Emily: We have done loads of stuff I've not got round to adding in here!
Most recently - this weekend we picked up the rings, bought shoes for James, booked the bouquets and buttonholes (and talked to the lady who is doing the flowers in the church, so that's all sorted too), got someone to video the ceremony, got a clarinetist, bought stuff to make jewelery and made it, bought the final bits for the table decorations and some more bits for the favours, got someone to read the prayers...
Ooh, and on Saturday my new passport arrived! With my married name and signature!! (And a truly dreadful photo - shame, my last passport photo was quite flattering.)
We have all the replies back and almost all the food requirements (we have to let the hotel know how many meals we want by the end of this week). All the place names are done, and table plans have been reshuffled (again) now we know exactly who is coming.
I think the hen and stag events should be being organised - this is up to the best man and chief bridesmaid.
We nearly had a bit of a problem with the cake, as my mum couldn't find a 12" tin anywhere. (They live in the middle of nowhere, and she'd borrowed some but there wasn't that size). We had seen one in Hobbycraft, so we decided I should go and get it and take it down when we went for Holiday Club (a couple of weeks ago). Only when I got to Hobbycraft they didn't have one! And I didn't know where else to get one. I tried to look up appropriate shops in Oxford, but couldn't find anything. So at lunch time, the day before we were due to go to my parents, I had to go into town to pick up a few things and as I walked past the covered market I had a sudden thought that there might be that sort of shop in there. I walked up and down every aisle, and in almost the last aisle, there it was! A wonderful cake shop which sold fancy cakes and everything you could need to make them with - including the elusive 12" tin. I don't know if I had seen the shop there before and it was stored in the deepest recesses of my brain or if it was divine inspiration!!
So James and I helped make the 12" cake, and they are now in the process of being fed lots of brandy before they get iced. My mum has done an extra middle tier so that there will be plenty for everyone because we want to keep the small one for our first baby.
I feel like we are on top of things again now!
James: ONE MONTH TODAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not that I'm excited, or anything.
We're in the process of finalising things with the hotel. I don't think there's much more to do - we basically have to give them numbers so that they know what to cook. Mr Hutchinson was a little stand-offish on the phone the other day: having promised us during our last meeting that we could order what we wanted, as long as they knew, on Monday he proceeded to take exception to the fact that we wanted a significant number of vegetarian options, because "for my chef to cook that many would be impossible". When I pointed out that this wasn't the impression he'd initially given us, he said that he'd speak to the kitchen. I fear we may have a fight on our hands.
The other question is that of drinks packages. The supplied drinks package sits at nearly eight pounds a head (or thereabouts), and looks to be better value than the other considered option, which was to distribute bottles of wine amongst the tables. The problem we're having is that some people will choose to have orange juice if they're driving, and the price quoted seems a little excessive for soft drinks - but I guess we'll have to live with that.
More than this, where does the drinking age actually begin? Most of the children in attendance will be significantly under ten years old, so we can safely stick with soft drinks, but some of the others are in their early teens, which makes things tricky. My cousin Alice was knocking back the champagne at my aunt's fiftieth birthday party last September, and we don't want to deny her that luxury again. The legal limit for the consumption of alcohol in a private gathering is five years old, and while you generally tend not to get primary school children downing bottles of whisky on a regular basis, it's fair to say that a child of ten or so is often allowed a small sip of wine, "as a treat".
Mind you, some people can be late starters. I recall Liesl in The Sound of Music, stating in 'So Long, Farewell' that she hoped to stay at the Captain's party, and taste her first champagne - a luxury that was instantly denied. And she was sixteen. Going on seventeen.
Emily: Hair!
I saw the hairdresser yesterday and we tried out some styles for the wedding.
I am still thinking about it, but I have almost decided which to have. Of course,
it is a secret!
We have done loads of little jobs, but I can't remember what. At least we have walkie talkies for the photos now. We still need to sort out our flautist, and I need to make a decision about jewelery and I REALLY need to get started on making those cravats. We are at the stage where all the big stuff is done, and when we start on small stuff we just think of more and more things that need doing.
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