It’s nice to be nice. Just ask the biscuits. After all, getting married is a pretty grown-up thing to do, you should be grown-up about the whole process. But granted, people are going to  - wittingly or otherwise – do little things that get under your skin. This is because, unlike you they are not on Planet Wedding, and they probably have other things on their mind.

Pleasing all the people all the time is impossible. This being so, how do you get through your wedding without blowing your top?

Family politics are often the biggest offender when it comes to causing wedding tension. The first hurdle is who to invite. You need to be strict about your budget, and it is easy to let the guest list cause the budget to inflate exponentially. If you are being put under pressure to invite relatives you are not close to, explain that you are planning a smaller affair. If the pressure is coming from either set of parents, try to see it from their point of view and reach a compromise. Perhaps they would be happy to make a contribution to cover the cost of the additional guests?

Next up on the nice agenda is the table plan. A lot of venues insist on them and if your venue does you just have to grin and bear it. It can be a logistical pain-in-the-proverbial getting people seated next to those they’ll get along with. There will be people who aren’t speaking. There will be couples invited who don’t know anyone. As a rule of thumb you can arrange people by age, they are more likely to have things in common. But as I say, some venues don’t insist on them and thanks be to god ours is one of them! We’ll just make sure that all our guests are aware of this when the time comes to get fed.

And as a final note on niceness – always factor thank you cards and their postage into your budget. You don’t need to have these in the post as soon as the ring is on your finger, but it is still important to thank your guests for the effort they went to in attending your special day and in giving you a gift (all of which are, of course, to be accepted gracefully).

{image source: Robert Mullan Photography}

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community

I told you about my bridesmaid dress shopping in my last update, and I am glad to say we have the dresses picked. The dresses are from Coast, it is a really lovely dress. I tried shopping around on the internet for a more economical version but couldn’t find anything as nice as this so I succumbed. Check it out – http://www.coast-stores.com/SYMPHONY-MAXI-DRESS/Maxi-Dresses/coast/fcp-product/2224682912. The girls are delighted – hopefully it is a dress that will be worn again to another big event (but obviously not as big or exciting as my big day ha ha!!)

We are ordering our rings this weekend too. My engagement ring is a marquee shape so I want my wedding ring to sit properly into the engagement ring. I have seen some lovely samples, it will be almost like a wishbone wedding ring. They are not as expensive as I imagined, probably hitting around €600 for a nice white gold ring with a an added bit of bling (a must!) The men’s rings are reasonable starting upward of €300 for a plain white gold ring. I know people who have gone up the North to purchase their rings and saved a small bit, but I am happy enough with these prices and it will be with a reputable supplier. I am not looking forward to leaving my engagement ring in in order to have the wedding ring made – I will be without it for 3-4 weeks, I imagine my hand will feel very naked! (sniff sniff!)

Mr. M and the lads have booked their stag weekend – lucky suckers are heading off to Malaga for 2 days sun, sand and sangria! (and that is all I have to say about that). I have just decided I am definitely going to need to buy a new dress to wear on my hen night – more dosh gone from the bank account – ouch!

In other news I am starting exercise Bootcamp this week in Blanchardstown – 3 days a week for 6 weeks. If a bit of “Drill Sergeant” won’t whip me into shape then nothing will! Check out www.fittpt.com. I will let you know how I get on (after the pain has subsided of course!)

The next exciting item on my agenda is I’ve booked flights to go to Sorrento for a few days a month before our wedding takes place. This will be a perfect time to confirm our menu and wine choices, decide on the layout of our tables in the venue, meet the photographer to discuss what photos we want on the day and also double check the DJ’s playlist. And hopefully catch a ray or two of sun while we are there too

I am actually looking forward to doing the table plan (remember Monica in Friends with all her blue and red pins!). For any of you IT savvy ladies – there is a nifty bit of software called Perfect Table Plan. I use this in work for working out table plans for big gala dinners so I am taking advantage and using it for the wedding table plan too. You can put in little rules to say “Auntie Mags should never sit beside Uncle Tommy” and visa versa! It works wonders and saves lots of time. It costs only €20.00 and if you are an organising nerd like me it also provides hours of fun!! Download from http://www.perfecttableplan.com/

Well that’s it from me for today – plan on and stay stress free missies

mrs2be.ie - Ireland's Engaged Community