Well today marks two months left until Kevin and I get married. Oh lord!
It's all action stations after Christmas. Before Christmas, I was the only one starting to panic about things not being done already - "Oh, it's ages away yet!" but since the start of the New Year everyone else seems to have switched to Wedding Mode and now most of the wedding party have organised their outfits!
My mum got the ball rolling with her outfit purchased in Birmingham - a tea-length dress in black and cream, with a faux-fur bolero to match. Sadly I don't have a "formal" picture of this, so you'll have to see it in the wedding photos!
Sarah continued the outfitting by buying her own dress from a shop in Chester, Always the Bridesmaid... - a gorgeous little D'Zage dress like the one in the middle here, but in a deep, rich teal - to match the swatch I got from another bridesmaid's dress a short while ago after falling in love with the colour. Jenny, stuck in London because of all the snow they've had, hasn't been able to get to a shop but, realising time is rapidly running out for ordering a dress, ordered one from a different shop in Chester - The Ivory Lounge. Jenny ordered a Belsoie dress in teal, pictured here, which I had originally intended to buy and "dress up a bit" as a wedding dress - but after trying on the larger bridal dresses felt the little bridesmaid dress to be a little humble, despite it's beauty.
The following Sunday, the Arlott gents went forth into Glasgow in search of an outfit for the groom and his attendents. Kev, Simon and Tom were all measured up at Geoffrey Tailor and kilted up and an order placed for three dashing outfits, in the style pictured here on the right, although Kev has opted for a plaid and brooch as well. The tartan Kev has chosen is Midnight Thistle, and should hopefully match nicely with the colours on the bridesmaids dresses and the ones chosen in the flowers.
Once the gents were organised it was time for Jane and I to hit the high streets of Glasgow - and hit them we did! We spent several hours shopping and Jane fell in love with a dress we first spotted in John Lewis - a Phase Eight Ophelia in navy with ivory and a deep cerise detailing, as opposed to the lilac colour pictured here. These colours should match the kilts, which also have a navy colour base.
This means my Dad and Ceri are the only ones left to find their outfit. Dad and I are going to have a look for something for him when I nip down to Chester for my Final Fitting at the end of January. Other than that it's just accessory shopping now for ways to keep warm - if this cold weather keeps up I will be wearing a wooly jumper!
Our invitations went out mostly before Christmas and a lot of our guests are returning their menu choices to me now - I'm hoping to have all of them in soon, so we can finalise the table plan and finish our place cards!
Table decoration wise, we are borrowing some fishbowls from Sarah's sister who is kindly lending them to us after her wedding back in November. These will be filled with sand (yes, a special kind of sand, yes, you can take the bride away from the ocean but you'll never take her sediment away from her!) and some pretty candles along with 100% British, responsibly sourced sea shells! Some of these Kev has been making into some fairly impressive little candles which I'll write about separately! Other beach miscellany will also be included, scattered on the tables including driftwood and tumbled sea glass.
Between now and March 15th everything has to be finallised, but now the important bits are done and we've (finally) given notice it's just tying up all the loose ends - the pressure is off but it's all go-go-go!
It's all action stations after Christmas. Before Christmas, I was the only one starting to panic about things not being done already - "Oh, it's ages away yet!" but since the start of the New Year everyone else seems to have switched to Wedding Mode and now most of the wedding party have organised their outfits!
My mum got the ball rolling with her outfit purchased in Birmingham - a tea-length dress in black and cream, with a faux-fur bolero to match. Sadly I don't have a "formal" picture of this, so you'll have to see it in the wedding photos!
Sarah continued the outfitting by buying her own dress from a shop in Chester, Always the Bridesmaid... - a gorgeous little D'Zage dress like the one in the middle here, but in a deep, rich teal - to match the swatch I got from another bridesmaid's dress a short while ago after falling in love with the colour. Jenny, stuck in London because of all the snow they've had, hasn't been able to get to a shop but, realising time is rapidly running out for ordering a dress, ordered one from a different shop in Chester - The Ivory Lounge. Jenny ordered a Belsoie dress in teal, pictured here, which I had originally intended to buy and "dress up a bit" as a wedding dress - but after trying on the larger bridal dresses felt the little bridesmaid dress to be a little humble, despite it's beauty.
The following Sunday, the Arlott gents went forth into Glasgow in search of an outfit for the groom and his attendents. Kev, Simon and Tom were all measured up at Geoffrey Tailor and kilted up and an order placed for three dashing outfits, in the style pictured here on the right, although Kev has opted for a plaid and brooch as well. The tartan Kev has chosen is Midnight Thistle, and should hopefully match nicely with the colours on the bridesmaids dresses and the ones chosen in the flowers.
Once the gents were organised it was time for Jane and I to hit the high streets of Glasgow - and hit them we did! We spent several hours shopping and Jane fell in love with a dress we first spotted in John Lewis - a Phase Eight Ophelia in navy with ivory and a deep cerise detailing, as opposed to the lilac colour pictured here. These colours should match the kilts, which also have a navy colour base.
This means my Dad and Ceri are the only ones left to find their outfit. Dad and I are going to have a look for something for him when I nip down to Chester for my Final Fitting at the end of January. Other than that it's just accessory shopping now for ways to keep warm - if this cold weather keeps up I will be wearing a wooly jumper!
Our invitations went out mostly before Christmas and a lot of our guests are returning their menu choices to me now - I'm hoping to have all of them in soon, so we can finalise the table plan and finish our place cards!
Table decoration wise, we are borrowing some fishbowls from Sarah's sister who is kindly lending them to us after her wedding back in November. These will be filled with sand (yes, a special kind of sand, yes, you can take the bride away from the ocean but you'll never take her sediment away from her!) and some pretty candles along with 100% British, responsibly sourced sea shells! Some of these Kev has been making into some fairly impressive little candles which I'll write about separately! Other beach miscellany will also be included, scattered on the tables including driftwood and tumbled sea glass.
Between now and March 15th everything has to be finallised, but now the important bits are done and we've (finally) given notice it's just tying up all the loose ends - the pressure is off but it's all go-go-go!
