The Wedding Review: Where to begin?

And breathe...

Well Friday 13th went without a hitch, and just like that I am now a fully fledged double-barrel Mrs. 

I'll take the time to go over all of the services that went into the day such as the flowers, chair covers, reception venue and the likes when I get chance to gradually work through it all!



Civil Weddings at Normanton Church

Inside the church

Civil Weddings at the Normanton Church
Normanton Church, Rutland Water
What was once called St Matthew's Church stands on the edge of Rutland Water having been deconsecrated and converted into a museum for the last few decades. In the 1970's the valley and village below it had been flooded to create the reservoir but the church was saved and the floor level raised. Now its doors are open for civil marriages and it provides the most beautiful scenery to do so. No end of photo opportunities, I recommend paying a visit in the evening when it's all lit up. The wedding organisers who work for the church take care of everything, from the set-up to lending their lovely faux flowers and bay trees to decorate the interior - not that it needs much decorating with these surroundings, I just added tealights in jam jars.

 

Nigel the acoustic guitarist
Nigel's Beautiful Background Guitar
Well I can't speak highly enough of Nigel, and nor can any of our guests. He's an incredibly talented musician based in Grantham but he covers a multitude of areas including Stamford and Rutland (and probably further).  Not only did he learn my chosen song for my church entrance - Joze Gonzalez's Heartbeats - but he made some excellent suggestions for other songs such as for the signing of the register - 'fields of gold' and 'all you need is love'.  We booked him for a package where he covered the church and the canapés portion of the reception - considering we had him for a total of around 4 hours he was an absolute bargain as well as a delight. He added a lovely ambience to the terrace and gardens of the reception whilst everyone drank pimms/prosecco and mingled. What a joy.

 

Kirsty the Hairstylist
hollyokey@aol.com
If you want to have your hair specially styled for a wedding or event in the Lincolnshire area, I implore you to drop a line to Kirsty first. She's absolutely adorable and fantastic at hair up-dos. She managed to take care of me, mum, sis and maid of honour with all our varied hair types and stylistic requests. She loves doing wedding hair and it shows in her beautiful work.



hair combs: Glitzy Secrets

 

Lots more to come, but for now that's all folks.

3 days to go: Weather forecasts are henceforth banned

When someone hears that I'm getting married this week, they ask me two questions, in this precise order.

One:
Are you nervous?
and, Two:
Have you seen the weather forecast?

Now I do believe that it rains fairly often in this peculiar little country, and so far no one has melted from it. I know there's a first for everything, but I'm refusing to get worried about something I have no control over. I could always swim to the church, my veil acting as a fishing net to catch a few additions to the evening's BBQ meal.

As part of my big day preparations, I paid a visit to The Lemon Rooms spa in Amersham Old Town where I was pampered with their Elemis Lavender Repair facial. It's specifically geared towards treating breakouts, rebalancing the skin's natural oils and addressing problem pores. My skin is having a bit of a tantrum this month for obvious reasons, so it was a good call. I was scrubbed, rubbed and oiled to within an inch of my life, and I emerged onto the beautiful streets of Amersham Old Town feeling relaxed and looking like a madwoman (facial = no makeup & hair standing on end).

Amersham Old Town has been graced with my presence much during this pre-wedding period, and I'm sure I'll always find plenty of excuses.  My Maid of Honour and I enjoyed champagne afternoon tea at The Crown a few weeks ago to celebrate what was a fab hen weekend in Oxford. The wasps enjoyed our scones too, but turned their noses up at the lovely lemon and poppy seed loaf cake. Amersham has fussy wasps.

Speaking of insects, I have an extreme-sports spider living behind my driver side wing mirror. He only comes out when I start driving, ventures to the centre of his web, and enjoys the thrill of the wind against his exoskeleton. Madman.