A friend of mine very recently got proposed to on a week holiday in Ireland. They had booked a lovely hotel in the Irish countryside and she thought that they were just going over to Ireland to visit his family. Then 2 days into the holiday, after a beautiful meal in a local restaurant, he got down on one knee and proposed! He had the ring ready, he was clearly optimistic that she would say yes. Luckily she did say yes and they are now busy arranging a wedding for 18 months time.

But this got me thinking - what would make the perfect proposal?

Another friend of mine was proposed to in a restaurant in the Lake District, which sound romantic but when you consider that they live in the Lake District anyway and it was in front of room of strangers who were all trying to eat their dinner, it turns into a nightmare! For me this would be the worse way to be proposed it, as I think it needs to be personal and private between you and your boyfriend/girlfriend. For me the wedding is the social celebration of your love and the proposal is a personal moment between the two people involved.

One of my biggest worries for the big day is whether or not it will be a lovely sunny day or a typically British wet, gray day. I did consider getting married abroad purely for the fact that you are guaranteed lovely sunny, hot weather but the logistics and the cost of getting my family and my fiance’s family somewhere nice and hot was going to be a nightmare so instead I have taken a massive risk and opted for a UK wedding instead.

A friend of mine recently got married in the , she picked the venue specifically because of the beautiful grounds and the stunning lake at the bottom. The grounds were going to be the basis for the majority of all her photographs but in typical British style, it rained on her bug day! It had been pouring down for several weeks before her wedding so the ground was completely drenched which completely ruined my shoes, which had been specially dyed to match my dress. Luckily she did managed to get a few photos in the grounds as the rain held off for about half an hour but we were all cold and a bit damp when we got back to the champagne, but it didn’t spoil what was one of the best days of last year, and for my friend was the best day of her life.

I have my fingers and toes crossed that the rain holds off on my big day but if it doesn’t who cares, so long as everyone has a great day!

Do you go for the traditional? The wacky? The weird? The safe? Or do you just go with the flow and get it over with?!

Either way, there are thousands of options out there. And in this day and age, you are only limited by your imagination, and wallet (and that can often be gotten around - nice bank manger, or willing newspaper can often swell the coffers of most “Wedding Fund” accounts).

So, what to choose?

I think I’d like to keep it simple. A slight “hippy” feel - in the great outdoors, maybe a hillside or field in the lovely Lake District, with a simple floaty dress, flowers in my hair, just a small gathering of friends and family, and then back to the homestead for a BBQ and marquee (in case of rain).

From the outside, quite cheap. But the marquee, field rental, willing registrar to go to the great outdoors, getting friends and family to walk to your wedding… all mounts up!

But what a day - sharing something you love, with those you love, and making the day truely yours. None of this “I want the same as Mrs Jones’ youngest had” - you get a day that tells people exactly who you are, and those that love you for you, will be happy to share in it.
Overly complicated days can drag and feel exactly the same as the wedding your friends went to last month. Stand out from the crowd - make your wedding theme your own!

The next Big Question (after the proposal!) - where to have the Big Day?

Church? Hotel? Village Hall? Field? Underwater? Jumping from a plane? The list is now endless! ONce upon a time, the only option you had was a church or a registry office.

Now you can go anywhere (as long as you have someone willing enough to perform the ceremony itself!). The newspapers and magazines are full of crazy vicars and registrars that help happy couples have a memorable wedding day.

As long as they sort out the paperwork (and their is lots!), you can pretty much get married in a bin at the end of your road if you fancy it.
That doesn’t sound to much fun to me, but I’m willing to bet there is someone out there that would!

I like the idea of getting hitched somewhere meaningful - a favourite walk, or where you met, or somewhere your favourite but frail Granny can get too easily. I’m not a big fan of gimmicks, but then again, if you can’t afford to get married in the style you really want, and doing something nutty will get you in the papers and get some money towards it, then why the heck not?!

Yes, you’re selling your big day to all the world to see, but the ultimate goal - getting hitched - is still achieved. And surely that is all that matters.

This has got to be one of the hardest decisions ever!

It is bad enough feeding family and friends when they pop round for tea, let alone feeding 50+ people, all of which probably like their dinners ‘just so’. How do you keep them all happy?!

Honest answer? Don’t.

Seriously. It is YOUR big day!! Order what you want people to share with you - yes they may grumble, but if they love and care about you (as they should if you are inviting them to your wedding) then they may mutter, but won’t really mind.

However, if you are one of those that prefers to keep the peace rather than take the risk of keeping yourself happy, then follow some hard n fast rules, and you can’t go wrong:

• do not over season anything - no spices especially
• make sure there is a veggie option
• make sure there is an alternative too fish & nut dishes (in case of allergies - and if you know someone in the party has a massive allergy to somethnig, warn the kitches - the smallest cross contamination can set some people off, and an A&E visit on your big day is the wrong kind of visit!)
• if there are any religious reasons for certain foods to be served or not served, check and plan for that accordingly
• try and avoid overly alcoholic tastes - some don’t like it

Just a couple of tips to help you out!

Your wedding shoes and wedding dress above everything should complement each other. This doesn’t mean to say that you have to have them matching exactly. Most dresses will come in neutral shades of white, ivory or cream, though you do get more vibrant shades, bold colours or metallic colours and can become their own individual feature of your wedding attire. No matter what you do you’re ready for some major shoe shopping once you know the style, colour and fabric. To be ideal you will have a swatch from your wedding dress ready for when you do shoe shopping in order to have the colours perfectly matched. You could also have shoes bought especially that are ready to be professionally dyed. If you are to have your dress made and fitted by a dressmaker it is very important that you take along your shoes, this way your dress will be made to fit your shoes, and the hemline will be the correct length. It’s best to pair up simple shoes with an extravagant dress and vice versa. Take into consideration the length of your dress the shorter the dress the more of your shoes will be on display and things like ankle straps may look good but then can also make your legs look shorter.

At the Reception, your reception will most likely begin with the receiving line, this is a great opportunity to take the time to say a few words of thanks to all your guests and it will give you time to relax as you are wished well by all you happy, smiling guests and family. Many people say that they forget they find it hard to remember their wedding day it goes so fast, an idea for you to remember it is to ask someone to set an alarm to go off every hour to help remind you to take a good look around and take in your surroundings. Also it’s a special day that is shared, so talk about what your partner has seen, heard and felt throughout the day it will bring it all back. Another way to help you remember things, is to relax enjoy yourself and laugh, the laughs are always memorable, even incidents quips and near disasters will be remembered for the laughs. Don’t drink too much either; drinks can dull the mind so for a lasting memory of the big day remember to at least pace yourself, with the drinks. Toasts can become a great excuse for drinking champagne, but don’t sip it drink it.

At the Ceremony, the big moment is finally here, rehearsals are long gone and you’re the star of the show, and now it’s time for that Oscar winning performance. Take your time to make your entrance; every bride will have nerves taking that long walk that seems like a lifetime towards her handsome husband to be, a deep breath may sound cliché but it works, and it allows your guests time to admire you as well as giving you chance to compose yourself. Look around you, let that smile radiate out to everyone. Something that tends to happen or not happen as it were is that when people get to the vows nothing happens, breathing is a key part in preventing this from happening a key stress stopper. You may have seen all those videos of brides passing out at this point and you’re going spare about it happening to you. Well don’t, it rarely happens. Remember to feel supported by your guests and not to feel burdened everyone has come to wish you and your partner the very best. If it all gets emotional don’t be embarrassed to shed a couple of tears, just avoid the Niagara falls, and remember to wear waterproof mascara.

The Wedding Eve is equally as important as the wedding day, this is a great time to make preparations for your big day make a time table of all the things you’ll need to do and follow it. The last thing you’ll be wanting is a hangover in the morning so it’s best to avoid any alcohol in excess though one for medicinal purposes is accepted though, and most importantly make sure you get to bed at a reasonable time.

The Morning of the wedding can be very stressful, so be sure to start the day calmly, slowly allow yourself to take in as much of the events to follow as you can. Take plenty of time to have a great soak in a bath, with a cup of tea, undisturbed. Make sure you eat breakfast, even if you do have a dodgy stomach, that’s doing somersaults, even if it’s just a slice of toast fainting from hunger would be much worth. Take a few moments before the motions begin and just have a think about what lies ahead. Try to keep your distance during your preparation of the day from anyone whom you may find stressful, to keep them out of your hair try giving them minor jobs that will make them feel important.

Try not to over think things. Try not to rethink things over and over, once you’ve made a decision. This is believed to lead to bridal craziness, wondering whether they’ve made the right choice and it will all work out and go to plan worry about anything going wrong, as hard as it may be to make the decision, once it’s done it’s done tick it off the list and move on. The best kind of schedule is the one thing at a time schedule, don’t multi task, give yourself at least 15 minutes to tackle each item on your wedding list, and then tackle each one individually. You won’t find yourself overwhelmed if you allow yourself to focus on just one task at a time. A lot of brides often believe that they can do everything and refuse to ask for any help with anything, but the truth of the matter is don’t try to be superwoman there are tones of people who would rush at the chance of helping you. I’ve heard it all before from, it’s cheaper to its more fun doing it myself, but it can become a stressful time and it’s a time you want to look back on with joy and why not let your friends and family in on this fun and enjoyment? After all planning a planning a wedding takes in access of 240 hours altogether.