So, how are the wedding plans going? This is a question that I am now facing almost daily and it is becoming more and more embarrassing that we actually have done very little – apart from spend a lot of time getting excited about the prospect! We have now been engaged for about a year and we are about a year away from our actual wedding day so I suppose it is not an unreasonable question to be asked. So, I thought I would share with you how the, limited, wedding plans are going.
Firstly I downloaded an app to organise us and our time in the lead up to the wedding. This lasted approximately a week until the constant updates made me feel like I couldn’t cope with the magnitude of the task. I deleted the app and returned to complete denial about that organisational mountain that lay ahead!
Once that app tantrum had passed and rational thought resumed we started thinking about a venue. We were both absolutely certain that we wanted a city centre wedding. Manchester is where we have made our home, our careers and many wonderful friends.
Now, for those of you who have already done this you will understand the process. You contact the venue, arrange to meet the wedding coordinator, she/he plies you with champagne and you decide they are the most charismatic person you have ever met and you definitely want to get married in their venue. No question.
Except for us there is the slightly awkward / hilarious moment when aforementioned charismatic wedding coordinator realises that the two women who have arrived for the appointment both want to get married. To each other.
This moment, that we have named the double take moment, appears in many forms. For some there is the total shock (rare in Manchester), for others there is the intense stare (presumably to look for any physical signs of gay-ness) and finally there is the long blink (possibly while they consider the most appropriate response). This is why, when we went to Great John Street Hotel and the wonderful Bronwen was entirely nonplussed, we knew this was the venue and the wedding coordinator for us.
Great John Street Hotel is an old Victorian school based in the city centre. We will be getting married on the roof terrace which overlooks the cobbles of the old Coronation Street studios (watch out for a picture of us behind the bar at the Rovers!). A true Manchester venue it has rain proof covers and heaters just in case July 2016 is anything like July 2015!
Venue booked we were on a roll. We booked the officiant and then started to look for a photographer. Neither Rosey nor I are photogenic, to say the least, and like most people feel more than a little awkward when a camera is pointed at us. She pulled an aghast and offended face when she read this but she knows I am entirely right! By some incredible stroke of luck we came across the photographs of Haydn Rydings.
We instantly fell in love with his style of photography and stopped looking at anyone else. We met Haydn, who was the loveliest and most talented man, and booked him straight away. Just to confirm Haydn is far cooler than Rosie or I could ever hope to be and our meeting (in a super trendy bar in the Northern Quarter) was entirely devoid of any double take moment!
‘Save the Date’ cards came next. Despite the fact that we have not actually done a guest list yet we do have a stash of beautiful cards with mini envelopes ready to send. As you may have realised, there is no real logical order to these things; the app would be furious about this! We had these made by a lovely company called Feel Good Invites who took the time to find out a bit about us and came up with exactly what we wanted.
So, we have someone to marry us, a place to get married and someone to take the pictures. I have family and friends who constantly are sending us pictures of ‘ideas’ and if they are very lucky we may send them a ‘Save the Date’ before the Summer (and I use the term loosely) is over.
Come to think of it, is that what they really mean when they ask: “So, how are the wedding plans going?” Is it secret code for: “Are you ever going to actually invite us to your wedding?”
It may be time to buy some stamps…
Vicky x
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Our blogging bride and Lovettes member Vicky is due to marry her fiance Rosie on 22nd July 2016. Their wedding will be photographed by Haydn Rydings. You can read more about their wedding plans here.
