10/12/2016 - We will join hands, and hearts.

[Kiki1993]

Hi
Thought it was time to make an official journal. Me and my OH have been together since 10/12/2008, I was 15 and he was 16 We met at a youth club and got engaged a year later .. we didn't plan on getting married straight away but wanted to show our commitment to each other so he bought me a cheap ring until he could get another one.
It has been almost 5 years since our original engagement so OH is planning on "re-proposing" with a new ring (other one broke ) .. I am not a fan of expensive rings for me, I am bad at losing things and my job means i can't wear it (can't wear any jewellery when moving and handling people) ..
We are considering a few options marriage wise, we are leaning towards eloping at the Mill forge in Gretna green, a small wedding in our town but they are pricey so hence why we are leaning to eloping
Here are some pictures of the ring I picked and the possible venues. Venue 1 is the mill forge for eloping and whole thing would come to 1500 for the wedding, dress, photographer and a mini moon.
Venue 2 is if we decide to have wedding closer to home for family to come and its the middle price wise.. day would come to around £5000.
Venue 3 is in our town, 5 minutes away, and is all inclusive package for £6000 but need dress, kilt, hair and make up.
As I said we are leaning to eloping but looking at other options.

 

[Kiki1993]

Oh and planning the wedding is a billion times more exciting because
1. it's finally definitely happening and
2. OH has finally agreed we can start TTC on the minimoon
I'm over the moon

I know it is still 2 years away but in that time we have so much to keep busy with
-College
-Work
-Portugal in 7 months
-another sunny holiday we are using as a "pre honeymoon" the summer before the wedding
-We are thinking a few nights in lake district for our mini moon or a cabin somewhere excluded
-finding a full time job once I finish college
-actually planning the wedding!

I know it will fly in, before I know it it will be xmas, then my birthday then holiday and by the time I come home from holiday in july ... it wil only be a year and a half

 

[Nats21]

Congrats hun. I love the look of mill forge, very pretty xx

 

[Kiki1993]

Thank you We are more excited than ever! We just need to really decide for certain if we will or wont have an actual wedding, theres reasons not too; budget, don't want to worry about no one coming or last minute cancellations, don't have to please anyone but ourselves if we just elope. BUT it's the only time you ever get married, so we might change our mind but doubt it. I might say to family if you really want to be there we will be happy for you to come and we will pay your meal, but we wont be having a party or anything? Not sure if that sounds cheeky

 

[Nats21]

Its your day. Do what makes you happy hun xx

 

[Kiki1993]

We are still considering between a big wedding and eloping, treated myself to an iphone 5c today
We have written a list and there are 50 people we would want there that are family so considering a package deal for just 50 guests for the whole day but that would seem quiet in the afternoon?

 

[Kiki1993]

we made it official to family yesterday that we have set a date, and made it FB official for everyone else today
Since setting the date on facebook i've had like 20 friends requests, and i'm pretty sure I was friends with some of them on Facebook already so I'm guessing they deleted me and added me again? No sense!

OH bought me a new ring (he thought it was the one i picked out) and he got the wrong one , I feel terrible for him, the ring isn't that bad but the CZ is massive and the one i picked was a small, feminine diamond for the same price .. the one he got is quite in your face but he was convinced it was the one I had pointed out, but we went down just as it was closing and it was the one BESIDE the one I pointed out, i felt terrible, he felt bad for picking the wrong ring and i feel bad for pointing it out! I'm wearing it for the night to see if it grows on me and it is starting too but OH said he wants to at least have me try the ring i pointed out on and see whcih i prefer while we can still return it

 

[Kiki1993]

The more I wear it the more I love it think I'll just keep this one and find a band that bends

OH made his first suggestion ever for wedding related things! Normally he nods along and agrees with anything I say really, but he suggested we get MR and MRS engraved on our wedding bands

 

[Kiki1993]

We are now considering a different venue, it's closer to home (20 minute drive) so guests can taxi home, it's about 400 more expensive than the venue an hour away BUT we wont need to hire coaches for the guests so would work out cheaper.
for £2400 it includes a set 3 course meal, evening buffet, 3 glasses of drinks for day guests, DJ, chair covers and sashes, table name cards, honeymoon suite And it's only 5.00 extra for evening guests! So that's great.
We are going to see them after xmas. I've been looking on facebook pages in my area and there are so many good stuff for cheap!
An all day photographer (Who is good) is £300
A white wedding taxi - £180 for 4 hours
photobooth - £200 for 3 hours

I need to write a list of everything we need, what we can get cheap or by relatives. It all needs to be under £5000 completely!

We are hoping relatives can help slightly, OH parents said they will try give 500, my mum said she could try give 100. If we get some help we will definitely have the wedding here.

We can barely afford a wedding at all and everything is a budget, and OH asks if he can go on a lads holiday for his stag! (we went on seperate holidays this year and i hated it) but i told him if his friends pay for him then fine, but otherwise we really can't afford it! I felt like such a bitch but it's true, we live pay to pay with about 200 spare after it, we need a new car and we have a holiday booked for next year (i paid for it all out of savings, like i paid for our last holiday out of savings). We were hoping to go on a prehoneymoon for some sun but looks like we can't afford that and the wedding we are now wanting so we will just have 4-7 nights in a lodge in the highlands instead for our honeymoon!

Scary to think this holiday coming up might be our last holiday abroad with no kids!

 

[Kiki1993]

The venue in our price range that lets all family come:

 

[Kiki1993]

We found another venue which is 2500 but it also includes a cake!
We will view the 3 close by, we are set on a wedding now, both families seem so excited and would like them there for sure
To help budget I need to allocate money to everything, £5000 is the limit, OH mum said she will try give 500 and my mum said she will try save 100 so thats 600 to help us out
Necessities -
Venue (including meals, dj, drinks, chair covers, sashes, room hire, evening buffet, cake) for 50 people - £2500
Minister - £150
Honeymoon - £1000
Dress - £600 (get in sales)
Suit/kilt hire - £80
Photography - £300
Save money on invitations by making our own and try hand them out by hand as much as possible! - £40
extra evening guests x20 - £100
Car - £180
= £4950

Is that the necessities? Hair and make up I think I'll do myself or get a friend to do them.

If we can save money in some areas we are going to try get a photobooth

 

[Kiki1993]

Found out quite a few places in my area don't do december weddings because they reserve them for christmas parties!
So 2 of the ones we liked around here are now not options!
We have found 1 perfectly in our price range, and we wont need wedding cars because the deal includes staying overnight pre and after wedding Seeing as it's december i doubt weather will be great for photos so will probably get photos in the hotel and in the hotel gardens so that saves us money on cars

 

[Kiki1993]

2 years today until the wedding After today I can say 1 year, 11 months On the downside, the weather today was horrible! I'm guessing if it's like this on our day we can kiss goodbye to outdoor photos We would just need to get loads of nice photos inside and hope the rain or wind settles long enough to get a couple photos in the garden
We are arranging to view this hotel, it is in our top 2 favourites so far that does winter weddings!
We like this for the outside view, garden and quite nice interior by photos but the other top contender has a beutiful chapel attached to the building which would make lovely photos and chances are our photos will all be inside!

 

[Kiki1993]

I am so broody today
I just want a baby so badly!
For a while the wedding made the broodyness go away but now the excitement of setting a date is dying down and i just want a baby.

 

[Kiki1993]

Aww alans aunt has offered us her caravan for a mini moon instead of spending a grand on the lodge we want .. i dunno, i kind of am considering eloping again, its just so stressful trying to plan for 50 people with such a low budget!

 

[Kiki1993]

Venue is booked!
Decided on a family ceremony and reception after all 50 in the am and about 70-80 in pm
We viewed it and loved it, he mentioned photos in winter can be iffy but the photogrpaher could get at least one outside in a covered part and there are other photo opportunities in the hotel
So excited!

 

[Kiki1993]

Here is the hotel we have booked.
Makes it feel so real Wish it would hurry up
The man we met with is lovely, got a great vibe from him, he suggested we have the wedding 1.00, half one ish because it gets dark so early, he said photos would be a achallenge if its a rubbish day but we can get at least one outside the hotel because the front part is shaded, and the photographer could take one from inside the hotel with us standing in the shaded bit because it overlooks the sea .. so at least we will get at least 2 pictures outside Going to try book a great photogrpaher that will work with the weather

 

[Kiki1993]

meeting our favourite photographer next week, pretty good deal, ceremony - 2nd dance, plus a photobooth for 850 and she aims for about 300 photos.

 

[Kiki1993]

booked a different photographer, the last one was so unprofessional, she didn't give me a good vibe at all, she had her mother phone me to organise the meeting because her mother drives her to weddings etc :/
However, in good news we booked an even better photographer who we met today and booked, he had a deal of 845 for all day and 1 album for us and 2 for parents so chuffed, he was really funny and has 10 years of full time photography under his belt, had done our venue 5 times so knows it pretty well, has shot loads of bad weather weddings Has gorg photos on top of that and 4 years ago ish when UK had the realllllly bad snow, he still made sure he got to a wedding 2 hours away when local guests didn't brave it! So he really put my mind at ease