Wedding sneaky peek - My shoes!

So it's back to the sneaky peeking at some of my wedding stuff.

My shoes...I've had them a whole week now, and I'm dreading wearing them! I just know they'll be filthy by the end of the day, and I think they may hurt! Oh well...They are really pretty and not too high, so hopefully I won't fall down the aisle!

Thanks Mum!

For making all of our wedding invitations!

They turned out beautifully, and we're very grateful! I can't wait to hand some out tomorrow and post the rest in the morning!

Getting creative for the big day!

I'm on a cost saving mission, since we hugely overspent on the wedding.

Firstly, let me say that men are useless...and this was the cause of an argument on Tuesday! We've been planning our wedding for around 6 months now, and Des has kept telling me he will just turn up - he doesn't seem to have wanted to get involved in any of the planing.

Since I'm pretty organized, I've been constantly telling him what I've bought/ordered and how much things are, I've also been trying to drag him off to see the photographer, the baker, the suit hire place, the jewellers etc. His response to everything has been "Honey, if you want it, get it!" or "Yeah, that sounds good!".

Anyway, on Tuesday I dragged him to visit the lady that's making our cake so we could both have input on the what we did and didn't want, and all of that fun stuff. That's now all chosen, and sorted, and £300 later, all is fine.

In the evening we had an appointment with the photographer since Des is yet to meet him. We only have another 2 months to decide on which of the guys 'packages' we want to opt for. We were there approximately an hour, going through what each package is and how much it costs and how the photographer likes to work and of course, the timings of everything. Our photographer, Howarth, said "well, there's only 3 months now huh?! I bet you're both excited?!"...

On our way home Des started moaning at the cost of EVERYTHING! Seriously - I've never heard anything like it! We had a discussion, which turned into an argument in the car because after adding everything up, we've overspent by a whopping £2,000! He tried to blame me for not keeping on top of things, and I said it was also his fault for telling me it was fine to go ahead ond order stuff! By the time we got home everything was fine and we'd make up, but I've had to borrow some money from my parents, which they're happy with, but I feel really, really guilty.

So, I'm now on a cost saving mission so that we stay within our new budget. Even going over budget by £100 - £200 will not be an option!

I wanted to buy t-shirts for my hen party with personalized 'writing' on them. The writing being in diamantes. I also wanted everyone to have t-shirts for the morning of the wedding with their role on it, since they'd be nice to keep! Little did I know that each t-shirt is £20 (minimum), and the cheaper alternative to that is buying iron-on names...which didn't work out much cheaper when you factor in the cost of the t-shirts!

So off I went to eBay. I bought 6,000 diamante rhinestones, some transfer paper and it only cost me £21 including postage! Today I began making the transfers to iron onto t-shirts. I need the following:

- 20x "Claire's Hen Party"

- 1x Bride to Be

- 1x Maid of honor

- 1x Mother of the Bride

- 1x Mother of the Groom

- 1x Bridesmaid
- 3x Sexy sister in law

And those are just for the hen party! The wedding day ones total about 10 transfers I need to make.

I got started on the transfers today, and managed to make 2 "Claire's Hen Party" transfers, ready to be ironed onto t-shirts, and also I made "Bride to Be". Each transfer took me in excess of 4 hours, and each transfer used up 750-800 diamantes (apart from the 'bride to be' one). The word 'party' uses up 144 diamantes alone!

I've ordered about 10,000 more diamantes, which should arrive early next week, and in the meantime I'll use up the ones I've already bought this weekend!

I took some photographs of what I've made so far. The little white squares are bits of plain paper so I can hold the tape when I'm putting on the diamantes 1 at a time, using a pair of tweezers! Each diamante is 1.8mm, so they're really tiny! You also have to put the diamantes on face down, and the words are written backwards so they can be ironed on the correct way!

A couple of photographs and a wedding update!

We went to visit the kids again today since it was the first time since the funeral we both had a day off together. With a wedding to pay for, Des is doing overtime at every possible opportunity.

Des spoke to Adam (his twin brother) yesterday, and he confirmed he was definitely coming over from South Africa for the wedding! Wooo! He's coming over on 31st August 2009 and will be returning to South Africa on 19th September 2009, so he'll be here for 3 weeks!

Adam can't really afford the ticket, so we're going to pay for the majority of it. Also, he needs spending money, which I'll give him...We'll also need to pay for 3 days at the hotel for him. The final thing we'll need to do is buy his suit (which we were doing anyway) and shoes for the big day. Well, we can't have a wedding without a best man!

Adam is going to fly to Heathrow, and he wants to get the train to his parents' house from there, but I want to meet him at the airport so he has some friendly faces when he arrives home! Des kept telling him we were going to pick him up and Adam was saying that it's too far for me to drive! Well, it is a bit of a long one...Probably 5 hours each way and it will be a drive straight there and back for a total of 10 hours driving in probably an 11-12 hour period. We'll see though, after 2 years of not seeing him and being really close before he emigrated, we just can't wait to see him!

Geina - if you're reading this, he thinks the flight arrives at Heathrow at 6:25am, so our drive will be through the night. Hopefully we'll be taking him back though, so if that's the case then we'll probably come and visit on that trip!

Des and I have spent the last week looking for inspiration for our wedding cake this week. There's a few ideas we have, ready to see the cake maker a week tomorrow. Simple, yet sophisticated, and inexpensive! *Sigh* I guess I'll have to start doing some overtime to pay for it!

Another thing Des & I will be doing a week tomorrow is seeing the photographer to go through some of the photographs we definitely want. There's a few detail shots I want which can be posed after the ceremony, and then the group photographs. Oh, and the first dance! The hotel are using my wedding reception for their marketing (ugh), so they want some photographs too, which also means I need to get undressed halfway through the day so my dress can by hung up in the hotels bridal suite, along with Des' suit...And the getting ready pics are being done in the hotel, like the make up/hair etc...so I have to pose those later in the day too! Eek!

I'm thinking that we'll have the car and ceremony pics at the church and then the group shots at the hotel since the hotel overlooks some beautiful scenery. We'll see though!

Last week I stumbled across a WONDERFUL bridal store. I was actually at the hairdressers getting my long hair cut short and a woman was having her hair done and talking about her daughters bridal boutique. I asked where it was and took a trip there after my haircut. My sister actually went to school with this girls (owners) brother.

The girl, Sarah, makes all of the tiaras and hand sews all of the beading onto the wedding dresses and bridesmaids dresses/clothing/shoes and her mum makes all of the dresses and clothing. My mum is having an outfit made, and I'm having a bolero jacket made. I'm taking one of my bridesmaids to get a bolero jacket made too, and we'll probably buy our shoes and jewellery from there!

So the kids update:

Emily was playing football with her 'boyfriend' all day, so we didn't really get to see her. We spent about 3 hours with the boys though.

The twins have a dairy allergy and a wheat allergy. It was nice to see Euan's skin so clear since Zoe has cut everything dairy or wheat related out of his diet. She tried to introduce a little wheat into Ethan's diet on the advice of the doctor...His poor little face was swollen and blotchy. Hopefully they'll grow out of the allergy when they're a bit older.

Uncle Des taught Thomas how to use a phone yesterday! He had another hearing test about 4 weeks ago and the test came back with just moderate hearing loss. His speech is coming on so much now, and although he's not clear with his words, he is 'speaking' more and attempting to copy words. He tends to copy actions more though! Tom is like my little mini-me! He LOVES 80's music, which means he loves my iPhone...We danced together in the sun for about an hour! Yes - I was knackered!

I only got pics of Euan and Tom yesterday...Here they are:

Welcome to the world!

My newest neice, Leylania Deone, was born on Friday 24th April 2009 at 4:53pm, weighing 4lbs 10oz!

Today we went to visit for the first time!

She is adorable and I can't believe how much I love her already! Another little girl for me to spoil! Woo Hoo!

Want to see the pics?

Some photographs:

We had a bit of a crappy day on Friday. Des' Aunt died and we attended her funeral. It was such a sad day and there were lots of tears. She had battled cancer for a number of years, and although I never met her, I heard lots of things from both Des, and his Mum over the years.

To cheer us up, we visited the kids on our way home. The twins have been poorly all week, and Emily had been sick overnight, but when we arrived, everyone seemed to be fine. Emily was playing on the trampoline!

I bought a new lens for my camera last week, so I was really looking forward to trying it out...And of course, my little model Thomas, was happy to smile and have his photograph taken a million times! Heh!

We probably spent 2 hours with the kids, and when it was time to go, we gave everyone kisses and cuddles...and Thomas cried his little heart out! So Des said "Are you coming with us?!" And he grabbed Des' hand and started walking to the car with us! This is the first time he's wanted to come with us...Normally he's a mummys boy and clings to his mum when we leave! lol!

As we were leaving (Thomas holding Des' hand), Des tripped over Emilys bike & Tom fell...But he wanted cuddles from Des & me & not his parents! He started smiling and then carried on walking to the car with us! When we handed him back to his Mum, he cried and cried with his arms open to us!!

When Emily was little, we lived 2+ hours away (like we do now) and didn't have a car, so we missed all of that with her. Since Tom has been born, we've made a huge effort to visit at least every 2-3 weeks and we've seen him in his first few days of walking, when he started saying a couple of words etc. I'm so happy that we'll get to be a regular visitor throughout the twins' baby years too!

So...Are you ready to see the photographs? I'm in love with my new lens!

Thomas:

The Twins:

Ethan & Euan together

Ethan:

Euan:

Another Birthday!

It was my best friends 21st last week. I ordered her a big bouquet of flowers and had them delivered to her as a gift! They were so pretty! Heh!

Sarah had a party the other week. I was being a dedicated driver, so I wasn't able to have a drink...But even without booze, it was a great night!

Happy 21st Sarah!!

Now onto the pics (please excuse the red eyes & crappy quality - I was borrowing my mums camera!):

Happy Birthday, Em!

My neice turned 8 yesterday. Yikes, makes me feel sooooooo old! I remember when she was a teeny tiny shy little baby dancing around the lounge with her teletubbies rucksack!

Yup, it's scary - like I just blinked and she turned 8! How on earth did that happen?!

Des & I are taking her to the cinema on Sunday morning. We'll probably pick up Thomas afterwards and go to the aquarium or shopping later on in the day too. I can spoil her rotten, just like Aunties should! Maybe get her a DS game or something.

I can't wait to see the kids again. It's been 3 weeks since I last saw them, and it's scary how much they all change in that short space of time. The twins grow and their facial features change, Tom can say more words and he's more interactive, and Emily grows! Scary stuff this growing up lark!

Wedding sneaky peek - My jewellery...

I wasn't able to get really nice photographs of my jewellery because the lighting is crap, but I think you get the general idea with the pics I've taken.

I went into Chester with my Mum to get the jewellery. Another Debenhams buy, just like the adult bridesmaids dresses, the flowergirl outfit & my tiara!

Debenhams have a lovely jewellery counter especially for wedding jewellery and tiaras. The price of the stuff is really good, too! I'm thinking of getting my adult bridesmaids jewellery from there so that they can wear it on the day and be somewhat matching me.

Wedding sneaky peek - Emilys dress...

My flower girl is my neice, Emily. I have never met a more wonderful little girl than Emily!

We took Emily shopping about 2 weeks ago to get her dress. We trapsed around Llandudno bridal stores and department stores for her dress. First was a bridal store where the person was the rudest bitch EVER! We left there without even trying dresses on! The next stop was another bridal store where Emily tried on 2 dresses - both beautiful.

The dresses in the bridal store were lovely and all handmade by the owner. She tried on a beautiful pink dress, but it cost more than my adult bridesmaids dresses, and I just couldn't justify that much on a dress for her that will be used for dress up afterwards!

The final stop was a department store - Debenhams! They have a really lovely kids bridal section there, and we tried on I think 6 dresses. We managed to get the dress, a cardigan, shoes and tights from there for less than 50% of the cost of dresses in the bridal store! Wooo!

Emily chose her own dress. She picked this one because "It's beautiful and doesn't have itchy netting under the skirt!". At my SILs wedding, Emily had a dress that had netting under the skirt. Since she has sensitive skin, the netting was driving her mad all day and night!

I didn't manage to get any pics of Emilys shoes or tights. They're being kept at my parents house, and I don't know where my mum has put them. The tights are ivory and the shoes are ivory and glittery!

Check out the beading on the cardigan! It's so pretty and will look even prettier when Emily is wearing the full outfit!

Wedding sneaky peek - Sarah's dress...

My best friend and bridesmaid - Sarah!

We tried on hundreds of dresses, and despite Des saying to me "Choose any colour except pink!", we went for a pink dress! Reds, blues, lilacs, greens, browns and blacks did nothing at all for her as she has such a light complexion.

We spent 2 weekends dress shopping, and finally settled on this one. We knew it was the perfect dress as soon as she put it on!

In the pics, you don't get the full effect. It looks FABULOUS on her, and the way it ruffles around the stomach and drops down matches my dress perfectly!

Wedding sneaky peek - the tiara...

So I said I'd do a few posts with a sneaky peek into the wedding! Tonights post is my tiara!

I tried on about 20 different tiaras and fell in love with another one, which was double the price of this one. The tiara I liked was one that went right around my head, but since I'm having my hair mostly up for the wedding, I needed something smaller...

...My neice was with me when the tiara was picked, and she chose this one. She said I looked like a princess, so that was good enough for me! SOLD!

Wedding Stuff!

Well...it's all sorted now...Everything apart from the rings that is! I've added a wedding countdown application to my iPhone...And it currently stands at 5 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes, 9 seconds! Wooo!

Since I'm all out of inspiration, I thought I would do a few posts over the course of the next few weeks that are kind of like a sneeky peek into the wedding!

So...Here is the first sneeky peek - Our wedding song. Amazed, by Lonestar. Here are the lyrics:

Every time our eyes meet

This feeling inside me

Is almost more than I can take

Baby when you touch me

I can feel how much you love me

And it just blows me away

I've never been this close to anyone or anything

I can hear your thoughts

I can see your dreams

I don't know how you do what you do

I'm so in love with you

It just keeps getting better

I want to spend the rest of my life

With you by my side

Forever and ever

Every little thing that you do

Baby, I'm amazed by you

The smell of your skin

The taste of your kiss

The way you whisper in the dark

Your hair all around me

Baby you surround me

You touch every place in my heart

Oh, it feels like the first time, every time

I want to spend the whole night in your eyes

Chorus

Solo

Every little thing that you do

I'm so in love with you

It just keeps getting better

I want to spend the rest of my life

With you by my side

Forever and ever

Every little thing that you do

Baby, I'm amazed by you

I've been busy because...

...I'm getting married!!

The big day is September 5th, 2009, which according to my ticker, is 6 months and 13 days away! Holy crap - that will creep up on me fast!

The church ceremony is booked for 4:00pm on September 5th, at my parents local church. We're not having a sit-down meal, but a buffet at the reception straight after. The hotel where we're having the reception have held all their rooms for my guests and have given us the bridal/honeymoon suite for free! Yay!

My dress was bought and paid for on Tuesday. It's beautiful! A bit more than I wanted to spend, but it was cheap for a designer dress - especially one that is new out this season! And in the grand scheme of things, £630 is nothing!

I've still not got the bridesmaids dresses sorted out or the colour scheme, which means Des can't order his suit! However, I'm going to a wedding fair on Sunday, so hopefully we can pick out a dress then! Once that's picked, we can sort the colour scheme and Des can order his and his best mans suit!

My neice, Emily is being my flowergirl, and my nephew, Thomas is being the ring bearer! Des' twin brother is flying back from South Africa to be the best man and all the plans seem to be going okay for now. It's quite stressful though!

Talking of stress, I'm still waiting for my period to bloody arrive! I must be stressing majorly! Day 37 and no sign! I seriously cannot be pregnant when I get married because I'll never squeeze into my dress! It's already a snug fit because I plan on dropping 3 dress sizes (minimum) before September - They can take the dress in, but they can't let it out! LOL! I need my period to come so I can temporarily go on the pill!

So...The ticker...

Happy 2nd birthday little man!!

January 26th marked my nephews 2nd birthday! He's changed so much in the past 2 years it's incredible to watch!

We visited yesterday to deliver his card and some money for him...And we also picked up an 'In the night garden' balloon on the way! The balloon was a hit and Tom found it hilarious to punch! Heh!

Uncle Des is now a firm friend of Tom's after playing with him non-stop for the entire day!!

My little man is 2! Yikes! Makes me feel really old!