Busy, Busy, Busy

I thought I would give just a few snippets of my dress.... I don't want to give to much away!

The back of my dress

Just a little detail on the train.

We have been super busy putting everything together. We are only 6 weeks away, and it seems that everything is coming together. I am getting so excited and anxious about everything. I want April 25 to be the most relaxed and enjoyable for everyone involved. I know that most of our family and friends are not able to come, so I wanted to catch you all up to date on the planning process. We actually met with the Rector of St. Martin's and decided on our readings and music. I am so thankful that we are able to have the parish organist and choir available at our ceremony. Our music is going to be:

Arrival of Guests:

Handel- Water Music

My Entrance:

Wagner- Here Comes the Bride

Hymn 1:

Love Divine All Love's Excelling

Hymn 2: 

O Perfect Love

Signing of Certificate:

The Lord Bless You and Keep You

Hymn 3:

Bind Us Together

Exit:

Mendelsson- Wedding March

So, that is all falling into place. I am a little concerned about the readings. I have picked 2 Old Testament and 2 New Testament passages and can't really decide on one of each. I have chosen Isaiah 61:10-11 and Hosea 2:19-20 for the Old Testament ones, and Ephesians 3:14-19 and Colossians 3:12-17 for the New Testament ones. 

I have also had a dress fitting this week, met with the chocolatier, stylist, photographer, and venue staff. My dress is amazing! I am so happy that I got the one I did. I am using a local shop called Jodi's Bridal. The ladies there are so nice and helpful. I got to walk around in my dress on Wednesday. The only thing that had to be altered was the hem because my shoes made up for a little of my height deficiency. For the chocolatier and stylist, there is a local shop called Salon Chocolate. A couple owns the shop: she sales chocolate and he styles hair. They have also recommended a makeup artist for the day. They have been extremely helpful in sorting everything out. We met with a photographer on Friday named Rob Parker. We feel like he is going to be a good fit! You can find him here www.kentishweddingphotographer.co.uk . 

I also wanted to include some photos that have inspired what we are going to have at our wedding. Our event is on a very small scale but we are making it all fit. 

We are going to have a white wedding cake covered in shaved white chocolate. It will be much smaller than this one, but this is the idea.

For flowers, we are having Easter lilies, green hydrangea's, pink ranunculus and lily of the valley. I have been a little disappointed with the florist, I have to say. I put in the order at the florist around the corner, but have heard nothing back from them as to wether they actually ordered the flowers, what the prices are going to be, or any information at all. Every time I go in they take down my contact details but never actually call me. So I am about to go somewhere else and order the flowers. I am going to stop in tomorrow so we will find out! 

So for one of the favors at the reception, I wanted to do little bird's nests with chocolate eggs in them for the place cards. But I am having the hardest time finding little nests. I have the eggs ordered already. The problem is that next week is Mother's Day in the UK, so most shops haven't put out their full Easter items. So I might have to be creative with my nests. I might just have to order them and have them sent to someone in the US (all the companies that I can find are in the US and only ship to the US). If I'm not able to get them, I'm sure Carol and I will come up with something creative!

We are asking our guests to help us make this event full of both English and American traditions. Because of this, we have asked ladies attending the wedding to wear hats. I know, everyone's grumbling, but I want to make this a special time that we can all bond. I have found a lady in our area who actually rents hats out for special occasions like weddings. I thought this would be a good idea for everyone because you don't actually have to buy a hat you will never wear again. You can view a few of the hats at www.thathat.co.uk . Apparently she has a lot more that what is on the web site and basically has them in every color. She also has some really cute fascinators for the young at heart! I hope that everyone can enjoy this little bit of dress up!