Feeling very relaxed... should we panic?!

Everything has gone really well with the planning and booking etc (touch wood) so we are feeling quite relaxed about it all.

Since we last wrote, I have chosen THE dress and it is ready and waiting for me and my final fitting at the end of July. The diet is going ok - been having treats here and there but have lost almost a stone so I'm happy. Just a few more pounds to go over the next couple of months...

The cake side of things is all sorted now - don't want to say too much but we've chosen what we want and hope that you'll all like it (if you have a sweet tooth, you certainly will!)

We also have chosen our wedding rings and these are tucked up safely at home. Trying to resist the urge to try them on again, but Ste thinks it may be bad luck.

We paid 75% of the venue fees this week which felt good, although I don't think our bank account would agree! At least that's a huge weight off our minds. We only have a few organisational things to arrange now (choosing our vows, wedding breakfast meal etc) and Ste has his appointment at the Austin Reed to make with his best men soon.

Oh, and the invitations of course! From the amount of visits we've had to this website, I know that a lot of you are aware of quite a few details but the invitations will tell you all you need to know (hopefully). As I mentioned last time, we are making these and have all the bits and pieces together - just need to find the time to do them. Bex is coming to stay at the end of April so will help us make the final touches then they will be in the post so expect them in four weeks or so. We may have a few addresses missing, so will let you know if we need yours...

Everyone around us is getting very excited about the big day too - Louise and Ellie almost seemed more hyped up than us at the weekend!! We have even been notified of a wedding gift from Tina and Dave already - a 3 day pass for us both to see all of New York's sights on our honeymoon! They have just returned and absolutely loved it so we can't wait to go - and thank you to them both for the generous gift.

The rest of this month will be spent doing very little while we start to save up the pennies again. We're almost 2/3 of the way with the total costs so need to be super strict over the next few months.

It will all be so worth it though.

The Good Wife's Guide - don't be getting any ideas Stephen!

A colleague kindly sent this old Housekeeping Monthly article from 1955 to me, so I knew what to expect from married life...

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.
• Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.
• During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
• Be happy to see him.
• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
• Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
• Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.
• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
• Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
• A good wife always knows her place.

Hmm... glad that we live in the 21st Century and that times have changed!

Ticking Things Off

Not that we're counting at all... but just 208 days until the wedding!!

We've had a busy fortnight and the plans are really coming together now. Completely out of the blue, I've bought all the bridesmaid dresses! Three of the five girls were up the other weekend because of John's 30th and one happened to mention they'd seen a nice purple dress online that would suit everyone. Right colour, right style and right fit for all my ladies! Everyone loved it straight away so I snapped them up there and then. That's a big TICK off the list!

Next up, flowers. Have been to see a couple of florists to talk through what we're looking for and think we have settled on one now, just waiting for the final quote to come through before booking. So that's another TICK.

Now, for the big one... THE DRESS! I've started the search and had appointments at three shops and think I may have found 'the one' after trying on a zillion different styles. Just wanted to get into my baggy clothes straight after though, some of them are designed for beauty and not comfort! I've shortlisted two dresses and in less than two weeks my mum and dad are coming up so will be going to try the first one on again... very exciting. We'll be off to see the venue too as dad hasn't been yet and then to the wedding show, just in case I see the dress of my dreams there with a dream price attached!

And that's not all. Crafty bridesmaid Bex has been giving us hints and tips on invitations, as we are planning on making our own. Decided on the style etc. and have ordered the bits and bobs this week so we'll be cracking on with those over the next month - expect invitations to hit your doormats early April. I know you are all keen to know the details, so hopefully these will help tell you all you need to know.

The stag do is also taking shape and because I'm greedy, I'm having two hen do's, although one is really for my birthday!

Finally, we've also worked out the theme and what we want to do for the reception and party, and through the wonder of ebay, have started to get this together too so in Stephen's words, 'we're pretty much sorted now, aren't we?'

Well, there is still quite a bit to do - need to think about the suits, rings, cakes etc. but there's plenty of time to get this organised. We have a chunk of the venue payment to make at the end of March so everything will happen in time.


That's all (for now) folks!

Less than 8 months to go... time to get busy!

Apologies for the lack of blogs - we've both been crazy busy with work and the wedding plans have just been slowly ticking over.

So, where are we up to now? Well, the venue, registrar and photographer are all booked, our application of marriage has gone through (no-one stepped forward to say they were against it which was good!) and with less than 8 months to go now - eek - things are really starting to get busy.


We got ourselves organised over Christmas, making decisions on the overall theme of the day, what little touches we want to introduce etc. We also assigned all the rooms at Hogarths (check the 'accomodation' page on our wedding website to see if your name is on the list - if not, we've listed other hotels nearby) and have announced who is in our 'wedding party' (profiles of the 5 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen have also been added to the weding site if you want to take a look).


I've also put together a 'Bridesmaid Bible' for my lovely ladies, so everyone has something to look after and Ste is working on his 'Groomsmen Guide'. With everyone living all over the place, and the weeks flying by, it's really handy to have a list of dates and tasks close to hand to keep us all on track.

The honeymoon has also been booked now which is very exciting - a wedding gift from Tim and Sally. We're off to the bright lights of New York on the Monday after the wedding for one week, staying in the Upper West Side opposite Central Park. We've always wanted to go and I'm excited about living like Carrie Bradshaw for the week. Ste is slightly less enthusiastic about the SATC tour, but we'll be doing all the other big 'touristy' things too. I want a Statue of Liberty headpiece for sure! We even have matching 'I heart NY' t-shirts, Christmas presents from Bex and Nat, to wear on the flight over...


The search for THE dress begins in February as I've made several appointments at bridal shops in the area to try on every style imaginable. Have a strong opinion when it comes to dresses and an idea of what I want, but going to start by being open-minded about it because you just don't know what might suit you after all. It also means I'm on a health kick right now - a girl has to look her best on her big day after all.


Mum and I are off to the National Wedding Show at the NEC again at the start of March so we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for a bargain or two. Then in April the bridesmaids are all getting together for a natter and to sort out their dresses - if anyone spots any purple dresses that might fit the bill, let us know! Looking for deep purple (not lilac) and a style that could suit anyone as my ladies are all unique! If we can't find a style everyone likes, then we'll be having them made from the same material but to suit each bridesmaids.
Suggestions on a postcard...

We've also got to start thinking about flowers. Not planning on having them everywhere (we have other ideas for the reception) but we need to think about bouquets, buttonholes and dressing the ceremony room too.


That's about everything we can think of right now. It's already looking like a great year and we almost can't believe that it is really happening. Just 237 days and counting...

Snap Happy

We have booked our photographer! After much research, meetings and discussions, we have chosen the photographer who will cover our day - Paul Pope. If you would like to take a look at his work, please visit: www.paulpopephotography.co.uk.

We really like Paul's fresh approach and the way he seems to capture special moments as they happen - and unbeknownst to the guests!

We will be having a mixture of the formal family / group shots after the ceremony and reportage shots throughout the day, from when we are finishing getting ready and the guests start to arrive, through to the end of the wedding breakfast. The photography is a key element for us as it is how we will remember the day, and rather than having an album put together by the photographer, we will be doing our own and getting creative with tissue paper, glue and confetti! We want to create more of a storybook/scrapbook of the wedding, and will include our invitations, place settings, photos, cards etc. to make something really special.

There's lots of places where you can create your own printed photobook too, which we will be doing as a gift to our families, but will also have a CD with over 400 images from the day which we can copy for anyone else who wants them. We will post the best bits on this site, and encourage you to do the same with your own snaps as we know we have a few aspiring David Bailey's out there!

And remember, when the day comes, don't forget to say cheese!

Wedding Season

Weddings, weddings, weddings! It really has been the season to say 'I do' recently and it's turned me into a bit of a wedding snoop...
We've been to two weddings over the past few weeks and had a lovely time, plus it has given us a real life insight to things we might have overlooked; i.e. having music in the background whilst guests are waiting for the ceremony to begin, how guests need to be entertained between the photos and the meal and getting the balance right when watching the pennies. It's only when you go to a wedding that these little elements come to your attention - we have already made a lot of choices when it comes to processional and recessional music, readings, table pieces, unique favours and other special touches, but there are some practical things you don't realise until you are a guest yourself.

It's almost a year to go now and we have a really good idea of how the day will go, how it will look, how much fun you will all have with us etc. so as soon as the new year comes round, we'll be able to get on with a lot more of the ideas.

We'll be off to the wedding show at the NEC again in October - can't hurt to get together even more ideas! - and have started looking at possible honeymoon locations now too, with Austria being a particular favourite at the moment... As long as there is lots to do, beautiful scenery to see and we can jet away a day or two after the wedding, we'll be a very happy Mr and Mrs!

Graduates need not apply?

Fresh faced and ambitious, many new graduates are embarking on the search for work within the exciting arena of PR this summer, but what are their prospects within the current climate?

This time last year, PR Week reported record numbers of graduates coming into the industry which was very encouraging at the time – after all, these are the account managers of the future. However, with the economic outlook challenging for companies across the board, the problem now is that there simply aren’t enough jobs out there. PR certainly hasn’t been immune. To put this in context, a recent survey from the Association of Graduate Recruiters found that there were 48 applications for every graduate vacancy. Within the competitive PR industry, this is much higher (our latest graduate position was responded to by 80 applicants), so the prospects for university leavers aren’t looking too healthy.

That said, I don’t think that the outlook for graduates is quite so bleak and would encourage any students reading this not to be disheartened. If anything, the trials and tribulations of gaining a first foot on the PR ladder will stand you in good stead for the trials and tribulations of life as a PR practitioner. As the old adage says, ‘what doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger.’

In my view, university leavers need to be realistic. We would all love to fall into our dream job straight away and start earning the wages that make our student loan look like peanuts. However, what the graduates of today are facing is competition from their professional elders who have been unfortunate to find themselves out of work and who need to go for positions further down the ladder just to keep doing what they love.

For all new recruits, experience, commitment and a strong work ethic are the order of the day. Many universities offering PR related degrees are now placing a much stronger emphasis on work experience throughout the three years – this is crucial in building an understanding of the PR world outside of the lecture hall and will set students up with the all-important contacts that could be invaluable once the degree results are in. With that being said, it can be a ‘chicken-and-the-egg’ scenario, as students can only gain relevant experience if agencies give them the opportunity in the first place, so a little understanding on both parts is needed.

Four years ago today, I joined WPR just one month after getting my degree results and whilst I was very fortunate to find the right company with a junior executive position available, I hope my personal experience helps new graduates to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, PR is as hotly-pursued a career as ever and each agency has a different protocol when it comes to recruiting students for work experience or graduates for junior positions, but the industry needs fresh blood in order to keep its finger on the pulse. This is more relevant than ever with the growth of viral, digital and social networking possibilities and graduates would do well to understand the skills they can bring to the fore.

Whilst some agencies have put the brakes on graduate recruitment, others have been unaffected and to be successful in the search for work now, adaptability and versatility is key. If you can’t get a placement with a PR agency when still at university, widen the net and consider other aspects of the media; after all, journalists, researchers and design agencies need PR’s and PR’s need them. The most important thing is that you DO something that will help demonstrate your skills and appreciation of PR to a prospective employer.

To achieve stand out, show you understand the company and the career you are pursuing, and you never know, you could be the right graduate at the right time.