I’m not one of those girls who’s been planning their wedding day since they were old enough to choose their own clothes.
If you’d asked me, I’d have said I wanted something not like the traditional wedding breakfast, and if pushed, I’d have said that I wanted it to be somewhere beautiful, but that I didn’t want it to be expensive.
So when my boyfriend (or the wedding magazines would have it, h2b omg!!!!! IYKWIM*) unexpectedly popped the question after four and a half years, I thought I’d be quite open minded about the whys and wherefores.
Turns out my subconscious has other ideas. Lots of them. Comprehensive, specific, technicolour ideas.
The trouble is, my budget is WAY less than the apparently average spend of £22,500 (we’re spending less than that on the deposit for our new house!).
And although I know what I don’t want, finding a way to get those images of the perfect day out of my head and into reality without bankrupting myself is going to be a challenge.
Despite having no discernable craft skills I’m envisaging DIY creations of great beauty to supplement my decorations budget (more on that in a later post…)
But the biggest stumbling block so far has proved the venue. Without one I can’t decide on date, or theme, or budget, really.
I’ve looked at so many websites they’re all blurring into one. Because I’ve got no real preconceived idea about location, or type of venue (and because h2b REALLY doesn’t want a grand country house affair) I’ve looked at places all over the country.
It’s been a bit like looking for a house – and certainly as stressful. You start with an idea of what your budget will stretch to. Then you look at the kind of places you envisaged and realise you can’t afford them.
Then you realise you’ve underestimated how much added extras will cost (in my case I had no budget for drink. Rookie mistake) so then you revise the budget downwards.
You look at things you can easily afford – but your heart sinks because it’s not what you want it to be.
You start to know just by looking at the details which places will be out of your price range.
Sometimes you think something should be affordable only to discover it’s three times the price of the similar place you looked at last week. And, just sometimes, you see somewhere adorable that isn’t as much as you think it’s going to be. So. Have I found anywhere yet? We think so. All will be revealed this time next week.
(And yes, I know it shouldn’t be stressful. I know it’s not about location or flowers or the dress. I know that no matter where we end up, it’ll be a great day, because my extremely gorgeous boyfriend will be there. And thanks to BBC Three’s Don’t Tell the Bride for reminding me of that at my most stressed last week! More on that in a later post, too…)
In the meantime, I have bought shoes. That may sound strange. No dress, no venue, no date… but shoes? But to those who know me, it’s not strange at all.
When they arrive I shall post a picture (they’re going to feature on my save the date cards).
Anyway. On this blog, we’ll be recruiting some expert advice to help me - and you – with some of the more tricky decisions. How to choose a photographer. What flowers work in which season and how to keep the cost down. Advice from venue owners about how to make the day run smoothly.
We’ll have pics from real weddings to help with ideas and inspiration – and if you’ve got a tip or trick to offer, or if you’d like to send pictures of your day, feel free to get in touch. Our guest posting starts tomorrow, with two of Bournemouth’s wedding photographers giving us the low down on how to choose a photographer and the various options you may be faced with.
They’ve also included some gorgeous photos from weddings they’ve photographed so be sure not to miss it!
* That's "if you know what I mean", obviously.
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