 – 8 weeks of our engagement we started to plan. Throughout the last number of years living together, I find we are very much on the same wavelength on a number of levels and I think this has what has made the planning process for me that tad bit easier as I know if I see something I can usually tell if “Bluefish Belle” would like it too – or not in some cases, but I would push for it as I would think it looked right – the graphic designer head on me!

As a joint decision (although in the following words and posts throughout this blog it will be me doing the wheeling and dealing and sorting things) it was always us, together, who made the final decisions – we opted for a small wedding and to keep our costs down a very DIY wedding, as realistically this is more us – just immediate family and our close circle of friends. We heard too many stories about people inviting people just for the sake of it – and in some cases we were those guests – just to bring up numbers so when it came down to it we just wanted the people that matter most to us now, who were there for us as we grew up and that we know will still be there as we grow as a couple in our marriage and into a family in the future to share our special day. So needless to say the guestlist didn’t take us long – yes there was a couple of “what about them” or “should we invite them cause we got invited to theirs” (even though we don’t REALLY know them etc.) but we stuck to our guns, which became a mantra for us throughout this process and one I give to any of you reading this: Stick to your guns – it’s you and your other half’s day! Anyhow, we were strict and kept the guestlist down. There was the element of what I mentioned above but also a budget to consider and to be realistic. One thing we both agreed on from the start was that we were not starting our married life in debt by taking out a loan and yes it’s going to be one of the biggest days of our lives but it is only one day – the mortgage will still need to paid as will the car loan, the bills, groceries … you get the picture.

So happy with an approx number in our head and a budget in place, we ventured into the world of wedding planning – I think this is when I knew I would really, really be involved in the planning of this wedding to a large extent. I had already sorted the church – I secured the date, time, priest and deposit as it just was easier for me being the ‘local’ to arrange meetings, viewings, the all important haggling and to be able to throw down the “you know my parents” trump card – only occasionally and it worked too – so lads don’t be afraid to get stuck right in. View the reception venue or any wedding supplier/service like a car you are selling or indeed trying to buy – haggle and don’t ever be afraid to ask – as the saying goes “if you don’t ask you don’t get”. I remember the first thing “Bluefish Belle” said to me after our initial meeting with our chosen venue – “Jaysus (yes after 5 years she has picked up a bit of local slang) you drilled her!” and I agree, and because of it we got a fantastic (affordable) wedding package with so many trimmings and extras that it is a whole post on its own. Being the first major thing we booked we really felt like this wedding ball had started to roll.

Soon after I started to get into the other elements necessary to make this wedding a reality all of which I will tackle and tell of my experience in future posts…

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community

We always hear about weddings from the bride’s perspective, her likes, dislikes and desires and rightly so as we do love our brides2be – but what about the other important part in this wedding planning process…the groom? Rarely do we get an insight into what he may be thinking, dreaming, worrying about. So with a little nudge and an outlet, a regular contributor to mrs2be’s discussion forums, BluefishJD has agreed to relay the wedding planning process from his own “groom’s” perspective.

So, over to BluefishJD…

Firstly though this isn’t going to be the start of  our wedding journey – rather than pretend I’ve been writing these posts for months I am only starting this today. But to fill you in and catch up to the present time I will be writing about things we have already come across/done/booked/experienced and kinda back date them so to speak. So I may post about something I have already posted in response to another missie’s thread on the forum but go into more detail as well as write about a something I come across that I feel is interesting and informative enough to share.

I know there aren’t a lot of wedding-caring guys out there, and I would never have put myself down as one either! It’s not that when I was younger thought “oh ya I’d like that at my wedding”… it’s just that this is where I have found myself, having falling madly in love with my “Bluefish Belle” who is from Poland and after deciding on Ireland as our choice of destination to get married – I’m the local – so I have more clout and the all important contacts to pull this wedding off and give my b2b and myself one hell of a big day out – albeit within our budget. And not that I wouldn’t want every part of the day to be exactly as “Bluefish Belle” has dreamed of since a little girl but I (probably unlike most men) actually wanted to get involved, as well as it been necessary in our particular case, and to be honest I’m really interested in my upcoming wedding; as in where it’s going to be, what will we eat, what’s the wedding invitations going to look like, a big wedding or a more intimate gathering, will we have a band or a dj or both?

So if there is any of you out there like me, who kinda care but not yet ready to admit it, or indeed a future bride2be who’d like to see a groom’s perspective or indeed can give me advice and teach me a thing or two then this could be the blog for you!

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community

I had my second dress fitting on a Saturday. I had a few hours in the morning before my appointment so I decided that I needed to take some time out for me.  I booked a facial, a back massage, eyebrow shaping and a manicure in a local salon and spent a lovely few hours there. I had been getting stressed out so I decided I needed to take some time out for me and it was lovely. I was all relaxed then going to my appointment. Only one of my bridesmaids was able to make it to the appointment. I met her in Fairytale Moments. Both of us tried on our dresses. She also put on her scarf around her shoulders and the dressmaker is sewing them for me. My dress was still very slightly loose around the bust so the dressmaker is fixing that and I have to try it on the day I go to collect the dresses. My other bridesmaids came down a different day to get their dresses fitted.

I had planned to have my hair and make up trials the weekend my h2b was away on his stag weekend but with the snow I had to cancel the appointments.  I rescheduled the appointments for another day. I had the hair trial booked first so h2b drove me to the hairdressers house. I didn’t really have any idea what I wanted except I wanted my hair half up, half down so I was open to ideas. The hairdresser suggested curls and I hadn’t thought about having curls because my hair is so straight I didn’t think it would hold curls, but I said I would go with what she suggested and see how it went. So this is how it turned out:

I loved it!! I wore it out that night and it lasted all night. I took the clips out the back that night and the next day it was still curly so I can have it curly for the next day also.  I went for the make up trial the same day and that went really well too. She kept the make up fairly natural which is what I wanted as I never wear make up except going out.

I had bought jewellery for the bridesmaids for their gift which they can wear on the wedding day. I also bought them hoodies in Dunnes, and one for me and Mum to wear on the morning of the wedding while we are getting our hair and make up done as we are getting it done in the house. I got diamente iron on transfers to put on the back of them on a bit of bling shop on eBay. I wanted to get my Mum something to open while the bridesmaids are opening their gifts so I got her a basket with some lovely products in it from Soaps & Scents by Berlis.

We spent one Sunday afternoon going to Fields in Kilkenny to collect our wedding rings. I couldn’t resist putting it on my finger for a few minutes in the car on the way back! I had to put it away when we got home! I can’t wait to have it on my finger in a few days!!

For the mass booklets I used the template on www.gettingmarried.ie website, but then I spent some time reading the book A Wedding of your Own and changed one of the readings. I did lots of searches on the net for a Communion Reflection for my Mum to read. I came across this one and I loved it.

If you have found a smile that is the sweetest one you’ve known.
If you have heard, within a voice, the echoes of your own.
If you have felt a touch that stirs the longing of your heart,
And still can feel that closeness in the moment you’re apart.
If you are filled with wonder at the way two lives can blend,
To weave a perfect pattern that is seamless end to end.
If you believe some things in life are simply meant to be,
Then you have found your soulmate, your hearts own destiny.
If you can always be as close and happy as today,
Yet be secure enough to grow and change along the way.
If you can keep for you alone your love as man and wife,
Yet find the time to share your joy with others in your life.
If you can be as one and walk through marriage hand in hand,
Yet still support the goals and dreams that each of you have planned.
If you can dare to always go your separate ways together,
Then all the wonders of today will stay with you forever.

I spent some time going through the music for the ceremony. I used a list I got from our musician and also a brilliant list that Siobhan Oliver put up on the forums. These are the songs that I came up with:

Processional: Butterfly Kisses

Lighting of Candles: Canon in D

Psalm: As I Kneel Before You

The Offertory: I Watch The Sunrise

Sign of Peace: Make me a Channel of your Peace

Communion: On Eagles Wings, Amazing Grace

Signing of the Register: First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack), When You Say You Love Me (Josh Groban)

Recessional: The Book of Love

I wanted to spent time on the ceremony as that is the part that we actually be getting married in !!

We still have a few things to do over the next few days but we will get there! We are having a party in the house the day after the wedding. We moved into the house earlier this year so it is kind of a housewarming also. The house will need to be cleaned for that and for everyone staying the night before the wedding. My parents and bridesmaids will be staying with me the night before the wedding and h2b will be going home to his parents. We have to collect the dresses and the suits over the next couple of days. We need to print the mass booklets and put them together – I have everything we need to do it so should be OK. I want to try and find a new outfit to wear for the party the next day, if not something I already have will be fine!

I think we are nearly set though!!!

Hope you all had a great Christmas, and have a brilliant New Year. Congrats to all the missies who got engaged over the holidays.

I will be a married woman in a couple of days days and I can’t wait!!!

Thanks, EngagedJuly09

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community

We were waiting a little while for Karen in Fairytale Moments to finish up with her previous appointment. Then we headed into the back room when she was ready. The dressmaker was there also. I had thought the appointment was just for the bridesmaids but Karen asked who would go first me or the girls so it was decided that I would go first!! So I got to put my dress on again. There is actually very little to be done to it. It has to be taken in at the bust, and the train has to be done so I can tie it up for the dancing but that is all. Even the length is perfect as Karen ordered the shorter length and I just have to make sure I have the right shoes. So I got my dress pinned and then sat down while the girls got theirs done. They tried on their shoes and the scarves and brooches with the dresses and they were lovely.

When they were finished the dressmaker headed on with the girls dresses – I still had mine on!! I wanted to try on the accessories while everyone was there. I tried on a couple of pairs of shoes with the dress – I loved these ones before but wasn’t sure if the heel height was right but they are perfect with the dress – don’t need to alter the length of the dress. Then I tried on a fabulous ostrich feather sleeveless bolero – I need something to keep me warm (as a bride with goose bumps is not a good look!!) and it also ties in with my feathers and pearls theme. Once I had that on I wanted to decide about a veil so I tried a few on and found a lovely one – it is cream and it has a ribbon at the end of it, it goes to about my elbows – I decided to order that too. The veil looks lovely with the bolero and I wasn’t sure if it would – thought I would have to take the bolero off for the church. I needed jewellery also and they have some lovely pieces – I tried on a lovely pearl necklace and matching bracelet – and they were gorgeous with the dress so I decided to order them too. All I need now to complete the outfit is something for my hair.

The following day while my Mum was still in Carlow she came over to help me make the invitations. I had bought all the material. I had already made a few so I had the template adapted to the way I wanted it and I knew what I wanted to do. I got this card and envelopes on DIY wedding. I got feathers on eBay. I got the glue to stick the paper onto the card and the glue dots to stick on the feathers on DIY wedding also. I printed them and cut the paper down to the right size with a paper guillotine and Mum stuck the paper onto the card – great teamwork! We also got some of the feathers stuck on which I finished later on.

H2b’s mum helped – she wrote all the names onto the invites for us. On another weekend I typed everyone’s address onto the guest list spreadsheet. Then I spent a few hours ringing B&Bs to see if they have rooms available before I put them on the list (New Year’s Eve is a busy time and some don’t open). Then h2b and I drove out to the hotel and then from the hotel to the church to give detailed directions – I typed that out & printed them off with the accommodation list. I then printed out the envelopes.  My h2b and I put the invites and inserts in the envelopes making sure they were in the right one and sealed them and put stamps on them and put them in the post box. I didn’t realise the invitations would take so long to do – took most of the weekend to do the inserts & then print envelopes, put stamps on them and post them. It was great to get the first RSVPs back by text and e-mail.

I rang a few places about doing our cake. One of them was going to be at a Wedding Fair at a local hotel so we said we would go along one weekend to meet her. The sample cakes tasted lovely so we decided to meet up with Miriam from Sweet Creations again. She had brought along pictures of various cakes to get ideas to the meeting. We went through the different pictures to see what style of cake we wanted. We decided to go with a four tier cake. The cake is going to be a hexagon shape. I wanted to tie the cake into my feathers and pearls theme. Each tier is going to be iced in ivory. On the top tier she is going to have a purple wire design with pearls on it and also using ivory feathers. She is going to have a smaller version of this on another tier, and at the bottom of the cake. Then on the other two tiers she is going to have flowers. On two of the tiers she is going to have writing in gold – one of hearts, and one of our initials. The largest two tiers are going to be chocolate and chocolate biscuit, and then the other tiers are orange madeira and lemon madeira. I have also ordered our cake topper which I think I am going to have on the table where the cake is rather than on top of the cake.

I have ordered the favour bags from eBay – I really think they tie in with my theme perfectly. I just have to get something to put in them now.

I have ordered the bridesmaids jewellery – these lovely pearl and crystal necklaces with matching bracelets – again to tie in with my theme. I even found bracelets for my two flowergirls on eBay to tie in but I changed the charm on it to say Flowergirl.

I had a brilliant hen weekend which you can read all about on my post on the mrs2be forums. It was such a laugh especially being stuck in the hotel corridor in robes and slippers – make sure you read the report!!

I will tell you in my next blog all about my second dress fitting and hair and make-up trial. I hope the snow clears away so I can have them soon. I have had to cancel appointments.

Until the next time here on mrs2be.

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community

And then I put on one of the bridesmaids dresses just to show her what it is like – and it was a great excuse for me to put one on!! Karen also gave me catalogues for the bridal shoes.

I couldn’t decide whether to book a videographer or not, but after thinking about it for a long time we decided to get one. I don’t want to regret not getting one, and it will be lovely having something to look back on aswell as the photos. We ended up booking Brophy Videography. I had met them at a wedding fair and they had promised they would be discreet. I want someone discreet as I am so camera shy and tend to run away but I can’t do that on our wedding day so I wanted someone that I wouldn’t notice and that our guests would feel comfortable with.

One Sunday we went to do the Avalon pre-marriage course. It was on in a hotel in Kilkenny from 12 o’clock until 6 o’clock. We arrived at the hotel just before 12 and went up to the room where it was on. We didn’t know what to expect. The presenters waited until mostly everyone had arrived before beginning. We were given a workbook each. They introduced themselves, and then asked us to introduce ourselves and to say how long we were together and when we were getting married. Once everyone had done that we had to answer questions about our partner and then swap and had to mark the other person’s. It was done on a one to one basis. The day went on like that – sometimes talking together and answering questions in the workbook, sometimes pairing up with another couple, and sometimes the presenters talking with people volunteering information. We got a coffee break and a lunch break. We even got to watch a bit of the film “The Break Up” and discuss it. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be all in all.

Once we had the certificate for the pre-marriage course we were able to go and meet the parish priest to do the pre-nuptial enquiry. We had already got our baptismal and confirmation certificates and I had got the letter of freedom from my home town. We made an appointment for a Saturday morning. We both had to do the pre-nuptial enquiry with him. He said that he would send it to the priest of the church that we are getting married in. That is another thing ticked off the list. I am glad to have that and the state registration done as without those we wouldn’t be able to get married and everything else wouldn’t matter.

I spotted some lovely dresses for the flowergirls in Shaws in Carlow. I sent a photo to my sister to see what she thought and she loved them too. I picked up one dress for the flowergirl that lives in Carlow (one of my nieces) and the shop assistant rang the shop in Castlebar and got them to hold a dress for my sister to go in to get my niece to try it on. It was very handy that the shop is in both places. My sister was able to bring my niece in the following day and got the dress. She also found some lovely ivory fur shrugs to go over them along with gold cardigans that she had picked up before for me. My brother came over with his family and my niece tried on the dress. My sister in law wanted to see if the bigger age was better on her so she went into the shop and then I swapped the dress.

I went home to Sligo for the bank holiday weekend in October. I had arranged to meet three of my bridesmaids on the Saturday to do some shoe shopping. I had a couple of hours before I was meeting them so I had a quick look in the shops to see what was around. I also spotted a fab dress for the hen night which I tried on but wanted a second opinion so I didn’t buy it straight away. I went for lunch with my mum, sister and one of my nephews and then one of my other BMs arrived so we headed off. We started looking in a few shops while waiting for the other BM to arrive. I had a little diversion to Jane Norman to try on the dress I had spotted and show it to the girls . They loved it too so I bought it, In the meantime the other BM had arrived so we went back on our shoe finding mission. We must have tried every shoe shop in Sligo and in two of them in particular we left a mess behind us!! We ended up going back and buying the shoes in one of the shops so it wasn’t so bad. I had been looking for gold shoes but we ended up going for these grey ones and when they were trying it on in the shop and had one gold shoe on and one of these they actually looked the same from a bit away. We also picked up some lovely fur scarves for the BMs and pearl brooches to hold them together – in keeping with my feathers and pearls theme.

I was very tired after my  busy day shopping so that night was spent in front of the X factor!! Then was back in town the next day with my mum, my sister and my niece and picked up shoes and a cardigan and a coat to go with my new dress for the hen! That night we had a mini hen night and I wore my new dress. My sister had booked a table for us in the Bistro Bianconi so we headed in, picking my aunt up on the way. When we got there we met a few of the others and then went down to the table. We had a table at the back of the restaurant in a section on our own and there were banners and balloons around the table – two of my friends had been busy and had dropped them into the restaurant that day and the restaurant had put them up!! When we sat down at the table my sister put a bride to be flashing tiara and sash on me and gave me a wand. There was eleven of us in total – me, my mum, my sister, two of my friends, two of my aunts and three of my mum’s friends. It was a great night – lovely food, wine, sparkling wine and prosecco and lots of chat. We stayed at the restaurant for ages. We decided we better leave as we were the last in the restaurant! A few headed home then and the rest of us decided to go to the Glasshouse Hotel to get a cocktail. Before we left to go the pub the girls decided it would be a good idea to tie all the balloons onto my coat to walk up the road, which then some guy tried to take and nearly brought my coat with him! We got a cocktail in the pub and had a lovely seat and one of my friends that hadn’t been at the meal joined us for a drink. It really was a great night – and I keep getting told that was just the warm up – if that was the warm up don’t know what the hen night is going to be like!!

I will tell you in my next blog all about the BM dress fittings and making my invites. Until the next time on mrs2be…

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community

As I told you in a previous blog I have ordered the bridesmaid dresses. My sister has booked the florist. I can now start thinking about a colour scheme and a theme. I will let you in on my ideas!! The bridesmaid dresses are purple – kind of a creamy purple and my dress is cream. So they are my colours. I think I will add a few more colours in though. The hotel is providing the chair covers and they are gold so think I will bring that in with the bridesmaids’ shoes and the flowergirls accessories – maybe in the dresses or cardigans. I am thinking of cream flowers for the bridesmaids and maybe a bit of purple through them and for me purple, blue and pink with a bit of cream. I was also thinking about having pearls and feathers in the bouquets and flower arrangements – and then using the pearls in other areas like my jewellery and bridesmaids jewellery and using the feathers on the invites and mass booklets.

I have been searching for the invites for the past while and I came across these invites on DIY wedding,  but I would get the card and paper separately and then use feathers like these
instead of the ribbon. I could then use the same feathers on the mass booklets. That is my idea anyway, I just hope it all comes together.

We have completed the registration with the state. I was able to get an appointment for a week that we were on holidays anyway so I didn’t have to take any extra days off – it just meant coming back a couple of days earlier. The appointment was fine so don’t worry about it – and remember that you can ring up any time to make appointment and the appointment has to be done no later than three months before the wedding. Just a reminder for all the brides (and grooms!) to be out there!

And if it helps, here is what you need to bring you on the day:
•         PPS Number – both parties
•         Name of solemniser
•         Nature of ceremony Civil/Religious
•         Original Passports – both parties plus photocopy of same
•         Original Birth Certificates – both parties plus photocopy of same
•         Date of Birth of both witnesses (must be over 18yrs of age)
•         Prescribed Fee (€150)

I booked the honeymoon!! I had to organise the time off work before I could look into it. We have the month of January off!! So I will be off from Christmas Eve until the first of February!! I booked it with Travel Counsellors. We are heading off on the 4th January. We are staying in Singapore for two nights and then going to Australia. We are staying in Cairns for five nights. We are hiring a car while we are there and then driving from Cairns to Brisbane stopping in a few places on the way – including Fraser Island and the Whitsundays. From Brisbane we are going to Sydney for three nights. Then we are going to Las Vegas for three nights and Los Angeles for two nights on the way home. We will be back in Ireland on the 30th of January. I really can’t wait to go!! It was a bit of a compromise on the honeymoon as I had never been to Australia and really wanted to go and h2b has never been to America. I am actually looking forward to going back to America – the tour of the Grand Canyon in Vegas is amazing and I want to go back to the Universal Studios in LA. I am really looking forward to going to Oz too – I have always wanted to go there.

We ordered the wedding rings!! We went back to Fields in Kilkenny where we got my engagement ring and I tried on a few rings to see what suited my engagement ring. I wanted something with a bit of bling but not something that would compliment my other ring. With some of the rings, the diamonds were hidden by my engagement ring. I found this one and I just love it. You can see the diamonds down either side, and as the assistant said it is nice that it ties in with my engagement ring as it has three diamonds and the wedding ring has three diamonds down either side of it. My h2b ended up going for a celtic design gold band – I can’t find it on the website – I think it is a new design. I was glad that we ordered them when we did as we were told that it can take eight to ten weeks to get them into the shop.

I have also got the ball rolling on the church paperwork. I have got my baptismal cert from the parish where I was baptised and my confirmation cert and my letter of freedom from my home town. H2b got his certificates too – well his Mum rang up and got them for him!! We have completed our pre marriage course and met the priest to do the pre nuptial enquiry form, so I’ll fill you in on those in my next blog.

I was talking to the bridal shop and my dress and my bridesmaid dresses have arrived. I have an appointment  coming up to try my dress on and see the bridesmaid dresses. I can’t wait to have my dress on. I will let you know how I get on…

Until the next time here on mrs2be…

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community

The following weekend I had a free weekend so I took the opportunity to get my hair done and relax as I knew we were going to have a busy few days. I had taken off work the Thursday and Friday before the wedding on Saturday. I travelled to Cork again Wednesday night. I had been to Cork so much over the few weeks that I got asked was I moving in with them!! I had a relaxing morning on Thursday morning while she went off to get her hair done and do a few other bits. We had an appointment at the dressmaker so as soon as she came back we headed off. We both tried our dresses on again to make sure that they still fitted after the alterations – which they did. Then the dressmaker showed me how to tie her dress up at the back and also how to tie the train up for the dancing. We were able to take the dresses away with us! We headed into the city for lunch and some running around the shops getting bits and pieces. We went to her cousin’s house (the other bridesmaid) and met her parents there before we all headed off to the church to meet the priest for the rehearsal. We met her h2b (now husband!!) there and his brother who was the best man. We went through everything with the priest for the ceremony. Afterwards they had wine at home that they wanted to drop at the hotel so we did that and stayed for a quick drink so I could see the hotel.

Friday morning was spent finalising the table plan – I helped her do that and then she e-mailed it off to the hotel. We headed into the city then and I had an appointment to get my nails done while she went to run around doing what she had to do. We met for lunch and also met one of her friends who was doing a video for her. Then the three of us ran around the city getting all the last minute bits done. We got the bus back to her house where we had to get ready and pack up to leave. We were staying in her cousin’s house that night and her h2b was staying at their house. So when we were ready he dropped us off. Her Mum and aunt came over for dinner also and we had a lovely dinner with champagne. We went to bed about half eleven and stayed chatting for a little while.

The morning of the big day we woke up and were just thinking about getting up when her cousin knocked on the door to see if we were awake and said that the weather was lovely. So I looked out the window to see lovely blue skies – which was great as it had been raining the few days before that. The child of Prague must have worked!! The bride was very calm – I think she had got rid of the stress over the previous few days! So we had quick showers before going to the hairdressers. The three flowergirls came with us to get their hair done too. My hair was done pretty quickly, and then the hairdresser started on one of the flowergirls while the bride and the other two flowergirls were getting their hair done. The three little ones were all very good. When their Dad came to collect them we went off to get our make up done in a place two doors up from the hairdressers – very handy. When we were finished we went back to check on the other bridesmaid in the hairdressers – she had a later appointment and was nearly finished. We had a little bit of time before her appointment to get her nails done so the two of us got a quick coffee and then back to the beauty salon. Once everyone was done we headed back to the house.

The florist and the photographer were both waiting for us at the house so I left her deal with the florist and I brought the photographer Kathryn Cashman upstairs to the room where the dress, shoes, bridesmaid dresses and flowergirls dresses were. I also got the bracelet that she was going to wear and her engagement ring. Hopefully the photos of them will come out nice!! Then we had to pack up our bags to bring to the hotel. All of a sudden it was time for everyone to get into their dresses. The photographer had to go to the church to get pictures of the groom, best man and groomsman so we had to leave the photographer help the bride into the dress and tie up the back of it while we got dressed. I was right – she was a stunning bride!! We got a few photos inside and outside the house before the photographer headed off.

Her cousins neighbour had offered to drive the bridesmaids to the church in a lovely black Mercedes – we were travelling in style!! And the bride and her father were travelling with the boyfriend of the groom’s sister. He arrived in a lovely black Audi with a present from the groom. So we all headed off to the church. We were only a few minutes late and people were still arriving so we waited outside the church. She didn’t want to get out of the car while people were still outside the church so they did a quick spin and came back. I helped her get out of the car and a few more photos were taken before it was time to walk up the aisle. I had been so focused on the bride for the previous few days making sure that she was OK that I had forgotten that I was going to have to walk up the aisle. I got an attack of the nerves and started shaking. The two older flowergirls walked up the aisle first, and then it was my turn, I ended up looking at the floor walking up to try and stop the nerves, I relaxed a bit of the way up and was able to look up! Then the other bridesmaid walked behind me with the youngest flowergirl – she’s too small to walk up on her own. And then it was the turn of the bride and her father.

The wedding ceremony was lovely. We had to stand beside the bride and groom while they were saying their vows which was lovely. At the end of the mass after the register was signed the photographer took lots of photos of all the bridal party. Then it was time to walk back down the aisle again. The bride and groom walked down first – and then we followed. I congratulated them outside the church. My best friend is married!!

We stood outside the church for a while and I was able to talk to my h2b and some of my friends. Then all the bridal party went to Blarney Castle to get the photos taken. When everyone got there we went through the gate – we didn’t have to pay but if you are planning on getting your photos taken there make sure you let them know that you are coming. There was even another wedding party when we were so a very popular place for photos. The photographer brought us around the park – she had obviously done research where the best spots were. I can’t wait to see the album – some of the shots and they way she had the bride and groom posed looked amazing. My feet were getting sore walking around so I was glad when it was time to get back in the car to go to the hotel The Oriel House. We stopped back at the house on the way so I could collect the bride’s bag for the hotel.

At the hotel I was able to check in and give them her bags. The photographer was taking the official family photos so I was not needed any more. I found my h2b and my friends and sat down and chatted with them and got some of the alcoholic fruit punch that was there for the guests. The bell rang for everyone to go in to the meal. I wasn’t sure if I had to wait and go in with the bride and groom so I asked one of the staff and she said no and brought me to the top table. As I finalised the table plan with her I realised that there was an error somewhere along the way as the bride’s friends and family were sitting on the side of the room where the groom’s family were meant to be sitting. Luckily I noticed it and got the hotel to change around the top table so that we were sitting on the correct side, I caught it when only one person had sat down at the top table so wasn’t a big deal to swap it around.

The meal was really lovely. The staff were very attentive. It was great being at the top table and being served first! After the gorgeous meal was finished it was time for the speeches. The father of the bride was first to start. Even the bride got up to say a few words. The speeches were great and not too long either. After the speeches the cake was cut and then the tables were moved so the dancing could start. I went down to the table where my h2b was sitting with my friends for a while as the band Bog the Donkey set up. It was time then for the first dance. The bride and groom started it and then the bridal party joined in. After the first dance I went back to the table and got the room key off my h2b so I could go up and take my shoes off. I had slippers that I had got at a hotel spa so I put them on – my feet were killing me. I also wanted to get my handbag which I had left up there. I went up to the bridal suite at one stage and tied up the back of the bride’s dress for her. It was a great night. The band and DJ were very good and the floor was full all night – and we danced loads. I was glad not to have my shoes on any more!!

So that is it… she is married… and it is over until December when she returns the favour for me..

Congratulations to septemberbride and to your husband… and thanks for having me as your bridesmaid

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community