{A Redhead’s Wedding Update} The 1 year countdown is on….

Last week it was officially 1 year exactly until I marry my best friend. I can’t quite believe how fast this year has went in and so many people have told me our wedding day will be here before we know it. I totally believe this as it feels like only yesterday that we got engaged and now we are starting our year countdown.

We have been very busy over the last few months with booking everything. Our nice healthy bank balance is starting to feel the dent, but we are trying to stay sensible about what we want and the expectations we have.

Here are the top 10 things we have booked so far:

The Venue

We have picked the perfect setting for our big day and not only is it an amazing venue, but it also has a very special place in our hearts, as it was where we got engaged – Lochside House Hotel in New Cumnock, Ayrshire. Every time we have stayed there or visited (which is a lot still it is one of our favourite places) the staff have always been so friendly and helpful, they even helped Paul propose, so we know they are going to make our big day very special. There are lots of stunning wedding venues in Ayrshire and the West of Scotland but this for us couldn’t be more perfect. We are having a winter wedding so we really wanted somewhere that is warm, inviting and cosy and this venue ticks all those boxes and more.

Stunning Lochside House Hotel – image from http://www.ayrshireweddingdirectory.com

The Dress

I LOVE it. I really wasn’t looking forward to dress shopping because as a curvy girl sometimes it’s really hard to find something to really suit my shape. After having a nosey online I fell in love with a dress but I could only find one stockist in Scotland that stocked the designer and I really didn’t want to travel too far to be disappointed. I was totally convinced that it couldn’t suit me.

Then a lovely wee boutique called Ribbons and Lace opened in my home town and fate intervened! I visited the boutique with my mum and on having a look at some of the beautiful and vintage style dresses I happened to pull one dress out and realised instantly that it was MY DRESS!!! The one I had saw online was right there in this little shop! We immediately booked an appointment to try it on and when I did I wasn’t disappointed at all. When you try on the dress and look in the mirror and think ‘I’m soooo pretty’ you know it’s the one. This isn’t something I think often so I was bowled over by how amazing and beautiful I felt in it. I can’t wait to wear it on my big day and for Paul to see me walking down the aisle to him.

Ribbons and Lace Bridal Boutique – image from https://www.facebook.com/RibbonsLaceBridalBoutique

My Car

I am soooo excited by the car which Paul has chosen for me. You will have to wait until next year to find out which one he choose, but all I can say is it is so me.

Wedding decorations

Chair covers, centre pieces and lots more are being provided by the lovely Jackie from Winton Wedding Hire. When I went to speak to her about our wedding decorations she just knew what I wanted. I can’t wait to see it all come together. I really thought about the both of us when choosing the decorations. All Paul knows is that it will be a silver and purple colour scheme and our theme is snowflakes, but the rest is a surprise for him and I really hope he likes it as much as I do.

The Photographer & Video

The one thing I really didn’t want to do was spend a fortune on a photographer so our mission was to find a good one for a good price. We looked at several and finally found the one for us. After meeting him we knew we didn’t want anyone else. I am not the most confident person in front of a camera. I hate getting my picture taken but Douglas from Dougie Photography instantly made me feel comfortable and it was felt like we would have a friend taking our pictures.

In Scotland there is this great website called I Do Licious which is like a wedding Groupon. There are lots of great deals and discounts on there from suppliers all over Scotland. I got an amazing deal for our wedding video. Ultimate Moments was a supplier that had already been recommended to me so I was so happy when I saw the deal. Several of my friends who didn’t get a video have said they regretted it, so I was convinced I wanted one. I love the idea that if we ever have kids they can watch it years from now or at least be forced to watch it :).

The Cake

A good friend of the family and a very talented girl is going to make our wedding cake. She is an amazing baker and her cakes taste divine. She isn’t an official baker but I think that’s what is special about small weddings, having friends and family add to your big day.

The Piper

As a Scottish lass something inside stirs when I hear bagpipes. I really don’t think a wedding is a wedding without bagpipes. I am so excited about them that I am even going to get piped down the aisle by the lovely Donald from Scottish Wedding Piper. I have chosen Amazing Grace as the music to come into. Although not a traditional wedding song, it is pretty special to me. Not only is my middle name Grace, I am named after my Nana and this song was my Nana and Papa’s song.

Scottish Wedding Piper – image from https://www.facebook.com/scottishweddingpiper

The Photobooth

We decided not to spend a fortune on favours, instead we have choose to hire a photobooth so our guest can have fun and make their own memories and favours on our big day. One of our friends had one at their wedding last year and we had so much fun so we knew we wanted this for our wedding too.

Who is marrying us

We got the chance recently to ask Paul’s cousin to marry us next year. His cousin Matthew is an officer in the Salvation Army so not only will it be a religious ceremony but it will also be made extra special by being performed by a family member.

Lots of little things

Ebay has been my best friend over the past few months. From our save the date cards (pic at the top of the post is our save the date magnets) to our wedding invites, as well as lots of other little things like ribbon and table decorations, I have managed to get lots of great wee bargains. Each month I have been buying something as I have been told its those wee things that can sometimes mount up.

There is still lots more things to organise but we are glad that we have sorted so much already and have chosen the right suppliers for us. So far there have been no bridezilla moments but I am sure there will be a few as we near our date.

Every time we book something, although our bank balance gets a bit smaller we get even more excited. We can’t wait to celebrate with our family and friends in 11 month’s and 25 days time…

Getting married? What have you got most excited about booking? Or already married? What’s the one piece of advice you wished someone had given you when planning your wedding?

{A Redhead’s Wedding Rambles} Picture Perfect Wedding?

Forgive me if I stray from my normal topic of beauty & health to talk about an extremely important date that’s happening next year – the day I become Mrs A Payne! (Yip I know before you even say it I will become ‘a pain’ – its 100% guaranteed that this is going to be the start of my dad’s speech…).  So over the next year & 9months there will be a splattering of posts on my blog dedicated to my journey to wedded bliss.  I will try to keep my Bridezilla moments to a minimal and hopefully there wont be too many cry’s for help and tears of frustration instead of joy, but if any wife’s out there who have navigated the minefield that is organising a wedding or any future brides who are on the same journey want to give me so advice I am all ears!!!!

So far since we got engaged things have just fell into our laps and our wedding has been coming together naturally such as the venue and finding my dream dress 1 year earlier than I was even supposed to start looking…!  But last week my other half Paul and myself did the stressful thing and started writing our list of what we still need to organise.  Paul has his little list of what he has to organise – the band, piper, my car and the kilts so you should have seen his wee face when he saw the rest of the list! His cry of what the ‘bleep’ are favours was followed by ‘ehhhhh we better get saving hard!’.

The next natural step was to haul my butt to a wedding fayre which I did on Sunday with my wee mamma in tow.  It was great to get some more ideas & inspiration, as well as some free makeup, a hand massage & sweeties!  The good stuff aside the big shock of the day was how expensive photography is.  What shocked me the most was that what I had budgeted for photography and the video seemed to be what it costs (basic package as well) for the photography only!  I’m telling you our mum’s had it so right back in the day when it was a family friend that took the pictures and a pal of your dad’s that took the shaky video, that every so often goes blurry or cuts off people’s heads.  Okay okay I admit it that’s not what I want, I at least want that one perfect picture of me and Paul and a nice video that we can look back and watch with the future kids and enjoy. But one thing I don’t want is for the photography and video to cost almost the same as the actual wedding!  So the lesson I learned on Sunday was that I will need to shop about for the best deal, try to keep it simple like we want our wedding to be and try not to stress too much.

I really want our wedding day to be special but I don’t want to start our married life together in debt so any wedding cost saving ideas you lovely ladies (or gorgeous gentlemen) have I would looooooove to hear them.  So far I have a friend making my cake and tablet favours at a fraction of the cost of a usual cake and I am considering silk flowers instead of real flowers for my wedding bouquet.  Any other great ideas????

Look out for my other posts coming soon about knowing the right venue for you & how I found my dream dress by going to only one shop!

❤ Annmarie xx