I'm still on my honeymoon as I start this report (the first draft of my report has therefore been completed on my iPhone, so apologies for any typos I may miss when proof reading). OH and I are chilling in our hotel room as this is the first day of rain we have had since arriving 11 days ago…..We’ve had the most amazing time and few ups and downs too, but all in all it’s been wonderful! I hope you enjoy our report…
Friday 4th may
My last day of work, I honestly thought that I would not be able to concentrate on any work that day but actually, I was kept busy and got through more than I thought I would! At 4pm when my working day was officially over everyone in the office gathered around and presented me with a card and envelope of money, I could not believe how generous they were and never expected to receive as much as I did! Afterwards a few of the girls and I went out for a work hen do, my manager dressed me up in pink fluffy ears and pink sash and feather boa (far more cheesier than my main hen do) then we hit the west end for a meal and drinks.
Saturday 5th - Tuesday 8th may
The next 3 days were spent getting everything ready for our trip to Malcesine, Lake Garda, it was pretty full on and I didn't get much of a chance to sit down for long. The busiest day had to be Tuesday, I had booked in to get waxed from top to bottom and had also booked a cheeky hot stone massage, unfortunately I realised on the Monday that the hot stone massage was not going to be a good idea 1. Due to there not being enough time and 2. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to get an oily massage and then go for my final dress fitting! (Oils and dresses do not mix lol). After I had been waxed within an inch of my life it was time for my final dress fitting, I loved trying on my dress and getting to walk about in it for the longest period of time up until that day, every time before that it was on then off or I had to stand super still while the seamstress altered the dress. The previous dress fitting appointment my mum had pointed out that she wasn't happy with the way my dress was sitting at the back on my waist ( the boning was bulging a little, I am very short and these dresses are made for much taller ladies. This made me worry if I had made the right choice of dress ?) luckily on my final dress fitting that problem seemed to have fixed itself and the dress looked great. Both my mum and one of my bridesmaid's (SIL) were with me on the final dress fitting in order to make sure they knew how to get me into my dress...or at least this was the expectation! ? (you'll see what I mean when you get to the morning of the wedding part). After the wedding dress shop packed up my dress for me, I took it to the car ( I had planned to put my dress in the boot of my car, but my mum insisted my boot was too dirty and said it would be better to put the dress in the back seat. My mum had things to do though and we couldn't leave the car with a big wedding dress on full view in case someone tried to break in. My mum offered to sit in the car while I went to get my nails done, I really appreciated the offer as I knew my mum had planned to get things done in town that day but decided to postpone them in order to let me get the final things I needed. It did mean though that after my nails I felt bad and just went back to the car and didn’t get to run a couple of little errands I had wanted to do.
While I was out doing the last of the bits and pieces, OH said he would stay at home and tidy up which I was very grateful for. BUT when I got home he was totally stressing out and complaining that while I was out having fun he was doing all the cleaning! (when I arrived home he had only cleaned the kitchen, spare room, and was in the middle of the living room) he asked for me to go upstairs and clean the bathroom and bedroom, which I did without any protests but did think to myself that it was 3pm and he's only got 2 and a bit rooms cleaned...me thinks he may have spent most of the morning in the play station! My mum and I finished cleaning up and then my mum helped re pack some of our suitcases in order to maximise the space we had (my mum thought I had packed way too many toiletries! She decided to take some out, for me to only realise when I arrived in Italy, that I really needed them!) my mum did text me on the following Friday when she was packing her own suitcase saying she didn't realise just how many toiletries she would need and took everything she said about my toiletries back lol.
We eventually get everything all together and head to the airport that evening to stay in an airport hotel as our flight was leaving at 5.45 am.
Wednesday 9th May
This is the day we flew to Italy Yeah! ? I woke up at 3am to get ready I was so tired but once I was up and ready I felt fine. We checked in and went and collected our Euro’s (this was quite time consuming and didn’t leave us with any time to shop, I had wanted to buy the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy to read while on honeymoon but never managed, I have since bought it on my return though and loved it! I read all 3 books in 2 weeks!) . I would also like to point out I had very big ideas about this honeymoon being super romantic and a lot of time being spent in the bedroom icon, but unfortunately that morning my OH woke with a cold sore on his lip DAMN! I can’t kiss him without risking getting cold sore myself and I was determined that I wasn’t going to let that happen! I was even worrying as to whether I would be able to kiss him in when we are pronounced man and wife in 5 days time? What if it hasn’t cleared up by then??
Once we were up in the air we had a champagne breakfast compliments of BA . When we landed in Verona the weather was amazing! We collected our luggage and picked up our transfer and we were on our way to Malcesine which was about an hour’s drive away. Within about 5 – 10 minutes of the transfer my stomach started playing up (I suffer from IBS) and it was the worst 50 minute drive I have experienced as I was in so much pain. When we arrived at our hotel I raced out the car and left OH to deal with the bill it was horrific and felt really embarrassed for running off…Once I was feeling my normal self again we got changed into our shorts and T-shirts and went for a stroll around the town to get a feel for it, the hotel had given us a complimentary bottle of Prosecco and later that afternoon we drank the bottle and napped on our balcony. Complete. And. Utter. Bliss. (can't seem to rotate this one)
The next couple of days were much the same just strolling around and enjoying the views, we always managed a little nap in the afternoon…it was great…until…..
Saturday 12th May
All of our family and friends arrived today and that’s when it became a bit hectic. There was 36 guests in total dotted between 3 towns Malcesine, Garda and Riva. For a whole week we spent so much time trying to get around the family to spend time with them that by the time everyone left the following Saturday we were knackered!!
On this evening there was a big thunder storm through the night it was amazing to watch. My OH woke at 3 am and opened the blinds in our room to watch it. Our whole room lit up when the thunder struck.
Sunday 13th May (day before the wedding)
Today most of the day was spent with family which was quite stressful trying to please everyone. The men wanted to watch the football and most of the ladies wanted to shop, which would have been fine except there was a big parade on in the town which meant it was pretty busy and after a while my FMIL and her relatives decided to go back to the pub where the men were. OH’s 2 cousin’s also got chatting to some local Italian men and went off to a pub with them for a drink, this was all fine as far as I was concerned, but when I got back to the hotel that afternoon OH was stressing and said I should have kept everyone together as 1. There was no room in the pub for his mum and aunties 2. One of the 2 cousins had a young son which was with the men watching football, but now as she was in a random pub with random Italian men they weren’t sure when she’d be back for her son and he was asking where she was. Ok these were maybe valid points but it’s not my place to tell people they need to stay with me, they were all grown woman and could make their own decisions. We were both emotional and ended up arguing and falling out. OH was originally planning to stay with me in our hotel, but my older brother had the sense to know that it wouldn’t be a good idea and had told him to stay in his hotel earlier (thank god!). OH had left before I had the opportunity to give him his card and present so I ran about trying to find a way of getting them to him, I found his cousin who passed them to him in the morning. I also called OH about an hour after he left to make amends I didn’t want our last conversation before we were married to be an argument.
By 9.30 that evening my little girls hair still hadn’t been washed or put in rags to make her hair curly, it was 11 pm before she got to bed and it was about midnight before I got to go to mine. With everything that happened during the day and I guess nerves for the next morning I struggled to sleep and only go about 3 hours in total….
Monday 14th May (THE BIG DAY)….
Myself, mum and my little girl woke and got ready for breakfast about 8am, I was tired but surprisingly calm. The breakfast was very nice and I managed to eat something which was great as I was worried my tummy would be in knots.
I headed upstairs at 9 am to start getting ready for my aunt coming over who was my hairdresser for the day. My aunt arrived about 9.30 and set about my hair, once I had my hair done I worked on my own make up (I worried about this and for a long time I couldn’t decide if I would do my own make up or not, but I didn’t want to risk hiring a make up artist abroad without getting trials so doing my own was the best decision) Overall I was happy with my make up, though I felt I could have had a little more foundation on.
Both my bridesmaids and my 2nd flower girl arrived between 10 and 11 am to get ready, my CBM brought Prosecco and orange juice for bucks fizzJ. The photographer arrived and started taking pictures around the same time as my bridesmaids arrived and got a few pictures of me doing my make up ( looking very serious lol) Once my makeup was complete I started to panic about my vows, we had decided to do our own vows and I had been practising them for a few weeks. However the piece of paper I had written them somehow got lost while we were in Italy and I had difficulty remembering what I had written so that it flowed well. In the end I decided I would just have to wing it, which made me mega nervous.
It was about 11.30 when my mum suggested I start getting into my dress, I thought it was a little early as the Tuk Tuk aka the car wasn’t due to arrive until 1.15pm for my bridesmaids then it would come back for me about 1.30. I have to say I am sooo glad I did get ready at this time! You may remember earlier on in the report I mentioned “Both my mum and one of my bridesmaid's (SIL) were with me on the final dress fitting in order to make sure they knew how to get me into my dress...or at least this was the expectation! “....Well, once I stepped into my dress my mum and bridesmaids couldn’t find the internal corset. My SIL was saying all they could see was the material that sat under the dress tiers but that wouldn’t fasten. I insisted that I remember the shop assistant asking if I wanted the internal corset fastened to which I replied yes…anyway they insisted the only flap they could see would not fasten. My mum then suggested “ have you put on a little weight”…At this point I could really feel myself getting panicky and was about to lose control. I had to keep reminding myself that the photographer was in the room and to hold it together. The short of it was that it was decided to just lace me into the dress and forget about any internal corset. By this point my SIL was away playing with the 2 younger kids and left my mum and CBM to lace the dress. This annoyed me a little as it was my SIL who came to the dress fitting as my CBM couldn’t get time off work. My CBM was great though and was the most calming person there and just got on with lacing me up. Once they were finished lacing me in, I definitely felt that it was a little loose and gaping for my liking and that the internal corset would have helped but it was too late!
My CBM opened the Prosecco and poured everyone a drink, which I gladly accepted (I really felt like I needed it lol). My 3 year old flower girl said she thirsty too so her mum poured her a lemonade and sat her on a chair. Next thing we know she spills the glass all over herself and then the chair slides on and the wet floor and so she falls off into the puddle!! Luckily it was warm outside and her dress dried quickly though she was a little sticky.
I decided I needed a little more hairspray in my hair and asked my mum to do it for me…my mum proceeded to pick up a can that she thought was hairspray and pointed it at me and sprayed. Well it wasn’t hairspray it was MOUSSE. I shrieked in utter surprise “arrrgh mum, what are you doing?” Luckily none of it went near my dress as I managed to jump back. I started to laugh which is just as well because it could very well have been tears…
The Tuk Tuk arrived at this point and took my bridesmaids and flower girls to the castle and returned 10 minutes later for my mum and I. It was a job and half trying to get my dress to fit into the little 3 wheeler car! And then we were on our way up to the castle, I was about to get married! I felt like a tourist attraction/celebrity as we drove up to the castle as everyone was watching and waving us on.
We arrived at the castle with about 10 minutes to go and all the guests and my future husband were standing in place waiting for me. My older brother was waiting to give me away (my father passed away 2 years ago unfortunately, however I had a photo charm of him wrapped around my bouquet so I knew he wasn’t far away) . As the castle is a museum and open to the public there were lots of people milling about and congratulating me. While my brother and I were waiting for the go ahead, to head up the stairs towards the ceremony, a couple even started congratulating me and my brother as they assumed we were married to each other which gave us a giggle. When we realised we could go up to the ceremony as it was starting, I got a sudden panic about where my BM’s were as I hadn’t seen them since they left the hotel. Once I reached the top of the stairs I seen them waiting for me and they walked down the aisle in front of me, in that moment I realised we hadn’t discussed if they should walk in front or behind but luckily it didn’t matter. I also didn’t make the decision to wear the veil over my face until the last minute and when I started going up the stairs that’s when I was like “oh I need my veil over my face!” Once I got to my OH I couldn’t stop grinning and we were able to have a little conversation before the registrar started talking (I told him about my mum and the mousse incident, which made him laugh). Before I knew it we were exchanging our rings and saying our vows (which I just kind of made up on the spot) . When it came time for the first kiss, OH kissed me sqaure on the lips (luckily his cold sore was just about away and I never did get a coldsore We then walked back down the aisle hand in hand and I was grinning from ear to ear! When we got to the bottom of the castle steps we noticed that all our guests were still upstairs and no one had followed us out. My immediate reaction was wonder if we walked down the aisle too early and if we should go back up? Eventually though people started to trickle down and the group shots with the photographer began.
After about 30 mins to an hour the driver and restaurant owner arrived with the tuk tuk to take us to the restaurant for canapés. Most of the guests had already left the castle grounds and made their way to the restaurant, by the time we arrived most of the canapés were gone, but I fully expected this from reading previous hitched reports….Every guest talked about how amazing the canapés and drinks reception was and how fabulous the violinist I hired for during the ceremony and “cocktail hour” was . It was great to mill around and talk to all our guests and just enjoy the sunshine! After a-while the boat for our lake cruise pulled right up outside La Pace at the private dock and everyone climbed on board eagerly awaiting the lake cruise. I had been really looking forward to this for months, and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. The Prosecco was flowing (I had a few) and the views were spectacular. Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. It was quite windy on the lake so my hair was looking a little windswept though lol . When the boat returned it went to the main Marina in Malcesine which gave us the opportunity to walk through the old town and loads of people stopped and congratulated us! While walking back to the restaurant from the Marina my hold up stockings started to fall down so I stopped and tried to Hoek (sp) them back up! When I stopped all my guests behind us stopped to wait, it must have looked quite hilarious…
When we returned to the restaurant the speeches began….they all had the right amount of humour and emotion, there are a few pictures of us laughing and eyes welling up…I knew the restaurant was giving us a 5 course meal, but I didn’t expect the sheer volume of food, it was crazy but absolutely gorgeous! First course was anti pasti salad with Italian meets, cheese, salad etc, then there was a meat lasagne, then there was spinach cannelloni, then steak or fish, and finally dessert! Every course was like a full main course portion. There was no doubt in my mind that our guests were not going to go hungry! During the meal the next wedding disaster struck…my MOH’s bridesmaid dress zip burst! now my MOH is a skinny size 6 but she was distraught this happened was crying her eyes out! It wasn’t her fault, just a faulty zip. Her boyfriend had to run back to the hotel to get her another change of clothes. She then had a few limoncelli’s to calm her down (which ended up making her exceptionally drunk at the end of the night) I started to worry a little as our tables were all set up outside and the weather changed a little and there was quite a cold wind. The inside of the restaurant was too small to fit all our guests comfortably! Thankfully the weather changed back just as quickly to a nice warm breeze. Some pics when we were feeling the cold!
The cake cutting came next, my husband loved the cake topper I had made especially for him as a surprise (courtesy of our very own Skyrocket) Now our wedding cake was not very “weddingy” as wedding cakes go, but oh my god it tasted absolutely wonderful, so light and fluffy.
Soon after the cake cutting came the first dance, everyone gathered around us as we began dancing to “Stand by me”. There wasn’t a dance floor as such, we just danced next to the harbour under the stars…it felt so amazing and romantic…. I would like to point out at this time, I had been a little anxious about the wedding signer we had hired. Mainly because I hadn’t realised I had hired her at all! When emailing the restaurant asking for recommendations for a DJ and them coming back with a quote I was happy with, which I then confirmed months in advance. OH and I spent several nights compiling a “wish list” of songs to give to the “DJ”. The week before we were due to fly out I asked the restaurant for the DJ’s email address so that I could email the playlist, and I was provided with a ladies email address. Now I am shocked and ashamed to admit my initial thought was a girl as a DJ? That’s unusual, and worried slightly if it was in fact a DJ that had been booked. I quickly scolded myself and told myself to stop being so sexist, of course a lady can be a DJ, equality after all. However after emailing her it became apparent that she wasn’t a DJ, but in fact a female singer. This in itself isn’t a bad thing, but she didn’t have a website for me to listen to some examples of her work. Also the fact that OH and I like rocky music and H had picked numerous ACDC songs etc, I really worried that a female singer wouldn’t be able to do half of what we had chosen. Luckily our first dance song was part of her repertoire, and everything we had chosen we just decided to throw away and let the singer sing anything she liked. After all it was too late in the day to cancel her, so we just had to put our trust in her and hope everything went well……I have to say this lady had a fabulous voice she sounded amazing and everyone was up dancing all night (including the restaurant staff). Laura our singer started singing during the meal, which surprised us (I initially thought the restaurant had put on a CD, and was very pleasantly surprised it was in actual fact Laura).
At the end of the night when everyone was leaving, my feet ached and I felt exhausted, but had the most amazing day and felt thoroughly content. My MOH was a bit worse for wear due to the alcohol consumption and I had to enlist the help of my brother and his girlfriend to make sure she got back to her hotel safely, as her own boyfriend had disappeared to another pub with other guests grrr.
When my new husband and I got back to her our hotel room, we sat up for a little while and just talked about how the day went. When it was time for me to get out of my dress we had a good giggle because OH had to stick his head up my skirt to try and find the tiers for the corset (I wish I had a picture of this but sadly I don’t’).
Well I think I have written enough (6 pages of a word document) here are a few more pictures…..
