Not long now!!!!

Apologies for not keeping up with my blogging of late. Struggling to find any spare time at the moment. Four weeks yesterday until the Big Day! Wow - how did that happen. A word of advice to anyone planning a wedding - everything will take longer to sort out and cost more than you expect - so start early and save where you can!!

Even on our small "budget" the costs are mounting up - despite my overuse of Ebay!!

So the bunting is finished - yay!! And the favours are all set up - just waiting the final edible treat to be popped inside - be warned that I have gone overboard on the favours, most people seem more than content with an organza bag and five sugared almonds - not me, I have spent hours and hours researching, painting, sewing, threading, cutting, printing, sticking and melting (!) and all for something that most people will probably leave behind on the tables!! I have seriously lost the plot!!

I have so enjoyed making all these things though - this point may have been lost along the way! I'll never understand how people can buy the same old things as everyone else when with just a little thought (and fun) they can easily create something unique and memorable. The whole wedding planning process has made me even more passionate about my crafting and how personal it can make your day. I know it's not to everyones tastes, and not all people want to or are able to make things for themselves - but anything that moves away from the typical wedding look is a good thing in my books and shows people can add your own personality to the day!

Is there such a thing as too much research??!!

Since the 21st of January (the day we booked the date at the Registry Office) I have spent EVERY spare moment thinking, planning, researching and breathing the wedding. Is this normal? I have a tendency to over think things, and over plan. I can never go on a holiday without reading all of the tripadvisor reviews about the hotel, and seeing all of the guests photos, or checking which airplane we are booked onto and in which seats, checking traveller forums the best sights to see, restaurants to eat at, which rooms to ask for - yep basically I go over the top.

I'm sure that most women tend to go into this mode when planning a wedding - but I'm surprised that I have enjoyed it so much. Especially as the starting point for our plans was to have a simple, cheap, informal wedding. Would things be easier if we were spending 30k? Probably not.

I think I can be a resourceful person, and I know my way around the internet, which has been my lifeline in researching and planning. I have made the mistake previously of buying wedding magazines. These in fact scared and depressed me so much that I was dreading getting married!! How silly is that? I found their budget and time planners dangerously silly - especially as I came over in cold sweat when realising that I should have sent my invites out 4 months ago and my flowers should cost a 10% of my budget!! But then I came to my senses - but the magazines away (in the bin) and made my own plan!

So a month since setting the date and 126 days until the big event we have achieved a lot. For the moment I am feeling less panicked, and am reveling in ideas for things I can make or silly ideas I can work into the day. I have an album filled with pictures, a large notebook filled with lists, a computer filled with research images, emails and budget spreadsheets and a flickr gallery filled with more inspiration than I know what to do with! But my efforts are being focused as much as possible - I made myself concentrate initially on the big things - whilst the little voice inside me kept saying *look at shoes!!*, *fairy lights*, *envelopes* etc etc!!

Now most of the "big things" are sorted I can indulge myself in silliness and all the pretty little things that really excite me. My other half is maybe not so excited about all of this - in fact he has probably wisely decided to let me get on with it. Something I found hard to understand at first, but he knows me VERY well after all these years and will make himself useful when the time comes - or when I freak out at him!!

So here's a peek at some of the things I have been thinking about the past couple of days -
Doughnuts, invites (sneak preview of the design if you look closely!), my increasingly cluttered dining table and tissue pom pom tutorials!!