The History Of The Hub

This week I thought I would explore the history of our chosen wedding venue, The Hub in Edinburgh.

Although from the outside it looks like a church, The Hub is actually the home of the Edinburgh International Festival, and a central source of information on all of the Edinburgh Festivals.

Its gothic spire is the highest point in central Edinburgh and towers over the surrounding buildings, including the adjacent Castle.

The amazing spire

The building was constructed between 1842 and 1845 and was designed in collaboration with Edinburgh architect J Gillespie Graham and Augustus Pugin.

The Hub was built for the Church of Scotland both as a parish church and as a purpose-built General Assembly Hall (originally known as the Victoria Hall).  The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland last met here in 1929.

The venue is simply stunning and I just can’t wait to get married there!

A 'moody' looking Hub!

We’ve Got The Whole World…In Our hands!

I literally cannot stop dreaming about our Honeymoon of late.

The World is literally our oyster.  We can go wherever we please, and I love that feeling of freedom.  I keep looking at a world map which is pinned up by my desk and imagining what it would be like to visit each continent.

One regret I do have is going travelling.  I never went to university, but I did have the opportunity to head off to Indonesia for 6 months when I was 19 and turned it down as my sensible head said no.  Maybe my ‘you only live once’ head should have won the battle!

Having spoken about our various honeymoon options over the last few months, I think we have narrowed it down to two and they are each very different!

1) Florida and the Keys

I am a massive Disney fan (always have been, always will) and have ALWAYS wanted to go to Florida to the theme parks.  I would be like a child in a sweet shop (especially now they have built Harry Potter World – just don’t get me started!), most likely driving Ben completely insane, but still!  He’s been lucky enough to have holidayed there a few times already, and loved it each time.  So the plan is to have 2 weeks discovering the parks and then jetting down to the Keys for a week of relaxation to unwind at the end of it all.

Harry Potter World!

The only problem I can forsee with this option is that it isn’t exactly a ‘relaxing’ break for the first two weeks and after all the stress of the wedding we may just want to do absolutely NOTHING but lie horizontally in the sun, sipping cocktails and chillax.

2) Thailand

As a couple we’ve always fancied jetting off to the Far East, particularly Thailand, but have yet to get round to it.  Ben’s parents go for a month every March and always wow us with their stories and photos of white sands and gorgeous crystal waters when they get back.  We are also huge fans of Thai food so this seems to fit the bill in that respect too.  It just looks like total paradise and a mixture of Bangkok and 2 beach locations would be ideal.

Bangkok

Beautiful Thailand : )

One thing getting in the way is the weather.  If we were to go in May it’s going into their hurricane season and I certainly don’t want to swept away on our Honeymoon : )  Apparently the best time to go is January to March, and this would mean waiting until 2013 to go and I don’t think I can be that patient!

But we have decided to be really greedy and in fact have two honeymoons!  We are going to have a ‘mini-moon’ straight after the wedding and plan on staying in a secluded log cabin in either the Lake District or Loch Lomond.  It makes sense as we’ll be in Edinburgh anyway.

We figure, why not?  My ‘you only live once’ head is certainly on this time!

I Go Potty…Over Teapots!

This week I thought I would share with you one of my strange obsessions – tea pots and tea sets!

My fancy for all things vintage crockery started when we visited Marrakech on a weekend break.  Whilst searching the Souks for a bargain or two, I became mesmerised by the dozens of silver vintage teapots that were on sale.  Up until that point I had never really been a big tea fan – I had the odd cup at work, but that was mainly for the purpose of dipping a Rich Tea biscuit in rather than drinking!

This is similar to the teapot we purchased in Marrakech

So ever since that trip, I have seemed to acquire this desire to own lots of pretty, delicate, old-fashioned tea sets and tea pots.  Any colour, any style, you name it, I love it!

Last Summer I was a nightmare.  Every time Ben and I went out and there was a charity shop in sight, I’d be straight in there rummaging through the old bric-a-brac section with one thing on my mind: “I. Must. Have. Teapots!”

In the course of three months I think I bought five or so tea sets, and a couple of extra teapots - just because I could! 

I got some brilliant bargains including a cute Chinese tea set for £4 and a lovely white polka dot tea set from a charity shop in Horsham for under a fiver.  Ben’s Mum has also given me a vintage blue and white tea set that belonged to Ben’s nan : )

It did get to a point though where Ben told me that I could buy no more, as we really won’t have the room to display it all in our house.  Alas, I haven’t bought any in a while, but I can’t resist the urge to look no matter where we are! 

I’m now thinking of bringing my love of vintage crockery into the wedding plans, and am looking into options of using tea cups in the flower arrangements or as favours.  Somehow they will feature, I’ll make sure of it!!!

Gorgeous flowers in a teacup