Bride to Be: Amy

Everybody knows that I love a good love story and so meeting new brides to be and hearing their stories are one of my favourite aspects to blogging. It’s been a while since my last ‘bride to be’ so I’m delighted to introduce to you the gorgeous Amy who has made me chuckle with her ‘boat ride to hell’ tale!

How did you meet and when did you know they were ‘the one’?

Andy and I met online in 2005.  I was still at Uni in Leicester and Andy was at home in Worcester Park studying Engineering.  Looking back on it now, it was a bit cheesy and naff and we’ve often been coy about admitting where we met because back then it was mainly for nerdy recluses who had no social skills to have to meet people online.  But hey, that was then and now, nearly 6 years later, I’m proud to say we met online.  We only exchanged a few messages, I think we talked about how great Portishead are and that Tron was a brilliant film. 

I was due to visit home about a week after we first started talking and I asked if he wanted to meet up whilst I was back in London.  Our first date was to the London Dungeon (because neither of us had ever been before!) and our first kiss was on the Boat Ride To Hell!  I kinda just knew on that first date that he was a really lovely guy and that I wanted to really get to know him.  By the time we had our second date to Brighton two days later I pretty much knew!

 

Was the proposal everything you’d dreamed it would be?

The problem with knowing that Andy was ‘The One’™ is that I’ve wanted to be married to him for a long time!  Every birthday, Christmas, anniversary, special event, I kept thinking, “I wonder if tonight will be the night?”  Alas it never was. 

 When we had our daughter Scarlett in 2008 I kept expecting it after that.  I could understand why he hadn’t; we’ve never been the richest of people so buying a ring was always way off the agenda!

 By the time he did propose I think it had lost a bit of its shine because I had been banging on about it so much!  I ruined it for myself, just like Andy said I would!

 He’s never been that good at hiding things so I just knew when he suggested dinner in Kingston followed by a walk along the river that it might have been the night.  Plus he had his work bag with him and when he has that on a night out, it’s normally an indication something is afoot (last time he took that bag out I was whisked away to Paris!) 

 When he actually got down on one knee with the ring my first reaction was, “Is it real?!” at which he was most offended and responded, “Of course it’s f*****g real!”  Turns out the bag had a bottle of Veuve Cliquot and two glasses in it for an immediate riverside toast!  I love how much thought he had obviously put into it and how much effort he put into buying the perfect ring, “Quality over quantity” as he still insists!

When and where is the big day?

 Saturday 9^th June 2012 at Grittenham Barn in West Sussex.

 What have you enjoyed the most about wedding planning so far?

I think probably finally having a reason to buy wedding magazines and gleaning information from wedding blogs for a purpose rather than my own dreaming!  We’re about 6 months into the process and things are finally starting to hot up.  I kind of enjoyed trying on some dresses last week but at the same time, it made me realise my diet and my saving have both failed, I can neither fit into, nor afford the dress I liked!  Wake up call I needed?  I think so…!

Have you come across any problems?

My family!  No, but seriously, I know they’ve been really excited about the whole thing but it’s been really hard sometimes to say no to some of the ideas they’ve put forward and it’s caused a few big barney’s.  I love the whole ‘vintage’ (I use the word loosely these days!) look mixed with rock chick but Andy hates anything prefixed with ‘vintage’ so deciding on theme has been tough.  I think we’re there, just!  The guest list caused problems early on and to this day, I’m still stressing over it, because Andy has about 12 relatives while I have about 50!

Have you found THE dress?

I did find THE dress the other day.  The Chanticleer Monteverdi.  My sister hated it, I loved it, but at £1300 it was way over the measly £300 I had been advised to put aside because my mum thinks I should get a copy made in China….!  I’ve really struggled this last week to decide what to do next, keep looking, or start saving!

Do you have any other suppliers booked?

We had the photographer booked within a few weeks as my sister and I both studied photography at University.  One of her friends is in the wedding photography business and he’s doing us a very good deal.  Plus I’m hoping that he can give us a bit of a funky look to our photos and expand his portfolio.

 We booked the caterer in March; Andy wanted a Hog Roast but despite being a keen meat eater, I know that my few vegetarian relatives might not have enjoyed that, so we’re going for a BBQ instead.  We knew straight away that we didn’t want a buffet so we’re having it served ‘family style’ at each table.  I’ve seen a few weddings now where each table has had to nominate someone to don a chef’s hat and apron to fetch the meat for their table!

 I think we have a couple of possible florist’s lined up and also two friends (one of Andy’s friends and one of my mum’s nursing friends) who want to make us a cake, so we might have both!  So we’re pretty much sorted on the supplier’s front!

Do you know what you are doing for your hen do or is it a surprise?

My sister Lex is my chief bridesmaid and my uni friend Ruth is my other bridesmaid.  Lex has threatened the whole stipper thing, which I am definitely not into and Ruth has promised me she will do all she can to resist strippers for me.  I’d quite like a spa day followed by a mad night out.  No idea where though, I’d quite like a Beatles themed one in Liverpool!

Are you having a dream honeymoon?

 I had always dreamed of the white beach, private hut, private plunge pool, tropical nonsense.  But with Scarlett we have to be reasonable and we’re keen for her to not feel left out after the hubbub of the wedding itself.  In an ideal world we’ll have a weekend away somewhere just Andy & I and then a trip to Disneyland Florida with Scarlett.  But that’s all dependent on how good we are at saving (which, in the last 6 months has amounted to £0!!)

 What are your hopes for the future?

 At least one more bubby; it really is so fulfilling, it’s just hilarious and the lack of sleep and the dirty nappies are totally outweighed by the genius of children!  Andy is such a brilliant dad, it’s a joy to watch him and Scarlett together!

 Is there any advice that you would give to other brides to be?

Start a scrap book.  Sometimes when it all gets a bit too much, I find it helps to go through the wedding magazines I have piling up, pull out all the images that I like and get inspiration from and stick them into the book.  I’ll gather links and suppliers from the magazines and it’s really helpful and kind of fulfilling to see how the book is filling up.  I’ve also got a few sketches in the back of the kind of dress I liked and generally it’s a nice memento of the whole process.

Thank you Amy, I love your story! Your venue look absolutely stunning, so pretty and unique. I hope the rest of the planning goes smoothly. You can follow Amy’s planning adventures on her blog here. The best of luck for you big day my lovely 🙂

Laura x