Mr and Mrs Moram to be :-)

Mr and Mrs Moram to be :-)
Mr and Mrs Moram to be :-)

Tuesday 30 November 2010

All Hail To Hobbycraft!

A couple of years ago I discovered one of the best shops ever – Hobbycraft!  For those of you who have never been inside one of these superstores, you must visit one and see for yourself the treasures that lay inside the four walls!  Hobbycraft stocks everything you’ll ever need in the world of crafts – from coloured paper to baking products.

As well as all of the above, they have a huge selection of wedding bits ‘n’ bobs, from everything you need to make your own invitations to favours. 

Luckily for me (or perhaps not for my bank account!) there is a store located 2 minutes away from the office, so I often take a wander over there to have a browse.  It’s almost like visiting Santa’s Grotto – you want to buy everything in sight!  You can get quite carried away in there though and need to take a step back and think ‘although it would be really cool to make this, have I really got the time?’.

I’ve never really been a crafty person, and still to this day cannot sew a button on!  But I think I may have an experiment or two over the next few months to see if there’s anything I can make for the wedding.  Watch this space!...

All the fun of the wedding fair

Last month I got my first taste of a proper wedding fair.  Although I'd been to some smaller events with my Mum beforehand, the National Wedding Fair at Olympia was on a much larger scale than anything I'd ever seen!

Advertised on the its website as 'the show for you; a unique and glamorous wedding shopping experience with thousands of ideas to plan your perfect day', I excitedly booked tickets for myself, my Mum, Chief Bridesmaid, Maid of Honour and good friend Natasha.

Not knowing what to expect, once we arrived I was first of all surprised at just how many exhibitors there were under one roof - over 300 in fact.  The second thing I noticed was the thousands of crazed Bridezillas milling about - there was a definite bridal buzz in the air.  Upon further scrutiny you could see the few dozen grooms that had been dragged along for the day, dragging their heels and looking as though they'd rather be anywhere else, bless them!

We settled down to watch the 'How to look good' show, hosted by Caryn Franklin, a supposed TV makeover expert.  I have to admit that I'd not seen any of her TV work, and after 15 minutes or so watching her attempt to transform an enthusiastic but plain bride-to-be into something that resembled Cruella de Ville, we hastily moved on to negotiate the busy aisles.

There was so much to take in at the show, from photographers, cakes (with lots of yummy tastings available), dresses and favours.  I did find that because we're holding our wedding in Scotland, not all suppliers deliver nationally, which was slightly disappointing.

One area that I did enjoy getting ideas on was the hen do.  At the back of the hall was a huge pink party bus, hosted by Blush Hospitality.  I was drawn to its pulsing pink colour and house music, and once we went on board all 5 of us enjoyed checking out the pole dancing facilities : )  This is a definite contender, so watch this space girls...

The other stand that I think grabbed the attention of all the girlies was that hosted by Dreamboys.  Dreamboys offer a hen do to remember, by inviting you to enjoy dinner at one of their shows in London, which involves a dozen or so oiled up Chippendale-wannabes girating around the stage for a few hours.  Some audience participation is expected, and although I wouldn't mind watching the show (who in reality wouldn't?), the thought of being stuck in a venue with hundreds of other hen do's doesn't strike me as a good one.  I'd much rather just do my own thing! 

All in all, I did enjoy the afternoon at the fair with the girls, but I don't think I'd hurry back to another one.  For your £12 entry fee all you get is a goodie bag filled up with chocolates and toothpaste (are they trying to make you put on weight before your big day?!).  Champagne is available but at £7 a glass we gave it a wide berth!  I enjoyed the catwalk fashion shows but being 5 foot 3, I couldn't really see much and my poor Mum could see even less...

For any brides-to-be thinking of going, I wish you well and remember these two tips: stay focused and wear flat shoes!  You'll only regret the heels, although they may come in handy for stepping on the toes of the Bridezillas pushing past you to try and lay their hands on the oiled up Dreamboys lol.

Don’t Tell The Bride comes to an end

I was slightly sad when the final episode in this series of ‘Don’t Tell The Bride’ was aired on BBC3 last month.  9pm every Tuesday is a time I look forward to every week as my Mum and I watch the show and spend the hour usually cringing at the bad decisions made by the grooms, more often than not related to the dress!

This week’s show saw 29 year old Hywel organise a Glastonbury themed wedding for his bride to be Beca, also 29.  As usual, they both had completely different ideas on how their big day should be, with Beca preferring a sophisticated cocktail party and Hywel just wanting music to lead the way.  He even made a personal pop ‘Wonderwall’ video in tribute to his bride and favourite band, Oasis.

In the end, as usual, the day was a big success, with the sun shining down on the couple as they took their vows in an outdoor garden and held their reception in a marquee.

I do wonder though how brides-to-be put the trust of their big day with their grooms.  The £12,000 provided by the show would certainly come in handy, but I just don’t know whether Ben would make all the right decisions for the biggest day of our lives, bless him.  He’d probably have me wear a really tight dress and I know he’d try his hardest to get Andy C to do a DJ set in the evening!  

So farewell to the trashy but likeable show for now…until next season!  I guess there’s always ‘Wedding House’ on Channel 4 to watch.  Car crash TV at its best!

Veil or no veil – that is the question…

Lately I have been thinking about whether to wear a veil or not on the big day.  I can’t give too much away about my dress on here but personally don’t think I need one as the dress is beautiful on its own.

These thoughts led me to do a bit of research on the tradition of the veil, and I have to admit I don’t like what I found out!

According to tradition, the veil symbolised a wife’s submission to her husband and signified that she was under protection of the groom.  The lifting of the veil at the end of the ceremony symbolised male dominance.

Now I’m not exactly an active feminist, but surely these old traditions are implying that the husband ‘owns’ the wife and I find that quite distasteful.

On the other hand, veils are beautiful and I’m sure many brides to be are choosing to wear one because it’s pretty.

I’m torn at the moment, and I guess until I try one on with my dress, I won’t quite know.  Perhaps some fresh flowers in my hair will work just as well as an old net curtain?! 

We’ve Snapped Up Our Photographer!

Another item of the list has been crossed off – our photographer.  We spent a good few hours trailing the internet trying to get a shortlist together and came across Derek Christie, a modern and contemporary photographer based in Edinburgh.

The three of us met up for an informal chat over a bevvie in the Deacon Brodies Tavern pub on the Royal Mile where Derek showed us some of his recent work which Ben and I were super impressed with – he takes some really unusual and beautiful shots, and certainly thinks outside of the box.  But most importantly we were impressed with Derek – he’s a genuinely passionate, friendly guy and we’re looking forward to working with him on our big day.

Visit Derek's website at http://derekchristiephotography.com 

Getting Into A Pickle About The Piper

The search for our piper has now come to an end.  Who knew that there would be so many different wedding bagpipers to choose from?!

In the end our decision to book John, a.k.a ‘The Pickled Piper’ came down to how he looks in comparison to others.  The old famous saying of “never judge a book by its cover” is being put to the test and we are hoping his piping is as good as his attire!  John wears full Scottish bagpiping traditional dress to weddings and will really look the part on the day.

The next challenge is deciding which songs he will pipe during his set.  If anyone has any ideas, please share them with us!


Contracts Received!

After waiting a couple of weeks, the final contracts have been received. This means we're finally in business! All we have to do now is pay a deposit, sign on the dotted line and away we go!

It's a huge relief having spent the best part of four months searching for our ideal Scottish venue and choosing a date that suited : )

Let the rest of the planning begin!