Reverb11: Music

Music: What song did you fall in love with this year? 

One day, I used to think. One day, one day.

Eventually, I stopped believing. Many years alone forged high walls around my life and my heart, a few short and bitter lessons along the way serving only to deepen my unbelief. Inside me, though, burned an infinitesimal flame that I barely knew was there, a tiny torch I carried all my life for a man who did not exist.
Then one day, there he was.

I walked down the aisle to this song.

Reverb11: Create

Create – What did you create in 2011? {prompt from Jennerosity}

A wedding. Groom's outfit by mother of bride, artwork and creative projects by the Prof, with assistance on creative input and general concept by me ;) 

August Break

On the last day of August Break I am posting a photograph I took earlier this year, on the day our wedding rings arrived. I didn't check my emails Monday, and last night I found I had an email from Offbeat Bride to say that my wedding to the lovely Prof was featured in their Monday Montage. 

We're having an August Break of our own right now, spending a week house-sitting for friends in Canterbury, Kent. We're enjoying slow days, good food, each other's company and the view from the kitchen table across the garden to the fields. See you next week.

Sneak preview

We have to wait a while for our professional photographs, but here's one from my Mum.

It was a wonderful day.

Today's the Day

Legally wed

We popped along to the Register Office today for our civil ceremony, with the Young Philosopher and the Prof's friend David as our witnesses. This means we are legally married now, although our wedding ceremony isn't until Saturday. It was a simple procedure, over in about ten minutes. We took a few photographs afterward and then went out for lunch.

Weddingy Stuffs

The to do list isn't looking too bad. This is what we have left:

Decide music. We have a classical piece we like that we are having played during the ceremony, but are still changing our minds for the processional and recessional. Anyone got any fantastic ideas? No Elvis or Beatles, the Prof is allergic.

Make/buy CDs of said music.

Sort out/borrow some CDs of background music for reception.

Chase up errant guests who haven't RSVP'd.

Meet with venue to discuss menu, table layout etc.

Also visit with photographer

Pay the ceremony venue.

Book hotel for wedding night.

Have last fitting/s of dress

Get shoes. I ordered some from the US. They looked very pretty in the photograph, but in real life they are quite unremarkable. I will wear them, but probably not for the wedding.

Get outfit for the Young Philosopher. He is out today with my Mum shopping for his outfit. I was supposed to be going, but heard yesterday that our wedding rings (ours are like the picture, but yellow gold) are coming by special delivery today. I decided to wait in as our postmen have a habit of leaving parcels on the doorstep, in the garden waste bin or throwing them over the fence into the back garden. So Mum and the YP have gone off by themselves, they have been sending me pictures on my phone. So far he is favouring a black suit with a red tie, and possibly a waistcoat. And Converse. I have been looking with no success for red socks, anyone know stockists of red thin (not sports) socks for men in a size 12 (UK)?

Have my hair cut and decide whether to make a hair appointment for the wedding day or to do my own hair.

Get gifts for attendants.

Decide on jewellery. I have a nice set my parents bought me for Christmas, I need to try it on with the outfit. My Mum has also more or less given me the run of her jewellery and various family heirlooms, so I am sure I will find something!

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue....I need to think about these. Blue shoes would be good, maybe.

Write notes for (short) speechifying.

Finalise list of photographs we would like. Discuss with photographer.

DIT still to do

Most of this falls to the Prof, he is the creative one. I do have input though!

Finish making wedding charter for signing during ceremony

Make programmes (if time)

Finish making centerpieces

Paint shield (if time)

Finish flower crown and bouquet off with ribbons (me and Mum)

Make menu cards, place cards, seating plan - can't do these until we have the details

Make cake topper

I think that is more or less it.

It's just about 1pm now, and in exactly 31 days' time I will be sitting round at my parents' house, with the Prof and various other family members and friends, sipping champagne and relaxing in anticipation of our wedding at 4pm....

That's the plan. I will let you know after the event how close it came to the reality.

Invitations are go!

At last! After two abortive attempts to get the invitations that the Prof designed printed at our local branch of Staples, which despite being a printers hasn't had a working printer for over a week, we gave up and the Prof went to a different branch where it was all done quickly and with minimum fuss. We know where to go next time we want wedding invitations printed.....

Plans in general are coming along well. I have a dress, though as yet it's too big. (Pass the chips). I don't have shoes yet as I can't seem to get along with the American website's online shopping cart. I may have to phone them. Still, at least I have a dress. The Young Philosopher doesn't have anything to wear yet, and nor does my Dad. Mum and Dad went to Bluewater the other day to find Dad something to wear for the wedding: when I asked Mum what they bought she said a copy of the TV Times and a banana. I am not quite sure how he is going to make an outfit out of those, but it could be interesting.

I am glad that Mum has made my head dress and bouquet, bearing in mind the pineapple dream, so at least now I don't have to resort to carrying a pineapple. Not to mention it might knock one of my friends out if I tossed it.

I had another dream in which hardly anyone turned up because we had forgotten to send the invitations. The Prof is in charge of posting them today, I do hope he remembers. attempts to get the invitations that Philip designed printed at our local branch of Staples, which despite being a printers hasn't

Wedding Plans

These are the buttonholes for our wedding. We are getting married in a Tudor manor house, hence the Tudor roses. I have about thirty still to make, plus more for headdress and some much bigger ones for my bouquet.

We are doing quite a bit of DIT (do-it-together!) wedding stuff.

• Buttonholes
• Bouquet
• Head wreath/circlet
• Wreath for the Prof's helmet
• The Prof's outfit - he is wearing Saxon clothes, which my Mum is making. She is looking forward to telling people she made her son-in-law's wedding dress!
• Bunting - done, courtesy of Mum
• Table runners - Mum is doing those too
• Centrepieces - the Prof has a cunning plan for these and for the
• Post box -
• Invitations - we are hoping to get these out in the next couple of weeks
• Programmes - in progress
• Wedding certificate - in progress
• Cake topper - we have Playmobil figures and need to glue them on to a base
• Ceremony/vows - we are writing these ourselves
• Table names -
• Menu cards for tables - do we need these?
• Place cards

Other things we need to get done:

Order wedding postage stamps

Send invitations

Renew passport

Book honeymoon

Arrange canapes and drinks at ceremony venue

Arrange food and drink choices with reception venue

Finish wedding website

Buy the Young Philosopher's outfit

Visit both venues with photographer

Make list of photographs we want

Ask someone (who?) to take video

Arrange rehearsal

Arrange flowers for ceremony venue

Arrange car

Buy ribbon for cake

Buy ribbon for family cars

Decide on music for ceremony and make CD

Decide on background music for reception

Provide reception venue with a seating plan

Visit register office and give notice of intention to marry

Decide on readings/details of ceremony

Fill in questionnaire for celebrant/provide her with our ideas for ceremony

Buy disposable cameras and make explanatory cards for table

Buy 'menu holders' to display photos/table names

Order corsages from florist for key female guests/members of wedding party

Get my dress altered

Buy shoes

Buy underwear

Take the the Prof's helmet and sword to be polished

Arrange make up and hair trials for me and Mum

Arrange for hair and make up on the day for me and Mum

Collect cake from the Prof's sister

Collect favours from my friend who is kindly making them (homemade chocs, yum!)

Give seating plan to reception venue

Day of/day before

Put up bunting

Provide venue with runners, decorations, favours, cake

We have just under three months to the wedding, but I'd like to have all the wedding arrangements and all the DIT done by the end of March. It would be nice to spend the last few weeks before our wedding having time to look forward to it!

Dreaming of Pineapples

The other night I had a weird dream. It was my wedding day, and the bouquet didn't arrive. There was a pineapple nearby and my Mum suggested that I carry that instead of flowers.

I googled the symbolism of pineapples in dreams:

• To see a pineapple in your dream, represents self-confidence, ambition and success. You are self-assured in what you do. Alternatively, the pineapples symbolize hospitality. Or perhaps you need to relax or take a vacation. To eat a pineapple indicates sexual problems and issues of losing control.

Hmm. I have so little ambition it's laughable. I wouldn't say I am particularly self assured or self confident. Who doesn't need to relax and take a vacation? We are planning a well earned one for after the wedding. Hospitality - yes, I enjoy having people over and that's definitely something I would like to do more of in 2011.

For the record, I would like to state that in my dream I WAS NOT eating the pineapple and neither was the Prof.

Reverb10: Two in One

Playing catch-up here, so two-in-one today.

Reverb10 Day 14, prompt by Victoria Klein

Appreciate. What's the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

In the past year I have come to appreciate many things.

• How clean my kitchen stays now that the Young Philosopher is away at University. Conversely, how nice it was when he lived at home and used to clean up the garden after the dog every day, instead of me having to do it.
• The joy of being able to burrow back under the covers for a while when the Dusty Professor leaves for work in the mornings.
• Being able to rest when I need to.
• The lovely Essex and Kent countryside, which I didn't see much of before the Dusty Professor moved in, as I don't drive. Now we often spend our weekends driving around in the pretty.
• How lovely it is to look forward to someone coming home to me every evening.

And Day 15, prompt by Patti Digh

Five minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most remember about 2010.

Okay....here goes.

• That I didn't have to work this year.
• Being on set to watch the Dusty Professor do some film work for Channel 4. Yes, dressed as an Anglo-Saxon monk.

• The Young Philosopher dyeing his hair several times- orange, green, blonde, blue.
• A lovely weekend just me and the DP in Hay on Wye. Bookshops and beautiful countryside. Wonderful.

• The DP asking me to marry him in the ruins of Skenfrith Castle, Wales.

• Planning our slightly eccentric wedding for April next year. Details in due course.
• Being a Saxon for the day at West Stow Anglo Saxon Village.

• Taking the YP to university for the first time, Getting used to him not being at home.
• Learning to make tablet weave, and to use a drop spindle.
• Taking part in Mondo Beyondo and Dream Lab.
• Failing dismally to cope with learning to crochet. I was the dunce in the class.
• The DP icing little cakes for our anniversary.

• Weekend visits from the YP. So nice to have him home, even if his hair is like a parrot's feathers.
• Rediscovering writing and discovering an interest in photography.