Say Cheese!

Some people say you have to spend thousands of pounds on a photographer, because the day goes so fast, because you miss bits of the day you would have liked to see, you forget things, and a decent photographer will be able to capture all those things for you.

I'm not saying I disagree. However, we didn't have thousands. So that's us done for isn't it?! Wedding ruined?! Nope, quite the contrary.

I got myself so stressed by the prospect of choosing a photographer! I had found a few I liked. One I found on a social media site and had looked on the website "all events from £395" wow! The photos on the site looked fantastic, the person was so nice on the telephone and the price was unbelievable! Too good to be true? Of course it was! It turned out a wedding doesn't count as an event and is priced differently! So it would be £995 if we paid £500 deposit there & then (about 2 weeks before Christmas!) we were unable to do this. My search continued. I found someone who an old college friend had highly recommended and had used herself earlier that summer. I got in touch. I got told the person had won awards, was fully booked most weeks and had a few assistants. I was thinking "this is all lovely and brilliant and great... But price??" After a longgg chat, we got down to talking figures. Our budget was under a thousand pounds. I was quoted £3,000 I said "oh, that's far more than we could ever afford, not to worry" I was then informed if I had an assistant, I could have it for just over £2,000. I very calmly explained I'd already entered into a contract with the venue, dress shop and catering team. So, the money could not be taken from these budgets and used on photography.

I thought that was the end of it. A couple of months later, I received a call from the photographer, to say there was one date free in the diary and it happened to be our wedding date! Totally out of the blue phone call! I can't remember what the quote was this time but it was still more than our alloted amount. I was told I mustn't skimp on photography - it is the most important thing at a wedding (you would expect a photographer to say this!)

Again, I declined the offer.

I left the hunt to my calmer, better half. Thank Goodness for Google! He came across a website called http://www.essexweddingimages.co.uk

He got in touch with the photographer - Mr Bradley Keeble and he was to become our brilliant photographer! 

Our initial meeting with Bradley happened at our house. We supplied the tea and biscuits and we were both immediately put at ease as soon as Bradley walked in the door and warmly greeted us, almost as an old friend would.

Bradley is the kindest, most genuine person we could have hoped for and it was great being able to have him as our 51st guest on our special day! That is how it felt - not awkward or imposing.

His pricing is cheaper than a lot of others you will come across. He told us he had been working commercially for over 20 years and had recently branched out into providing a wedding service. How lucky are we that he has!

We chose the package which contained the images on DVD option and it takes over an hour to watch! Bradley captured our entire day, from me getting ready, to the ceremony, 'posed' standard wedding photos, then right through into the evening and the first dance - we didn't get round to cutting the cake til around 10:15pm so he stayed til after then!

Bradley was able to get us the completed, edited images on DVD within around 3 weeks which we were ecstatic about! I know some people wait a lot longer than that.

Bradley captured 2 shots that brought tears to my eyes (in a good way!) There were lots of amazing processional, confetti, posed and evening guest shots, but these two really stand out for me personally. 

After the ceremony we did a little faffing in the foyer! Mingling and getting congratulated and mainly trying not to get my dress trodden on (the hardest part of a wedding day and the bain of my evening!) During the mingling, I spoke with my grandad. We lost my nan, his life partner of almost 70 years, earlier this year, and he is very precious to me. Bradley managed to capture a shot I never even knew existed. I don't remember linking hands with my grandad then, but I get a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever I see this picture (photo below).

The other shot I'm fascinated by is the black and white one below. My grandad had just left, it was quite late in the evening and I had my first really sentimental feeling of the day! You see, my grandad and I live a few hours drive away from one another so I can't always get down to see him. I was sad that I didn't know when I'd next get to see him, thrilled he'd been able to come to the wedding and stay so late, and sadness washed over me with thoughts of my nan... I'd gotten teary-eyed and my new husband was there to take me in his arms, pick me up emotionally and physically. After our embrace, I remember smiling at him, feeling utterly at peace, delighted and never more sure I'm with the right man for me. 

Bradley, the wonderful man that he is, caught this special moment forever and made this mixed flood of emotions into an eternally happy shot. Now, if that's not what weddings and good photography are all about, what is?! 

I could not recommend Bradley Keeble highly enough!

 

You Are Invited

As promised... Some photos of our lovingly put-together invitations. Many thanks to the lovely lady, my online friend who helped me to find out how... Her blog is lace-and-teacups.blogspot and she's recently married just like me!

My husband designed our invites. We liked that they all folded out to show all the information we wanted to include. The ribbon on the left side held loose pieces of cards which had contact details and another had an RSVP part which was a part our potential guests could tear off and give to us when replying.

As is common with anything like this - we had some people reply then and there, some just in time, some fashionably late (!!) and a couple not at all! All part of the planning a wedding process I'm afraid!

Mrs Wedding Planner

Talking about weddings...

Some people choose to spend a lot, some not so much, some choose not to spend very much then the price creeps up!

Weddings are very expensive... It costs to give Notice of Marriage, to book a registrar separately if you're not getting married in a Registry Office, dress alterations, if you're doing food & alcohol and they don't come in with the package at your chosen venue, table and chair covers, chair sashes... The list is endless!!

We decided to make everything of ours as simple as we could. The Registry Office is a gorgeous Georgian grade II listed building and is licensed  to hold Civil Ceremonies. It is the place my parents tied the knot some 29 years ago! They even got married in the same room (how romantic!). It seems to be 'the place to get married'- everyone in the area has either gotten married there or knows someone who has!

This gorgeous Registry Office offers a package including the ceremony (with registrar) then the adjoining hall complete with tables, table and chair covers, sashes on each chair. We thought this was really good, as many places you'd be paying loads more just for a (pointless, in my opinion) sash! The hall was an empty shell apart from the tables - we could hire a band or DJ, a mobile bar, a buffet, hire a caterer, bring our own alcohol. We decided to provide our alcohol (courtesy of my mother in law), we hired a caterer (our most expensive outlay - but well worth it!) and have a DJ who was a friend of our family.

The catering company was recommended by the venue and we are so glad we chose them! We had 50 guests and every single one of them has said it was one of, if not the best food they've ever had at a wedding! The staff were amazing! They worked hard all afternoon and evening but still looked pleased to be there! We ran late on our ceremony as some guests were late and we chose to wait, the catering staff altered the time for eating so we still had time to do our photographs after. They brought champagne and alternatives out to the grounds for all of us and liaised with my husband all day to ensure everything was ok. They catered for my 19 month old niece when I'd told them her preferences, they had them there for her. There was a couple of times my mum and dad had to ask for things - but they hadn't realised they'd not been given them and they swiftly rectified this.

We decided to make everything we could ourselves - my amazing mum made the cake from scratch, and the favour cookies, my husband and I made our Save the Date cards, invitations and Thank you cards, table plan, table centres, table names and bagged up and wrote out 50 labels for the favours! It was hard going at times but we did it!

I am a control freak and the idea of handing over control to a stranger to do what my husband is more than capable of, did not appeal to me! We decided to make our Save the Dates about a week after booking the venue, he used his Apple Mac to put together some pictures and I came up with the wording (his strength is Art and Design, mine is English, poetry and writing). We then printed about 20 out without checking... Do they fit in the envelops we'd already bought? Of course they don't! In our blind excitement, we'd forgotten to check!! After a little moving around of the features on the card - they were ready to go.

That all feels so long ago now, we've been married 8 weeks yesterday so save the dates were done exactly a year ago!

We did the invitations 6 months ago now, and they were much the same process. We bought lots of cards, a half-decent guillotine to cut them up, a gold pen and lots of glue! Then my then-fiancé started researching what he liked the look of online, whilst I researched what the writing should say (then changed it to suit what I wanted - we didn't go traditional!) although it was hard work cutting and sticking lots, it was definitely worth it, and again, when I work out how to get pictures on here, I'll put some on.

Our wedding suppliers:
Venue: http://www.langtonshouse.co.uk
Caterer: http://www.leaveittouscaterers.co.uk

Reminiscing Mrs

Wow! I made it!! This is my first ever post on my first ever blog! I have been thinking about doing a blog for a while. I have been reading more and more blogs I have come across on other social media, and they are addictive! So, I thought to myself, I love sharing WHAT I WORE and also my own opinions on life in general and here I am!

As my blog title suggests, I am a newlywed. Now, I don't let that define me, but I am hugely proud to to be married to such a great man. I enjoy hearing "mrs..." a lot! I enjoy looking through our photos, and chatting to fellow newlyweds and brides to be.

I am now going to type something maybe controversial. I am glad it's over. In a way. No, no, don't start a witch-hunt on me! Let me explain. The worries - that it's going to rain/ be too hot, that the dress won't fit, the shoes will hurt, they will have double-booked us, my husband would forget something, people cancelling on us... The list is endless! Whilst these were all (just about) worth it, I wouldn't want to go back! I have had a few 10 second pangs when looking through photos, and talking about the big day that make me think "ooo take me back! I want to be toasting my full 'Mrs' champers glass in my gorgeous +Pronovias  wedding gown smiling til my face ached!" Then, my senses return to an even kilter and I remember all the stresses. Don't get me wrong, I ADORED our day more than you'll ever know, I am just glad we did it, it's in the memory bank and we can concentrate on us again!

One thing that stressed me out a lot was when people cancelled after the RSVP return date... I won't go into it too much but I lost a few friends because of how they treated me over the 10 months we were engaged.

Planning a wedding is no mean feat, and it does take up a lot of your time. There's the Giving of Notice at your local Registry Office, cake making, favour sorting, table-plan creating, invitation designing, dress-swishing and shoes strutting!

Speaking of invitations, I have one for the evening reception for a friend of mine I have never met before! The power of social media! Needless to say, every waking thought (and some sleeping ones too!) are filled with pretty dress outfit options.

There are so many positive things about weddings, but the main thing for me was seeing everyone who loves me and my now-husband together... That doesn't even happen at Christmas anymore! And, if you follow +Love My Dress on +Instagram their hashtag Share the honest love (no spaces) to remind everyone it's not all about the wedding day as such, your shared love and commitment for the rest of your lives are even more important.