Lets Talk About Honeymoons....

The honeymoon.

A chance to relax after all the hectic planning and stress of the run up to the big day but also a chance to kick back and reflect on the huge commitment that you've just made to each other. Or at least that's part of it!

Mr P and I have been lucky enough to travel on several holidays together during the course of our relationship, we've visited Last Vegas, the Grand Canyon, learnt to ski in Whistler, Canada we spent a sun drenched 11 days in Egypt and have enjoyed weekend get aways to Paris, Barcelona and Hamburg. In fact we've been to quite a few places so where is the perfect place to go on honeymoon? Especially bearing in mind Mr P is not a beach bunny...in fact he can sit still for about 2 minutes before he needs to be up doing something (me I love a good book and a sun lounger but what can you do?)

Some friends of ours also getting married next year are jetting off to Dubai and the Maldives - an amazing honeymoon location but one if we were to do the same I think I could confidently say could end our marriage faster than the time it takes us to get there. Putting Mr P on an idyllic deserted island is like chucking a kitten into a swimming pool - cruel and dangerous!

So we soon dismissed several of the traditional honeymoon locations and their stunning vistas and relaxing, do nothing vibes....in favour of going somewhere we could explore, see amazing sights and have experiences like nowhere we'd ever been before. And when searching for this elusive destination only one spot really topped the bill, Hawaii, or more precisely, Maui.

Stunning scenery, volcano, waterfalls, snorkeling and a vibrant nightlife Maui certainly seems to tick all our boxes....

So how do you choose the perfect honeymoon destination? Here's my top 5 tips:

1. Budget - set a budget that you are comfortable with before you get carried away! Remember when you book the holiday it is unlikely to cover all your expenses (unless of course you are all inclusive and not expecting to travel anywhere else) so make sure you account for your spending money too. Especially as you'll just have spent thousands entertaining your friends and family at the wedding!

2. What do you want to do? - Are you active types who like to explore, really see the country and meet the locals or are you beach chillaxers who want nothing more than 2 weeks of relaxation and pampering. Don't assume just because it is your honeymoon that you should do something totally out of character. You want to remember your honeymoon for all the right reasons once you get back!

3. Plan out the activities - Make sure where you have chosen has lots of options whether that be different restaurants, water sports, activities or excursions. Research your location and use sites like Trip Advisor for real reviews to make sure you make the right decisions

4. Allow yourself time - Remember you will just have got married which is going to be a busy old day, time when you fly out carefully so you don't have to rush too much. We are getting married on a Saturday and leaving for our honeymoon on the Tuesday. This means we have Sunday to bask in newly married bliss with friends and family before heading home to pack on Monday. I know some people jet off the night of their wedding or straight after the next day but we are planning on enjoying our reception to the very end with possibly a shandy or 6 so a couple of recovery days before spending 10 hours on a plane is a wise move!

5. Relax - try not to get too worried about picking the "right" destination. I know there can be a lot of pressure to be going to the most exotic or far flung destination but lets face it you are marrying the love of your life so you have a lifetime to visit the world if you so wish. The only thing you have to worry about with your honeymoon is that you are taking it together. The first holiday memories you will share as a married couple - whether that is Bognor or Brazil those memories will last a lifetime!

 Me, I'm looking forward to arriving somewhere new and discovering what it feels like to be Mrs P almost as much as I'm looking forward to discovering what our destination has to offer...

Lxx

Oops it's been a while.....wedding planning update in brief

Well I had high hopes for this blog and I was so excited to start it and then it seems just forgot about it!

In fairness as we don't get married until September 2013 after booking our venue there really hasn't been much to do until quite recently when all of a sudden we've done loads:

• Picked my wedding dress
• Booked a photographer
• Registered our notices with the registrar
• (Hopefully) picked a band
• Argued (a lot) about a first dance song
• Visited a lovely florist
• Made an appointment to start tasting wedding cakes (yum!!)
• Reserved hotel rooms 
• Kept talking and looking at invitation designs

Amongst a million other things...

But I'm back and in wedding planning and blogging positive mind frame so watch out as there's going to be lots of posts over the next few weeks as we really start to organise the wedding and hopefully lots of questions for you guys too!

Lx

Brides (maid) zillas

This week at work has been a hectic one for one of my co-workers as today (Saturday) she is getting married. In a similar way to me she is also in her mid 30's and opting for a simple, informal (ish) wedding.

She also had a moment on Friday where her 21 year sister bridesmaid called to inform her at 11am while travelling on her way down to the wedding from Wales that she "didn't like the bridesmaid dress so had just bought another one"

Now the original dress had been selected for 3 months, there are 2 bridesmaids - her and the brides best friend (also in her 30s) and at no point during the run up to the big day had she indicated any dislike of said dress. Now we are all aware of the phrase bridezilla but bridemaidzilla? This is a new one on me....

I can appreciate that at 21 she a) has no concept that within in said big day frankly she is inconsequential. Her onyl role is to turn up, be supportive, smile at the correct times and wish nothing but love and joy to her sister. No-one (other than maybe her parents and a boyfriend) are going to really give two hoots what she's wearing. So to throw all her toys out of the pram like a spoilt child is just unforgivable if you ask me - but then hey I don't have any sisters!!!

Thankfully what I do have are 3 fantastic friends who are stepping up to make sure I a) turn up on time and b) have a fab time at my wedding. So as you will hear about all of them lots in this blog I thought I should introduce Team Loulou....

Maid of Honour - Mrs L: Mrs L and I have known each other for about 12 years now. While she and I are very different in many ways (she's married, has two gorgeous daughters and is allergic to cats, I live in sin (ho ho) and have a newly acquired kitten called Boots) but she is an absolute rock. Couldn't live without her. She makes me laugh, we have so much in common and she is going to be an absolute star for any wedding plan type stuff!!

Bridesmaid 1 - Miss B: Now Miss B and I went to school together (in the middle ages) so have known each other really since we were 11. We didn't become friends though until we left school and went to 6th form college. And she has been my best friend ever since, despite having to put up with a lot she always tells me like it is and is a superstar in a crisis. When I split with a long time ex she was the one I ran to and she helped put me back together. Without her I certainly would not be where I am now

Bridesmaid 2 - Miss L: A new friend...Miss L was the friend who "advertised" Mr P online at the same time that Mrs L kindly advertised me. So without her Mr P and I would never have met (yep we are an internet dating couple...) Miss L lives in my newly adopted home town (I moved in with Mr P about 2 years ago) and through her I've met lots of lovely people and enjoyed many a coffee and cake morning. Being so influential in how Mr P and I got together it seemed only right that she should be in the wedding that she helped facilitate! Since we got engaged and she agreed to bridesmaid duties her own Mr right has since asked for her hand in marriage so she will also be planning a wedding soon! In fact we have a mini wedding epidemic occurring next year...lots of shopping opportunities for nice dresses beckons...

Anyway that is the role call of the lovely ladies who will be playing the Angels to my Charlie (not sure that analogy works but it made me chuckle)

Now one thing that did worry me was with our wedding being a relaxed barn wedding will 3 bridesmaids be too much? Will it take us longer to traipse up the aisle than it will take for us to actually get married? Frankly after worrying about this for a bit I decided Phoey. It's our day and these gorgeous ladies are so important to myself and Mr P that who cares what anyone thinks...and you know what if anyone does this it's mad then they can bring a packed lunch as I'm not paying for their buffet place....but that's another story!

So how many bridesmaids do you think is about right? Is 3 a bit much or have you decided to have a whole troop supporting you on your big day?

Lx

Welcome

Hi there...this is the first post on a new blog to chart my experiences while planning my wedding to the lovely Mr P in September 2013. I do have another blog Loulou's Modern Musings but that is mainly where I prattle on about organisational tips, daily thoughts, random happenings and Filofaxes (I have a bit of a passion for those as I'm sure you will find out!)

But since getting engaged 6 months ago and starting to plan our wedding I've found that I have lots of ideas for blog posts that don't really fit with my normal style...so I figured I'd start a new blog so anyone interested in weddings can read in peace without being bombarded with my witterings on post it notes for example!

So why the blog? It may make more sense if I explain a little bit more about myself:

1. I am 34 years old
2. I live by the seaside in England (rural Dorset to be precise)
3. I am engaged to a wonderful man who we shall call Mr P
4. We have set our wedding date for September 2013 and booked our venue
5. And we are only just starting to consider all the options that are out there to create an enjoyable wedding day and golly there are a LOT of options out there....

You should also know:

• We are not religious so there's no church ceremony, we are getting married and having our reception in the most beautiful barn deep in the Somerset countryside
• We want the day to be a celebration of love (obviously) but also of embracing life and having some fun - life is very, very short and so many things can steal time away from you so being able to celebrate together with our friends and family will be (I hope) a fantastic happy day
• We are paying for the wedding ourselves, so this blog will be a honest take on how much time and money it takes to put a wedding together...

Now being a bride in her 30s I've really struggled to find other blogs talking about the pressures and the fun of planning a wedding (will I look wrinkly in the wedding photos?? Something you brides in your twenties don't need to worry about so much!!) So warts and all this blog will chart the concerns and the solutions to any and all problems I encounter along the way.

So Hi again and welcome - I'd love to hear what you think about my blog and any comments or suggestions for posts will always be gratefully received.

Lx