Properly engaged!

We went ice-skating with some friends at an outdoor rink this evening which was fun and I also managed to stay upright which was good! The best moment though was when Michael and I stopped for a break and he suddenly took a small box from his pocket and presented me with my engagement ring which had finally arrived! It was a very romantic moment and I have had a permanent smile on my face ever since! I finally feel properly engaged (for the last two weeks, people have been looking at my left hand expectantly whenever they see me!)

The (almost) alcoholic midwife

I’m feeling a bit like a zombie today after spending all night at a labour and not getting home until 11am. I had anticipated that I would be at a birth so had stocked up on Red Bull and another energy drink which came in a large dark-coloured can. Unfortunately, I didn’t realise how much it resembled a can of beer/cider until I pulled it out of my bag on arrival at the hospital and opened it. My client looked quite startled until she realised it was an energy drink – for a moment she thought she had an alcoholic midwife!!

Wedding planning is somewhat time-consuming!

I am discovering how easy it is to spend hours just browsing various wedding sites on the internet. I can lose so much time without really feeling like I am moving the planning any further forward! Still, on the plus side, we have now had our first meeting with the minister to discuss booking the church, the legal requirements and things like that, and I have started looking into photographers and wedding videos and things like that. The hunt for the reception venue still continues – there are two definite possibilities on the list, but Michael still needs to view them.

Wedding cars

I am amazed at how lovely people are. One of the guys at my church, on hearing that Michael and I had got engaged, came up and asked me if I had considered transport yet. I told him I was considering a black cab for the bridesmaids (Michael’s dad is hopefully sorting out my car) and it turns out he has a vintage black cab which he is willing to let me use at a very reduced price which is fantastic. He has also arranged for a second cab as my mum and bridesmaids won’t all fit in one car.

Busy weekend

It’s been a busy weekend. As well as investigating potential wedding reception venues, Michael and I also had a trip to IKEA and so most of today has been spent putting together furniture. I’m hoping that once we have got things organised, this will mean that the spare room becomes a lot less cluttered and might actually resemble a bedroom rather than a junk room. Having less clutter will also make it easier to see if the mouse is still around as at the moment there are lots of hiding places for it (although no obvious signs of mouse activity).

More on the search for a reception venue

Michael and I looked at another two potential reception venues this afternoon. The first would have been perfect if the room had been a little bigger (and available on the right date!) whereas the second helped me to think more about what I don’t want rather than what I would like. Whilst the three function rooms were rather lavishly decorated, the focus seemed more on quantity of decoration rather than overall appearance. Throughout the rest of the venue, the décor was tired and a little shabby, with lingering unpleasant cooking odours in the corridor. The search for a venue continues.

Unwanted guests

I cleared out the spare room back in the spring and discovered that we had a mouse. However, since then there had been no further evidence of mouse activity and I had hoped that our little furry guest had chosen to lodge elsewhere. However, this afternoon I moved the chocolate Advent calendars which I had put in the spare room and discovered a little pile of cardboard flakes from where a mouse had chewed the cardboard off the calendars so it looks like my furry friend has returned. I think another clear out of the spare room may be necessary.

In search of the perfect reception venue

I read recently that the national average cost of a wedding is £20,000 which I was utterly shocked by, but having started investigating possible reception venues, I’m now no longer surprised at all. It seems that some people feel they have a right to charge ridiculously inflated prices because the word “wedding” is mentioned. I’m hoping to put Michael’s skills at event management to good use in finding a good venue at a reasonable cost. I visited one potential option today, and have an appointment to view another place later in the week – fingers crossed we find somewhere reasonably nice.

Oklahoma rehearsals

We’ve started rehearsing the ballet scene in Oklahoma! which meant that yesterday’s rehearsal was quite physically demanding. During the number, I get lifted, pushed to the ground, dragged across the stage, thrown over Jud’s shoulder, and knocked back to the ground again. There is also a fight scene between Curly and Jud in the ballet. Fortunately I got used to being picked up and thrown about when doing acrobatic rock ‘n roll but it seems to be a close-run thing between Steve (Curly), Simon (Jud) and myself as to who ends up most bruised at the end of the number!

Preparations have started

The wedding plans are starting to come together surprisingly quickly. I have been engaged for just four days and already I have put together the designs for my wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses and flower girl dresses with my sister who will be making them all, organised getting a veil and tiara and have drafted a guest list with Michael. We went shopping for my engagement ring today which was very exciting – it will take a couple of weeks to arrive though. The biggest thing we need to focus on now is trying to find a suitable venue for the reception.