The Things You Change Your Mind On (Or About? Am A Bit Confus-ed As To How To Word That...)

Aaaaanywho, as the post title suggests - the things you changed your mind on/about/whatever in regards to your wedding - what were they?

I like to think of myself as a fairly...I dunno, I guess 'strong-minded' person? As in, I don't really give a great deal of damn as to what people think about me, I'm not afraid to give my opinion on something (whether I'm asked for it or not), once I've made up my mind about something I rarely change it...you get the drift. When this whole wedding planning thing started, I had pretty firm ideas on how I wanted the day to be and what kind of things I wanted* - or so I thought.

Turns out I'm not so invincible, and can succumb to the 'Doubts' along with everyone else.

And so we have the things that we changed our minds on/about/whatever (Gah! That's annoying me now...):

Buffet Reception
To start off with, myself and the Boy were adamant that we wanted a buffet at our reception. Given that our families are big eaters, we figured that a buffet would be the way to go. People could put as much or as little on their plates as they wanted, there would be a variety of foods available to cater to all tastes, people could go back for seconds if they wanted - Brilliant.

The thing that made us change our minds? Some episodes of Four Weddings. Embarrassingly, yes. We have Foxtel, and I have been absolutely devouring the wedding shows on the Lifestyle channel (and subjecting the poor Boy to them when I can). So anyway, it came to our attention that not everyone views a buffet at a wedding as favorably as us. And after reading some people's opinions and thoughts on buffets over at Weddings WA (a brilliant forum for WA based brides that I frequent), I had to admit that the people who didn't like buffets had valid reasons for not liking them... and then I pictured my poor grandparents having to get up and serve themselves food and walk back to the table balancing plates of hot food (with one grandparent being in a wheelchair). Buffet was definitely out after that.

Save the Dates
I personally think that sending out Save the Date cards are completely unnecessary unless you have interstate or overseas guests (or are having a destination wedding). As all our guests are in Perth and we're getting married in good old Perth, I was originally not going to bother with them.

Until someone pointed out to me that December is always a busy month for a lot of people. I know that, but as our wedding is at the very beginning of December (the first day in December at that), I still didn't think it was necessary. But then it was also pointed out to me that a lot of people have their work Christmas parties then, as well as other family parties and events. And then I recalled some of my previous work parties have actually been in November due to December being so busy for everyone. Hmmm...

I asked the Boy what he thought we should do, and he thinks we should send them out. So we are.

Videography
This is something myself and the Boy were VERY adamant that we didn't want. So much so that I didn't even allow for one in the budget. I just cringe whenever I see footage of myself, and constantly declare to anyone who will listen that 'my voice so doesn't sound like that!'. That, and the fact that there are so many, well, crap wedding videos out there. Having romantic music playing over footage of me putting on my earrings doesn't appeal to me, sorry.

And then I stumbled across the Most. Awesome. Wedding. Video. Ever. I think it's safe to say I just about had an orgasm when I watched it. I did a complete 360 and decided then and there that I want...no scratch that, I need video at my wedding. But only if I can have a wedding video like that. And it doesn't help that so many married people I've spoken to have said that having video was the best thing they did (even those people who, like me, weren't too keen on having video in the first place). The best bit? They are based in Perth. Another plus - he is very nice. The bad bit? Kinda pricey...**

The Boy has said to go ahead and book them if I really want to; I'm just struggling within myself about whether or not I can bring myself to spend that much **. I'm currently on the hunt to see if I can find another videographer who is cheaper, but still awesome. Still searching...

*This in large part may or may not have something to do with the fact that I was researching wedding stuff a good year or so before getting engaged. Maybe. Just saying.

**This is my definition of expensive, it may be pocket change to other people. We have a budget we are trying to stick to which I'm really conscious of. As we are paying for our wedding ourselves, we need to really watch how much we spend on different things. Damn not being a millionaire...

I'm Still Alive

So it turns out I'm officially the sh*ttest. blogger. ever. Sorry guys! I was so excited when I first started up the blog...and then kinda lost interest...and then got excited about it again...and then didn't. I promise I'm really going to try and make the effort to update this thing on a more regular basis (I do need to cater to all two of the people who read this after all...)

While I have been  a pretty crappy blogger - I have been a pretty damn good wedding planner (if I do say so myself). I've managed to get quite a few of the major suppliers locked in with 18 months to spare:
-Dress maker
-Ceremony venue
-Reception venue
-Hairdresser (this one was a no-brainer really - my normal hairdresser will be doing it)
-Photographer

Next I want to book the celebrant and videographer and I'll be happy - all major suppliers will be locked in and ready to go.

Control freak? Who said that???

Your Wedding Is When???

Sigh. Am starting to get slightly annoyed at people's reactions when I tell them our wedding date...
'Oh December! What a nice time of year'
'Wha-? December 2012??? Wow you're... organised'
'Do you really need to plan it that far in advance?'

Grrr...

How Embarrassment

Ok so here it is - no one knows I have a blog. Not the Boy, none of my friends, no one in my family - NO ONE.

Until I got sprung a few weeks ago.

One of my recently engaged friends was browsing a wedding forum I frequent, and she saw a post I had written and thought 'Hmm, that sounds like something ______ would say'. And of course I have this web address as my signature 'advertising' my blog. And of course she clicked on it to have a read. And of course she saw the pics I had put up of the BM dresses I am so proud of getting for an insanely cheap price. And of course I had shown her pics of the BM dresses only a few weeks before. And so of course she worked out it was me.

I don't know why I feel embarrassed about having a blog, it's actually a pretty cool thing to do right?...Right? So I've decided that I'm not going to be embarrassed about it anymore. It's a creative outlet for me, and it helps me get my thoughts/ideas about the wedding out and on 'paper'. Writing about it seems to clear my head.

So uh, Hi Mel! *waves*


*Please note - people still don't know I have a blog. I will tell them eventually. One day. Maybe *blushes*

And The Venue Is...

Marmion Angling and Aquatic Club

We fell in love with the place as soon as we walked in, and the people who work there are amazingly friendly and helpful. I have to admit I had some doubts as to whether it was wise for us to pick a venue from only *shock horror* one day of looking. But as The Boy rationally pointed out: It ticks all the boxes we want in a wedding venue, it's in our budget...so, why not?

Why not indeed. Ah he's so clever, my future hubby to be :-)

I would also like to make an honorable mention to the following venues:
-Salt Restaurant
-AQWA

Both are great venues, and both have awesome function coordinators who were really lovely and easy to deal with.

1st December 2012 - bring it on baby!

Pics of the BM Dress and Parasol.

.

The bridesmaids dress. I am in love.



Parasol. $10 each for 3 (bought second hand). Fabric and not paper.

Sorry for the small photo sizes, I was having 'issues' with Photobucket. When I tried to make them bigger they were too big and deforming the set up of the blog. So small pics it is.

Bridesmaids

First up - apologies for being a sh*thouse blogger. I just haven't had much to write about in the way of weddings, therefore meaning my blog is probably the most Boring. Blog. Ever.

But some developments have occurred in the last few weeks:
-I have bought bridesmaid dresses
-I have bought parasols for the bridesmaids
-We may have already decided on a venue, though we just want to think about it for a few weeks before putting a deposit down. So no mention of The Venue will be made until we have secured it/made up our minds about it.

But I can write about my super awesome bridesmaids and the preparations I have already made for them. How's my form - I get the BMs sorted before getting myself sorted haha. And before booking a venue. And before working out a proper wedding budget. Ah well, wasn't planned this way, it's just the way these things pan out :-)

So my previously mentioned super awesome bridesmaids are *drum roll please*: My bestie from high school, my other bestie who I met after high school; and the boy's sister. All fantastic, all lots of fun; and all will plan a kick-ass Hen's Night.

For those that read my blog (all two of you), you will know that the boy and I went to Thailand in August. Before leaving for Thailand, we went to a surf store so I could get some new bathers and the boy could get a new hat. Yes I'm aware that we could have bought those things for a 1/4 of the price in Thailand, but we wanted them before we went, ok?

Aaaaanywho, there I was browsing the racks of maxi dresses in store (even though I was meant to be looking at bathers), when a gorgeous colour catches my eye. Not quite green, not quite blue. I find it's a gorgeous dress, and the ensuing thought process occurs:
'Wow, that's pretty much the exact colour I had in mind for BM dresses'
'It's actually a really nice dress, nice material, not too casual and beachy. I would totally wear that to a wedding or a nice dinner'
'Hmm I wonder what sizes they have...?'
'4 dresses and 3 of them are the size I need for my BMs?'
'SOLD!'

And there is the story if how I bought my BM dresses. The best bit? $70 per dress. Even with alterations (I'm considering getting them altered to knee length) it shouldn't be too exxy. $210 for 3 dresses, can't beat that. I am awesome.