Thursday, December 31, 2009
Some sensible advice
Most important things
Early planning
1. Guest list
2. Pick groomsmen and bridesmaids
3. Reception
4. Church or place of ceremony
After these are booked...
5. band
6. photographer
7. videographer
8. dj
9. dress and bridesmaids dresses/ suits for the guys
10. honeymoon flights and accommodation
11. invitations
And then...
12. florist
13. Baker
14. cars
15. church music
16. other acoustic music
17. wine if your bringing your own
18. Hen night/stag night
19. table decorations and menus
20. favors
Picking a Church
Every bride to be I've talked to has told me that the wedding planning becomes real after one particular thing, there is one action that solidifies it in their mind and after that the whole thing fits into place. For my hairdresser, it was her dress, as soon as she picked her dress, she could start thinking about the rest of the wedding. For some people its the photographer, the band or the venue or maybe even the honeymoon!!
For me, the church was that key element. I knew that when we picked a church, everything else would work around it. There was one I've had my eye on since I was a little girl. Just down the road from my home town, there is a church called Burt Chapel. Its completely circular, built in the form of an ancient, Irish ring fort. The roof points to one side, its a unique builing - so unique, in fact, that its won building of the year award for Europe. I didn't know about the awards or its architectural prestige when I was a child looking up at it, but I knew that it was different and that it stood out. I've always liked the wierd. This world is so conformist, we wierdos (like me and the church) we have to look out for each other.
We traveled back to Ireland in November to see our families and plan our wedding.
I went there to the church with my friend Joe to see the place from the inside. Its so beautiful, its completely circular, with fish theme stained glass windows and lots of light. Its very modern (well, for a building built in the 1960s) and less austere than older churches.
We booked the church for the 4th of September!!!
Ring shopping
We picked out our ring together. I guess this is different from a lot of engagements where the man has already chosen the ring, but I wouldn't have missed this for the world. Paddy had already been to a few places and had a look at the rings. He took me through them, finishing up at the one he thought I might like best - and he was right! We ended up buying our ring at the Melbourne Diamond company which was such a lovely place. We wandered into the building and they greeted us with a "Congratulations' on being engaged. Next, we were taken on a tour of the various rings on offer. I found the ring I wanted straight away, its a white gold ring with the diamond set in a twirling stand. I thought it was very 'Science fiction' with the twirl and the white gold. Next, we picked a diamond size and the lady went out to get some samples.
We were given tea and the most delicious heart shaped chocolates and we waited on our diamond. The room was full of couples having tea and nervous men looking a bit out of place with wedding magazines awkwardly strewn across their knee.
They showed us the diamond that would be set into the ring and told us it would take a month (an entire ringless engaged month!) to make the ring.
The day before we were due to get the ring, Paddy popped out the 'internet cafe' and came back looking very pleased with himself. He got down on one knee again, for the second time, and presented me with our engagement ring.
We were given tea and the most delicious heart shaped chocolates and we waited on our diamond. The room was full of couples having tea and nervous men looking a bit out of place with wedding magazines awkwardly strewn across their knee.
They showed us the diamond that would be set into the ring and told us it would take a month (an entire ringless engaged month!) to make the ring.
The day before we were due to get the ring, Paddy popped out the 'internet cafe' and came back looking very pleased with himself. He got down on one knee again, for the second time, and presented me with our engagement ring.
Getting Married - A blog
The proposal
We have been engaged for almost a year now. It's hard to believe that we are already in the second half of our 18 month engagement. On the 4th of March 2009 my then-boyfriend Paddy asked me to marry him. We met at the end of my time college, I was just after turning 22. After 5 1/2 years together, Paddy proposed and the truth was, I wasn't expecting it at all. I was genuinely surprised. Paddy had been thinking about it for over a year. We are now going out together 6 and a half years and we're getting married on the 4th of September 2010.
A little bit about us... We are both Irish. I'm from Donegal and Paddy is from Tipperary. We met at the house of a mutual friend. Well, actually, we originally met at a bar, through the same mutual friend, talked to each other for about five minutes and didn't set eyes on one and other for about six weeks... but He remembered Me!. We went on our first date to the beach and ended up walking along, talking about this, that and everything. We must have covered it all that day from wicca to templar knights, from computer science to cookery and we both shared a love of poetry. Actually, Paddy is one of those sensitive types, the artsy guy who actually looks at the world around him and thinks about it, that's one of my favorite things about him (even though he'd be mortified if he read this). The first time I went to Paddy's house I saw a map of Korea on the wall, he told me that he wanted to go travelling more than anything else, I understood his desire for adventure, there is such a big world out there to see.
After three years and a bit (and lots of saving!), we finally fulfilled our dream and moved to Melbourne, Australia in Feb 2007, with a month in Asia on the way over (you can read about that in our travel blog:).
Then, two years after that, still in Melbourne, Paddy proposed in our living room in Elwood. We were talking about whether we would stay in Melbourne, Paddy suddenly asked me if I wanted to get married. I said yes. He got down on one knee and asked my properly, laughing the whole time. Then he lifted me up in his arms and swirled me about. We were really excited but it felt surreal, it didn't feel like it was really happening (it still feels a bit surreal, but when we booked the church it began to feel like it was really happening). I called my mother and my two best friends Lynn and Joe to tell them the good news. Paddy called his parents to let them know.
We picked out a ring together a few days later.
This is my blog all about getting married. It's not just about the things we organize or the to dos and not to dos, its also a collection of my experiences along the way. I hope you enjoy reading it!
Laura
We have been engaged for almost a year now. It's hard to believe that we are already in the second half of our 18 month engagement. On the 4th of March 2009 my then-boyfriend Paddy asked me to marry him. We met at the end of my time college, I was just after turning 22. After 5 1/2 years together, Paddy proposed and the truth was, I wasn't expecting it at all. I was genuinely surprised. Paddy had been thinking about it for over a year. We are now going out together 6 and a half years and we're getting married on the 4th of September 2010.
A little bit about us... We are both Irish. I'm from Donegal and Paddy is from Tipperary. We met at the house of a mutual friend. Well, actually, we originally met at a bar, through the same mutual friend, talked to each other for about five minutes and didn't set eyes on one and other for about six weeks... but He remembered Me!. We went on our first date to the beach and ended up walking along, talking about this, that and everything. We must have covered it all that day from wicca to templar knights, from computer science to cookery and we both shared a love of poetry. Actually, Paddy is one of those sensitive types, the artsy guy who actually looks at the world around him and thinks about it, that's one of my favorite things about him (even though he'd be mortified if he read this). The first time I went to Paddy's house I saw a map of Korea on the wall, he told me that he wanted to go travelling more than anything else, I understood his desire for adventure, there is such a big world out there to see.
After three years and a bit (and lots of saving!), we finally fulfilled our dream and moved to Melbourne, Australia in Feb 2007, with a month in Asia on the way over (you can read about that in our travel blog:).
Then, two years after that, still in Melbourne, Paddy proposed in our living room in Elwood. We were talking about whether we would stay in Melbourne, Paddy suddenly asked me if I wanted to get married. I said yes. He got down on one knee and asked my properly, laughing the whole time. Then he lifted me up in his arms and swirled me about. We were really excited but it felt surreal, it didn't feel like it was really happening (it still feels a bit surreal, but when we booked the church it began to feel like it was really happening). I called my mother and my two best friends Lynn and Joe to tell them the good news. Paddy called his parents to let them know.
We picked out a ring together a few days later.
This is my blog all about getting married. It's not just about the things we organize or the to dos and not to dos, its also a collection of my experiences along the way. I hope you enjoy reading it!
Laura
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