http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/ Jennifer Finnegan on all the fun, drama and excitement of planning her dream wedding en Copyright 2008 Wed, 21 May 2008 16:31:12 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss THE time is drawing ever nearer. It is eleven weeks on Saturday to be precise. The bride diet hasn�??t gone completely to plan with a heavy session weekend and not so much exercise but I have been getting up at 6am to run along the beach which is extremely good for me as I didn�??t know there were two six o�??clocks in a day! They say bad luck comes in threes and I have experienced all three now so lets hope that�??s it. I found out the shop I have bought my dress from has been sold to another company but have been re-assured it wont change anything (I hope not). I then found out that the place Gareth is hiring his suits from has also sold out but again we are assured this will cause no problems. Then just to put the icing on the cake I received a letter to say the company I booked my honeymoon with have gone into liquidation! Good news all round then. Luckily (yet again) the company have been bought so nothing could change but maybe the gods of fate are just trying to stress me out that little bit further. I am in full bridezilla mode so bring it on. At the weekend I went to one of my good friends from school�??s wedding. It was fabulous they really had thought of everything. As I watched her ad her new hubby on the dance floor, all I could think was this will be in 12 weeks and it really got me excited about it. Louise had arranged for magicians to entertain and fireworks but the creme de la creme of the event (well for Louise especially) was the brand new Audi TT her husband had bought her. I felt like I was on an episode of Sweet 16!!! I hinted to Gareth what a lovely wedding gift that was and her murmured something under his breath about a toy one. The day was lovely and went without a hitch. I am hoping to follow in her footsteps and I pray my day goes as well as hers did. She is one of my bridesmaids so she should know what she is doing. I have attached pics for your entertainment - enjoy. One of me taking full advantage of the magician http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WeddingBelle/~3/wFjH_4OEpq0/eleven_weeks_to_go.html http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/05/eleven_weeks_to_go.html Wed, 21 May 2008 16:31:12 +0000 http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/05/eleven_weeks_to_go.html ]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WeddingBelle/~3/6QGSo_sBI_M/well_i_am_exhausted_i.html http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/04/well_i_am_exhausted_i.html Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:39:56 +0000 http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/04/well_i_am_exhausted_i.html Well I am exhausted I thought I was an old lady who liked nothing more than snuggling in jarmies but apparently I still have a bit of life in me after two nights getting to bed at 6am..... My Friend and one of my seven bridesmaids is getting married in 5 weeks and had her hen at centre parcs this week (but it was just a get together if they ask because you are not allowed to be a hen do). Well all I can say is there were matching Pj's, big wigs, false lips, beer goggles L plates you name it and lots and loots of karaoke. It was good to see all the girls and talk weddings. Louise gets married first, then me, then my friend Rachel next year, then my friend Olivia - who bravely reversed roles and popped the question herself on the leap year. I am practically done on the weeding front although I am finding it hard having two bridesmaids who live far away, one who is still heavily pregnant and one who has juts given birth. As I am having the dresses made there are a few hold ups at the mo! My hen do is booked for Spain for 4 days (I like to milk these things I am going on my birthday too so its a double celebration) and I am scared at what they have in store. My friend text me yesterday saying I hope you are not easily embarrassed!!! My dress arrives at the beginning of June - so excited for that! Rebecca Hatton on Lord Street in Southport has been a dream she is so helpful and really makes you feel like the only bride on earth. Louise is having a very traditional wedding her theme is vintage. She is getting married in Newcastle so we are all heading down for the weekend for that. I am excited to see everything and wonder whether her dress is similar to mine. The other recent bonus is my friend is a mac make up artist now so her and her friends will be doing the make up and she is great. Her name is Jade Heyes and if anyone wants her details give me a shout. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WeddingBelle/~3/5iX1TsvbyXk/the_second_hen_do_for_our_grou.html http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/04/the_second_hen_do_for_our_grou.html Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:07:43 +0000 http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/04/the_second_hen_do_for_our_grou.html ALL I can say is I plucked two grey hairs out this week and I am 24 - yes I blame the stress of the wedding. I managed to get myself to the new Echo arena for the Confetti show and I have to say it was brilliant. They had everything a bride needs under one roof. It was a bit of a shame really though as the wedding is only 26 weeks away I found myself saying �??I am sorted�?? for that on most stalls. They had stationary, photographers and venues even hair extensions and teeth whitening for the big day! I was with my two friends who are all getting married and as a lot of the bridal shops performed in a fashion show it was a case of who could keep the straightest face as their dress floated down the aisle as to not give away what they are wearing. My dress wasn�??t there so I threw in the odd facial expression to throw them off. Speaking of the dress mine arrives in June so I have exactly 3 whole months left to lose the weight I want for my big day. I have been doing pilates, circuit training and swimming five times a week so it better pay off! This week we are going to look at a range of beautiful stationary at a company called Dragonfly and they have amazing designs so I can�??t wait. We also booked the honeymoon. We are off to the west coast of America because we never made it that side when we were travelling. We have four nights booked in LA - hanging with the starlets he he - then onto Santa Barbara for five days before heading to San Francisco, Napa Valley and Vegas. I am more excited about that than the wedding at the moment. Its just my dream holiday so am super excited. Still haven't sorted my bridesmaid dresses. At the moment I have two pregnant bridesmaids. One who is five days overdue and one who is due in May so they cant have the dresses made till after. One bridesmaid lives in Newcastle and one lives in Aberystwyth so I need to get them altogether and get sorted because at this rate they will be wearing bin bags on the day. As its valentines day I wont lay into him too much but if Gareth even knows the date of the wedding I will be surprised. He hasn�??t lifted a finger. Ladies if your man has been helping make a comment below and shame my hubby-to-be into pulling his finger out before I have grey hair on my wedding day. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WeddingBelle/~3/VyO_OdRYfWA/cupid_draw_back_your_bowhappy.html http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/02/cupid_draw_back_your_bowhappy.html Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:37:36 +0000 http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/02/cupid_draw_back_your_bowhappy.html ]]> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WeddingBelle/~3/b-KrDujZZBY/wedding_sos.html http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/01/wedding_sos.html Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:34:08 +0000 http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/01/wedding_sos.html As the bell tolled midnight on New Years eve I decided it is time to get organised with the wedding. It will only make a good wedding if it has been thoroughly organised. As of this moment I get married in approx 30 weeks!!!!! Scary! I have my dress which is the most exciting part. I need to organise Bridesmaids but I have a few ideas in mind. I am hiring a lady called Cath in Maghull who is an excellent dress maker. You can hand her any picture from a magazine and she can recreate the dress. For people interested in her number contact me. I will upload pictures of the dresses she made for my brothers wedding. I have finalised catering plans, we had our tasting and it was delicious. Helen and Paul at Carringtons came to our house and cooked us dinner it was amazing. We had black pudding tarts to start, Beef with horse radish mash and veg for main and the most delicious pudding ever- shortbread fingers dipped in melted chocolate!! yum yum.... My next big fear is finalising the guest list. It is so hard to decide who comes in the day and who comes in the night. It is really important though as you don�??t want to forget or leave anyone out! I have a venue and a church and music. I need to sort invites, cars and meet with my florist. I recently went to a friend of ours wedding and it was lovely. She is very free spirited and arrived in a camper van. Her dress was beautiful it was off the shoulders but with chiffon sleeves - very hippy and medieval- she looked lovely. They wrote their own vows as well which were lovely and had half the row crying. Our photographer is Paul Fisher, who is taking us to the Iron men for some shots!!! Paul is based in Formby and takes beautiful pictures. If anyone is looking for any advice with wedding plans I have scoured the country for things so please do not hesitate to comment. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WeddingBelle/~3/osej9A-wDG0/new_year_new_plans.html http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/01/new_year_new_plans.html Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:28:19 +0000 http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2008/01/new_year_new_plans.html WELL ITS time to think about hen doooooooo-yey!!! I am booking it soon to make sure everyone can come because you have to leave singledom with a bang. I am thinking about going to France next July and I hope all my fam and friends can make it. Last year when my sister in law got married she took us all to Barcelona. We thought it would be a laugh to take her on a hen here too. We hired Grants bar in Formby and threw a surprise party before heading off to Shorrocks. Not before giving her a veil, L-plates and of course Blow up Bernie. Bernie was the same size as Holly, tattooed and naked but not only did she have the embarrassment when we revealed him to her, we thought it would be funny to handcuff her to him so she couldn�??t lose him. She did put up a small fight at first but at three o�??clock in the morning and quite a few drinks later she was slow dancing with him on the dance floor at Shorrocks. This has made me slightly nervous about the revenge that may come. She already knows what she is doing for my hen here and Its 9 months away!!! If you are a bride who works, I understand your pain. At the moment everything is done at the weekend and things get pushed back all the time. My advice is get a chief bridesmaid or maids who are helpful. Luckily mine have been angels helping me arrange appointments and planning my hen. We took Gareth to look at male wedding attire last week and we have decided to go black and white and I must it made me a bit choked. It made it all feel more real that we are actually getting married. He keeps guessing at my dress but I am giving nothing away he even reads this to get clues. We are having our tasting for the food on Thursday so I will let you know how that goes next time yum yum. Bye for now ... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WeddingBelle/~3/gKnH6DcCzV0/hens_on_tour.html http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2007/11/hens_on_tour.html Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:54:53 +0000 http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2007/11/hens_on_tour.html Well since we last spoke I dragged mum along to London to see �??the dress�??. She really liked it but would like me to have one more look round here first to save me traipsing back and forward to London for fittings-which, I suppose, is sensible. After deciding the dress fit but not in the chest department I had to meet the man who can only be described as Frank (or Fronk) from Father of the Bride. After prodding and poking me in all different places a mumbling something about a Sophia Loren bust causing back cleavage I was ready to get changed. One thing I have found about dresses is you know you will feel nice in anything because it is a wedding dress but when you have found the one it is a totally different feeling so don�??t settle try everything on!! We are taking a trip to Rebecca Hatton Bridalwear in Southport tomorrow to nose around the dresses to see if I can fall in love with something similar. Carrington's the caterer have been in touch about a food tasting which made Gareth salivate and is probably the only thing he has shown an interest in. We are still yet to meet with our priest but hopefully that will all be ok and we have recruited June from World of Flowers St John�??s Road to do ours. She is brilliant. In the window of her shop she has even created pearly gates out of flowers for a funeral once so I am feel I am in good hands. Flowers can be very pricey so you are better deciding exactly what you want and your budget. Take that with you instead of a florist doing what they want and the price spiralling out of control. Just to finish on a funny wedding story I heard: A photographer had taken pictures at a wedding. Whilst the couple were on their Honeymoon, the Bride�??s father, who was not originally from England visited him at his studio. He said he needed urgent prints from the wedding to send to his family back home. The only other small request was that the photographer digitally replace the groom�??s bald head with a full mane of hair!!!! He said he did not want the people back home to know his daughter had married a bald man!! The photographer declined. You thought your in-laws were bad!!!! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WeddingBelle/~3/ruJ0-ZJkh_Q/sorry_its_been_a_while.html http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2007/11/sorry_its_been_a_while.html Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:47:49 +0000 http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2007/11/sorry_its_been_a_while.html One problem I have been having is with the church. After giving my boyfriend a bit of a nudge in the catholic direction so we can get married in a church, the priest has up and left! Always a good thing. After our friend�??s kind offer of getting ordained on the internet and marrying us as Elvis, I think I may hang fire and hope that a new priest comes to the church I want. Our Marquee plans have come forward and they look great. My only problem is the dance floor is a bit hidden away which I don't want because I don't want people to have to go and find it. They should be able to jump up and have a dance straight out their seat. Otherwise the Peter Kay dance to the dance floor will last a while. My bridesmaids dress ideas seem to be changing daily at the moment. I do think that I want black for the dresses but then that changes daily as well. A friend of mine went to a wedding and said the bridesmaids wore black and had a Spanish flamenco white frill up the front. I love the sound of this so she is getting me pictures to have a nose at....I hope the person who�??s wedding it is isn�??t reading!! I am a copycat! We are meeting a photographer tonight so I will let you know how that goes.....only that and the flowers to book. Phew. Having shopped around a lot now I do have quite a few recommendations so if anyone is looking for anything in particular make a comment below and I will try and help. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WeddingBelle/~3/RHKm-4ZSVnI/getting_there.html http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2007/10/getting_there.html Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:40:21 +0000 http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2007/10/getting_there.html Every girl dreams of the day she get�??s married.... the princess dress, the romance.. But, the fuss along the way, which people forget to mention, is the emailing and calling people in your lunch break, hounding people to get back to you and the price of wedding magazines to get any hints and ideas. Hopefully this blog will make a little easier for brides planning their big day. Everything I learn along the way will go on here so keep checking back. My partner Gareth and I have been together for three years. We got engaged in Barbados and it was all very romantic. He took me for dinner on a beach table, which I thought was a bit romantic for him and roused my suspicions, and there were plenty of tears after he produced the ring over dessert. I looked forward to planning the big day even going so far as buying some mags whilst still there. That enthusiasm wore off when I started to realise that all the things I liked were already booked a year in advance! The point when I decided I needed to knuckle down to some planning was when my caterer said who is your DJ - �??pass�??, florist - �??pass�??, photographer - �??pass.�?? It was time to get my act together. As it stands, I have a church venue and food. I had always wanted to get married at home after watching Steve Martin�??s Father of the Bride but didn't think it was possible, so provisionally booked Knowsley Hall. Not everyone has a J-lo from The Wedding Planner on hand to do it, so hopefully this blog will help....a little. Mahoods have said we can have a marquee in the garden and so the saga continues.... watch this space. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WeddingBelle/~3/UFdsy0DLUUA/it_begins.html http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2007/08/it_begins.html Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:17:16 +0000 http://www.weddingbelle.merseyblogs.co.uk/2007/08/it_begins.html