Since my Last Post (be warned, it’s a long ‘un!)

I have been very lax in posting to this blog so an update is in order. Since my last post:

• I had the best hen party ever. A boat trip down the Lagan with lots of my very good friends, good scram in McHugh’s & lots of drinking afterwards in the Kitchen Bar. Everyone who came was in their best 80s finery – I think we managed to have the best night’s craic and gave most of Belfast a good laugh at the state of us.

• Anabee & I helped our friend Darwi move to Birmingham. We loaded the car up & took the boat from Belfast to Liverpool and helped her get settled in.

• My second hen party should have happened closer to the wedding but unfortunately Newcastle and the surrounding area got completely flooded. A few of us made it back to my mum’s house before it flooded too badly & we couldn’t get home but some were cut off on the other side of town. At least we had some wine & food to keep us going!

• My something blue arrived – a garter with our names on it that was at least 10 sizes too big. I had a bit of a panic getting something else but the dressmaker who was altering my dress came to the rescue with a beautiful blue flower embroidered on the lining. What a champion!

• The day before the wedding was a bit of a panic for me. I spent the whole day in a terrible mood, smoked too many cigarettes & cried a lot. I’m still not quite sure what the problem was!!

• THE WEDDING DAY!!!!! This was without a doubt the best day ever! I was awake at 6am or slightly before it and got up and organised myself, got my makeup started, watched some Stargate & then went to get my hair done. Arrived back to a full house & my dad making everyone breakfast. The champagne started flowing and the morning before the wedding was lovely although I couldn’t wait to get into my dress and kept bouncing around the house in anticipation. Eventually we were all dressed & ready, the car arrived & whisked my family off leaving me & my dad to enjoy a final glass of bubbly together before heading off to the hotel. The rest of the day went by in a bit of a haze but the highlights were:

• My little bro playing us down the aisle & forgetting to stop then when he realised everyone was looking at him he fluffed the last few notes and let out a big sigh of frustration into the microphone which left us in kinks of laughter.
• The Registrar commenting on my friend Darwi’s beautiful reading & her lovely “Polish” accent (she’s really Bosnian!).
• My new hubby trying to escape the photos by jumping over a balcony.
• Surprising my new hubby with a 1st dance that he wasn’t expecting.
• Getting to have all my friends and family share a very special day with me. I had such a wonderful day and it wouldn’t have been even remotely the same if they hadn’t been there.

• After the wedding my new hubby & I spent a few days in Cork and got to see some very rare birds, a yellow warbler & a northern waterthrush. They are American migrants and have only been seen in Ireland a couple of times. This was a bit more special for my husband, the birdwatcher, than me but I’m glad I saw them all the same as it will annoy other more serious birdwatchers who didn’t get to see them!!!

• I got all my horrible long hair chopped off – it has been chopped a couple of times since & I now have a fab crop instead of lots of long, thick, annoying hair.

• Then, and this has been what has been what most of my life has revolved around since then, the mysterious pains came back and I am finally rid of them! I’ve already written a blog post about that so I will post it here now too and have a follow up blog on what I've been doing since then!
  

The Hen Party is Nearly Here!!!!!

So my first of two hen parties is this Saturday and I have to say that I am very much looking forward to it! Well… so long as the mysterious pains are kept at bay. I’m sure a healthy dose of champagne will help me forget all about them even if I am suffering that night. Our plan is a boat trip followed by dinner and then some very silly dancing and general falling over later in the evening. I’m having an 80s theme and I’ve just managed to get my costume put together – there will be neon colours, legwarmers, shoulder pads and big big hair involved but you’ll have to wait for the next blog to see it in all it’s technicolour glory!

I’ve had quite a lot of fun putting together party bags for everyone that’s coming. My favourite thing of all has to be the jelly shots I made up to include in the bags. They are a secret recipe (mostly because I was a little tipsy at the time of making and I can’t actually remember everything I put in!) and I had lots of fun getting them just right and testing them once they were set – with many thanks to the lovely Anabeee who came and helped (and no! of course we aren't drunk in that photo!).

I do have to say I’m a teeny tiny bit worried about the whole hen party thing as I have heard rumours of a party bag that’s being made just for me. I don’t quite know exactly how keen I am to see the contents as it's my darling sister and my best mate putting them together and I know they are likely to go a little OTT! Ah well… humiliation beckons. These things happen, but I would like to be able to show my face out and about in Belfast again!

It Fits!

Well, sort of…

I had my first dress “fitting” on Saturday. I say fitting - what I really mean is going to the dress shop; seeing my dress for the first time since January and trying it on then getting the assistant to phone their dressmaker and arranging me another appointment in July! Ho hum… I could have just sent them a cheque – which I nearly had to do since I left my cheque book on my kitchen table at home. Thank goodness for my sister saving the day. The dress is now all mine!

Anyway it's gorgeous and very flattering on so I am quite happy. I have to say I’m not much looking forward to more faffing about going to fittings but if I don’t I’ll be tripping over an extra 7 spare inches of dress and then I wouldn’t be the rather elegant bride I’d like to be! Hahaha, actually I doubt the elegance will last much past my second glass of wine but we’ll see!

After the “fitting” I went into town with all my bridesmaids in search of accessories. 2 of my 3 bridesmaids have now successfully purchased beautiful shoes & bags to wear on the day. 1 more to get sorted but she has an idea now of what she wants so fingers crossed she’ll find lovely shoes in the right colour (but we’re going with silver so it shouldn’t be too hard!)

I was supposed to go out on Saturday night to check out the bar I’d like to have my hen party in but things went a bit belly up and we never actually made it to the bar in question. I think I’m going to chance it and go there anyway. We’re having an 80s theme and a cheesy night of 70s, 80s & 90s disco is just what the doctor ordered. I think I’m a bit more excited about that than my impending nuptials – I love any excuse to get all dressed up and have a bit of a boogie, plus the fact that my costume is ACE. You’ll just have to wait for the hen party blog post to see!

This week’s task is putting the invitations together and sending them out early next week. It’s quite early to send them but I think I would rather get everything over & done with asap! The more that’s done the less I have to worry about – I think that’s my new mantra!

P.S. 2 months & 17 days to go now!!