Again, turbo-long, so split into two posts - sorry!
The day before
So my
Once unpacked, I didn’t even use the handouts I spent ages putting together; I just looked on my phone at the pics of each table plan, put them roughly in the same layout, decided I didn’t like it and fiddled around until I liked the look of each table.
Each centrepiece had stickers on the vessels that were taking flowers, and all the plants (which had come up in separate boxes) had corresponding numbers so I knew which centrepiece they belonged to. So these all went out on their correct tables - which took a little time as I had just thrown the boxes on random tables, so spent ages searching for the correct number (note to others - do stuff in numerical order, it’s WAY easier!) and next up, were the fresh flowers.
A few weeks earlier, I found a wholesale florist online,
Around this point, my mum went out for emergency Mc Donalds and we stuffed our faces with slightly cold, nasty food. Hurrah!
Meanwhile, my dad was draping ivy on the top table, as well as on the teacup chandelier he and my aunt had made the evening before. The ivy came from my parents’ back garden, so nice and free! It was around this point that the heavens really opened. It had been raining on and off since we set out first thing in the morning, but now it was raining so hard, the marquee started to leak! By this time, the best men had arrived to start setting up the PA system for the speeches and the band/DJs and noticed the water leaking into the marquee was dripping on electrical cable. Slightly alarming!
I let the boys sort that out as there was nothing I could do about the weather, whilst I tried to work out which table went where; we went with ordering tables by family, family friends then friends. Each table was named after an Alice character; we put the names into a plant on each centrepiece and that was one more job off the list
Next up, was the wedding rehearsal - eeek! By this time, groom, best man, ushers, bridesmaids and flower girls - as well as parental units - had all arrived at Wethele. We drove in convoy to
To keep them on theme and to save money, my cousin had designed a sticker on which we could write each guests names and menu selection. But naturally, at 8pm the night before, I still hadn't written the names, or stuck them on the placeholders. Cue yet another bridesmaids-to-the-rescue moment, when all four of them were sat round a table, writing out names and sticking them on placeholders. Once a table was written, the labels, menus and drinks tokens (2 a piece) were put on the tables for the venue to lay out in the morining. At this point, a load of pizza arrived and the toffee and chocolate vodkas were cracked open, which lightened the slightly stressed mood!
Meanwhile, my veil still wasn't finished, and I still had no playlists for the church, drinks or meal :/ I put my brother's OH to work sewing the veil, whilst I sorted the music.
I had brought both my iPads, as well as my laptop, so whilst the BMs did labels, I started to put some lists together that could be put onto both iPads and mine and my brother's phone. The meal playlist consisted of the Danny Elfmann score from the Alice In Wonderland film, followed by the score from the Alice In Wonderland ballet. Nice and simple! We knew the songs for the church, so the only list that needed some thought was the hour or so between guest arrival and the dinner. After consulting everyone, a playlist comprising of cheesy 80s power ballads was decided upon - Belinda Carlisle, Kylie and Jason, Bonnie Tyler and others would greet guests upon arrival, rather than a string quartet or other classical music. This decision may have been influenced by chocolate vodka.
Then, it was time for bed! We all had a Nytol to help us get to sleep and that was it till the wedding morning!