With eight months to go... I'm back

I promised myself that I would love my blog more in 2012 - well, we're 11 days into the new year and I've finally got around to things - but in my defence it's been a pretty crazy 11 days!

We all know I'm a dedicated follower of fashion, and that's what I've focused this blog on for the past year (give or take a few months of abandonment - je suis tres tres desole) but I've decided to take a slightly new direction this year given that I'm walking up the aisle to say "I do" to my long-time love in eight short months.

From here on in, this blog is going to track the chronicles of a bride-to-be - starting now :)

My last post, shamefully written in September, expressed my stress at trying to find a good wedding band. Well the panic is officially over - we found a wonderful band with an awesome sound and kick-ass play list, which is keeping the mister extremely happy. And that is, of course, my main priority...

Since then, we've been very much "oh that's all the 'big' things sorted now - we can relax" - which is exactly what we've been doing. And now, thanks to my ever-efficient mother, I've been brought back down to earth with a bump. Eight months to go. And we still haven't picked a design for the invitations or send out save the dates (fridge magnets FYI) - so here's a massive save the date shout-out to all those who will be there on the big day: SEPTEMBER 8th!!! DO NOT FORGET!

Since realising I have (now less than) eight months to go, I've gone into overdrive. I've been pouring over folders full of sample invitations, getting increasingly frustrated with Stan every time he shrugs his shoulders and says "yeah...that's okay...", and have been bombarding all my friends and family with frantic requests for addresses to be sent my way asap.

My bridezilla levels weren't too bad, nothing too dramatic - until I called our venue to find out when the next payment was due. The receptionist, I could tell, wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but it was almost 5pm and I figured she'd had a long day, so when she asked me to confirm my wedding date twice, I gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Until I heard the dreaded words any bride-to-be would HATE to hear: "Um...are you absolutely SURE that's your date?"

Cue smoke billowing out of my ears, a very quiet, pained "yes" said through gritted teeth, and eyes that looked as though they were ready to pop out of my head (according to Stan). Luckily for the reception, she quickly asked me to call back the next morning when the wedding planner would actually be in the office and I could chat to her directly because she (the receptionist) hadn't really dealt with wedding inquiries before.

This place prides itself on being "Scotland's fairytale wedding venue" - it took me a lot of effort not to give this young girl a piece of my mind.

Thankfully, for both my own sanity and the venue, the receptionist in question was just an idiot, and when I spoke to the wedding planner the next day, all was right with the wedding once more. *Phew*

We're getting married at stunning Culcreuch Castle in Fintry and, that little hiccup aside, the planning process thus far has been perfect. I'm head over heels for the venue (www.culcreuch-castle-weddings.com) and completely wrapped up in a romantic daze over how incredible the photographs will be as a result of the breathtaking scenery. It is literally my dream venue and I can't even begin to describe how devastated I would have been if there had been a mix up (and by that I mean f**k up) with our booking.

People keep telling me how organised I've been up until now - and I have really, but at the start it was because I was living in London, and thought I would be for the foreseeable future, so I wanted to get as much done as possible on the weekends I was back in Glasgow, so that I wouldn't be constantly trying to sort things out over the phone while I was at work down south. Naturally that's all changed now, which is why I think I'm (just a tad) more relaxed. But another reason behind the organisation is the economical side of things - for example, we've already bought our wedding rings, we got them just before Christmas. Organised? Certainly. But that wasn't the main reason we got our rings so early. I'm thinking $$$ here - the price of gold keeps going up and up, so I'm not prepared to sit around and wait until July to buy our rings when chances are they'll have jumped up in price.

I bought my dress early because on my first visit back to Glasgow since getting engaged, my mum was beside herself with excitement and desperate to go and look in some bridal boutiques. While I was in one, I found my dream dress - it had me on first glance. And as soon as I tried it on I knew I wasn't going to find anything else that even came close - so why wait and run the risk of it not being available closer to the time?

We booked our venue 15 months in advance because it's not uncommon for there to be an 18-24 month waiting list. We were lucky, every date in August and September were already gone when we booked, bar the 8th - the exact date we wanted. If we had waited just one more week, we might not have got it.

I've got my bridesmaids dresses already too - because about two months after we had all decided on this specific dress (having tried on numerous different styles) I went back to look at them, and found they were on offer with 25% off. I snapped them up there and then. They're still available now, but no longer on offer, and have actually gone up in price. So I struck gold there.

The next big task is getting the boys kitted out - something I think I'll have serious problems with because Stan is too laid back and everything is mañana mañana... but we'll get there. I'm in the process of trying to persuade him to wear a kilt - he's not said yes, he's not said no... so watch this space...

Until my next post (which I promise won't be too far away)...

xxBBxx