Christine, Wondering

Random Musings of a Human Becoming

Monday, August 22, 2011

Engagement :)

I'm sure it's old news to everyone who reads this, but E and I got engaged a few weeks ago. We have a provisional date booked - July 14th 2012 - and the beginnings of a format. The civil partnership ceremony will take place in our Hertfordshire town, in the local registry office's larger ceremony room, followed by a big party at a community centre not far away. We're doing it all on a budget and enjoying finding creative ways to save.

Some things we've already discovered:
- The problem with wedding dresses is that they are intended to make the wearer the centre of attention... a problem when you've got two brides! We are solving that by going with non-traditional dresses, but that's the last I'll be saying about our dresses until after the wedding. They are a surprise!

- Photographers' websites are awful and the worse the website, the more expensive the photographer.

- All of our local florists order their wedding flowers from Interflora and therefore have exactly the same range. We're going to have to go in and talk to them about bespoke arrangements.

- How hard is it to get flat wedding invites these days? I don't want to post ribbon bows and crystals to Australia!

- Our plan for inexpensive catering is making me very happy.

- People are lovely and so far no-one has done a double-take at the Civil Partnership deal (and some suppliers actively advertise their willingness to service them).

The wedding's still more than 10 months away so the planning is in its early stages, but I'll be sure to keep you all updated as my adventures progress. It's not every day one gets to plan a lesbian wedding!

6 comments:

Congrats again, Chrisell!

You've probably seen in already, but I really recommend Offbeat Bride (http://offbeatbride.com/2008/06/custom-wedding-dress). My best friend stumbled across it while she was planning her now postponed wedding, and its a lot of fun, even if you're looking for something traditional. They have some good ideas on how to save, too - check out the DYI tag.

(this is Arcadia, btw)
 
Congratulations again! I noticed M&S had some flat invites, not sure if you've already found some or if they're what you're after though.

Anyway, hope the planning goes well!

Rosemary.
 
We did our own invitations - we bought a kit at the store and printed them at home. Most people really liked them and they were incredibly cheap.

- Siri
 
Thanks guys! We think we are going to invest in a printer (we need one anyway) and print our own. I have already done a bit of the design work :)

I've bookmarked Offbeat Bride - looks like great fun!
 
Congratulations!!!

Our approach to "The Flowers Problem" was: figure out what will be in season. Find a local grower. Buy a few boxes to be delivered the day before, or early in the morning on the day, and with bundles of floral wire. Find a friend who knows how to do flower arranging, and a few helpers -- your flower girls! -- make a variety of decorations with them, and a bouquet.

The thing is: when any agricultural product is at the peak of a good season, the growers can't unload it fast enough. You will get a *really* good deal, and be doing them a favor by taking some stock off their hands, really. It gives you a chance to go fossicking around in the countryside looking for your grower, too... :)

The nice thing about this is that it creates a kind of theme, and a distinctive fragrance, and turns the decorations into a fun project (but you *will* need to put someone else in charge of it!) Our luck was that Early Cheer (paper Narcissus) was in season. The fragrance still reminds me of my wedding day, nearly 14 years ago now!
 
Thanks for the tip, Cheryl! We will definitely look into that. Mid-July is probably a good time for that trick, too :D
 

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