I do - my wedding blog

The week started off well as we visited what will now be come known as the dream venue. It is beautiful, has a great layout and everything we need. The location seems at first glance to also be great. But then the realisation struck about the ceremony. I was doing as my very detailed and helpful to do list instructed for the 12-18 month period before W-day, and checking out the legal side of getting married. I checked the legalities of church and civil ceremonies, and only at that point found out that we can't make a civil ceremony into the religious one which would suit our complex needs, in fact you can't make it religious at all. How did I not know that? When I mentioned to my mum she said "well, yes, of course!", just me not knowing them. So that put paid to the idea of getting someone (ideally the minister from the church we went to at University) to do the service, and a prayer from J's cousin, while the registrar can just sit and watch. But no, that...

I haven't written anything about the actual engagement, so I thought it was about time. J (the h2b - that's so exciting to write!) had been away for the week visiting friends and family, so we had planned a lovely day out on the Saturday he was back. I'd bought tickets for the Psycho Buildings exhibition we both wanted to see at the Hayward Gallery, which was good fun. Then because it was a lovely day we wandered around the South Bank looking at the photos on the National Theatre roof terrace (Alan Williams photos as on the right) and on the outside of the Tate Modern, before heading down to our favourite local in Crofton Park, Jam Circus . Then just down the road for an always yummy dinner at the Toadsmouth too (see left). Bargainacious, delicious and plenty of wine! All this, however, was just a precursor for the biggest surprise of my life, as I plonked myself on the sofa, J went, I thought, to take his shoes off. Coming back into the lounge he bent down on one knee...

My mum won't let me wear my blue shoes on the big day! They are the colour I would love the bridesmaids to wear. It's early days I know, so the plan might change. I think coloured shoes might look quite fun

I have a few initial ideas, but bearing in mind these are all before any details are organised at all, before having a venue, date, or trying on any dresses. I would like the bridesmaids in blue I would like pale flowers - or possibly really bright ones - but only in blue if they are really blue and not dyed I would like an empire line dress, possibly with a ribbon round the waist I am not at all bothered about centre pieces, favours or displaying a seating plan Images are from: dress Johanna Hehir , blue flowers Design*Sponge , Bright flowers East Hill Photography , Blue bridesmaids The Knot

I really appreciated the sentiment in this blog post on Offbeat Bride, giving advice on why your wedding is not a contest . Brides do not need more ways to feel bad about our weddings. Trying to have a nontraditional wedding just for the sake of making a statement is just as inauthentic as forcing yourself into a traditional ceremony to keep your parents happy. That said, I had a lovely afternoon today just sitting with my mum chatting through ideas. I don't feel under pressure from my parents which is great, especially as they are paying!

Ice Cream man on a bicycle - This seems to be something quite a few people have thought about, as when I did a quick search online loads of pages came up. I just quite liked the idea of people being able to choose their pud! Argentine style meal -Having enjoyed our trip to Argentina so much 18 months ago, the idea of serving up an Argentine feast where the waiters bring round freshly cooked (and amazing quality) meat straight from the grill and on swords! Haven't been able to find anything so far though

I'm trying to enjoy the fact I can finally look at wedding stuff without looking desparate or scaring the other half! But there is so much out there. As soon as I got engaged I got a bridal magazine to get me started and then had a scoot around the web. I decided to sign up to The Knot and Confetti , plus I like to have a look at Bridalwave , Wedding magazine site, and Brides magazine site. I thought I'd do a quick rundown of them here: The Knot is my favourite I think, despite being all American, which means that a lot of the retailers and local info is of no use. However, there is so much to look at, including many beautiful pictures of all aspects you can imagine, and helpful advice. There are also planning tools such as a budgeter and guest list manager. I also really like this one because as part of signing up (it's all free) you also get signed up to The Nest, which is all about your new home and life togetehr, which I think is such a lovely (and important) aspect...