Dresses!

I get to chose a wedding dress and I'm VERY excited!! :)

I know the style I want but incase Ben logs on, I'm not giving away any details here. Ask me about it another time.

However what I can say is that tomorrow, I'm going shopping with Liv, a bridesmaid, to try on dresses and get more of an idea of styles and fabrics. Yay!
Someone I know has said she will make me the dress, free of charge! I supply fabric and thread, and ideas, and she will make it. Family connections are working well for this wedding it seams.... (that spelling mistake was too good to delete I'm afraid.)

So the dress is taken care of, I just need to decide exactly on the style. Ooh they are all so pretty!

Cards, Cakes, and Cars...

I say cars, I mean horses and carriages! I haven't booked any yet but thats deffinately my preferred mode of transport for the day. I've got some names and numbers so at some point in the future will book.
Cards... we have had so many lovely engagement cards and some very useful presents so a big thankyou to all!
Cakes... My mum's friend from work has offered to make the wedding cake for us, and I spent a while today looking through a photo album of the cakes she has made and decorated in the past. I am to chose a design and any other details that I want changing or adding, and it shall be made! Free of charge! (apart from the ingredients...meh)
Yay for cakes cards and carriages.

Reception venues...

We looked round 11 different reception venues before deciding to have it at the Royal Clifton Hotel, Southport. It seemed the most reasonably priced for the package, and looks a lovely place. Ben has been to a wedding reception there and had a good experience, so that was enough for us to say yes! (Our decision may also have been swayed when the lady gave us free drinks and was really helpful and friendly). There was another place where I was fairly in love with, Formby Hall... but it was too expensive. Stunning rooms and views and buildings, but way over the budget! The Royal Clifton will be great.

And there it is:

Wedding arrangements...

Already, wedding plans are underway and much progress has been made. After lots of thought, we decided it would be best to have the wedding in Southport. It is a place where we have the most mutual friends, where I have felt very welcome and the church there is where I feel a good connection. At home in Norwich, the churches, and the place seems out of date, and old to me. I know that having it in Southport goes against tradition, and may cause problems for my family who have to travel a long way, but as I have been reassured by many people, its our day, and we must do what feels right for us. So the church is now booked, and the date is confirmed to be the 18th July 2009. Very exciting!!!

Back to England

It was good coming back to England and seeing everyone, there was no one to show off the ring to in France, and no one we knew to congratulate us in person! We stayed at my cousins house in London, and visited grandparents on the way back to Norwich. My parents were on holiday themselves when we got back, so it felt like forever before they could see us, and the ring! We had a small garden party at mine with some close friends from Hethersett/Norwich which was really good, and great to see some people who I hadn't seen for a while. After a couple more days in Norfolk, we headed up north to do it all again with Ben's friends and family. We had a brilliant party at David's house where most of our friends from Southport came and celebrated with a bbq and drinks.

So it started like this...

Ben and I got engaged on the 13th August 2008 in a field in Normandy, France.
We went for a walk in the evening with a blanket and some wine, and sat down overlooking lovely views and countryside. It was a perfect evening, with a rainbow in the sky and a beautiful sunset visable across the hills. After the proposal we walked back to the house where we were staying and took it in turns to call friends and family to break the news! We had a lovely evening and the remainding two weeks of our holiday were brilliant.

This is where we got engaged :) In that very field there. Just where I'm standing!