Thursday, March 18, 2010

12 months of being 30: Our wedding, our way

* This post is part of my 12 months of being 30 project, an attempt to record what happens during my year of being 30 through my own collage, photography and words.

I promise I'm not turning my dear blog into a wedding blog, despite evidence to the contrary. I do think that the wedding planning needs to feature in my 12 months of being 30 posts, even though I'll be 31 when I get married (but let's not think about that). And what better day than today, exactly 6 months before I get married? On the 18th of September, I'll be marrying Jon. I can't wait! And not only because the planning will be over then! :)

I'm still having a hard time with the stress of wedding planning, and with the pressure to do things "the proper way" (whatever that means), but for this post, I'm focusing on those things that I'm enjoying. The best wedding advice I've got is to pick two or three things that are important to you and concentrate on those. One of the most important things to me is the fact that we're writing our own vows (something still pretty unusual in Spain), but apart from that, these are the things that I'm looking forward to:

  • The dress: Yes, I'm that shallow but I think I'm allowed. I'm incredibly excited about my dress. I found it in two days, after visiting two shops in my hometown of Salamanca. On my first visit, I tried on lots of different styles. I thought I had a clear idea of what I wanted, but when I tried on those floaty, understated dresses that I had envisioned, they seemed a bit... boring on me, so I changed my mind and chose something a bit more fun! I won't post a photo here, but let's just say that this was my inspiration:


  • The photos: We both decided not to have video, as we can't really see ourselves watching it much after the wedding (I think I'll bow to the pressure, though, and get a friend to record the ceremony, but I'm not paying for it to be done professionally). I do see myself looking at the photos in years to come and remembering the day, the details, the guests... so it was important to find a good photographer that understood what we wanted. The search for a photographer was stressful, specially because we had to do it all online, but we think we've found the perfect photographers and we're meeting them in a couple of weeks, when we go to Spain for Easter.

  • The stationary: Jon is a designer and it was important to him to design our invitations and make them fun! They're now ready and we're about to send them so when they've reached our guests, I'll show them to you.

  • That people have a good time: Let's be clear, we all know (even if we don't like saying it) that weddings can be incredibly boring... I know my guests will be happy for us, but I also want them to have a good time! My biggest fears are that our guests get bored or hungry during the evening!

13 comments:

  1. How exciting!!! Love all the bits of inspiration you've drawn together. Where's the red shoes? :D

    It's going to be such a lovely wedding....

    xx

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  2. Ohh, those inspiration dresses are all so beautiful!! And as 'green ink' said: where are those red shoes?:-)

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  3. I think it's impossible NOT to blog about wedding planning. It's a huge part of this year for you, and anyway...us old marrieds love to read about weddings.

    You sound very wise about focusing on a few things. And, you're right, you won't watch a wedding video...spend the money on gorgeous photos instead.

    You are going to be such a beautiful bride! Is your dress a Pronovias one by chance....

    xx

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  4. i am very happy to see your wedding posts. i love that you are doing it your way and concentrating on the things important to you :)

    ps; gorgeous new blog design!

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  5. You're going to look absolutely lovely - you are lovely.
    Good idea to not have a video.
    You won't need one to remember the day.
    (Cheery new background B - Spring has sort of sprung hasn't it?)
    Have a great weekend. x

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  6. Thanks so much for jump over to our blog.Fine to have you there.Its amazing this wedding date. Its the Birthday of our little one. So its a good one...;)...I will jump here over from time to time to look what happen...a lovley weekend and until then...cheers ines

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  7. You made lots of decisions! I'm totally with you on the video. It's fun to follow your planning!

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  8. I love the dresses you used for inspiration!

    Your blog doesn't have to be all things wedding but I definitely think you should blog about it.

    As for your guests not having a good time?? I doubt that's possible...you seem to be a pretty fascinating person (at least on your blog...I guess you could be a total bore in real life, but I highly doubt it!)so I don't think you have anything to worry about!

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  9. B, every time you post about the wedding, I get more excited about it! i don't think there is the remotest possibility that guests will bored ... and I know we can count on you to take care of the hungry aspect too! Those dresses are beautiful, and good on you for sticking to your guns: your wedding, your way, hurrah! did you get the shoes yet?
    R XX

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  10. No he ido a muchas bodas, pero la verdad es que nunca he pasado habre en ninguna y he acabado casi por reventar en todas.
    Si tu vestido se basa en esos la falda tiene que ser una preciosidad y supongo que el cuerpo también. La verdad es que aunque prácticamente no te conozca, el hecho de que te pasen tantas cosas me resulta emocionante y en parte me ilusiona.
    Me gusta saber que alguien a quien conozco aunque sea solo un poquito representa tantas posibilidades de ser feliz.
    Muchos besos.
    P.d.: cuánto tarda más o menos en llegar el correo desde Oxford hasta aquí? Que sepas que miro el buzón todos los días por si acaso :)

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  11. wedding planning can be so fun! i had a blast planning mine, and i'm glad you shared the things your excited abotu - it's exciting!

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  12. Its only 6 months away - how great is that !

    I love the pictures of the dresses, sort of like something I'd choose for me

    About the video-ing, we didn't do the ceremony and don't regret that but did do the speeches and are so glad we did, that bit was a bit of a haze and having them video-d meant we got to enjoy them at leisure later on

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  13. You have a truly sweet blog! Glad I found it! xo

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