# GypsyDancer's wedding journal! :D



## GypsyDancer

My gosh i felt a little bit sick writing that title!

Hi, Im Tamsin :blush: and weve just rang the church to book our wedding on the 3rd May 2014, which is rather spooky as we already agreed a little while ago by pulling dates out a hat that the 3rd of may would be when we aimed for, and when we rang the vicar it was the 1st date they suggested! Meant to be?

Some background info 

Spoiler
My partner (Aaron) and I got engaged in November, weve been together for 5 years now. We met in college, my OH was rather popular, and gorgeous, and i believe quite a few girls fancied him :blush: I wasnt friends with him, but i was friends with a guy who knew him. I know it sounds so creepy and bizarre, but when i saw him those years before we actually met properly i always had a feeling i would be with him one day, maybe i was just overly confident, or maybe i just knew? My OH never believes me when i tell him that but its true. Anyway, one day i was walking through college, when OH and a friend walked past me, smirking. I have really low self esteem, and since they were in the "in crowd" and i wasnt, i absolutely thought they were laughing at me, i spent all day feeling paranoid!
When i went home, later that evening i had a friend request on myspace, which was the in thing at the time :haha: along with a message from him, basically saying in his own words, he liked the look of me :haha:
We would speak online until early morning every night but whenever id see him at college he'd merely smile at me and say hi..he was really shy, in the end i had to take the lead and make the effort, once we'd been together for a while i made him invite me round his parents :blush: and weve been together ever since!
We have 2 little boys together (our oldest has cystic fibrosis so its been a challenging time for us as a family, but i think its made us stronger).

Our engagement story

Spoiler
https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/b...e-here-without-looking-slightly-insane-d.html

We were originally going to get married this year in a rush, so my OH's father could attend, but unfortunately its just not doable now, so we've decided to wait a year, so although its a happy occasion, its kind of sad aswell as we know he's not going to be there :nope:
But we need something good to look forward to!


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## GypsyDancer

We were originally going to get married in the church down my mums road, where my mum lives as i lived there from birth until i was 20, however have now decided to get married in the church which is at the end of OH's dads street, Im hoping it will be nice for OH as his dad wont be there, to atleast be in the area that his dad lived iykwim?
OH is catholic so he did at first want a catholic church but im not overly religious and from my understanding catholic churches are alot stricter on who gets married there.

This is the church from the outside.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/allsaintspaston/5380816804/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Were going there this Saturday (my 23rd birthday:happydance:) to meet the vicar and confirm the time ect, then i guess theres no going back!?

Does anybody know if we would have to put a deposit down on the day to make sure we keep the date?:shrug:


I also already have my dress! As we were originally going to have a quickly rushed wedding, i went and bought my wedding dress in january as i was worried it wouldnt be in in time, only to then a month later be told by oh's stepmum it would most likely be too late..so i now have a lovely brand new wedding dress sitting waiting for me in a shop for a year! :blush:


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## aly888

Aww congratulations on setting a date. Sorry to hear about OHs father :nope: I'm sure the two of you will find a way to include his memory in the day though :flower:
Your meeting and engagement stories are lovely. 
As for deposits, I don't know how churches work but you would want to put a deposit down on wherever you want the reception :thumbup:


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## xemmax

Congratulations on setting a date! What a lovely looking family you are :) I'm so sorry about your OH's dad, that's so sad. Hopefully this will give you something to look forward to, and you can pay many tributes to him throughout the service, I've picked up a lot of little hints from Pinterest on ways to do it.


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## GypsyDancer

Thankyou both :D
Ohh yes, pinterest is my new favourite obsession. Ive started a wedding ideas board, so hopefully will see some nice ideas for his dad.
I really wanted to ask his dad to maybe write OH a little note/letter that i could hide away until our wedding day, I thought it would maybe make him feel like his dad was still kind of part of it, but i have no idea how to ask his dad, or if his dad would even do it..he's so ill at the moment i dont know how he'd react if i asked him..:dohh:

So theme wise, OH and I are very much into the 1950's/40's, vintage, marilyn monroe, cadillacs, dita von teese, burlesque style..My wedding dress is an ivory dress, its a mermaid style, tight bodice, tight down to the hips then it flairs out, its all lace, and has jewel beading on, which i was completely against at first, but it gives it an element of glamour i think..so the dress tyes in to the vintagey retro feel..and i originally wanted the theme to be like this, lots of pearls, diamonds, gold and lace, teacups and lots of cakes, i also would really love a cadillac to drive me..

But on the other hand, id love to make it quite fun, and my other idea is to have it fairy tale themed. Ive always loved the idea of a venue looking like an enchanted forest, lots of fairy lights, very romantic lighting, and then i had the idea of each of the tables being based on romantic fairytales, like one being cinderella, with glass slippers and a pumpking ect for the centre peice, another would be snow white, so id have lots of red apples in a basket ect, and beauty and the beast?
I mainly went for this theme, as id love to involve my little boys and my eldest really loves disney right now, id also like to take our boys to disneyland for our honeymoon so it'd tie in well but i just cant make my mind up!


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## xemmax

Maybe you could speak to your DF's step mum about the letter. I think it's a lovely idea, perhaps mention it to her and she could suggest it to his dad? 

Ahh it's hard to choose a theme. I do think vintage themes will usually stand the test of time more than gimmicky themes will but I love the idea of an enchanted forest etc, and really I guess a fairytale theme would end up quite loose anyway so not too gimmicky. I saw some amazing Beauty and the Beast inspired table centrepieces on Pinterest - a long stemmed pink rose in a huge bell jar, like the enchanted rose in the story!


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## GypsyDancer

xemmax said:


> Maybe you could speak to your DF's step mum about the letter. I think it's a lovely idea, perhaps mention it to her and she could suggest it to his dad?
> 
> Ahh it's hard to choose a theme. I do think vintage themes will usually stand the test of time more than gimmicky themes will but I love the idea of an enchanted forest etc, and really I guess a fairytale theme would end up quite loose anyway so not too gimmicky. I saw some amazing Beauty and the Beast inspired table centrepieces on Pinterest - a long stemmed pink rose in a huge bell jar, like the enchanted rose in the story!

Just noticed our little boys are exactly the same age!


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## xemmax

Oh yeah! Aww what a good day to be born :haha:


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## Mummy May

Our church don't want any money til the week before the wedding :) xx


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## Lauren25

Congratulations on setting a date :)
The church looks beautiful!
Cant wait to hear all your ideas!


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## GypsyDancer

xemmax said:


> Maybe you could speak to your DF's step mum about the letter. I think it's a lovely idea, perhaps mention it to her and she could suggest it to his dad?
> 
> Ahh it's hard to choose a theme. I do think vintage themes will usually stand the test of time more than gimmicky themes will but I love the idea of an enchanted forest etc, and really I guess a fairytale theme would end up quite loose anyway so not too gimmicky. I saw some amazing Beauty and the Beast inspired table centrepieces on Pinterest - a long stemmed pink rose in a huge bell jar, like the enchanted rose in the story!

Yeh i think your probably right, i think the vintagey 50's theme is more us as a couple to be honest. Im just a little bit obsessed with "once upon a time" at the moment so the idea of it being fairytale themed seemed good but like you said it could end up abit too gimmicky!

Well this wedding stuff is not as fun as i thought :nope:
So originally we booked the church for the 3rd of May. I said to OH we really need to ring around a few venues to check availability on that day. OH then says he wants the venue his dad got married at, no others on my list. Which isnt such a problem as its a lovely venue, probably one of the most popular in our area, but its expensive! And they only have 2 saturday dates for next year left, 1 in march, and 1 in november :dohh: Which doesnt matter to me as i originally wanted it on the friday anyway, so we would probably bring it forward to the 2nd. But now OH's mum is saying we should look around and get prices of different places before commiting..but were going to book the church on Saturday now :nope: so stressed already haha!


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## aly888

Ah no :nope: Between you need to decide which is more important to you, the 'where' or the 'when'. Your OH obviously has good reason for wanting to have the reception where he wants it but it has to be available and within budget, otherwise you'll end up compromising on a lot of other things. Maybe you should go view some other venues an see how your OH feels. There will be other ways to pay tribute to his dad, but obviously he's got to be comfortable with it


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## Lauren25

Id deffo sit down with your OH and speak things through! Maybe you could look for ideas of how to do things in rememberance for his Dad and make them suggestions to him! I know you said the church was by his Dads so thats one thing :)

You just have to do whats right for the both of you :hugs:


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## GypsyDancer

Well tomorrow morning were going to view the venue OH wants, and hopefully get an estimate of prices
This is the venue if anyone's interested
https://www.bestwestern.co.uk/hotel...pa-peterborough-83354/hotel-info/default.aspx

Today i rang my first choice, which id picked because i thought it would be cheaper than having it in a hotel, I chose a marquee hire, which i thought would be fairly cheap. I was quoted £6500 for a wedding breakfast for 50 people, an evening hogroast/buffet for 200, chair and table covers with sashes and in house dj. I dont believe drinks are included in that either..is it just me or is that expensive for what it is :shrug:
In all honesty we'd prefer to have a venue that has a hotel as part of it or right next to one as we have alot of guests travelling, also the marquee is in a field and i think the toilets are in a seperate block which puts me off..so for that price im slightly put off..but maybe im being too tight and thats cheap compared to some?? :wacko:
Anyway this is the marquee
https://theploughonline.com/4439/marquee-hire


How much have most of you spent on the venue? It seems to be the bit stressing me out the most! And the most expensive..!

I already have my dress so thats 1 cost i dont have to worry about now
Also my OH is a cameraman so alot of his friends are photographers ect, so we dont have to worry about that either..
Im also quite artistic and crafty so will do the table decorations/invites ect all myself..


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## GypsyDancer

Also, the first venue were very professional, gave me a range of dates available, i only rang yesterday and they said we could go down tomorrow to have a look around even though they have a wedding on, theyre fitting us in before it, which is good as we want to sort something out soon, whereas the marquee, wasnt able to give me definite dates of availability as they were already waiting on several different customers, also when i asked if we could pop down to have a look, they asked me to ring them back in a week or so to arrange something..dont really want to be waiting another week to view it, to then wait to see what dates are available..so thats also put me off a little :dohh:


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## GypsyDancer

Well weve just been to look at the venue and get prices..it works out arouns the same as the marquee which is good..but im just a little nervous of the numbera it holds, maximum for the room we like is only 120 and I estimated around 200 evening guests so not sure what to do hmm..


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## xemmax

Is there anyone you could cut out? I like the hotel, it's really nice. I generally am not a fan of marquees as they require so much decorating to really personalise them, otherwise you're essentially just in a big white tent :haha: plus they are so expensive! If you can decorate it enough though they can be made really beautiful. It's a tough choice!


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## Lauren25

Wow that venue is beautiful, can't believe it's works out the same as the marquee it looks so much more expensive!

Yea I'd have a look through your numbers and see if you can knock any off, see if there's any you know deffo won't go, maybe as well day time guests that might not stay for the evening/only stay for an hour!


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## GypsyDancer

I know, definitely think the marquee is over priced slightly!
There is actually another venue which i liked but thought it may be too expensive, its a hotel, its completely different to the other venue in terms of aesthetics ect but it caters for more people, and ive always imagined having my wedding at this venue..
It can hold 250 where as the other venue in the room we like is only 120, it has large patio doors which open onto a lake, its own private foyer and bar too ect, its lovely but just not the same charm as the other..really cant make my mind up! More family and friends invited or a venue thats pretty?? :wacko:
The menu is nicer too..more to choose from and they do a 10% discount on Fridays whereas the other venue charge the same amount both days..

I worked out that for room hire, 80 adults to the wedding breakfast which includes arrival drink, starter, main, dessert, 2 glasses of wine and toast champagne, 17 child meals, and an evening BBQ for 130 is £7000, that includes a hotel room for us and 4 weeks of gym and pool use..plus if we hold on a Friday apparently its a 10% discount so takes it down to roughly £6300..
of course if we have more evening people it'll be more..i have no idea if that's quite a reasonable price or not though? :shrug:
 



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## aly888

Im sure someone else is in a room just like that. The light is amazing, but agree its not as 'impressive' as the first hotel. 
Personally, I would rather look back at my photos and think 'wow, that was an amazing building' than have my second cousin twice removed at my reception. But it depends who your extra guests are and if they are the ones that'll "make" your evening on the day.


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## GypsyDancer

aly888 said:


> Im sure someone else is in a room just like that. The light is amazing, but agree its not as 'impressive' as the first hotel.
> Personally, I would rather look back at my photos and think 'wow, that was an amazing building' than have my second cousin twice removed at my reception. But it depends who your extra guests are and if they are the ones that'll "make" your evening on the day.

Its mainly OH's family and friends! Ive just worked out his family consisting of, mum, stepdad, stepmum, brothers and sister, cousins, aunties, uncles and grandparents makes up just over 40..
Thats not including his friend list :dohh:
Plus my family..
We need to make our mind up soon so its all booked ect and im so stressed now lol, i have no idea which to go for :wacko:


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## aly888

What does OH think? Is he prepared to sacrifice numbers for the venue, or would he prefer the bigger venue? Or are there any other venues you could consider? You're just a stones throw away from me (assuming you live in the places of these venues) and you have so many options open to you with the A1. Remember, you don't have to get married locally. Your guests will be travelling anyway and if you go for the hotel option then you'll most likely get a room (or rooms) included


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## xemmax

I think the best thing to do is draw up a complete guest list of everyone you'd like to invite, then draw up another minis the people you could potentially lose. That way you'll know what's feasible and what isn't. We had 150 day and evening guests but had to cut it down to 120 day guests because of numbers to get the venue we wanted.

I also agree with aly, don't be afraid to travel! We're getting married an hour away from where we live :)


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## GypsyDancer

I think its deffinately a toss up between the Orton Hall and the Marriot hotel, theyre both lovely, just different, Orton has more of an old vintagey house feel, where as the marriot is grand in other ways. The marriott holds more people, and i prefer the food menu :haha: and whilst its not an old building, its still attractive, and has a nice outside area which would be exclusive to us. But Orton Hall is really beautiful..may end up picking out of a hat at this rate!
The reason were looking locally is because were getting married in a church, the church a minute from OH's dads house, so if we went anywhere too far after, we'd have to travel, all our guests would have to ect, i think its best we stay fairly local.
Im struggling to think of anywhere else thats near by that is a hotel, holds a number or people and is beautiful like Orton Hall..
OH originally wanted Orton Hall because his dad had his wedding there..
But The Marriott also has meaning as on OH's 18th birthday, his dad had a work do at the marriot and invited me and oh, we had to spend all night pretending to work for a travel company (which we knew nothing about!), working for his dad, i had to pretend not to be with oh ect, it was very funny, and i think once OH realised it was the same venue it held good memories of his dad..
Ohh decisions!


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## GypsyDancer

We've decided to go for the Marriott. I love Orton Hall, but we decided we want the people there, and myself and oh have families that if we invite one, we have to invite them all..and theres ALOT once their added up! 
So weve now booked the church and venue for the 10th May 2014.
We are going back to the venue tomorrow to have another look round and speak to them about prices, discuss details, ask questions and put deposit down ect and im feeling so sick and nervous now :nope:
Is this normal?
I have so many things going through my mind!
Will enough people want to come to meet the minimum numbers?
Are we just being greedy wanting to invite everybody?
Is it just a waste of money?
Is it really worth it?
So many worries, im so so stressed already :cry:


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## aly888

Ah yay. Glad you made a decision. 

Don't worry about the minimum numbers thing. I had the same Stress that no-one will want to come etc but it's just silly paranoia. Of course people will want to come :hugs: All I will say though is that this probably isn't the last time you'll feel like this :lol: Everytime something got complicated I felt like throwing it all in and having a quick registry office do and a fancy meal!


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## GypsyDancer

Thanks Aly!
Ive been feeling sick and nervous and stressed every single day! 
I really wish OH hadnt even bothered proposing now :haha:
We went back to the venue today, and were so happy with the wedding coordinator..She was so helpful, treated us with as much respect as any other couple, which i was nervous about as OH and I are young, (23) i look even younger, and OH is covered in tattooes :dohh: I was so worried we'd be treated like we couldnt afford it, but she was really helpful, honest and made us feel like we were worth her time, so i deffinately think we'd get great service there..
Compared to the 1st venue which couldnt even give me dates or let me go look around for another week or so, and the Orton Hall, who showed us around briefly, passed us a leaflet then sent us on our way!


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## xemmax

Aww I'm so glad they seem nice! Honestly it's so normal to have an influx of worries but you will feel a million times less stressed and more excited once you start planning all of the fun stuff!


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## Mummy May

Its much better when you get service like that :) I sometimes worry that we look young too but we have good money like everyone else so they shouldn't be bothered! Xx


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## aly888

Ah I'm so glad you liked her. Nothing worse than having a coordinator who doesn't seem interested. 

Seriously, once you've got the biggies booked and sorted you'll feel way more relaxed. Once I'd found my dress, booked the venues and booked the photographer, the anxiety dropped about 100 places :lol: And yes, it's totally going to be worth it


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## Lauren25

Glad it went well!
I know that feeling very well, I'm 22 and OH is 24 and then on top of being young anyway we both look about 16 so everyone looks at us like we shouldn't be getting married! It's always great to find people that aren't there to comment and point out how young you are :)


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## GypsyDancer

Went and payed the deposit to the hotel yesterday, and payed a deposit to the church today! Im all spent out! Also went to the wedding dress shop i got my dress from on Thursday, and they let me take pictures :happydance: I was quite happy to see it in person again as i was really starting to get myself worked up about not liking it, but now ive seen it i remember why i liked it, and im even considering keeping it with straps and not bothering changing the neck now..will have to see how it looks on again..Feel like i need to turn to my next focus..have no idea what to do next!!
Im trying to decide on a theme and colours so i can start making save the date cards but no idea where to start!

Right now i like the idea of a lighty dusty pink, a light grey, pearls, antique gold frames and diamonds..
But originally we were going to have baby blue, gold and ivory..ive kindve gone off that idea now..
Im not keen on purple, red, orange, yellow or green for weddings either so kind of stuck :dohh:


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## Mummy May

Look in lots of bridal magazines! Its really helpful when choosing colours to be able to see what they will look like. I'm having a really pale mint green and really pale pink as my theme but any pastel colours will go too! Xx


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## aly888

Yaaaay for deposits paid. That's when it really hit me that my wedding was real. Best feeling ever. Haha

We went with a theme for our wedding and that dictated our colours. I agree with Mummy May, looks through mags, look online and think what theme/colours will work best in your venue


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## xemmax

Yay for paying deposits! And I'm so glad you like your dress again, that must make you feel so much better!

We're going for similar colours; dusky pink and originally eau de nil, but now we've found a bridesmaids dress in grey we will have to incorporate that too!


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## Lauren25

Deffo have a look in the magazines and online it helps a lot, I think I went through every colour though before making my mind up! Love the idea of the dusky pink and grey though, sounds beautiful!


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## GypsyDancer

As always i start off with having no ideas on what kind of theme to go for, how to pull it off and now i have loads :thumbup:

Yesterday i went to hobbycraft, was rummaging through the sale box which had lots of boxes of half pearls in grey and light pink! So i took it as a sign, and bought a few boxes along with some little grey bows with white pearls in the middle, ivory bows with pearls on, and some lovely little pearl hearts in pink and ivory. Ive decided to make the invites myself, im quite artistic and crafty so looking forward to doing them myself. 

Im thinking of buying some lace table cloths and dying them grey to place over the table cloths provided by the venue.

Ive also been thinking alot about centre peices and instead of just going for something for the sake of it, im considering now just having centrepeices that are all kindve different, like one table could have an old clock on with some bits around it, another could have a birdcage with flowers in, along them lines..does anyone think that would look abit odd? Would probably go searching car boot sales and second hand shops for quirky bits..

I emailed a cadillac company to see how much they charge, £500! I kindve expected it tbh but will have a little shop around to see if i can find one cheaper..

Ive also seen a veil i like in bhs, it has a lace trim which is what i wanted but unsure if it will go with my dress, ive considered ordering it, and taking it to see how it looks with my dress, does anybody know if i can return it if it isnt the right colour?
And how much are veils in general? The one in bhs is £60, i figured bhs would probably be cheaper than a bridal shop?


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## GypsyDancer

Another idea is if i fo for a birdcage for one table, i could get some fake birds/doves and attach them with wire to the cage..

Im thinking of putting OH and I on a round top table instead of the traditional long table which will look odd as our families are so complicated i said to OH it would be best if its just OH, me, and our boys, if we have a round table with a few people on, our centre piece would be lots of old antiquey frames with pictures of OH and his dad! I havent told OH this idea yet, might be a nice little surprise for him..

Also going to have a picture of his dad in a frame at the bar with a sign saying "a toast for ****" so when people go to get themself a drink they can give a quick toast to ohs dad ..


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## GypsyDancer

Another idea for a centrepiece is some lovely vintagey bookends, we actually have some bookends on our fireplace i'll use if i cant find any, one is an old book with a bassett hound dressed as a old english gentleman, the other is the same but with some sort of pug in a gentlemans suit, i love them, then i'll get aload of cheap books from charity shop, preferably with love titles, and get some battery operated tealights, cut the tops of the pages so they have a little drop in the book and sit the tealights in, so in the evening theres a soft glow coming from the tops of the books..got soo many ideas now!

Another table could have a nice vintagey teapot, some teacups with candles in, and fake cakes..

all the tables will be scattered with rose petals, pearls and diamonds too..

Not sure if im letting my imagination run away with me too much though !


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## Mummy May

I'm having teapots and teacups as my centrepieces and I've been collecting lots of lovely cups and saucers, but its addictive! I cannot stop buying pretty china! Mental! Especially since I don't 'do' tea! But yeah, have a good think on it because you don't wanna start buying then change your mind halfway through! Well done on your invites! I'm not very good at arty things but I've made my own and they look fab! (Pics in my journal if you need to see) Have fun doing it :) xx


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## aly888

Wowwww, you've had like a wedding ideas brainwave!! I love the idea of each table having a different centrepiece. You could maybe still have a loose theme to kind of tie the all together. So for example if you were going for an overall vintage/antique feeling then you could choose items from a different era for each table. So one table could be the 20s, one the 40s, the 60s etc. Just don't do the 90s :haha:

And the picture of OHs Dad on the bar sounds perfect :thumbup:


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## aly888

Oh and the veil...yes, they are expensive :lol: If you buy from BHS then you shouldn't have a problem taking it back. I'm not sure bridal shops would be the same because they may order them in as requested :shrug: The bridal shop where your dress is might have a similar style veil you could try on with the dress. If you like it, tell them "you'll think about it" then come away and buy the one in BHS :thumbup: Assuming its cheaper/nicer of course.


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## GypsyDancer

Wedding planning is taking abit of a back seat at the moment as OH's dad sadly passed away on Saturday :( 
I was a little worried about keeping our date as its so close, but OH is insistent that we have to keep it as he already told his dad when it would be, before he died, so alot of the planning will be left to me to sort out now in the next few months..
Ive barely seen OH as he's round his dads house alot, spending time with his younger brothers and sister, I however am really bored so ive started making our save the date cards to send out in a month or two. What is the etiquette regarding save the dates? Do i just send them to day guests or send them to all guests so they know there will be an evening do? Or if i send save the dates to everyone, will they expect to be invited to the whole wedding? I have no idea how many to make :dohh:


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## Mummy May

Sorry about OH's Dad. With my save the dates I sent 'invitation to follow' and 'evening invite to follow'... Mainly because my cousin was banging on about having a front row seat so we only invited her to the evening do lol xx


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## GypsyDancer

Thanks! Will print some out with evening invites on too then! Ive started making my invites and I love them :D theyre all different..will try to put a picture up of them later on..
And as its the 10th of May today I can say..this time next year itll be ny wedding day! Eek!


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## xemmax

So sorry about your OH's dad :hugs: hope he's doing as well as can be expected.

Woo, one year today!


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## aly888

So sorry to hear about your OHs dad :hugs: Was it sooner than anyone expected? Hope OH is taking it as well as can be expected. Such a difficult thing to go through :(

As for the save the dates, I just sent them to everyone with 'formal invites to follow'. And in all honesty, I haven't sent invites to everyone who I sent a save the date too :shrug: I changed my mind. Lol


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## Mummy May

I've changed my mind on a couple of people I sent save the dates to haha xxx


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## Lauren25

Really sorry to hear about your OHs Dad, I hope you are all okay :hugs:

As for save the dates I only sent them to day guests :)


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## GypsyDancer

They knew it was coming, he'd been giving about 6 months in octoberish, but still abit of a shock for OH i think..

I think i'll only send them to those im 100% sure im inviting then..

Heres some pictures of my save the dates ive made so far :happydance:


Spoiler


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## GypsyDancer

Spoiler


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## GypsyDancer

And a few more..:blush:

Spoiler


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## xemmax

They look so pretty! Did you print them yourself? I want to make my own but I'm a bit scared they won't look nice :wacko:


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## GypsyDancer

Thankyou :D im really happy with them! 
Yep! 
I just went onto word, copied the written lay out from some other save the dates online, Bought some card from hobbycraft, 20 sheets for £4.50 or something like that, and i can fit 4 invites on one a4 page..spent about £15 on the pearl beads, hearts, lace, bows ect but i havent even used half of them yet so its been sooo much cheaper than the one's online, and ive enjoyed making them :)

You should go for it! I dont think you can really go very wrong by printing some and decorating with a few beads/buttons/ribbon/whatever your style is x


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## aly888

They look lovely. I can't believe how quick you managed to do them. That would have taken me a week, minimum, to pull all those together :lol:


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## Mummy May

Yeah they do look fab! Online ones are really expensive if you're paying someone to do them for you, something likes yours would have cost a fortune so well done there! Xx


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## Lauren25

Wow they look so good! Can't believe you've got all of them done :)


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## GypsyDancer

Been ringing around alllll morning!
Some have laughed in my face.
Others have been complete miserable gits!
I really wonder how some of these people manage to run a business!
I rang one company who had several pink cadillacs on their site, claiming that they hired out in bedfordshire, cambridgeshire ect, the guy laughed and said i wouldnt find one anywhere near me..when i said well ive found several who will hire to me?
He said well, make sure its a real company then! 

Idiot.:growlmad:

Anyway, Ive been speaking to a guy that owns a cadillac hire company in Essex, i asked him for the red or pink cadillac however, the red is already hired out on my date, and the pink is coming off road at the end of the year for restoration works :cry:
But he has a white cadillac that is available on my day. He's quoted me £545 for it..and sent me lots of pictures and told me i can go and have a look at it if id like..
Its absolutely lovely, beautiful and as he quoted "a show winner"
It really is lovely and im so tempted to just say oh go on then lets just go for it, but its not pink 
Id always imagined a pink one, but im finding it so hard to get hold of one..ive been quoted £800-£1000 by other companies mainly because of distance..
Also the guy who has the white cadillac is the only person who's got back to me quickly, been straight to the point and been the most helpful, all the other companies have either been rude or just not replied ect..

Im so bad at making decisions!!! :dohh:


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## GypsyDancer

Well i decided to go for the white cadillac!
I really wanted pink, but it was seemingly becoming harder and harder to get hold of one without paying £1000! As much as id love a pink one..not that much!
Just waiting for the booking forms in the post!


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## GypsyDancer

I also ordered my veil from bhs online, i had my eye on it already and then an advert came on this site at the top for bhs saying there was a sale, with the veil id looked at reduced, was £60, reduced to £42 so i bought it! It turned up today :happydance:
There was a bad review saying it looks cheap ect but ive inspected it briefly and it seems fine for what ill need it for, i only plan on wearing it in the church then taking it off so i didnt want to pay too much for one!


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## GypsyDancer

And lastly! I fell in love with "the look of love" cake toppers..
I saw somebody on etsy who customises them to look like your OH and yourself, but they charge £180!!! 
So i decided to buy the figuirine plain for £25 off an ebay seller, and ive painted it myself instead! Im rather chuffed with it :D I might tweak a few bits and tidy it up but i only started it this afternoon so im really happy with it!

This is how it looked when it turned up..


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## GypsyDancer

And this is it after ive worked my magic on it! I tried to make it look myself and OH as much as possible so I changed my hair colour to black, and OH's to a light brown, changed my skin tone a little darker as it was very pale on the original, i gave myself red lips instead of pink, and painted OH's tattoo's on, which was very hard as its so small and fiddly!! But you get the jist i think!


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## GypsyDancer

The photo's arent amazing, i'll get my OH to take some better ones for me later when he's home..it looks better in person..:blush:


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## Mummy May

Haha that's fabulous!! I love your car too :D xxx


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## aly888

The topper is amazing. I can't believe how detailed you managed to get his tattoos. If I'd tried that the arm would have just ended up painted plain black :haha: I bet you're dead pleased with it. It looks fab!

And the car....wow!!! That is going to be so awesome rolling up in that


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## Lauren25

Oohhhh wow how talented are youto get detail like that on the cake topper, it looks so good!

And the car is just beautiful :cloud9:


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## GypsyDancer

Havent updated for a little while :dohh:

Since i last posted, ive had my receipt for the car so its all confirmed, ive booked my makeup artist and paid deposit, and started buying bits for the tables.
We have this lovely antique shop nearby so OH and i went there last week and bought some candle holders, teacups which im going to make into candles, and some lovely vintage glass cake stands, i also ordered lots of pink lace heart shaped doilies to scatter on the tables, and tissue paper to make those hanging pom poms!
OH has also started trying on suits and getting quotes..

In other news, im seriously considering cancelling our reception venue :nope:
Ive put a £500 deposit down but im just feeling abit down about it all now.
We went for the bigger venue because oh has alot of family and friends we wanted to invite, mainly to the evening, but having a big venue, means we have to meet minimum numbers for the daytime, which is 80, although if we have alot in the evening we can knock it down to about 65 day guests. I told my mum this and she said 65 is nothing and we can easily meet that but im really struggling as i accounted for all oh's family coming. But after talking to my mil im feeling pretty pessimistic now.
She basically said, she very much doubts any of OH's irish family will come now that his dad has passed away, they wont be interested.
And Oh's stepdads family, if one of them decides not to come, none of them will, she also doubts her neices will come as we arent going to there wedding today (theyre not allowing children) that knocks atleast 30 people off our daytime guests now so i dont know what to do :dohh:
Thinking about just cancelling and finding a little hall or something now and just having only a few people..
:nope:


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## Mummy May

Awwh pOor you, what happens if you don't meet day numbers? Do you have to pay for the minimum anyway? I think 65 is really easy to get to and £500 is a lot to lose. I would stick with it if you can xx


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## GypsyDancer

Im not too sure, i did ask when we were looking around, what if we invited minimum numbers but not everybody came, and they said we could drop it down to 65 providing we had more coming in the evening, which is fine as weve got a fair amount we can invite to the evening, i just didnt want a bunch of randoms during the day that i dont really know :dohh:
We'd probably just have to pay the minimum i guess, im just abit annoyed, i wish mil had said something like this to me before so i could plan around the fact that most probably wont come :growlmad:

My OH still wants to stick with the venue, im just really stressed about what to do now :dohh:


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## GypsyDancer

I wonder if i should maybe write letters to OH's family in Ireland just explaining that while I understand OH's dad is no longer with us, it'd mean alot to still have them come? After all, i am taking on their families name..
Agh i hate all this wedding politics!
Its so bloody akward! My dad is obviously coming, but he doesnt talk to my mum, i cant invite my grandad (his dad) as he hasnt spoken to him for years, my sister hasnt seen my dad for years, hes never even met her little boy, and theyre all going to be stuck in one room :dohh: im DREADING it!


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## Mummy May

They will have to lump it hun, you really shouldn't have to feel like that about your wedding day. Hugggssss. If its really stressing you out - more than the money bothers you, then cancel it. But don't compromise on what you want on ifs and buts. Especially not on MIL's word coz they turn into assholes where wedding are concerned xx


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## Lauren25

Have you made a decision about the venue?

Does your OH have the same view about his family as his Mum or is it just her saying it?

My best advice is don't do things to please people, do what you and your OH want and what makes you two happy!


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## GypsyDancer

He hasnt really said anything :dohh: Just says dont worry it'll be fine, but every time i try and sit down and talk numbers and people and discuss things he's fiddling around on his laptop editing videos and only half listens :dohh:

He did mention to his mum that i was getting worried about it all and she then said that they probably would come she was just thinking if we had too many people not to invite them or something..

We were meant to have a meeting with a DJ today who we were going to book, they didnt turn up! About to email them now and ask why although id like to give them the benefit of the doubt that something mightve happened, think theyre now striked off my list!

Ive written all our save the date envelopes out but i just cant bring myself to post them :nope: I have a massive fear of rejection and being let down and im so worried i'll send them and people will say sorry cant come!
I also think it becomes that bit more real once you start inviting people, at the moment its all word of mouth, nothing has been formally said, agh!

Ive been collecting teacups to make into teacup candles which ive started now so will put a picture up of them in a bit :)
Ive also been making my own honeycomb pom pom balls to hang up. I know its quite early but im so limited on time between the boys so i figured if i got started now id have most done by the date and wouldnt then be stressed trying to finish!
That and im a big procrastinator and im trying to kick the habit :haha:


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## GypsyDancer

I have no idea what to do next!

Ive started sending out our save the dates now, ive decided to invite all of oh's stepdads family to the day, then if they come its up to them. Im also going to invite all OH's irish family and again its up to them. I hope they do decide to come though as i think it'd mean alot to OH.
Weve worked out numbers and i feel abit more relaxed, right now weve got about 75 down for the day which is good. 

Ive started making the teacup candles, got lots more to make!



I bought all of this from an antique shop a few weeks back with OH.
The glass cake stands im going to put a big stack of fondant fancies and cherry bakewells (my favourites) 


And i bought these paper pink lace doilies which im going to scatter around the tables <3
https://www.dotcomgiftshop.com/set-...e_min=&sell_price_max=&field_exclude_from_tid[0]=5490&page=0%2C0%2C3&ll=menulink&ctid=5490&pos=11



Im really trying to think of a way to involve my Oh's stepdad in the wedding day. He's such an amazing person. He's done so much for my OH and his brother, took them on as his own. Helped them out financially, he's done so much for me, aswell as our boys. My toddler absolutely adores him and i just think he's fantastic. I think of him as a father figure to myself too. 
I would love to ask him to walk me down the aisle. But my own dad is coming so i dont feel it would be right to not have him walk me.
I considered having them both, but dont know if it'd look weird?
Oh's stepdad doesnt have any children of his own so he'll never have the chance to do it, but my dad also doesnt talk to my sisters so im his only chance to do it too..I also dont want my dad to be offended..

Has anybody got any other ideas of how i can involve my oh's stepdad?


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## Mummy May

Ask him to do a reading? That's what I'm doing with my Dad since I don't want given away lol! Xx


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## Tasha

Will your boys be walking down the aisle? Maybe he could accompany them down x


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## katherinegrey

Could you ask him to be one of your witnesses as a way to involve him?? Your teacup candles look lovely :flower:


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## GypsyDancer

Im not sure he'd want to do a reading, maybe a speech after?
He could walk them down the aisle that is a good idea but i just really feel like i'd like him to walk me down the aisle along with my dad but just dont know how it will go down with my own dad :dohh:

So yesterday i got a royal mail "you werent in card" through my letter box saying i had to sign for a letter, so went to pick it up today having no idea what it was, opended it up and was gutted to see that the Cadillac we booked has been cancelled as theyre not taking bookings anymore so sent us our deposit back..
So ive been scouring the internet like a mad woman today to find a replacement!
Weve just put down a deposit on a beautiful peppermint green cadillac and im SO happy with it! I love it more than the white, i wasnt overly keen on having white in all honesty as id always wanted pink, or turquoise, but its been so hard to get hold of one for a decent price..so its really a blessing in disguise i guess..i just hope nothing goes wrong with this one! :nope:


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## Mummy May

Wooohoooo at least you got another :) the first one clearly wasn't meant to be xx


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## GypsyDancer

Yeah thats what i keep telling myself now!
This one is soo much more what i was after so im happy but its quite abit more expensive but nevermind!


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## Mummy May

The new one is miles nicer :D xx


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## xemmax

Love the colour of the new car! So unique!


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## GypsyDancer

I love it too :D
Just got our venue website back, I emailed them over 2 weeks ago asking if it was ready yet and they said it would be sent to me within the next day or two, so i still hadnt heard anything back today so emailed them..they sent it to OH's email address and apparantly he doesnt check his emails :dohh:

Booking the new cadillac has just reminded me why i wanted a cadillac in the first place. OH and i love the 1950's, pin up girls, tattoos, our living room has pictures of Dita Von Teese on the walls, we like burlesque and rockabilly style, although were both pretty toned down now, my oh is covered in tattoos though..i feel like our wedding theme isnt really showing us as a couple but more what a normal wedding would be..Im getting sucked into the what a wedding should be and forgetting who we are..

I really need to rethink everything ive planned so far and i have no idea where to go from here :dohh:


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## GypsyDancer

Hi girls :hi:
I have been MIA for a while!
Its been both my little boys birthdays plus my OHs birthday so ive been putting wedding planning to the back of my mind for a while..

However a few weeks ago my oh and i took a trip down to London to go to The Great Frog which sells and makes rings for the likes of Motley Crue, Kat von D, Marilyn Manson, The Rolling Stones ect..

We ended up ordering the same rings as eachother, although OH went for silver and i went for gold..my ring turned up on Thursday and i loveee it..i know its not to everyone's taste but everyone we've showed them to have said "its very us"

This is my ring, i think im going to have diamonds added to the eyes before the wedding.


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## GypsyDancer

Ive also been trying to sort out our invitations as i want to get them sent around christmas time to give people enough time to reply and make their plans after christmas..
I designed and painted a picture for the front and created my own invites on paint and word using different fonts but im not really happy with it all now so think im going to scrap it all..although i may still use the picture i painted :shrug:


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## Mummy May

I like the picture! I also like your ring but you're right it's very different, I love that you have chosen special to you though - a lot of people would go for something generic because of what others will think! My invites are just going out now, most have gone but oh my god it's so nerve wracking haha! Xx


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## GypsyDancer

Now that Christmas is out the way wedding planning is full steam ahead! Im starting to panic at how close its getting!

Weve sent all but 2 invites out now, still need to send out our evening ones.

The invites took forever! I printed off each one individually, put them together, distressed them and colored the insides of them, by the end i was just so sick of them!

So glad to have them out the way now, but very rewarding knowing they were so personal as i drew and painted the picture, designed it all and made them all by hand so its like i was giving away little peices of art to everybody.
 



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## GypsyDancer

My plan was to have sweetie trees as centre pieces. I wanted something a little more in your face than the normal sweetie trees in metal buckets so i came up with the idea of making them in plant pots with lots of flowers. (artificial flowers)
I made one up and was originally really pleased with it, but now im worried that they look a little grannyish..
The plan was to have them in the centre of the table, with the pink heart paper lace doilies i bought, and then the candle tea cups i made darted around too..

I just don't know now..I have so many things i like that im finding it difficult to channel in one direction :wacko:

This was the first one i made, ive now taken off the pearls and moved some of the flowers as i wasn't completely happy with it..im still not completely sure..maybe i should keep it more simple?

Opinions?
 



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## Mummy May

I love them! They're quite out there but I honestly love them. Your invites turned out amazingly too! Xx


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## Baby Bell

Your invites are amazing:thumbup:


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## GypsyDancer

Im starting to get wedding nerves now i know its creeping up on me. I am so worried and panicky about how im going to look and feel, I know its so silly and shallow but i have such low self esteem since having children. I started on a diet, which i was doing great at, excercising loads, then i stopped taking my anxiety tablets (im back on them) but i just cant get back into the swing of things..instead ive been binging on sweets, chocolate galore! Im so angry with myself! I tell myself every night tomorrow will be different but it isnt :dohh:
I picked my dress up last week, and took it to my old dressmaking teacher to see if she could or knew anyone who would change the neckline of my dress and alter it and basically it sounded hopeless, because the dress has lots of hand sewn beading its very complicated to even fit it, and she suggested i keep it just how it is, but i dont want to wear it that way :(
I love how it makes my hips and waist look but the other parts i hate!
Ah im just feeling down, i never wear makeup anymore, or do my hair, or wear nice clothes and i feel like everything is gearing up to me looking amazing for this one day and im putting so much pressure on myself that im not going to live up to my expectations :/

On the plus side, i have bought my bridesmaids gift, mil's gift, our little boys suits, lots of pom poms, striped paper straws and sweetie bags :happydance:


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## Mummy May

Awwh :hugs: everything seems so awful when you're feeling crap. Its not the best way to diet but for me its easier toi have cereal for breakfast/lunch (with skimmed milk) and then a proper meal in the evening. Then I don't feel like I'm missing out. Just try again each day if you don't do it the day before :) Hopefully when your anxiety pills kick in again you will feel much better. You will look amazing on your day! I don't have any suggestions about your dress though xx


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