GypsyDancer's wedding journal! :D

[GypsyDancer]

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
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

 

[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

 

[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

 

[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 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!

 

[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
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

 

[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 All I will say though is that this probably isn't the last time you'll feel like this Everytime something got complicated I felt like throwing it all in and having a quick registry office do and a fancy meal!

 

[GypsyDancer]

Thanks Aly!
Ive been feeling sick and nervous and stressed every single day!
I really wish OH hadnt even bothered proposing now
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 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!

 

[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!

 

[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

 

[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 And yes, it's totally going to be worth it

 

[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

 

[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 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

 

[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

 

[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

 

[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!

 

[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!

 

[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

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?

 

[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 ..

 

[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 !

 

[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