secret wedding Archives : Me, Annie Bee.

Diary of a Secret Wedding – part III

Anna — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 12:59:35 +0000

So here we are! Part three of the Secret Wedding diary. How will it end? Will we, won’t we? OH THE ANTICIPATION! *SPOILER* We will. If you’re catching up you can read part one here and part two here! Thursday 15th Feb. Last night I sad tweeted Schuh asking if they had my size in the shoe I wanted at any store in the country so I could order it. Desperate times (and wine). This morning I got a message saying they had a pair in my size right there at head office – I took this to be a sign of their absolute perfection. The guy called, explained they were scuffed on the sole so offered a further discount. Turns out Twitter isn’t just full of idiots – who knew?! The children’s outfits have arrived and the rings are ordered. Shit is really coming Together. Squeeeeee Friday 16th Feb. The shoes have landed. Oh. My. Word. They are probably the most beautiful things I have ever seen (not including my children of course). They make my heart feel big and happy. Tuesday 20th Feb After dropping Seth at nursery I popped to the florist to price up three posies and three buttonholes. I know EXACTLY what I want, a couple of Gerbera and a bit of a leaf hand tied into a posy. She reckons it’ll be £150. FUCK. THAT. The florist kept calling them ‘bouquets’ I was like “If you stop calling them bouquets we’ll probably find they cost less!” I’m not tight, we are having a small wedding not a cheap wedding but FIVE POUND A FLOWER?? I can get a bunch of 12 for £8 at Waitrose! I looked on YouTube and decided I would do my own flowers. It looks easy enough – YouTube never lies. I can’t believe that we’ve been planning this wedding for two weeks and all the big stuff is done. How do people drag this stuff out for years? I should totally be a secret wedding planner – do NOT steal that idea. Monday 5th March. I went for my dress fitting today the dress is still as beautiful as I recall. It just needs lace cap sleeves adding and it’ll be done. I can collect it on the 28th. I’m a bit concerned that all initial urgency seems to have been cast aside but I’m sure they know what they’re doing! My plan to plank and push up my wobbly bits has, frankly, failed. Plan B is now in effect, I’ve ordered lots of lotions and potions to firm, tighten and unwobble me – in theory. I’ve also ordered underwear, make up and accessories. I am all over this. Thursday 22nd March. We have booked the meal for after the wedding, we are going to a nice little Italian at Granary Wharf, which means we should be able to get some nice photos in the dark arches (not as gloomy as they sound). I’ve started a bit of a beauty regime, with face masks and whatnot, I’m hoping to look at least five years younger by next week. I was in the process of having a small make up meltdown. The lipstick I ordered wasn’t quite the colour I needed and I was flapping. Luckily fate and a bloody good friend (Erica, The Incidental Parent) stepped in and saved my face. A sexy Kat Von D lipstick landed on my doormat. It’s like these things are meant to be… I had hoped to have lost some weight by now but you know, food and wine! I’m also not entirely sure all the fancy lotions are working as hoped, it is entirely possible I’ll need to implement Plan C – drink prosecco until I feel pretty. The kids are away for the week after the wedding so our ‘honeymoon’ will be a few days in the lakes and a few days doing things we can’t do with kids about. Mostly sleeping, drinking and watching adult films. Not ‘adult’ films, like films for grown ups. I can’t believe we’re getting married a WEEK TODAY. I just want to tell everyone, I’m about ready to burst. IT’S SO BLOODY EXCITING. Tuesday 27th March. OH. MY. GOD. I’m getting married in two days. I had to lie this morning, another mum suggested we meet for coffee tomorrow. Obviously I can’t as wedding stuff so I said “Ah that’d be lovely but I’m afraid I’m busy” She said “What are you doing?” Who even cares that much to ask?! I was flumoxed so mumbled some crap. I need to stop talking to other people from now on. Not forever, just until Friday. Panic is starting to set in, I’m currently fretting about flowers. Rachel has hurt her neck and is in agony. The friend in me is genuinely concerned and hoping she gets better soon. The bridezilla in me is screaming “Not on my watch Rachel, NOT ON MY WATCH” Obvs I didn’t actually *mean* that. It was the dark side bubbling… Rory went to the market and wiped them out of red gerbera, £12 for 40 flowers. Jog on florist! I bet everyone thought he was a man in a LOT of trouble, seeing him walking along with all those flowers. I’ve put the CD together for the wedding and I cried at the thought of Aoife walking me down the aisle. I’m going to be a mess on Thursday. For the first time, I wish I was telling Mum. Wednesday 28th March. IT’S WEDDING EVE! Today feels like it should be more exciting, like I should be having a hen do or something! I found myself in a bit of an internal panic at midnight, I had visions of Seth running wild in the registry office. I asked Rory if maybe we should uninvite him. Not an option apparently. Rachel is a lot better – that’s the spirit! We went for a planning coffee and immediately bumped into another mum and so I found myself feeling guilty and talking about leggings. WTF Anna? We bought a few more flowers from Aldi to make the bouquets – yes I called them bouquets – then went to collect my dress. I got to the shop and the woman said “Are you here to collect the dress for Anna?” “I AM ANNA!” It seems that once you’ve paid for the dress, that ‘special’ service is abandoned! She didn’t open the bag properly in the shop, just enough to confirm it was my dress. When I got it home I couldn’t wait to look at my dress… During both visits to the shop we had specifically talked about how I wanted the sleeves in order to avoid seeing that awful, near armpit bulge some of us are blessed with. It was simple, the straps were going to be made super wide. THEY EVEN TOOK PHOTOS OF HOW IT WAS PINNED. They haven’t made the adjustment properly and now my huge, hideous arms are going to be all over the place. EVERYWHERE. There is literally nothing I can do so I’m just trying not to cry instead. Later. Tonight Rachel and I drank wine, made posies and button holes. I’ll be honest, I was a little worried that the two YouTube videos I watched wouldn’t make me a pro but it turns out it is a piece of cake! We did a bloody good job. Our buttonholes are fab and our posies are perfect and only cost £38! Everything is ready. Bring. It. On. Thursday 29th March. Who’s getting married? OH THAT’LL BE ME! Aoife has gone to school, she is still none the wiser. Seth and Rory have gone trampolining – risky move. I’m painting my nails and pacing the room feeling like I should be doing something but not knowing quite what. It feels like there’s lots of time to kill…. Later Blimey. Rachel came round at 12:30, we drank some prosecco and started getting ready. Rory collected Aoife from school after lunch, she got home and was like “But I don’t FEEL poorly” I gave her this lovely little card that said ‘Will you be my Bridesmaid?’ She was a bit confused and kept saying, “I don’t know what this means!” and “Is this real?” Obviously, all that time we’d had, had passed us by and I needed lacing into my dress quick smart. It was Rachel’s time to shine. …”You can do it tighter…tighter…if it hurts it’s right…” …”Just take your bra off…I might touch your bum sorry…I’m going to have to go under your dress…” Things happened in that room that no friends should have endure but I was in and I felt fabulous – thank you Plan C. At the Town Hall Aoife and I waited in a room for our cue. She was to walk me down the aisle – cute. The song started and we held hands and walked toward the room. I saw a little light go off in her head…people would be looking toward the door. She dropped my hand and trotted off ahead for her moment! As it turns out Rory didn’t melt into a heap at the sight of me walk in, he didn’t even SEE me walk in. Apparently music wasn’t quite enough to advise him of my arrival! I cried happy tears. The kids looked gorgeous, Aoife was sashaying around in her dress, Seth was declaring himself “Dressed for work” And Rory looked fit AF. I felt like the luckiest lady in the world. My heart was all fuzzy, not in an attack kind of a way, and my face couldn’t stop smiling. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this but I’m not complaining. Initially, I’d worried that as there were so few of us the ceremony would seem a little sterile. I needn’t have fretted, everyone had been sat in a semi circle together and the children passed us the rings. The ceremony was completely beautiful and intimate but it was totally weird saying the vows. Not only was Rory a little concerned at the lack of ‘obey’ but I don’t think Rory and I usually look at each other when we talk, never mind so intently. We also never say anything that’s quite as important, unless it’s Rory asking “Shall I pour you another wine?” We made our way through the city so we could have some photos taken. My shoes became hateful in that way beautiful shoes do. We ate good food, drank good wine and had wonderful conversation. We were home for 9pm and we were exhausted. It was the perfect wedding. I’d totally do it again. Now all that’s left to do is plan a party, oh, and tell the parents!

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Diary of a Secret Wedding Part two

Anna — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 15:30:09 +0000

Here is Part Two of the Secret Wedding diary – turns out it’s a three parter. I’m not even sorry. Part One can be found here. Tuesday 6th Feb. Today we gave notice and we have a date! We almost didn’t make the appointment – as you can imagine, I was flapping. We couldn’t find anywhere to park because Leeds wasn’t designed with actual traffic in mind. I was very aware that if we were late not only would we lose our appointment, we’d have to pay the £70 fee AGAIN to make a new appointment! Screw that! I had to do a small trot and was ‘glowing’ but we made it with seconds to spare – obviously the lady we were meeting was running late….. We had to answer a few questions about each other, I was pretty sure we looked suspicious. Luckily we passed and so we are getting married on Thursday 29th March at 3.30pm. 7 weeks and 2 days away! I can’t stop smilling. My face hurts. I have told Rachel, as I’ve asked her to be my witness. She said yes and is all aboard the bridal train. Our to do list for the whole affair has like 10 items on. That is the most doable to do list ever! Thursday 8th Feb After the school run we went to Rachel’s to “Google the shit out of this wedding” – her words. As brilliant as it is doing all of this in secret, it really is great having someone on board for this side of it. Rory is great, really he is, but he doesn’t see things quite the same way as I do. I showed him a most beautiful wedding dress the other day. It was stunning. His response? “That’s shiny” That’s shiny?? REALLY!?! By lunchtime, Rachel and I had emailed four photographers for quotes, made an appointment at a bridal shop for Saturday and planned a trip to a ‘bridal warehouse’ on Sunday. WINNING AT WEDDINGS! Friday 9th Feb. Rory has ordered his suit. Just like that. He wanted something a bit different as he often has to wear a suit for work. As it’s OUR wedding, not just mine as I sometimes accidentally call it, he deserves to feel pretty too. We found a lovely check skinny suit with a £150 off which made it seem even more lovely. It’s kind of grey and red and check, I’m rubbish at describing but it looks lovely. So, the groom has his outfit sorted before I’ve even looked at dresses… Saturday 10th Feb. I’m going to put it out there, I am really nervous about trying on dresses, I actually feel sick. Being a ‘lady of larger proportions’ I’m partly worried there will be nothing in my size and partly worried I just won’t look or feel pretty in anything. Your wedding dress is meant to make you feel the most special you’ve ever felt. He is meant to see me enter the room and melt into a useless pile on the floor because I look so amazing. I can’t see any of that happening. Rory suggested we go shopping to ‘look for wedding stuff’. This may sound like a very ordinary suggestion given that we are getting married and do indeed need to buy stuff but in our house this is a big bloody deal. This ACTUALLY means he is excited! Rory doesn’t do shopping by choice. EVER. We almost certainly chose our wedding rings and found some shoes for Aoife – success. The shoes have small heel on, Aoife is over the moon with them even if they make her walk like Bambi on ice! She thinks they’re for a party *sneaky laugh*. Later I ONLY WENT AND FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS. We went to this beautiful boutique place – so fancy that we had to take our shoes off! The woman asked what I was looking for and my budget. We hadn’t discussed budget, in fact when I first started looking at dresses I was looking at high street stores and they were all about £100… I told her I wanted a tea length dress and I had a budget of £500. I didn’t know what a ‘good’ budget was but the look on her face told me that £500 wasn’t it and I probably couldn’t afford to be here – apparently the average wedding dress costs £1900! *SHOCKED FACE* She went off for AGES, I was swiftly losing hope. Eventually she returned with a long, flowing, lace and chiffon sample dress. It so wasn’t me. Rachel and I looked at each other and I was a bit ready to leave but being truly British I made my way to the changing room instead. I tried the dress on, the woman tweaked this, pinned that and added t’other and it was frickin’ beautiful. I had a waist and boobs! This dress would be entirely altered for me, be totally original and beautiful. There was only one problem, I had to pay today…… I told the woman I needed to talk to Rory, I had 3 hours to get home, decide and get back to pay. Rachel, being the voice of reason, said we should look at more than one dress so we went to the bridal warehouse place to check I’d not just been swept up in a moment. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a bridal warehouse but, take it from me, it was AWFUL. It was the wedding dress equivalent of Sports Direct with dresses made of net curtain and static that cost as much as the one from the boutique would cost. We beat a hasty retreat and I practised my puppy dog eyes on the way home. It turned out that my actual eyes were good enough and Rory drove me back to the shop to pay. HUZZAH. The dress is more than we originally thought BUT we don’t have engagement rings, elaborate matching wedding rings, masses of flowers, lots of people to feed, fancy cars to drive so we’re actually saving compared to some weddings… Besides, it gives me a RIGHT rack. This is going to be the BEST wedding ever – in your face Harry and Meghan! Sunday 11th Feb I can’t believe I am going to have such a beautiful dress. We’re getting married in little over six weeks, I really should get planking and doing push ups or some such thing. We have chosen our wedding songs. Yes, the secret wedding has secret wedding songs! I am going to walk down the aisle/into the room to ‘Here Comes the Sun’ – That’s what everyone thinks when they see me coming…Obviously. We’ve also chosen First Day of my Life, Marry You, The You and Me song and Can’t Stop the Feeling (for the kids of course) – just for the signing the register bit to avoid awkward silence in a near empty room. For some reason I’ve found myself becoming obsessed with looking at wedding underwear. As far as I can see, wedding underwear is pretty much normal underwear but it matches and costs more. Interestingly, you can purchase VERY similar items from the exact same place but without ‘bridal’ in the title for about £15 less. As I said before, it’s a licence to print money this wedding lark! Wednesday 14th Feb We’ve received a few photographer quotes, a couple of very reasonable ones and some that are clearly from pranksters – £1000 for an hour and a half? That’ll be a no from us! We decided to go with Tux and Tales, as they’re the only photographers we found who actually offer a package designed for a wedding as small as ours – therefore they are geniuses! I spoke to Jaye today, she has a lovely West Country (or maybe American – accents aren’t my forte) accent and made me feel really at ease, I think we’ve made the right choice. This afternoon I ordered a tweed suit for Seth and a floor length ivory dress with red waist band and hem for Aoife. She is going to LOVE it. I hope. If she doesn’t I’m sure she’ll let me know. Oh God she better like it! I don’t want her chirruping in my ear as I try to get married! Later BALLS. I had my eye on these beautiful Irregular Choice shoes in the Schuh sale. I kept meaning to order them and kept putting it off. Now they don’t have my size! GAH. I’m so cross with myself for not just ordering them – I’m such an idiot. I have spent the evening trawling the internet looking for the perfect shoes, so far I’m failing. I WILL NOT CRY. Click HERE for the conclusion!

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Diary of a Secret Wedding – Part One

Anna — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 14:23:29 +0000

I have spoken repeatedly about the woes of being a long term girlfriend and my desire to get married. Rory has always politely declined my proposals but, as you probably know, we had a secret wedding! HUZZAH. I decided to keep a diary so I wouldn’t blurt it out, now I’m sharing it with you. Welcome to Part One. Saturday Jan 20th 2018 I’m getting married!!!! Yes, you heard. It’s finally happening. I’m sure you have so many questions…. How did the proposal go? Was it romantic? Did you get a big ol’ diamond? In a word. No. We were cooking our dinner, moules in white wine with crusty bread in case you were wondering – keeping it continental. I said “Shall we get secret married?” He said “That’s not what you want though” I said “All I want is to be married to you! I don’t need the pomp” (seriously, how sweet am I?!) We had a chat and agreed we will do it within the next few months. I have said I’d like a nice wedding dress, I want us to all look the part. I’ve also said I’d like a party to celebrate at some point too. God I’m so demanding! I COULD VOMIT WITH JOY. Sunday 21st Jan. Rory took Aoife swimming, I text him to confirm we are indeed getting married within the next 5 months. It had struck me that he may have only been being agreeable so he could eat his tea in peace. BUT we are! I’m giddy as a kipper. Why is that a saying? If I’d been butterflied, boned and salted I’d be far from giddy. That’s not the point though. I am a fiancee! It’s like Christmas but better. I have warned Rory that due to it being a secret, he will suffer the brunt of ALL my excitement. He is going to LOVE that – especially my 3am thoughts! I told him we need to make a list – he suggested that doing it this way means we can avoid lists. Pfft. There is no event so small it does not need a list. Lists are the key to success (this may not be totally true). We went to visit my brother and his girlfriend today, they were talking about their wedding and the ball ache of getting stuff done. It felt so good to not have to worry about ‘stuff’. I did a little knowing smile to myself. I have emailed the registrar to get the ball rolling. It’s so much more exciting having a secret wedding, it literally is just about us, no one else. It feels more special. Secret high five to me! Monday 22nd Jan The registrar got back to me today, they have no more dates for the Monday weddings. The Monday weddings happen once a month, are just for two people and so perfect for what we want. How are they all fully booked?! I am absolutely gutted, I have gone from getting married soon to not getting married soon. I could cry. When you think about booking a wedding it seems so easy, like book it and do it. Piece of cake. It is so much more bloody difficult than that! Later OK, I *MAY* have slightly over reacted earlier. It seems I have a Bridezilla bubbling under the surface. Good news! We have decided to pay for the bigger wedding but still have it just us. At least it means there will be no problems with the children being there. I am now getting married soon again – YAY. I made an appointment to give notice with the registrar, I thought we’d have to wait 6 weeks but they have appointments really soon so we go week after next. In theory, we can book our date that day too. In two weeks time I may have a wedding date! BLOODY HELL. Thursday 25th Jan. This getting married really isn’t as easy as one might hope, especially an against the grain, secret wedding. Don’t believe what they tell you on TV folks! Although we want the wedding to be secret and tiny, we still want wedding stuff – flowers, dress, suits, photographer the likes. It seems, in the world of weddings it’s all or nothing for those who deal in this stuff. It’s a licence to print money! I definitely chose the wrong path in life is it too late for a career change? It’s almost impossible to find a venue that would conduct a tiny ceremony and dinner for 6 at a decent price. It’s like ridiculous hundreds of pounds with cream teas and sleep overs involved. We don’t want that. We want to get married and have dinner and drink wine. Is that too much to ask? Photographers, yes there are some AMAZING ones but they charge thousands of pounds because they’ll be with us for 6-10 hours. We aren’t having a party. I don’t need to be photographed getting dressed – no one wants to see that, not even Rory! We need someone for just two hours to capture the wedding. Simple, or not as the case may be! I appreciate that in the height of wedding season they get more money for a full day rather than a couple of hours but I’m pretty sure there’s a niche to be tapped here… I don’t even know where to begin shopping for a wedding dress. Do you just turn up at the wedding dress shop? If I have to make an appointment does it mean I can’t afford it? Anyway. As if I’m getting secret married! You can continue to follow the excitement HERE in Part Two. If you really can’t wait for the good bit, Part Three can be found HERE.

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