4 days to go

Me and Adam can't quite believe we have just 4 more days until we become Mr. and Mrs. Obviously top of my priorities list is what to change my Twitter name to but I've also been doing a few other last minute bits of prep.

We've now bought all the favours and decorations, most of which came from the gorgeous old fashioned sweet shop Hope and Greenwood. I urge you to pop in or order some goodies online because their sweets are amazing and make you feel about 5 years old again! Anita at the shop was a delight to deal with and was more than accommodating to our requests.

The lovely Laura and Emma at Fur Coat, No Knickers did a fabulous job on my dress and even gave me a stunning vintage compact case as a wedding gift which will look very pretty sitting in my purse on the day (even if the purse is just a cheap Topshop one).

Adam has been slaving away on creating a table plan for the wedding breakfast and it looks perfect. I just hope and pray I've spelled all the names correctly, if not I apologise in advance! I've also been doing some arty stuff myself (or attempting to) and decorated a lovely vintage vanity case from Camden Market for cards and gifts to go in on the day - I hope you like it.

We've been slaving away on music, choosing tracks for when all the guests arrive, the ceremony, the meal, for at the bar and the evening. It's been tough trying to put stuff we like together (we have quite different tastes, I like Geri Halliwell, he likes Black Sabbath - nightmare!) as well as making sure people will want to dance and will know plenty of the tunes. I think we've done well but the dj is going to be throwing a few of his own songs into the mix too.

Just a quick reminder that signal in Tewin is poor and 3G is almost non existent so I recommend you print off a map if you're driving or get a train and then a taxi. If you are getting a train then I'd check the Sunday timetable closely. We don't want anybody missing out on anything :)

If you have any last minute questions or changes of plan just drop me an email or a text, I'm about all week but will be at the venue from Saturday with limited phone and internet so get in quick!

Running order of the day

With just four weeks to go things are starting to fall into place, although there's still a lot to be done.
We now have a rough idea of the timings of the day so thought it would be helpful if we shared that a little bit early.

12:30pm Guests arrive and bar is open
1:10pm Guests take their seats
1:15pm Bar closes
1:30pm Ceremony begins
2:00pm Canapés and drinks reception, bar reopens and photos
4:00pm Wedding breakfast with speeches
6:30pm-7:30pm Evening guests arrive
8:00pm First dance and evening celebrations begin
8:45pm Buffet is served
12am The evening ends

Please make sure you arrive ready to take your seats just after 1:00pm.
Also, rooms in the area are booking up fast and some friends have struggled to fine accommodation on the night of the wedding so please think about this soon if you haven't already :)

The Groom's Suit

So I pulled my finger out and contributed towards the wedding. Well I say contributed I really mean I bought myself something I had always wanted. A well nice suit. It's pretty simple, black jacket with a black lining and black trousers. This fancy bit of tailoring was created by the suit master Mark Powell. His suits are so good he can make Harry Potter look cool...

The Menu

I'm a vegan and loads of people have asked if it's going to me a vegan menu, don't worry I wouldn't inflict that on anyone! You're all safe.

There's a fixed menu for everyone attending the wedding breakfast with a veggie option as well. If you've already let me know of anything you can't eat or any allergies you have then don't worry, you'll get an alternative but I won't know that until nearer the time. Please take a look at the menu below and if there's anything you know you won't be able to eat please let me know asap as I need to speak with the venue.


Appetiser:
Home smoked salmon with ale blinis, dill chantilly, capers and shallots
Vegetarian
Smoked cheddar souffle with honey and mustard dressing

Main:
Classic slow roasted sirloin of beef with yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and roasting jus
Vegetarian
Potato gnocchi with mushroom and tarragon veloute

Dessert:
Sticky toffee pudding, butterscotch sauce and vanilla icecream

Children's menu (for under 12s)
Garlic bread with cheese
Pasta with tomato sauce ans parmesan shavings
Chocolate cake with ice cream

The dress is almost done

I had my (hopefully) penultimate dress fitting a couple of weeks ago and it's all starting to come together now. The alterations from last time had all been made and the dress is really starting to transform. Just a few tweaks here and there and a small change to the veil to be made. Now I just have to find some suitable underwear and start looking into shoes. My tattoos mean I'll be keeping everything else fairly simple but I'm so excited to have everyone see the finished dress on the day.

Where to stay

As we said on the invitation there are a few rooms left at Tewin Bury on the night of the wedding. There is a small discount given to our guests but I'm afraid it's still a little pricey. To save you having to do too much Googling I've listed a few places in the area and their contact details below. 

It would be really helpful if when you've booked somewhere to stay you leave a comment below so that other guests can see who has chosen to stay where which might be handy when thinking about taxi shares to/from Tewin Bury. We don't know the area very well and have never stayed at any of these hotels so if you find a bargain it would be great to share.

The Wellington
Adam is staying here the night before the wedding.
http://www.wellingtonatwelwyn.co.uk/

1 High Street,
Welwyn,
Hertfordshire,
AL6 9LZ
Telephone: 01438 714036
Email: info@wellingtonatwelwyn.co.uk
Rooms from £100


Travel Lodge - Hatfield
http://www.travelodge.co.uk/search_and_book/hotel_overview.php?hotel_id=321

Hatfield Business Park
Comet Way
Hatfield
Hertfordshire
AL10 0XR
Tel: 0871 984 6316
Fax: 01707 266331
Double rooms from £40

The White Hart
http://www.thewhiteharthotel.net/

2 Prospect Place,
Welwyn,
Herts,
AL6 9EN
Tel 01438 715353
Single rooms from £80
Double rooms from £90

Best Western Homestead Court Hotel
http://www.bwhomesteadcourt.co.uk/

Homestead Lane,
Welwyn Garden City,
Hertfordshire,
AL7 4LX
Tel: 01707 324336
E-Mail: enquiries@homesteadcourt.co.uk
Rooms from £85

The Honeymoon and gifts

This is a joint post about both the honeymoon and wedding gifts as they are kind of one and the same. We really don't want people spending out money they don't have on getting us a wedding gift, we know some of you are already paying out on accommodation, but we also know some of you will get us something anyway so we're asking for money towards our honeymoon. I hope people don't get offended that we're asking for money, it does feel a little cheeky but we really would love to have the honeymoon of a lifetime and this is the only way we're going to be able to do it.

Having been together over 8 years, and lived together for 7 and a half of those, we pretty much have a lot of household stuff that most people ask for as gifts. We're also not the sort of couple who are in to having towel sets, fancy bed sheets and bread bins. We've been saving like mad to be able to afford the wedding which means we've not really been able to put any money aside for a honeymoon and that's why we're asking for money.

As many of you know we are huge Lost fans. So much so I have a number of Lost tattoos! The show was filmed in Hawaii, on Oahu to be precise, and both me and Adam would really love to not only visit but also take the Lost tour so that we can see all the major filming locations. We're geeks, we know. The plan is to go to Oahu for the honeymoon, some time in October probably. It really would be the best wedding present ever. So please don't think we're being cheeky, we just want to start our married life with the holiday in Hawaii of a lifetime...for us anyway.