The Bride Bible

Afternoon All, 

Lying in the sun on my newly purchased sun lounger I was enjoying my garden far more than I ever thought was possible. Obviously, I knew from living in a top floor penthouse apartment I would relish having a garden of any sorts. Then, when I moved downstairs to my ground floor flat I excitedly planned parties and patio barbecues on my new outside space. Soon however I grew tired of the Courtyard garden I had and longed for some grass and maybe a shed. Now I have it I wonder where and what I will want for next, however as I spent my long Easter bank holiday in the sun, Pooch by my side and with the noise of Mr Warehouse's gaming in the background I delved deeper into wedding magazines and planning books. 

Following on from last weeks blog post, I have taken great joy in trawling the wedding planning website "Hitched.co.uk". This got me thinking and after some more research found tonnes of wedding websites dedicated to giving the best advice possible to a successful big day! Scrolling through the websites, blog posts and articles online (in-between cocktails and trips indoors to make said cocktails) I came across some more helpful tips and tricks from "Brides.com". 

Top advice from "Brides.com" comes in the form of crafting. They say that it is essential to remember that you’re not in this alone! After all, a wedding is the coming together of two people and their friends and families so take your bridal party, family members and maybe even your fiancé and ask for their help. Be sure to delegate some tasks to take some of the load off of you. Have you got a friend with flare, a crafty cousin or a baking bestie? If yes then rope 'em in too and get your address book to be your vendor list. I can almost guarantee as in our case you will have someone who knows someone and no doubt they will be able to give you not only a genuine quotation but also maybe make a little more of an effort or even do you a freebie if you're lucky! People love to help and in my experience as soon as I started discussing wedding planning, friends, family and associates were throwing themselves at me to offer up services or names of people that could help. 

I would summarise that most people nowadays be the cost of a wedding and probably keel over from a heart attack. If however, they have not succumbed to the shock then I would imagine they would think that the DIY could be a cost-effective way of creating your dream day on a budget. Doing it yourself can add some nice personal touches too, just don’t go overboard or you’ll end up with more work than you know what to do with. Feel free to go the DIY route with things that can be done well in advance, like favours, table numbers, etc. For things like flowers or food that need to be done close to the wedding date, professional help is best, however, I have decided myself to cut down on costs entirely and make all of my bridal parties flowers and arrangements myself. I have chosen to do this on the basis that the boutonnieres for the groomsmen and best men and the bouquets for the bridesmaids and maid of honour can be kept as a gifts. I also happen to have a bunch of faux flowers that I have picked up along my way through wedding buying, most of them fairly inexpensively on ye olde Facebook Marketplace. 

Another interesting take on modern wedding etiquette that certainly didn't happen in either mine nor Mr. Warehouses parents time was that of social media. Whether you want to broadcast your wedding to the world or have an unplugged wedding, the strategy is important. Hashtags, signage and photo booths are a great way to get guests posting on social. If you’re more private, include signage about an unplugged ceremony or have the officiant make a quick announcement before proceedings begin. Mr Warehouse and I have yet to have the discussion as to whether we would like people to hold off posting until we have, although I am almost certain that he will tell me I would be a major bridezilla by asking people not to post before I do. I love the idea of having our wedding just for those that are there in the moment and not having mobile phones in your face, just like so many generations before us. However, that being said I also enjoy the attention and the fact that my wedding would be broadcast to my following on social media including old school friends that I no longer speak to, ex-boyfriends that could have been and maybe a few enemies along the way would fill me with great joy. 


It seems that organisation is key when planning your own wedding, and I think that this will be especially true, if, like us, someone is on a shoestring. There are so many balls up in the air at once, you need a way to keep track of everything. My advice - Spreadsheets. One of the many wedding planning management apps or programs out there can help and places like "Hitched.co.uk" and "Brides.com" both have helpful budgeting tools. I suppose though that I will just remember that even with the most meticulous planning and organisation system, there is bound to be some chaos from time to time. 

Whatever happens, the control freak inside me says I should probably try my best to plan ahead and not be too hard on myself when the inevitable happens on the big day. however, we've still so much left to plan and the plenty of time to do it in a very much doubt that there will anything left till last minute.

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx 

How To Plan, Prep and Pull Through The Office Christmas Party!

Hi There, 

Since last week surviving the life or death scenario of the London Underground (and an evening with friends), slowly but surely I have been taken over by a headache-infusing, runny-nose-bringing, achey-skin-feeling winter bug! I suppose I could say that in a way Miss Tweedle-Dumb and her Boyfriend of many, many moons did bring me back a present from Rome - A Cold! In a way you could say that I my body has been invaded by a foreign object (of influenza)! 

And so - I am ill! Just what I need before our annual works Christmas Party whereby we all get absolutely sloshed on overpriced wine, watch the boss dance some very odd Elvis inspired moves and end up having a row with your other half in the middle of the street in the town centre after he turned from Gorgeous Gent to Grumpy Granddad in under 2.4 seconds. Ahh yes the annual 'Do! Something everyone looks forward to and hardly anyone really remembers past the first round of Jager Bombs at 6.30pm, just before the starters arrive. 

Last year's Blog post was entitled "The Argument That Was Not An Argument!" and was, and still is, one of my most popular reads. If you haven't already I urge you to read along as there are a few choice phrases and interesting pieces that make me realise that even a year on I love my cuddly grumpy cat! 

But what men, including Mr. Warehouse and the other Mister's that came before him, did not seem to grasp is how much I personally and together with all women kind, enjoy getting ready for such a social occasion. The hair, the make-up, the outfit, the shoes, the bag, the schedule, the conversation starters!? Its like going on multiple first dates, only with your work colleagues AKA people you have spent more time with than your own parents! Its stressful. 

Now first of all the dress, what I deem to be one of the most important dresses you will all year. Apart from maybe if you got married. Or Graduated. Or something else important like walking for Chanel or Prada. But anyway, I digress. Last year I wore a just-above-the-knee, muted Grey Lipsy dress with thin straps and skater style skirt. I loved it to pieces and had many a compliment on the night however, I feel as though now I need to up my game a little this year. It was sparkle and sequins galore and I am still on the hunt (with yes, less than four days to go) for a dress that is as equally, if not more sequiny and glitzy and shiny as last year. 2014 was the year of the twinkle. 2015 however will be the year of possibly the very-deep-V-neck, bra-less number. 2016? Not so sure yet although with upcoming New Year Resolutions coming about I may well have to set myself the unmanageable goal of slipping into a size 12 for next years Office Christmas Party which will unfortunately end on the fourth of January when I rediscover the leftover box of Celebrations left under my desk from Christmas Eve. 

Next is the hair and make-up. You don't want something too complicated as by the end of the night it will be all falling out of place and probably have more than a few cocktail sticks hanging out, especially if my workplace has anything to do with it?! Yes, simple, yet elegant. Soft curls are always a good start and for make-up; Wide faux eyelash-ed eyes with a classic red lip always works a treat. But always remember the key is making yourself look better that you do when you are just plain old Margaret from Finance sitting at your desk but not to make yourself look like you just walked out of the Crayola Factory and been to have your hair cut by Edward Scissorhands. 

Now yes I understand that there are some females that will find this time of year horrendous as wearing make-up and dresses in the force to look pretty and girlie is totally not them, and I get it. Trust me when I say that I am sitting here right now in my Cookie Monster Dressing Gown and not much else, sipping on Baileys and enjoying the fact I am still wearing my UGG boots from work, feeling sorry for myself as I am sick with a cold. There is nothing more I love more than curling up and watching some trash TV ideally with a pet of some kind and pigging out on junk food and take-away's. But I cannot deny that I do love a party. And The Office Christmas Party is no exception ... 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx