Tag Archives: weddings

The Wedding!

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My napkins on each place setting

After a lovely weekend it’s back down to earth – The Bloke is now back at work for a while before we go on the honeymoon and I have returned to the the online world. It’s been more strange than I expected in the fact that it hasn’t been strange at all – I was told by numerous people that I would feel different, but I don’t at all, apart from the fact that I greet him with ‘hello, husband!’ every time he walks through the door…

The wedding was lovely. I was told to expect something to go wrong, but absolutely nothing did – our duty manager for the day, Derek, kept things running like clockwork (he’s ex-military so that helped) and everyone seemed to have a great time. Continue reading →

How I Saved Thousands On My Wedding

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Wedding money saving tips

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small amount of money if you make a purchase from any of the Amazon links included…

Right from the beginning of my wedding planning eighteen months ago, I was determined that I would do my absolute best to keep the costs as low as possible. Of course, I wanted the day to be beautiful, but our budget was small and I didn’t want us to still be paying it off for years after it was over.

Essentially, I wanted it to be as cheap as possible, but I didn’t want it to LOOK cheap.

The problem is, the minute the word ‘wedding’ is mentioned, the prices of everything are automatically increased and there are numerous places that aren’t always upfront about their total prices – we discovered that there were lots of hidden costs in all sorts of different areas.

The key to saving money lies in forward planning, lots of research, asking for help, being patient and shopping around. It also helped that we had a long engagement, giving us sufficient time to work out what we wanted and how much we were prepared to budget for it. Continue reading →

Notice of Marriage Shenanigans

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“So, can you tell me if you are related to your fiancé?”

Yesterday The Bloke and I went to the neighbouring town to declare our Notice of Marriage.

The process is essentially there to legally declare our intention to marry within the next twelve months. However, as simple as this initially sounded, I soon discovered that it would be a little more complicated than telling someone and getting a certificate.

We live in a small town on the outskirts of Birmingham. We’re getting married at a venue in Birmingham and because neither of us have a religious faith we have opted for a registrar from Birmingham Register Office to officiate the ceremony instead of a vicar. Continue reading →

Why Children are Not Invited to Our Wedding

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Why children aren't allowed at our wedding

It’s six months until my wedding day and while I have a few things still on my list to tackle, the large things are now booked and organised. Most of it (despite some of the horror stories I have heard over the years from friends and articles I have read online) has been an exciting experience. However, one thing that I found difficult was the guest list.

Why?

Because children are not invited to our wedding, including my own niece.

The Bloke and I don’t have children of our own. I have a very small family – mum, two sisters, one sister’s long-term boyfriend, a brother-in-law and a niece, who will be 10 months old on the day of the wedding. The Bloke’s family is considerably larger, but don’t have young children – the youngest are older teenagers, so it wasn’t a family issue to consider. However, my friends have lots of them. Continue reading →

Crepes, Apple and a Fayre or Two

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I’ve had a really nice few days.

I love this time of year – this is when I start secretly looking forward to the coming events of the next few months: The Bloke, my mum, The Bloke’s sister and I all have birthdays, the Frankfurt Market comes back to the city and I start getting my Christmas presents together. Normally I’m a lot more organised than I have been this year, but the numerous blog activities and various employment opportunities that have appeared since January have meant that my time is less than it was before, albeit much more fun! And (although I’m not going to discuss most of it yet on here), the next twelve months will mean huge changes (all for the better) for me and my family (no, I’m not pregnant, nor am I planning to be, before any of you get excited!).

Continue reading →

Affordable Luxury at Farringdon and Forbes

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Farringdon and ForbesThose of you who follow the blog regularly will know of my penchant for independent businesses, particularly when the products are of a high quality, ethically sourced and made locally.

Farringdon and Forbes is an independent home fragrance and interior gifting store, situated in the Resorts World leisure complex next to the NEC in Birmingham. Founded by Jules Cardozo-Marsh, the brand seeks to provide affordable luxury for the home, as well as catering for corporate events and weddings across the UK, and only opened it’s doors eight months ago.

There are an enormous range of products available, including scented candles of all sizes, tealights and diffusers. The candles are made from 100% soy, with all of the raw materials sourced from around the UK and handmade in Warwickshire. The company prides itself on supporting UK trade and being environmentally conscious, so they have stripped away the packaging from the products and offer a recycling facility, with a 10% discount offered on a future purchase with the return of empty glass jars once the candles have been used. The materials used in the production of the products means also that they last longer – the tealights burn for approximately seven hours, which is double the length of time for a standard tealight, and the diffusers can last up to six months. Continue reading →