Busy busy busy

We got back from Sweden late last night. K and R came to pick us up which was lovely of them. Jackson was so happy to see Granny and Gramps!

The flight went really well part from Jackson fell as we were boarding and hit his head really badly and consequently vomited everywhere! Poor little man!
He was okay though and the flight over was pretty un eventful. It just amazes me how good he is with flying. He just settles in straight away and knows the drill. He never cries or makes a fuss. Just brilliant. Jackson is pretty good at this flying malarkey as well.

Anyway, got back and unpacked somewhat and then we had Jackson's birthday party today at Parents Paradise. It was fantastic and Jackson (and indeed B and I) had a brilliant time! They were very good actually - we got our own "party room" with food, drinks, ice cream and unlimited play. I think all of Jackson's little friends enjoyed themselves too.
(Parents Paradise is a big indoor soft play area - well worth a visit!)
http://www.parentsparadise.eu/

At the moment I should be packing for Spain but I'm sooooooooo tired... Need to get myself motivated. I'm looking forward to going but I'm not looking forward to not seeing my boys for five days!
I'm going to Madrid with work and even though I'm sure it'll be amazing I know it'll be full on with company visits and lectures. I'm very lucky to get to travel with work so shouldn't complain!

Sweden was great. Very busy and stressful, didn't have time to see anyone part from Carin, but it was productive and we got loads done for the wedding. May have to come back in May again. Will have a look on Ryanairs website to see what flights are at the moment.
Basically we're trying to sort stuff on the island to make it more habitable. The old fishing huts are quaint, but are not particularly user friendly at the moment!
It will be awesome though I think.

Have been busy on eBay buying tons of trinkets and whatnots for the wedding... It's exciting times, I can sort of see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Dum, dum di dum...

New Year

We've now been engaged for a whole year - exciting!

I honestly cannot wait to get married. It feels more real now and things are falling into place. Everyone's getting involved in the planning and things are being booked and paid for... Eeeek!

I went to see a florist in Valdemarsvik the other day. I really like her shop and I've seen some of her work on her blog. She's going to send over some more pictures and examples. She seemed enthusiastic which is always nice. You basically want someone who's service minded and nice to be around/talk to. Honestly, sometimes I wonder why some people go into people facing professions when they clearly don't like it!?

Anyway - she clearly is in the right profession, hurrah, and so I was very happy with our first meeting.

Here's her website: http://www.frokenflora.org/

We also met our photographer, Matilda. We both really like her and absolutely love her photos! She is lovely - she's easy to be around, seems chilled yet obviously knows what she's doing and just has a very nice, warm aura if you like. Most pleased!

She's a really busy lady, and I'm really not surprised - her photos are fab! Have a look at her website - http://fotografmatilda.nu/blogg/

I've been working on my scrapbook as well. It's coming along nicely and can't wait to show my mum - she's going to love the level of organisation. I think she's a bit worried that I'm not organised enough?! Er... I run a degree programme, a business with B as well as being a mother... I think I can handle a wedding!

But I do see why people get stressed out. There is a lot of organising to do! Especially when getting married abroad for that matter and having a wedding blessing at home.

My lovely friend CPK made my day the other day. As a wedding gift she's going to sort out our wedding music... I honestly couldn't be happier!! I LOVE that I have such amazing and talanted friends! I knew there must have been a reason to why I studied Performing Arts...

We're off to Southampton this weekend to visit some friends and then it's B's birthday next week. B's actually off filming in Milan (lucky bugger!) so I'll be holding down the fort on my own.
I've got him tickets to see La Soiree for his birthday. I loved the show when I went before Christmas so I'm hoping he'll feel the same. We're going to stay over in a hotel on the Saturday night, making it even more special. Yay!

I'm feeling very positive about 2012 so far. It's going to be a great year.

Wedding Weekend

It was our dear friends R & R’s wedding this weekend.
We travelled up early on the Friday as we wanted to get there with plenty of time to spare and you just never know what the traffic is going to be on a Friday...
Anyway, the wedding was in Lancashire, not far from Lancaster, so it was about a four hour drive. Funnily enough, it’s a drive we’ve done several times, as some of B's family live up there.

R and R had kindly invited us to the rehearsal dinner on the Friday evening so we were lucky enough to have a first look at their venue.
They had chosen the Midland hotel in Morecambe, and it was a stunning venue! The Midland is a fully restored Art Deco hotel, with an absolutely amazing spiral staircase, beautifully situated right on the seafront.
Rachel’s father mentioned Poirot as an inspiration for the wedding, and I really did feel like I had been magically transported to that era!
The food was just gorgeous! Just absolutely delicious - one of the best meals I’ve had for a while, and the drink and company equally enjoyable!

They (R and R) went through the schedule for the following day, talking through the timings of things and who was doing what etc…
I think personally that this is a brilliant idea. We could really see the advantage of having everything in place, and this way everyone knows exactly what they’re doing and when. I guess you look at it as a show or any event, the same amount of planning to into a show and with the same precision!
You avoid confusion and you can be certain that (hopefully!) everyone is on the ball.

The actual wedding was beautiful and she looked like a film star – just absolutely stunning!
I loved all the little details; especially the through running theme of their logo on all stationery, the penguin books and the vintage high tea theme which is a personal favourite of mine! It’s all in the details really and more so if you’re going for a particular theme. (Theirs being Art Deco of course.) They had done an amazing job, and the venue looked amazing!
The ceremony was emotional and jolly at the same time. It felt relaxed and joyous – what a brilliant mix!
R & R had asked me to sing and the nerves kicked in with full strength the moment I grabbed the microphone. I think it went well though and I was very honoured to have been a part of their ceremony. It felt very special!

After the ceremony there was a drinks and canapé reception which got massive thumbs up from us! We loved the classical cocktail hour (you could chose from a Cosmo or Long Island!) and the canapés where very tasty!

I also liked the unusual wedding cake – it suited them and it was very classy. I also loved the Lindy hop lesson, very different and fun for all.

Many congratulations to the happy couple – May this next chapter in your lives be a long and happy one!

Some pics from the day...

Inspiration

Here a few things I'm looking at for wedding inspiration

Centre pieces...

Wedding Cakes...

Bridemaid Dresses...

and Shoes to go with the dresses...

Flower girl hair garland

More vintage wedding stuff...

Style Icons...

Grace Kelly

Marilyn Monroe

Cinderella

Jackie Kenney

Change of Plans

Set a Date. Tick.
Book Venue. Tick.
Book Church. Tick
Sort Bridesmaid dresses. Tick
Buy The Dress. Tick.

To say the least, we had a few busy weeks deciding, planning, um-ing and ah-ing. We’ve made some significant changes, but I’m very pleased by the outcome!
So, we’ve decided to have two weddings! Why have one when you can have two? (And I get to plan TWO parties – nothing beats that!)
We’ll have a small ceremony with our closest family and friends in Sweden and then a blessing and party in the U.K.
I’m so excited about our new wedding plans! Things are definitely looking up.
We saw the perfect bridesmaid dresses the other day. The colour is perfect and I think the cut is really flattering too. It’ll suit all of the girls.
We’ve booked a venue in Sweden and are on the hunt just now for something suitable in Hertfordshire.

We’re sending out our Save the Dates next week. Just had a look at some designs we like. Just have to pin the hubby-to-be down to approve them!

So.excited.com!!

Yes, things are definitely looking up… Well, I say that and then our car broke down this morning! B was due to film in London and so it couldn’t have happened at a more inconvenient time. London Transport is fantastic when it works. But it seldom does, particularly on weekends.
I don’t get it, London – the largest city in the United Kingdom, a rich, multi cultural melting pot, with all its technical advances and still they can’t seem to sort of the transport system? I think secretly we just love to hate it too much!

So why is it then when something goes wrong, everything seems to go wrong? So the window broke in car the day before yesterday, then today it won’t start… What’s next?

I’ve been applying for a lot of jobs lately. I’m hoping that something good will come through. Heavens knows we could do with the money right now! One thing is certain; weddings are NOT a cheap business!
There are a few marketing jobs out there, some of which sound really interesting and it would be amazing to get on that ladder.

As we’ve moved the wedding date B will be able to do Edinburgh next year, if he can/wants to. I think it’s a good decision. He really missed it this year and it’s important to be up there if you want to do comedy. Again, it depends on what sort of jobs he can get this year in order to save money… Fingers crossed. (Hopefully that means Jackson and I can go up and visit too – I LOVE Edinburgh!).

Right, off to search for some wedding venues for the UK wedding party!

Cater or not to cater?

I sort of see the advantages with having less time to organise a wedding. What I mean is, when you have over a year to think about things, one tends to change ones mind. A lot.

We have been looking at other venue options, trying to figure out what we really want. We're keen to find something that really represents us, (within our price budget), and we're finding it difficult. I'm not worried though, I know we'll find something fantastic! We could either stick with the Sarratt Hall, (which is a great venue), but that does require us to find/hire caterers, linens, napkins and chair covers etc, or we go for something completely different that already have everything included in the price. A tricky one!

We have been meeting with caterers though and have found one that is fantastic! Very accommodating and he seemed very passionate about food and providing a great service. He's been a chef himself for many years and had some great ideas when it came to bring some "Swedish style" food to the menu.

As we're off to Sweden soon I'm also planning to go and search for my dress next week. So far I have seen a lot that I like, but not yet "The One". To be honest, I'm quite enjoying the search in itself!

New Year, Lots of New Changes.

Every year, I make New Year Resolutions. Well, there tend to be a few, and they tend to be the same. Generally they go, in no particular order:

Loose a couple of stones.
Make/Win/Steal lots of money - pay off mortgage.
Get+Stay Healhty.

This year, however, I didn't have to. (well, on the first one anyway).

B and I met ten years ago, at drama school, and have been great friends ever since. We fell in love during some mad Midsummer Night Rehearsal, during our last year at Drama School six years ago and moved in together shorthly after.
In 2009 our beautiful baby boy was born and now, in July next year, we're getting married!

To say that I was happy at the proposal is an understatement.
To say that I was darn pleased to see the amazing ring is also an understatement.

I always thought, in a sort of movie romantic kind-of-way, that I would be a sobbing wreck as my man got down on one knee to propose. That I would quietly whisper a yes to him and then sob some more. That didn't happen.

I did cry, but much later when my friends joined us and I could tell (scream in their faces) the happy news!

It was a perfect moment, of course. It's New Years Eve and fireworks are going off everwhere, we're standing next to each other on the balcony, looking at the sky when he gets down on one knee. He didn't even have time to finish his speech before I yell YES! YES! YES! and start jumping up and down. I did a lot of screaming. A lot.

It was definitely one of the highlights of my life so far.

So now: dress shopping, cake picking, mood boards, flower arrangements, card designs and lots and lots of glorius spreadsheets!

In February they finally removed my sodding gallbladder. It's been a long process but it's over now and I feel so much better.
Removing my gallbladder meant changing my diet which then also resulted in me loosing a stone half! (See - still going back to the NYE resolution?)

I can't stress this enough - if you keep having stomach pains/feeling bloated and they tell you that it's IBS and you still feel something isn't right - Please, please have it checked out. Demand to have an ultrasound right then and there!

2011 is definintely a good year.